This chapter has been edited for *coughs* quality. Though it is questionable.
Disclaimer: Don't own them yet. :)
...
-The River in Egypt-
"Hermione… Hermione?"
"Hermione!Pay attention."
The girl in question was receiving curious stares from both Harry and Ron and the surrounding Gryffindors at the table.
"Yes?"
"Weren't you supposed to meet McGonagall five minutes ago?"
"Goodness, you're right. Thanks, see you two later."
She walked away leaving three people in disbelief that their Golden Girl would forget something as important as her Head Duties.
x
"So nice of you to join us, Miss Granger."
She muttered her excuses as the professor led both Head Boy and Head Girl to their dormitories.
Surprisingly, Malfoy had not ridiculed her about being late. He couldn't have been serious about being civil could he?
"—The Fallen."
"What?"
"The Fallen, Miss Granger, that is the password to the Head Common Room."
"Oh," she blushed.
"Now, if you'll both excuse me, I must resume my own duties. I'll leave you two to your own devices."
Hermione watched as the transfiguration professor walked down the deserted hall.
"—Granger."
"Excuse me?"
"Really now. Have you not been listening to a word I've been saying to you at all? And here I am going out of my way to act decent."
"Quiet, Fer—Malfoy," she smiled innocently, "it couldn't have been so important that you can't repeat again is it?"
"I suppose in regards to our little truce, I should. But I don't think so."
"Gee, Malfoy. And I thought you'd actually developed into a decent adult."
"I'm more than decent, Granger. Just ask any girl and she'll tell you the same."
Scowling at his implication, Hermione shoved past him and walked through the entrance and into their common room. The common room they would be sharing until the end of the year. Bollocks.
"I think they've overdone a bit."
"Excuse me?"
"Honestly, Granger. Keep up. You've been standing in the same spot for the past few minutes now. You're as inattentive as that Lovegood girl."
He was right. For all three observations. She was feeling quite distracted today but she didn't have a clue as to why.
The decorator certainly had overdone the whole 'House Unity' thing. The silvers and golds clashed. The reds and greens made it feel like a cheap hotel room someone would use at Christmas. And she was sure she'd seen it before.
Uncanny.
She clicked her tongue.
She had still been standing in the same spot for well over fifteen minutes. Not wanting to look like an idiot, Hermione gracefully glided towards a room she assumed with her as the initials 'HG' were present.
She wanted to gag. Here in her room were the Gryffindor colors done in overkill. The colors clashed in moderation, but now it looked as if somebody had just randomly smashed the colors together and multiplied the brightness by ten. She decided that first thing next morning, since it was a Saturday, she'd redecorate her room and perhaps tone down the 'decorations' in the common room.
Right now, however, she was going to wash up and snuggle into what looked like an oh-so-comfortable bed forgetting to at least tell Ron and Harry of her whereabouts. Soft bed... at least they got that part right. She could fall asleep right then and there, but thought it best to wash up first after the long train ride.
She turned the knob of the door she had determined to be the bathroom.
Midway through tugging off her undershirt a presence made itself known on the other side of the room.
"Hold on Granger. I don't usually sleep with a girl until she's at least bought me dinner."
Hermione could practically feel his smirk against her skin. Wait, Malfoy? In the bathroom? That's… odd… wait what?
"Malfoy!"
"Yes, Granger, it's me. Who else would it be?"
"Why are you in here?"
"Well usually before I go to sleep, I like to brush my teeth," his tongue dripping with sarcasm, "And you are?"
"Wondering why you're in the bathroom… while I'm in it, too."
"Look, you obviously don't get it, so I'll say it nice and slow for you, Granger. We. Are. Going. To. Be. Sharing. This," he gestured vaguely at the expanse of the bathroom, "Got it, yes?"
With that little piece of knowledge with her, she felt relieved that he actually had a reason to be here. Here… interesting. Here is where she was so…
"Get out, out, out!"
He looked highly amused, "I don't think so. You see, I was here first."
She let out a frustrated scream and stomped out of the room muttering obscenities under her breath. Of them all, Malfoy's favorite was 'bleach-blond Goldilocks.'
Safely secured in the privacy of her room, Hermione dropped her head and blushed deeply into her pillow.
She wondered momentarily of the repercussions if she purposely tried to repress her memories. Interesting option.
As if the decorations weren't bad enough. She swore silently that if she ever met whoever designed the Head Towers, she'd hex the balls off them.
x
"Argh, it hurts."
