Chapter 18: The bite of a snake

Capitulo XVIII: La mordedura de una serpiente

Hermione took off her shoes and sat down on her scarlet covered bed, with the Arithmancy book in her hands. After helping Ben in the library, she had moved to her room so she would be able to study a little, taking advantage of the fact that Parvati and Lavender were not there; it was just her and Crookshanks, resting over by the window.

-Hello Hermione –Parvati greeted as she entered the room, followed by her friend Lavender, or Ron's siamese, as everyone in Gryffindor called her.

-Umm… hello girls – she answered without moving her eyes from the book. Lavender smiled at her friend and motioned to her, and even though Parvati didn't seem convinced, both of them approached Hermione and sat down on each side of her. The girl barely noticed them until Lavender took the book from her hands, closed it and put it on the table.

-You study too much Hermione – said Lavender with and indulgent smile, as though she had just done her a favour – lately, we barely see you, right Vati?

Hermione watched Parvati, who now was Vati, and the girl nodded uncertainly.

-Well, that's not true at all –Hermione pointed out– you see me here all the time, in the Common Room, in class and at meals too.

Parvati let out a giggle that she quickly hid when she saw Lavender's glare. Then, with a sigh, she turned to Hermione.

-I see that we are not in a talking mood – she said reproachfully, and Hermione wondered why she used "we" when she clearly wanted to talk – but what Vati and I meant, was that apart from that, we barely see you. You are always wandering… with Ben – Lavender looked at her in a way that reminded Hermione of Rita Skeeter when she felt she was about to get the scoop, so she decided not to cooperate.

-Yes – she replied flatly.

-Well; and how is it going? – asked Lavender impatiently.

Hermione watched her for a while, thinking about how to answer her. Truly she wasn't sure. The last two weeks had been nice and calm thanks to Ben. Every day when they both had free hours, Ben went looking for her at the end of classes or in the halls, and they went for a walk around the grounds, to the lake or to the library. They talked a lot, studied together and once in a while, Ben kissed her. He never asked for explanations if one day she preferred to study alone, to be with her friends or if she had no time to see him, he never challenged her or yelled at her. In fact, Hermione had the feeling that sometimes he didn't even listen to what she was saying, as if he was too dazed watching her, to listen. Sometimes, she felt unsatisfied and frustrated because of the emptiness she felt deep in her heart and she would contradict him on purpose, hoping to get a reaction from him. But Ben never got angry or pissed, he never wanted to argue with her about anything. He was always understanding, even when Hermione, seized with nerves, was sharp or rude to him. He jest ended up annoying her further, although it was just because he made to much noise when turning the page.

Sometimes, it was nice that he was so kind and understanding with her, that he never demanded anything, but some other times it was just exasperating. It was frustrating to want to have an innocent argument to relieve tensions, as she did with Ron, and not be able to. But in fact, what she really liked were the discussions in which she had to use all her wit and shrewdness like she had to do with Malfoy…

And besides all that, theirs was not a passionate relationship, at least for Hermione. It was an innocent relationship, healthy and sweet, and even though she hadn't expected it… she wanted something more. She wanted to feel the fire that Malfoy had awoken in her… the fire that until then she didn't know she had hidden inside. It was all Malfoy's fault. Before he had kissed her, she had been unaware that she could feel that, so she hadn't yearned for it… but now everything was different.

As pleasant as Ben's kisses were, he couldn't make her feel with a thousand kisses what Malfoy did with one. Because of that, she was not sure if she was doing things right. On the one hand the emptiness and frustrated yearning made her bitter, but on the other hand, it had been a long time since she had something stable and serene in her life, something she had longed for before, but now found... a little bit… boring. There were no news from Lord Voldemort, the magic world was calm, Hogwarts was anything but normal and… Draco Malfoy had stopped bothering her.

In fact, since the day that he surprised her in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with Ben, he had taken a new attitude that she couldn't understand and that puzzled her much more than anything that he had done before. He no longer meddled with her and to be honest not with Harry or Ron either, but perhaps most surprisingly of all; not even with Dewey. When he saw her, he ignored her completely; without even a glare and he had stopped going to the library as well. And for Hermione, she didn't know what to say. It could be thought that he was ignoring her, but she felt it wasn't like that. She could feel his eyes on her all the time, even before looking at him to be sure and when she caught him looking, he didn't look away. Strangest of all was the way he looked at her; It was not superiority, neither disgust nor dislike.

