Outsmarted

Outsmarted

By Orla-Destiny

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Professor Severus Snape's Potion dungeon stunk of the intoxicating fumes of the powerful Truth Potion, Veritaserum gone very wrong.

Seventeen-year-old Gryffindor witch Hermione Granger, with her plain black school robes pulled up over her mouth and nose, looked over at the disaster disgustedly, shaking her head silently in disapproval. Every week during her NEWT course Potions class, something always seemed to go wrong and she was really starting to become annoyed with the fact. She prided her grades and her superb schooling but her Potions grade was always ruined due to the other, more insolent students in the class.

This time, however, she was quite shocked with whom had caused such a havoc, with students running around like mad as boiling potion seeped slowly across the stone floor from the melted cauldron. She had always felt that, though she despised him right to the bone, Draco Malfoy was one of the better students in this class. He always seemed to do well and Hermione had to say that she disagreed with her best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, who insisted he only succeeded because he was Snape's favourite student. Hermione had once had the dreadful experience of working on an assignment with the blonde Slytherin and had finished it feeling that Draco was truly talented in the art of Potions... not that she would ever admit it aloud.

But there Draco stood, a strange expression printed on his pale, pointed face, his neat silver-blonde hair swept back with sweat from his forehead, staring helplessly down at his melted cauldron, the incorrect contents of it bubbling steadily over the stone. He glanced up and met her gaze, the steel grey depths of his eyes swirling in an eerie sort of way.

Hermione looked away, feeling a pang of hatred in her chest. She looked down at her Veritaserum. It was so much more perfect than Draco's as it's clear surface reflected the dark dungeon around her. She grabbed a flask from the desk beside her and filled it with the Truth Potion, feeling nothing Draco or anyone else in the class could ruin the grade she would receive through all her hard work. She headed to the front of the classroom and placed the tiny flask on Snape's desk, her name glowing gold on the glass in the candlelight.

Turning she saw that Snape had regained a lot of the class's calm by ridding the floor of Draco's disaster with a swish of his wand.

"Pack up, all of you," he barked, causing his students to become quiet immediately. "Clean up and leave. And Granger, rid my desk of your flask of Veritaserum, I am not collecting any today."

Hermione's heart pounded in fury. All her hard work and he was just going to blow it off as though it was nothing! Hermione quickly picked up her flask, hurriedly put it in the pocket of her robes and hurried back to her table. She angrily cleaned her cauldron quickly with a flick of her wand and placed all her books and Potion ingredients back in her bag. She sped out of the room towards the Great Hall to meet Harry and Ron for lunch and was about five metres out of the room when a voice sounded behind her.

"What are you trying to do, Granger," Draco Malfoy sneered, "break a wizarding world record? I can just see it now: Hermione Granger - fastest time for a Mudblood to get from the Hogwarts Potion dungeon to the Great Hall!"

Hermione turned on her heal quickly, glaring at Draco with more hatred than he had ever seen swirling in her deep brown eyes. "This is all your fault, you filthy little ... ferret!" she yelled, causing a couple of Ravenclaw students nearby to snigger.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "What's all my fault?" he snarled.

"I put so much effort and hard work into my Veritaserum and you had to go and ruin yours so then our assessment was postponed!" Hermione said angrily. "My Veritaserum was perfect and now I have to do it all over again next week most likely and knowing my luck, it probably won't be anywhere near as good as today's!"

"Please, Granger," Draco drawled, "save the lecture for another, more needed time. I honestly thought you were smarter than to have a go at someone because your Veritaserum was perfect and it didn't matter because someone else's went wrong due to simpering bitches like Pansy adding mistletoe to it! Just shows you really are a typical Mudblood!"

Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at him, walking slowly towards him. "Don't act as though you really ever considered me as being smart or clever, Malfoy. I know you. I know the way you think. I know the way you act. I know you better than to ever believe you'd see a Muggle-born like myself as an equal to you. You don't care about me. In fact, you seem to live to hurt and torment me. You don't give a bat's wing about something I hold pride in and you definitely don't care if you ruin it for me!"

Draco, with Hermione dangerously advancing on him, had backed up against a wall beside an unlit torch. Wanting to act as though her words had no affect on him, he calmly reached up and leant his hand on the torch coolly, but as soon as he did soon, the torch creaked down like a lever. At first, Draco thought he'd broken it, but a second later, he lost his balance as the wall behind him became unsolid. Grabbing Hermione's right wrist, her wand still pointing at him, in an attempt to stay standing, he fell back through the wall, the edges of the liquid wall licking at his body like warm water. Landing on his back on the solid stone floor of the place beyond the wall, he gasped as something fell in on top of him - Hermione.

