She says, I don't take her seriously
And I don't, so I guess I'd have to agree
I didn't mean that; I really mean that
I know, she gets mad at me all the time
But that's fine, I don't let it ruin my night
I didn't mean that; I really mean that
I watch what I say, say what I should
Something you said I misunderstood
I'll figure it out as soon as I figure it out
- Figure it Out, Plain White T's
"Ey, Malfoy! Who's your partner?"
Nott is calling me obnoxiously across the common room. Ugh, all everybody is talking about these days is who is pairing up with whom. Who's your partner?, Who's your partner? Who's your goddamn partner! It seems that the fifth and sixth years were also assigned a partner project, and nobody can shut up about whether they are excited or disappointed with their chosen cohort.
Not that I'm unhappy with this decision among my peers. Thankfully, nobody seems to be talking about what happened in Hogsmeade, though that may be because it was mostly townspeople and few students who saw what happened. I'm sure the Gryffindor's are hush-hush if they do talk about it, considering Potter and Thomas would tell them off for mentioning it. And in any case, they'd probably be scared that Weasel might have a fit and smack them upside the head.
I, at the current moment, am preoccupied with a little piece of parchment.
"Malfoy,
We need to discuss our first meeting date, preferably alone, I think you'll agree. Tonight I will be busy with charms homework, so meet me tomorrow in Section B of the library during dinner, 7Pm,…please. If not, well then I guess we'll either have to owl each other or talk during Music, but I hope you can be an adult about this,
H."
Granger just sidles up to me yesterday after Music, catches my gaze for mere seconds and drops this little note in my hand before striding away as if nothing happened. What the fuck.
She wants me alone, she specifically said 'alone'. But why? Why must she keep creating situations which I could potentially become aroused. Seriously. It's becoming a problem. I've found myself…thinking about her. Thinking about her when I should be studying. Or sleeping. Or … bathing.
It doesn't help that she has no idea she has this effect on me, not as if I'm going to tell her. If she knew she'd probably get freaked out being the prude she is, and leave me the hell alone. That might be a good thing though, right?
Damn it all to hell, i'm immersed too deep to stop this now! This is such an intimate form of communication, this letter….girls are crazy.
Nott, having realized that I will ignore him until he comes and talks to me properly, is sauntering over here, so I quickly shove the note in my trousers' pocket.
"Malfoy," he says as he sits next to me. I turn to simply look at him, acknowledging his presence. "So who'd ya get?"
I sigh loudly and give him a piercing look that says I don't want to discuss it.
"Oh come on, Malfoy. You used to tell everyone everything! Used to be hilariously evil, and now all you do is sit around with a constipated expression like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Why don't you tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help? Otherwise, liven up a bit!"
Nott really has a way with words, doesn't he? Obviously with such eloquent speaking I am going to open up to him with all my problems…
He's not going to leave me alone, is he?
"Fine, who did you get?" I question in a mocking tone, though Nott misses the imitation.
"Nobody good," he says with a sudden fearful expression. "I'm going to die!"
Hm, now I'm curious. And Nott is a git.
"Okay, so you berate me for not being 'myself' anymore, and yet you won't return the favour of informing me of your partner? You only want to hear what you want to know, you bastard," I say viciously, and Nott smiles faintly.
"There you go, classic Malfoy. And it's embarrassing who I got…." He trails off.
"Oh Merlin, Nott, just tell me. Remember, I am your superior," I drawl, putting a hand ridiculously to my chest and raising my head up.
Nott laughs, "You mean you were my superior. And yeah, as if that ever convinced me before. Don't be quick to forget I never joined your stupid exclusive group because I didn't need to. I had a reputable father, in Slytherin terms at least, just as you did, only my father didn't run scared. The Malfoy's are garbage now," he says bitingly, and I raise my eyebrows. I guess the boy can insult. All this time I thought he was just a doof, like Weasley.
