Fated Lovers

Draco Malfoy couldn’t sleep the night after reading Granger’s palm. His initials on her mount of venus meant something but he couldn’t grasp the idea of what. He was always great at divination, for a reason, and still he hated that subject. 

There was never a time in which he had read someone’s fate and said a single thing wrong, he always nailed it, perfect and accurate reading. It was annoying for someone as good as he was, not being able to understand a symbol on a palm. His initials, was it because he had marked her somehow? There was also something on the back of his mind, the reminder of Hermione’s head and heart lines intertwined. He didn’t say it, for whatever reason he didn’t, but those two together meant a strong emotional and intellectual connection with someone.

A part of Draco believed it was a sign of their newly founded common ground, of their shared sessions of study and their uncomfortable yet pleasant nervousness when they were close enough to blush. He hated that theory, though, because in his mind, Hermione Granger was just a way to gain experience in the relationship field (and learn about muggles) without actually developing feelings. He was entirely sure, in factual matters, that Granger didn’t feel that way. He had seen her with Weasley, and with Krum too. The blush in her cheeks, the shyness in her smile, the way in which she tried to always look the best way possible. 

With him, there wasn’t any of that, the only minimum proof was his reading of her palm, which none of them would even consider evidence. So Draco let out a sigh. For who knows what reason, the memory of their third year together lingered in his mind. 

“The time you broke my nose.”, he had mentioned. He remembered that moment as the milestone which marked the beginning of his darkest moment in life, a time where he in fact, was in love with Granger. 

Flashback - Third Year of School
Outside Hogward’s Castle

Malfoy had committed a huge mistake. He had let his father know Hagrid’s hippogriff had attacked him and broken his arm. He thought he should’ve kept quiet, and begged Dumbledore to not tell his family, but he didn’t. As soon as his parents found out, his father moved every single string in the Ministry to have the hippogriff’s head cut off. 

He regretted it, he actually liked the creature. He wished he hadn’t scared it, so he could brush its feathers and ride it like Potter had. 

Now his group of friends were all having fun, celebrating the awful fate of the creature and he just had to pretend he agreed to it. Crabbe and Goyle were outside with him, the three of them were looking out, watching Hagrid’s hut. The two boys were making fun of the animal and Hagrid, and asking Draco what he would do with the head.

“My father said I could keep the Hippogriff’s head, or donate it to the Griffindor’s common room.”, he said in a cocky tone. He pretended to be proud, but inside, he wanted to cry. Suddenly they all heard footsteps coming. His friends turned around first, and they mockingly expressed “Hey! Look who’s here!”

Malfoy turned around just to see Potter, Weasley and Granger coming. He thought he should say something arrogant, so he came out with the worst phrase possible. “Oh, come to see the show?”, he exclaimed.

Immediately, Granger's attitude became intensely aggressive. She was no longer the serious nerdy girl who would correct people with intelligent words. She came right at him with her wand prepared to attack.
“You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!”, she yelled while pushing the tip of her wand against his throat. It hurt and scared him, for the first time in a while, he was afraid he might die, by the hands of a mudblood.

“Come one, Mione. He’s not worthy!”, said Weasley. As if his words were orders, she released the tension in her wand and put it away. She began to turn around and Draco, almost instinctively, laughed. He didn’t mean to, it was just his natural reaction to the situation he had just lived in. She turned around again and punched him with all her strength, right in the nose, his head hit the back of a pillar and he fell to the ground, Crabbe and Goyle kneeled to his sides.

“Malfoy! Are you okay?!” They yelled as they grabbed him, helped to stand up and ran away to the infirmary.

Malfoy wasn’t okay. In fact, he had never been worse. He had a broken nose, an inferiority complex, a depressing feeling of guilt over the death of the creature and now, a fascination with Hermione Granger. He thought he was wrong, maybe Lucius’ awful parenting skills had led Draco to have a sudden awakening of him being a masochist. 

He couldn’t explain what, but the fearless, mad expression on Granger’s face had made him feel different. Maybe it was her sense of justice, or her released emotions in such an aggressive yet free form, which actually intrigued him. 

From that moment on, Draco began paying more attention to her. It was a fluctuation of feelings that tortured him for almost a year. 

There were moments in which Draco had to hide his feelings. Everytime Granger said something intelligent, he would feel proud of her. Whenever she changed the slightest thing in her appearance, he would notice. He felt sick. 

Fourth Year | Yule Ball

The peak of Draco’s confusion was long enough to make it to the Yule Ball. He meditated just a bit on the thought of asking Granger to be his date, but he soon dismissed the idea. He wouldn’t be such an idiot to ask that, and she wouldn’t be stupid enough to think he was actually asking her for real, and say yes. When Pansy asked him to be her date, he agreed with the less enthusiastic yes she had ever heard. 

In his mind, even attending the ball was a stupid idea. It was meant to show off the stupid competitors of the triwizard tournament and their dates. He agreed to accompany Pansy and he was already regretting it, especially after Snape’s ‘training’ on how to vals. 

He had overheard some Griffindors talking about Granger, and how she was mad at Weasley for not inviting her. Other’s said she already had a date and was being mysterious about it, to make others jealous. People theorised of her date and Draco was pissed. 

