They returned to the living room where the doppelgänger was standing in front of one of her bookcases, reading a book. It was not the fact that they found him reading that surprised Hermione, but the knowledge that he was reading a Muggle book and seemed mesmerized by it.
"It's your turn," Malfoy said and went to look out of the window by her fireplace.
"Mm-hm," the other hummed, evidently in no hurry to oblige as he continued to read.
Curiosity got the better of Hermione and she stepped closer to him. Tilting her head to the side, she caught sight of the title. Pride and Prejudice . One of her favorites. She even had multiple copies: one premium hardcover edition in mint condition, and her old and battered version that had been a good companion to her throughout the years.
"That's a Muggle book," she observed, thinking he might not have noticed. The Malfoy double raised an eyebrow at her and snapped the book shut.
"Observant, aren't we?" Back with the snark. Instead of returning the book, he slipped it into the pocket of his dressing gown. To put an expansion spell on a dressing gown pocket seemed a bit excessive to Hermione. Then again, most of Malfoy's clothes probably cost more than her entire wardrobe. A grin played on his lips and he gestured for her to lead the way.
Instead of following her inside, he came to a halt at the door. She watched him take in the whole room, his eyes roaming over everything.
"It's very you ," he commented.
Hermione did not understand what he meant by that. "What do you mean?"
"Lots of books. Obviously. You definitely made the most of this space. I doubt you could cram any more books in here, even if you tried. Warm wood tones. Those armchairs. Burgundy? I can easily imagine that this is similar to what the Gryffindor common room looks like." He accompanied his observation with gestures and pointing fingers. The word Gryffindor had him scrunch up his nose slightly. How much more expressive was he compared to the Malfoy she had just left in her living room? It was house rivalry all over again, except this time, Hermione did not have to be afraid of slurs or jabs at her blood status. She knew he had said it good naturedly and was simply teasing her.
"So, I like books and am a former Gryffindor. Very observant. Let me guess how your office looks: dark green leather chair. Mahogany furniture? Bar cart. Everything is expensive and only of the best quality." Like in their school days, she quickly rose to his provocation.
He barked a laugh. "Touché."
She sat down in her armchair, suppressing a victorious smile. He finally stepped away from the door but instead of joining her, he strolled around her office. His fingers skimming the spines of her books.
"You really are insatiable, aren't you?" he wondered aloud, but she still did not understand what he meant. He clarified, "Your thirst for knowledge." He took a book and leafed through it. "I always wonder if that's the reason you took on the project. It must be unbearable for you to know that there is knowledge others have that nobody else can access, locked away behind Occlumency walls."
The way he looked at her was different. His eyes had an intensity to them that almost made her want to avert her gaze. Hermione had the impression that he could see directly into her soul. It made her nervous; she squirmed and worried at her lip. Had there been a spark in his eyes before he turned his back to her? He returned her book to the correct shelf.
"Occlumens being a locked book, just waiting to be pried open and devoured." He came to stand behind the other chair. "Am I a book you can't wait to devour?"
Although he did not ask it suggestively, Hermione's mind dove into her sexual fantasies. Yes, was how she wanted to answer. Catching a glimpse of this side of Draco Malfoy only made her crave for more. He reminded her of his old self, however, not in a bad way. He was smart and quick-witted, without the malice of their Hogwarts days.
"Will you sit down now, Malfoy?" she asked instead, lacing her voice with mock impatience.
"Draco," he corrected her.
"Will you sit down now, Draco ?" she repeated. Forming the syllables of his name was a novel sensation she could get used to. It also helped her to separate them in her mind. If this one was Draco then the other one would be Malfoy.
Draco sat down across from her. His posture was relaxed, laid-back, in such contrast to the occluding Malfoy.
Hermione started her test with a diagnostic charm.
"Interesting," she said, and noted down the data. When she looked back up, she saw him watching her with an amused smirk, his chin resting on his hand.
"We will start with you describing what happened in the time between our last session and you waking on my couch."
"After the session, I went back to work and nearly bored myself out of my mind with paperwork," he answered, rolling his eyes.
"Anything unusual?"
He grumbled. "I would love to say that the paperwork was so boring it gave me a massive headache, but I think that was caused by something else."
"Massive?" Hermione circled the word ' slight' she had added earlier to her mind map.