"Very good, Nott. You made a good comeback for once, your family must be so proud," I say a bit more angrily than I mean to.
He looks a bit taken aback, but I continue, "Anyways, if you share your information on who you received, than maybe, just maybe, I will tell you who I got." He looks unconvinced.
"It's very in-ter-est-ing!" I draw out, and he tilts his head to the side.
"I don't know…it isn't just who I got, but what they said to me after we talked about the project to each other that's unsettling," he says uncomfortably. Okay, now I definitely need to know.
What I think he needs to open up (and I need to meet a certain woman) is a little liquid courage.
I stand up, Nott following my tracks with his curious eyes, and I turn around once I reach the stairs.
"Come on up to the room Nott, and I'll share something with you." I stick out my tongue lewdly at him and clamber up the dorm steps. I plonk myself onto the bed to find Nott hesitantly appearing at the door frame.
"Well get in here and shut the door, idiot!" I shout. He cautiously closes the wooden door and I mutter an incantation towards it with my wand so no one can hear our conversation.
"What're we doing, exactly?"
"Having a drink," I reply, and reach into the drawer on my night table, grabbing some Blishen's Premium Firewhiskey and shot glasses which I had previously retrieved from my suitcase.
"Are you crazy, Malfoy?" he whispers.
"No need to be quiet, I've put a spell on the door."
"If someone catches us…"
"Are you a Slytherin, or what?" I ask, almost appalled that he's acting as cautious as Granger. Ugh, Granger!
"Well I just mean….McGonagall would kill us. I think Dumbledore would've let us off with a warning, stating that's what 'teenagers have been tempted to do throughout the ages'. You know, being the old pushover he was, but –"
"If we get caught," I interrupt icily, as I hate hearing his name aloud. I know Nott knows what I was assigned to do 2 years ago, and I can't take his name being mentioned so blatantly when the person who says it knows what happened. "Which we won't because a) even if we do get a little bit tipsy, we can blame it on lack of sleep from too much work, and b) we're both 18 years old and allowed to buy it. I know it's prohibited within the castle, but who the hell cares? I've heard countless stories about parties the seventh years had thrown, and tons more about other houses sneaking it in and selling to the minors. So calm your arse down, and get on my bed."
He looks at me with a scared expression, almost questioningly. "Oh come on, you're really going to chicken out?"
I pour the (ahem, very expensive) alcohol into the shots, hand one to Nott as he finally sits down and cheers. Though he looks reluctant, he swigs it back when I do, shuddering at the fiery aftertaste. I'm used to that by now.
"So, why the booze?"
"Well, it will loosen you up so you can tell me about your endeavours with a certain someone, which I suspect is a girl," he blushes. "And I figured, that if I were to tell you what I am about to, that I need an excuse to convince myself I should have told you in the first place should it backfire; drunkenness is my best lie."
He raises an eyebrow, interested. I sigh. I pour myself another shot and knock it back; Nott is looking impressed, but masked under skepticism so he doesn't appear to be envious of my drinking skill.
"You go first," I prompt. It isn't a suggestion, it's a command.
"Okay well…I got..Millicent."
I halt for a moment and put my glass down on the night table.
Then the laughter begins; and I can't stop. Ha, ha ha. Ha!
"Shut up, it's not funny!" he pouts.
Oh but it's just too funny. Ha ha ha ha ha. My sides are splitting from the hilarity.
Nott the womanizer with Millicent; the no wit and no beauty. Likely worst match ever. Or perhaps from my perspective, the best match in the history of bad matches.
"You said she said something questionable to you after you were assigned, what did she say?" I ask, and he cringes. "Oh please, do tell. Here have another drink," I say and shove the bottle towards him, spilling it slightly.
He exhales. "Well she was really excited, you see. But I don't know why. She's never shown any interest in me before, but maybe it's because I'm a Slytherin?"
"Or she wants to ride you like a pony." I snort and hiccup at the same time.
"Ewwwww, NO. No, no , no, why would you say that! ?"
