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Mistakes (Peaches and Sandalwood)

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He knew falling in love was a mistake.

But falling in love with a muggleborn witch as Voldemort wreaked havoc in the wizarding world. That was just bloody stupid.

Of course it was an accident! How was he to know that spending nearly every waking moment seeking out the muggleborn witch to torment her about her hair or her teeth or her nerdiness would end with him developing affectionate feelings for her? He just wanted to get a rise out of her, maybe infuriate her so much she'd lose focus on her studies and finally allow him to nab that top spot.

It was just supposed to be funny.

But watching her walk in the Great Hall wearing that stupid dress and holding stupid Krum's hand, it shattered all of his illusions and opened his eyes to the truth. Against all logic and reason, Draco Malfoy actually fell in love with Hermione Granger.

No matter. He'd just keep it to himself. He wouldn't say or do anything and eventually it would just go away and he could go back to hating her.

After all, it was just a crush.

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Going back to Hogwarts after the war was a mistake.

Never mind that he was ordered by the Wizengamot to do it, it was still a mistake. Taking NEWT Level Arithmancy was another mistake that year.

Staying in the class after he was paired with Hermione Granger for the rest of the year, well that was just asking for trouble. Every day for two hours he had to hold his breath to keep from smelling peaches and sandalwood. More than once, she's asked him if he was okay because he was just too stiff.

Of course, she thought he was just being a typical blood purist prat who thought muggleborns actually tainted the air around them.

He hoped that she would be so angry with him that she'd insist they work separately on their project. But no. She couldn't give him a break, could she? She just had to prove she was as bull-headed as every other Gryffindor and insist on working through the damn thing together.

Now he was stuck spending Tuesday and Thursday nights with peaches and sandalwood and he was half tempted to erect a bubblehead charm around himself to keep that sweet smell away.

He did the only thing he could.

He dropped out of Arithmancy and took Divination instead. No matter how much of a fraud and a disgrace to seers he thought Trelawney was. He'd just study it after he graduated so he can still qualify for the Healer program at St. Mungo's.

Maybe some distance from the nightmare that is Hermione Granger would finally let him breathe.

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He was wrong.

So very wrong.

Dropping Arithmancy was another in a long line of mistakes he's made recently because now he was trapped between a literal wall and a furious Hermione Granger.

She was saying something. Screaming it quite angrily actually. And Draco knew that he should probably listen to her if he wanted to avoid getting his nose reacquainted with her fist again. But damn it all, all he could focus on was how close she was, and how much stronger the damn peaches and sandalwood scent was this close to her. He was drowning in her and any moment now his struggles would be useless and he'd succumb to the madness. To the ever-growing voice in his head telling him the perfect way to shut her up.

Nope. Not going to think about it.

Instead of following through on that traitorous thought, Draco employed what little wandless magic he could use to lightly push her away from him. Then, he simply ran as far away from her as he could.

As he disappeared into the staircases away from peaches and sandalwood, Draco couldn't help the stray thought that if this was one of Daphne and Tracy's romance stories, that scenario would have ended very differently.

Which was a good thing. Because actually acting on the wretched feelings he had for her would have been the biggest mistake he ever made.

END