PRECEDENT : Draco Malfoy II

46

I'm in the library when I see Draco. It's been a few weeks since school started, and we haven't been able to spend any time together. This is the first time I've caught his eye. Not in the Great Hall, nor the boathouse, nor any of the classes we share. He walks up to my table and throws a book down in front of me. My entire body jolts. I look up at him, at his scowling face looking down at me.

Hermione sits across from me. Her eyes drift from me to Draco, "hello, Malfoy."

"I know you're so eager for attention, what with your little boyfriend's new interest, but lay off," he snaps.

Hermione's face beats red, "excuse-"

"Here's your book, Turner," Malfoy speaks so harshly he nearly froths at the mouth. "Next time I want something, don't make me take it. I'm afraid you won't like it."

He storms off from the table, nearly sprinting out of the library.

Hermione looks at me, and I shake my head, "alchemy."

It's the only class which Draco and I share that she isn't in. I barely scrapped my teeth into the potions class, but I decided not to take it. If I've learned anything from Defense Against the Dark Arts, I should stick to what I'm good at doing. I know my place. Hermione does too. It's above mine, I suppose, but not by much. She doesn't seem to realize it.

No one does. Professor Dumbledore said a war is coming but no one acts like it. Hermione sulks about, pretending Ron's new girlfriend isn't pissing her off all the time. People still care about Quidditch and the house cup. For all her smarts, Hermione doesn't know when to stop. I suppose people like her don't need to end it. Maybe she is so daft, so Gryffindor, that she thinks she alone could end the war.

I know I can't. I still haven't told Professor Dumbledore yes. While I don't think he's wrong about me, I know enough about muggle wars. Not one person wins them. A side may win, but the costs are so great. Already, I feel carved away.

"You shouldn't let him talk to you like that," Hermione glances over me.

"All he wants is a fight," I roll my eyes, mostly because Draco isn't talking to me like that. Malfoy is. His line, his family.

Hermione shrugs, "then fight him. You're clever enough to beat him."

I pull up the book to hide my smile. She's right. I did win, in a way. He conquered me too. There is something spectacular in the way we both lay claim to each other.

Within the book, there is a note, written by Draco. You'd mistake it for a bookmark, a note for the book.

Alchemically, water offers the best results for transformation in the middle of the night.

It's incorrect. Hermione wouldn't know, I doubt, if she glanced it. No one would catch it. Water is most potent in front of a full moon, as large as can be. In the day when it isn't visible, especially when there are storm clouds, water alchemically changes easily.

"You have no problem telling Nott off," Hermione points out.

I snap the book shut, "Malfoy just wants a fight. Nott wants to sexually violate me in front of all his friends. Bit of a difference."

She was there. I remember it. She said nothing too. Ron did and she pulled him away.

"Theodore Nott has a big mouth and not much else," Hermione retorts, and I'm not sure if she's talking about his dick or his aptitude for fighting. "Harry seems to think Malfoy is genuinely dangerous."