Can you imagine that scenario? Nott is like a spindle, and Millicent is boxy shaped and taller than me, almost as tall as him. Nott would have a fractured spine by the end of that sexual encounter.
"Because it might be true." I tease. "I mean think about it, Millicent has been turned down by a lot of boys. Now you have the chance, well you are forced to have the opportunity, to get to know her, maybe she thinks you'll be attracted to her. She's desperate for some affection. And anyways, she can't be all bad," I say, though my composure slips while I say it.
Nott looks utterly horrified. "Oh god, she did say that she wanted me to come over to her house, seeing as it may be uncomfortable for me to have company over 'because of your family's status last year.' At the time I just thought it was being considerate but oh god, oh god, oh god. She wants to fuck me!"
"Aww, how sweet of her," I say, and I actually half mean it. At least she understands the situation that Nott was in, though I hardly think she just wants to have sex with him. "Well maybe you'll lose your virginity Nott, she'll probably do anything you say; bet she's freaky in the bedroom," I wink.
He blushes crimson and smacks me in the leg. 'Stop it. I mean, okay, she's no Astoria or anything, but I kind of feel sorry for her. She has nobody to hang out with. She can barely find solace in sixth or fifth years, and they're all scared of her. Maybe I should try and think of this as a good thing. She reached out to me and didn't act like I was disgusting, so that has to mean something, even if it is creepy."
"I suppose," I counter. "Sounds like you put a lot of thought into that. Maybe you, oh I don't know, LIKE her," I point out, giggling like a moron. Revenge for all these Granger accusations.
"I do not. Anyways, enough about fucking Millicent, we can talk about her later. Who did you get, I'm dying here!"
I roll my eyes, then proceed to rifle through my pocket and clutch the note, and throw it at him once I've managed to pull it out. Guess it can't be avoided now.
A third beverage slips down my throat as I spectate Nott's expression as he reads the paper. I'm feeling a buzz now, having not eaten anything but a single waffle today, and I slam the cup onto the bedside, waiting for my 'friend' to say something.
Finally he breathes, "Oh my god."
"Yep."
"So she's your…?"
"Mmhmm."
"Wow."
"McGonagall told me after I threw that hex at Weasel that I was to be her partner, idiotic huh? She was supposed to be with Dean, but –" I hiccup and yawn simultaneously, "she said I should go, isn't that ridiculously stupid!"
"It's kind of ironic on Hermione's part that you like her even though she hates you and now you get to be alone with her." He says dryly.
"Hey!" I smack him lightly on the leg. She can't possibly hate me, anymore, can she? Well, I would if I were her, fuck why do I care? "I do not fancy her! I want to shag her, there's a difference ya know."
He grins. "I suppose so. Except that you cursed Weasley for no reason. Normally you would have relished the fact that a Mudblood was being hurt, but instead you saved someone you only 'want to shag.'"
A sharp realization courses through my brain, and I know he's right. He must see my face because he changes the topic quickly, apparently not wanting me to rage drunkenly at him.
"Anyways, that's weird that she wants to meet you alone, huh?"
I compose myself. "Well, old McG said that Granger was one of the only people 'immune' to my personality or something like that, and so I guess she was expecting her to be able to handle me better than most. She said we 'matched in proficiency' for skill level, and I would probably be more willing to work with her than with Cho Chang, who I would've gotten, haha. It's true, I hate that Ravenclaw bitch."
"Whooaaa, harsh words."
"She's too shy. And she touched my piano. My piano!" I jut my finger into his stomach to make a point. Wow, I really am tipsy….well, it's been almost 3 months since I drank like this, what can you expect.
"Anyways, what was I saying? Oh yes, I figure she doesn't want dear Ronnie and Pocketwatch to be worried about her, seeing as I have to go her stupid house during the break. Weasley would have an absolute fit. But I find it weird because she was talking to Thomas all friendly like yesterday, so she obviously has no trouble breaking the rules against him and Weasel talking to her. So why not just let Potter rage at McGonagall for picking me so I don't have to do this?"
