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A Slow Seduction	By : MoonlightVision Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 56424 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK's world and characters. I do not make any profit from this.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
A/N: Here you are, the next chapter!! Enjoy!! And as always, I would love to hear what you think in a review, thanks for reading!

Chapter 13
Draco was glad when the weekend was over and they got back to classes, not only did it keep his mind off the spectral baby cries he'd heard on Friday night – which he was stubbornly refusing to think about – but it meant that Granger couldn't avoid him anymore. She had spent all of Sunday with her friends, and had done a good job of ignoring him in classes on Monday, which lead him to believe that maybe he had crossed a line the other night with his massage. Maybe that had pushed her too far, even though she seemed to have enjoyed it. Draco hadn't been able to keep the grin off his face when she had leaned into him and groaned. It was a bloody good thing she had been facing the opposite direction.
Currently, they were sitting in potions and she couldn't ignore him completely, since he was her partner, but she sure as hell was giving it her best attempt. Draco was leaning back in his seat, as he watched her quietly stirring their potion, contemplating his next move. It was such a fine line between trying to be nice to her and subtly trying to seduce her, one he was having trouble walking. He could never tell just how much was too much. Not that he cared when she got worked up and angry at him, that was the idea, the whole reason he was doing this, to torment her. But for him to achieve his ultimate goal of getting her to sleep with him, he needed to figure out how to toe that line. Nice enough to trust him, but subtle enough at seduction that she started to desire him without knowing it. Draco sighed, shifting in his chair – that was a tall order, even for him.
She glanced in his direction nervously, clearly she was expecting him to try something. As she went back to stirring, he smirked. Class was almost over and since she seemed to be expecting something so he may as well deliver. He just hadn't decided what route he was going to go yet. Nice? Or flirty? He thought he'd have more of a plan when it came to interacting with her, but honestly, going with what he came up with in the moment had gotten him further into her good books than anything planned.
A quick survey of the classroom told him that everyone else was focused on their potions and Slughorn was over helping some students on the far side of the classroom. Stretching his arms out to the sides he let his right hand rest casually across the back of her chair and along her back.
Granger started violently and almost tipped the cauldron over, throwing him a cold glare as she tried to sit forward in her chair.
His fingers fisted into her robes holding her in place, “Easy, Granger” he whispered, “you'll attract attention.”
“Then don't touch me,” she hissed.
“No fun in that,” he replied, relaxing his hold slightly so his thumb could rub small circles between her shoulder blades.
Her shoulders rolled as she fidgeted, trying to displace his hand, “Malfoy -” she breathed warningly through her teeth.
“Relax, just stir the potion,” he said, throwing another glance around the room, “we wouldn't want you to tip it now, after all my hard work. Slughorn would probably make us do it over in our free period.”
Her hand paused momentarily, “Your hard work?”
“Fine, our hard work. Now keep stirring! Or you really will ruin it.”
His ploy worked and she went back to stirring, less focused now on his hand behind her and more intent on not messing up their potion. He suspected she knew he was probably right, if they messed it up now Slughorn would make them redo it on their time.
Draco shifted his chair closer under the guise of looking into the cauldron, “Almost time to bottle it?” he asked.
Granger nodded absentmindedly, “Almost. The bubbles need to stop popping first.”
Keeping half an eye on the rest of the classroom Draco moved his hand up her back to the collar of her robes, grabbing that as she tried to lean forward away from him. She gave him an icy glare but said nothing and returned to watching the mixture bubble.
He did an internal dance of glee when she remained silent, maybe she was starting to get used to him touching her. Or at the very least she didn't want to cause a scene and was tolerating it. Either way, he was going to use it to his advantage.
He could feel her warm skin against his knuckles, it was warmer than he'd anticipated. Probably because her hair was long and everywhere, which was – at the moment – beneficial, since it hid most of his arm from sight. If someone looked their way in passing he didn't think it would be that obvious.
Draco uncurled part of his hand, leaving his two littlest fingers wrapped around the material at the nape of her neck, but the others slid into the hair at the base of her skull and gently started kneading the muscles there. Granger twitched violently again but didn't look at him this time.
“Careful,” he murmured with another visual sweep around the room, “twitch too much and someone might think I'm touching you somewhere other than your neck.”
Her cheeks immediately turned a rather pretty shade of pink, “Gross, Malfoy!”
Draco chuckled and didn't bother replying, the colour on her cheeks evidence enough that she wasn't actually grossed out by that statement. He continued his massage and let her think about it a little longer. Maybe one day she'd let him be that bold in class, but that day was still a long time – and one annoying boyfriend – away from happening.
