Part Two
It should be noted that Hermione Granger hated people who paced. She found it pedantic and unnecessary and she always surmised that people should sit and think - it was the best way to do so.
However, at that moment, Hermione Granger found herself pacing from one bookshelf to another, erratically wracking her brain for what to do next.
“Your pacing is making me ill, Granger.”
“Shush,” she hissed. “You’re not helping.”
What had her Amortentia smelled like? She remembered the peppermint, but apart from that, she was drawing a blank. She took a seat back at the table - their table, technically - and drew a deep breath before screwing her eyes shut. What else had she smelled? She was startled by a rustling sound. “What are you doing?”
“Eating a mint, Granger. What does it look like? Peppermint helps a hangover potion’s longevity.” He popped the mint into his mouth and began sucking on it before she heard a crack and proceeded to watch him crunch on the sweet in his perfect mouth. His perfect mouth - where had that come from?
She stared at him silently, before clearing her throat. “Do you still know the password to get into Slughorn’s classroom?”
“Yes,” he said while crunching away. He’d shared the password with her last semester when she’d wanted to do a trial run of her potions assignment before the exam. It wasn’t cheating per se - but it was the closest to breaking the rules academically that she was willing to get.
She stood abruptly and ushered him to follow her, quickly. Their coupled footsteps picked up the pace when they arrived in the corridor of the Dungeons and she was glad that she’d made quick work of casting a notice me not charm to ensure they weren’t discovered.
“Are you going to tell me what this is all about, Granger? You’re leaving me a bit put out here.” Draco said, smirking as he leaned against one of the desks. He watched as she grabbed a cauldron, along with the required ingredients. “You do know that if you smell my Amortentia, it won’t smell the same to you as it does to me. You’re just going to have to take my word for it.”
“I’m well aware of that, Malfoy. I’m not trying to brew your Amortentia.” She made quick work of rustling up the potion and she looked over to find Draco looking back at her in awe.
“You can’t remember what yours smelled like, can you?” He whispered, edging closer to her positioning in front of the cauldron. She tried her best to ignore his nearing presence and instead did the relevant checks to ensure that everything was in order. “How can you not remember yours? Brainy Hermione Granger isn’t so brainy after all,” he jibbed. She pushed him away from her.
“You can tease me all you want, Malfoy, but this is the only sure-fire way of finding out what mine was.” She watched as the potion turned pink and she took a step back from the cauldron at once. Her hands were shaking as she closed her potion’s textbook and caught Draco’s eyes.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” He said, observing the pink smoke emerging from the cauldron. “You’re scared of what you’ll smell. Be honest, Granger. No teasing.” His eyes were dark in the muted candlelight of the classroom.
“Yes,” she muttered, finding the courage to lean over the cauldron and inhaling the scent deeply as she stirred its contents. “Peppermint, Leather and-” She gasped, dropping the ladle from her hand.
“Peppermint, Leather and what?” Draco urged, moving to smell the Amortentia himself - to no avail.
"No," she muttered, smelling the potion again.
"What?" He snapped.
“I can’t believe I’m asking this,” Hermione said quietly, averting his gaze. “Let me smell your hair, Malfoy.”
Puzzlement crossed Draco’s features, but she watched as instead of devising another witty response, he knelt before her, bringing himself closer to her height. He appeared lost in thought as she inhaled the scent of his slicked-back hair and jumped away.
“Well, Granger. You’ve got me on tenterhooks here. What’s the last part?”
“Your hair gel, Draco. It’s your hair gel.” She let out a stuttered laugh and slumped to the cold floor of the classroom. He reached down, peering intently into her eyes while he took her warm face in his hands. Looking between her eyes and lips, his eyes opened wide as he sought her approval and she nodded.
His lips touched hers in movement so soft that she would have almost thought she was imagining it. As her lips parted, she felt a warmth spreading throughout her body as she reached her own hands up to place them at either side of his face. The kiss was smooth and graceful and excellent and then he was pulling away and catching his breath. She took a second to open her eyes, scared of when she saw him again.
He was smiling, not grinning or smirking, but truly smiling. A warm smile that lit up his features and made her body feel warmer than it already did. His ears were tinged red and she felt a pink blush spreading across her cheeks as she tried not to look away from him.
“I lied.”
“You lied?” Horror struck his features and she could see his calculated expression returning in an effort to save face.
“I did. I do fancy you.” His expression cooled again.
“You do?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“What would you have chosen then?”
She rolled her eyes and kissed him gently again. “Snog Draco Malfoy, Marry Draco Malfoy, Avada no one.”
"Excellent choice, Granger," he chuckled, reaching out to take her hand in his.