Burning
Hermione stares at the parchment hanging from the wall. A decree disbanding all of the organization or school groups larger than a few people. All student gatherings had to be approved through her. She narrowed her eyes and slipped away, stomping down the hallway to Snape’s door. He narrowed his eyes at her after she knocked and she slipped inside, ranting as she plopped herself into his seat. “Make yourself at home.”
“Did you see what she’s done? Do you see what she’s doing?” Frustrated, she collapses her head into her hands, rubbing her temples.
“Hermione?” Snape’s tone was low, and deadly and she froze bringing her hands from her face.
“Yes?”
“What happened to your hand?”
She immediately dropped it into her lap, cheeks flushing as she tucked them into the sleeves of her robes. “Cut it on something the other day, it’s healed rather nicely if I say so myself.”
Snape moved from behind his desk, holding his hand out to her with a quirked eyebrow. She sighed, placing her palm in his and watched his face twitch. “How did this happen?”
“I served detention and convinced her to let me take Harry’s lines as well.”
Snape glared at her. “Why exactly did you do that?”
“Because. She’s trying to break him and he’s already vulnerable. I think that his scar is some kind of channel between him and Voldemort. She’s here for a reason and I think that it’s to weed Dumbledore out, Voldemort’s nonchalant way of trying to take over Hogwarts and make sure that Dumbledore is weak. The Ministry hasn’t done anything to acknowledge or disrupt anything and I don’t know if they know fully what Umbridge is doing here, or her ulterior motives. I was strong enough to take this on. It will heal and it’s fine.”
“Did Draco and Theo think that it was…” His eyes snapped to hers, still clutching her hand tightly. “Fine?”
“They don’t know, and I would like to keep it that way.”
“She used an enchanted Quill, which is highly illegal. It’s a blood Quill and not even the Ministry would approve something like this. You are far too bright for your own good, Ms., Granger and it’s going to get you hurt someday. This was reckless. If you would’ve come to me then I could’ve healed, it with Dittany.”
She clenched her jaw, nostrils flaring. “Reckless, you say? I was doing something for once. You, Draco, Theo, all of you are so hell-bent on keeping me safe that you don’t even think about the fact that when the time comes, I won’t know a damn thing about protecting myself. This was something I could control. This was something I could do.”
Snape released her hand, his jaw clenched. “You are foolish to think that you can’t protect yourself. Your brain, Hermione, is the most useful tool-- and the deadliest. Use it.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Tell Draco and Theo.” She slipped from the door, panic unfurling in her chest as she realized that it wasn’t a request. It was a demand.
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Draco and Theo were whispering over a table in the library when she approached, clutching her books to her chest. They quieted at her approach, as if she were a wild animal that would be scared away with the simplest word. She motioned her head towards the door, and a quiet word fell from her lips as an offering in the space between them. “Please?”
The boys didn’t take long, gathering their things quickly as they followed her silently back to her room. That alone was a feat. Once they were in her room, she dumped her books onto the floor and threw herself against Theo’s chest. He stumbled backwards from the force of her colliding into him and then snaked his arms around her back. “What’s wrong, Hermione?”
She sniffled, tears falling down her face. “I just wanted to help. I just…I needed to do something I couldn’t…after seeing what you went through…and what both of you aren’t telling me. Gods.”
Draco’s voice came from behind her, and Theo’s hands made soothing circles up her spine. “What happened, Granger?”
She pulled back, wiping her nose as she stared at the both of them. “I’ll only tell the both of you with one condition.” They narrowed their eyes on her and waited. “You don’t do anything out of retaliation because when you tell me and not if–when–I won’t do anything either.”
They both sat down on her bed, staring at her as they awaited an explanation. She dove right in, explaining what happened after she stormed out of the classroom after Harry, her reassurance and a shortened version of what she told Harry about the girl from the Orphanage and getting his shit together. Then, she swallowed roughly and explained her reasoning, before telling them about her convincing Umbridge to let her do Harry’s lines all week. Draco narrowed his eyes on her. “You’re not saying something. You wouldn’t be this nervous about doing lines for a week.”
Theo stared at her, and her fingers twitched. “You were pale and exhausted that entire week. You were barely eating and avoiding us at all costs. You only do that when something happens that you don’t want us to know about.”