"Oh, come off it! You love pushing her buttons, Drakes. You like teasing her. Be happy you don't have to deal with Potter and Weasley, and see what you can manage to do," he says with a twinkle in his eye, and I let out a chortle. He's quite right you know.
"Hm, I'll keep you posted on that front. But I have to say, I don't know why I've decided to drink this much before I go see her, it won't really help the delicate nature of the 'private' part of this situation." Haha, private part.
"You're nervous, Draco. Maybe your calm and collectiveness slips when she's around, so you might as well have a fallback reason as to why you act that way?"
"Nahh," I say even though he's pretty much right. "I think I just want to have fun with this scenario."
"Sure, sure, whatever puts you to sleep man."
Nott and I exchange banter for a few more minutes, mostly him talking about Astoria and the model Gloria Evencleave, while we sit and enjoy 2 more shots each.
"Oh buckets, its 6:45. I should probably get going….I want to be 'punctual, like a good student'" I mock Granger's stroppy voice, and Nott laughs. He's shitfaced too now. Lightweight, isn't he?
"Before I go, my dear sir," I say obnoxiously as I twirl around the room with a finger pointed into the air like a pompous aristocrat (aka Father), "I have to ask; is this your first time enjoying the sweet nectar of men?"
"No.." he blushes crimson, "About my third." He's only been drunk 3 times? Psh.
I strip off my school robes ceremoniously, dumping them into my dresser and replace my bare chest with a dark green V-neck t-shirt, and school tie. I feel far too flushed to be out and about with long sleeves!
"Urgh, what else do I need?" I feel like I'm missing something.
"Well you're just figuring out the date of meeting, right? So nothing," Nott states while idly flipping through his Seductress magazine, looking away from my nudity, and grabbing at his crotch like I'm not here. Evidently, he's a horny drunk.
Lucky him, I'm horny and an idiot.
"Of course, well wish me luck!"
I'm about to walk out the door when Nott giggles and suddenly lunges to pull me backwards by the shoulder, "Pshh shh shh, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" he laughs softly then loudly.
"What was that for? !"
"Well, you know, you might want to put on some pants."
I look down to see my bare, blonde hair-covered legs with simple black socks on and fuchsia boxer briefs.
"Good call."
"Thank the house-elves it's almost dinner time," Harry states as his stomach grumbles loudly. We're in the common room, revising some Potions notes for our test before the break next Tuesday. I smile weakly, and look at the time. 6:40. Oh Merlin, I don't want to go.
On a whim, I think I'm just going to tell Harry where I'm going, leaving out the Malfoy part of course. I figure it's less suspicious telling him beforehand than just sneaking off while in the midst of walking to dinner.
"Speaking of supper, I – I need to go look for a book in the library for the examination, immediately actually. Something factual about the Wolfsbane and Wormwood concoctions are seriously bugging me, and I need to go read up on it again. It's going to be nagging at me all night if I don't." I say this matter-of-factly and Harry rolls his eyes, but sports a little grin.
"Really, Hermione? You're going to skip a meal just to do research?"
"Do you know me at all?" I mock him lightly. "If I don't know something already, I need to know no-owww" I say, exaggerating my usual perfectionist tone.
"I'm glad to see that after all these years, you've never changed," he teases, pushing me lightly in a friendly manner.
I give a silent sigh of relief that he doesn't suspect anything. Well why would he? If I'm not eating, sleeping, worried about schoolwork, friends and boy drama, I'm reading. "It's a wonder you always manage to do so well after hanging out with such un-studious gits like Ron and I for 8 years."
I give a laugh, and then hug him quickly, before getting off the couch. "Well, you know how much I hate failing," I retort, thinking of my ridiculous Boggart. 'And…at least you can have some time with Ron," I say flippantly; he simply nods not wanting to further that into and awkward conversation. I grab my bookbag and wave to him. "Enjoy dinner!"
