Essence of Hermione

Chapter 5: Wild Card

The next morning, Hermione was up early, despite the start of Christmas holidays. She was showered and dressed before Lavender and Parvati had even stirred and was pinning up her hair when someone waltzed in the door.

"You should leave it down," Ginny said as she came up behind Hermione. "It looks so pretty."

"It gets in the way," said Hermione.

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You're too sensible."

Hermione laughed and then noticed what Ginny was wearing.

"What are you all dressed up for?" she asked, taking in her soft pink sweater, hint of make-up, and her softly tumbling curls that spilt out of the clip that was holding them.

Ginny shrugged.

"There's going to be a Yule Ball this year, and I am determined to get asked."

It was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. There hadn't been a Yule Ball since her fourth year, but for some strange reason Dumbledor had instated it again, and it was the talk of the school.

"Ginny, you got asked last time. By Harry if I'm not mistaking."

"He only asked me as a last resort, and I didn't even get to go with him because I was already going with Neville. You know that. And how do you know I want to go with Harry?"

"Did I say that?"

"You implied it."

"So you don't want to go with Harry?"

"I don't know. I want to go with someone that's not so... predictable all the time. I mean, Harry's a dear, and if he asks I'd be more then happy to go with him, but if he doesn't I'm not going to waste away in despair. I need some excitement in my life... I half wish I was in your predicament," she said and smiled mischievously at her. "So who are you going to go with? My brother or Draco?"

"Ginny!" Hermione squealed, and motioned to Parvati and Lavender who were still in bed.

Ginny waved a hand at her.

"They're not going to wake up, don't worry. So who?"

"Neither of them are going to ask me," stated Hermione, looking miserable. "And I'm not going to show up to the ball with Draco Malfoy on my arm anyhow."

Ginny sighed and shook her head.

"Your too pessimistic. Here, leave your hair down; we'll make that woolen-headed brother of mine notice you. And Draco too, though I dare say he already realizes what a catch you are," she said, and for the next half hour fooled around with Hermione's hair and make up.

"I look like I'm trying too hard!" Hermione complained when Ginny had finished with her.

Ginny had agreed to let Hermione leave at least half of her hair up, and had piled it into a clip that didn't entirely hold all of her curls. The rest she had left hanging loosely around her shoulders, something she was not used to feeling. Ginny had settled on a theme of browns for her make-up, accenting her dark eyes with a smear of cocoa and giving her a brush of chocolate lip-gloss.

"You look perfect."

Hermione sighed; she obviously wasn't going to change her friends mind.

"Fine, let's go to breakfast then. It's not like anyone is going to be there this early on the first day of Christmas holidays anyways."

She was, however, wrong. It seemed that most of the school had decided to stay for the Ball, and that everyone had chosen to get up early. She and Ginny received more then just a couple of stares as they waltzed in, and Hermione pointedly ignored them. She sat down next to Ron, who in turn choked on the toast that he was shoving into his mouth.

"You alright, mate?" questioned Seamus as he pounded him on the back.

Ron nodded weakly, going red, and refused to look at Hermione. Ginny flashed her a grin before flouncing over and plopping down next to her best friend, Kendra Kelly. Kendra said something to her and the two girls put their heads together in heated discussion. Hermione thought that they were probably discussing her and Draco, since Ginny kept nothing from Kendra, but she didn't mind. She trusted the younger girls completely, even if they were a bit... erratic.

Hermione was helping herself to the plentiful breakfast, carefully ignoring Ron's not-so-subtle looks, when a fierce looking owl flew in and landed on her shoulder. Many eyes turned to look at her, and she could feel herself going red. Quickly she untied the small package from its leg, and it took off once more in a flurry of feathers. She now held in her hand a small green box, tied with a silver ribbon, leaving her in no doubt whatsoever as to whom had send it. Ginny was looking at her, eyebrows raised.

"What's he playing at," muttered Hermione, half intrigued, half deeply annoyed.

"What is it?" asked Ron, trying to see over her shoulder.

"Nothing," Hermione stuttered. "Early Christmas gift from my parents. Excuse me," she said, getting up quickly and making a fast exit.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked Ginny, who shrugged.

"Hermione's been acting awfully strange lately," said Harry thoughtfully, his green eyes following Hermione as she exited the Great Hall.

"I'm sure it's nothing," said Ginny quickly, and Harry shrugged, looking unconvinced.

Once out of the Great Hall, Hermione paused and carefully removed the ribbon from her small package. Opening it with trembling hands she gasped. A silver chain lay inside, it's many spider-thin threads twisting and twirling around each other in an intricate pattern. She took it out carefully and it shimmered in the light, each thread seeming to capture it's own ray and make the careful weaving seem even more complex and magical.

