Stolen magic

The dinner

After two days spent in her room, avoiding the owner of the manor, Hermione decided to take a walk in the gardens. It was at the end of the July. Flowers and colours everywhere. She enjoyed walking barefoot on a soft grass. There was a beautiful lake far from the house. She sat down on the bench and listened to the birds singing. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend, that she was somewhere on the beautiful countryside. Her family had a small cottage in Scotland. She loved spending summer holidays there. It was so calm and peaceful.

The sun felt like a medicine to her skin. After those almost three days spent only inside of the cold walls of the manor, she desperately needed to recharge her energy from the nature. She let the light breeze to play with her loose hair and caress her face. Her muscles relaxed and the idyllic atmosphere brought a smile to her face.

She could smell the beautiful scent of pines and grass and birches and...smoke?
She snapped her eyes open only to realise, that she wasn't alone anymore. Malfoy stood a few meters away from her. He was leaning against the tree and smoked a cigarette. She frowned when he blew another puff of smoke in her direction. He had a challenging look on his face.

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes again. "Why do you have to ruin everything, Malfoy?"

She could almost feel the grin on his face. "I just wanted to warn you, that the dinner with the Dark Lord and his closest is held today in the manor."

"And?" She asked with her eyes still closed.

"Like I said before, you should just stay in your room during that time."

"You could have just sent the message via Tinky. You didn't have to bother me with your presence." She ignored his warning and swinged her legs like a child.

"But then I would miss the opportunity to annoy you, Granger." She felt his minty breath on her skin. He must stood very close. Too close. She quickly opened her eyes and met his gaze. His face was only inches from hers. She could feel the smell of mint, smoke and bergamot.

The wizard was watching her face with interest. She was wondering what was he thinking about. She couldn't avert her gaze from his eyes. He had the most gorgeous grey eyes she'd ever seen. The colour was so unusual. She'd met only exactly two people with grey eyes in person before. Draco and his father. In the summer sun his eyes looked like a two silver quartz. She was lost in them.

Back in school she never realised, how stunning Malfoy was. He had a sharp features, thick platinum hair and pale skin, but in a healthy way. His teeth were straight and bright like pearls. The white shirt allowed her to see his muscular arms and torso. He had long fingers and groomed nails. His scent was intoxicating. How could he smell so good? His only imperfection seemed to be the dark circles under his glowing eyes. It made him look more...real.

"Like what you see, Granger?"

She jumped at the sound of his deep voice. She flushed a little. "I was just wondering about your soft spots, so I could take advantage of them." she dusted her clothes and twisted on the bench.

"What if I don't have any?" He grinned and showed his shiny teeth.

Hermione shrugged. "Everybody has their weaknesses. You just have to figure them out."

"Really? What is your main weakness, Granger?" he growled in her face.

She leaned against the bench, "I have a good heart. That could be considered as a weakness during the war."

Malfoy straightened his back and walked around the bench. She didn't know what he was doing, until she felt his hot breath on her ear. His hand rested on her shoulder. "I can help you with that, if you want." She shivered when Malfoy whispered in her ear. "I can teach you how to be cruel, Granger. How to kill someone without any remorse. I can show you how to get rid of your weakness. You could become a Death Eater as well, even without your magic. I can show you the way."