The day of the ball he was standing there, Pansy by his side, in the middle of a crowd of students and their dates, waiting for the grand entrance of the champions. They were the ones to begin the dance. Diggory, Krum, Delacour and Potter. 

Music began to sound as the doors of the great hall opened, introducing the stars of the night. Fleur Delacour was first, accompanied by Davies, Ravenclaw’s Quidditch captain. 

Then, Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang. Potter and Parvati. And then, Victor Krum and his… date. Hermione Granger was next to the Quidditch superstar Victor Krum. Not only that, but she was also… stunningly beautiful. 

Draco didn’t know what he should feel. On one side, he felt jealous of Krum for being next to her. On the other side, he felt inferior, like he couldn’t actually compete with a bulgarian muscular wizard. And then, there was another feeling, one that gave him a sense of satisfaction. If Granger was already taken, it meant he could leave his feelings behind.

He danced with Pansy until she tired herself. Then, he hung out with the Slytherin boys, taking part in the mosh pit during the Weird Sisters’ concert. In the end, he was quite satisfied with how the ball went. He had drunk and eaten well, and had fun. 

It was almost daylight when he decided to go back to his dorm. He was sweaty, his shirt was half opened and his hair was a mess. He got to the stairs and found someone he wasn’t expecting, a sight he was afraid to see. 

Hermione Granger was sitting on the stairs, her face pressed against her hands, and she was crying. She was footless, her high heels resting metres away from her, on the floor. Draco was in a complicated situation. He could either ignore her, or try to comfort her (on the risk of being yelled at) but he didn’t know what to do. He looked around. There was no one there to mock him for being a nice person, and the ones who could say something were too drunk to actually do it. He walked to the stairs and sat by her side. She noticed someone by her side, but she didn’t look to see who it was.

“If you’re Ron or Harry, please leave me alone.”, she mumbled.
Draco felt the need to make a joke. “Then it’s your lucky day, princess. I’m not any of those.”
She barely looked up and sighed. “Ugh, Malfoy.”
Draco felt a part of his heart breaking with that ‘ugh’, but he tried to play it cool.
“Was Krum an horrid dance partner?”, he asked. He swore he felt her smile.
“No.”, she explained. “He was excellent.”

Silence. “Then?”, inquired Draco. He might have tried his luck by being insistent, but he couldn’t stand to watch her cry and not know the reason behind it. She didn’t answer. Shit, he fucked up.

“Malfoy?”, she asked. He hummed in response, and she went on. “Do you think Krum asked me out just to use me?”
Malfoy’s heart skipped a beat. This was his moment. If he said yes, then Krum might be out of the list and he would stand a chance to date her. If he said no, then they might be happy ever after, and he would get over her. He wanted to say yes, ‘Krum is from Durmstrang, he’s the enemy, he wants information on how to defeat Potter.’, but he couldn’t. 

“Why would I think that?”, he simply asked back.
“Just answer.”, she continued. “You’re not my friend, practically the opposite. I count on you to be actually honest to me.”
He felt important. Like Hermione Granger did in fact, take his opinion over her friend’s. 
“Are you asking me why I think Victor Krum asked you to be his date for the ball?”, he double checked the question. 
“It’s not that difficult, Malfoy!”, she argued.
He thought for a few seconds. He needed to say the right things without making an asshole out of himself. He needed to be clear enough, but without being obvious. “I think…”, he began. “Victor Krum is a lucky man.”
He fucked up. He wanted to find the right words, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

This time she actually looked at him. Her eyes were watery and red, her hair was a mess, yet she was still beautiful. “What I mean is, he’s Durmstrang’s Quidditch Star, and he got to take Hogwarts brightest witch as his date for the Yule Ball. It’s self-explanatory. ”

She doubted, unsure of what she was hearing. “You mean he took me because I’m smart?”
Shit, again? He desperately needed to find the right words. “No, Granger. That’s not wh-”
She cut him off. “If it wasn’t for Krum, do you think someone else would’ve asked me?”
He didn’t want to think about it, because she would probably assume he couldn’t think of anyone. “What I believe is that anyone with enough balls could’ve asked you. It’s a shame Krum’s the only one who had them.”
“Anyone?”, she asked. He nodded.
“Why were you mad at Weasley and Potter?”, he decided to ask.
“Ronald was angry at me being with Victor, he said he was too old, too famous, that I was fraternising with the enemy and that he was just using me. And Harry, well.. He didn’t say a word against it.”, she told him. Now she was going back to normal Granger, she was mad and for a second, he remembered the Granger who punched him in the face. 

“Do you seriously consider Weasley’s opinion?”, he laughed as he said it. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “I mean, the guy is a stupid prick who’s even jealous of his own shadow. Please, Granger.”
She broke up in tears. “It’s jus- just, for the first time in my life I feel pretty. I try to dress up nice and be regarded as a girl, for once.”

Malfoy felt bad for her. He wanted to hug her, to tell her she was, in fact, the prettiest girl he had ever set his eyes on. God, he even wanted to kiss her out of her misery, but he didn’t. “Listen, Victor Krum asked you out because you’re not only interesting and intelligent, he asked you out because you are, indeed, a pretty girl.”, he said while standing up. “And I’m the one saying it, a foul, loathsome and evil little cockroach.”

She let out a small laugh as she recognised the quote. “Thank you, Malfoy.”

And with that good and small deed, Draco Malfoy buried his feelings for Granger.