"It suits you."

Hermione looked up quickly. Draco Malfoy stood on the other side of the hallway, leaning casually against a wall, looking at her with amused eyes.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at," Hermione demanded, though kept her voice low.

Draco raised a perfectly sculpted brow.

"You don't like it?"

"It's beautiful, but why are you giving me gifts? You don't even like me."

"That's debatable," he said, studying her carefully. "When you're not busy being a bossy know-it-all, your company is almost... enjoyable. And as for the gift, I thought it would suit you. I care not if you wear it, but I thought it would look stunning with those silver robes you have for the Ball," he said, and then disappeared around the corner with Hermione staring after him looking confused.

"But... my robes are blue," she said softly.

By the end of the day, Hermione had managed to put the incident with Malfoy out of her mind as she participated in a snowball fight with Harry, Ron, and Ginny. It was the happiest she had seen Harry in a long while, and enough to keep her own thoughts light as she got hit again and again with snow. Finally she and Ginny collapsed against each other, wiping tears of laughter from their eyes as they held up their hands in defeat.

"We give up, you win, you win!" Ginny cried as a fresh wad of snow pelted her in the stomach.

Harry and Ron ambled over, both grinning broadly, and collapsed next to them.

" Can't take it, can you?" Harry teased and Ginny elbowed him good-naturedly.

"Oh, shut up you. I'm soaked through and through."

Hermione nodded in agreement and got up slowly.

"We should probably go get changed before we come down with something," she said sensibly.

"Yes, mum," said Ron, but grinned to show that he was joking.

She rolled her eyes at him, and he hit her square in the shoulder with a well-aimed snowball.

"Ron!" she shrieked and dove at him, laughing and shoving snow down his collar.

Harry laughed, and Ginny raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't think you get off so lightly," she said reaching for some snow, but he jumped her, pinning her down.

Laughing and shrieking, an all out snow war ensued.

Up in the castle a pair of steely eyes watched the scene below with sneering disinterest. Draco couldn't imagine taking part in something so childish, not to mention pointless and cold. He stepped back from the window, ready to walk away, but he felt his eyes pulled to Hermione. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, her eyes sparkling, hair tangled in snow, and she was laughing as she pushed Harry off of her. Draco took a step towards the window again, and a thought sprang unbidden to his mind. For a minute he actually wished he were down there, rolling in the snow with a laughing Hermione. He shook his head and turned abruptly. What the hell was that, he asked himself, giving himself a mental shake. He needed to get away from all this Christmas good cheer. He headed down the hall with one thought in mind; he needed a good long shower.

~~~

Hermione climbed up the stairs, a slight smile playing on her lips as her thoughts were still down in the snow with Harry, Ron and Ginny. She headed towards the prefects bathroom, badly in need of a nice hot shower to unfreeze her toes and wash the tangles out of her hair.

"Squeaky clean," she muttered as she reached the door, and it creaked open. She stepped into the white tiled room with a sigh of content and headed towards the back of the room, past the huge bathtub, to where the showers were located. She paused before entering the shower room to grab a fluffy white towel and strip off her wet outer clothing, boots and socks. Humming, with towel over her shoulder she stepped barefoot into the room, unbuttoning her blouse as she went, blissfully anticipating her warm shower.

~~~

Draco had headed straight to the prefect's bathroom to drown his disconcerting thoughts in a rush of cold water. Now, reaching for a towel, his head was wonderfully clear again. He stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around him and thudded into something soft. He cursed as he lost his balance and fell heavily on top of whoever had been standing in front of him.

"Oof," exclaimed whoever was under him.

Moaning he rolled over onto the tiled floor and opened his eyes slowly. Lying next to him was a grumbling Hermione, blouse half undone so that a tiny bit of pink bra was showing, skirt soaking through on the wet ground, and bare feet digging painfully into his ribs.

"Fancy meeting you here, Granger," he said, gasping a little as he recovered from having the wind knocked out of him.

Hermione stared at him, a hot blush creeping up her cheeks as she looked determinedly at his face and no where else. Glancing down, Draco saw that his towel was lying next to him, having come off in the fall, and he was completely naked. He laughed, a deep throaty sound, as he marveled at the irony of it. Here he was, naked in a room full of showers, with a partly undressed girl, and that girl would have to be Hermione Granger, who would not so much as look at him, never mind... well. This just wouldn't do.

"What's wrong, Granger," he asked her. "Afraid you might like what you see?"