"If you find the book before it's over come to the Great Hall. You were stressing out all day today, you need to eat," he teases. I reply that I won't be long before exiting from Gryffindor tower, pinching my stomach self-consciously.
{}
Alright, where the hell is he?
I left deliberately early so this could be over in a flash if he happened to arrive first.
It is now 7:21 and I am tapping my quill impatiently on a blank piece of parchment, a decoy book open at my desk. Seriously, me. I have a decoy book! Mind you, it's Hogwarts: A History and I've read it front to back about 15 times. It's not as if anything new will fascinate me.
Stupid Malfoy. I've yet to tell mum that he's coming over a lot on the break, but I figured that he could come over for the first work period on Friday, which is next weekend. I can inform my parents of his arrival when I travel home come Thursday. I'm just going to have to tell Harry and Ginny in the near future that I have family coming all 2 weeks, so I can't see them during the break. They'll understand…I hope; it's not like they can prove me wrong unless they show up on my doorstep.
This whole task is going to be agonizing.
A few more silent minutes pass. Where is that git! I really hope he decided to come; a response from an owl isn't reliable, and I hardly want to talk to him openly in class to give our partnership away.
I look down on my paper and see that it has "DM!" written on it. No! I scribble it furiously out. Why did I doodle his initials?
"HEY, Granger!" a pair of male hands grab at my shoulders and I nearly shriek from horror.
I turn around to see Malfoy grinning like an idiot, but not in the usually pretentious way he does.
"Jesus, Malfoy! You nearly have me a heartattack!" I whisper (loudly). "And keep your voice down or Madam Pince will throw us out! Someone might've heard you!"
"Oh, psh, relax Granger, we're in no danger! Ha, see what I did there? Granger-danger?" What the hell is wrong with him? "Anyways, we're in Section B, nobody comes here because it's all encylopedias." I blush at this comment….this is my favourite section of the entire library.
He plops himself onto a seat, surveying me. "Oh don't tell me, this is your forte, this section is. Your knuts and galleons. Typical," he says.
He sways slightly, almost tipping off his chair, and suddenly I fathom what's happening.
"Malfoy…are you drunk?"
"What gave it away sweetheart? You really don't let loose a lot do you? You can smell my breath from a mile away, and I can't even see straight; took me about 15 minutes to find you." The manner in which he says sweetheart makes my stomach flutter, but I ignore it.
Now that I'm aware of it, I can smell Firewhiskey, though it's not my fault I didn't recognize it right away. I look into his face, and his eyes sport a dopey expression, but his smile makes him look loads better than he normally does. He's also wearing a t-shirt with a deep v and rather tight, expensive looking dragon scale pants. Ugh, I probably look like a right mess.
Not that I care or anything.
"Excuse me, but I can let loose if I want," I retort finally, taking my eyes off his body. "Why did you decide to drink? And get dressed up for heaven's sake!"
"No, you can't Grangy. You danced once at the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum, and you looked like a poorly oiled machine trying to break free from control." Hey! "I'm sure with more practice you could be a respectable dancer. As for looking decent, I dressed up for you of course," he says winking. Winking! ? "And as for the drinking, well, I felt like it. I've gotten quite accustomed to it in the past 2 years."
I'll bet he has…replacing problems with a temporary solution.
"But, you knew this meeting was supposed to be confidential. And serious!" I suddenly feel anxiety clouding over my brain. Did he really have to resort to drinking in order to want to speak to me alone? I should've just told Harry about this. I feel foolish for even thinking I'd do this without getting upset.
"Yes, but why Granger, why? I mean, hell, I'm all for it, but Potty and Weaselwacket have to find out sometime. Why didn't you just say something? Don't you tell them everything?"