Hermione nodded, chewing on her lip. Carefully, she released the charms on her hand, sticking it into the pocket of her robes. “The Quill that I wrote with…was a blood, Quill. It…it was enchanted and every time that I wrote with it, it um...well. I had to take quite a few blood replenishing potions that week and I think my healing has gotten better all things considered but there’s quite a bit of scarring and I’m kind of worried about muscle damage but–”
Her words were cut off when Draco was suddenly on his feet in front of her, his hand clasped around the wrist that was tucked into her pocket. His silver eyes were almost black, and his nostrils were flaring. “Granger, I swear…” He pulled her hand from her pocket and hissed as he turned it over. Theo was next to him in an instant, his blue eyes so dark they were almost black.
“Potter just let you fucking get tortured.”
Hermione bit her lip. “He doesn’t know. He didn’t know. Nobody did except for me and well Snape who yelled at me.”
“Good. At least somebody had some common sense.” Theo spat the sentence back at her and she winced, casting her eyes to the floor.
“I couldn’t protect either of you…. I don’t know what you both went through while I was trapped in a house being flirted with by Weasley and hiding in my room. Harry…he’s been having nightmares and I’m worried that Umbridge wants to take over Hogwarts. I don’t know what you went through, Draco. I couldn’t protect either of you, I-I was able to protect Harry.”
Draco’s hand tightened around her wrist before he released her, taking in a deep breath. “Hermione.”
“No. You both don’t get to be angry with me. I have stayed away; I have not badgered either of you about what happened over the summer.”
Theo was glaring at her. “I can be pissed off at you actually, because you saw exactly how my summer went. You healed me on the bloody train. I don’t have to go into specifics for you when saw with your own bloody eyes.”
Draco swallowed roughly. “Why did you protect Potter?”
Hermione met his dark eyes, lifting her chin. “Because I have a theory.”
“Care to share?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Yes, actually. If you both stop being arseholes.” Theo sighed, flopping down on her bed as he ran a hand over his face. Draco stayed put, his eyes locked onto hers. “This entire thing began with Harry. Voldemort was unable to kill him, now well, four attempts he has failed. With Professor Quirrell and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Triwizard Tournament and then of course, well, when he was a baby. This entire time Voldemort has been focusing on Harry, but for what? Why?” She was pacing now, her arms gesturing wildly as she spoke. “He’s obsessed with him, and Dumbledore. Merlin Dumbledore is worse. It’s almost as if he keeps putting him in these situations knowing that he could die just to see if Harry makes it out of them. The Order, the group that I told you about, keeps everything from Harry. It’s almost as if they want him completely in the dark and Dumbledore calls all of the shots. There is something major that they’re keeping from him.”
She turned and looked at the two boys who were wide-eyed as they stared at her.
“Voldemort is obsessed with killing Harry, and Dumbledore is obsessed with seeing how many times Harry can escape while keeping up the pretenses of keeping him safe. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not fair to him. He…he has to be the key to something I’m just not sure yet what it is. He’s my friend and I know both of you hate that, but he is.” Draco and Theo were just staring at her. “Well, are you going to say something?”
Her hands found her hips and Draco opened his mouth, then closed it. Theo was the one to speak instead. “You’re absolutely fucking terrifying, you’re aware of that, right?”
Hermione smiled. “No, but now I am. Snape told me that my brain was my best weapon and after thinking about it I found that he’s right.”
“Hermione. Although you may be right, I promise you one thing.” Draco stepped into her, tipping her head up with a finger under her chin. “I’m sure that Theo agrees but, if you die saving Potter. I don’t care who else is hurt in the crossfire, I will kill him myself. There is no world worth living in if you don’t exist as well.”
Hermione stared into those swirling depths of silver before looking towards eyes as blue as the sea. Both were filled with promise.
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Hermione had been pacing the seventh-floor hallway, wondering where the hell they were going to manage fitting twenty-eight people to practice with the D. A. without alerting Umbridge and without her having access. An abandoned classroom was too simple and too easily noticeable. They were going to be practicing loud spells and ones that specifically needed a large space to do so. A safe space. Her pacing continued, and she didn’t even notice the large door form in the hallway across from her. She huffed in frustration, stopping to glare at the tapestry in front of her and froze.
The door hadn’t just been there, had it? No. She was going mad, wasn’t she? Hermione stepped forwards, her fingers brushing along the wood as she pushed it open with a gasp. The room was large, towering ceilings and bookcases spanning across the entire wall stocked full of books about the Dark Arts that she only wished were housed in the library. Practice dummies were scattered throughout the room, along with random bean bags big enough to catch students practicing spells that threw you backwards.
