Chapter 2
Draco found a seat in the back row for orientation, and his eyes found everywhere to look but the screen. He’d been searching the crowd for about fifteen minutes but he couldn’t see her, and it didn’t help that he was sitting among 3,000 people.
Eventually he just gave up, and when orientation was over he furiously stormed over to where he stashed his broom, and he took off without casting any wind repellent shields or disillusionments.
The whole flight home, which took over an hour, was full of thoughts he’d never had before. He’d never been a jealous man, but maybe that was because he never had anything to be jealous over. He didn’t even know this woman’s name, or anything about her, but seeing a man that wasn’t him assisting her stirred something almost animalistic within him. He would’ve torn him limb from limb if he was able to move fast enough.
He was so deep in thought he didn’t realize he was home until he crashed into one of his mother’s rose bushes in the back garden. He grunted as he rolled out of the thorns and petals, and pulled out his wand to remove the thorns and heal all the little slices they left behind.
He felt two poking sensations on his shoulder blades and cast a vanishing charm again to get rid of the stubborn thorns, but the feeling didn’t go away. He shrugged it off and walked inside to take a shower.
By the time he made it into the bathroom the small nubs that were beginning to protrude from his shoulders retracted back under his skin without a trace. Maybe if he’d been a minute sooner he would’ve seen the beginning signs of a transformation, but he missed it and when he drifted off to sleep he didn’t think of those two odd prickling sensations again.
The next morning Draco paid a visit to Blaise. It turned out those uneven pieces of wood were for a fence. Draco found him in his office on a business call. He strolled in, reached across the desk, and tore the cord from the back of the box that connected to the phone Blaise was speaking through.
“What the fuck?! You didn’t just do that. You didn’t just end the phone call I spent two months setting up.”
“I did. I have something important to tell you.”
“It better be the best news of the century for that. And you better pull some Malfoy strings for me and get me an appointment with Mr. Sinclair at the ministry by the end of the month.”
“I can do it by the end of the week.” Draco waved a hand dismissing Blaise’s request. “I found my wife.”
“Huh? You proposed to that Leah girl who works the bar?” Blaise said with an appropriately shocked face.
“Fuck no. Why would you say something like that?”
“You’ve been sleeping with her for quite some time.”
“I’ve been fucking her, and yeah she’s convenient. Always working when I’m there, close to St. Mungos, and how the fuck do you even know that?”
“I’m your best mate. Of course I know which slags you’re fucking.”
“Uh, sure. Anyways, I found my wife. I don’t know her name yet and I haven’t spoken to her, but I’m gonna marry her one day.”
“Right. So you ended my most important business call of the year for a delusion? Get the fuck out of my house Malfoy.”
Draco scoffed but wasn’t in the mood to argue. When he gets a save the date in the mail he’ll eat his words. Delusion? Absolutely not. It’s a deeply internal sense of knowing that she will be his wife. No, more than that even. He couldn’t put it into words but as soon as his eyes set on her he just got flooded with these new feelings and senses he’s never had before. It was like he could smell his future with her, and it smelled so sweet.
He left Zabini's grumpy home and ended up in the hopping pot. He went to his usual seat at the bar top and when Leah came up to get his order he didn’t even look up to know her eyes were full of lust, he had no interest in fulfilling that so he kept his eyes on the wooden counter. He just wanted a couple drinks before he headed over to the hospital.
“Two shots of firewhiskey.” He said in a curt, nearly professional tone.
“Yes, sir.” Leah laughed out and turned around to get his drinks. She turned around and set the drinks on the counter. “Are we doing role playing now? You want me to be a good girl for the new stranger in the bar?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and slid her tongue over her teeth.
Draco didn’t respond, he felt if he went to speak he’d either word-vomit all the repulsive thoughts he now had with that suggestive phrase, or just vomit. So instead he quickly downed the two drinks, tossed a handful of galleons on the counter, and walked out.
It hadn’t been that long since he last fucked Leah. Now that he thought about the last time, he realized it was the day before orientation. But ever since his eyes found the most beautiful woman in the universe, he’d get more pleasure from setting himself on fire than even thinking about being with another woman.
He went to the fourth floor of St. Mungos for a few hours before heading home to the manor. Lucius was waiting for him at the table with dinner.