They sat like that for several minutes, Draco's fingers rubbing her neck and scalp in a slow methodical rhythm, one that matched the speed of her stirring. He kept his eyes on the rest of the students, ready to stop if any of them actually looked in their direction, but so far no one had. Everyone was too wrapped up in the final moments of their own potions. Even Slughorn was occupied trying to help a pair of seventh years see where they had gone wrong, their cauldron coming dangerously close to boiling over.
A sigh escaped Granger's lungs and he quickly glanced her way, noting the way her shoulders had settled into a more relaxed position. She closed her eyes for a second and Draco could have sworn he felt her almost lean back into the pressure before catching herself. She swallowed and flicked her eyes in his direction before quickly averting her gaze back to the potion. He had to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything, because he suspected if he did it would make her start fighting him again.
Another minute passed before Granger cleared her throat, “Could you pass me the vials, it's ready.”
Draco leaned forward and grabbed two glass bottles from his desk, easily popping the corks out one handed, and held them out for her, “Here, I'll hold, you pour.”
Granger immediately started ladling the green mixture into the vials, being careful not to spill any. Draco set both bottles on the table and stuck the corks back in them, only slightly in awe of how smooth that had seemed. They really were a good team. And as a bonus, he had not had to remove his hand from her neck.
He shifted to lean backwards in his chair, the fingers not holding her collar now just absently running through the hair at the nape of her neck. He held in a grin when he felt a shiver run up her back and felt goose bumps erupt under his knuckles.
Exhaling slowly she turned her head to face him, “Malfoy, why do you keep doing this?”
It was hard for him to keep the smugness out of his voice, “I've already told you, it's fun to ruffle your feathers.”
She opened her mouth to speak, anger flashing briefly across her face, but then she seemed to think better of it and shook her head turning back to the front of the room. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed and he could see her worrying her lower lip with her teeth. He'd be willing to bet his last galleon that her mind was racing a mile a minute trying to figure him out.
He felt her shoulders rise as she breathed deeply and his fingers tightened automatically on her collar, ready for her to try to pull away again. Instead she did something that completely floored him. She sighed, gave one last minute shake of her head and settled back into the pressure of his hand, allowing his massage to continue without protest.
Before he could fully process what had just happened Slughorn waved his wand, summoning all the finished potions to his desk and dismissed the class. Everyone stood to leave, including Granger, so Draco was forced to let his hand fall from her back as she practically jumped off her chair and ran out the door.
---***---
Hermione sat with her feet curled under her in the chair in her room. Ginny and Luna were there too, Ginny sprawled on the bed and Luna sitting cross-legged on a pillow on the floor. The other two girls were talking, she wasn't sure about what, she was too lost in thought, reflecting on the choice she had made in Potions class earlier. She wasn't entirely sure it was a wise choice, but something about the way Malfoy had said – again – that it was fun to ruffle her feathers had made her think of it and she'd just gone with it. If he thought it was fun to bother her, she was going to do her damnedest to not let him do that. Within reason of course, she mused. She wasn't about to let him manhandle her too much, but those small things he did to get her goat she was going to ignore. At least for the time being, and see whether it made him stop if he wasn't getting a reaction from her.
Not that she wanted him to touch her, it still unnerved her when he did, but if letting him do it and ignoring it got him to stop, or at least not do it as often, then she'd suffer through. It was at least worth trying. For now.
Plus, he was decently good at massages and Hermione would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't enjoyed it. However, she reasoned that it was the massage itself that she enjoyed, not the person giving it to her. Of that she was certain.
“Hermione?”
“Sorry, what?” she quickly asked, wondering just how long her friends had been addressing her. They both had concerned looks on their faces.
Ginny furrowed her brow, “I asked if you were coming on the Hogsmeade trip this weekend?”
“Oh, um, yeah,” she replied, hoping she hadn't been spaced out for too long. That's the last thing she needed, them worried enough about her to start asking questions. “Ron said he was coming to visit, he wants to meet me at The Three Broomsticks. Is Harry meeting you too, Gin?”
Ginny's face lit up as she smiled, “He is! I'm sure he'll want to see you too though. Maybe the four of us can lunch together?”
Hermione nodded, “I'm sure they would be fine with that.”
“Is it true, Ginny, that you've rented a room for the day?” Luna asked absently, her eyes focused on the strand of hair she was twirling between her fingers.
Her cheeks coloured slightly as Ginny nodded, “Ummm, yeah, it might be.”
“Ginny!!” Hermione exclaimed, shocked.
Ginny went redder, “What?! I haven't seen Harry in weeks! We're not children anymore. And it's not like we haven't already done it.”
