Disclaimer: (Oops I think I forgot this on Chapter One but you won't tell guys, right?) As always, I don't own these characters!
Draco paused in his storytelling, staring at his plate of appetizers as though it held the secrets of the universe. He finally looked up when Hermione gently rubbed his shoulder. "It's okay Draco. Everything is better now."
The Slytherin shook his head and smiled at everyone. "As usual you are right, Granger," he teased. "But I should probably keep on with this story or they'll never hear the really important parts."
"Wait!" Ron called out. "You make it seem like you had nothing but we all knew you at school. You had everything. Deliveries of sweets for no reason, the latest broomstick, fancy robes."
"That was just for show, the public had to see that the Malfoy name still meant power and wealth. But at home everything I had depended on my father. I still had the fancy clothes of course but I didn't really want them. What young wizard would want to wear fancy high necked dress robes every day of his holidays just in case someone important happened to show up unannounced?" Draco scoffed.
"And I fully admit that I was a complete arse during pretty much all of our school days. But every time my parents sent me sweets or something they were always accompanied by a note from my father. He threatened me with Unforgivables and disownment if I didn't assert myself as a superior member of the Malfoy family. And yes there were many times I relished the thought of losing the Malfoy name but I couldn't do that to my mother. It would have broken her heart."
Draco's gaze got all far away again. "I tried to behave as my father would have wanted, which meant not paying attention to Hermione unless I was besting her. But that all changed in third year."
Draco staggered back and stared at the girl in front of him. He watched her mouth move and knew she was yelling but his mind was buzzing and he couldn't hear a word.
She slapped me! A Muggleborn touched my skin and it feels no different than when Father hits me. He felt his world shatter around him at the realization that Granger's touch did him no more harm than the touch of a Pureblood. His Father had lied to him.
He snapped out of it when she pulled out her wand and he instinctively stepped back. "Come on," he muttered to his friends.
When they were safely away from the livid Gryffindors Draco raised an eyebrow and stared at Crabbe and Goyle. "No one is to know that the Mudblood dared lay a hand on me. You are dismissed. I wish to be alone." He turned around, not bothering to get the assurance of his friends. He knew without a doubt that they would do whatever he asked of them.
He wandered through the halls of the school, not bothering to head towards his next class. He had far too much on his mind to listen to Professor Binns drone on about history.
As he wandered he thought back to all the things his father had told him about Mudbloods. That they weren't good enough to go to Hogwarts. That a Pureblood's skin was so pure that the touch of a Mudblood left it marred. That a Mudblood would never stand up to a Pureblood without dire consequences.
But Hermione Granger turned all of Lucius's rules upside down. She excelled at her schoolwork, continuing to beat him out for first place in all their classes. Her palm had felt warm on his cheek but hadn't hurt more than a slap from anyone else would have. She had stood up to him and instead of making him upset it had made him want to know her. No one else had ever stood up to him the way she had.
For the next year Draco watched Hermione to compare her to Lucius's idea of a Mudblood. But nothing matched what he'd been taught about the so-called inferior type of witch or wizard. She was intelligent and skilled with her magic. She was self assured but not conceited. Whenever he heard her speak she gave him something new to think about.
It wasn't until Fourth Year that Draco did anything about it.
Draco sighed in relief as he rounded the corner out of the Great Hall, leaving Pansy to dance with one of the students from Durmstrang. He'd been trying to pawn her off all night but she'd refused to let him out of her sight until he'd purposefully stepped on her toes enough times that she'd had to charm them clean.
When he neared the Grand Staircase on the way back to the Slytherin dorms he heard it. A huffy sniveling noise that piqued his interest enough that he slowed down to see who it was without bothering them.
Draco peered around the banister and sucked in a deep breath when he saw that it was Hermione Granger crying on the stairs. Her shoes were kicked off, her hair was mussed, her face was red, and she kept sniffling. But in that moment Draco Malfoy decided that Hermione was the most alluring thing he'd ever seen.
In Slytherin House crying was something that should never happen because it showed weakness. Girls he knew would whine and sniffle to get what they wanted but they'd never let it make their face unattractive. It was clear that Hermione didn't care about any of that. Not how she looked, not about being judged or caught. Somehow she was sobbing on the stairs and she still looked powerful.
Draco took a tentative step forward, about to tell her just that, when his snarky tendencies took over. "Merlin Granger. You look ugly when you cry."
Hermione's head shot up and she quickly pulled her wand out of the depths of her dress robes. Almost as soon as she had it pointed at him she lowered it with a confused expression on her face. "Wait! If you think I look ugly when I cry then does that mean I don't look ugly when I'm not crying?"
Draco quickly worked through the convoluted mess of a question she had just asked. "Uh yeah I guess. If that's what keeps you from hexing me." He relaxed against the banister. "What are you doing moping out here? Shouldn't you be in there dancing and getting all handsy with Krum? I mean he is famous and all that."
Hermione snorted and relaxed into the stairs. "What does it matter to you? Or are you hoping I change allegiance and start helping Viktor instead of Harry?"
"I don't really care which of them you help. I just wondered why such a strong witch was out here crying when she could be in the Great Hall dancing."
