Draco raised an eyebrow as she stared up at him silently, not answering his question. He was relaxed and very much the one she had initially hoped would come. Not the cold hard person that she had seen in the hallways. Or during classes and meals. Or walking in the hallways. Or pretty much any time her eyes had wandered his way over the course of the last few days…
He flashed a smile down at her. "Don't leave me quivering in suspense. Where were you headed?"
"I was going to go back to my dorm. I thought you were a no show." She told him truthfully.
"Ahh... That does sound like something I would do, doesn't it?" He stated before letting go of where he had grabbed her arm to stop her fall. His hands were covered by leather gloves in a black that matched his double breasted long wool coat. He wasn't wearing a hat, leaving his hair to blow in the wind caused by the storm.
She shrugged as she took a careful step back from him this time. Her mind was already racing from his proximity and she needed to keep her head on straight so she could get to the bottom of why he had asked her here. Being that close had her worried she would be distracted by how good he smelled... Or how his eyes seemed to echo the storm outside when he met her gaze... Or how all she wanted was a replay of the other night... She shook her head again, trying to focus.
The movement caused some of her curls to fall from behind her shoulders. Almost instantaneously, the wind picked up the rebellious strands and wildly tried to rip them from the confines of her hat. When the gust died down the curls settled across her cheek and lips. She didn't reach up to push them away, nor did she break eye contact with him. She had no clue how to start the conversation that she needed to have. Not with Draco Malfoy. If it had been anyone but him she wouldn't have had any qualms requesting the information. He made her nervous... For more reasons than the obvious conundrums.
"You are not very talkative tonight..." He observed as he reached up with a hooked finger and brushed the curls from her face for her. Flicking them back behind her shoulder where they belonged.
"I don't know what to say." She responded, having nothing to gain with a lie, but still being cautious.
"Say that you would like to go somewhere warmer?" Draco suggested.
Hermione did not stop the chuckle that burst from her, somewhere warmer would be nice. "You are the one who came up with the idea to meet here. You should be the one to come up with the back up plan."
"Alright." He said simply with a shrug of his shoulders before turning around and starting back down the hall they had both come down. He walked with a purpose. His shoulders held back and his strides long, the natural air of confidence that he was known for exuded from him. She did not know how he could seem so calm while the world was going to hell in a handbasket…
She quickly caught up with him and matched his lengthy tread. It was a struggle to keep her head down and only occasionally sneak peeks at him out of the corner of her eye as she followed. She didn't have the faintest clue where he was taking her but the answer had her curiosity peaked. Between that and the questions that burned on her tongue about why he had asked her to meet, she had a hard time staying quiet.
He, on the other hand, acted as if this was all completely normal. Leaving her to wonder how often he made it a habit to sneak around the castle with people he supposedly hated…
They had been walking a decent amount of time before she finally caved and cleared her throat before asking. "What is it that you want Malfoy?"
Draco glanced over his shoulder at her but left her question unanswered. He continued on the path only he knew as she rushed to keep up with him. It was a surprise when he abruptly reached over and grabbed her elbow, pulling her into the first deserted classroom he came upon.
He closed the door quietly behind their entrance and turned to her. The cold Draco that she had been anticipating sneered down at her and spit out. "I want you to get the fuck out of my head."
She stepped back at the venom in those eleven words. Hadn't she been thinking the same thing earlier? Wasn't one of her main reasons for being there to find out what he had done to her that made her thoughts all but consumed by him? Why did his anger threaten to kick up her own if she felt the exact same way?
Dumbfounded that he had been fighting the same struggle, she freely whispered. "I know the feeling..."
That stopped him in his tracks. She watched him switch back into the boy she had come for, his eyes swirling with so many emotions it literally made her dizzy. There was anger, such an endless supply of rage- mixed with fear, longing, confusion and a few others that came and went so quickly she couldn't even begin to adequately guess.
"Then why did you come?" He snapped his question at her, the razor sharp edge from his earlier words was lost. It was as if he wanted to be angry with her but could not hold on to his fury.
She reached up and pulled the hat from her head, running her fingers along the stitches to give them something to do. Against all reason she realized she wanted to continue to tell him the truth. It wasn't like he was going to be able to turn around and tell someone about this anymore than she could. Yet that did not mean she wasn't scared out of her wits to be vulnerable with him.
A heavy sigh pushed its way from her lips before she answered. "A lot of reasons. Mostly I wanted to know who was going to show up. You know... The Draco from earlier who was sweet and stopped me from falling? Or the one who struggles to form a simple civil question in my presence? I guess that I got the two for one deal, right?"
She couldn't stop the vicious sneer that contaminated her features before she suddenly lashed out. Momentarily overtaken by her own defensive anger that was bottled up over past transgressions. "What about you? What could possibly make Prince Malfoy lower himself to willingly fraternize with a Filthy Mudblood? Hmmmm...?"