If possible, she blushed even deeper. Standing up she grabbed her own towel and draped it over the bottom part of his body.

"I don't think that's possible," she said, though her voice sounded oddly strained.

Grinning, he stood up, tucking in the towel around him and leaning against a stall. Hermione had her back to him.

"If you don't mind, I'm trying to take a shower here," she informed him.

"I don't mind in the least. Go ahead, take your time," he replied, making no move to leave.

He moved closer to her, and suddenly she turned around, sighing. They were so close they were almost touching, and she opened her mouth to say something but before she could get anything out he put an arm around her waist, pulling her into him. She looked up at him with eyes that were frightened, and seemed to be desperately trying to get a hold of herself.

"Do I frighten you, Granger?"

She nodded and he smiled.

"Good. I should," he began, but before he could finish Hermione had snaked an arm up around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

~~~

Hermione felt Draco's touch in every single tingling nerve of her body. It scared her to be so intimately close to his naked body, but it scared her even more how she much she longed to touch him, to hold him, to kiss him. He had the upper hand here, and she knew it. She had to gain control of the situation, and of her emotions fast. He was saying something; she wasn't quite sure what as her senses didn't seem to be working properly. Something about being frightened... he was right. She was frightened, of him and of how weak his touch was making her. There was only one thing for it. If she was going to be dizzy with desire then so was he. Summoning all of her courage, she put a hand up around his neck and hauled him down to her, meeting his lips with all the passion and fire she could muster. He responded immediately. His arms went around her waist as she tangled hers around his neck. Pressed firmly against one of the stalls she could feel his hardness through her skirt, causing her to shudder with need. The towel had once more fallen away, but she scarcely noticed as Draco's hand moved over the smooth skin of her stomach and hers slid down over his finely muscled chest. Slowly the door to the stall slid open, and they stumbled through, knocking into the water valve as they did and causing a cascade of water to wash over them. She gasped at how cold it was, and Draco reached a hand behind her to fumble with the valves until the water became a little warmer. Hermione's mind had shut off to everything except the feel of his body against hers, and the rush of water around them. Her clothes clung to her, soaking wet, as Draco fumbled with her buttons, determined to free her of the dripping blouse. He trailed his lips along her neck as his experienced hands freed her from the offending garment so that she stood against him in just her bra and clinging skirt. Taking his head in her hands she brought his lips back up to hers. She was shaking, though from what she couldn't be sure. Need, want, fright, any of those seemed to fit the situation perfectly. She needed to stop, but she couldn't will her body to respond to her thoughts. In fact, she couldn't will her body to do anything right then, it seemed to have a mind of its own. It certainly wasn't her telling it to run her hands lower and lower over his body, or telling her tongue to dance with his. STOP, her mind screamed, and finally, as if she had finally broken through some barrier that had been barring her thoughts from her actions, she put her hands firmly against his chest and pushed him away.

"Stop," she said shakily. "We have to stop," she said a bit more firmly.

She looked into his eyes and shivered at what she saw there. Hunger, want, and something else that she couldn't quite place. Tearing her eyes away she looked down at herself and seemed to realize for the first time that her blouse was lying on the floor and her skirt was clinging to her, revealing far more then she would have liked. Draco shook his head and reached to turn off the water.

"Well," he said once he had done so, staring at her with eyes that were once more carefully concealed.

He had recovered himself quickly, and she forced herself to try and do the same, though her mind was still reeling and her body was now aching to touch him again.

"We shouldn't have done that, shouldn't have gone so far," she muttered, clutching her blouse to her, trying to cover herself up as much as possible.

He tossed her a towel, and she thankfully wrapped it around herself.

"Your full of surprises, Granger," he said, shaking his head at her. "Maybe I'm rubbing off on you."

She glared at him.

"I highly doubt that. A lack of self control on my part," she said, forcing her voice to become as cold as it usually was when she was insulting him, though she was positive she could hear the quaver in it. "It won't happen again."

He shrugged indifferently at her.

"We'll see. See you around, Granger," he said, turning on his heel and wrapping a towel around his waist as he went, leaving a shivering, utterly confused Hermione in his wake.

~~~

Draco stalked the halls, making his way steadily back to the Slytherin common room as he turned recent events over in his mind. Who would have thought that Granger could be such a wild card? Certainly not him. Still, she was making his job easier and he wasn't complaining. She still didn't trust him, however, that much was certain. The Ball was in a week, and he had until then to make her completely fall for him. Normally he would have scoffed at such an easy task, but Hermione was different from most girls. Smarter, more cautious. Still, it shouldn't be a problem for the Draco Malfoy, player extraordinaire.