"Oh!" Hermione let out in surprise, hurrying to get off him and standing up. "What happened?" she asked frantically, looking down at him as he stood, dusting his robes.

Draco looked at her with a sneer. "The wall become nothingness," he snapped, "or ... something."

He walked over to the wall in front of them - the one they'd fallen through - and pressed a hand against it. It was solid. Groaning, he turned back to Hermione.

"Well, Granger, you're the know-it-all, how do you suppose we get out of here?" he asked harshly.

Hermione didn't seem to hear him; she was staring around at the room around them. Following her gaze, Draco looked around. The room was rather small, it's four walls lined with small, fire-lit torches casting streams of light and shadow across the ceiling and floor. In the centre of the room was what looked like a shallow, bath-sized pool, its clear depths twinkling slightly from the flicking flames of the torches. Adding a much Darker aspect to the room, what looked like rusted old chains littered the floor at the far end. The wall closest to the chains held large, rusting bolts above long, struggling scratch marks on the stone along with what looked like a trickling bloodstain. What appeared to be older, dry blood stained the dark, polished stone floor and Hermione unintentionally shivered as an eerie chill ran down her spine.

"The torture chamber," she whispered, swallowing.

Draco looked her, an odd gleam in his eyes. "What?"

"This is the old Hogwarts torture chamber," Hermione said. "They used to hold detention down here. They'd chain insolent students to the wall by their wrists or ankles and leave them there, alone, for three whole hours. The pool of water was there for them to use afterwards if they needed to but it was also used, as a form and source of water, to cause them to have the need to go to the toilet, forcing even more torture upon them. The chains they used were enchanted to, once they, along with the entrance, were locked, not let go or unlock until the full three hours were up. Once the hours were up and the students were free, they were left to find their own way back out of the room the way they came. After a few hours of torture, students often forgot where the secret entrance is and struggled - another form of punishment. Teachers insisted on not supervising the disobedient students unless they felt the student was in mortal peril."

Draco looked over at the bolts fixed in the walls and gulped, a close to unpleasant feeling entering his stomach as he stared at them. He imagined being chained to them, hanging hopelessly and painfully for three hours straight with no way to escape until the hours were up ... with no company...

"How the hell are we going to get out of here?" he asked, looking back at the wall they'd entered through and pressing a hand against it. It was still as solid as before.

Hermione looked at it and Draco hopelessly, a feeling of dread overwhelming her senses. "The entrance it locked," she said quietly. "Once the entrance is locked, the room's occupants can't exit unless they're a teacher, or ... the three hours are up."

Draco looked at her fiercely. "We're not exactly chained to the wall, though, are we, Granger?" he snarled. "Meaning, as we don't deserve any form of punishment, we should be able to find some way out of this place without having to wait three bloody hours!"

He walked over to the nearest torch and examined it.

"Malfoy, didn't you hear what I said?" Hermione said slowly, trying to keep her voice calm as she glared at Draco's form. "Both the chains they used and the entrance were enchanted to, once locked, not open until the three hours were up. During the three hours Hogwarts teachers could only access the entrance. Meaning, if the entrance locked once we entered, we can't get out of here until three hours have passed or a teacher somehow realises we're in here and enters to get us."

Draco glared at her as she casually headed further into the room, looking around interestedly. She came to a stop at the edge of the shallow pool, appearing to be about one or two foot deep, the stone floor visible through the thin water, which was obviously kept clean magically.

"So what are we going to do, Granger?" Draco asked as he came up to stand on the right edge of the pool. "Are we just going to sit in here for three very unpleasant hours until this bloody room decides to unlock itself?"

"The time will only be unpleasant if you make it unpleasant, Malfoy," Hermione said firmly.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Granger?" Draco sneered.

"That is supposed to mean that I have no intentions whatsoever in saying or doing anything that will make this experience, as much as I don't want to be part of it, unpleasant," Hermione said. "If you, however, say anything along the lines of your usual harshness and cruelty, I shall without a doubt be unpleasant back."

