Chapter 5
He was completely indifferent to this sweetness.
He doesn't care.
But his tongue was persistently running over and over Granger's lips in search of this taste.
Malfoy deepened the kiss in a desire that the trembling on her fingertips that were buried in his hair would not stop. They were thin and fragile, and an image kept popping up in his head: how she was violently clutching her wand.
Somewhere in the ocean of Granger's emotions, he felt empty anger, frustration and tons of tension.
In recent days, this stubborn Gryffindor had flashed before his eyes in such a lousy state that Malfoy was torn between annoying her even more or relieving her tension.
Their kisses, he felt, were moving to the last stage of a well-known chain.
Accidentally.
Coincidence.
A pattern.
A random game. A random spark. Random… chemistry?
After all, there was definitely something in them that caught on his nerves.
Malfoy squeezed his eyes shut, and when Granger, realizing where her fingers were walking, tried to pull away, he locked the lock on her lower back and pulled her back into… a kiss.
Did he regret starting this?
Not yet. It's fun. Funny. And today, for the first time, Granger poured out some of her emotions, starting to act the way he «taught» her.
Coincidence. The coincidence was that he was playing seriously and did not plan to end this game. The coincidence was her pale skin, on which one wanted to see red shades, her sugary taste, which at first infuriated… and then…
Hearing footsteps a little further down the hall, Draco pulled the girl into the niche. Pinned against the wall. Malfoy sobered up from the pain in the knuckles of the palm that crumpled the fabric of her clothes. The wall here was damp. And for some reason it is not smooth, but with cracks. It foreshadowed the taste of blood.
The girl froze under him, breathing fast.
Why did her hair smell like Chamomile? Bitch.
Malfoy, ignoring the warm breath on his collarbone, listened to the conversation passing by.
«Have you seen what fights are announced for today?»
«The boredom is complete,» McLaggen exhales. And they stop, discussing who to bet on today, but when Draco picks up the phrase… «I wish the Hufflepuff would persuade Granger to have fun with us,» he does not notice how he squeezes Hermione's hair into a fist, and this stubborn thinks of sobering him up by pulling on a short blond strand. «That's how Draco made it. I definitely have a chance! I think…» the interlocutor tries to interrupt, but Cormac is already going far into his fantasies. «I think baby Granger will agree to a more interesting wish than what Malfoy offered her.»
Just for saying these delusional fantasies out loud, something incomprehensible flares up in Draco's chest.
He would think about the nature of this heaviness later. When these two freaks are gone and he can release the mudblood, who has fallen silent in his arms, on all four sides. By the way, it will be necessary to mention her status before this naive girl also diverges in her fantasies about himself.
But these idiots who had suddenly appeared were still standing and discussing Hermione's hypothetical loss. Only to them already.
«I'd rather have her do my homework for me,» Cormac's interlocutor got excited. «Otherwise, such joy is only available to Potter and Weasley.»
Draco rolled his eyes. Fuck, why didn't he think of that himself?
Oh, right. He's competing with Granger for the right to be the best.
«Thank Merlin, my fantasy will be better and…» Malfoy pressed the girl they mentioned even harder into the wall so that his knuckles could feel the cold and steadfastness of that damned wall. «Hotter, and…»
Draco exhaled. The voices of these idiots began to recede. So they remembered where they were going at all, and Malfoy wouldn't have to harshly remind them of the direction.
«Granger.»
Whispering into the hair that exuded the summer scent of daisies. Granger was no longer breathing so often in his arms, but even slowly, calmly, measured, and when he pulled away, realized that Hermione had fallen asleep, he gritted his teeth and lifted her into his arms. Laying her head on his shoulder.
«Damn you.»
He looked around. And, noticing no one, he headed into the dungeon, praying to all the Gods he knew that no one would get in his way. He dismissed the Gryffindor living room option right away.
