Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Changing the timeline a bit again! Gryffindor's win for the Quidditch cup happens earlier in canon but now for my story! :)
Chapter 8
The next week passed by uneventfully. Hermione attended her regular meet up sessions with Malfoy on Tuesday and Friday which they spent searching through various textbooks Hermione had snuck out of the Restricted Section. They had yet to find a new spell that may work on the cabinet, but she had not given up hope. She was sure they would find something soon enough.
Her and Malfoy had shared a few kisses during their study sessions, though it did not go much further than that. She had an inkling that he was withdrawing himself from her and she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. The days after her injury had been nice… Malfoy had been somewhat caring towards her and she felt that perhaps he would let down his walls and allow her to get to know him better. She had been wrong, however. Malfoy kept their conversations strictly about fixing the cabinet and their game of 21 questions did not get any deeper than knowing each other's favourite things and a few stories from their childhoods. She had noticed, however, that nearly all of his positive childhood memories included his mother and not his father.
Anytime he spoke about holidays that he had enjoyed, games that he had played and gifts that he had received he had always associated them with his mother. From what he had told her, Narcissa Malfoy seemed like a very devoted mother who spoiled her only son rotten. She lavished him with expensive gifts and sweets on holidays, took him to Quidditch events as a child while his father was at work, took him shopping the summer before school in their early years and purchased him whatever he needed. She sent him little trinkets and goodies during the school year and showered him in affection. The closest Hermione had gotten to knowing about his relationship with his mother on a slightly deeper level was last Friday night. She recalled the memory.
"Your punishments you received as a child…" Hermione began nervously as she sat across him, skimming through a textbook in her lap. She wasn't sure if he would lash out at her for her slightly invasive question but she had to ask. "Where was your mother during those?".
She glanced up from her book at him and noticed a muscle in his jaw twitch as he stared down at the parchment he had been reading in his own lap. He didn't look up at her when he answered.
"She was home." he said shortly.
"You know what I mean…" she pushed, disappointed in his response. He spoke so highly of his mother but Hermione couldn't see how such a loving mother would allow her child to go through such pain at the hands of her husband.
He scowled, finally looking up from his parchment and at her. "What was she supposed to do, Granger?" he asked, voice dripping with annoyance. "If he did all of that to me, how do you think he treated her? They've been married much longer than I've been alive.".
Hermione felt silly for her question and she simply nodded, turning her gaze back down to her book. "Right… I'm sorry I asked." she said quietly. Of course Lucius Malfoy was not only an abusive father, but likely an abusive husband too.
She heard him sigh before he spoke again. "The first time he punished me… she had tried to come between us and he had knocked her to the floor before she could do much. She's a small woman, I wouldn't want her to try and stop him anyways." he explained. "I thought that had been all since he left the room after that encounter. The next day she showed up to breakfast with a black eye and a swollen lip… father didn't like her to heal her injuries. To remind her of her place." he spat bitterly.
She felt her heart twist at his words as she closed her textbook. "I'm sorry…" she said, ashamed of herself for doubting Narcissa as a mother.
"She came to me after every punishment. Apologized over and over for not being able to do anything more for me. She would sneak me food when father forbade the elves from providing me with any. She healed my injuries when he left home. She did her best to help me but there was never much she could do." he finished. "It's forbidden for a pureblooded wife to leave her husband. She would probably be hunted down and killed if she even tried." he added before she could ask if they'd ever tried escaping.
Hermione nodded, feeling her resentment for Lucius Malfoy increase tenfold. She wondered if he and his mother felt relieved following his arrest the previous year. Malfoy had seemed upset about it in the beginning of their sixth year when he had stomped on Harry's face on the Hogwart's Express and she couldn't see why.
"It's getting late. We should go." he said, standing from his chair and handing her back her notes.
Hermione sighed as she entered the Great Hall for breakfast. She couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by him returning back to his cold demeanor towards her, especially after what they had done in the empty classroom just last week. She didn't know if she was just reading too deep into things. What they had done in the classroom was probably the equivalent to a peck on the lips for someone like Malfoy. But it wasn't to her...
