Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Despising You	By : Chillkat Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 24289 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Lifting his chin up from chest Draco looked around the room he was sitting in, as his eyes passed over the familiar rich furniture and paradigmatic décor an overwhelming cold fear swept over him. There was only one thing in this world he feared and that was the man that called himself Draco’s father.
Jumping from the couch he turned with his back towards the wall he was just facing seconds ago trying to scan the dimly lit room for signs of the bastard, until finally his eyes rested on the far corner of the room by the door. Standing their was a man Draco has never laid eyes on, familiar blonde hair hung wildly passed his shoulders while crumpled stained robes hung off a skinny malnutrition body. The only feature that made this man recognizable was the too familiar look of maniacal seething rage on his face, oh yes there was no mistaking that this man was his father.
“Awww so I found you once again. I knew I would you know, there’s no way you could have avoided me for long…your destiny is for me to decide after all.” Pulling out his wand he stepped closer, thankfully the couch still stood in between them giving Draco a chance to think. It had been a few days without these damn “meeting dreams” with the man he forgot how powerfully real they could be.
“How did you do it boy? How did you avoid my mind?” Lucius’ voice was slipping from its normally calm calculated tone to a desperate frenzied pitch. Each question brought the man closer to his son, and as usual Draco was powerless in the world of his own mind. In these damn dreams he felt just like a bumbling muggle trapped in a maze overseen by Voldemort himself. Though it seemed this time Lucius meet business, Draco was petrified to the spot vulnerable to anything his father lashed out at him.
“No matter…this time I will break your defenses and I will prove it…tonight all I have invested shall be returned to me.”
Never once did Draco close his eyes to his father’s wrath, that was a sign of fear and weakness, showing the man before him those cowardice emotions would be conceding to defeat. So there he stood frozen to the spot he unbeknownst chose for himself and stared Lucius directly in the eyes as he raised his wand.
888
Only specks of light were gracing the sky as she got up that morning. At first she got up only to use the bathroom and intended on crawling right back into bed beside the sleeping Slytherin but when she was done she didn’t feel as tired as she thought. Though she couldn't be sure if it was the idea of crawling--back--into the bed with Malfoy that kept her up or what.
Padding to the kitchen she pulled out the kettle and started a pot of tea. Sitting at the table she let out a lengthy yawn before putting her head down on the table.
*Thump* Immediately her head shot up and her hand went to the choker, again she felt another pulse. Scooting the chair back rather loudly she rushed to the bedroom. Just as before she watched as Draco struggled with something in his sleeping mind. Biting her lips she was at a lost, she couldn’t touch the prat or she just might find herself unconscious again but she couldn’t just let him suffer.
Climbing onto the bed Hermione lowered herself beside him, gently as if touching a wounded animal that was prepared to strike out at any moment she carefully found one of his balled fists and wrapped her hands around it. Closing her eyes she mentally willed whatever it was to stop.
8
Just as Lucius was forming the words to his unforgivable curse, Draco felt a warm force surround and encompass his body. Something was pulling him away from the world his father created.
“What the hell?! Where are you? Where did you go?! Noooo I won’t have this…..COME BACK HERE DAMMIT!!” The screams of his father were the loudest Draco has ever heard. As he drifted away confusion and relief played in his mind as everything went back to the familiar black.
Opening his eyes he let out a sigh of reprieve as he recognized the rafters of the cottage above him. The warmth he felt in his dream oddly enough was still with him however and was trying to wiggle out of his grasp. Looking down his chest to his stomach he watched bemused as short slender fingers tried to gently rescue its mate from his hand. Traveling his line of sight down the attached wrist and down the arm he finally settled on the owner.
“Umm I can explain.” Knowing his face was stoic he watched for the first time the journey of emotions the girl’s face lying beside him goes through for one explanation.
“See I got up earlier for umm personal reasons and decided to stay up but I felt you again,” using the hand that was fighting earlier to point at her choker. “But I remembered what happened last time so I decided to just lay here and silently help. But when I put my hand on yours, you trapped it so now I can’t get it back…so can I have it back?”
Draco was pretty sure that was the fastest he ever heard her talk. Releasing her hand he sat up and rubbed the center of his forehead.
“The dreams stop when you’re around me.”
Hermione wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or just to himself out loud. Though she did know that was her thanks. Watching him get up and walk to the bathroom she began to make the bed. It was an odd way to start the morning that was for sure. Pulling the sheets taught she thought on how powerful his dreams seemed to be for him.
From what she gathered they seemed to be recurring. What was causing them? Why did they go away with her around? Tempted to ask him how long he has been having them was on the tip of her tongue but she knew he would just scowl at her or say something nasty before walking off. It was a miracle he said what he did to her, Hermione had to admit it did shock her a bit.
Going back to the kitchen she was shocked again when she saw him sitting with a cup of tea in his hand while another one sat steaming across from him.
His voice came to a shock to her as she sat down reaching for her steaming cup.