"My usual harshness and cruelty?" Draco smirked in a voice mimicking Hermione. "What would that include, Granger? Mudblood? Scum to the earth? Filthy riff-raff? Container for Potter and Weasley's spawn?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes dangerously, anger and hatred creeping up on her. "Don't get me started, Malfoy," she hissed through clenched teeth. "You can call me what you like but it'll never cause long-term effects upon me. And, if you call me Mudblood or accuse me of being Harry and Ron's girlfriend or whore again during these three hours, I will personally make it so you are put in the worst position you consider possible."

"What, with you kissing me or attempting to bed me?" Draco smirked.

Hermione's face hardened. "Of course not, Malfoy. That would put me in one awful position, now wouldn't it? I'd have to take one extra long bath to assure I get all your greasy, Death Eater slime off me."

"At least that extra long bath of yours might rid you of that thick layer of Mudblood scum that covers every inch of your skin," Draco snarled. "And most girls would die to be in your position right now. Locked in a room, all alone with me for three hours... No way to escape... It would be paradise for them and they most certainly wouldn't be picking an argument with me and definitely wouldn't pass up a chance to kiss me."

"Yes, well I'm not like 'most girls', am I, Malfoy?" Hermione said coolly. "Maybe if you weren't such a self-centred, cruel and arrogant bastard I would, but unfortunately, you are and I'm stuck with hating the Voldemort-kissing Slytherin you just happen to be!"

Draco looked at her steadily. "I'm not a Death Eater and if it were up to me I never will be," he said.

"You'll only be a Death Eater if you choose to be one, Malfoy," Hermione said, "and you, with your father having such an advantage over you, will, over time, decide to be one."

Draco face was passive, if not slightly paler than usual. "Don't talk about things you don't know or understand, Granger," he said quietly and he turned and sat down against the wall they entered through, staring into the surface of the water where Hermione's reflection loomed.

A small, unintentional and yet familiar pang occurred in his chest as he stared at her reflection and he inwardly tried to fight it away. He couldn't recognise the reasoning for such a feeling but for several weeks now he had felt it there at specific times. The fact Hermione always seemed to be around when it occurred seemed oddly ironic to him and left him in a state of confusion. He felt it impossible for him to suddenly hold slightly intimate feelings for the girl that he disliked the most.

Hermione's reflection moved away from the water's surface and she headed over and sat beside him against the wall. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, causing him to look at her.

"What for, Granger?" he asked snappishly.

Hermione looked away. "For being so ... quick-tempered and saying some of the things I did. I know better than to accuse people of being something their not, even if there is a possibility that they are that."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should think before you speak sometimes," Draco muttered. "I might not show my true feelings sometimes, Granger but it sometimes gets to me when people tell the truth about my life and the way my father seems to run it. I don't exactly appreciate people ruining my pride, either, by calling me things like an arrogant bastard and making it out as though I'm the cruelest person they've ever laid eyes on."

"Yes, well, perhaps you should think about what might exit other peoples mouths before you let some of your harsh names and snide comments exit your mouth, Malfoy," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Draco opened his mouth to retort but immediately closed it, realising she was right. "Fine, I'm sorry for all my snide comments and for calling you harsh names like Mudblood, alright."

Hermione looked at him carefully. "Really?" she asked. Draco shrugged. "Then if you never meant it, why did you?"

"I never said I never meant it, Granger," Draco said. "I did mean it. You're academically smarter than me, you're Potter's best friend and he's famous so he gets all the attention and then ... and then there's the fact that I've never let myself get to know you in any slightly personal way. I've always disliked you for being smarter than me when you've got dirty blood and I have pure blood. I've always disliked you for being Potter's best friend. You're almost like a mystery to be, Granger and I hate it and there's just something about you that's been causing me to feel a bit weird lately. I can only guess it's because ... I can't have you."

Draco didn't really know what he was saying. The words exited his mouth like loose, confused thoughts and feelings that he had finally been able to work out and put together in his mind and the moment they left his mouth they just seemed to make sense.

Hermione stared at him with her mouth slightly agape, letting his words sink into her head. "You mean after all the years of hatred, all the years of arguing, all the years of harsh words and name calling, all the years of tension between us you have finally looked passed the Muggle-born I am and seen the real me? And in seeing that you have been able to realise that I am someone worthy of being something more to you and you've developed these strange and uncertain feelings for me?"

Draco ran his hand through his hair. "Look Granger, I know I don't have a chance with you because I'm a bastard," he said. "I would never have even mentioned it to you. In fact, I wasn't sure of it myself until I told you. I know it's weird, but -"

"Malfoy," Hermione cut in, making him look at her. She gave a tiny smile and leant in and brushed her lips across his briefly, not believing her own nerve or her choice of action. "All I need to know is that you're sorry."