She sighed, spooning some scrambled eggs onto her plate as Harry and Ron took their places across her. She listened as they discussed Quidditch plays they would do during today's game against Ravenclaw. Gryffindor was on a winning streak and on the road to the Quidditch Cup. She was confident in her friends and sure that Gryffindor would win today's game. Seamus and Dean had already begun spreading word of the party in Gryffindor tower tonight in celebration.
Although she wanted nothing more than to head down to the library and continue researching ways to fix the cabinet as she had promised Malfoy, but she had also promised Ron that she would attend the game today. Ever since his break up with Lavender he had certainly been getting a bit more touchy with her. She pretended not to notice when he wrapped an arm around her or reached out to take her hand when they walked around the school grounds. She no longer saw Ron as anything more than a friend, but she knew he had been hoping that now that he and Lavender were done she would be waiting for him.
She had decided that she would support her friends and house for the day and take a short break from her constant research. She had told Malfoy she needed two weeks to come up with a new plan and she still had a few days before the two week mark. And maybe her and Ron could have a talk after the game about their relationship where she could let him know she did not see their friendship developing into anything more.
"Ready to win, boys?" she heard Ginny's voice as the younger girl slid into the seat next to her.
Harry noticeably perked up as he smiled at Ginny from across the table. "Ready as ever.". Ron enthusiastically nodded his agreement over a mouthful of food.
"You guys are going to be great." Hermione said, grinning at her three friends in support.
She was sporting Gryffindor colours today like several other students at their table. It was the final game of the year and the hall was buzzing in excitement. Ginny, Ron and Harry finished up their breakfast quickly before they stood, gesturing for the rest of their teammates to follow before they began heading out of the hall and down to the pitch to get in some warm-ups before the game.
"See you down there, Mione!" Ron called as the rest of the team waved at her.
She smiled in return, waving back before she too began packing up her things. She still had about an hour before the game that she could spend in the library. She made her way down to the library and headed for her usual table in the far back. Like it usually was on game days, the library was mostly deserted besides a few students here and there. She faltered in her step as she heard hushed whispers from a nearby aisle and she felt her heart drop as she listened.
"Draco… come on," she heard the sultry voice of Pansy Parkinson as she paused around the corner.
Was this really happening? Was Malfoy still seeing Parkinson? Was this why he had been giving her the cold shoulder recently?
She felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she stood hidden. Of course he was. This was Draco Malfoy, the sneaky Slytherin that she had allowed to trick her into fooling around with him from time to time.
"I don't share." she recalled him saying, and she felt anger rise within her.
So she wasn't allowed to cozy up to Ron but he was allowed to sneak around with Parkinson in the library? She swallowed the lump in her throat before she stepped out from around the corner of the aisle and into view of the aisle.
Parkinson stood, leaning back against the bookshelf and Malfoy stood in front of her, arms raised above the girl's head as he skimmed through the shelves of books, clearly searching for something. She felt a twinge of jealousy when she noticed Parkinson's manicured fingers tracing the waistband of his trousers as she stood on her tiptoes, whispering in his ear. Although Malfoy wasn't returning the girl's advances, he certainly wasn't resisting them either. He didn't push her hands away nor did he stop her from peppering kisses down from his ear to his throat.
Hermione felt like an idiotic schoolgirl as she watched the pair, frozen in the spot. Sure, Malfoy and her weren't dating but had she been stupid for thinking they had just been seeing one another? Especially after she had told him she hoped he wasn't seeing anyone else! She couldn't believe she had let him kiss her so many times… let him pull off her bra and kiss and suckle on her intimate spots while assuming he wasn't doing it with anyone else. Her face flushed in a mixture of shame, embarrassment and anger.
She was finally pulled from her thoughts when Parkinson glanced in her direction and a smirk played on the Slytherin girl's lips. "Like what you see, Mudblood?" she called, fingers hooked under Malfoy's trousers.
Malfoy's head snapped up from his searching of the shelves and he turned to look at her. Their eyes locked and Hermione grit her teeth as she glared at him.