"Since it is rather obvious how I slept...," his words paused giving him the chance to look up from his mug and stare directly into her questioning gaze giving even more significance and emphasis to the unmistakable question hanging in midair, "how was your sleep?"
Oddly Hermione caught the glint of apprehension in his cold eyes. Being able to catch such an uncertain emotion as that one, was most rare and without a doubt confusing. Leading her skeptical mind down a dangerous path. What did he do this time?
As he figured her quick mind caught on to his out of character question and latched on to her famous Hermione suspicion. The same easily triggered alarm in her brain that undoubtedly saved the other two parts of her trio's arses a number of times. Even though he was hoping get past that sense enough to get what he needed and be done with it but alas luck was again not on his bloody side.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist Princess I was just wondering if my dreams interrupted you last night." He wasn't a Slytherin for nothing, being quick and having a vast arsenal of creative lies were the key elements that made up the class.
Slightly relaxing she gave him a small shrug before replying, “I slept fine thank you.” Sipping her tea she peered over the rim to see him outwardly scoff at her thanks.
“Now Princess don't fill your frizzy little head with delusions of me being worried.”
“No worries Draco I above all others are quite aware that you have no such emotions that pertain to any class of politeness.” She returned a cheeky smirk just as he always gave her.
Little by little his Malfoy original smirk started to spread even wider until he was all out laughing, evilly of course, but laughing nonetheless. What a laugh it was, his baritone voice made his laugh as rich as cake while his perfect white teeth gleamed along with the mirth in his eyes. Though she was put totally off guard when all of a sudden one his hands was placed over her cup keeping her from about to lift it to her lips.
"Lets make a deal." All the laughter was gone, in a blink of an eye the stoic young Malfoy was back.
Leaning back a little she took in his serious expression, folding her hands she braced herself for this "deal". There was no way of denying hearing it that was obvious, but she could honestly say that she probably wouldn't even if she had the option to do so.
"I am listening." When the words left her mouth his smirk slowly crept back into to place. Dear Merlin she felt as if she were making a deal with Mephistopheles himself. Just this archfiend had long white hair, a hard quidditch body, and the face of a fallen angel. Factors that could sway any woman from her senses—except this one.
"Argue with me again and I promise to treat you with some degree of civility."
As plain as day there it was the proof to her theoretical pudding, letting a smile grace her lips she leaned forward and laughed. "I was right you do like to argue with me!"
Sighing Malfoy swept a hand through his hair and sat back in his chair taking his hand from her mug. "Of course I do Princess arguing is one of my favorite past times and don't even try and lie to me and tell me its not the same for you. You being the girl that scours the libraries for proof, fact, or evidence to throw in anyone's face." The slight blush to her cheeks told him he was on the money.
"But why do you like to argue with me so much? Why do all our arguments have to be so vicious?" Hurt was lurking in the back of her eyes doing its best to stay from his imploring gaze.
Closing his eyes for a moment he thought about his next statement.
"It’s because of our mutual disdain for one another Princess, that’s what make them so great." He could tell the glint of pure amusement in his eyes was making her uncomfortable. Its not everyday someone gets to be told that they are at their best when hating them. "However, I will do my best if you will do yours to try and keep our debates as placid as possible. Besides with us being monitored it in turn forces our arguments to be somewhat acceptable. What do you say?"
Turning her gaze from him she stared out the window for a moment. What did she have to lose really? They weren't really getting along any other way and this was the first and only step to any sort of polite agreement ever brought up. Besides they have more time that they really knew what to do with.
Sticking out her hand she nodded her head in agreement. Silently she watched and half expected him to turn his nose up at her offered hand. But he enclosed his warm grip firmly on top of her soft one. After a quick shake she quickly got up and washed her mug feeling a little weird about what just transpired between them.
8%8
Practice started off rather tense in Hermione's opinion, even though it was the best practice yet. No fighting for their lives or arguments just plain old fashion tutelage. Plympton began to go in more detail about their abilities and how vital control was teaching them steps to gaining back control and methods to prevent the loss of it.
However, the pointed looks from Malfoy towards the professor did not go unnoticed on her part. It seemed that these looks were different from their normal heated glares; they reminded her of Harry and Ron when they were trying to keep stuff away from her but she wasn't quite sure. Although if they wanted to spend practice giving each other odd glares Hermione was more than willing as long as a fight didn't break out. It seemed the moment she got here she has been engaged or stopping more fights than all her time with Harry and Ron.
With a familiar pop the two students were left again to their own devices. Still being rather early Hermione knew that the village would still be hard at work in the fields or doing the daily housework. Letting her mind lead her from one thought to another she began to stare at their little cottage and began to think of its need for long overdue clean.
`She is crackers' Draco thought, as watched the insane sorceress think on something for a few minutes while her face was scrunched up in that classic “Granger thinking frown” and then smile, only to walk directly in the house.
Obviously she was rather pleased with the outcome of her thoughts. But that is what made her so completely mad the fact that Granger would always think so hard on any and every detail of thought until she reached her “happy conclusion”.
