Hermione felt dizzy. She watched Draco walk away. She liked the way he walked. She liked his broad shoulders, the way he carded his fingers through his fringe. She loved his hair, and his hands. She loved seeing the veins on his forearms.
"Um... goodnight Draco...?" Harry interrupted her thoughts and she remembered she wasn't alone. She turned to look at him and blinked. Her eyes weren't working right all of a sudden. When he came into focus she answered.
"That is his name..." she rolled her eyes and then started laughing with Ginny who hooked her arm around Hermione's.
"Let's go to bed you little pot head. Can't believe you'd share one with Luna and not me." Ginny talked as they entered the common room. Thank goodness Ron was nowhere in sight. The room was relatively empty which was also good news, seeing as ascending the stairs just became extremely difficult.
Once inside her empty dorm, Ginny set Hermione on her bed and looked around. "Where is everyone? They left the party ages ago."
"Decoy party." Hermione said, then snorted in laughter before flopping backwards onto her bed.
"What?" Ginny asked as she bent over to pull Hermione's shoes off for her.
"The upstairs party was a decoy. The rager was in the room of requirement. It was wild." Hermione closed her eyes to stop the room from spinning.
"What the fuck?" Ginny stood and placed her hands on her hips. "Those bloody slytherins..." after a moment she sat and continued "why the hell wasn't I invited? How fucking rude."
Hermione just smiled up at the ceiling. "he kissed me" she whispered before laughing uncontrollably.
"Did you just say he kissed you?" Ginny had to double check.
"But I told him not to because I would fall in love with him. Jesus that's embarrassing." Hermione covered her face with both hands in shame. "He's probably never going to speak to me again."
Ginny pulled the blanket up to Hermione's shoulders and pushed her hands down. "Of course he will. He's already in love with you." She said shaking her head with a smile.
"Do you think so?" Hermione sat up abruptly.
"Shh. Lay down and go to sleep. You'll see him tomorrow." Ginny tried to soothe her friend back into a relaxed state.
Hermione grabbed Ginny's arm "I only went out to find food and because Lavender and Parvati were talking about the decoy. I didn't ditch you on purpose." She held onto Ginny's shoulders while she said it but then started to stroke the ends of Ginny's hair. "You have the prettiest hair. Like seriously."
Ginny chuckled "yeah yeah, so do you. Now lay down and sleep."
Hermione obeyed, snuggling into her pillow. "I want to fuck him." She sighed as she closed her eyes. "Like really bad."
"Well damn, it's a good thing he brought you home early. Hermione on half an edible is wild." She chuckled, brushing Hermione's hair away from her face before standing and drawing the curtains. "Goodnight."
"Night, Gin. I love you." Hermione mumbled into her pillow.
"I love you too." Ginny assured before leaving Hermione to sleep.
The next morning Hermione woke very slowly. She felt completely rested but she could feel her brain very slow to catch up. She lay there staring at the ceiling for a bit, trying to remember the previous night. When she finally parted the four poster curtains to find her watch, the sun blared violently in through the gap.
Squinting in pain, she grabbed the watch and retreated back into the safety of darkness. Her watch said 11:42. Wow. She can't remember the last time she'd slept so late. She felt mildly dehydrated and lethargic, but otherwise good. She stretched out in bed leisurely before she remembered her herbology assignment.
She jumped out of bed quickly and pulled on a pair of dark sweatpants over her spandex shorts. She hurried to the bathroom to pee and make sure her hair wasn't atrocious before she rushed down the stairs. She hoped that Malfoy had actually taken the morning shift. Or that Ginny had at least gone as well. There was no sign of Ginny or Harry in the common room.
She walked quickly down to the greenhouses. The day seemed to be in full swing without her. Students were all over the place, enjoying the break from classes. She hadn't noticed from her dorm but everything outside seemed to be covered in snow now. The sun reflecting off of it made everything brighter.
The path from the castle to the greenhouses was already cleared of snow. Hermione wove her way through the tables until she finally got to theirs. The sheet of parchment next to it that she had made to track the watering schedule showed that Malfoy had indeed watered it this morning. Hermione was surprised. He'd been out just as late as her, possibly even longer if he'd gone back to the party with his friends after he dropped her off.
She checked over the plant. It seemed to be thriving. There were at least two small buds that looked promising. They were supposed to flower after Christmas so it seemed they were ahead of schedule. They had two weeks until break began.
