Chapter 3 – Singed Edges

Once Draco had finally escaped Hermione's obsessive gaze, and was back in his dormitory ready for bed, he decided to examine the insect found in his bag. He lay in bed holding the orange rock-like object close to his face to get a good look at the bug, and much to Draco's surprise, it moved. He shook his head and looked again at the now very still bug and considered it to be his tired mind playing tricks on him. Setting the insect on his bedside table, he turned over to fall asleep.

Draco was in the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts, though he can't remember actually walking there, and was looking among the crowd of students busying themselves within it.

"Bella!" he heard himself shout, but then realized it wasn't his own voice.

He started to hurry through the crowd toward a Slytherin girl who was chatting with a couple of friends.

"Hey," he said, finally standing next to her. The group's conversation came to a halt once he had arrived and she looked at him, eyebrows raised. Draco noticed that his palms were sweaty, and his knees had a consistency like that of jelly. He really liked this girl, who had crossed her arms.

"What?" she asked, as one of the girls behind her giggled and blushed.

"I, er, was wondering if, um, you'd want to go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday?" he finished his question whilst gazing at the floor in embarrassment.

"I'm already going with my friends," she responded with a dismissive tone, turning to walk away with her friends in her wake, leaving Draco behind feeling depressed and very much rejected.

The sun was already high over the grounds when Draco woke up; the dream he had just had was now very blurry, quickly washing out of his memory. It was almost eleven and only Crabbe was left snoring in his bed. Once dressed, Draco glanced at the insect he had left on the table, and decided to put it in his pocket.

At breakfast, he sat with and Blaise and plated some food.

"You were talking in your sleep," Blaise said blurted out casually.

"What? What did I say?"

"You were just kind of moaning sadly at first, and I thought I heard to say Bulla or Beller a few times and some mumbling. What the hell were you dreaming of?"

"Well, I do remember a girl named Bella, and having sweaty palms, but that's really about it," Draco shrugged off the dream and noticed Hermione staring at him from across the hall. His eyes widened, and he mouthed 'stop it' at her, and she, though rather reluctantly, smirked and obeyed.

Blaise looked over his shoulder seeing nothing out of the ordinary, then back at Draco, concerned.

"Are you all right mate?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Draco needed to distract him, "So, Quidditch team. Are you going to try for Chaser again this year?"

"Well of course; stinks you aren't captain though, I was rather hoping that Snape would pick you after last year's disaster."

"No kidding."

They ate through the rest of breakfast in silence and decided to go back to the common room to do some homework before the laziness of Saturday could set into their bones. The first week back at school was always the hardest; it was exhausting to get back into the routine.

"I think someone is following us," Blaise said as they entered the dungeons.

"You go ahead, I'll take care of it," Draco said trying to mimic his usual demeanor.

Blaise stopped walking.

"Oh please Draco, I know why you walk around with Crabbe and Goyle behind you constantly: You can't fight. You're afraid."

Draco was about to give a nasty retort, but Hermione walked around the corner that Draco and Blaise had just rounded, looking hopeful. Blaise turned to see that it was her and seemed very confused.

"What are you doing down here Mudblood?"

Hermione stopped short, and looked from Draco and back to Blaise, her mouth moving, but no sound coming out. Draco stole a quick glance at Blaise, and saw that his hand was moving towards the pocket that his wand usually occupied.

"Get out of here, Granger," Draco spat, trying to sound as mean as possible and grabbed Blaise's elbow striding towards the Slytherin common room.

"What the hell did she follow us for?" Blaise said peering over his shoulder where Hermione stood rooted to the spot.

"No idea, mate," Draco said hurrying away from Hermione, keeping his eyes on the floor. They both grabbed their school bags from the dormitory and claimed a table in the common room to start working. After about thirty minutes of nothing but the sound of their quills scratching on parchment, Blaise seemed to be itching to say something and could no longer hold it in.

"Have you been talking to Granger?"

"What?" Draco was taken well off his guard by the question, and tried not to panic, "Why would I talk to her?"

"I don't know, but I've noticed her staring at you through almost every class, and you've been off 'by yourself' a lot lately."

"I've been in the library," Draco scowled at Blaise, trying to seem offended by the accusations.

"Which you never do, and Granger practically lives there."

"Are you trying to say you think I have a thing with—"

"Getting awfully defensive aren't you?" Blaise said crossing his arms in an annoyingly stubborn manner.

Draco sighed and set down his quill.

"Look, I've been in the library because my mum found something in the manor and I'm trying to figure out what it could be," Draco lied, taking the insect out of his pocket and setting it down on top of Blaise's homework.

Blaise looked at it with curiosity, seeming to be at least a bit distracted by it. He picked it up, and Draco noticed how Blaise's eyes flashed as he gazed upon it.