«Granger, damn it,» he blew on her hair, which got into his mouth and nose. His hands are full. Turning her head, she leaned back against his shoulder. Why the hell had she fallen asleep in the five minutes they'd been standing in the alcove. Was she overexerting herself emotionally?
Draco walked through the living room to his room. He was lucky that his fellow students decided to have another party in the Rescue Room today, which he himself was heading to until he saw how the Hufflepuff was pestering Granger. He was lucky that his neighbor, Blaze, would spend the night with Daphne tonight, as he usually did after parties. Malfoy specifically resigned from his position as prefect in order to devote his time to the mission. But somehow it turned out that Granger distracts him a lot more than anything else could, in principle.
Setting Hermione down on the bed, Malfoy stared at her thigh for a second, which was revealed by the upturned skirt.
She felt herself curled up on top of his plaid.
Fluffy curly hair completely covered her face, and, deciding to help Granger not to strangle herself in her sleep, Draco sat down on the edge of the bed and pushed them away. Smearing his fingers on her cheek.
He examined it, dissecting every line on her always thoughtful forehead.
Bed probably smells like fucking chamomile.
The edge of the plaid was enough to cover her legs.
A pattern. The problem was that I wanted to go back to kissing her.
What for? Merlin-knows-why.
And, wondering if Granger would leave before his return or not, Draco Malfoy left the room.
It turns out that he has a lot to do today. And that list definitely didn't include… the girl on his bed yet.
***
He found the whole honest company at their usual place for Thursday.
On the stated days of the week, they gathered in certain places. Different. On Thursdays it was not far from Hagrid's hut. Relatively close. But it is still lucky that they are not detected, and from this it is possible to draw a definite conclusion that the artifact that allows them to cast spells and at the same time hides their magical emissions is portable.
«What kind of people!» Ernie Macmillan exclaimed when he felt the kush approaching. «Malfoy, what are your plans today?» he clicked his tongue, cheerfully correcting himself. «Or rather, at whom.»
The organizer of this underground club.
«At you,» coming closer to the circle in which the fight has just ended, casually throws. To Ernie's puzzled look, he explains. «If I get you done in five minutes, you'll tell me something, Macmillan.»
He nods reluctantly. Agrees, so as not to lose credibility in the eyes.
The prefect from Ravenclaw undertakes to judge, Draco successfully forgot his name. They're splitting up. And Draco doesn't feel even a fraction of the anticipation that was with the nerdy Hermione Granger.
Fighting stance.
It will be very pleasant for him to trample determination in the eyes of an opponent.
And he, as luck would have it, winks, encouraging. No, not Draco. And the audience.
Does Ernie want a show?
Okay. Draco salutes, making a playful curtsy.
Three… two…
One.
«Have begun!»
One breath has passed since the start of the fight.
«Everte Statum».
A second breath.
Universal, as in the script, «Ah».
«Nonverbal!» someone in the crowd shouts as his opponent flies out of the circle, losing his wand.
A whisper goes through the crowd… according to the rules, what did they see now?
Ernie stands up, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. Malfoy comes closer and quietly, so that no one else can hear, asks:
«What kind of artifact helps you carry out these fights?»
A grin and a sigh of relief confuse Draco.
«This artifact was kept in my family, a side branch of the Black family, for a long time my parents considered it garbage until I realized how it works…»
«I need to see him and…»
«No, no, Malfoy,» There is plenty of venom in the Hufflepuff voice. He even crossed his arms over his chest. «I played you a question, and if you want to see the artifact, then…» Draco, suppressing the urge to strangle the interlocutor, gave him a chance at a reasonable offer, but he… «Bring Granger to us for a duel, and then I'll think about it.»
But Ernie fucked up that chance.
«I'll think about it, Macmillan,» Malfoy threw, clenching his fists, realizing the stalemate of the situation, he turned around, planning to return to the dungeons, but behind him he heard:
«We'll be waiting for you again, Draco!» surely he is already counting the galleons he has earned in his mind. «Along with Granger, of course.»