I realize as he says it that he's right, and I'm flabbergasted he matches his words to what I was just thinking. This decision is very uncharacteristic of me, I always tell them everything. But everything is different…Ron isn't even my friend at the moment, and Harry doesn't need anything to worry him now that he's finally had time to be content with his life. I can handle myself, if I really try. If Malfoy can't even be with me without shooting back alcohol, then so be it. He's not worth it.
"They have enough on their plates" I reply coolly. "It's silly for them to worry about you and I working on a project when I can handle you fine on my own."
"Why do you act as if you know the answer to everything?" His question throws me, and he catches my reaction. He smiles lopsided and brings himself closer to me, clutching the seat of chair, extremely near my thigh.
I can see the flecks of blue in his grey eyes, he's that proximate.
"I…I don't."
"Yeah, you do." He whispers, and I can feel his breath on my cheek. "You always put your hand up! To every question, every single question. And you always give a textbook answer, but do you really even know or understand what you're talking about? I mean, of course you do, you aren't an idiot, but why assume that every response you come up with must be the right one just because your confirmed it in a reading? Just cause its right in front of your face?"
I try to ignore his insults, he's talking nonsense, but my mind is pulled back to last year when I fully doubted Harry's claim that the Deathly Hallows existed. Turns out he was right, wasn't he? And I wouldn't have it until it was right in front of me, like Malfoy is saying.
But he's also completely pissed, so what does he know?
"Shut up, Malfoy. I'm not like that, you know nothing about me." I say offended, pushing his arm away from my chair.
"Oh, I do." He nods knowingly, sitting straighter in his seat. "You want all the little house elves to be free, like you said in History class, but yet you choose to completely ignore the opposite side of the argument, Granger, that they love their job. It's an insult to their race to suggest they go free. Only Dobby wanted out, for a good reason, I won't say it wasn't. But look what happened to him, he was cast aside!" I feel heat rising in my cheeks, but I try to remain calm; he's belligerent (well, not actually, he's pretty articulate), but he's drunk. And he's just trying to rile me up as he always does. He's so irritating, how can he sit there and look so attractive while at the same time I want to take his stupid cutesy tie and choke him with it?
"He died saving us, in case you didn't notice last year," I reply through gritted teeth. "If Dobby hadn't come to rescue us, Harry, Ron, Luna and I would've died in your manor. He died saving us."
He stops smiling for a moment, and then looks at me seriously.
"Hmm, you really have a thing for them, don't you Granger. A secret fetish, perhaps? Pansy told me all about your little SPEW organization; she heard you talking about it to Pavarti Patil in the lavatory."
Excuse me? I flush red at the mention of Pansy, the memory of her harassments unwelcome.
"How dare you insist that my efforts for the elves are…are…sexual!" I whisper furiously.
He starts laughing really loudly, howling almost, and I slap him hard on the arm to make him stop.
"You call that a hit? That was pitiful," he says.
"Stop making me angry, and be quiet! We need to discuss our plan of action for the project!"
"No, because if I have to go into your Muggle world, you need to understand what irks me, Granger. If you can stop viewing the wizard world the same way you view the Muggle world, then I can respect all your Muggle-y rules when I go to your home."
"What are you talking about?" What is he talking about?
"I'm sure that your claims about equal rights for non-human creatures have some leeway and make perfect sense in your Muggle world; but the fact is that you can't apply everything to wizardkind and expect it to go anywhere. You live primarily in an entirely different place. You have a completely different perspective about what goes on here even if you do read up on a lot. Experience is much more valuable than knowledge."
I look at him for a moment, at his big fat non-Muggle educated head, and I feel the temper rising. It isn't going to stop rising if he keeps on about this!
How dare he insist I don't know everything about wizarding life when I've lived in both places of our earth! He knows nothing about Muggles, yet he acts like he knows everything!
"This coming from a boy who has never taken a Muggle Studies class. I know far more than you do about the topic because I've 'experienced' both realms. Just because my insight comes from somewhere outside the norm, doesn't mean I don't have a point. Maybe I'll never know as much as you do about being a fucking wizard, but at least I'm not some, some, stupid blabbering git like you!" I explode.
