Disclaimer: All belongs to JKR
Power in All its Glory
Chapter 20: Following Along
Draco wandered through the darkened hallway. Sneaking around had become routine for him. It was actually quite easy to slip away. He was a Slytherin, after all.
He focused on reaching his goal. All he needed was a few minutes alone with Sibyll to explain the mix up. Everyone assumed the rumors about him and Granger were true. How was that possible? It wasn't as if he even liked the Gryffindor … or any Gryffindor for that matter. They would all be surprised if they knew the truth.
He paused, listening to his footsteps resound through the deserted hallway. Something was wrong. He was always careful never to make a sound; especially not footsteps.
Someone was following him.
Probably Pansy.
Damn that girl!
She was going to ruin his chance to talk to Sibyll. He was really starting to get annoyed. Why couldn't everyone just leave him alone?
Draco walked a little faster and then slipped behind a statue. He knew his follower wouldn't be able to see him since it was so dark. He waited for the unfortunate person to move past. He didn't have long to wait. A quiet rustle warned him that something was beside him, and he made his move.
He quickly positioned himself behind the hooded figure. Of course, he could have just hexed the intruder, but he decided, for the moment to be cautious. At this point, he didn't know if it was a professor or a student.
Probably a student.
The figure was small and the movement indicated a female. His suspicion that it was Pansy grew stronger. She was terrible at this; a disgrace to her house.
She needed to learn a lesson, and this would be a perfect time to do it!
He raised his wand silently, ready to whisper the necessary hex when the figure suddenly turned.
"Expelliarmus," a soft confident voice whispered.
Definitely not Pansy, he reflected as his wand flew out of his hand. She had been too quick. There was only one person it could have been.
Granger!
Her hood fell away, revealing the familiar bushy brown hair and a smirk.
His eyes narrowed menacingly.
"Why are you following me, Mudblood?"
"You should really watch your tone, Malfoy. After all I have a wand and you do not."
"I will repeat my question. Why are you following me?" He was really tired of everyone getting into his business.
Hermione hesitated. She didn't know who to trust anymore. There was definitely no reason to trust a Slytherin. This thought reminded her of Severus. She pushed it away again.
She needed to get Malfoy to talk, without revealing anything about her own predicament.
Her silence intrigued him. The blond wizard decided it was time to change tactics. He smiled wickedly at her.
"Or is it just that you can't resist the Malfoy charm?"
"Oh, get over yourself, Malfoy! Not everyone is after your body."
"You would be surprised, Granger," he said suggestively. "Maybe you would like to see what all the fuss is about."
"What?" she exclaimed. "You have got to be joking. First of all, you hate Mudbloods!"
He looked a little sheepish at that.
"Actually," he admitted. "Most of that is just a show to keep everyone, including my father, off my back."
"Really?" Hermione said sarcastically. She gave him a skeptical look. "So you really are this nice guy who is just misunderstood."
"Don't push it, Granger."
Hermione found this new Draco slightly disarming, which she suspected was his purpose.
"What are you after, Malfoy?"
"If I remember correctly, I asked you a question first."
"Fine," Hermione agreed. She realized if she was going to get any information from him, she was going to have to give a little in return.
"I think we need to share information," she said quietly, moving closer to him in a conspiratorial manner.
Curious, Draco leaned toward her.
"What information do you have that would be of use to me?" he asked.
"If I tell you," she said. "Will you tell me where you are going?"
"Perhaps," he replied.
Their heads were almost touching and neither of them noticed the person moving toward them.
The sight of Hermione and Draco whispering secretly to each other incensed the approaching figure.
"Aha! I caught you!" Pansy moved out of the shadows to confront the pair.
They both turned toward her with the same annoyed expression on their faces.
"Not now, Pansy," Draco said dismissively as he rolled his eyes.
"You can't deny it now!" she exclaimed, excitedly.
"Believe what you want to believe," Draco said in a bored tone. "I don't really care. Just leave us alone."
"But I found you! Together! You can't lie to me any longer!" Pansy wailed, accusingly.
"Oh, bloody hell, make it stop!" he pleaded to no one in particular.
"You and … Her! Draco, how could you!"
He realized then that she was just getting started. Next would come the whining and then the tantrums. He just couldn't take it anymore.
He was tired of Pansy. He was tired of her following him, accusing him, and whining at him. Without a thought to what his father would say, he exclaimed, "Right, Pansy. You caught us. Well done. There is no point in hiding it anymore!" He was starting to rant now. "The whole world needs to know!" he exclaimed. "The Mudblood and I are shagging like bunnies!"
The look on Pansy's face was hysterical but Hermione's giggles were silenced by a menacing voice from behind them.
"Indeed."