Draco could bet a million galleons that whatever it was she just thought of wasn't even significant enough to use that much concentration. The poor girl was a literal “thinking machine” probably had no idea that even Slytherin first years made fun of her ghastly habit.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, a little gesture that was a faux-paus in the Malfoy family he stood there in the middle of the clearing in utter boredom. What in the world was he supposed to do now? Flying was out of the question, even though the part of the island they were on seemed to have their own cove of beach, he still didn't want to risk any chance of muggles seeing him flying.
Running his hand through his hair he sighed in resignation, he was completely and utterly bored out of his skull. A complex he never got, there was always something to do but this bloody limitation on magic stole entirely every option of entertainment.
Hermione wiped the sweat from her forehead as she leaned on the handle of her broom for support. She figured there was at least five years of serious compacted dust on the floor. But after her intense sweeping it was rather shocking to see that the wood floors didn’t look so much like a sawmill anymore. Smiling a bit, she felt a little surge of pride for her restorative act.
“Now Princess I won't have you keeping anything remotely entertaining away from me in this hell hole of boredom. Although your opinion of what is amusing is rather skewed I will listen nonetheless. Desperation does crazy things to a man.” The smooth baritone voice of her adversary had a special way of destroying any moment of elation. Turning slightly on her broom handle she gave Malfoy a bored look, knowing how much he hated it.
“The only thing funny is the fact that you came here to help me clean--oh esteemed Slytherin Prince Draco.” On cue his smirk set it self into a grim scowl at the mention of “cleaning”.
“Bollocks!” walking from the door, not bothering to close it, he plopped down into the old wingback chair by the front window.
Shrugging she turned her back towards him and began to sweep, enjoying the cool ocean breeze blowing in through the open door. “Well while you sit there you can go through the box by your chair, I found in the kitchen cabinets.” Not even bothering to look at him she continued, “Though I will understand if you don’t want to, I know hard work isn’t in you and what it could do to your delicate hands.”
Delicate hands! Draco was nearly out of his seat at her comment, but he restrained himself with a thread of control. Putting his “delicate” hands around her neck though, would surely prove to the little chit that his hands have seen more labor than she could ever imagine.
Scowling once more in her direction he turned to peer over the side of his chair at the mentioned dusty box. Grabbing it he hauled it over to his lap. The age of the wood and the layer of dust told him it was a rather old box and must have been sitting there for some time.
“Why didn’t you open it?” Curious was a quality that could be attributed to his character but he sure as hell knew it qualified for Granger as well. Looking up for an answer he was a little put off when he received a shrug from the sweeping Gryffindor. Putting his hand on the lid he noticed her body stiffen in his peripheral. Smiling he casually looked up, while keeping his hand on the closed lid.
“Were you afraid of what you would find in the box?” His tone was malicious and taunting, a normal tone for Malfoy but exceptionally annoying now. Trying to appear relaxed and not let the fool know she was nervous as hell she answered calmly.
“No! And might I remind you that box has been in that cabinet for Merlin knows how long.” He nearly laughed at her squeaky voice. Oh sweet Merlin if he was allowed only one more spell, he knew without a moment's doubt would conjure a dead rat and chase her around the house with it.
Backing away slowly as she watched Malfoy’s silver eyes take on a far away look of pure evil bliss, she decided that the living area could wait and that the bedroom was a good place to start her cleaning for now.
Barely noticing her departure Draco’s mind was still wrapped around the thought of chasing the brown haired witch with the dead rat. Just the thought of her screams sent pleasurable chills down his spine not to mention the prospect of her begging him to stop. Shaking his head Draco forced himself to think of less provoking things.
Lifting the lid he was a little disappointed to see no dead carcass of any sort, without taking his eyes off the box’s contents he called out to her.
“You may come out of your hiding place.” Leaning back in the dusty chair he watched as she poked her head out of the bedroom and look at him warily.
Without stepping from her designated safe spot she narrowed her eyes at him before asking. “What’s in it?”
Rolling his eyes he grabbed the contents with both hands and held them up for her to see.
“Board games?” Surely it was some sort of sick joke. But as she stepped closer to his seated position her eyes confirmed it, they were definitely board games. In his left hand he held up a worn chessboard and in the right a monopoly box. As he sat them back in she could hear the rattling of the pieces on the inside.
“I know that ass hole had something to do with this.” Putting the box back on the floor Draco let his legs spread out before him.
What in the world would they do with board games she wondered?
888
Cleaning the rustic little cabin wasn’t as easy as she thought it was going to be. Everything seemed to be covered with years and years worth of dust. By the looks of their cabin Hermione wasn’t quite sure if anyone ever resided in it, she wouldn’t have put it past professor Plympton to create the cabin, dust and all, just for his own devious purposes.
The only thing that made things go a little faster was Malfoy’s occasional assistance. Every time she encountered a heavy object he would come from behind her and push it or hold it out of her way while she cleaned the intended area. Hermione was still quite baffled over his help but she had her suspicions.