He raises an eyebrow, grins devilishly, and says, "Damn, Granger, you're pretty hot when you curse."
That's when I backhand his face.
"Ouch! What was that-"
"Hermione? Are you in here, I heard your voice!"
I freeze; oh Merlin, it's Ron! Ron. And I'm here with him.
"Get up!" I hiss, and Malfoy just stares at me like I've gone mad.
"Why?" he asks, and I notice he's staring at me like he 'wants to eat me', as Dean so fluently put it. Oh Merlin.
All these emotions are running through me; hate because Malfoy's a know-it-all; anxiety because Ron is coming and he'll beat him to a pulp and berate me if he catches us; fear because well….because I'm feeling attraction. I can't make it go away. I actually enjoy defending myself and my views, and a boy that was arguing with me, that can make me so infuriated, just called me 'hot'. I don't understand why that would make me feel…flattered, when it's Malfoy. With his stupid perfect features, and educated vocabulary, and –ugh. I think it's because instead of calling me a Mudblood and saying I was inferior to him like he normally would, he complimented me on appearance. Mind you, he's drunk, but don't people usually say what they mean when they are?
Oh stop it, Hermione, pull yourself together!
I grab my bookbag, and then stand up. Clutching Malfoys arm, ignoring the fact that it's warm and toned, I drag him behind one of the far bookcases in the room. Section B is fairly big, so I'm hoping if Ron comes in here, he'll merely glance and then depart.
"Oh, well Granger, I didn't think you'd take my flattery so seriously," he whispers huskily into my neck, as I push him behind me against the row of bookshelves, and I shiver.
"Sh-shh," I scold in a strangled voice. "We're just hiding from Ron." I feel him stiffen from behind me.
"Why?" he says more neutrally now.
"Because he'll kill you if he sees us, berate me about being with you, and I don't want him to know about our partnership because he hates you," I shush him.
"Won't it be worse if he finds us so closely mingled back here?" he says almost angrily. "I'd like to see that actually." No!
I turn around aghast, just in time to put my hands over his mouth as he shouts; "HEY WEAS-mmmph!"
I hear somebody coming into the section, and I use all of my force to shut him up. Malfoy's right; if Ron were to see us now like this, he'd never forgive me. Malfoy struggles to pull my hands off his face and clutches my wrists hard, shoving them towards the ground, his face red. He pants deeply, and I never realized how much taller he is than me at this moment. He looks quite scary.
"Please let go," I whisper, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
He releases me from his grip, and I sigh with relief. I take a step back from him and he seems to be trying to calm himself down.
"So when did you want me to first come over," he says, looking straight over my head, not at me, and looking notably more sober.
"I was thinking, if it's alright with you of course, I don't want to force you to come over if you're busy with seeing your family, or have plans and," I realize I'm rambling from nervousness so I take a deep breath. "Is next Friday all right? It gives us a few days to be with our families, and let the news sink in about the project." He snorts, though I don't know why, but nods.
"Yes, that's fine I suppose." He brushes down his rumpled clothing, though still tipping slightly, and regains his composure.
"I'm going to leave you now, Granger. See you around, have fun with Weasel," he scathes particularly nasty, and shoves me aside to leave.
I poke my head around the corner to see that nobody is there. I sit down on the floor against the books for a moment to relive what just happened.
Draco Malfoy shows up drunk to our supposed to be 5 minute discussion, has a heated argument with me about respectability, insulting me in the process. At the same time, he looks impeccable, says I'm hot and sits too close to me, though I think that can be stricken form the record as he was wasted, and then gets extremely hostile when I mention Ron. Comprehension is difficult to find in this.
Is he jealous of Ron, or is it simply hatred? Does he secretly find me attractive? Or did he just come out here to see me with the intention of making me confused and being a conniving git?
I said it once, but I stand by it: I hate boys.