"Please, Parkinson. Have you any class?" she shot back, turning her attention to the girl. "I knew you were a slag but right here in the library?" she pressed, glaring at the girl.
She didn't notice the smirk on Malfoy's lips at her insult as Parkinson gasped, looking up at Malfoy for support. When he remained silent, she turned back to Hermione.
"Fuck off, you prude!" she hissed, as Malfoy finally stepped back from her, forcing her hands off of him.
Hermione felt a twinge of hurt at the insult, recalling the moment when Malfoy had called her the same not too long ago. She glanced over at Malfoy who still stood silently, staring back at her. He had nothing to say now?
With one final glare at the pair, Hermione turned and continued on her path to her favourite table in the back of the library. So she had misread her and Malfoy's relationship. Fine. If he wanted to fool around with Parkinson the slag, she wouldn't stop him. She would find the solution to the cabinet only because she promised she had and then she would forget all about Malfoy. She was done being his play thing that he could toss around at her expense.
Taking her seat at her table, Hermione pulled out her notes from her bag along with the latest textbook she was researching and began her research with a new found effort. The sooner she found a fix to the cabinet, the sooner she could be done with the horrible Slytherin.
Draco cursed under his breath as Granger walked off. Pansy was really starting to get on his nerves now. Sure he had been fooling around with the Slytherin girl a bit here and there, but he hadn't actually fucked her since his agreement to not see anyone else but Granger. Today had been an unfortunate misunderstanding. He had skipped breakfast to come down to the library to do some research on the cabinet when Pansy had showed up, trying as always to get him to give her the attention he used to. He hadn't bothered to push the girl away simply because he had no intention of giving in to her.
He had been distancing himself a bit from Granger the last week. He wanted to keep her at a distance to ensure he didn't get too caught up with her and further distract him from the bigger picture. His task. He had still been meeting her during their agreed upon days and times, but he hadn't allowed their interactions to move to anything on a personal level. After her injury he had begun to allow himself to care for her a bit too much for his liking and so he had decided to take a step back. But now that she had seen him with Pansy he knew she would be upset.
"Can you believe her?" he heard Pansy complain. "She called me a slag! How dare she, the little Mud-"
Draco cut her off with a sneer. "You are a slag, Pansy." he hissed, ignoring the shocked look on her face.
"What's gotten into you, Draco?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "You've been so horrible to me the last few weeks! I thought…"
"You thought what?" he asked coldly, placing a finger under her chin and forcing her head back to look at him. "You thought I'd actually like you?" he scoffed. "You're an easy fuck. A good one, I'll give you that. But that's it. You're willing to spread your legs for whoever, whenever." he watched as a tear slipped from her eye.
"W-what?" she breathed, more tears escaping her eyes.
"I would never take you seriously. You were fun to mess around with, but now you're starting to cost me more than you benefit me." he spat, thinking back to Granger. He would have to fix this one with her now. "Fuck off." he released her face, shoving her out of his way as he headed out of the aisle.
He ignored her calls for him as she headed further into the library where he knew Granger sat. He would apologize to her for Pansy calling her a Mudblood and get her back on his good graces. Once he spotted her table, he headed over, taking the seat next to her. She stiffened before looking up at him, shooting him a dirty look.
"Can I help you?" she asked coldly, putting her quill down.
He raised a brow. "Jealous, Granger?" he purred, leaning forward in his seat. He recalled not too long ago when they sat at their very table, having this very same conversation the last time she had seen him and Pansy together in the library. He felt satisfied as he noticed her cheeks colour with blush.
"Screw you, Malfoy." she muttered.
"You would like that, wouldn't you?" he teased, picking up the parchment in front of her. His stomach turned in...guilt? She was making notes on new approaches they could take with the cabinet.
"You're disgusting." she hissed, snatching back her parchment. "You're foul… and cruel… and hypocritical. And I honestly can't believe how stupid I've been to even let you touch me."
