Fire Melts Ice

Chapter 3

By the time Hermione reached the suite, Terry was gone, and he had been for quite awhile. There was, however, an annoyed note waiting for her inside on the table. It read:

I thought you didn't feel comfortable alone in the halls? I guess you're over that, now. I'm going out tonight by myself, and I'm sure, being the kind considerate Head Girl that you are, you'll return the favor so I can be free tomorrow night. See ya around.

--Terry

Hermione sighed and tossed the crumpled parchment into the flames of the fire and was, for once, too occupied thinking about Draco and Harry to remember that it was house elves who had started and tended that fire. She didn't want to have another dream like the one in the hall, yet at the same time, she really did. Angry with herself for feeling that way, she had a sip of a dreamless sleep potion that was in the bathroom cabinet.

Well, if Terry's giving me the night off, I don't want to waste it. I need sleep...

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When Hermione woke up the next morning, it was to find Harry leaning seductively against the door frame and twirling a rose with a smile playing around his lips.

"Oh!" Hermione quickly yanked the sheets toward her chin to cover her partially exposed chest.

Harry laughed gently. "It's nothing really new to me. There's really no need for that." He moved closer and sat on the edge of her bed, from where he was able to rest the rose on her chest and give her a gentle kiss.

Hermione turned her head slightly to the side.

Oh, Lord. Boys are so complicated. This, this isn't right. God, why does he have to look at me like that? Nooo. Gosh darn it! I need some time to myself!

"Harry, erm, I was planning on saying this when I was more clothed and all. But, this is just too weird--you and me." It all came tumbling out of her mouth in one big tangled heap. "All my classes are swamping me with extra work, and just like you said the other night: we never have any time together. I just need a break. Do you think we could try that maybe?"

Oh my gosh. I feel so bad. He never treated me badly. I just have too much on my mind. Plus I think I must be going mental. I've been thinking about Malfoy much too often lately. Oh, God, please don't let him be mad. Please?

Harry had sat up a little straighter when she was talking, and by the time she had finished looked like he had been slapped in the face. Fortunately, he was too shocked to be angry right away. "Um, what? You, uh...yeah. I...yeah. I was, um, uh, just thinking along the same lines...Not enough time at all. A little break...yeah. Um, I have to go now. See you at breakfast." He turned abruptly and strode from the room.

"Wait...oh, what have I done now?" moaned Hermione to herself. "Breakfast! I've overslept!"

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Draco angrily threw off his sheets and jumped out of bed. His feet slapped on the freezing stone floor, but it didn't bother him; he didn't even appear to recognize the chill temperature. Goddamn stupid dream again! What am I thinking?! Good lord, she's not that attractive! Granted, she's not ugly, but she's certainly not worth noticing! "Bushy-haired little wench," he grumbled.

Crabbe snorted and rolled over onto his back, then began snoring louder than Draco thought humanly possible. He mumbled something incoherent and drooled slightly.

Draco shuddered. Oaf. I'm lost as to why my father admits acquaintance with any relative of that thing. Damn it! I need something to do...something to get my mind off that wretched muggle excuse for a witch...

All that came to mind as an alternate activity was snogging that "wretched muggle excuse for a witch." Her eyes had been a deep chestnut dappled by golden highlights in the torchlight, he remembered. And her stomach had been such a delicate pale peach. And warm. It had been warm. She was really quite thin. Her waist was narrow and, if he wanted, Draco was sure he could easily lift her in his arms...or pin her against a wall...

"Stop it!!! What is this? I should be killed for treason or something!" he exclaimed aloud. When the images refused to leave his mind's eye, Draco picked up a heavy book from the floor and hurled it angrily at Crabbe, who grunted and twitched. Draco then stalked irritably from the dorm.

I know exactly what I'll do. Stupid little muggle-born! She'll regret it... Draco smiled contentedly and some of the others in the common room glanced up uneasily at him, merely hoping that he wasn't about to take out whatever had been bothering him on themselves.

"Can I help you?" asked Pansy stupidly, standing up and approaching him while the other Slytherins wisely slouched down and averted their eyes.

Draco glared at her icily. "I don't know. Are you capable of keeping a secret?"

She nodded eagerly.

"Okay, then let me tell you something," began Draco moodily in a testy tone that was loud enough for the whole common room to overhear. "There's this person, an absolute nitwit, by the way, who won't leave me alone. She doesn't understand anything about the real world except for the mistaken fact that it was created to please her and every whim that pops into her nonsensical, hollow head. Now, can you give me some advice as to how I might rid myself of this pestilence?" He paused, and Pansy had enough sense to flush, feel insulted, and return to her seat while Draco swept out.

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"I swear I don't understand them at all! The minute you think you know what goes on inside their head, WHAM! They go and do something that makes no bloody sense! For God's sake, me saying we didn't have enough time together means she should think about her schedule, not 'take a break'!" fumed Harry.

