Chapter 23:
"Draco wait!" In her head Hermione was screaming at herself, why couldn't she just keep quiet! "I've not had any calming draught"
He nodded, though she didn't see, "We have a store of it downstairs, I'll get you some..." he trailed as he attempted to stand, but was stopped when her hand shot out, grappling blindly for his arm in the dark.
"It's okay; just stay with me, please?"
Draco's answer was the dull sound of his dragon hid shoes hitting the carpeted floor of the room, before the bed once again dipped under his weight as he leant against the head board and settled on top of the covers. He didn't speak, simply turned his head to look out of the open doors.
"Draco?" Hermione spoke after a few moments, getting a gruff 'hmm' sound as a reply, which caused her to sigh, breathing heavily through her nose- "What did Blaise want?"
"He just wanted to sort out a poker match for tomorrow night"
She sighed again, "Draco I wasn't born yesterday" when he didn't say anything and just continued to look out of the doorway she continued, "You promised to tell me everything" she pointed out.
"I'm going to a poker match, with Blaise tomorrow," he insisted.
Hermione rubbed her hand harshly up her face, and into her hair, "I don't like being lied to..." she trailed as she continued to scrutinise him in the moon light that was conveniently painting his pale face in shadows. Before she suddenly sat up, turning fully towards him "Look at me" she commanded.
Draco lazily turned his head towards her, taking in the skewed neckline of the negligee, her slightly messy curls, before stopping at her tear streaked cheeks, which caused him to be suddenly hit with the realisation that she had been crying at some point between being in his office and now. But not enough that her chocolate orbs had melted to the caramel colour they often did when she cried. As his eyes scanned her features quickly he used his right hand to capture her jaw, rubbing his thumb along her cheek and jaw line. Before he ever so slowly leant forward catching her trembling lips in a chaste kiss, "I'm not lying to you" he whispered breaking the kiss.
When Hermione leant in to give him another kiss, but he pressed his index finger up to her lip, before intertwining his other hand with her left as it came up to run along his cheek. "I heard what you said earlier, nothing can happen between us"
"Just indulge me" she replied once again leaning in towards the blond, whose resolve was failing, "I just need something to occupy my mind" she whispered. It was true she had swarms and swarms of thoughts going around her head- she needed to be grounded. And as she pressed her lips to the blonds she felt exactly that.
Her statement caused Draco to be torn, on one side he wanted to put her mind at ease but on the other he didn't want to complicate their already complex relationship, nor did he want to be either a rebound for her, or something equally unsubstantial.
When she leant back to gasp at much needed air, he firmly grasped her fingers again, "Talk to me"
"Tell me what Blaise really wanted" she argued.
"I told you, we sorted out-"
"A 'poker match'" she cut him off using air quotations, "The truth?"
"That is" he insisted.
"The rest then..."
"He's going to be there, hopefully" Draco clarified as he ran a hand down the side of her face, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. Draco knew he didn't need to define the he with which he was referring.
"What do you hope to achieve?" she questioned softly.
Draco sat up straighter against the headboard, "He took what you held dear away from you... This is revenge"
"Draco you don't have to do this."
He laughed a menacing sound, "You know I love getting one up on the Weasel."
"Malfoy now isn't really the time for jokes"
He conceded, nodding his head, "I want to do it"
"Why?"
"Do I need a reason?"
She nodded her head, "For all I know you could be doing it to get in my pants" he was about to start laughing when he noticed there was no humour on her face, just a look of pure concentration and seriousness.
"You already know. Why are you questioning my motives?" She remained silent, and then heard him sigh, "You know sometimes I think you just want a verbal spar with me, you know I hate repeating myself, and I hate you questioning me why I'm doing something- especially when you do it constantly."
"Well I hate you constantly keeping things from me" she breathed heavily through her nose, "I hate that you only tell me half truths, I hate how you take everything serious to be a joke. But most of all I hate how you, my one time enemy, seems to care about me than the man I loved, than the man I married, the man who was once my best friend."
Draco clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "That's because he is too thick skulled to realise that everything he needed in life was right in front of him. He's had everything given to him on a plate. He happened to be in the same Hogwarts House as Harry Potter the boy wonder, he then attached himself to become his best friend like the leech that he is. Then you came along, the greatest witch of the century, you were his ticket to 'Outstandings' throughout his education, or at least anything better than the 'Trolls' he should have gotten. He used you- plain and simple."
"I clearly wasn't the brightest witch of the century to not notice that" she pointed out.
"No" he shook his head, "You just like to believe the best in someone- anyone, no matter the crimes they have committed, and you're quick to forgive" She didn't say anything for a few moments so Draco prodded her again, "What else is on your mind?"
She shook her head, causing Draco to give her a little bit of encouragement, "Am I attractive?" she suddenly blurted out before slapping her hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide with having aired the question she had been battling in her head whether to say or not. Draco was equally surprised by her question as she was, and for few moments could only stare. Her question caused her cheeks to flame red, before she turned away from Draco and began to stand from the bed, only stopping when his larger hand grasped her dainty wrist. "It's okay, I don't want you to answer that question"
Draco for his part didn't say a word as she rambled both to herself and aloud how daft she must have been to have asked the question in the first place. Draco cautiously wetted his lips, before annunciating his answer, "Are you attractive?" he repeated. This again caused her cheeks to go an even darker shade of scarlet.
"You don't need to answer" she clarified, pulling her wrist from his grasp, before saying lowly, "It's pretty obvious your answer"
"Are you attractive" he mused, "I'd say wholeheartedly yes." He paused looking her form up and down, "Why do you ask?" he questioned.
Hermione shook her head, "No reason. I was just curious"
"For you to ask, someone must have said something to you," her breathing hitched, "Was it the Weasel?" he asked intuitively. And got his answer in the form of her gasping, which wouldn't have been easily picked up on, had the room not been so silent to begin with. "I've told you before he is a moron" he said in a condescending voice before softening it, "You're not just attractive physically, but mentally, you tick every single one of my boxes, and any man, as I've said before, needs to be checked into Saint Mungo's if he doesn't agree."
He leant over and grasped her wrist again, pulling her back towards the bed. "You need sleep, so sleep" he insisted.
Once she had snuggled back under the duvet she spoke again, a yawn accompanying her speech at the end, "I've been thinking, did you go to see Harry Ardenbrook about getting a stake in Puddlemere and Chudley Cannons?"
"You know Lord Ardenbrook?" he questioned surprised.
She sleepily nodded her head, "Him and Professor McGonagall have been like my parents since-" she paused taking a deep yawn, "Well you know when..." she trailed slightly before adding as an afterthought, "They make quite the cute old couple!"
"Professor McGonagall?" he repeated, and Hermione just lazily nodded her head, "The silver cat!" he suddenly exclaimed, but it was too late, Hermione was already in the land of nod.
A/N: By now you know the drill, review, let me know what you think, hate it love it, let me know.
Also, sorrrryyyyyyy for the really long update and the no doubt 'Ahhhh, she's back... With this' comments. But I needed to get back into writing, and this was a cute piece I needed to get out of the way! :)
Scorpio219 -x-