It was Hermione's turn to have her cheeks warm up. Harry was her best friend and she knew him and Ginny were sexually active, they'd basically been glued together all summer at the Burrow, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear about it.
“Plus, I'm not the only one,” Ginny continued pointedly, “Hermione and Ron have hooked up too, haven't you?”
Feeling her face go scarlet Hermione nodded dumbly, “O-once or twice.”
At that statement Luna giggled and Ginny narrowed her eyes questioningly.
“Once or twice?” Luna tittered.
Hermione bit her lips awkwardly. She loved these girls, but she didn't really feel like discussing her sex life with anyone, not even them. Especially when the few times her and Ron had been together had been kind of awkward and sloppy. Stolen moments in a busy summer filled with grieving, family and friends, and trying to heal. They had felt rushed and Hermione had felt like it was an insult to the people they had lost, that they were able to hold each other and love each other. She had caved because Ron had said those who had passed would want them to live their life to the fullest, and be happy when they could. Which made sense to her, but she had still felt a little guilty having sex under the same roof as Mrs. Weasley, who cried daily, and she couldn't bring herself to look George in the eye after.
“So,” Ginny teased, “which was it? Once? Or twice? Was it that unmemorable that you lost count after only once or twice?”
“Oh my god, Ginny!” she cried, “this is your brother we're talking about! You can't possibly want details?”
The red head scrunched up her noise in disgust, “Ugh, you're right, I don't want to know.”
Hermione internally sighed in relief, settling deeper into her chair.
“But you can answer without giving me details,” Ginny grinned, “I'm only asking if it was once or twice.”
Mortified, Hermione's eye flew to Luna, but she saw she was going to get no help there. The blonde was sitting eagerly at attention awaiting her answer as well.
Hermione groaned, “Fine. Fine. It was actually three times.”
“Three times all summer? That's it?!”
Glaring at the red head Hermione answered, “Some of us aren't as comfortable sneaking away constantly for a quick shag, Ginny.”
Giggling Ginny rolled over on the bed so her head was hanging off the foot of it. She made a face at Luna, “Harry's invisibility cloak did come in handy for that.”
Luna started giggling too, flopping onto the floor so she could stare up at Ginny, “Maybe you can convince Harry to let Hermione borrow his cloak.”
Ginny gasped in mock shock, “Luna! But then what will Harry and I do when we need to sneak out for our quick shag?!”
Hermione rolled her yes, watching the pair of them dissolve into giggles. She did kind of envy Ginny. Her and Harry seemed so comfortable with each other and Ginny was definitely very forward about enjoying sex. Her mind flashed back to the book on magical love making that Malfoy had left in the common room that one time, and for half a second she wished she could have read more of it. She'd only gotten through the first couple chapters but the things it described doing had been fascinating and mortifying all at the same time. She couldn't imagine asking Ron to try some of the things in that book, theirs was a more basic type of love. They loved each other and that was enough, so what if the sex wasn't amazing from the get go, it had been better every time they'd done it. They just needed time to perfect it. At least that's what she was telling herself. But a small part of her brain wondered if maybe she should see if he'd be interested. She just wasn't sure if it would help and make them feel less awkward around each other or if it would make them feel more awkward.
She also knew that Malfoy had taken the book into his room and she sure as hell wasn't going to ask him for it. Hermione felt her face grow warm again as she remembered him saying he'd like to see her doing some of the things in the book, remembered the way his voice had dropped when he said it, the way his eyes had fallen to her lips and she had thought he wanted to kiss her. No, there was no way she would ever ask Ron to do those things. Not when she suspected Malfoy would be on her mind if she did – because it was his book – and she wanted to keep Malfoy as far from her love making with Ron as she possibly could.
“So, 'Mione, how's life with Malfoy these days?”
Hermione started, “What?!”
“Life with Malfoy?” Ginny asked again, “This week you almost seem to be getting along. You haven't mentioned wanting to murder him in a few days.”
“Oh,” she sighed, relieved that was all they were asking about – relieved that they couldn't read her mind and know that she'd been thinking about Malfoy and his damned book.
“It actually hasn't been terrible,” she said, knowing it was a half-truth. It really hadn't been as bad as it could have been, as bad as she would have imagined if she'd known before school started that he was head boy. But it was still frustrating and unnerving, especially when he invaded her personal space. And then there were the moments he was actually kind, even if they were few and far between. All in all, she was no closer to figuring him out than she had been at the start of the year, but at least he wasn't being as huge an arse as she knew he could be.