It either had to do with the fact that if she didn’t get done sooner dinner would be late or Malfoy realized he the Prince of Posh was living in filth, something he wouldn’t stand for. Satisfied with the cleanliness of the cabinet she took a quick hot shower and began to prepare dinner.
8
Hermione was still cooking when Malfoy left the bathroom to go sit on the couch in the living room. The silence between them wasn’t quite as annoying as she imagined it could be, just rather odd feeling. Neither one really knew what to say after their corroborated truce earlier. How does one go about breaking nearly seven years of feuding tradition in one night?
Looking down at her prepared menu she smiled at herself on how things turned out, olive smothered chicken and bread rolls. Thankfully Agnes was kind enough to give her the ingredients in promise of a very rare specialty, fresh strawberries. At the market her money quickly started dwindling and Hermione knew that she still needed more food.
So when she told Agnes her dilemma the older woman offered that Hermione pay her in trade with something else. Ahhh simple bartering! It was so enlightening and appropriate that it filled her with immense excitement. As soon as she suggested some of fruits in her “garden” Agnes’s eyes lit up with pure amazement and at that moment Hermione knew what would be as good as money to Agnes.
“Dinner is ready.” The uncomfortable oddity that statement brought her could not be described by mere words.
Like a panther from his nap she watched under the veil of her lashes, as the Slytherin slowly stood from his quiet seated position. It was amazing that the same Malfoy from only a year ago was the one coming towards her now.
This Malfoy was much more quiet and calculating. Every movement was deliberate making her feel as if she was wasting half of her movements. He was just completely different in some areas but very much the same in others. Her mind could not help but wonder what had happened to cause such a hasty maturation.
Pulling the chair out he stood by his chair idly while she served the food, taking the pot back to the stove she turned to sit down. In one fluid motion they were both seated in their chairs, Hermione wondered if he even realized he did that. A snarky remark to his gentlemanly behavior could be spoken, though Hermione could not honestly admit to herself that she wanted him to stop.
After cleaning up just as quietly as they ate, both of them seemed to drift into the living room. Malfoy sat in the chair to the right of the hearth closest to the bedroom wall while she did her best to get comfortable on the couch with her book directly in front of the fire.
Letting out a frustrated sigh she closed her book with a snap, the lumpy condition of the couch was just too unbearable. Standing up she pointed her scepter towards the uncomfortable piece of furniture and mumbled the spell.
“vertroosten” Yellow sparkles floated around the couch quickly transforming it into a big comfortable red couch, which was noticeably cleaner than the previous.
“Ahh much better.” Grabbing her book she quickly settled down into the couch. Opening her book she began to read where she left off in her One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phylidia Spore.
“Click” “Clack” “Click” Frowning Hermione turned and faced the direction as to where the disturbance was coming from. Looking over the couch arm, which she had her head laying on Hermione watched as the white haired Slytherin set up the last piece to the worn chessboard. With the flick of his wrist the silver scepter appeared in his hand, pointing it with expertise he cited the spell to turn the regular chess board into a wizard’s chess board.
Regardless of their small stature each piece boldly settled into their respective place. As soon as the pieces’ display was over she let her eyes travel up towards the warlock, only to find his silver gaze was on her. Through the veil of his fallen hair she could see the arch of his brow, the challenge was cast before her.
Narrowing her gaze she let one hand reach slowly over the arm of the couch that acted as her fort and reached for the sandy colored piece and made her move.
Sweet mischief entered his eyes as the Gryffindor accepted his dare; there was not a bone in Granger’s body that could resist a test of wills and intellect, especially against her despised enemy.
Earlier as he sat on the couch waiting for her delicious cooking, thoughts of what they were going to do ran through his mind. After the truce was set, it left him in a rather odd fix, Draco had no idea what he was going to do for entertainment. Sure he had the arguments still, but even he knew they couldn’t argue every second of the day no matter how much he wished to. The chessboard though, changed all that, it left him with one more option to get under Granger’s skin, a direct challenge of the minds.
The fire that began their night lustrous and vibrant was but a small pile of glowing embers, and they were still locked in the middle of battle. Hermione was trying to keep her eyes open as she read a small passage in her book; her last move on the board was nearly ten minutes ago leaving the Slytherin more than a little perturbed. Saying something to him would be a costly mistake she knew, for some reason she got the feeling that Malfoy expected her to be an easy win and he wasn’t taking it too well that she was everything but an easy win.
Merlin’s beard! The game he started as a way to pass the time and beat Granger mercilessly was backfiring on him big time. The crazy thing was, he wasn’t quite sure why he thought this was going to be easy. Of course he knew that he would have a challenge dealing with Miss Know-it-all but by the stars Draco had know idea he would be up against a master.
Now he was starting to regret every one of his preliminary moves, he could have gone about this with a whole different angle. Demanding to start the game over was out of the question, that would be conceding to defeat, Draco Malfoy did not back down.