The seventeen-going-on-eighteen year old girl winced at the sight of her room. Hearing that the bathroom was unoccupied, she hoped, she rolled off her bed.
Cursing slightly for hitting her head on one of the posts, Hermione stumbled to the bathroom to wash up. No Malfoy. Good.
The bath was exquisite. Due to the, ahem… incident, she had not seen the full-sized bathtub in the room but was quite glad that she finally did spot it.
She reentered her room with fierce determination with her wand in hand, she was ready.
x
"Work, damn you, work!"
Hermione cried out in frustration for the thousandth time this morning.
"Incendio!" she attempted to burn it at least.
One thousand and one.
"In need of anger management, don't you think?"
Spinning around to face the person who dared interrupt her in her time of fury. Malfoy. Correction, Malfoy in his boxers. Of course. Bloody hell.
She refused to interact with Malfoy when he wasn't even dressed yet.
Seeing her reluctance and being the perfect gentleman that he was, Malfoy thought to shed some light on her dire situation, "It's not going to work, Granger."
This time she did answer him, "It will if I say it will."
"Well I say it won't and it won't. Can't you see that the hack of an interior designer cast a charm over the furnishing and decorations so that no one, not even the Head Boy or Girl will be able to change the original design?"
Slightly embarrassed at not having caught on Hermione snapped, "Well how would you know?"
"Easy, I've been watching you. Quite a while actually. Surprised that you didn't notice me."
She blushed while trying to keep her face straight as she continued to meet his gaze. She broke the contact first.
"And what do you suppose I do?"
"Watch and learn."
With a smug expression on his face, Malfoy performed a series of complex wand-work. Hermione didn't even want to ponder where he had hidden his wand before pulling it out. Instead, she chose to stare in bewilderment. Malfoy had actually managed to change the horrible colors to a more balanced black and green.
"Got it, Hermione?"
She could feel rather than see his smirk.
But opting on confusion at his skills as opposed to hexing him on the spot for just being so annoyingly Malfoy-ish.
"I'm quite partial to these types of spells. It keeps the girls quite happy for some reason," he grinned but allowed his face to form a quizzical expression.
She ignored his answer and instead replied, "Two things Malfoy. Teach me and why the odd color scheme?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way. I'd love to teach you a thing or two," he looked at her suggestively.
Choosing to ignore the insinuations, Hermione responded, "Perfect. And now the colors?"
"It's simple. Black and green go together."
"And it has nothing to do with the fact that you're in Slytherin?"
"Does green stand for Slytherin? How surprising," he said innocently.
Hermione snorted at his blatant display of feigned innocence.
"Well then, would you like me to turn charm it back to red and gold?"
"No!" she said a bit too forcefully.
He smirked. "Green and black it is then."
She found it hard to argue when she examined her room once more. The evidence pointed to Malfoy's obvious talent when it came to designs.
"Anything else?"
"What?"
"Anything else need changing? Personally I think the only problem was with the colors. I've already redone mine, but we might also need to redo the commons. I'm not fond of blinding my guests and causing them to seize whenever they come to visit."
He winked. No seriously, he did.
x
They had spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon transforming the drab and atrocious Heads Tower into something more tasteful and elegant. This too, much to Hermione's reluctant acquiescence was done in black and green.
What would Harry and Ron say? What's done is done she decided firmly not opting to consider her friends' reaction over the state of her common room.
Letting out a relieved sigh, Hermione remarked, "Finally. Done."
"And?"
"And... I like the color choices." She rolled her eyes not caring if he saw or not.
"Always knew you were a Slytherin on the inside Granger, but I meant the truce."
"Oh, that. Well I suppose. Deal?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
Leaning in to shake his hand, Hermione felt his lips upon hers. The mere intensity of the kiss caused her head to become dazed. She couldn't deny that it felt nice... but couldn't shake the feeling that it was familiar.
As she felt herself being released from the confinement of his charms, Hermione felt disappointment wash over her.
Slightly out of breath, the man grinned at her hungrily, "Just sealing the deal Granger."
Sending a wink her way, Malfoy left the room to seemingly make his way to the Dungeons and towards the Slytherin Dormitories.
Hermione chose to make nothing of it. After all, Harry and Ron had kissed her multiple times. Not exactly the way he had, but they had and that's what counts. Isn't it?
...
Sighs… apparently for Hermione denial isn't just a river in Egypt anymore. Ah well, she'll get it eventually. I apologize for Hermione's spaceyness, but come on... she just got sent back from Heaven, she deserves to be a little out of it.