Hermione looks at herself in the restroom mirror.
Blunt, dark bangs fall in wisps over her forehead, her hair in a straight, short ponytail showing off the line of piercings going down her ears—a metal stud piercing lies just under her bottom lip. Her full lips and dark brown eyes are painted black, and a matching black choker lines her slender neck. Her unfamiliar nose and heart-shaped jawline look back at her, and when she smiles, there's a glint of herself in her eyes, but her face is wholly Pansy Parkinson.
She tightens her lips into a straight line, scrunches her nose in cruel laughter, and finally raises her brows with a skeptical look. Hermione had practiced her facial movements for two hours before she was mildly satisfied. Pressing her hand against her mouth, she gives a high-pitched laugh. She adjusts her tone when she tries it again, adding a nasal, witchy edge to the end of it.
Hermione flips her ponytail sassily. "Perfect."
Once she's finally contented with her Pansy impression, she takes a deep breath and looks at the time. If all is going well, Ginny and Luna should thoroughly distract Parkinson. Charming her Gryffindor uniform to look like Slytherin's and adjusting her skirt length to be much shorter than necessary, she nods at her reflection in approval.
Stepping out into the corridor, she walks to the Slytherin common room, having used Luna to bribe one of the firsties off to reveal their location and password of the day in exchange for help with Divination for the rest of the year. She tries to hold back a gasp when she enters the room. The Black Lake is the centerpiece, with gorgeous sea creatures floating like a moving painting. The green lighting from the Black Lake adds a tasteful mood to the low lights of the lit torches.
At the center of the room, in front of the lake, is an oversized dark green couch with Malfoy in the middle. Theo is sitting at one end, a blonde girl she knew as Daphne sits at the other, and a darker-toned guy she thinks is Blaise is across from Malfoy. Hermione feels her heart fly up to her throat.
She can't do this.
Why did she think she could do this?
Her feet are cemented into the ground.
"Oi, Pansy!" Daphne calls from her spot. "Come save me, here."
The decision made for her, Hermione starts to walk but pauses, realizing she's moving too enthusiastically. She slows down, moving as if she's bothered to be walking. Flipping her hair smoothly, she smirks at the group.
Hermione changes her walk to be slightly sultrier when she sees Malfoy. Debating with herself until the last second as to whether to sit on his lap, she chickens out and sits closely beside him instead. Her bare thigh feels the heat coming from his leg against hers.
She wraps her arms sensually around his shoulders, giving him a small massage like she's watched Pansy do thousands of times. Malfoy leans back into her, and she nearly jumps out of her skin when he casually drops his hand on her thigh. Her heart races.
"Hello, M-mmm." Hermione rests her head on his shoulder. "Missed you."
Malfoy rubs circles into her thigh with his thumb, gripping her flesh with his veiny hands. "How's your day been, Pans?"
She blinks at his gentle tone.
"Fine. I just had to take the Weaselette down a peg or two earlier today."
"Did you?"
"Enough about the Gryffindors!" Daphne huffs and crosses her arms. "I'm already sick of hearing Draco winging about Granger all day today."
"You'd think he fancied her from how much he talks about her lately," Blaise smirks over a glass of something that looks unwelcome on school grounds.
"Fuck off, Blaise." Malfoy lifts his upper lip.
A fist clenches around her heart as she laughs. "The mudblood?"
Blaise shrugs. "Theo and I think she's pretty fit."
Hermione chokes on her spit and tries to play it off as a cackle.
Daphne raises a blonde brow, glancing at Theo. "Both of you?"
Theo shrugs, choosing to remain silent. He picks up his own glass of an unknown substance and takes a sip. Hermione's jaw drops.
"Wow." Daphne shakes her head.
"Have you all no shame?" Malfoy hisses out.
"Come on, mate." Blaise leans back into his chair, relaxed. "You can admit someone's fit without getting crucified."
"The only thing Granger's fit for is a headache."
"Here we go." Daphne crosses her legs, sighing. "Don't get him started again."
"Speaking of women." Blaise gestures at Daphne and Hermione. "You two are women, right?"
"That's what they tell me." Hermione raises a curious brow.
"I was trying to come up with ways to pull the bellas with Theo." Blaise sets his drink down and rests his elbows on his knees. "You ladies tell us if they'd work."
"Oh!" Theo clears his throat. "Mind if I Slytherin your bed tonight?"
Blaise smirks. "Did you survive the Avada? Because you're drop-dead gorgeous."
"I don't need Accio to make you come."
"They say I'm like the horn of a crumple-horned snorkack." Blaise pauses for dramatic effect, flaring out his fingers suavely. "Explosive."
"More like non-existent." Hermione manages to stifle her grin. "Just like your game."
Malfoy and Daphne let out chortles of laughter.
"Honestly, that was just awful to listen to." Hermione shakes her head at them, feeling all too much like she's sitting in front of Harry and Ron, admonishing them. "Do you boys genuinely think those will work?"
"Well, I am one with the belief that crumple-horned snorkacks do exist, thank you very much." Blaise picks up his drink again, taking a haughty sip.