"I thought Mudbloods couldn't possibly be considered strong witches. I thought we were barely even witches at all."
Draco shrugged. "Maybe I've learned that my father's views are a little skewed."
Hermione slowly stood up to face him, disbelief clear on her features. "And what exactly could have possibly changed years of anti-Muggle and Muggleborn sentiments?"
"You."
Hermione and Draco both froze as though the roof would suddenly cave in at his admission.
Before Hermione could scoff Draco tried to organize his thoughts so he could express them better. "Yes I've been raised under the pretense that Muggles and Muggleborns are inferior and I believed that for the longest time. But you have changed all that. You defy every one of my father's stereotypes. It kind of left an impression."
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the blonde. "If I've somehow changed you, then why are you still such an arse all the time?"
"If I showed sympathy towards you it would immediately be reported back to my father. He'd punish me for showing weakness and he'd punish you too if he got a chance. So don't take any further insults too personally, okay?" He slowly turned to leave.
Hermione bit her lip as she watched him disappear around the corner. The whole encounter had thrown her off and she suddenly desperately wanted to find the boy and make sure it hadn't all been a trick.
She clutched her wand with one hand and hiked up her robes with the other, leaving her strappy heels on the stairs. Draco was more than halfway down the hall to the dungeons when she finally caught up with him.
"You can't just say something like that and walk away Malfoy!" she hissed. When he turned around she took one more step forward and then some force took hold of her and she was flung into his arms.
Draco instinctively caught her but dropped his hands the second she was standing on her feet. "Whoa there Granger. I didn't tell you all that in hopes you'd try and shag me in the halls."
"I am not trying to shag you!" Hermione huffed in indignation. She tried to take a step back but some force prevented her from doing so. "I just can't seem to get away from you."
"I'm irresistible. Tell me something I don't know." Draco didn't even attempt to stop the huge smirk that crossed his face.
"That's not my problem! This is!" She hit him in the chest hard enough to knock him back a few steps only it didn't quite work. Draco stumbled back one step, then two, and then he was flung right back towards the witch.
"What in the hell is going on?" Draco yelled.
"We must have triggered some kind of enchantment or curse. Look around, there has to be something that we passed that set it off."
Hermione strained her neck to try and look without having the enchantment force her back towards Draco again. They were practically touching anyways, the magical magnetism just threw them off balance enough that they instinctively held onto one another to keep from falling. Holding Draco was an odd sensation that she felt she shouldn't keep repeating.
"This is ridiculous," Draco huffed. "Even if there is some mysterious item that triggered this it will be nearly impossible to find it since we can't move!"
Hermione was staring up at the ceiling, trying to focus so hard that she barely heard the Slytherin's complaints. "Shut up Malfoy, I think I found it."
Draco scowled at her and then followed her gaze up to the ceiling. "Is that mistletoe?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes I am pretty certain that it is and that worries me. I can only guess as to how we're going to have to get out of this enchantment."
After a few seconds of silence they finally looked into each other's eyes. Hermione was surprised at the emotions she saw cross Draco's face. Confusion, understanding and finally a wary look of resolve.
"Do you really think the only way out of this enchantment is for us to kiss?" Draco finally asked after a few tense seconds of first staring at Hermione and then the plant hanging above them.
Hermione bit her lip as she concentrated. "Technically there should have to be another way but it could take hours to figure out a way around it. And by then someone will have probably started to look for us."
Draco sighed. "I bet this was Dumbledore's doing. He'd get a kick out of random couples being forced to kiss one another in order to be released."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know the Headmaster likes his tricks but I doubt this is one of them. What if a student got stuck with a teacher? No, I think it's more likely to be a prank set up by the Weasley twins."
Draco took a deep breath. "Maybe I should send them a thank you," he smirked. "Otherwise I wouldn't get the chance to make a move on the prettiest witch in school."
Hermione squeaked in surprise but Draco's mouth descended on hers before she could form a response. The kiss was surprising sweet. He used just the right amount of pressure and didn't try to force his tongue into her mouth. By the time he pulled away Hermione was practically clutching his shoulders, afraid she'd fall down because of the weakness in her knees.
"What was that Malfoy?" she sputtered once she'd finally caught her breath.
"A kiss Granger. Merlin, I thought you were supposed to be smart." Draco smiled only allowing a touch of the Malfoy smirk to grace his features. He leaned forward so he could whisper in her ear. "I could tell you were tense. I thought it would be easier if I threw you off. Calling you pretty certainly accomplished that."
"So that was just a lie to calm me down." Hermione slowly pulled her arms back from around Draco's shoulders. Her mind raced through dozens of different emotions until it landed on disappointment.
"Actually I didn't make that up. I just knew it would surprise you if I admitted it." Draco adjusted his dress robes. "If I do or say anything bad about you or your friends the rest of this year… well just know I don't really mean it, okay Hermione?"
And then he was gone leaving Hermione alone in the corridor. As she walked back to the staircase to retrieve her shoes she couldn't help but trace her lips with her fingertips. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought Draco Malfoy would be the first person she'd ever kiss.