More like he was contemplating her, he was looking at her without rest as if he was hoping to find an answer. Some other times, there was a translucent shine in his eyes that made him look thoughtful, as if planning and thinking carefully about something. But Hermione saw something else in his eyes that she couldn't define and that scared her the most. He had never looked at her that way, but she knew other people had. There was something in his eyes that she could not decipher.

-Mione? Are you there?

Lavender's voice brought her out of her thoughts and also appalled her… Mione? Why had she the habit of giving pet names to everyone?

-Yes I'm here – she answered angrily – I was just thinking…

-About Ben? – asked Lavender with a radiant smile – I understand you – she patted her arm – it happened to me too when I first started dating Won-Won, in fact, it still happens… I get absentminded thinking of him…

Hermione forced a smile although she felt uncomfortable, and judging by Parvati's, so was she.

-You look good together – pushed Lavender.

Hermione looked at her, trying to stay calm. She knew Lavender was expecting some kind of confession of love confession from her, but she was not that kind of girl, as much as Parvati, and most of all, Lavender thought it was unbearable.

-Well, we are – she answered dryly, picking up her book and continuing to read from where she had left off before Lavender's interruption. The latter watched Parvati, pointed to Hermione and then to her temple as if to declare the girl was crazy and sighing, went to her bed.

***

Draco raised his gaze from his plate full of ribs and potatoes when he saw his family´s owl flying between a hundred birds with a package hanging

below it. It let it fall gently on the table where luckily there was no clutter and then disappeared. Without picking up the package, Draco had already recognized it.

-A broom? – asked a surprised Pansy while the platinum blonde opened the package, reveling a new and shiny broom, with black handle. At the top of it you could read, in silver letters "Nimbus 2006".

-What happened to your Nimbus 2001? – asked Zabini suspiciously.

Draco shrugged and watched him coldly. Lately, Zabini was asking a lot of questions and he had even dared to contradict him. He knew that since that Defense Against the Dark Arts class when he had yelled at him that Granger was his, he mistrusted him and was keeping an eye on him, trying to find out what he was into. Draco didn´t care, because it didn´t matter how many clues he gave, Zabini could never be able to imagine that he had a crush on a mudblood, on that mudblood in particular.

-I decided to change it – he answered, and he could feel Pansy watching him out of the corner of her eyes, worried.

She too had noticed the changes that had happened to him, and she didn´t know how to react. He ignored her more than usual, he gotangry if she asked a question like; what was he thinking when she noticed that he was distracted and he rejected any attempt at interaction between them. It seemed that he had lost all interest in her, and Pansy didn´t know what to do to get it back. She had been searching for any clues that he had been having an affair with Emergande Borgin, Lavinia Burke or Lorraine Belford again, but she had found that he was barely in touch with them.

Pansy hated them but she wasn´t especially worried. She knew she couldn't demand anything from Draco and even though she hated that he could have something to do with another girl, she had no right to complain. If she wanted to have something from him, she should be silent and available; it was always the same thing. But Pansy comforted herself thinking that no matter how many "affairs" he had, he always came back to her sooner or later, and that made her feel special and aboveanyone else. That´s why she couldn´t handle not knowing against who or what she was fighting this time.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione Granger stood up and left the hall quickly and she seemed nervous. She was alone.

Whithout another word, Draco stood up with his new broom in hand and went out behind her. He knew Pansy, Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle would think he was going to take the broom to the dungeons and if not, he didn´t care. He didn´t want to waste the opportunity to meet Granger alone. An opportunity that for the last two and a half weeks he hadn't been able to find because of stupid Dewey spending all of his free time following her, with her.

Without being aware of it, he increased the pressure around the broom and left the hall quickly. He saw Hermione climbing the stairs on the left, probably heading to her tower, and silently he followed her. When he reached the middle of the stairs he stopped, took out his wand and conjured a non-verbal spell to send his broom to the dungeons. Then, Draco continued to follow the Gryffindor' steps. He waited for her to turn right so they would be away from prying eyes and he could make his presence known to her. When Hermione turned to him, she half-opened her lips in surprise and twisted the sleeves of her robes nervously.

-Malfoy… - she murmured – what do you want?