"I am," Draco said and he closed the gap between them. His lips glided over hers softly, causing tingles to run down Hermione's spine as she hesitantly kissed him back. Draco's arms wove themselves around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He continued to kiss her, steadily and sensually, enjoying the taste of her as she kissed him back with a passion he had only imagined possible.

The world around them had seem to have stilled. The minutes seemed to have disappeared. All that seemed to be taking place at this moment to both Draco and Hermione was this kiss and neither knew how to explain the explosion of feelings that swept through each of their bodies.

The kiss deepened, a tiny moan escaping Hermione's throat as the passion intensified, causing fire in their veins. Draco absently moved so he was on top of Hermione, not breaking the kiss for a second as he rested a hand behind her head to support it against the wall behind it.

Draco slowly broke away to look at her, breathing deeply. "That was incredible," he breathed, causing Hermione to look at him in surprise. "What?"

"You've surprised me a bit in the past fifteen to twenty minutes or so, that's all," Hermione whispered, brushing her fingers across his cheek. He was still lying on her rather awkwardly, straddling her right thigh and at that moment Hermione could swear she had never seen anyone as handsome as him. His silver-blonde hair fell into his grey eyes slightly and his pale cheeks had a very faint tinge of pink across them. His eyes, behind the couple of strands of hair, were swirling like dark grey storm clouds and glistened with a strange, warm emotion.

Hermione leant in and captured his lips again in a gentle kiss. Draco leant into it with the intention of deepening it, but at the exact moment he increased the pressure against her, she let out a small cry and fell back, dragging him with her until he was completely on top of her.

Draco blinked, broke the kiss and looked around, only to be greeted with a newer, but much more familiar sight: the dungeon passageway. A strange, warm liquid feeling surrounded Draco's torso and he looked behind him, only to see his lower half of his body was beyond the not-so-solid stone wall, along with Hermione's.

Hermione looked slightly confused. "There's no way the three hours are up already," she said.

Draco, frowning a little bit, looked at his watch. "No," he said, "it was more like an hour."

Hermione frowned, still looking confused, made to sit up. "We should probably get our bags before the entrance closes up again," she said. "Could you get mine, please? I'll stay here to assure it doesn't close."

Draco nodded and left back through the wall. A couple of moment later, he appeared beside her, dragging their bags in his right hand. Hermione moved out from within the wall and they got to their feet. They stood looking at each other awkwardly for a moment, Hermione biting her lip. She looked back at the wall they'd just exited.

"I wonder what made it open earlier?" she said, frowning.

Draco chuckled. "I really thought you might have worked that out, Granger," he said. "Hogwarts is full of magic. It is magical. That room, the torture chamber, is part of Hogwarts. It is full of magic itself. And what does magic sense better than anything? It senses mood and emotion. We were in a torture chamber and we were torturing each other with our arguing, our hatred and our disagreements. And then it all turned upside-down and I expressed my very confused feelings to you. We made peace with one another. We kissed. The mood between us had totally changed and the magic in the room sensed it and opened the entrance. I knew that was going to happen."

Hermione frowned. "So you knew about the chamber before I even told you?" she said. "If you didn't you wouldn't have known it would happen. How -?"

Draco smirked and took a step back. "You're not the only one in this school who's read Hogwarts: A History, Granger. I like you, don't get me wrong but you and I both know anything between us would never work. We were enemies for years, we fought and never got along and Potter and Weasley would never allow a relationship between you and me. Don't let this last hour fool you - it wasn't real. The best you can do is forget anything ever happened. I only admitted these death-wishing feelings I hold for you in an effort to get us both out of there sooner."

"You know what, Malfoy?" Hermione spat coolly. "I don't even know why I bothered to believe you in the first place. I should've known better than to think there was a decent side of you or to believe any sentence that is anywhere close to being kind when it exits your mouth. It just shows you really are that selfish, irritable and cruel prat I've lived to accept!"

With one last glare at him, she stormed away, fully aware of the evil glare Draco was staring at her back with and ignoring it.

She had been outsmarted by Draco Malfoy and had actually given in to his attempts to unsettle her. She felt filthy from kissing him and yet something within her was still tingling from the sensation that kiss had created...

She mentally slapped herself and silently cursed herself for being fooled so very easily... She should've known and yet she hadn't...

"I hate Draco Malfoy."

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