“Really?” Lune enquired, looking genuinely intrigued, “What changed?”
Hermione shrugged, “I don't know. He's still a git half the time, but it's almost like he's trying to be nice about it. It's almost more like teasing, than actually being mean.”
“And you don't think he's up to something?”
“I don't see what he could be up to, Ginny, what he could gain by being nice. I think he's actually trying to change.”
“Do you think that's possible?” Ginny asked, looking sceptical.
She sighed, “Again, I don't know. But if he is, don't you think I should be encouraging it? If I don't try to be kind in return, I'm afraid he'll just go back to his old ways, and I definitely don't want that.”
“None of us want that,” Luna said, making a face.
“So, that's how this week is going. I'm trying to reward the good behaviour and ignore the things that I know he does just to get a reaction.”
Luna grinned, “You make it sound like you are training a dog, Hermione.”
Hermione couldn't help it, she laughed. “Oh my god, it kind of does!”
Ginny hooted with laughter from the bed, “Just don't tell Malfoy he's like a dog or he really will become mean again!”
“His initial reaction might be worth it,” Hermione sniggered, “Can you just imagine the look on his face?”
The three of them collapsed into giggles.
---***---
The next evening Hermione was in the library with Ginny and Luna, working on some Ancient Runes homework. Luna had Runes the period after her and Ginny, but the homework essay was the same, so they had elected to research it together. As Luna had put it, many heads make for lighter work loads.
“Hermione, can you pass me Spellman's Syllabary? I can't remember the word for this rune.”
“Sure, Ginny,” Hermione passed the book over.
Ginny took the heavy tome grudgingly, “Or you could just tell me what this one is –”
“You'll remember better if you figure it out yourself,” Hermione stated simply, not caving to the pleading look the red head was giving her. She'd had years of practice saying no to helping the boys with simple tasks she knew they could do, just to save them a few minutes of time.
“Ugh, fine!”
Ginny let the book fall with a tremendous thump onto the table, earning her a glare from several nearby students. Even Hermione looked up startled, but it wasn't because of the noise her friend had made. She could hear a baby crying again.
Not wanting to look panicked, Hermione slowly looked around the room. Hoping that someone else could hear it too. Ginny and Luna seemed oblivious, the red head grumbling under her breath as she flipped page after page, and Luna dreamily doodling a border of runes around her almost finished essay on translation.
Across the library Hermione noticed one other student looking around, a Ravenclaw whom she knew was in third year. The girl was lazily turning her gaze from table to table, in a much more relaxed manner than Hermione's own hurried inspection of each group of students. Catching Hermione's eyes on her the girl smiled, waved at her and carried on with her slow perusal before she turned back to her book.
Doubtful that the girl was hearing anything – she wouldn't be that relaxed if she was – Hermione listened carefully. The crying was faint, but decidedly there. Hurriedly she started putting her things in her bag, making Ginny and Luna look up.
“What're you doing?” Ginny asked.
Hastily thinking of an excuse Hermione half-lied, “I – um, just remembered I meant to ask Professor McGonagall something about our Magical Construction class tomorrow. She want's Malfoy and me to do some research on our own before helping the sixth years and I meant to ask her for a list of texts she would recommend.”
She had meant to do exactly that, but just not tonight. What she really wanted to do right now was find the one other person she knew had heard this baby – Malfoy.
---***---
Draco shot up from the couch, turning in a slow circle as he tried to pinpoint where the cries were coming from. Because he could definitely hear them again – and Granger wasn't even here this time! No matter what way he turned though it sounded like the baby was behind him. Which didn't make any sense. Not that any of it made any sense. Why the hell was there a baby at school? Or the sound of a baby. If this was some prank someone was playing on him they would be so sorry when he found out!
The crying got louder and Draco whirled around, it was definitely coming from the hallway. He was just about to open the portrait hole when it flew open and Granger stumbled inside, book bag barely over one shoulder, out of breath and a panicked look on her face. She collided with him, sending him back first into the wall and he had to grab her elbows to keep her from falling completely to the floor.
Her eyes snapped to his, “You can still hear it?”
Draco nodded, choosing to ignore her hands that had grabbed the edges of his open robes, now wasn't the time to dwell on small victories. “Come on.”
He pushed them off the wall and pulled her through the still open portrait hole. He towed her down the hallway by her elbow and it was a few seconds before she started resisting. He ignored that too and kept pulling her along after him.
“Malfoy, stop,” she said, finally reaching out and grabbing his arm, forcing him to turn and look at her.
“What?”
“It's stopped already,” she said quietly, “we won't find it tonight either.”
