Chapter Sixteen
Blaise knocked on the door and let himself into the headmaster's office. The bruising that Draco had left on his face the previous night hadn't lessened at all with the passing of several hours. If anything, it seemed to have become more prominent, covering his face with virulent colours. Snape looked at him, an expression of disgust written across his sallow features.
''And what happened to you?''
''Draco Malfoy, sir.''
''And what did you do to provoke such a response? I know Malfoy, and I know that he is clever enough not to just attack another student.''
''I may have said some rather insensitive things about his relationship with Hermione Granger.''
Snape's nose wrinkled slightly. ''Relationship?''
''They've been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now.''
''Don't be so obtuse Zabini. The pair of them have been at each other's throats since they were first years.''
''Opposites attract sir.'' Blaise shrugged nonchalantly and then winced. ''Why would Malfoy beat me up if it weren't true?''
''How do I know that you're telling the truth?'' Snape couldn't look at his student's disgusting visage anymore, and chose instead to try and stare out of the rain-splattered window.
''I can prove it sir. Give me Veritaserum and I'll say exactly the same thing.'' Blaise leaned forward slightly, a wicked glint in his eyes.
''Fine.'' Snape stood up, intending to call Blaise's bluff and put an end to the ridiculous farce. Draco Malfoy with Granger…it didn't even bear thinking about. He slammed the small bottle down on the table in front of Zabini and watched as he drained it. ''Are Granger and Malfoy embroiled in some kind of…relationship?'' The distaste was plain in his voice.
''Yes.'' Blaise stared at him. ''I walked in on them making out.''
''I don't need to hear any more than that.'' Snape waved his hand imperiously, feeling slightly nauseated. ''What did you mean by telling me that? Obviously I will punish Draco for his behaviour towards you, but I don't doubt that you had some ulterior motive in coming to tell me this.''
''I want you to tell the Dark Lord.'' Blaise smirked slightly, his bruises and cuts quirking.
''You honestly think the Dark Lord would care about something as petty as this? The Malfoy family has lost so much favour that their actions are no longer truly noted. The only thing that the Dark Lord cares about is that they are around when he needs them. And after Draco's disgraceful performance last summer, I doubt very much whether he will ever be called to the inner circle of the Deatheaters. He is immaterial.''
Blaise looked forlornly at Snape. ''So it doesn't matter that he's with that…Mudblood?''
''Frankly, no.'' Snape took the bottle away from Blaise and turned it over in his long pale fingers. ''Furthermore, why would the Dark Lord care about the affairs of school children when he is involved in a war that will determine the future nature of the entire wizarding world?''
''I just thought…''
''No, you didn't think Zabini. As per usual. I will see that Malfoy is punished, but I would advise you not to take this any further. Malfoy's involvement with Granger will be his own punishment in the end. And I believe you have been humiliated quite enough recently.'' And with that, Snape turned his back on Zabini, indicating that their meeting was at an end. Blaise's mouth tightened unpleasantly, and he pushed his chair back brusquely and stormed out of the room.
As soon as he had descended down the curving stairs, and made it past the gargoyle, he slumped against the wall. Detention for Draco wasn't a good enough solution. He would have to take matters further into his own hands. He heaved himself off the wall and began to make his way back to his dormitory.
Later that morning, the owl arrived from the Headmaster, informing Draco that he would serve detention for his actions towards Blaise. Hermione came into the room as he was reading it, looped her arms around his waist and tiptoed so that she could read the note over his shoulder.
''Poor you.''
''It's only detention.'' He shrugged and turned around to kiss her. ''Hopefully this way Zabini will feel that he's gotten even with me and he'll leave it at that.''
''I don't think he will Draco.'' Hermione looked up at him, her eyes wide. ''You really laid into him, and if I know Zabini at all, he's going to put a lot more effort into a revenge plan than getting you detention.''
''Stop worrying about it.'' Draco smiled at her, laughing off her concern.
''Draco, please. Listen to me.'' Hermione placed her hands on his cheeks and guided his face so that he had to look her in the eye. ''I just want to make sure that neither of us gets hurt.''
''I promise you, we will both be fine.'' Draco raised his eyebrows, slightly irritated.
''Draco, how can you make that promise? Are you totally confident?''
''Yes! For Merlin's sake!'' Draco shook her hands off and went back to reading his message. ''I have to do the detention tonight.''
''What do you have to do?''
''Clean out the trophy room by hand.''
''I'll come and keep you company.'' Hermione looked at his back. ''If you want me to, that is?''
''Are you sure Zabini won't be there, lurking in some corner, waiting to attack me?'' Draco turned around and grinned at her.
''Draco! I was being serious!'' Hermione looked at him in exasperation.
''So was I. You have to come and protect me. Watch my back as I clean like a house elf.''
''No shame in that.'' But Hermione was already smiling slightly, unable to resist his charm. ''Well, I suppose I could drop in.''
''But what if he does come and attack me?''
''Are you being serious now?''
''I'm trying to show you that it doesn't matter! Hermione, both of us are more than a match for him, and he isn't even going to try anything. We're both the golden pupils of our houses, and we've both got a hell of a lot of support – we aren't going to disappear into a Zabini-created obscurity any time soon. I know you and Weasley are worried about it, but please, just trust me.''
''You promise me nothing will happen?''
''I promise.'' Draco held out his arms, and Hermione wriggled into his chest, sniffing his scent. ''Nothing is going to hurt either of us.''
That evening, Filch escorted Draco into the trophy room, wordlessly thrust cleaning materials at him and left the room. Draco raised his eyebrows and sighed as he saw the mountains of trophies. It was so humiliating to be doing this. It was bad enough that he had to sit through one of Snape's lectures, with the usual clichés about disappointments, setting good examples and responsibility, but to have to do a first year punishment…he sighed again and began work.
