A/N: Thank you to the three people who took out time to review.
If you have any questions or opinions on the story please do ask and I hope I'll be able to answer them.
This story will henceforth not be beta-ed since it takes way too long and is annoying. If you see any mistake leave it in a review however I do my best to not make any.
Enjoy!
Chapter 11: Hiding Behind Lies.
Draco glared at the door of the Heads; it offended him greatly. He didn't want to knock on the displeasing piece of wood in front of him. He had almost turned back thrice and he would have, if he had not been a Malfoy, since Malfoys would never turn back because of a simple wooden door.
He had raised his fist to knock on the door, when it swung open suddenly. The bushy haired witch looked tired, but was grinning wide, "I could hear your heart beating in fear from upstairs. Do I scare you, Malfoy?" The smirk on her face almost did scare him.
He turned his nose up in the air, scowling distastefully, "That disaster you have the audacity to call hair would scare anyone, Granger." He swaggered inside the room without invitation.
The room was simple; almost plebeian he thought. The right side of the wall was covered with a bookshelf, which he could almost hear groaning under the weight of what he assumed were all of Hermione's books. Adjacent to it was a cosy looking couch, much to his distaste –cosy wasn't a compliment when Draco Malfoy used it. Opposite to that was a fireplace with two armchairs, one red and gold while the other was blue and bronze. On his left was a dining table with six chairs, and on the farthest end two stairways led up to what he assumed were the Head's rooms.
"I thought we could work at the table." Hermione suggested, her books already arranged on it.
Draco headed towards the table without argument; as if he would lower himself enough to sit in either a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw armchair.
He proceeded to take out his books while Hermione continued her essay on bat wings as foxglove replacements.
Hermione had already started feeling better. She could feel the tiredness seeping out. Warmness filled her and she even shook off the shawl around her shoulders.
Draco started his own essay. They worked in silence but after a while he noticed her writing with an odd-looking quill. Hermione noticed him staring, but not asking what it is lest his family name be tarnished. She rolled her eyes and spoke, "It's a pen."
He looked up at her and murmured, "I didn't ask, know-it-all."
She shook her head softly, reached into her bag and pulled out another of those pens. She offered it to him, "You can have this one if you like. It holds the ink in a tube on the inside so you won't have to waste time on dipping the quill again and again."
He narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Don't think that giving me a stupid pen will make me like you or anything, Granger."
She glared at him and dumped the pen in front of him harshly, "Not all of us have ulterior motives, Malfoy. All of us aren't like you, inbred."
"How dare you, you filthy-" Draco started, angered by the use of the word 'inbred'.
However, Hermione cut him off, "What, Mudblood? Is that all you can throw at me? You say that like a Muggleborn is beneath you, and yet even you, Pureblood extraordinaire, couldn't even think of anything Purebloods could do that we can't!"
"I did!" He snapped back.
"Oh please, that was an irrelevant thing and besides, I can prove you wrong." She said angrily. She rose up from her seat abruptly and walked over to her bookshelf. She pulled out a few choice books and returned back to the table. She slammed down the pile in front of him.
"The first is a biography of a Muggle by a Muggle. The second is one of the most read classics in Muggle history. And the last is a fantasy novel written by a Muggleborn, based on Muggle mythology, which will show you how limited Pureblood imaginations really are. I am sure someone like you can read fast enough so we can discuss these before I..." Hermione stopped then, and sank into her seat slowly. She gazed at the books in front of her, her eyes faraway.
The look in her eyes ruffled Draco so he spoke, "And what makes you think I will read these?" He kept the tone carefully casual.
She smirked then, again almost scaring him, "Because I called you a coward, and because if there is one thing we have in common, it's our need to prove the other absolutely wrong."
He stared at her for a few seconds, his cool grey eyes assessing her, while her warm brown eyes did the same.
He looked away, dumping his things into his bag, along with the books. He got up and left without a word, never looking back.
It was only after he had left that Hermione noticed he had taken the pen as well.
The next day Draco woke up with a pain in his neck from falling asleep in an odd angle. He groaned and rubbed his neck, and the book on his chest fell onto his lap. He had finished the book before falling asleep.
He glared at the man on the cover. He hated her even more for this book. He knew exactly what she had done, and it had worked. She acted so innocent, but he knew she was sly enough to be a Slytherin –damn her to Hell and back. He pushed the bloody book off his lap and stood up.
"You look like shit, mate." Blaise greeted him. Draco growled at him in reply and glared at the offending Slytherin with pure hatred. He dragged himself into the bathroom, snapping at Spencer who dared to enter the bathroom and make Malfoy wait till he was done.
When he sauntered back into the room, not a hair out of place, looking as fresh as a meadow, Blaise shook his head, "Even though I've spent half my life in a school that teaches magic and has ghosts, I consider your morning transformations the most magical thing ever."
Draco just smirked and continued to knot his tie.
As they entered the Great Hall, Draco's immediate instinct was to look at Granger which he ignored. He looked straight ahead at his own table. He could feel the bookworm's eyes on him, piercing and sharp.
She watched him until he sat down in his seat, observing the slight smudge of dark circles under his eyes and later the way he grimaced as Blaise put his arm around his neck. He had been reading she concluded and went back to her breakfast grinning.
"Malfoy."
"Parkinson."
"Toast?" She asked offering him the toast in her hand. He shook his head.
"I would like some." Blaise spoke putting his arm around Draco's neck. Draco grimaced, shook Blaise off and rubbed his neck.
"Fuck off." Pansy said biting into the piece of buttered toast.
"You're such a potty mouth." Blaise spoke reaching out and snatching the piece of toast from her fingers.
"Hey!" Pansy started as she pinched him in return.
Draco rolled his eyes at the bickering pair and swirled the pumpkin juice around in his goblet.
Hermione didn't miss that detail either.
Draco wanted to bail on their homework session and he would have if not for his ego nudging him from the back of his mind. He knocked this time, before Hermione could surprise him again.
She opened the door, stepping aside to let him in. He walked in with a bored look on his face, making his way to the dining room. She let him unpack his things and settle in before she spoke, "Did you find the pen easier to write with?"
He winced slightly, a reaction Hermione wouldn't have noticed if her Veela senses weren't working. He cursed her for not beating around the bush. He wasn't used to such a blatant display of thoughts, being used to the tricky Slytherins.
"I took it by mistake. Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'll return it, as if I would take anything from you on purpose." He snapped. In reality he had no attention of ever returning the pen. He had found without the added mess and time consumption of a quill, his homework had been almost twice as easy to complete. Plus he didn't have to break his train of thought to dip his quill in the inkwell again and again.
However, he would never admit that to Granger.
"Fine." She spoke not believing him for a second. "What did you think about Hitler's biography?"
"I didn't read the damn book." Draco spoke turning back to his Transfiguration book.
"You're lying." Hermione said calmly, and firmly.
"I don't have to convince you of anything." He replied gruffly.
"You don't have to; your body betrayed you, Malfoy." She said, still looking calm.
"What?" Draco said slightly startled at her words.
"You averted your gaze, Malfoy." She spoke, "And your heartbeat quickened."
He stared at her, unblinking.
She leaned in slightly, her eyes clear, "I know when you lie now, Malfoy."
She said the next words in a whisper, dangerous and firm.
"You can't hide from me."
He couldn't breathe.
A/N: And that's that.
I hope it was long enough. I was going to continue but it was just the perfect ending to the chapter. Tell me what you think. I'll hopefully update soon.
Ciao for now, Alex.