“Where were you?” His father asked.
“You can’t smell the anti-septic? You know where I was. Somewhere you should be almost everyday.”
“I can’t bring myself to go there. You know that.”
“All I know is that she’s getting worse practically by the day, but that’s a load more than you’d know.” Draco pushed the plate of food away without taking a single bite, and when he went back to his room he couldn’t help but count the days until the first semester started.
37 days to be exact.
***
About a week after orientation he found that the grip the mystery woman had on his thoughts loosened, and continued with each passing day. He stopped seeing her face every time he went to sleep and woke up. By the second week he didn’t even remember why he stopped fucking Leah. She didn’t seem to mind his rude behavior though because he strolled into the hopping pot and had her over the bar top within fifteen minutes.
He still thought of his mystery woman and was excited to get to know her, but the jealous and possessive shroud that coated him the night he saw her vanished.
Draco usually had a decent grasp on time, especially if he was awaiting something big like starting at university or properly meeting the love of his love. But as he laid in bed and watched the clock on his bedside table tick away, he couldn’t bring himself to sleep. He was too excited and anxious.
What if he doesn’t see her around campus? What if he sees her everyday but she hates him? What if she was spoken for already? He’d kill him. His mind kept racing with endless possibilities and scenarios until finally he had enough and took a sleeping draught.
Draco woke up a few hours later and got ready, putting on the closest outfit to a suit without being a suit. He didn’t want to look too formal, but he needed to make a good first impression. By the time he was done getting ready he was a bundle of nerves standing in front of the fireplace. He set up the networks he needed last week, floo to a bar a few blocks away, then walk to the campus. He planned to begin apparating once he learned the area better and found good spots to pop in and out undetected, but for now he reached up and got a handful of green powder and stepped inside the awaiting flames, stating his destination.
“Turf tavern.”
The old man behind the bar nodded in his direction, it was the same man Draco spoke to about connecting the floo networks.
“We usually don’t start serving til’ 8 but I can get you a drink if you want, having been the first one to use my floo in over a decade. On the house since it singed your hair a bit.”
“What?!” Draco’s eyes bulged from their sockets and he darted behind the counter to look in the desilvering mirror. He could hardly see his reflection but between what he could see and the old man’s manic laughter he knew his hair to be intact.
“I was just joshing with you, not about the drink though. What can I get you?” He slapped Draco on the back, making him grunt and hold in a sneer.
“Nothing thanks. First day of school, and more importantly I'm going to meet my wife for the first time.” At that the old man laughed harder than the first time, and for a moment Draco thought he may have given the old bloke a heart attack.
“Have a good day at school, kiddo.” He finally said after the post laugh coughing subsided.
Now Draco let the sneer loose.
“I’m twenty years old.”
“When you’ve been around for twenty and three-hundred years, you’ll understand kiddo. See me after school for that drink, I’m interested to know how your meeting with your wife goes!” Draco left the bar to an exit song of the old man’s laugh and coughs.
The walk to campus was quick, and the entire time he was searching for her. There were signs directing the way to the welcome center, and as he followed them he got struck with the sudden and random thought that maybe she wasn’t even a first year student, and if that was the case he may not even see her today. He was pulled from his thoughts when he walked right into someone. He didn’t see who right away until he looked down, and then he watched in slow motion as she fell backwards towards the ground.
He reached out faster than humanly possible and caught her around the waist just before she hit the ground. Her hands wrapped around his biceps and he felt her squeeze and hold onto him. He looked down and his heart began racing and he felt tingling all over his body. She was simply breathtaking up close. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide and huge, staring up at him and shining golden in the sunlight that was made for her. She had freckles spattering her face like the finishing touches of a Van Gogh. Draco quickly cleared his throat and stood her up straight, and she began to reach down to pick up her belongings but a voice stopped her, and immediately sent an ache in Draco’s gums and a sharp pain in his fingertips that he wasn’t paying attention to.
“Allow me.” A male voice said from beside them, and Draco glared as the same man who carried her books out of the library bent down to pick up her tote bag, books, and papers that fell out.
“Thank you, Professor Richards.” Her sweet voice rang out for the first time and it sounded like music to his ears. The ache and pains in his gums and fingertips settled down and he found himself gazing at her.
“Of course, and like I said, call me Liam.”