Blaise's eyes shone hungrily in the gloom of the corridor as he watched Hermione move surreptitiously into the trophy room. All he heard was ''You know, house elves work a lot harder than that'' before the door swung shut again. He smirked. Things were falling into place just as he had hoped.
''I'm working bloody hard I'll have you know.'' Draco swung around and stared at her mockingly.
''A Malfoy doing menial labour? What is the world coming to?'' Hermione laughed, her hands resting lightly on her hips. ''Go on, get on with it.''
''I can think of much more interesting things to do.'' Draco tossed the rag he was using to one side and advanced on her. Hermione smiled and dodged away from him.
''Draco, I don't think I would be able to forgive myself if you didn't get your work done.''
''Oh for Merlin's sake.'' Draco shot out an arm and grabbed her wrist, pulling her sharply into him.
''Ow!'' Hermione poked him in mock outrage. ''That hurt!''
''Really?''
''A little.'' Hermione turned away from him and poked her nose into the air.
Draco laughed slightly and reached for her wrist, gently bringing it to his lips and kissing it, feeling the delicate bones beneath his mouth, teasing the soft skin with his tongue. ''Please forgive me, I had no idea you were so fragile.''
''I'm not fragile!''
''You are.'' Draco gently nipped her wrist and released it. ''Delicate little flower.''
''Patronising git.'' Hermione pushed him back, laughing all the time. ''Go and do your work.''
''No.'' Draco grabbed her and gently pushed her against the wall, kissing her hard. Hermione leaned back, gasping slightly as he kissed her neck, hitting the spots that he knew she liked. Unable to take the rising sensations, she grabbed his face and pulled it to hers, kissing his upper lip as he kissed her lower one, their mouths meeting again and again, and their tongues dancing.
Draco began to push Hermione to the floor, but she shoved back, her breathing uneven and her hair disarrayed. ''Not in here, what if someone walks in?''
''Then they'll see what all the fuss is about.'' But Draco was sitting up, brushing Hermione's curls off her face, and stroking her soft, reddened lips. She looked back at his handsome face and couldn't help smiling.
''What are you smiling at?'' He chucked her chin and stood up, offering her his hand.
She took it and let him pull her to her feet. ''You. You're so gorgeous.''
''No, you are. I'm so lucky.''
''No, I'm so lucky.''
''No, this is getting way too clichéd.'' Draco looked at the room, moonlight coming in through the windows that looked out onto the grounds. He could see the Whomping Willow thrashing in the rain. Looking back at Hermione, a silvery glint in her hair, he smiled. ''Hermione, I…no, don't worry.''
''What?''
''I'll tell you later.''
''A good 'I'll tell you later'?'' she asked.
''I'm pretty sure you'll like it.'' He grinned at her, thinking of how she would look when he told her that every day he fell more and more in love with her.
''I'll leave you to get on then, so you can enlighten me.'' Hermione reached up and kissed him.
Draco turned around as she left the room, determined to get on with the work as quickly as possible, so that he could go back to Hermione. In fact, he was so intent upon his work that he failed to notice the red flash that shone briefly through the cracks in the closed door. He was moving the trophies around and so he failed to hear Hermione's body hitting the floor as an effect of Blaise's stunning spell.
It was mere chance that caused him to look up at the precise moment that Blaise, standing at the school gates, threw an owl into the air, a scrap of parchment tied to its leg. Draco narrowed his eyes as he saw one figure hurry through the school gates, levitating another behind it. But it was gone so quickly that he dismissed it as a figment of his imagination, created by the dark and the pouring rain.
But then the owl came to the window, tapping frantically against the glass. His eyebrows furrowed, Draco reached out and loosened the catch, grabbing the owl as it flew into the room. Pulling the parchment of its leg, he unfurled it, and looked at Blaise's blocky print.
She'll be in the Shrieking Shack. Better hurry Draco, it's Showtime, and you wouldn't want to miss the curtain going up.
Draco threw the parchment down and ran out of the room, the window banging in the wind, rain coming in and spattering the freshly polished trophies. The owl hooted softly and took a perch above the door, burying its head in its chest. It didn't see Draco's tall figure running across the wet grass, slipping and sliding in the dim light, as he sought Hermione.
AN: well that was a longer chapter than usual – to make up for not updating for forever! I've been quite busy, and I will admit that procrastination played a part…I'm so sorry! So anyway, shall we do the stats, because I'm seriously impressed:
-19395 hits
-217 reviews
-106 alerts going out
-been favourited 57 times
-belongs to 4 C2 archives (HP's lush pairing: Dramione, Science is always right: opposites do attract, acq233's need to read and the best Harry Potter fanfics ever – thank you everyone, that's a real honour).
So anyway, my reviewers for the past two chapters have been : dracoshott28, the Accountant's Daughter, Hanna28, Emerald27, Silent-Mousie, Amester, Wings of a Rebel, HarryPGinnyW4eva, Missy Muggle Witch, Cali'sOwnCaliGrown, Uber-l33t Rabid Ninja Squirrels, breezie, CutebIndeGoddess, iluv2dance, ILOVERWHPDM, JillianUnleashed, Fnicks-Gurlz, Cali4me92, Crystal Slara, Mrs Rose Elric, Kathryn Valmont, Natada Ainthe, Dracogirl4evr, year1989rocks, Xblackdragonx, bubbes, keske, lena-hearts-jack, poeta, Sunshine Angel and cmtaylor531. Thank you so much everyone, I appreciate it so much. Anyway, if you would let me know what you think of this chapter, I will love you forever and ever. Have a great weekend everyone – much love, Petitesorciere xxx