A.N : Thank you so much for continuing to read! This chapter is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and I promise it's about to get super romantic!
A huge thank you to everyone who has followed or favorited my work—your support means the world!
Enjoy, and happy reading!
PART11
Before I could say anything, the door swung open again. But instead of my favorite teacher, an absolute idiot stood there.
"Oh, hello, you two students!" The figure winked.
I rolled my eyes, but to my horror, Granger smiled. Oh, yuck. Behind him, McGonagall looked utterly exhausted.
"I met Mr. Lockhart on my way to Severus's office," she said, her tone sharp with disapproval. "He seemed far too enthusiastic about detention."
"Don't worry, Professor," Lockhart said grandly, sweeping his cape unnecessarily. "As the esteemed Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I take my duties seriously. Severus is merely my assistant. And I have the perfect detentions for these two."
"How wonderful you are," McGonagall said icily, her eyes filled with distaste. "Now get out of my office. I have actual work to do."
We were practically shoved out by McGonagall's impatience. Lockhart beamed at us, his teeth unnaturally white.
"You two, it is very bad that you—" he paused dramatically, waving his hands, "—were lurking in a resigning area—"
"The Restricted Section, sir," Hermione corrected politely.
"Ah yes, precisely what I was about to say," Lockhart said, biting his lip. "Your detention is to retrieve a book for me."
"Title?" I asked, yawning.
"Ah, well, that's the tricky part. It has no title. That's the whole point."
I blinked. What nonsense was this man spewing?
"It's about the Dark Arts," he continued. "The title doesn't appear on the cover. There's a man staring out from it—quite eerie, really."
"Nothing on the spine either?" Hermione asked, her brows furrowed. "And why us?"
"Because it's detention," he said simply. "I borrowed it at the start of the year and misplaced it. I figured this would be a good exercise for you two."
"So you forgot where you put it," I smirked.
"Malfoy, he's your teacher!" Hermione hissed.
"No, I know where it is," Lockhart insisted, unconvincingly. "I just thought it would be good practice. Now, off you go. And whatever you do—don't open it. Just bring it here."
The library was dimly lit, and the silence was heavier than usual. Shelves loomed around us like watchful sentries.
"We're not house-elves," I muttered, scanning the aisles. "At least house-elves deserve a better master than him."
"What, Malfoy, do you want another trip to the Forbidden Forest?" Hermione shot back.
"That was peaceful," I lied, trying not to remember how terrifying it had been.
"Oh, I heard you screaming, Malfoy," she said smugly. "And do you remember why we were put there in the first place?"
"I heard some Gryffindor idiots went looking for a troll."
"Wrong! A certain Slytherin ferret ran to tell a professor without thinking it through. How humiliating. Besides, there are no trolls in the castle anymore—Harry took care of it last year."
"Oh, but he missed the one inside a wooden cabin," I said smoothly. "He became friends with that one, remember?"
Hermione gasped. "How dare you! He is NOT a troll! Let me hex you—"
She reached for her wand but found nothing. Oh, poor thing. Maybe Filch had confiscated it.
"Or should I hex you first?" I teased, pulling out mine.
"No—Oh—"
She stepped back instinctively—only to trip over her own feet. Without thinking, I grabbed her wrist, steadying her before she hit the ground.
Silence.
My fingers were still curled around her wrist, my heartbeat hammering against my ribs. Then, an aching sting shot through my side, and I hissed in pain, letting go the moment she regained her balance.
Her eyes met mine, wide and searching. And then she took a step back—deliberately, carefully—as if we had crossed some invisible line neither of us had acknowledged before. And I had a bad feeling that I knew why she did so.
"We should start looking," I said, my voice quieter than I expected.
"Yeah," she agreed, forcing a smile. But her hands were trembling.
We began at the end of the shelf, our wands casting soft glows on the ancient books. But my thoughts refused to settle. Then I remembered what she had said earlier.
I was going to, but— I was, well, distracted
Had she really been distracted—by my wound?
I clenched my jaw. I shouldn't think about this. I shouldn't.
Father would kill me.
As we scanned through the shelves in silence, she suddenly spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
"When my parents discovered I was a witch, they were terrified."
I looked up, caught off guard. What the hell is she talking about? And why now?
"I never tell anyone that. Not even Harry. I always say they were proud, or pleased, or something like that. But the truth is... they weren't. They thought of sending me to a hospital. You know, for—" She swallowed. "Anyway. But in the end, they decided to keep me. They thought maybe having a witch for a daughter would be... useful. That I could protect them."
I just nodded, unsure of what to say.
"So, they wanted me for their benefit." Her voice was quiet. "What about your father?"
My jaw tensed. My father.
I bit my lip, thinking. Why was she asking that?
"We're... fine. He was pleased when I was sorted into Slytherin. Always kept a close eye on me. You know, for my own good." I forced a smirk, but it felt wrong. "We're good."
She studied me for a moment, something unreadable in her expression. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I shouldn't have asked. I forgot you're not allowed to say anything you're not allowed to."
My heart pounded. "Why do you know about that?"
"About Vincetura?"
"So you did read something about it tonight, didn't you?" I asked, horrified.
She hesitated. "I—"
"Just tell me why," I said, my voice raw. "Why are you still concerned?"
"I don't know!" she burst out. "I just am!"
We stared at each other, breathless. Then, I sighed and let it drop.
I sighed and looked away. "We need to find that book. A single book with no title in this entire library. You go that way. I'll check here."
"Right."