Draco leaned forward and peered down into her notebook before snatching it out of her hand. Hermione spluttered in protest but he waved her off nonchalantly. Reading what his predecessor had told her, he tsked.
"Slight headache? More like constant throbbing pain." His eyes moved further down the page, quickly reading her notes.
"The rest seems accurate, though. You could call it a splitting headache, I suppose," he alluded to the fact that the headache had been most intense just before they had disengaged. Sarcasm dripped off his tongue.
Hermione did not like him interfering with her questioning or him taking such liberties with her notes. With a scowl, she reclaimed her notebook and smoothed over the pages.
Having retaken the lead in this interview, her eyes landed on another word she had marked earlier.
"You had an argument?" She hoped that he would be more obliging, yet to her despair he offered only a curt affirmation.
"Yes." Just as unwilling to elaborate as Malfoy had been. As she kept looking at him expectantly, he glanced away and played with the belt of his bathrobe.
"Fine," she huffed, set up the monitoring charm for the emotion control test, and grabbed the stack of pictures. Although she had not turned the stack so he could see the pictures, his heart rate had already increased.
"Do we have to do this?" He pressed his lips into a thin line.
"Seeing as you cannot occlude, I must be able to compare." Not leaving any room for further discussion, she began to show him the pictures.
"Let me save us some time, Hermione. Give me those and I will tell you what I think." He held his hand out towards her and Hermione obliged without thinking. Her mind was still caught up in him calling her by her first name again. For a brief moment, her fingers brushed against his and it felt like electricity was coursing through her veins. When he quickly discarded the general pictures, Hermione wanted to protest, but he stopped her with a gesture.
"I get why you show me these, though they do bore me. The first ones are all very pleasant, no doubt about that, but the others are boring." He flipped the picture of Quidditch towards her. She had specifically chosen one of his favorite teams.
"I do like Quidditch, Hermione, don't get me wrong, but not that much that it could even let me falter without my Occlumency." The picture joined the ones on the floor.
"Pansy?" He raised an eyebrow in exaggerated disbelief. "Did I ever give the impression that I felt very strongly about her? We dated for a short time, but that's that." He threw the picture aside.
"You do not know what I like, at all it seems. I might have to write down some suggestions for you."
Despite knowing that he did not mean it, Hermione offered him her notebook and ballpen.
"He will kill me if I do."
"The other you?" She asked to make sure she had understood who he was referring to.
"Would serve him right, though, if I did." The devious smirk on his lips only served to make Hermione more curious. She added What makes Draco happy that Malfoy would kill him if I knew? to her list of questions. When she looked back up from her notes, she found him gazing at the picture of the late Muggle Studies teacher. His eyes were filled to the brim with sadness, close to spilling over. His shoulders looked tense and the photo wrinkled from how hard he clutched onto the paper. Gently, she placed her hand on his. At the contact, he seemingly snapped out of his thoughts and their eyes met. They were so deep that she was afraid to drown in them.
"That's enough." Hermione squeezed his hand and carefully took the picture from him. With a flick of her wand, they flew into a drawer.
An awkward silence settled over them. Not having been confronted with this much emotion from him before, Hermione suddenly felt overwhelmed. She felt caught between apologizing for putting the picture into the pile and embracing him comfortingly with a hug. Seeing the usually aloof man suddenly so sad and vulnerable made her heart ache for him.
"Sometimes I wish I could just stop," he murmured.
"Stop what?"
"Occluding," he clarified. That Occlumency was not always a possibility but a necessity for its users was something Hermione already knew. While it helped to be more rational about things, to function better in stressful situations, it could also let the Occlumens develop dependence. She set aside her notebook. This was not something she wanted to discuss with him as an Unspeakable and conductor of this experiment, but as Hermione Granger.
"Do you think that is why this happened?"
"Possibly." He opened his mouth to say more although no words came.
"No, please, go on." Whatever it was that was so hard for him to say, Hermione had a feeling it was something big.
"I think that I am all those memories and feelings that got shoved away." Again his eyes were swimming with sadness, unfathomably deep. Beside that, there was also a helpless and resigned quality about them. If he was what he thought he was, it must be hard, so hard. All the things Malfoy had locked away over the years, that he did not want to dwell on. It had to feel like an avalanche crashing down.
"I guess it's a good thing that he doesn't only lock away the bad, but also the good."
He gave her a lop-sided grin.