An airy yawn interrupted his thinking, removing his hard stare from the waiting chess pieces he noticed Granger’s fight to stay awake. No, she was not going to get away that easily. Ripping his gaze from her tired eyes, he focused back at the pieces. Barely a minute passed before he sighed, standing up he looked down at the puzzled Gryffindor.
“The board will be here tomorrow.” With that he tuned away, leaving her to follow in stunned silence.
8%8
As the days passed he watched as the two grew stronger with each practice, quickly gaining control over their new senses. Hermione found new ways to earn money in the small village by doing miscellaneous housework for the women while they tended to other household chores, though what surprised him most of all was the young warlock.
The heir to Malfoy estate was working in the fields with the rest of the common people. Being left alone in a small cabin while Miss Granger went out into the village each day must not have suited the heir too much. Trading his strength and helping hand to the farmers in exchange for food and money seemed to help solve some of their monetary problems.
The only thing that wasn’t progressing, as smoothly was one of the most important factors in this training process, their relationship. Even after their truce it was obvious that the two still held no trust towards one another. Conversations were short and precise, while their arguments teetered on the edge of fighting.
The only thing he could give them credit for was their chess matches; they were mostly civil if occasional expletives were overlooked. Sighing he waved his hand over the oracle and leaned back in his chair and looked out the window overlooking the Black Lake, he could only hope that their world of circumstance would unify them not tear them apart.
8%8
Thankfully the village was affected by their time turner punishment as well making today Sunday for them as well, which gloriously meant no work today. Being Sunday also meant no practice, the relief his body felt from that aspect was priceless.
Draco would have never guessed that he would be working like a slave in the fields with the local plebeians. But roaming around the house alone while Granger ran off to work left him feeling unquestionably bored. Leaving his mind time to speculate as to why he was here, again which led him to the blame of all this--Granger.
Speaking of frizz-ball Draco had no clue as to where she went after breakfast, though she told him he was sure, but he didn’t remember actually hearing it for he was devouring his food like a Weasley. Shameful yes, but Granger’s cooking was unprecedented, it made him want to devour it then beg for more.
His eyes narrowed at the power she held over him, she knew very well once he tasted her food he would never be able to stop yearning for it. Even as he searched the clearing for the brown haired nuisance his stomach anticipated tonight’s dinner. The rate he was going with her damn cooking he would not only have to workout in the morning but at night as well.
Frowning when he realized she was nowhere to be seen Draco turned and walked to the last place on his mental list. Stopping a few feet from his destination he noticed a major difference. The tiny greenhouse that sat catty corner to the house was no longer a tiny structure, but a rather large one that could easily compete with the house. Not that that was saying much.
Opening the glass door he stepped into the conservatory. “Hey, frizz-Princess you in here.” Smirking a little he knew that his remark would get to her. Despite the fact that he did intend on annoying her thoroughly to appease his boredom, Draco wasn’t sure where the hell she was. Three large rows of assorted plants lay before him making it rather difficult to see the back of the building.
“Yes I am here Draco, what pray tell do you need?” Just an agitated voice was all he heard coming from of course the back somewhere.
Walking straight down one of the rows he looked around at the plants while trying to locate the Gryffindor. “Does a man need an excuse to see his favorite Gryffindor?”
“Show me the man and I might answer the question.” The smirk that played at his lips was now replaced with a scowl. Opening his mouth to return a biting remark he felt something wrap around his ankle looking down his eyes widened at the sight of a vine tangling itself around his legs.
“What the hell!” Three more shot towards him grabbing him by the arms and legs. No matter how many times he yanked free more kept latching on. Slowly he felt his feet leave the ground as the vines pulled him towards the glass ceiling.
By the time Granger came around the corner his arms and legs were spread eagle, held taught by the vines.
“Get me the fuck down!” His roar did nothing to help his situation; it only seemed to tighten the vine’s hold. Looking through the curtain of his messed hair, his jaw tightened as he watched Granger shake her head at his dilemma with a calm expression on her face.
“Do you know that a sorceress is said to be a `chaos of nature’ and a warlock is supposed to be primal enough to ease into the depth of nature without so much as a hitch.” The words leaving her mouth were barely filtering into his psyche, as he slowly counted the inches between them.
“Obviously you have not noticed the position I seem to be in you silly bint!” **ding** Ignoring the punishment warning he continued. “I could care less about what you have read, what I care about is you going about releasing me!” the last part of his statement was so deep it shook the glass panes of the building surrounding them.
“You act like I did this to you.” The calm voice she held before dissipated with his snort of acknowledgment. “What I am saying is that you’re supposed to be the one who is supposed to respond more naturally with nature, but the moment you walked into this “door of nature”--you were attacked. Why do you think that is? Whereas I, would like to think that I embrace nature because I know nature can be very chaotic at times. ”
Letting his head drop to his chest, he let a couple of deep breaths pass before he whispered her name.
