A week later, Hermione and Draco were patrolling the hall after hours once again. So far, they had found that no one had been out of bed, but they hadn't checked around the Slytherin Common Room yet. Draco pushed Hermione lightly behind him when they reached the dungeons, and held out his wand. Hermione smiled inwardly at how protective he was, then held up her own wand and followed. They heard shuffling of feet and a whisper, then a louder whisper. To Hermione, it sounded like an argument.
Draco turned the corner to see Theo and Pansy. It was different this time though; they were arguing. Pansy was crying and pleading, Theo was shrugging. They looked up when Draco walked toward them, and Theo rolled his eyes.
Draco laughed. "Out after hours again, Theo? Jesus, this has got be a record."
Hermione ignored the boys and walked towards Pansy. She placed her hand lightly on Pansy's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Get off me, Mudblood!"
Draco glared at her. "I told you not to use that word!"
"What are you going to do Drake? Take more house points?"
"Don't call me that, Pansy, you know I hate that name."
"What's the matter with it, Drake? Why does it bother you? Does it remind you of how we used to be?" She walked toward him slowly, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.
"Does it remind you of what we used to do when we were all alone?" She ran her hands over his chest.
Theo's jaw clenched in what seemed like jealousy to Hermione, and she could understand. She didn't like that Draco was being touched like that by someone else. She and Draco weren't exclusive, in fact they hadn't even really talked about what they were, but it still made Hermione jealous.
"Stop Pansy." Draco pushed her hands away.
"Or what, Drake? What are you going to do?"
"Stop calling me that, Pansy." He looked at Hermione. "Let's go."
Theo finally spoke. "Not gonna take points from us this time?"
Draco smiled viciously. "No. I'm talking to Slughorn in the morning, and as head of the house, he'll decide your punishment. I trust his judgement."
Theo's smile disappeared. "You're gonna tell on us? Really, Draco?" He laughed without humor. "Well, I guess I don't expect much more from the captain whose team lost the first game of the season to Ravenclaw..."
Hermione saw Draco's jaw clentch, and prayed that Theo would stop talking, but he didn't.
"It was sad, watching you struggle to find the snitch. You looked so pathetic."
Pansy's high pitched laugh filled the hall. Draco took a deep breath, calming himself.
Theo is just trying to get a rise out of you…don't fall for it. Deep breath.
"You really aren't as great as you think you are, Drake." He put emphasis on Drake, and Hermione's heart sped up. Draco was about to snap, she could tell. She grabbed his forearm.
"Let's go."
Theo continued. "Your status is going down, and you know it. It doesn't help that you're shagging a Mudblood. I mean, I get that she's hot, but come on."
Hermione felt Draco tense, but she grabbed his arm tighter, keeping him close to her. She pulled on his arm with all her body weight, but it wasn't doing much. He didn't even seem to realize that she was there.
Only seconds later, they heard footsteps and turned to see Professor Slughorn waddling down the hallway. Hermione sighed in relief and let go of Draco's arm.
"What is all this noise!?" Slughorn cried. He pointed to Pansy and Theo. "Why are you two out of bed?"
Draco answered for them, his voice tight. "They were sneaking around when Hermione and I ran into them. They also used offensive language toward Hermione. Seeing as how this is the second time I've caught them out of bed after hours, I think you should handle their punishment."
"May I ask you to expain what you mean by 'offensive language'?"
Draco cleared his throat. "They called Hermione a Mudblood, sir."
Professor Slughorn looked outraged. "Really? That is unacceptable! You two will meet me in my office first thing in the morning. I will decide your punishment then. Get to bed now."
Theo glared at Draco, then left, Pansy following close behind. Professor Slughorn bid the Head Boy and Girl goodnight, and then disappeared around the corner.
When Draco and Hermione reached their Common Room, Hermione took Draco's hand, but he pulled away.
"Not now, Hermione."
"Don't worry about what Theo said, Draco. He was just trying to make you upset. You just-"
Draco turned on her. "Hermione, stop pretending like you know everything. You don't know anything about what Theo was doing, and you don't know anything about me."
He disappeared into his bedroom, leaving Hermione standing alone.