Draco stood there speechless. His jaw hung open at the shock of Hermione calling herself that name. He blinked a couple of times before groaning as if in pain. "Do not call yourself that."
"Why not? That's what I am. There is no use in denying it." She challenged, not caring if she was nudging the snake. It was time for her answers.
He stepped up to where she stood, so close she could reach out and touch him, and hissed at her. "I do not care what you are. You have no reason to be calling yourself that."
"Fine, then tell me why you wanted me to come! Why would you go through such an effort to get me here if you were going to be an ass..." Hermione hissed right back at him. She was unwilling to back down now. After all of the years of abuse at his hands he owed her an answer. She did not want to go on with her life, always wondering why... If she knew, she would be able to put this whole thing to rest. Move on and help Harry save the world like what had clearly been written out for her.
"Because it's all a motherfucking act Granger. Can't you see that? I have to be a certain way. I have to think a certain way. Did I buy into the Blood Purity bullshit when I was younger? Yes... But now... Now I don't get a choice in who I am going to be. I have already been cast as the villain. Hell, I was fucking raised to be a villain." He ranted at her. "And then you come along. The only one in this Gods' forsaken place that can see that I might have the potential to be something more. Why did it have to be you?"
"I'm... I'm sorry?" She squeaked. Taken aback by the pain in his honesty, she hadn't been prepared for it and did not want to feel the guilt that came crashing down around her with his words.
She should have known better than to prod a snake... Nothing good ever came from it.
He instantly softened at her dazed reaction. His shoulders relaxed and he leaned forward slightly, trying to get her to look him in the eye again. When she refused, he reached down and cupped her chin, gently coaxing her before he continued with a tone that was no longer harsh. "I do not want to be the dragon anymore... I do not want to repeat his mistakes."
The reference to his story sent a shiver of unease to run down her spine. She had no desire to end up being the hardened princess of that narrative... Why did everything have to be so damned complicated? Somehow she found herself in the center of a twisted version of Romeo and Juliet . She balked at the thought of how that had ended. Too much death and heartache for her liking.
He gave a long sigh before he whispered. "I wish I could be anyone... Anyone but me. That way I could be a hero that deserved you..."
"I don't know who told you that all you could be is a dragon Draco, but they were full of shit. All I see standing in front of me is the person who helped when I needed it... My hero..."
That was all it took for his lips to close the distance between them and claim hers. She gasped against their conjoined mouths, breathing in the taste of him again. It was everything that she had dreamt of from the first kiss and so much more. There was an added hunger that hadn't been there before.
He slid the hat that hung limply from her fingers and tossed it on the table closest to them. He quickly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her tightly against his chest. The tops of her arms were stuck under his but she managed to bring her hands up to find purchase on the extra fabric of his coat. This allowed her to pull him forward so his hips pushed against her stomach. She smiled at the moan that the sudden movement caused him.
How he could make her feel so damn sexy with such a simple sound was mesmerizing. All she wanted was to stay right there, kissing him forever. Exploring this newfound intense need for more that had been awoken.
He gently pulled away far too soon for her liking and whispered in her ear. "Thank you."
"You should be thanking yourself. If you hadn't made the choice to save me I wouldn't even be here. Right, Hero?" She pointed out, giving a playful tug on the coat that was still clenched tightly in her fingers.
"I will remember that... Come on Kitten. I think that is enough for one night..." Draco said as he took a step back so she was forced to release her grasp. He quickly slipped a gloved hand into hers and tugged her forward, leading her towards the door.
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That night as she lay in bed after sneaking back in, she replayed the quiet walk back to her common room. Needing to stay quiet, they hadn't spoken but their clasped hands seemed to speak loud enough. Neither wanted to be the one to break the physical connection. When they reached the darkened corner where their first steamy kiss had taken place, the corridor was just as deserted as the first time which granted them a whispered farewell.
"Would it be possible for you to meet me down by the Lake tomorrow night?" He had asked her.
"After rounds..." She hedged. It was much too cold for a repeat of standing in the cold waiting for him.
As if he could read her mind a smile flashed on his lips. "Great. I will be waiting"
Before she could say anything, he had leaned down and pressed a shy peck to her lips before disappearing down the corridor, much the same way he had that first night. It was eerily familiar and caused her to shudder at the memory of her nightmare from the other night. She had quickly headed back to her room and the sanctuary of her bed. There was no use dwelling on the bad when moments earlier she had been so happy.
Unable to fall asleep she wondered what it was exactly that he wanted to do down by The Great Lake in the middle of winter.
She hoped it wasn't ice skating or even worse... Flying…
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Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was a hard one for me to write for some reason. I'm not exactly sure why, but I had to rewrite it a few times. Crossing my fingers that it doesn't show too badly…
As always…
Much love,
SlytherclawLuv