Chapter 31

Her grip wasn't tight, but not too loose either. Hermione and Draco were standing completely still and both of them were breathing so evenly that they weren't making a sound. Sirius was being a child and waving a Ravenclaw flag in one hand and Slytherin in the other. He was yelling tips for both her and Draco, but she wasn't listening to him at all.

While he might have been an Auror for two decades, he also held the record for most on the job injuries. The reason why? This will shock no one, Sirius Black was reckless.

Anyway, back to her duel, because Hermione was not like her uncle. No, now that she knew Draco better, she'd watched the stance he used when he cast spells, even simple ones. The relaxed and eased posture he used was a facade, she could see the tension in the way his foot shifted ever so slightly, trying to make sure that he was as sturdy as possible.

"GO!" Sirius bellowed, and the gloves were off.

Not a single hex or charm she shot in Draco's direction was pulled, putting everything she had into the onslaught of magic she was pouring at him. Draco had the same mindset, as his shield was impenetrable and the spells bouncing off her own were making the wards around them quiver.

Harry and Theo were holding each other, jumping up and down on the sides, passing gold around as they made bets with the rest of the class. Hermione didn't give a single shit though; she knew that she couldn't divide her attention between their antics and only focused on Draco.

His movements were so fluid, and it was obvious that he'd grown up dueling and that it came naturally to him. Luc, for being identical to the boy across from her, was the complete opposite, always putting too much thought into each of his spells. Draco moved like he was swimming through the air, every wave and flick of his wand just an extension of himself with colors from his magic pouring off the tip of his wand.

Hermione was no slouch herself, the magic was pulsing through her veins, begging to be unleashed. She granted it exactly that too, she twisted expertly out of the way of Draco's attempt to disarm her, moving closer to Draco.

She had a plan, if Sirius was wanting to see hand to hand combat, she was going to give him exactly that. She just had to get close enough to make sure that she could get the upper hand on him. She'd seen how lethal Draco was, and she couldn't give him the opportunity to pin her, because if he did, she wasn't sure she'd be able to get out from under him.

"Tired yet," she taunted, enjoying seeing the sweat beading at his forehead and his jaw tense in concentration. "You could just admit defeat," she cooed, dropping and rolling as his new spell shattered her shield and over the top of her body. She popped up closer to Draco, quickly waving her wand to send his next spell flying towards Theo and Harry who both shrieked and hid behind Pansy and Luc.

Hermione threw her body at Draco, tackling him to the ground. The two of them began to roll and their wands were discarded, forgotten in the shuffle. Being this close to him, Hermione couldn't help but enjoy the way the tart apple he'd eaten with breakfast still lingered on his breath. When they came to a stop, she was straddling him, reaching out to summon both of their wands.

They flew across the platform, but Draco's narrowly missed her grasp as she took hold of her own. Draco deflected his own from her with a wave of his hand, and instead opted to take hold of her shoulders and throw him off her, rolling with her. Being so close to him, she pressed her Vinewood into his sternum and muttered a small hex that sent him flying off her before he could pin her arms.

She jumped to her feet, this time waving her wand to summon his, but Draco had already beaten her to it. Being armed again, the two were back in the heat of the battle, neither giving even an inch to the other. Hermione parried each of his attacks, weaving through the oncoming spells to send her own in his direction. A few landed their marks, but none were disabling enough to stop either of them.

Her breaths were ragged, but she skirted her way closer towards her opponent ready to end this. Just as she dropped her shield, something flew out of the end of Draco's wand, distracting her. When she went to wave her own wand, her arm felt heavy, and her eyes flickered down to see what was causing the weight.

A snake had itself coiled around her wrist and in a panic, she let out a yelp. That was all the distraction Draco needed, disarming her and catching her wand easily in his hand. Hermione shoved the snake from its hold on her and jumped back away from it, but with another spell from Draco it was gone.

"DRACO MALFOY IS THE WINNER!" Sirius was cheering, jumping up and down, even turning into Padfoot to run about with the fucking green and silver Slytherin flag in his mouth.

Harry was groaning and his face was dropped into his hands with Theo cheering and pumping his fist, holding a sack full of gold.

However, Hermione wasn't paying any of them any attention, instead her eyes were narrowed at the boy across from her smirking as he twirled her wand between his fingers. The fucking cheat.