The ache in his gums intensified and he tasted the tang of blood on his tongue. His blood was running so hot he thought he might actually be on fire. The man stood up and reached his hand out with the bag, and when the woman began to reach out for it Draco grabbed it instead. He realized how rude that looked right away, so he needed to recover.
“I apologize for walking into you like that, please allow me to walk you to where you're going to make up for it.” He hoped his tone sounded normal because the man beside them didn’t leave yet, and Draco’s bloodlust was steadily rising.
“Oh it’s okay! I wasn’t looking where I was walking I think it was actually my fault so you don’t need to—“
“I would like to, really.” He needed to, actually. The idea of her walking away without him right now wasn't plausible.
“Alright then. I’m just going to the welcome center right over there.”
“Looks like we’re going to the same place.” Draco wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but it looked like a bloom of red grew across her cheeks.
They began to walk towards the welcome center and with each step they took a growing anxiety crept over him. What if he just messed everything up? That was the last way he wanted to properly meet her. Start off with an assault and—
“I’m Hermione, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
“That’s a beautiful name. I’m Draco Malfoy. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She let out a little chuckle which strummed the strings of his heart.
“Sorry, I get nervous giggles.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Why are you nervous, Hermione?” He turned his head and found she was already looking up at him. They locked eyes for a moment and she blushed and looked away.
“Uh, new school jitters I guess.” She reached up and tucked a curl behind her ear.
Draco had so much he wanted to talk about, but yet he couldn’t find anything else to say. So instead he stepped ahead of her and opened the door, gesturing her inside. They found two empty seats next to each other but there weren’t any more opportunities to talk to her again because they were quickly separated into smaller groups.
A stout older woman with a head full of graying brown hair stepped forward and delivered the news that ruined Draco’s day, and it was eight in the morning.
“Thank you everyone for gathering so quickly and quietly! Welcome to the first day of classes here at Oxford university. I hope this day brings nothing but knowledge, joy, and opportunity for each and every one of you, and I hope it flourishes throughout the semester and the rest of your time here. Now if you don’t mind, we’ll be splitting up into smaller groups to pass out schedules and offer a better opportunity for everyone to ask questions if they need. People with the last names A-G will go see Professor Dawkins, H-L to Professor Beard, M-T to Professor Richards, and lastly U-Z to Professor Sen. Thank you all and enjoy your first day!” She walked away, and shuffling began all around them, but neither Hermione or Draco moved yet.
“You’re going to see Professor Richards, that’s who you met earlier when we bumped into each other. I’ll see you later!” She got up and before she took the first step Draco involuntarily reached up and gently grabbed her wrist.
As soon as he realized what he did, he dropped his arm and apologized, he wasn’t sure what was happening to him but whenever he was around her it was like his self control slipped through his fingers.
“Sorry, I honestly don’t know why I did that. So I’m going to Professor Richards but where are you going?” Since you don’t have my last name yet, he wanted to add to the end of the sentence, but he managed to hold it back.
“My last name is Granger, so Professor Dawkins.” She turned around after that and went off to the corner of the room, rubbing her wrist.
Did he hurt her? Merlin, he was so stupid. He definitely blew it. He hadn’t even known her for an hour and he already assaulted her twice. If self-sabotage was a sport, Draco would be an Olympic gold medalist.
He went to Professor Richards, and as soon as he felt the older man’s eyes on him he could feel a sharp sensation in his gums, and a tingling feeling in his fingertips. Draco didn’t know why, but he wanted to claw this man’s throat out.
“Name please?”
“Draco Malfoy.”
“Oh! That’s right, I reviewed your application and sent your acceptance offer. I’m glad to see you’ve accepted and if you have any questions while you're here, feel free to find me.” The salt and pepper haired professor roughly slapped Draco on the back, making him lean forward.
“Will do. Thanks, Liam.”
“It’s Professor Richards, actually.”
“Right.” Draco scoffed under his breath. There was just something about this man that sent Draco into a bloodcurdling rage.
As he followed the other students with his name group out of the welcome center, her name rattled around in his mind, and calmed the odd bodily sensations he’d been feeling since parting with Hermione and being in Professor Richard's presence.
Hermione Granger.
Granger.
He liked that. It rolled off his tongue just perfectly.