Hermione frowned, pausing her lecture, when his face became hidden beneath his veil of white hair, but she became anxious when she heard a slight grumble that sounded like her name. She was only trying to make him see her point as to why he was being attacked. When he heard him yell out while she was in the back watering the small apple tree, she was rather shocked to see her grape vine attacking him.
Stepping closer to his hanging form she bent forward a little so she could see his face underneath his hair. The stormy gray eyes that were staring fiery holes into her but seconds ago were closed; it was as if he was asleep.
Lemongrass and honey, her damnable scent was coming closer just as he expected. Sounds of her breathing neared his hanging body as she inspected his face. This was close enough.
Pulling forward with all his strength he captured the shocked Gryffindor in a bear hug, lifting her while simultaneously crushing her to his body. Her scared face was but centimeters away from his as her feet kicked at his shins wildly, but his grip around her body remained unmoving. The plants didn’t seem to like his movements causing them to wrap around his skin viciously, but Draco would be damned if he let her go now.
“Let go of me!” her screams were almost to the point of nearly deafening. Giving her a hard squeeze he reminded her who was now in control.
Hermione felt like a python captured her. Bent in a position where her fist were right above her breast and pressing against the prick’s chest, it unfortunately left her face directly in front of his, giving her full access to the darkening storm.
“Scream again and I will break your back.” Draco’s voice was barely above a whisper, but Hermione knew that he seriously meant what he said.
“I was only trying to help you, you bloody pretentious prick,” **ding** “now let me go!” Her breath tickled his lips giving him an airy taste of strawberries she must have been eating earlier.
“How is capturing me in our bloody plants any fucking way of helping me?”
“No you piece of…Aaahh!!!” She whimpered at another one of his forceful squeezes started to cloud her vision at the lack of proper air, causing her head to fall forward against his.
Pushing her head off his so that it lulled back revealing the slope of her neck, he loosened his grip slightly. “Don’t you dare say anything else that would cause anymore of those bloody bells to go off.”
“I didn’t do this to you,” Draco noticed her breaths were short and raspy from his tight hold, but he refused to let go until he was down. “ I was trying to tell you that it was you.”
“Why would I imprison myself?” Maybe he was holding her too tight, she was starting to get a little crackers.
“If you are able to blend with nature so well, why can’t you? When the creature attacked you in the pond it had absolutely no fear of you just as these plants do not. Why is that?”
“Hell if I should know I thought the plants were coming to your defense, because you told them to or something.”
Sighing she wiggled in his grasp causing him to grip her tighter, she gave him a painful scowl before continuing her theory. “That could be true but I hardly think so. I believe it is you lack of control over your powers that’s causing these things. You, Draco must change some things.” Taking his hard stare as her cue to continue she did. “First is the obvious, your temper is like a wildfire quick, unpredictable, and uncontrollable even by you.”
“The only time I am angry is when you come around, did you ever stop and think about that?” Even while she was being mercilessly squeezed against her number one enemy she managed to deliver a pointed scowl before continuing.
“Second is the fact that we very well may be forced to deal with each other for a very long time no matter how much we deny it.” This caused his glare to become fierce but he didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure if it was that he chose to ignore that possibility or that he maybe realized that as well. “We sat down and made a truce to get along and all we have done is ignore each other. I fancy you Draco just as much as you fancy me, but through this time spent with each other you would be surprised that I have learned a lot about you.”
It had to be the softening of her voice that made him listen to the girl while they were hanging in mid air in a greenhouse, or the desperation of the situation. Forgetting temporarily about the vines digging into body he lightened his hold on her a little bit more before responding. “What could you know about me?” Vibrations from his chest went directly through to hers across the nonexistent distance between them.
“I know that though you hate everything about me you enjoy arguing with me. I know that you hate not being in control of what’s happening to you. I know you enjoy my cooking even though you try to hide that fact.” Though his face was still quite dangerous she could see the storm starting to calm a bit in his eyes. “You see I am trying Draco I just wish that you would at least try with me.”
“I am not going to be your friend.” Scoffing at the ridiculous notion of friendship between the two.
“I said try, I mentioned nothing about a friendship that would never happen.” Scorn, even in such a ridiculous position as this Draco found it quite familiar and soothing.
A section of hair that had seemed to fall in back in her capture, slowly fell into his face blocking one whole section of his face. Despite the aching pain of his grip on her body Hermione couldn’t help but smile as the Slytherin became irritated at the new hairstyle.
Wriggling one arm a little higher she pushed back the fallen hair and tucked it behind his ear. Taking a glance back at his face, to see if he was angry she was a little stunned to find his eyes completely normal in color. Hopefully that meant he wasn’t as angry with her, even though she didn’t do anything.
“What else do you suggest I change?” The blatant cynicism was not lost on her, common sense prevented her however from retorting to his tone. This was no time to be taking two steps back when she just gained one.