"It looks like a moth," Blaise said turning it over and over in his hand.

"It might be, but it seems like there's more to it. I feel like it could have powers, but I have no idea what," Draco said, speaking more to himself than to Blaise. After a few moments, he looked up to see Blaise still staring at it intently, "Blaise?"

"Huh? Sorry, zoned out," Blaise shook his head lightly and gave the insect back to Draco, very quickly, "I still think you're with Granger."

Draco glared at the top of Blaise's head, and decided to let it go for the time being. They worked quietly until Crabbe and Goyle arrived laughing to themselves about beating up a few second years, by the sound of it. Draco decided to close his books and relax for a while before lunch time.

Once in the Great Hall for the second time of the day, Draco noticed that Hermione was missing from the Gryffindor table. He also noticed that Blaise watched him closely as he searched for her and Draco felt a sinking feeling, knowing that he would have to tell him everything once they were alone again. Since he confided in Blaise about most things in his life he knew it wouldn't be that difficult, but the fact that Hermione was muggle-born was a worrying factor indeed.

Sitting in the Transfiguration courtyard alone with Blaise sometime later, Draco decided to spill the beans.

"There was a mix-up in Potions on the first day back," he explained what happened in class to Blaise who listened with a blank expression.

"So, you accidentally gave Granger an ancient love potion?"

"It seems to be that way. I don't know what to do about it yet, so I agreed to be 'with' her for now and hopefully once I figure out how to reverse it, I can modify her memory and move on as if nothing happened."

"Blimey, no wonder she was following you earlier. Actually, she's over there," Blaise pointed to a bench across the courtyard, and sure enough, there was Hermione. She wasn't looking at him obsessively, but instead seemed upset.

"Bloody hell, I think she's sad from how I acted towards her earlier," he said to Blaise.

"Well, you'd better go fix your relationship before she breaks up with you," Blaise mocked before Draco walked towards the Transfiguration classroom just off the hallway surrounding the yard.

Draco nodded his head towards the classroom, and walked into it quickly, being careful so he wouldn't be seen by other students, and was relieved that nobody was inside. Hermione walked in shortly after and looked at him, pouting slightly. Draco noticed that her eyes were red and watery.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She slapped him straight across the face. Draco then remembered all too well just how hard she could hit. He looked at her with his mouth open. Hermione was fuming with her arms crossed, and her jaw clenched with anger as she watched Draco regain his composure.

"Listen, Blaise was with me and he didn't know about us until about two minutes ago. I told you we had to meet in secret, what were you doing following me?"

She looked away and up at the ceiling in an attempt to hold back her tears, but one got away and slid down her face. Draco made to wipe it off, but she jerked her face away from his hand.

"Do I embarrass you?" she asked quite bluntly.

"No, not at all," Draco pleaded trying to move within her view, "you know it could be dangerous if people find out about this."

"So? What are you so afraid of?" she rounded on Draco, now staring directly at him.

"I don't want you to get hurt just for liking me," he replied, surprised to realize that it was the truth. As much as Draco has hated her since the start of school, he still cared for her well-being. Silent tears rolled down Hermione's face as a small smile spread across it. Draco's arms seemed to possess themselves as he pulled Hermione into a hug. She sank into his chest seemingly content and Draco just held her, his thoughts whirling around the fact that he actually cared. He loosened his hug and she looked up at him, her eyes still drowning in leftover tears. Draco wiped the wetness from under her eyes and smirked a little before placing his hands back on her waist. She smiled and repositioned her arms to rest around his neck.

Before he knew what was happening, Draco felt her hands fingering the hair nearest his neck gently. It sent a shiver all down his body and their gazes connected for a moment. Hermione then pulled his neck down slightly to kiss him a second time. This time Draco kept his eyes closed and kissed her back; they kissed again, and Draco's tongue found her lips, trying to part them, and she obliged. Draco couldn't tell how long they had snogged, or how long her fingers danced in the back of his hair; It could have been hours with how tense and dizzy Draco felt at the end of it.

For almost half a minute, they both stood there breathing a little heavily before Hermione just smiled at him and walked away. Draco sat himself down on a nearby desk and tried to calm himself down, and much to his surprise, Blaise's head popped through the open door.

"What happened? Ooh, you look flushed," Blaise gave a devilish smirk as Draco gave him a threatening look, and got up to join him at the door. They walked to the grounds discussing what had happened, Blaise made suggestive comments every few minutes, much to Draco's annoyance. They were at the Black Lake and Draco slipped his hands into his empty pockets.

"Oh no," Draco eyed the grass around his feet, searching.

"What? Forget to throw out the condom?" Blaise laughed.

"Shut the hell up Blaise! That moth thing is gone, there's a hole in my pocket! What the hell!" Draco turned is pocket out so see a hole with singe marks around the edges; it was still warm.