Fraternizing with the Enemy

A Tendril of Blonde Hair

Chapter 3

Hermione sat on her bed, the curtains drawn around her, staring at the black journal. She had never been a girl that easily gave into temptation, but this was certainly trying her restraint. She wondered what it said, about her, about life. For a long time now she had had the feeling that there was more to Draco than this mask of cruelty he wore so often. After all, he was still human, and she didn't believe anyone could be so completely evil. At least no one that young.

Maybe just a peek. What could one peek hurt? At that moment the sound of Draco's voice saying "Hey Granger, don't read my journal," sounded in her head. Come to think of it, she had never really heard him use that tone of voice before. He seemed almost...scared. And not the kind of scared that he was in Forbidden Forrest in first year, but a more genuine kind of fear. Not that the wants of a person like Draco mattered to her very much. It's not like he cared what she wanted, why should she oblige him?

Just as she was reaching for the book, the paralyzing feeling of guilt shot through her nerves. She couldn't do it. She had promised him she wouldn't read it and, although it was only Draco, she had to respect that. For the first time she actually felt bound to Draco, and it was a very weird feeling. He was the last person on the planet (with the exception of Voldemort) that she wanted to be bound to, and while it made her feel very insecure in most ways, she felt rather comforted in others. Before going to sleep she attempted to exterminate every thought of Draco from her head, though it seemed as if he had the upper hand in this battle, and she hated that.

The next morning at breakfast she could feel three sets of eyes pressing down on her. Thank goodness today was a Saturday. At least she didn't have to put up with having class with the three of them; being in close proximity to any of them was embarrassing in itself. She couldn't believe what she had done the day before. Perhaps she would just hide in the Library. Wait, bad idea. That's exactly where they would expect me to be! She pushed the thought of other places around the castle in her head before settling on the one place where they would never expect her to be...The Quidditch pitch.

Luckily, it seemed that Ron and Harry couldn't gather up the courage or restraint to talk to her, so she found it easy to make her way to the Quidditch stands without being noticed or followed. She hadn't been trying to read her book for very long when she realized that nothing was coming in. Why was she so out of it today? Her mind switched back to the day before when she had wrapped her arms around Draco. He had smelled so good, so different from Ron. Ron smelled good in his own way, a very warm, sweet way. Draco's scent was rather mysterious and there was a bit of a nip to it.

Oh, do snap out of it! Malfoy is a git and that's all there is to it!

Just then she noticed a figure walking across the Quidditch pitch, a figure with radiantly blonde hair. She felt her heart catch in her throat, but she collected herself and returned her gaze to her book, though she found herself unable to read. She was so concentrated on trying to read that she didn't even notice him fly up in front her. Hermione jumped in surprise when she looked up to see none other than Draco hovering in the air in front of her.

"Now what would a Mudblood such as yourself be doing hiding in the Quidditch stands?" he said through a smirk.

"What do you care, Malfoy?"

"Now Granger, I thought we went over this," he said, dismounting his broom and sitting on the bench in front of her. "I really don't."

"Then why did you ask?" She thought for a moment that she had caught him off guard, but he retaliated almost instantly.

"What is it with you and questions? The real reason I'm here is to discuss our next course of action in what I have code named 'Giving that Wanker Weasley What he Deserves', though you can just refer to it as 'G.W.W.D' or 'Gwod'. It took all of Hermione's energy to keep from laughing, and the sides of her mouth twitched as she suppressed a smile. It's impossible for him not to notice this. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper before folding it out on his lap. Hermione leaned down slightly to get a better look at it.

"All right, we have a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow, so that gives us a perfect opportunity to torment the little weasel without great risk of damage to my reputation," he said, pushing a tendril of hair that had fallen onto his face behind his ear. "But really, Granger, if we get caught I will hex you into the next century." His hair fell onto his face again, and he pushed it back behind his ear absentmindedly. Hermione watched him do this will a certain sense of intrigue. He was so concentrated on that piece of paper he didn't notice her staring, to Hermione's relief. "So I'll meet you in the Great Hall around ten tomorrow morning, all right?" Once again the hair tumbled onto his face, and before Hermione could catch herself, she reached over and gently tucked it behind his ear. When Draco looked up, she could see the surprise in his eyes, and they both pulled back quickly. Their faces had been really close each other. Too close, thought Hermione. She could fe el her face burning, and it seemed the lump that had already formed in her throat was expanding at a rapid rate.

"Okay, so ten o'clock, right?" she said in a weak voice, unable to cover the awkwardness of the situation.

"Right," he said looking at her sideways. They just sat and stared at each other for what seemed like a century. She examined his face inquisitively, and she could feel him doing the same to her. Well this is different.

"See you tomorrow, Mudblood," he said before mounting his broom and flying off. "And don't you dare read my journal!" she heard him say as his voice became more and more distant. He always calls me that stupid name. I shouldn't stand for it! Speaking of standing for, why didn't he mention anything to me about doing that to his hair? Or about that whole hugging episode yesterday? Something's different about him, I know it. Why did I do that anyways? Note to self: gain some sense of self restraint by tomorrow morning.