"Well hell, if I'd known you were taking over today, I'd have stayed in bed." Came a smooth voice to her right.
Hermione turned to see Blaise Zabini strolling casually toward her and their table. She rolled her eyes. "I was just checking on it. I haven't watered it yet so go ahead." She stepped back and gestured to the pot.
"Why thank you for letting me feel so accomplished, Granger." He grinned and filled the watering can. "And how was your night?" He asked nonchalantly.
Hermione chuckled and shook her head. "Fine, I slept well."
"You slept well? And what time and where exactly did you sleep? Because I was under the impression that you and Lovegood would find something a bit more exciting to do than sleep." His eyes twinkled and he waited for gossip.
Hermione crossed her arms and leaned against the table. "Nope. Malfoy was the fun police and took me up to Gryffindor when I told him about the gummy bear. I quite literally slept it off."
Blaise narrowed his eyes, looking off in the distance suspiciously. "Oh he did, did he? Well that won't do. Come to lunch with me, Granger!" Zabini took her arm and wrapped it around his own, leading them back out of the greenhouse. "I feel like we should get to know each other better. How long have we had this project together and I don't even know what your favorite color is."
Hermione chuckled but she let him lead her out. "I don't have a favorite color."
"Of course you do. Everyone does." He nudged her playfully like they were the best of friends.
"What's yours then?" She asked him.
"Green of course." He said.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "slytherin green? How original."
"Not quite." Blaise grinned with a secret and let go of Hermione as he pulled open the castle doors. "So what's yours?" He prompted again as they walked into the great hall. He gestured for her to follow him to the slytherin table. His girlfriend and Pansy were already there. Hermione glanced uneasily over to the Gryffindor table. She didn't see any sign of her own friends yet. But she was sure they'd be here soon. So would Malfoy.
"Oh come on, isn't there something about inter-house unity floating in that altruistic brain of yours?" Blaise winked.
Hermione sighed exasperatedly and raised a brow but followed him nonetheless. She warily watched the slytherin girls. Daphne raised a questioning brow to her boyfriend but said nothing otherwise. Pansy however scoffed in disgust and left the hall altogether as Hermione sat next to Blaise.
"Hello darling, you know Granger." Was all Blaise said as he grabbed a sandwich.
Daphne Greengrass gave a polite nod and Hermione noticed her eyes. They were a lovely shade of green. Hermione cut her glance quickly to Zabini who grinned guiltily.
"Granger was just about to tell me her favorite color." He nudged her.
Hermione was struck by the deeply personal fact he'd shared willingly with her. He seemed to actually be trying to create a friendship. And Hermione got suspicious when she thought of the party, the gummy, and the fact that Ginny, Harry and Ron seemed to be the only ones in their year who didn't know about the party. And she remembered Ginny's statement the night before, about Malfoy already being in love with Hermione.
Hermione looked around but didn't see any sign of her friends or Malfoy which comforted her slightly. "I suppose mine is pink then. The pink that comes at the end of a brilliant sunset." She said as she made herself a cup of tea.
"Ooh. That's a good one." Blaise said between bites.
"Do you have a favorite color?" Hermione asked the blonde girl across from her with a grin to show that she thought it was a silly question but she was playing along.
Daphne grinned sheepishly. "Don't tell anyone else, I'll be mocked mercilessly in slytherin. But I love a deep ruby red." She smiled at her boyfriend and Hermione caught a quick wink that he shared back.
Hermione was struck by the closeness they seemed to have. Until now, she had only seen them dancing or making out and it had given her Lav Lav and Won Won vibes. Which she avoided like the plague. But now after spending a mere three minutes with them, she already saw a genuine connection. And it made Hermione smile.
"Am I at the wrong table?" Hermione jerked her head up quickly at the voice and watched as Malfoy sat next to Daphne and directly across from Hermione. She caught a quick glance shared between him and Zabini. She suddenly felt self conscious of the casual state of dress she was in. She probably looked like she'd just rolled out of bed.
"Granger and I are having lunch after our herbology project." Zabini seemed to smirk as he said it but Hermione only looked at Malfoy. He was also in his casual sweats so Hermione felt a little better. But he looked fit in his and she probably looked like a lump of laundry.
"Have a nice long sleep last night, did we?" Malfoy grinned at her Oxford jumper while Hermione sipped her tea.