"Mmmm..." Ron nodded absently and pushed his breakfast tiredly around his plate. Frankly, he didn't know why Harry was so surprised. He could have told them ages ago that it wasn't going to work. They had all been friends for too long for sparks to fly on Hermione's end. If she had liked him that way, it would have been apparent to him a long time ago. No, if Hermione really fell for someone, it would be a dark, dangerous type. The perfect, well-raised girls always went for guys like that. It was like an inevitable magnetization. Something about the aura of risk and lack of respect for any rules except their own... Ginny was the same. Oh, it had started small enough with Harry, but Ron had caught sight of names like "Cedric", "Blaise," and even once, "Draco," on her notebooks. (That one she'd had to replace, because it had mysteriously caught fire, and the majority of it was charred beyond recognition...) What ever. He didn't know why girls acted that way. In that aspect he agreed with Harry. They never made any sense. For him, all it took was a decent looking witch who was into him.

"I mean, what was she thinking telling me at a time like that, anyway? She was half-naked for heaven's sake, and I had just given her a rose because Terry told me she never showed up for her rounds last night."

"Um, Harry... er... Hi, Hermione," greeted Ron, sincerely hoping Harry would shut up.

Hermione glanced down at Harry. "Just so you know, I wasn't half-naked. And I hadn't invited you in or asked for a rose either!" Her eyes burned fiercely, but she wasn't about ready to cry in front of either Ron or Harry. "I'm sorry." She blinked rapidly and hurried out of the Great Hall.

Ron looked after her. "What's she so upset about?" he asked blankly.

Luna, who had been walking past on the way to her table paused, and to Ron's dismay, sat down beside him. "Well, he was talking about her behind her back, you know," she mused, only seeming to be halfway in their world. "And if you'd been paying attention at all, you would have noticed she has been very upset the last week or so. I believe it has something to do with Retylies. They haunt people who have disrespected the graves of Waurids. Do you happen to know if she's been near a Waurid cemetery recently?"

"There's no such thing as Warigies or Retgigs!" protested Harry angrily. "Stop smoking whatever it is you're on and go to St. Mungo's!"

Ron moaned softly and rubbed his head as if in acute pain. "Don't bother, mate," he murmured. He looked toward the Great Hall doors again in time to see Hermione slip out.

She walked as quickly as she could with an extremely large bag of the heaviest books that money could buy. I don't need breakfast. I can always have something to eat later. What was I thinking, starting a relationship with Harry? Now we'll barely be able to look at each other without fighting. Well there wasn't anything I could have done about it. If I had said no, the same tension would have been there. But maybe then Ron wouldn't hate me. What am I going to do? I need a friend. Someone, anyone to talk to... She kept walking and lugging her bag all the way to the safe haven of the library. On her arrival, Hermione headed right to the very back, where she plunked down her stuff and sunk to the ground, depressed.

Draco was a few meters away hidden behind the closest shelves. Seeing her on the verge of tears and so innocently defenseless made his heart thump annoyingly in his chest, but it only made him more resolved. I hate her. I'm doing this to get back at her. I care nothing for the girl. I would kill her in an instant if I were ordered to. I am Draco Malfoy! I do not have compassionate feelings toward girls like Granger! He made a conscious effort to calm himself. This isn't going to work if she's sitting down...

Draco lifted an ancient, partially crumbling leather-bound book from its spot and sincerely hoped it wasn't one of the vicious ones as he chucked it in front of Hermione. It landed with a thump on its spine and splayed open to a decrepit page that was barely holding onto the binding. To Draco's immense relief, it didn't start squawking or batting about; that would bring unwanted attention.

Hermione started, and then looked vexed. "Stop throwing library books," she ordered from the floor. "They are not your property, and you should feel privileged to have these resources available to you so you don't have to spend thousands of galleons buying every book you need to read. If you keep mistreating them, I will suspend you from the library. Come and put it back."

Draco rolled his eyes and didn't reply. Sooner or later she'll feel obligated to return it if I don't.

Hermione waited a few more moments. When she didn't receive an answer, she sighed heavily and rose with her teeth clenched. "If you don't have the common decency to--"

He slipped out from behind the shelves as easily and smoothly as liquid metal poured from some cauldron and pushed her back against the wall. His dark robes swirled behind him and the overpowering scent of something wonderful cascaded over Hermione's senses.

"Oh," she had time to whisper before he was completely against her, pinning her like a delicate butterfly specimen to a corkboard. No thoughts came to her for several seconds, and she didn't even recognize her predator as Draco. All she could remember was the loneliness and sense of isolation that had been with her a second before. This new feeling was a thousand times better than that, so she didn't immediately question it.

Draco held her arms bent in a not uncomfortable position about her shoulder height, but they were firmly against the wall. There was no way she was going to be swinging those fists of hers at his face anytime soon. Surprisingly, though, she was showing no signs of even wanting to. I'm doing this to get back. It means absolutely nothing to me at all. It's only to prove that I will always be superior. If she wants to kiss me, then she'll get a kiss from me. This isn't something that I care about. I don't like her.