A peck on her window forced her to tear her eyes from his. After opening the window and untying the letter from the bird's leg, Hermione gave the owl a treat and sent it back on its way. Letter in hand, she walked back towards him, scanning the words. The message from her boss was short and to the point.
"Good news: You seem to be the only one that became disengaged."
Looking up from her letter, she found him standing right in front of her, a soft shine in his eyes as he gazed down upon her. Slowly, he bent down and placed his lips on hers in a soft kiss. The moment she registered it, his lips were already gone. Although their lips had barely touched, it felt like he had burned her. Hermione's eyes went wide in disbelief, shocked at the suddenness of his action. While her brain still tried to figure out what had just happened, he just smiled at her.
"We should go back before he gets impatient." And just like that, he was gone.
Alone in her office, Hermione's heartbeat deafened her while her fingers traced over her lips. How would she survive a whole weekend with him after that? Just like she had always wanted, she had seen a ripple on his pond. But was she ready to tread these turbulent waters?
His double returned without Granger and something about the pleased smile on his lips did not sit well with Draco. Observing the way the doppelgänger went on to lounge on Granger's couch, reading her Muggle book, Draco thought he took her invitation to make himself at home too literally.
"Where's Granger?" Draco inquired, letting his irritation shine through. A shrug was all he got for an answer, the doppelgänger not even bothering to look at him. Draco could not shake the feeling that the other one had done or said something that he should not have.
"What did you tell her?" Draco demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"That I do not like Quidditch nor Pansy as much as she thinks I do," the other drawled and turned the page of his book. Draco did not like him one bit. He knew this did not make sense: they were essentially the same person. Despite this, Draco could not stand this other version of himself. The easy way in which he interacted with Granger, did not sit well with Draco. The other calling Granger by her first name had startled her, although she did not seem to mind.
Even though they had barely exchanged words, Granger had smiled at the double, as though she was at ease with him more so than Draco.
Smiled.
At him.
That smile had caught Draco off guard, though thankfully nobody had seen him falter. Draco had seen her smile at many people before. That it could ever be addressed to him, though, had never crossed his mind. Contradicting everything he believed in, there he was, witnessing it with his own eyes. It was like an absurd out-of-body experience, like his fantasy playing out in real life right in front of him.
Pure mockery.
All that time Draco had kept it strictly professional between him and Granger, now seemed like a mistake. To protect himself, he had neatly put his little crush away in periwinkle blue files and securely locked them in the back of one of his mental filing cabinets. Draco had feared that if he got his hopes up, he would only be disappointed. He had feared nothing more than rejection - disgust, even - while it apparently only took a couple of smirks and snarky comments for her to smile at this other version of himself! It was like Goldstein's interruption all over again, with the important change that this time he was jealous of himself .
Well, not exactly himself, but rather a version that was too much like his schoolboy self for Draco's liking. He could not comprehend how that could appeal to Granger.
Even so, this version did not mock or ridicule her. It made Draco second guess every decision he had made since his trial.
Under any other circumstances, Draco would have Floo'd home immediately to delve back into every single memory he had of her. He would comb through every row and every drawer of his mental filing cabinets, years and years of memories, reviewing every periwinkle blue file with great care to detail. Periwinkle blue like her Yule Ball dress. Draco had chosen that color for anything Granger related as the memory of her coming down those stairs marked the moment he had noticed her as something other than an annoying Mudblood know-it-all.
Would she have accepted him without the malice and blood prejudice? All the chances he had missed. Granger visited Potter often enough in the Auror office that Draco could have inserted himself in a conversation. Sweet Salazar , would an occasional "good morning" paired with a lazy smile at the lifts have been enough to start a pleasant conversation? Could it have been so easy?
Dwelling on it would not make his inaction undone. Yet, Draco found it hard to be rational about it. He had to get himself under control but that would not happen if his doppelgänger kept stepping out of line. A few strides and Draco stood in front of the double and put his hand onto the pages of the book, preventing the other from reading. Draco found himself at the end of one of his own annoyed sneers.
"What?" snapped the doppelgänger.
"We should coordinate what we tell Granger," he hissed, though it was meant as less of a suggestion and more of a command.
Draco could see the haughtiness in the other's eyes and wondered how Snape could have ever tolerated him. Whatever witty and scathing remarks his double had planned for him would remain unknown, as Granger came back into the living room at that exact moment. She had a slight flush to her cheeks and worried at her bottom lip. That she could not meet his eyes without her cheeks glowing Weasley red, told Draco that something had happened between her and his doppelgänger.