She set the cup down "yes I did, thank you. Now one of you, tell me why Harry, Ginny and I didn't get an invite to the party last night." She decided to give up the small talk now that Malfoy was here. She looked at Malfoy first before glancing at Greengrass who made a point of observing her sandwich and then Zabini who grinned wickedly. She raised a brow.
"They were at the party, Granger." Zabini tried.
"You know what I'm talking about. Spill it." She ordered.
"If Potter had gone missing during the upstairs party, the professors would have noticed. The rest of us were able to sneak out periodically. It was nothing personal." Zabini tried again but Hermione wasn't convinced.
She raised a brow and looked across from herself at Malfoy who just smirked haughtily. "You didn't want them there. Did you?" She accused.
Malfoy just leaned forward over his plate, unperturbed, "of course I didn't, Granger. What fun would it be getting cock blocked by Potter and Weasley all night? I didn't know I had to worry about my own friend fucking about."
"You loved it, didn't you?" Zabini nudged her with his elbow and a grin.
Hermione was surprised that there wasn't more to it. That they would willingly fess up to keeping Harry and Ginny away so that Malfoy could have a go at her. She'd had her suspicions, but she thought it would take more of an interrogation than this.
"I enjoyed it until someone sent me to my room." She decided to return the honesty and felt extremely smug when he looked up at her with a smirk that he seemed to try and school.
"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." Zabini said, shaking his head in faux disappointment.
Hermione couldn't help but grin at the saying. At the same time, she was really attracted to the fact that Malfoy had taken her back to her house. And then she blushed at what they'd done along the way. She met his eyes across the table and felt warmth in her chest when he grinned back at her. She wondered if he was thinking about the same thing.
She heard a group of people enter the Great Hall behind her and turned to see Ginny, Harry and Ron standing still and looking straight at her. She suddenly felt like she shouldn't be there. She knew Ginny would support her. But this was all a little too public too soon.
She turned to her table mates "well, thank you for the lunch invite. It was lovely. But I do need to go. I'll see you all later." She said as she stood. Malfoy chuckled a little as she did but she ignored him and left the great hall. She couldn't very well leave the Slytherins and go finish lunch right in front of them at Gryffindor. That would be rude. But she couldn't stay there. She felt extremely uncomfortable under Ron's gaze. Especially after their cordiality last night. And her... more than cordiality with Malfoy. The only thing she could think of doing at that moment was running away from it all, so she did.
While the weasel was sitting, and Granger was fleeing, Draco stood, tossing his napkin onto the table a shooting a wicked grin across the hall at the Weasel's reddening face. Draco followed her out of the hall. She was quick, reaching the upper landing as Draco hit the first step.
"Granger!" He called after her as he jogged up the stairs behind her.
She spun around quickly, she had her sleeves pulled down over her hands and bunched in her fists. Her baggy pants hung low on her hips, revealing the black spandex shorts he was so fond of beneath them. Her arse curved out so that the jumper rode up in the back just so and he wanted to take her to his bed where he could peel every layer off of her and stay there together all weekend.
She looked behind him, probably making sure he wasn't followed by any of her friends. Then she crossed her arms over her middle and waited for him.
He took her elbow and steered her around the corner and out of sight of the great hall just for her own peace of mind. He grinned down at her and she seemed to uncontrollably glance at his lips before looking around them. "What is it?" She asked with a hint of annoyance.
Draco pulled the Prophet from his back pocket, "I figured you hadn't had a chance to see it yet. They cover the trial briefly. It's not too bad."
He could tell that she hadn't even thought about the trial once today as the panic flashed across her face. And he was momentarily pleased that their evening together seemed to help drive out the anxiety filled day for her.
"Oh! Goodness, I'd forgotten. Thank you." She said as she looked at the photo. The two of them in the atrium walking through the loud and aggressive crowd as she leaned into him, his arm enveloped her protectively. She licked her lips instinctively as she looked back up at him and caught him staring at the movement.
He'd decided last night not to push her. He'd heard what she'd said. It didn't stop him from wanting her. But it did make him more cautious.
"Well, I'll see you around then." He said with a grin. He stepped away from her.
Her arm shot out and she grabbed his wrist, a jolt shot up his arm from the point of contact. "Wait, I..." she pulled her hand back quickly, as if she hadn't meant to touch him. She cleared her throat "thanks for taking care of the plant this morning." She said lamely. But Draco's grin widened. She didn't want him to go just yet.