Ouch. He felt annoyance rise in him at her words. He has never claimed her as his girlfriend or anything of the sort. Sure, he felt possessive of her because she had been there for him at his lowest point and he was attracted to her sexually but they certainly didn't have feelings for each other. Even if she had walked in on him fucking Pansy, what did he owe her?
"You wanted to get at me for being friends with Ron because I may or may not have had feelings for him before and yet here you are canoodling with Parkinson in the library?" she continued in a hushed tone.
"That's different." he responded lamely. "I… I don't have feelings for Pansy."
She scoffed. "Oh and that makes it okay? I don't know what kind of girl you think I am but I won't allow someone to call me theirs and snog me and…" she trailed off, blushing again. He knew she was referring to the time he has been suckling on her breasts in the empty classroom. "And more if they're doing the same with someone else!" she finished.
"Pansy's obsessed with me. What do you want me to do? I wasn't the one with my hand up her skirt." he responded in a nonchalant tone.
"Oh and you were working so hard to push her off, were you?" she shot back sarcastically. "I don't know how I didn't see this before. You're not different. You're the same mean person you've always been. You lead me on, make me feel special, act like you care about me when I'm hurt all the while you've probably been shagging Parkinson behind my back."
Draco felt anger rise in him. "Sorry to break it to you, Granger. But I can fuck whomever I please. I can kiss whomever I please. You're right, I'm not different." he hissed. "I never claimed to be some saint and it's not on me that you were so willing to let my filthy hands touch you." he felt a rise of satisfaction at the hurt expression on her face. "That's right," he goaded, wanting to hurt her more. "You were all too easy to kiss. You were all too willing to take your shirt off and let me play with your tits. Don't act so innocent, Granger. You know who I am. You knew what you were doing. You knew what we were doing. So stop behaving like a clingy-" he was cut off when she reached out to slap him.
He was furious. That was the second time she had slapped him this year. He opened his mouth to tell her off when she reached out and slapped him again, this time on the opposite cheek. That was three times now. He quickly lashed out to grab her wrist and possibly break it but she was too fast. She pulled her wand out and had it under his throat before he could grasp hold of her.
"I hate you, Malfoy." she hissed, digging her wand painfully into his neck. He seethed under it, staring at her with furious eyes. "After I find a way to help you fix this cabinet I never want to hear from you again. I never want to see you again. I never want you to touch me again. I want absolutely nothing to do with you." she held her wand to his throat for a few seconds as if she were deciding whether or not she should hex him.
They stared at each other for a minute before she dropped her wand and began packing up her things. He sat there in a mixture of shock at her bold words and anger at her actions.
She stood once her things were packed, wand still clutched tightly in her hand. "I'll be in the Room of Requirement on Tuesday with new information I found. I'll give you my notes and I'll teach you anything you need to know. That's it." she said before brushing past him to leave.
He watched her go before he snapped out of his shock, standing and following after her. He grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her into an empty aisle once he caught up to her. Before she could raise her wand to him again, he reached down with his free hand and ripped it out of her grasp, tossing it further down the aisle.
"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, Granger?" he hissed, grip on her bicep tightening. He didn't know why he went after her to continue their argument but he didn't want her having the last word. "I told you, you're mine. If I want to touch you, I will."
She glared up at him, reaching up with her free hand to slap him again. He grabbed her wrist before she could. "Go to hell, Malfoy!" she spat, struggling in his hold. "I'm not yours! You made that very clear just now. You don't get to claim me!"
He adjusted his hold on her so he was now holding both of her wrists in his one hand. His free hand trailed up her waist, up the curve of her breast, up her collarbone and stopped to wrap around the back of her neck. He tilted his head down, pressing his lips to her own in a kiss.
She began struggling against him again before she bit down hard on his lip, drawing blood. He pulled his head back in slight pain as he stared at her in shock. "You bitch," he hissed, releasing his hold on the back of her neck to touch his bleeding lip.
"I'm done playing these games with you, Malfoy." she replied, staring at his bleeding lip with a look of slight satisfaction. "I'm not going to be so easy anymore. Let me go."
