Definition of pleasure: "A state of feeling or being happy or satisfied." Really. Don't put too much stock into that word.
Hermione stumbled into Draco's room, having run the whole way. This was unfair. Why would he choose now of all times to decide that he wanted to summon her two hours early? He had to be able to read minds, he had to. Somehow he must have known that she wasn't miserable and have decided to rectify it.
He just couldn't stand when she wasn't unhappy, could he?
Poor Ron, she had left him rather abruptly when the summons went off with more intensity than usual. She had been so confused and overwhelmed with the urgency that she had hardly been able to say goodbye. He probably thought that it was the kissing that had her running away from him when nothing could be further from the truth.
"What's going on?" Draco immediately asked, barely waiting for Hermione to be inside, before he closed the door behind her.
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
He scowled. "Something's going on, I don't like it."
She gaped and then she lifted a finger accusingly at him. "You can read my mind! How else would you know!?"
"Don't be absurd," he scoffed. "If I could read your mind, why would I need to ask you what was going on? I'd know, wouldn't I?"
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "But you know something!"
"That's right," he said. "I do know something, and you're about to tell me the whole thing. Now."
She blushed. "It's sort of personal."
"I'll say," he mumbled, and then he frowned. "Is this thing working at all? I am ordering you to tell me!"
"I was with Ron," she gritted out.
"Oh." He wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Being with Weasley gave you the warm and fuzzy feelings? What did he do?"
Hermione closed her eyes in mortification. "He kissed me," she whispered.
Draco's eyes widened and then he glared at the ring on his finger. This definitely was wrong. There were some things he'd rather not be privy to and Granger's feelings of pleasure at being snogged by the Weasel were definitely among those things.
"Right," he said, clearing his throat. "You can't be doing that." He went to his chair and sat down.
Hermione's eyes flew open. "What?"
"You heard me," he said. "You won't be snogging Weasley while you're wearing that bracelet."
"But that's ridiculous!" she objected. "Do you really want me to be miserable that badly?"
Draco wearily rubbed his forehead. "As you guessed, Granger, I know more than I'd like to sometimes. It's quite nauseating to feel these things, so your lovesick Weasel will just have to wait."
"Feel…" Hermione mumbled, and then her eyes went wide. "It's my feelings! Of course, why didn't I see it before? You can sense my feelings, can't you? No wonder you're so good at making me miserable – you know just when you're doing it right!"
Draco rubbed his temple. "You're bloody annoying. Did you know that, Granger?"
"I'm also right, aren't I?" she asked with a triumphant grin. Then she frowned as she realized what she had just uncovered. "That's so intrusive of you!"
"Believe me, Granger, I wish I didn't know," he assured her. "You have so many bloody emotions that it's exhausting to keep up with."
"Then don't," she exclaimed. "I don't want you to! Can't you turn it off?"
He shook his head with a long-suffering sigh. "I wish I could, I really do."
She crossed her arms and huffed. "Some trinket this is turning out to be. Poor women that have had it forced on them by their husbands."
Draco scowled. "It seems to me that women are always complaining that men can't guess their feelings – I'd say this thing solves that."
Hermione snorted. "It's the principle of the matter. I have no privacy. You know if I'm angry, frustrated, happy or—" She broke off, her eyes widening and her face going beet red.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you knew when I was being kissed, didn't you?" she mumbled.
"Since it was made for wives, they weren't supposed to be kissed by other men," he pointed out.
"No," Hermione said, shifting a bit on the spot, "but there are… other… things…"
He looked at her, uncomprehending. Ruling out kissing definitely also ruled out any "other things" that sprang to his mind.
"Never mind!" Her eyes were practically round and she was shaking her head furiously. "Just a thought, never mind."
Now Draco was feeling really curious. "No, tell me," he said. "I'm dying to know what has you so embarrassed."
"You would be," she grumbled. "But what would you be doing without cold showers?"
He blinked and glared at the apparent change of subjects, but then something clicked and he shot out of his chair. "NONE of that, either!"
"You're telling me," she mumbled.
There was an awkward silence, where they both tried to digest the implications of this side-effect of the ring and bracelet.
"Dismissed," he finally choked and sat down to stare at his homework.
When he'd heard her leave, he ran his fingers through his hair and rested his forehead on the desk. He really didn't need these images that were currently running through his mind. And just why did she think he'd been taking a cold shower, anyway? He fervently hoped that she had no inkling of what had happened to him, how he'd felt, after he'd come back to find her sleeping in his bed that night.