As her eyes scanned the room, she realized where she was. She was in the Room of Requirement. It was mentioned in an unedited book about Hogwarts a History from Malfoy Manor, and she found herself pleasantly surprised. She left, remembering just where she found it when she ran down the halls, searching for Ron who was also completing his Prefect duties. He never seemed to be too far from her which was strange, but she crashed into him as she rounded the corner on the seventh-floor stairwell. She led him back to where she had been, and paced, wishing for the same thing she had done previously. When Ron stood in the middle of the room, mouth open in shock, she decided that she loved the castle even more. He crossed the room, wrapping his arms around her waist as he spun her, and she was too ecstatic to think of anything other than the fact that they had a place to work now. But when he had stopped twirling her and his lips landed on hers her bubble popped, and she shoved him away. “What the hell, Ronald?”
“What?”
“You can’t just go around snogging people without their permission.” It came out as a hiss, glaring at him as she fought the strong urge to hex him.
“Well…you were giving off mixed signals! I thought that you wanted me to kiss you!” He yelled it back at her with wide blue eyes.
“Where in anything I did, did I just scream ‘kiss me Ronald’ at you?!”
Ron sputtered, his entire face turning red. “You came and dragged me here, showed me this and then let me spin you around.”
“I let you give me a hug, which honestly I’m still unsure of why I did because of course you would just piss on my boundaries.” She rubbed her temples. “Bloody hell, Draco is going to be…well...”
“I don’t give a damn about Malfoy. You ought to be thanking me for giving you a proper snog compared to that git. Can’t believe that I kiss you and you worry about what that Death Eater thinks.”
“Yes! I care about what Draco thinks because he’s my damn boyfriend, Ronald. You would be smart to remember that fact if you try to do something without my permission AGAIN in public.” Her fingers twitched against her wand.
Ron was staring at her, his mouth open. “I cannot see what Harry sees in having you as a friend. You’re working with the enemy!”
“No, Ronald. I am doing my best to ensure that Harry survives! What were you doing when I talked Umbridge out of that detention for Harry?!”
“Oh, piss off, Mione’. You think that getting him out of a detention meant anything? Are you a big hero for doing that?”
“You have no idea what I endured in that room to make sure that Harry didn’t have to. To make sure that our friend didn’t have another thing weighing him down, or have you not noticed his behavior lately? His mood swings. The anger and his scar hurting?”
“Harry has been perfectly fine.” It sounded like he said it to convince himself.
“Is that what you’ve been telling yourself? All the glory of being able to be good at something that Harry isn’t able to do this year got your head all big did it?” She stepped towards him, shoving his chest. “While you were out soaring around on that bloody broom, I was writing lines with a blood quill that scarred my skin. While you were wallowing in the girls that were suddenly noticing you while out from underneath Harry’s shadow, I watched his entire behavior change. You know he’s been having nightmares? That his scar hurts so bad that he has headaches now? You haven’t been paying attention to a goddamn thing, Ronald because you finally got that spotlight that you wanted.”
“You’re a liar and a bitch, Mione’.” She held her hand up towards him, dropping the charms and uncovering the scars on her hand and his eyes widened.
“I’ll remember you said that, but I promise you, Draco won’t.” She turned so fast that she knew her hair whipped across his face as she stalked from the room, fighting the urge to hex him.
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She was laughing hysterically when the realization settled on her as she thought about Ron’s face as she left. She was debating telling Draco at all, contemplating whether or not he would actually wind-up killing Ron or not. Maybe she should tell Theo instead? What if he told Draco and he gets mad at her for not telling him about it herself?
The decision was made for her when she stumbled into the Great Hall, finding girls whispering as she made her way through. Draco was glaring at her, and Theo was scrambling to make his way over to where she was sitting. “Why is everybody staring at me?”
“Hermione…you might want to clear things up with Draco.” Theo whispered into her ear, snaking his arm through hers.
“What? Why?”
“Because Weasel told everybody that you threw yourself at him, kissing him in the hallway while on Prefect Duty last night.” Hermione inhaled sharply as she sat down, almost falling off the back of the bench.
“Are you–” She stood, slamming her books down on the table as she took a deep breath. Her eyes opened and she glared at Ron from across the room. Standing, she swung her legs out from under her as she stomped over to the redhead. “Ronald. I hear we shared a kiss?”
Ron looked nervous before leaning back, his arms crossed behind his head as he stared at her smugly. “Yeah, practically threw yourself at me last night.”
“Hmm, did I? Was that before or after you called me a bitch?” She leaned across the table, pinning him with her gaze. He glared at her. “Getting out ahead of it are we? Fairly clever I’ll give you that. But I can’t help but wonder .... What do I do with my hands when I’m kissing? Surely, you’d know since I threw myself at you, oh great Quidditch player.”