"It may not work on you, Ice Princess, but on Granger, for example…" Theo wiggles his eyebrows, "I think she'd appreciate the Shakespearean wit."
Hermione gasps at his entendre. "That was awful, Theo, and no, she absolutely would not!"
"Maybe you're right." Theo blinks for a moment, taken aback by her. "You may be more alike than you'd be willing to admit, Pansy."
"Right? I thought I heard Granger in her voice for a second," Blaise laughs.
Hermione feels her heart drop like an anvil into the ocean. Taking a deep breath, her mind races with a comeback to both cover herself and flatten this line of conversation. She sweats, feeling everyone's eyes on her.
Saved by Malfoy himself, he intercepts. "Please, Pansy is nowhere near as shrill as her."
"Yes, yes, and you have to live with her, we know, Draco." Theo's face becomes serious. "Let's not pretend like we haven't noticed you stopped calling her mudblood."
Malfoy launches himself out of his seat with a ferocity that nearly sends Hermione tumbling over, having been leaning on him for support. He grabs Theo by the collar of his shirt. The glass Theo had in his hand goes tumbling to the floor. Theo keeps a stern, unphased expression despite Malfoy choking him out with his own clothing. Blaise jumps in between them, trying to pull Malfoy back.
"Salazar!" Daphne gasps. "Let him go, Draco!"
"And just what the fuck are you trying to say, Nott?"
"Just stating an observation, Malfoy," Theo grunts out.
"Nobody is as faithful to the Dark Lord as I am, nobody!"
"We know, Draco!" Blaise finally pushes him off Theo. "Relax, mate!"
Malfoy fixes his shirt, dusting himself off, but there's still a crazed expression on his face. He points a finger at Theo and gets into his space, Blaise's arms in between to keep them safely away from each other. Malfoy grits his teeth, shoving his finger close to Theo's face.
"You better watch your fucking arse, Nott."
With that, Malfoy turns and marches away. Hermione's eyes wide, she looks between the group and Malfoy's receding back. Blaise pats Theo's back while he rubs his throat.
"Fucking arsehole," Theo coughs.
Not wanting to lose track of Malfoy for the sake of the mission, Hermione rushes after him. She chases him out of the common room and into the dungeon's corridors. Part of her is too afraid to approach him directly. His sudden switch-up in emotion during the conversation was nothing less than jarring.
She chooses to follow him silently throughout the castle, all the way up to the seventh floor. Hermione watches on as his distress intensifies. He muses up his hair, releasing his tie from around his neck. Hermione worries at her lips.
Malfoy's starting to look a lot like how she found him in the restroom.
Concerned, Hermione must stop herself from reaching out to him when he makes it to the Room of Requirement. His roughed-up exterior has him looking shaken. She watches him do the ritualistic walking in front of the room and slips in after him before the door shuts completely.
Unsure of what she thought would be behind the door, the last thing she expected was one full of what was seemingly just junk. He walks through the maze of garbage. Hermione follows him, carefully stepping around the miscellaneous items. Malfoy stops in front of a cabinet.
He takes out his wand, magically opening the cabinet to reveal mechanics swirling behind its doors. Hermione's eyes squint as she tries to better understand the absurd machinery. As she steps forward, however, there's a soft clinking sound. Hermione curses under her breath. She's accidentally hit what looks like a golden football with her toe.
Malfoy's neck nearly snaps with the intensity of its movement. "Who's there?"
Debating with herself for a moment, she finally decides to step forward.
"It's me."
"Pans?" Malfoy drops his wand hand, voice softening. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just – " Hermione swallows. "Just worried about you, Draco. You left so suddenly, and you looked so out of it."
He walks towards her, gently touching her cheek with his fingers. Hermione shuts her eyes as she gives in easily to the warmth emanating from his fingertips. She feels herself melting underneath his touch. Malfoy presses his forehead against hers, taking in a breath.
"Worried, were you?" His fingers slide down the side of her cheek to grab onto her chin. "What changed?"
He tilts up her face to look her in the eye. She feels like he's staring into her very soul, leaving her naked as Hermione Granger rather than veiled as Pansy Parkinson. Malfoy moves in to kiss her, but she turns her face away. His lips land softly on her cheek.
"What's going on, Draco?" Hermione slowly brings her hands up to caress his face. "What's happening with you? Talk to me."
She watches as all his walls slam back up in his face. His eyes harden, and he pushes her hands away from him, a sneer on his lips. Hermione frowns at him.
"Get out."
Not moving from her spot, she stares at him.
"I said, GET OUT!"
Malfoy screams, the wild look in his eyes returning. Hermione realizes then that it's less the roar of a ferocious beast and more like one of a wounded wildebeest, using its last defenses to protect itself from certain death. She backs away from him slowly. He watches her with his unhinged expression, making sure that she leaves the room.
Hermione gets the distinct feeling that her time as Pansy is up, for now.
Exiting the room, she rushes to meet Luna and Ginny at their pre-established meeting place. There were more pieces that were being added to the puzzle that was Draco Malfoy. She always did love a good puzzle.