Draco didn´t answer, he just inclined his head and shrugged lightly. Hermioen waited in the tense silence for a few seconds, but, realizing that the Slytherin wasn´t going to answer, she decided to leave.

-Well – she said, and turned around to leave. But she had not taken a step when she felt the snake's arm grabbing her wrist and turning her fiercely. They were very close, their robes touching and Malfoy's hand bringing her to him. She had to pull her head back to watch him and she felt a shudder inside her when she saw those icy eyes fixed on her, with a dangerous glint.

The air was thick and it was difficult to breathe; she could hear their breathing and her heart's hammering, and pressing her lips together she prayed that he couldn't feel it.

-Tell me Hermione…-he whispered slowly, his voice sounding hoarse – do you think of me when Dewey kisses you?

Hermione watched him in surprise, the Slytherin's left hand burning warmth on her skin. When Ben held her hand, she felt nothing special. But she didn't think of Malfoy when he kissed her… well at least not consciously. That truth made her angry and curse herself for the hundredth time, because she had fallen for Draco Malfoy, and she hadn't made any progress in getting him out of her head though she was with someone else.

-Let me go – she demanded while struggling to get free.

-You don't answer Granger? – asked Draco smirking, without loosening his grip – are you afraid?

-If you don't answer my questions, neither will I – replied the girl trying unsuccessfully to release herself from his grasp.

-You disappoint me bookworm, it must be the first time that someone asks you something and you don't dare to answer – he sneered.

-It's because it's the first time someone has asked something rather stupid – she retaliated.

Draco tightened his hold of the girl's wrist, she stopped her attempts to escape and concentrated her efforts on not groaning. When the Slytherin looked at her, he saw nothing and heard nothing, which made him angrier.

-I'll tell you what I think Granger – he murmured coldly – I think it was me you were talking of being in love with in that letter for Krum, not that stupid Dewey, as much as you try to convince people with that happy, clingy thing of yours – he spit with a sneer.

-And what I think Malfoy – she answered, raising her chin – is that all of this seems to matter a lot to you.

-Don't be silly Granger – Draco raised an eyebrow with superiority – I'm just curious… - he added in a threatening tone and Hermione realized with alarm that his eyes were shining aggressively. His body language had changed; first he had just imposed himself, now he was getting nearer.

A pale and long hand slipped around her back reaching her hip, making her hair stand on end. Without her realizing it, the Slytherin's face was very close to hers, and when she felt Malfoy's gaze on her lips, they started to burn, getting tender with expectation and desire.

-You said you wouldn't kiss me again Granger – he mumbled, so close to her mouth that the girl's lips tingled and she licked them nervously. Draco followed the swift caress of the girls tongue, wetting her lower lip – but, what if I'm the one who kisses you, what will you do?

Many things crossed her mind before their mouths touched. She couldn't kiss him, she had sworn that she would never do it again, that she wasn't interested in him, but when Draco covered her with his mouth, she surrendered completely to the caress with an anxiety she had never imagined.

Ben. There was Ben. She was with Ben. She couldn´t do this to him. But her mind worked slowly, connecting her thoughts with lazily, until the extinguished by the strength of her feelings. Draco tilted his head to hers and deepened the kiss, bringing her closer to him. Hermione grabbed his robes, to maintain her balance, because she was feeling dizzy, everything around her moved and also inside her.

Draco knew she was losing control, he could feel it in her mouth, as if the girl was drinking him in, absorbing him. His mind was unable to form any coherent thoughts, only to feel the sensations, but he still had some sense. And he must end that kiss soon, or he was not going to be able to do it.

Slowly he separated from the girl´s mouth and though he knew he must put distance between them, he couldn´t resist the temptation of kissing the delicate skin of her neck. He felt the girl's pulse in her throat and he kissed her just there, and then, he slid his lips to the union between her neck and shoulder. Hermione groaned with pleasure and her fingers contorted against the robes of the Slytherin when he bit her neck.

The girl slowly realized that he had separated from her and that he was watching her deeply, with his eyes half-closed and shining.

-No one forgets the bite of a snake… continue with your show with Dewey, we both know to whom you belong Granger – sneered the blonde. He watched her briefly and then left, confident and arrogant, as always.

I'm so sorry that I was so late! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Thanks to my beta Mystik! Love you girl!

Let me know what you think! Review!

Kisses,

Lola ^^