“You were grabbing onto my shirt of course.” Ron's face was red, and he was sputtering at her. "It's alright, Mione' I know it's confusing that I--"
“Hmm…should I ask somebody who is more familiar with my lips?” She spun, making her way across the room towards Draco who was staring at her with dark eyes. “Draco, could you tell Weasel what I do with my hands when I’m kissing?”
Draco’s brow furrowed and he stared at her. “Hair.” It was low and raspy, one word that left his lips as an explanation.
“Should we give him a demonstration on what it’s like to properly snog somebody?” She reached forwards, threading her hands into his hair as she sat on his lap, pressing her lips to his. It took him only seconds to respond, his hands wrapping around her waist as he pressed her to his chest, his tongue slipping into her mouth. She kissed him back, knowing that what little students there were for breakfast were staring at them. When she pulled away his eyes were dark, lips were swollen, and his hair was mussed from her fingers. “Tell me, Ronald. Was the kiss anything like that?” She yelled it across the room, not bothering to move from Draco’s lap.
Ron swallowed, staring at her. “No.” She barely heard his response, as she attempted to wriggle from Draco’s grasp. His arms tightened around her hips, pressing her against him.
“Granger….” It was a growl, low and throaty and she was desperate to escape as her actions slammed into her. It was far too public for the display that she just put on, and her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment.
“Meet me in the library in five minutes.” She finally managed to wriggle herself off of Draco’s lap and stalked past Pansy who was smiling at her. When she grabbed her bag and made her way out of the room, the Slytherin girls were clapping, chanting her name as she left. The realization of what she just did hit her, and she barely made it to the library, before she slumped into a secluded section the adrenaline making her legs shaky. She didn’t know what came over her. Maybe it was because that was the second time that a man had kissed her without her permission. Or maybe it was because she was tired of not being able to let the entire school know that she was Draco’s without worrying about the implications that it would cause. Maybe, she was just sick and tired of everybody making up their mind about who she was supposed to be. Maybe she was tired of people taking her decisions away.
She didn’t get time to process the thoughts before Draco appeared in her vision, eyes scanning the library before landing on her. She was just standing, when he stalked towards her, his whole body shaking. For a brief moment she wondered if he was mad at her, but then his hands were on her jaw, and his lips were crashing into hers, and the force from him colliding into her had her pressed into the bookcase. He was kissing her with a ferocity that she had never experienced before and there was a warm sensation spreading like wildfire across her skin and a coil tightening in her stomach. Her hands found his hair, tugging at the strands at the back of his neck and he groaned into her lips. Much to her disappointment, he pulled away from her, his hand steadying her as he took a step back against the bookcase across from her. His voice was husky, and low when he spoke, and she found herself shivering. “What did he do?”
Hermione swallowed. “The opposite of what he said.” Draco’s eyes flashed as he stared at her, giving her permission to continue. “He kissed me without my permission, I yelled at him and told him that he was an idiot and he called me a bitch.” Draco’s fingers tensed against her hip, and she watched his face darken. “I told him that I would forget about it, but that you wouldn’t. I guess he thought that twisting the narrative would make you mad at me and then he would be consequences free because you wouldn't believe me.”
“Well. You made a very convincing argument in the Great Hall. I’m pretty sure that the entire school will hear about that by the end of the day.” She smirked at him. “That was…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Hermione, that was one of the hottest things that I have ever seen in my entire life.”
She flushed, and bit her lip as she stared at her feet. They had crossed into dangerous territory. Neither one of them had discussed anything like this. Kissing was one thing, and knowing that possibly, eventually it would come to more was slightly intimidating. Yet the heat that flooded through her minutes ago and the coiling in her stomach said that she knew at some point the conversation would need to be had further. “Well.” Her voice betrayed her, and she cleared her throat. “I wanted the entire school to know that I was yours.”
Draco let out a breath. “Mine?”
“Yes.” She lifted her eyes and almost combusted on the spot. She was terrified that she was going to light the library on fire under the heat of his gaze.
He took a step forward and instinctively she backed up, trapping herself against the bookcase. Her breath was trapped in her lungs. He leaned forward, his arms caging her in as he licked his lips. “Now I’m definitely not going to let you go.”
She scoffed. “As if you were going to beforehand.”
“True.” His hand moved the hair from her neck, and she swallowed. “Malfoys don’t share. And we especially don’t take kindly to people touching what’s ours, let alone insulting somebody that belongs to us.” His lips found the juncture of her throat, pressing a soft kiss there. "Say it again, Granger."
"I'm yours, Draco." It came out as a breath with her lips pressed against her neck, and she realized; books be damned, she was burning under his touch.