Hermione and Draco, a Forbidden Fantasy (Dramione) - Completed

Working Together

“Didn’t you see the sign?” She folded her arms over her chest.

“I took a look but there was no one in here. So, uh, here I am.” Draco smiled smugly and watched her expression change.

“All because you wanted a bath?”

“What can I say? It’s pretty snazzy in here.” He stepped forward and stopped when he was standing by the edge of the bath, one metre in front of Hermione.

“So why were you skulking in a corner, fully clothes, rather than in the water…more appropriately dressed for that type of activity?” This time it was Hermione’s time to grin as she poked a hole in his story.

Draco tried to think of something fast, something witty, but all he could muster was anger, something that he was good at. “You think you’re so smart don’t you Granger? I suppose you are for a mudblood.” There was that pang again, he hadn’t meant to say it. It just slipped out.

He watched the charming smile disappear from her face, only to be replaced by another set of cold eyes, like the look she had given him in the Three Broomsticks.

“I’m-” he was about to apologise when she shoved him hard in the chest.

Completely unprepared for it, he took a step back and lost his balance on the edge of the bath. He fell back and Hermione reached out and grabbed his arm.

“…sorry!” He finished his sentence as he descended into the water. Hermione was still holding his arm but was unable to pull him back up; she couldn’t help but come crashing in with him.

They both surfaced, taking deep breaths and floundering until they stood firmly in the chest high water. They both straightened themselves out and recovered from the shock of the unforeseen tumble.

“Sorry! I don’t know what came over me!” Hermione said looking slightly sheepish. Her eyes seemed to watch the bubbles moving about the top of the water, never looking up at him.

“Probably my fault, I, uh, shouldn’t have called you a… well I shouldn’t have said what I did.” He watched her face with curiosity, wondering where her mind was taking her. They stood in silence for a few moments, Draco was feeling more guilt with every second she stayed silent.

“I don’t see why you shouldn’t have. I am what you said, and you haven’t hesitated in saying it to my face in the past.” She looked up at him now, her eyes boring into his with undeniable accusations.

He could see the hurt she felt and he forced himself to hold her gaze, each moment causing him more anguish. Why should he be allowed to forget the hurt he caused? He would stand there and suffer for as long as he needed to. He knew that he deserved nothing more from her but hatred, and it made him ache to know it.

“You can't control who and what you were born.” He said in response, “I won’t call you one again.”

Hermione’s eyes softened and she tilted her eyes to the side so perceptively. He had never seen someone look at him like that; he didn’t know what to think.

“Well, now what? Both of us have clearly drenched our clothing and you can't apparate into common rooms. Will it be dripping your way through the castle or the alternative?” She smiled gently.

For a moment he merely looked at her. She didn’t yell, she didn’t throw snide comments at him, and apart from the shove she didn’t inflict any physical abuse. Instead she treated him in a way that was foreign to him, she moved on from their dispute and was back to being, kind?

“The alternative would be …?” He asked.

“Well to put it politely; it would be you carrying your clothes through the castle.” She had a gleam of cheek in her tone and Draco allowed himself to smile.

She looked down at his wet clothes and then back up at his face. Her expression had changed but Draco couldn’t quite determine what she was thinking. She took a slow step towards him and reached out her hand to clasp his jacket zipper. She tugged lightly and pulled it to the bottom. Once it was undone she looked up at his face and pulled it over his shoulders and tossed it to the tiles outside the bath. Draco didn’t move, nor did he know how to move as she unbuttoned his shirt and did the same with it as she had done with his jacket. He stood shirtless in front of her without any idea how to react and no clue as to what she was doing next. Again she looked up and into his eyes as she placed the palms of her hands on his chest. He flinched slightly at her touch but she didn’t remove them. Tenderly she slid them up and onto his shoulders, down his arms and then back to his chest. From there she ran her hands over his stomach and across onto his sides just as he had done to her the night before.

“Oh! I’m sorry; you’re still in your shoes and belt.” She looked up at him sympathetically but he was far beyond caring about his soaking clothing.

He slowly reached out to put his hands on her sides; it wasn’t until she took a step forward into him that he actually made contact with her skin. She pulled her hands away and lifted her shirt, again tossing it to the tiled floor. She put her hands back onto his sides and there they stood; Draco shirtless and Hermione in her bra. She took another slow step towards him and wrapped her arms around his body. He let himself embrace her; she was so small and fragile in his arms and yet he felt as though he was the one who would break at any moment. She looked up at him with kind eyes and he looked down into hers too afraid to let go but too scared of what he was feeling to stay. He tightened his grip before releasing her and pulling himself away.

He waded to the side of the bath and climbed out.

“Where are you going?” Hermione called out as he was gathering his clothes.

“To my common room.” He didn’t look at her.

“I thought you were happy right here.”

“I have to meet … Pansy.” He strode out of the room as fast as he could and he knew that what he had said would hurt her but it had to be done.

He couldn’t let her think that he was capable of something he wasn’t. He couldn’t let her expect anything from him when he knew that she was worthy of far better than him. His heart sank and he walked towards the dungeons and as desperate as he was to turn back, he continued to take one step forward after the other.