“Historically control of anything, anyplace, or person has been gained by taking such liberty. In order for you to control the beast you must know it, claim it, and dominate it. Feel the strength you possess,” her words became soft, echoing through his head resonating through his body. Feeling the muscles in his body begin to twitch he turned his gaze back towards her lips. “Know that you are the stronger one against your opponent, let any doubt leave your mind.” Just as the words left her mouth Draco noticed the hold around him flex, it was as if the vines were nervous. “Finally you must take control.”
“I am going to let you go before I do this.” Nodding her head she prepared herself for his release. No sooner than she did that the vines started to pull them both up towards the vaulted ceiling of the conservatory. A deep groan escaped his chest as they stopped nearly at the top, from her tight position Hermione couldn’t see how far up they went but she knew it was pretty far because she used a rather complicated enlargement charm.
“The bastards must have guessed what I was going to do.” Anger could barely describe what he was feeling at this crazy situation. Merlin why did he come looking for Granger. Speaking of her, Draco was a little taken aback to find her shivering in fear in the crook of his neck while her small fist were balled into his shirt. Memories of an old rumor passed through his mind, Hermione Granger was afraid of heights. Sighing he accessed the situation.
“Ok since I can’t drop you without you breaking something,” her grip tightened on his poor shirt. “I am going to have to regrettable ask you to wrap your legs around my waist.”
Forgetting about her fear her head snapped from his shoulder allowing her to stare directly into his eyes in pure disgust. “I most certainly will…”
“Do you value the use of your legs because I am positive from this height one, if not both, will break if I drop you.” asking her dryly.
Defeat quickly ran through her eyes. Feeling her move, slowly her legs were placed around his hips; Draco could feel the cross of her ankles on his buttocks. Every thread of will power was used to keep a deep groan from releasing from his chest at the feel of her against his crotch. Shame ran deep.
“Ok now hold on to me tightly.” The moment he loosened his grip around her back, his arms sprang back out into his original hold leaving Hermione to wrap her arms around his neck with a force so tight it left him a little shocked that her small body could muster up such a strong grip.
“Ok give me a minute here.”
Hermione didn’t care what he did as long as he got her back onto solid ground. With her face still pressed against the hollow of his neck, she could hear his breathing change. His chest started to press against her when she inhaled and relax when she exhaled. Snapping and twisting Hermione could hear the vine starting to react to whatever he was doing. But what she didn’t expect was the dropping feeling of her stomach as both of them fell to the ground suddenly.
The scream she was prepared to release never had time to actually form before the jolting feeling of landing hit her senses. Ever so slowly she lifted her head and looked around to see the damage. Looking down she noted that they indeed were alive and well.
“You landed on your feet.” It was more of a question than a statement but her mind was still too shocked to comprehend. Tilting her head back she glanced at him, he was smiling. Actually he was sneering but she figure that was as close as Malfoy was ever going to get to a smile. The frown that crossed her face must have been full of curiosity, because he grinned even larger.
“Is this position good for you?” like a ton of bricks hitting her square in the face, she realized she was still wrapped around him.
Draco wasn’t sure how he should take the horrified look that came over her or the amount of speed she put forth to get away from him, though admittedly he did find it rather amusing.
Grabbing her basket of food she followed the Slytherin out of the greenhouse.
“So I guess you got it under control back there.”
“Somewhat.” Hermione knew that was all she was going to get out of the git about the subject. Any other time she would have pestered him about it, but she didn’t want to give the creep any opportunities to bring up her embarrassing “clingy” moment. She just prayed he would forget about it.
That night as he lie in bed beside his sleeping nemesis his mind—body actually—kept bringing up the feeling of her body wrapped around his. Merlin’s teeth, it was wrong to even be thinking about such things with such a loathsome girl, but by the stars there was nothing “girly” about her body. It was very much woman—full figured woman. Letting out a deep growl he turned over while throwing the pillow on his head, hopefully to smother him while he slept.
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Practice seemed to be extra brutal that morning leaving both of them sweaty and exhausted. When they got to the village they separated, Draco went to the fields while Hermione went to find the local women to sell her fruit.
Stepping over the fence he could see outlines of the workers in the morning sun. Most of the fields belonged to one man, Boleslaw he was about ten years older than Draco and twice his size. Boleslaw seemed to be nothing but pure muscle, and always wore the expression of a Titan going in to battle. The man rarely ever smiled, no matter what the situation was all he seemed to care about was his crops. There were two main crops wheat and an olive grove, the rest were decent sized vegetable gardens.
Besides himself a few other men worked for Boleslaw their conversations were bawdy and ignorant but mildly amusing at times. Most of them were just stories of their personal lives. Draco had to wonder if the memories they had weren’t just things they made up or the Ministry put in for them. What were these men doing before they got here? What could Boleslaw possibly have done to land him this hellhole? To come from so much power only to end up as this.
Would the Ministry do this to him if he didn’t cooperate with their plans for his destiny? Hell Draco didn’t even know these exile camps still existed. All he knew is that you could be sent here if you lost your mind, made a deal with the Ministry against another wizard in trade for going to Azkaban, or you were born a squib. Though he was sure these camps were considered immoral and disbanded long ago. The Ministry had enough secrets to rival the Malfoy family.