She turned, her brown curls bouncing behind her. I watched her disappear into the rows of books, but before I could focus again, something hit my foot.
A wand.
Her wand.
"Oi, Granger," I called, picking it up. "You'll need this, unless you plan on searching in the dark."
She hurried back, her face relieved. "Thanks."
As she took it, her fingers brushed mine. Just for a second. But it was enough.
"You've gotten a lot nicer," she mused, twirling the wand between her fingers. "Before, you would've made me grovel for it. Or trade it for an answer."
"Very funny," I muttered.
She smirked, then turned away, but her words lingered.
So they wanted me for their benefit.
Guilt slammed into me like a curse. I called her a Mudblood.
And yet, we weren't so different, were we?
I swallowed hard and returned to scanning the shelves. My father wanted me for his benefit.
For a while, we worked in silence, the only sounds our fingers trailing over book spines and the occasional rustle of parchment.
She gently guided my hand along the spine of the book, her fingers brushing mine as she moved with an almost delicate focus. Her attention was entirely on the shelves, unaware of anything else around her.
"Found it... oh—" she gasped, her excitement cutting off as she accidentally knocked someone beside her. Her fingers brushed against something cold.
"I—I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," she stammered, flustered.
She smiled and looked down, still keeping her finger on the spine beside his.
"I thought I had it first, too," he muttered with a teasing smirk, though there was a softness in his voice..
Suddenly, she pulled her fingers away from the book. She took a small step back, her face clouded with uncertainty. Space, she reminded herself.
"I'm sorry—did I...?"
"It's fine," he reassured her, though his voice was slightly guarded. "It doesn't really hurt that bad anymore, honestly. I'm used to it." He paused, and then added, his tone suddenly more vulnerable, " It's not that I don't mind you being close. Just don't worry about... my wound."
She glanced at him for a moment, before gently drawing her wand, the soft glow of Lumos lighting up his face.
"You're blushing," she said, a teasing note in her voice.
"I am not," he shot back, quickly looking away, his cheeks already tinted red.
"Oh, I know you are," she countered playfully. "I can see you clear, thanks to the wand you gave me."
"I should've thrown it out," he muttered, his lips twitching as if suppressing a smile.
"How kind of you," she smirked, though there was a hint of something else in her eyes as the air between them shifted slightly.
Her wand hovered near his face, the faint glow illuminating his features, and for a moment, she hesitated. She knew she shouldn't. He had a wound, after all. But something about him—about this moment—made her linger.
"For the first time," she said, voice deliberately low, "I noticed something about you. Your eyes aren't just cold, Malfoy. They're... sharp. And if I'm being honest," she continued, her gaze flicking to his lips for just a fraction of a second, "they're a bit... beautiful."
He blinked, clearly taken aback. "Are you trying to be poetic now, Granger? What, exactly, does that mean?"
"It means your eyes are gray," she said with a small shrug, as if it was obvious. "And it means they've got something about them, something... intriguing."
His lips curled up into a knowing, almost mocking smile, but there was a slight flush on his cheeks that betrayed him. He quickly looked away. "Intriguing, huh?"
After a long moment, he managed to regain his composure, his usual biting coolness slipping back into place as he met her gaze.
"And for the first time," he said, voice steady but with a slight edge to it, "I noticed that your hair... isn't completely awful. I mean, it's... actually sort of manageable, I guess."
She raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into an amused smirk. "Oh? Is that so?"
"Yeah .Don't get used to it," he muttered quickly, clearly embarrassed by the awkwardness of his words. "It's not like I'm complimenting you or anything. It's just... I don't know, less of a disaster than usual."
She couldn't help but chuckle, her gaze full of irony and amusement. "Well, thanks, Malfoy, for your kind words"
He looked like he wanted to retort, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, he shifted uncomfortably, looking everywhere but at her. "Don't take it the wrong way," he muttered, hands suddenly fumbling with the hem of his sleeve. "I'm just saying... it's not a bird's nest. That's all."
She rolled her eyes and laughed, and he followed with his own chuckle, though it was sharper than hers.
He was terrible at saying things like that—compliments didn't come easily to him. He looked concerned... and somehow, adorable.
The tension between them was almost unbearable, but she couldn't stop. She had to, right? She had to... for his sake.
But then, she didn't.
Before she could think better of it, she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek—so quick, it was almost like it didn't happen at all. But he froze, eyes going wide as if he couldn't believe what just happened.
"I'm sorry, I—"
"I won't forgive you," he said, voice almost too casual, but there was something in the way his gaze softened that betrayed his words. "You remember the trade? You owe me something now."
"Anything, Malfoy," she said without thinking, too quick, too eager. "Any question, anything you want to know."
He raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a teasing smirk. "I think I've already figured out almost all of your secrets by now, Granger," he said.
His eyes narrowed, his face closer now, and her heart hammered in her chest as he leaned in just a little too close.
Then, without warning, his lips brushed hers. It was barely a second, a brief, barely-there touch, but it felt like an eternity.
She pulled back, eyes searching his face, a flicker of concern in her voice. "Doesn't it hurt?" she asked, voice quieter now, almost vulnerable in its uncertainty.
He exhaled sharply, his expression a mix of frustration and something darker. "Of course it does," he muttered, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "But it's worth it."
A.N: Ta-da! Can you believe how quickly they came back together? What did you think of this chapter? I hope it was worth the read! Thank you so much for sticking with me. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave them in the reviews, and I'll make sure to answer them in the next chapter! Don't forget to check out the next one too!