The next day Draco had to be witness to a reconciled trio. It was nauseating. He was torn between wanting to try and tear them apart again and his own wish to avoid the despair from the ring. In the end, he decided that she could have her friends. If nothing else, her budding relationship with Weasley should discourage Theo.
Nevertheless, he found the time between classes to take her aside and tell her to please cut the moony eyes, because it was making him sick to his stomach. She stuck out her tongue at him, but, of course, she had to obey.
He also couldn't resist trying to rub the supposed relationship he had with Granger in Weasley's face with subtle looks and smirks. It was quite fun, really, and Weasley was looking murderous before lunch. Granger oddly enough seemed less angry and tried to soothe Weasley. Draco had to wonder why Weasley would want a girl, who was supposedly sleeping with another person – a person he hated, even – but he ended up just drawing a blank. He'd never understand Gryffindors.
"You're a prick, you know that?"
"Find a new song to sing, Granger, you're boring me."
Draco was half-heartedly trying to do some homework, while Hermione was inadvertently amusing him with her ranting.
"You didn't have to bait Ron all day!"
"No, I didn't have to, but I really wanted to."
"Ugh… You're such a prick."
"Again, you're boring me."
He was really anything but bored. Apparently, she had decided to wait with taking exception to how he was treating Ron until she could tear into him privately. It was highly entertaining. It was also slightly interesting how she acted completely different towards him when he had her on her own. He had yet to determine whether this was a good thing or not.
She narrowed her eyes. "You're doing it just to make me miserable, aren't you? But it won't work. Ron and I have an understanding, there's nothing you can do to tear us apart!"
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"
Hermione blanched slightly and he had to hide a grin. He really had no interest in tearing them apart anymore, but, of course, he wasn't about to let her know that.
"You're really enjoying this!" she accused, making him straighten a bit and glance at her. "You just love playing God with my life, don't you?"
Oh, just that. He shrugged. "Of course I do, Granger. Who wouldn't?"
She crossed her arms, looking really stubborn. "Well, you can have your fun," she grumbled. "I don't care."
"Of course you care," he contradicted her. "That's what makes it fun."
She looked at him suspiciously. "You're talkative today," she observed.
Draco leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as well. "You're the one that keeps talking, Granger."
"Yes, but you haven't told me to shut up!" She was challenging him with her gaze.
He grimaced slightly, trying to find a reply for that. "You're somewhat more entertaining than homework today," he finally said.
Hermione tilted her head slightly. "You're always doing homework. Nobody else does that much homework. Well, except me."
"Thanks for the reminder," he mumbled.
"Are you trying to beat me?" she asked. "Because, you know, you can't."
He scowled a bit. "Not everything is about you, Granger."
"Then why?"
"Why do you care?" he asked.
"I'm curious," she replied, stating the obvious. "You seem to be turning in more essays than anyone. Why?"
He rolled his eyes. "Maybe, if you had bothered to think about it, an answer would have come to you."
"Yes, well, maybe. But it's much easier to just ask you."
"I don't feel like having a heart-to-heart with you," he scoffed.
Hermione scrunched up her face. "If you tell me," she slowly said. "I'll tell Nott that you're treating me well when I see him tomorrow."
Draco stared incredulously at her. "I can just order you to do that!"
"Yes…" she conceded. "But you hadn't thought of it!"
"Well, now I have. You will tell Theo that I'm treating you well… if he asks. No need to bring it up if he doesn't."
She stuck out her tongue at him. This seemed to be a new habit of hers. "I'll think of something else," she said.
He just raised an eyebrow at her again.
"Oh, come on!" She all but stomped her foot. "Just tell me already. I won't tell anyone."
"Why would I tell you my secrets?" he asked. "The last thing I need is for you to have something on me."
"I wouldn't use it against you," Hermione immediately said. "I promise. On my honor. And how could I, anyway? It's just homework; the worst case scenario is that you're failing your classes or…" Her voice trailed off as he tensed.
Draco stared straight ahead and she shifted uncomfortably.
"You're failing your classes?" she quietly asked. "How can that be?"
For several seconds, she didn't think he'd answer. "I lost a year, Granger," he finally said. "I didn't care about school at all last year, because I was… thinking of other things." She remained quiet, not sure what to say and after a few seconds he actually went on. "It was a struggle to have them let me advance at all. You didn't wonder what happened to Crabbe and Goyle? Why they are in none of your classes, even though they're still somewhat around? They failed the test that I only just passed and they're doing sixth year again."