If whatever had separated them could not be reversed, Draco would have to get rid of the other. He could not stand the thought of having to watch anything unfurl between Granger and his double. For all Draco cared, the doppelgänger could become bogged down with the reclusive Malfoy relatives in France.
"I'll get you set up for the weekend in my guestroom," she addressed the room in general, instead of one of them in particular.
"You could also stay at the Manor," Draco proposed, immediately regretting it when he saw how pale she turned at the thought of it. His doppelgänger shot him a glare before turning towards Granger.
"Your guest room will be fine." Her eyes flickered between them, seemingly indecisive for a moment. In the end, she gave his double a small smile that made Draco resent him even more. After nervously shifting from one foot to the other and glancing in between them, Granger left the room.
As he was sure that the double would not tell him what he had done or said to have made Granger this jittery, Draco would try his luck with her. He had no trouble finding the guest room where she was making the bed up by hand, the Muggle way. The way she was bent over the bed made her ass jut out nicely. It would be so easy to just close the door behind him and forget his doppelgänger, while enjoying his time with Granger. Still, the thought that there was even a slight chance she would ruffle the sheets with him was delusional.
Draco cleared his throat, which earned him a surprised squeak. The sound made him momentarily forget what he had come for; his mind went to all the other sounds he would like to hear from her. Getting his thoughts under control became surprisingly much more difficult than he had hoped. If his Occlumency kept deteriorating at this rate, he would be left without it by the end of the weekend.
"What has got you all jumpy, Granger? If he has done something untoward, I can always stupefy him again." One word from her and Draco would gladly knock the other out for the rest of the weekend.
"He's done nothing," her answer came a little too fast for his liking and she turned to stuff the pillow into its case. "There won't be any need to stupefy him," she said, her voice firm. Shoving the buttons a little harder than necessary into their holes, she continued, "I already told you that having him unconscious for this long is not an option."
Fluffing the pillow one last time, she placed it on the bed. "There, all done."
"Not quite." He pulled out his wand. A simple incantation later and the double bed had split into two singles, which moved apart as far from one another as they possibly could to the opposing walls. Granger rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms.
"Don't even want to share a bed with yourself?"
"I don't share, Granger." Not even with myself.
"Sharing is caring, Malfoy." A very unbidden image forced itself into his mind. Granger, caught between himself and his doppelgänger. His mouth went dry and he had to swallow. Draco balled his hands into fists, his nails digging into his palms. The pain helped to force the image out of his mind.
"I will keep it in mind," he gritted out and unclenched his fists. A growl filled the silence between them. His stomach was making itself known.
"Are you hungry?" Denying it after the loud rumble of his stomach would be futile, so Draco nodded. With a disbelieving shake of her head and a roll of her eyes, Granger walked past him, heading back to the living room. Seeing her lean over the back of the couch and placing a hand on his doppelgänger's shoulder made his forehead crease as he frowned. He was one slip of Occlumency away from snarling at his double. Instead, he shut the door with more force than was needed behind him, which sadly got no reaction from either of them. Jealousy rose like bile in his throat, a bitter taste spreading over his tongue.
"Draco, I'll warm up some leftovers for Malfoy, in case you are hungry as well?"
Draco. Malfoy. He had never had the pleasure of hearing her say his name before. Those two syllables sounded sweet coming from her lips, yet the moment was tainted. It was not addressed to him . She had called the double Draco and had referred to him as Malfoy . And when his doppelgänger turned his head to answer her, their faces were way too close for Draco's liking.
"That would be lovely, Hermione," his double purred and Granger got all flustered again, quickly retreating to the kitchen where she busied herself with making them something to eat.
His double had the nerve to wink at him. Unbelievable! Draco retaliated with a sneer. Unsure whether he had the self-control to not punch the git, Draco joined Granger in the kitchen.
"I hope you like Italian food," she said, as her gaze was firmly fixed upon a plate turning inside a Muggle device.
"I do," Malfoy answered and sat down at her dining table.
Somehow, his answer put a smile on her face.