His lips found her own soft, warm ones and caressed them lightly at first. Unexpectedly, she leaned forward and accepted him, begging for more. She tasted his sweet skin and raised her head seductively to his. Unable to give up at that point even if he had wanted to, Draco leaned in and deepened the kiss, nipping the edge of her top lip gently and enjoying the shiver that ran through her body without hoping that it caused her pain. His tongue touched her lips and ran gently along them, lingering long enough at the edge for Hermione to part her mouth to him and willingly slipped his tongue inside.

Hermione longed for the feel of the warm body against hers to never leave. It made all her anxieties and worries for the future evaporate away into steam that hung between them. The strong hands on her wrists were so overpowering that they made her feel helpless, but not in a way that made her concerned in the least. It only furthered her sensation of being wanted and needed. Somewhere deep inside, she realized that she was an emotional mess and needed to stay away from situations like the one she was presently in, because she had no control over her actions. But that conscience was buried beneath layers of pent-up stress and newly-added shrouds of sugary passion, so she disregarded it completely for one of the first times in her life.

After almost a minute, she mentally pulled herself away from the highly-desirable position she was in long enough to take in the gorgeous features of the man she was kidding. Her first concern was ascertaining that it was indeed a male that she was snogging. The sharp jaw line extinguished those fears, and then Hermione allowed herself to gaze up farther into the eyes of the wizard. The gray froze her heart in an instant. The tiniest fraction of a second later, she took in the beautiful hair and would have screamed except for the fact that his delicious mouth still enveloped hers and his tongue was presently exploring her gums gently. After the initial reaction of a need to scream came a brief period of about three seconds, during which Hermione came to the conclusion that she was having a dream that would presently end and she should therefore enjoy it as much as possible while it lasted.

Draco was internally as confused as he could possibly get. He had seen Hermione look into his eyes and glance at his hair. While he was still enjoying their wonderful kiss, he saw the look of horror and recognition flash across her features. It was so prominent that he was able to discern it even though he could see only a tiny fraction of her face. What really baffled him though, was the calm that immediately followed. She didn't struggle to escape from his confines or attempt to attack him in any way. She only continued their snogging and licked the edge of his lips with her own tongue.

After the several seconds had expired and Draco failed to melt from her vision, Hermione froze again. She began to realize that what she was experiencing was reality rather than the wishful concoction of her sleeping mind. Another second or two passed while her brain worked furiously to try to figure why Draco might be kissing her, then the fact that she was still kissing Draco Malfoy sunk in, and she convulsed wildly, trying to pull herself out from between him and the wall. She drew her head back and bowed it to prevent any further temptation. The shock of snogging Draco gave her the brief power to pull away from what she would have otherwise been helpless to resist.

Draco was almost relieved to sense her begin to struggle against him. He certainly didn't want it to end, but he had started to worry that he had pounced on someone other than Hermione. No, that would be impossible. Two people cannot possibly have the same puffy hair. I can't believe it took her this long to do anything, though. I guess even she isn't immune to me...Ah, now she'll be the one with unwanted thoughts for the next few weeks. I do wonder what she'll make of it.... He stepped back, and when she came away from the wall with him, he shoved her roughly back and turned before she could counter-attack...or he could feel guilty and offer her a hand.

Hermione smacked the wall hard and jolted back to her full senses. What the bloody hell?! She picked up the ancient book Draco had tossed on the floor, The Ancient Study of Wand Residues, and hurled it at his retreating back with all the strength she could muster.

Draco twitched ever-so-slightly and spun around, his wand already drawn. Catching sight of the book as it continued on its downward path, he looked into Hermione's indignant and mostly furious eyes. He smirked at her and pocketed his wand easily. "Good morning, Granger, hope you slept well." He tossed his head cockily and turned again. Yes, she'll have quite a lot to think about for awhile. I don't think it sits too well with her that I kissed her...

Hermione was, indeed, more livid than Draco would have guessed. What gives him the right to come up on me when I'm minding my own business in the library?! Kissing me? What the hell is that? Does he think it's funny that Harry and I broke up? Is he doing this to get to Harry? No, Harry's not even here, is he?! She quickly double-checked that Harry wasn't anywhere in sight--or anyone else for that matter. No, Harry's not here. Is this his revenge? What the hell kind of revenge is this? Kissing me? He hated it when I kissed him! So did I! Does he really care more about getting back at someone than his own feelings? What gives him the right to--!!! And after all the times he's insulted muggle-borns and me--!

What really irked her, though, was the fact that she couldn't have thought of a worse thing that he could possibly have done. It's bad enough that I already have fantasies about him. Now I'll have an actual romantic kiss to relive. She whimpered and buried her head momentarily in her arms. I can't believe I kissed him back! Even if I thought it was a dream. Especially if I thought it was a dream. Oh, I should see Madam Pomphrey. Something must be the matter with me! Draco Malfoy?! Oh good Lord...She whopped her bag of books viciously and pounded her head. Draco?!