"Oh…" Hermione didn't really know how to respond to this. "But if you passed, why do you have to do all this extra work?"
"It was a condition they set. I have to learn everything from last year in order to ever be able to pass my NEWTs. Satisfied now?" He turned away from her, intent on ignoring her and getting on with his never-ending assignments.
"I could help you," she quietly offered.
He stiffened. "I don't need your help!" he harshly said. "I don't need your condescension. I'm not stupid. I might not be at the top of our class, but I lost a whole year, so I think I'm doing decently."
"I don't think you're stupid," Hermione objected. "I mean…" she hesitated as he glared at her, but then she stubbornly lifted her chin. "You put a lot of effort into tormenting me, and you can be quite brilliant in your own sick and twisted way. If you were to apply that to your studies you might almost do as well as me."
He scowled at her, not deigning to answer.
Why was she complimenting him, anyway? It upset his world as he knew it and he didn't like it.
"Dismissed," he grumbled. "Your blabbering is distracting me."
Hermione let herself into the Heads' office while marveling at how easy today had been. She had so far had both breakfast and lunch and she'd been allowed to attend all of her classes without any funny business. Now it looked like she was even going to have her meeting with Nott without any interruptions.
She was almost worried that Malfoy had fallen seriously ill.
"What's so funny?"
She looked up to find Nott watching her quizzically.
"Um, nothing," she replied. "I'm just in a good mood today."
"So, how is Malfoy treating you?"
You will tell Theo that I'm treating you well if he asks.
Hermione pursed her lips. "He's treating me well. Exemplary, even. Like a queen. No, wait, better than that, I'm sure."
"Ah," Nott said with an amused glint in his eyes. "I can see that he anticipated me asking. I'm glad you seem to have found your humor, though."
"He's not been bad lately," Hermione conceded. "I think he might be feeling unwell."
Nott smiled and Hermione couldn't help but giggle a little. Today was such a pleasantly normal day.
"I haven't really seen you all week," Nott said. "It's quite odd considering that I have been keeping an eye out for you."
"Hmm, yes, isn't it?" Hermione said, hoping Nott would figure out the reason. She was, of course, still under the order to avoid him outside of meetings, and she wasn't allowed to tell him about it.
"I suspect that Draco might have something to do with that," Nott said. "But you can't tell me, can you?"
"Nope," Hermione said with a grin.
"Why are you laughing this time?"
"Because you're so smart!" she said. "I don't know why you're friends with people like Malfoy. You're almost normal, only, you know, smart in an almost creepy omniscient way."
Nott's eyes widened a fraction. "Creepy…" he mumbled. "That wasn't exactly what I was hoping to hear…"
Hermione covered her mouth with one hand as she realized how he'd taken it. "I didn't mean it like that," she hurried to reassure him. "It's just… you always seem to know everything."
"Yes, that is the meaning of omniscient," he murmured. Hermione wasn't sure since Nott so rarely gave his feelings away, but she thought he looked slightly hurt.
That had not been her intention. He was, after all, a most rare and important ally. A friend, even. She winced.
He smiled slightly. "Don't fret, Granger, I'm not that easily offended."
She wasn't so sure that that was the truth, but she decided to let it slide. She didn't really know what else to do.
"So, what do I have to do?" she ventured.
"Nothing," he quietly said. "I figured that Draco might want to interfere, so, I hope you don't mind, but I sought out Patil, telling her that you needed some time off, and she's been helping me with the schedules and counseling of students. That is part of the reason why I tried to get a word with you this past week."
"Oh." She leaned against the conference table. "Then there's really no need to have this meeting and I should go to the dungeons…"
"No, please stay a while," he said, walking over to her. "I'm not likely to see you outside of our meetings, am I?"
She shook her head.
"It'll be over soon," he softly said as he reached her. "Just keep holding your head high and it'll be done in no time."
She smiled faintly. He made it all sound so easy.
She looked up and her heart skipped a beat, her lips parting in surprise, to find him standing so close.
What was this?
Next chapter:
Hermione's eyes widened and her head whipped around to see Malfoy leaning against the doorframe. She was mortified at the thought of what he'd seen, but as his sardonic gaze fell on her, she was even more mortified to remember that he knew all of her feelings. He knew exactly what she had just felt.
She hid her flaming face in her hands.