He looked around the corridor, listening as he did so and found that she was right, the crying had stopped.
“Doesn't matter,” he stated firmly, resuming his tugging of her towards the stairwell.
“Then where are we going?”
“McGonagall's office. We need to tell her we heard it again.”
She really dug in her heels at that, “No, Malfoy, we do not!”
“Granger, stop being such a sissy. We told her we'd tell her if we heard it again. I believe her exact words were to tell her when, where and how loud it sounded.”
“But -” she started in a small voice.
He rounded on her, ready to bite out something nasty to get her butt moving, but then he saw her face. She looked close to tears, and as much as he'd love for her to have another mental break down, he didn't have time for this. Not when he wanted to get to the bottom of this cursed baby so he could carry on with his life in peace and work on his own agenda.
He sighed, clearly he needed to be a bit more gentle, “They are not going to think you are crazy. You're just doing what a teacher has asked you to do. Report on something that has occurred, something we are unsure of what it means. So really, you're taking the safety of the school into consideration and helping make sure the younger students are safe.”
He could see her mulling that over, her lip caught between her teeth as she chewed it and her eyes searching his.
Eventually she looked at the floor, “I just don't want Professor McGonagall to think I can't handle being head girl.”
“Granger, no one is going to think that,” he said calmly, “not after everything you've accomplished in the last few years. They know you are more than capable.”
She graced him with a sad smile, “Fine, if you really think we must tell.”
“I do, now let's go.”
He could tell she still didn't want to tell, not really, but he didn't care. He wanted this solved. He let go of her elbow and grabbed her hand. A bold move on his part, but again, he didn't care. Let any students they ran into wonder why he was towing her around the castle. He was expecting her to keep arguing with him or at the very least try and extricate her hand from his, but she didn't. She just let him pull her along and Draco was left to stew about more than just the baby's cries as they made their way through the castle.
Reaching McGonagall's office he knocked loudly. That seemed to bring Granger back to her senses and she slid her hand out of his, colouring slightly.
The door swung open, “Mister Malfoy, Miss Granger,” McGonagall greeted them, “What can I do for you?”
Draco cut right to the chase, “We heard the baby crying again.”
The headmistress frowned and opened the door wider, “You had better come in then and give me a full report.”
Thirty minutes later they had each described where they had been and what they had been doing when they heard it, Granger a bit more reluctantly than himself. McGonagall now sat at her desk, the fingers of one hand drumming lightly, rhythmically along the edge of her desk as she thought.
“You are sure you couldn't tell which direction it was coming from?” she finally asked.
Draco shrugged, “Not at first, but like I said, at one point it sounded like it was coming from the hallway outside our dorm room.”
“Miss Granger?”
She shook her head, looking a bit ashamed, “I wasn't really paying attention enough to figure out where it was coming from. I was just trying to – to find Malfoy.”
That took Draco slightly by surprise. She'd been trying to find him? Why? He shifted in his seat, wishing he could ask her just that, but the headmistress saved him the trouble.
“And why, exactly, were you looking for Mister Malfoy?”
“I, um -” Granger started as she scuffed her sneaker toes together, “I wanted to know is he was hearing it too. He is the only other person who had heard it before, so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going – wasn't making it up.”
“I see.” McGonagall thought for a little longer before she addressed them again a note of concern in her voice, “Have you both been taking care of yourselves? Getting enough sleep? Eating well?”
Draco watched as a mask fell over Granger's face. Shit. Judging by that reaction, she'd taken that as the headmistress second guessing her abilities instead of the professional way McGonagall had of expressing her concern about their well being.
“Yes,” she replied simply.
McGonagall turned to him, and he stammered out a response, “Oh, uh, yeah, well rested, well fed.”
“Very well, I will have some of the teachers look into it. Though I must warn you again, finding something we can neither hear nor see is not an easy task.”
“That's okay, we understand,” Draco said quickly, standing as Granger did, “we just wanted you to be aware we'd heard it again.”
McGonagall nodded, “Thank you. Off to bed with you then, it's getting late.”
As soon as the door closed behind them Granger picked up the pace and Draco rushed after her. He almost chuckled, she was making a habit of this.
“Granger, wait up.”
“Shove off, Malfoy,” she shot over her shoulder angrily.
Draco groaned, “Come on, you're not mad again, are you?”
“Leave me alone, ferret!”
That insult stopped him in his tracks, not only because it was one of the few things she probably could have said to him that would actually wound him – he'd repressed that memory for a reason – but somehow he knew that her using it meant she was livid with him. He watched her storm down the hall away from him, and he sighed. He had some major sucking up to do.
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A Slow Seduction