"Maybe I should put a photo of spaghetti in your test images, then," she giggled to herself and Draco raised an eyebrow. "It's just that you - I mean the other you – said that I don't know what you like." The Muggle device beeped and she exchanged the plate for another one. With a stasis spell, she kept the plate warm while waiting for the next to finish. She looked at him as if waiting for a reaction. With no idea what Granger wanted from him, Draco gave her a non-committal shrug.
"It's just a joke. I doubt that spaghetti will get a better reaction from you, seeing as Quidditch doesn't do the trick." Abashed at her attempt to jest with him, she pushed some of her hair behind her ear. Although it was not funny, he could not help a short snort from escaping his lips. His reaction let her stare at him wide-eyed for a second before a brilliant smile spread across her own lips. Was this minimal display of emotion, this shared humorous moment, enough to earn him a smile of his own? Another beep and their little moment was over.
"Draco, dinner is ready!" she called the double to the table and the bitterness of jealousy was back. His doppelgänger strolled into the kitchen, his eyes never leaving the pages of the book he had taken from Granger's shelf. They ate in silence. The double kept on reading, not sparing them even one glance. Draco ate his pasta, tasting nothing but bitterness, while Granger watched them, nervously playing with the edge of the tablecloth.
"I also have some wine, if you would like some?" She was already half off her chair to fetch the bottle. It must have been her attempt at being a welcoming host. Draco found it rather adorable, but it did not stop him from declining, though.
"I'm not sure wine is the best choice. We can't be sure that it won't interfere with this ." He gestured between himself and the reading doppelgänger, who finally looked up.
"Uh… You are probably right." Hermione sat back down, chewing on her lip. She seemed desperate to make some form of conversation.
"The pasta is very-" Draco tried to lighten the mood, which was drowned out by the doppelgänger.
"Hermione, do you like this Darcy bloke?"
Hermione blinked in confusion, then smiled. "He might be prejudiced and rude in the beginning, but he realizes his mistakes and makes up for them in the end. So, yes, I like him."
His double hummed and nodded before continuing to read.
After the meal, they moved into the living room. Each occupying their own seat, Draco took one of the empty armchairs by the fireplace, while his double and Hermione sat on the sofa. They spent the time in companionable silence. While Granger reviewed her notes and the doppelgänger was engrossed in the Muggle book, Draco tried to sort through his thoughts. The change of Granger's behavior towards him had given Draco a reason to rethink his assumptions about her and any chance he might have with her.
A long yawn drew both his and his double's attention.
"I think I'm going to call it a day." Granger put her notebook onto the coffee table and made her way towards the door. "The bathroom is the second door on the left. I will leave toothbrushes out for you. My bedroom is at the end of the hallway, if you need anything."
Her hand had just touched the door handle when his double threw a, "What? No kiss goodnight?" over his shoulder. Her eyes were wide when she turned towards them, her face completely red. When her eyes met his, Draco could see a mixture of embarrassment and regret. Was that it? Had they kissed?
Draco saw red. Jealousy washed over him. Had he not dug his fingers into the armrest of his armchair to ground himself, he would have been at his double's throat in no time. One deep inhale, followed by a long exhale, Draco was in control of his feelings once again.
"Good night, Granger," he dismissed her and she hurried away. Her speedy retreat had his doppelgänger chuckling.
"You will stop that!" Draco barked when he was sure that Granger was out of earshot.
The chuckle of his double did not die down.
"Stop what?" the doppelgänger challenged him.
"Making advances on Granger," Draco hissed through his teeth.
Within the blink of an eye, the aura of his doppelgänger changed from relaxed and playful to focused and defiant. He put his book to the side and was in front of Draco within seconds.
"Listen up,"-The double put his hand on the armrests to cage him in.-"I won't stop. I'm sick and tired of you holding back, of you locking it all away. I want Hermione and I will take my chance with her." It was hard hearing his doppelgänger say out loud what Draco had begun to think himself. Still, he could not have him continue. The thought of having to sit idly by while this version of him wooed Granger, was unbearable. Draco pulled his wand out and pressed it to the other's throat.
"Don't you dare," he warned him, baring his teeth.
"You won't hex me. Hermione would be so disappointed in you and we both know we can't stand her disappointed look." The doppelgänger stated, practically oozing in self-confidence.
He was right, though. Those were only empty threats. Draco was all bark and no bite. All he could do was push his wand further against the other's neck and glare.
"I advise you to finally make your move," his double snarled before he stepped back and retreated from the room.
Draco intended to do just that come tomorrow morning.
