Alright darlings. I have more for you. I will attempt to start putting up chapters more frequently. I am beta-less and plan to stay that way. Please overlook any grammatical errors as I am quite positive you are all capable of interpreting context clues. I assure you that any mistakes i may make will not be detrimental to the storyline and will not create profound confusion. I may give you haste or perfection, but each requires a lack of the other, lol. That being said... Enjoy!
- MamaPunx
:Draco:
It took another half hour of heavy silence before he heard her move behind him. He heard clothing rustling as Hermione stood, walking slowly towards the door and gathering her things from the floor. When she paused in the door jamb, he stood as well, turning to catch her eyes fixed on him. The terrible fear that filled them not long ago had been replaced by their previous nothingness, glazed over and lifeless. It was completely unnerving, and gave Draco the sense that he was making eye contact with a blind person.
"I should head to class," she mumbled shuffling past him awkwardly, careful not to brush against him as she passed.
He followed her down the stairs to the portrait hole where she paused. He motioned with his hand for her to go first and waited in silence while she climbed through, climbing out once she was safely in the passageway outside of their dorm.
Draco glanced at the portrait out of the corner oh his eye and saw that the tree was once again half dead. The other half which was vibrant and lush the last time they stood there together seemed to have wilted slightly. He frowned, wondering what significance there was to be found in that bit of magic before he turned his attention to Hermione who was standing in the hall staring through his face, unseeing.
Feeling like an ass, he snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention. She jumped and looked around before settling her eyes back on his face, this time actually looking AT him.
"What is your first class Granger?" Draco asked calmly, strangely affected by her behavior, but unwilling to consider why.
She looked down to her stack of books slowly, consulting the schedule stuck to the front of the topmost notebook in the pile.
"Ancient Runes," she answered softly.
"Same here," Draco said catching her eyes. "Would you like me to walk with you?" he asked carefully, unsure why he was asking in the first place. All he knew was that this girl was undeniably FUCKED up, and he was uncomfortable sending her off on her own, which was needless considering that they were going to the same place. Not to mention that she was only about 40 minutes past her most recent breakdown.
She gave him a nod so small that he would've missed it had he not been looking right at her and they set off down the passage.
:Hermione:
She walked beside him, careful to keep about a foot between them. They rounded a corner and suddenly she was stuck. The passage ahead was full of students. Students who stopped and openly stared at her as soon as she stepped around the corner. A deafening silence fell over the corridor as students stood on tiptoe, and peeked under friends' arms, and pushed people aside to see what had caused the sudden change. Then the whispers started. Softly at first, but gaining volume and momentum with each passing second.
"Look! It's her!"
"It's Hermione."
"Where's she been?"
"Was she walking with HIM!?"
"What's she doing with Malfoy?"
"What's he doing with HER!?"
"Look at her!"
"What's wrong with her?"
Hermione took several quick steps backward until she was safely behind the corner she had just stepped around and leaned against the wall, her breathing quick and her heart racing. How was she supposed to do this? How did she think she even COULD? How important was an education, REALLY? Muggles drop out of school all the time. Why shouldn't she? Why should she put herself through this torture? What was she trying to prove?
A small voice tried to make itself heard in her mind but she shut it up, refusing to listen. It was her voice of reason and she would not give in to that. She didn't need reason right now. Right now she needed to panic. Needed to hyperventilate right quick. Needed to take a seat right here against the cool stone wall and close her eyes and cover her ears so she couldn't hear the rumors flying around the corner.
Something touched her shoulder lightly and she brushed at it absentmindedly, her eyes flying open when she came into contact with a hand.
Draco pulled his hand back quickly and stuffed them both into his pockets.
"I'm sorry," he stated, "but you looked like you were fixing to have a moment and this isn't the time or place for that."
Hermione stared at him stupidly. That nagging voice was trying to make itself heard again but she couldn't concentrate. She could only stare at Draco, standing with his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and a calm look on his face. She noticed that his hair was a mess, that his eyes were dark with shadows underneath and that his shirt was only tucked in right in the front. She noticed that he wore his shoulder bag swung around to his back instead of on the side, with the strap crossing his chest. She noticed that he stood straight, with confidence, despite his disheveled appearance. She saw his lips move and knew he was saying something that she wasn't hearing. Was she deaf? She realized her hands were covering her ears again and she lowered them slowly, feeling foolish.
"What?" she said roughly, wincing at the sound of her own voice.
"I said the hallway has cleared out. Everyone has gone to their lessons now. Are you ready to go to class now? Or did you need more time?" Draco repeated slowly.
Hermione sat for a moment longer, looking inside for some nerve to work up. She stood on shaky legs, and placed both hands on the wall behind her, breathing deeply, waiting for her heartbeat to regulate and her shaking limbs to calm down.
"I think I'm ready," she answered in a small, pathetic voice.
Hermione followed Draco back around the corner and down the corridor. She stared steadily at his shoulder bag, paying little attention to where they were going. He stopped at a classroom door and waited for her to take the last few steps before opening the door and stepping through.
"Late, Mr. Malfoy?" the professor 'tsk tsk'ed disapprovingly, then stared in shock as Hermione stepped timidly through the doorway behind him.
She followed Draco to an empty table at the back of the room with her head down and her eyes on the floor, sitting in the chair that he pulled out for her. She was strangely grateful for his presence as he sat in the chair next to her and placed his bag on the table between them. She chanced a glance up through her eyelashes and saw every head in the room turned in her direction. Gaping at her. She looked to the side and accidentally caught Draco's eye. He rolled his eyes pointedly, jerking his head in the direction of their classmates. Hermione felt one corner of her mouth twitch up in amusement.
'This is going to be a very long day' she thought to herself, pulling out her Ancient Runes text and prepping her quill for note taking.