By the time they were done the sun was already starting to go down. Draco already knew Granger was back at the house, he heard one of the women say by to her as she was going home. Stuffing the money in his pocket Boleslaw gave him Draco headed towards the path in the woods.
When he first met Boleslaw and told him the story Granger told people Draco was impressed to see that little fazed the man. Unlike the rest of the men that he worked with there were no quizzical stares or knowing laughs. Boleslaw just kept to himself and did his work. The annoyance that surged through him when he received those reactions from the others was immeasurable. Not even exiles were allowed to think that he and Granger were “shacking up.”
Opening the door he walked in and stopped, looking around he silently listened to the house. Granger wasn’t in the house. Stepping into the kitchen he saw a note sitting in the middle of the vacant table.
Your food is ready and on the stove.
Granger
Short and sweet, Merlin’s robes that girl knew him too well. Lifting the lid off the pot his senses were assaulted by the sweet aroma of roast. The rumbling of his stomach decided to remind him that it was indeed extremely hungry after five hours of field labor. Looking out the window he noticed how dark it was getting, in minutes it would be completely black out there.
Stupid Gryffindor loved to flirt with disaster. What the hell was she doing?
Merlin’s teeth—the food smelled good!
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Hermione purposely left the women early that afternoon, she needed some personal time to herself. There were too many thoughts running through her mind and between Malfoy and her extra work in the village there wasn’t a whole lot of time to herself.
The incident in the conservatory had her mind preoccupied all day long. Agnes had to remind her she was ironing a shirt earlier that morning when she caught her staring out the window.
Sighing she let her toes sift lazily through sand. The moment she got home she prepared dinner before grabbing a coat and turning right back around again. She followed the small path she found a few days ago down to the beach. Hermione was simply amazed when she discovered that they basically had their own private beach. The way the cliffs curved and jutted out made a pretty decent sized crescent beach. The water wasn’t the clearest water she had seen but it was still an enchanting aqua blue.
Her mind however would not let her forget what happened the day before. Malfoy realized that she was afraid of heights when they were up there she was sure of it, but he didn’t tease her or anything. That wasn’t like him at all. She hated that, she rather for him to act like a prick all the time instead of slipping chivalrous behavior in the proverbial mix.
That wasn’t even the worst part of the whole ordeal, no what had her side tracked all throughout the day was something much more heinous. The moment they landed, with her body still unfortunately wrapped around his caused her feel something horrible; too slight for words, very minuscule--arousal.
The thought of hurling her body into the ocean was looking very tempting at the moment. How could her body betray her like that? There were no commands given for it to act as such, and with Malfoy no less. Damn it! It was inexcusable! Nothing about that annoying boy—ok man—very much man—could ever be attractive to her.
“What are you doing out here?” The Slytherin’s voice effectively knocked her out of her reverie. Spinning around she was greeted by the sight of Malfoy standing in the shadows of the cliff.
Just at that moment she noticed it was nighttime. The moon’s rays slowly were released from the clouded barrier letting them reach the area where he was standing. Leaning against the rocks he wore the clothes Boleslaw let him have. When she asked him what he traded with for the clothes, he told her that Boleslaw would now have half a dozen dress shirts to add to his wardrobe.
Since Boleslaw was a little bit taller than Draco the pants he gave him were rather baggy, conveniently in a stylish way, but were made of a much stronger material compared to his slacks. The cotton shirt was streaked with dirt and sweat, while his hair was pulled back into a small ponytail.
“I needed some fresh air.” Looking down at her toes she fiddled with the sand. “Did you get my note?”
“Yes.”
Hearing the crunch of the sand beneath his boots she was a little taken aback to see him walking towards her. Stopping in front of her he looked out towards the ocean. They stood there like that for a couple of seconds, both staring at the night’s sky melding with the dark ocean.
“Have you had enough?” Turning her head back to him she was faced with his strong profile.
“Yes, I believe so.”
Silently they walked back to the house with the moon’s light as their guide. Getting back to the cabin she took a shower while he ate his dinner. Doing her best to ignore the questions as to why he came after he and why he prolonged his dinner for her, she combed her hair and left the bathroom.
Once she was done cleaning the kitchen Malfoy came out from his shower and sat in his usual chair by the fire. She already knew what he wanted; after she beat him last night she doubted he would let her off the hook so easily. Both of their scores were even now five and five.
After nearly two hours of intense silence Draco was finally defeated. He was now watching Granger’s pathetic attempt to keep the sheer joy of victory off her face. Those disgusting mud blood lips were quivering with pent up glee. It disgusted him. Though watching her put the pieces and the board away while simultaneously trying to contain her ecstatic emotions Draco couldn’t help but find it amusing to watch. Not that he would let her know that.
Damn Gryffindor, how the hell was he going to beat her tomorrow night?
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