"Where are you rushing off to?" He asked, knowing that she just needed to leave the great hall because of her loser ex boyfriend.
"Well I just have to..." she started but he cut her off because he knew she was just making something up.
"Come flying with me." He stepped to her and tugged on the front of her jumper at her stomach to pull her closer to him. So much for being cautious. He'd dreamt about her all night after he'd drunkenly wanked to memories of her taste and the feel of her lips on his, his body pressed against hers as he tried to keep her quiet last night.
If she didn't want him he would back off. But she was not giving off that vibe in the slightest. She inhaled sharply as she grasped his upper arm and laid a hand on his chest. He swept his other arm around her waist and held her against him. She looked up at him with her lips parted and her eyes wide.
"I can't." She breathed out as her gaze flitted between his mouth and his eyes.
"You can't?" He asked with a smirk. She pushed away and he let her go.
"I should... I have to..." she pushed some loose curls behind her ear and stepped farther away from him. "I..." she struggled to find an excuse and it was adorable.
"Granger." He cut her off. "It's a gorgeous sunny day. Don't stay holed up in the library. We'll go out the dungeons and to the back so we aren't seen. Just come with me." He tried to persuade her. "It's our final year here. Have you even seen it all from above?" He teased.
"I have!" She immediately countered. "From a hippogriff. And a thestral, thank you very much." She said with a hint of defiance.
"But not a broomstick?" He grinned.
"Technically I have done that already too. With you, in fact." She glanced away uncomfortably. He could tell that she was out of her thinly veiled excuses. A group of younger students were loudly making their way through the corridor they were in.
"Just flying and sightseeing. You can even sit on the back." His eyes twinkled with the memory of her legs wrapped around his waist the last time. He reached out and slid a hand gently on her waist and stepped close to whisper in her ear, "Meet me downstairs outside of slytherin in an hour. Bundle up. It's chilly." He winked as he stepped away, trailing his hand down to her hip very subtly before stepping around her and going back down the stairs. He was eighty percent sure she would show up.
Once Malfoy was out of sight, Hermione checked her watch. She wanted to run upstairs, shower and change, get ready for what was essentially a date. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she forced herself to walk at a normal pace. She wished she could go back and get Ginny, but they had just sat down to lunch. Hermione's own stomach grumbled and she lamented the fact that she still hadn't had a proper meal since lunch at the ministry with Malfoy yesterday. But she would absolutely not be going back in the hall while everyone was still there.
As she made her way slowly up to Gryffindor tower, Hermione's thoughts started to get the best of her. Or she could think more clearly the farther away from Malfoy she got. She wasn't sure which. But she remembered sitting there next to him, saying she would fall in love with him and that would end badly for her. He had said nothing at the time or since then to reassure her or contradict her fears. And he had taken her back home right after that.
The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. But none of that changed who he had been for the past seven years, nor did it change the future. She was sure there was some sort of pure blood inbreeding tradition that he'd grown up in. That he was either going to be arranged into a proper marriage or only allowed to choose from a very small pool of women.
Then she started to chide herself because how is dating and kissing at Hogwarts as teens getting her thinking of the future and marriage and, god forbid, children. The selfish side of her wanted to kiss him, snog him, straddle him on a broom and have carefree and unbridled fun with him for the remainder of their time here.
But she couldn't shut off the logical side. She just couldn't. She would have fun and she knew from the tension they already had between them that that would lead to sex and she knew herself. She couldn't have casual sex. She just couldn't. Sex had to equal love to her. She could not in good conscience have sex with someone that she couldn't say 'I love you' to. It just seemed so backwards to do it any other way. Maybe it was her parents' relationship that got her thinking that way. A little girl's idyllic fairytale fantasy.
She could not help but feel that by pursuing this thing with Malfoy, she would end in tears and completely broken hearted. Probably in less than a year. But then... whenever she was around him... it was like all those thoughts and warnings were completely silenced. And all she could think about was him, his lips, his voice, where his hands were. Where she wanted them to be.
Ugh she felt like a crazy person. Like her teenage hormones were finally taking over, after years of survival mode and suppression and tragedy. She rushed through the common room and up the stairs. She needed to wash and dress for the day anyway. Not for a date. For basic hygiene. And then she would decide what to do with the rest of her day.