He stared down at her for a few seconds, squeezing her wrists in his hands hard enough to leave a bruise. Her face remained neutral, not showing any signs of pain. Stubborn witch. After another minute of silence he released his hold on her and stepped back. He didn't know why he did, but he did.
She looked surprised that he had let her go at her request. Swallowing, she broke their eye contact and side stepped him, heading over to pick her wand up off the floor. Without another word, she turned and headed out of the library.
What the fuck had just happened? Granger wasn't like this. No matter what he did, she always came back. She always gave in to him. Why was she behaving like this?
"After I find a way to help you fix this cabinet I never want to hear from you again. I never want to see you again. I never want you to touch me again. I want absolutely nothing to do with you." her words replayed over and over in his mind.
He should be glad, shouldn't he? She was still going to help him with the cabinet. That was the most important thing, wasn't it?
No… you give a damn that she hates you again. he thought to himself.
His mind replayed their whole interaction over and over again. This was all Pany's fault. Why the fuck couldn't she take a hint?
You're equally to blame. You go running back to Pansy everytime you need a quick shag. the stupid voice in his head thought. And now you've pushed Granger away. She'll never forgive you for what you said.
"Shut the fuck up!" he said aloud, knowing he looked insane to anyone who might've heard him.
He didn't care. He hadn't meant what he had said. He had just wanted to hurt Granger for calling him out. Didn't she understand that?
He reached his foot out to kick the shelf in front of him before he too headed out of the library. Fine. If she wanted nothing to do with him, so be it. This was better for him anyways. Now he could stick to his plan all along without the distraction of Granger's affections.
But you want her affections. he thought as he made his way down to the dungeons.
Hermione made her way down to the Quidditch pitch, holding back the tears in her eyes. Malfoy's words had really stung. She thought that maybe after what she had walked in on, they would argue a bit and then they would be alright since Malfoy wasn't actually returning Parkinson's flirty attempts to start something with him. But after what he had said… about her being easy, about her being clingy, she could not forgive him. He had really made a fool out of her now.
She had thought that maybe under his cold demeanour he might've card for her, might've wanted something more out of their arrangement. But she had been wrong. There was nothing under his cold demeanour but more coldness. He was a typical heartless Slytherin who didn't hesitate to hurt anyone on his path to get what he wanted. She had been convenient to him. She was helping him with his stupid task and she had allowed him to touch her whenever he pleased too. It had been a win-win for him all along.
But no more. She could no longer excuse Malfoy's mistreatment of her with his difficult childhood and his cold upbringing. She would finish helping him fix the cabinet just because she was better than him. She wasn't heartless like he was. She had seen how desperate he was to fix the cabinet and she wouldn't take that away from him. But this fight between them wouldn't be like the others. No, this time she would hold her ground and no longer allow him to treat her any type of way.
She found a spot on the stands next to Luna Lovegood who was sporting Ravenclaw colours in support of her house. She greeted her friend and took a seat next to her, pushing aside her sadness as she put a smile on her face. She was here to support her friends. The people who actually cared for her; who actually treated her well.
The game began and Hermione cheered on Gryffindor along with her housemates. The game was an eventful one, with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor keeping a close score throughout. The crowd cheered and booed in sync anytime a particularly impressive play was made. The game ended about an hour and a half in with Harry holding up the snitch in triumph. Gryffindor had won. The crowd roared in appreciation and Hermione grinned, clapping her hands and cheering along.
She got up from her seat and raced down the stands to meet Ginny, Harry and Ron on the pitch. She laughed as Ron and Harry enveloped her in a bear hug and she congratulated them proudly.
"Party in the Gryffindor tower tonight!" she heard Seamus yell out to her far left and the group of Gryffindors cheered.
She headed back up to the castle, Ron's arm slung over her shoulders as he told her a play by play of his best plays from the game. She half heartedly listened, nodding and smiling when she should.
Although everyone around her seemed to be buzzing in excitement and happiness, Hermione couldn't ignore the overwhelming sadness she felt in the pit of her stomach as she thought back to her fight with Malfoy.
A/N: As always, read and review! Let me know what you all think :)
