wrong ||| dramione

Year Three || Bruise

- Says someone who was too scared to volunteer! 

Draco's spirits sank. He tried to be angry, but all he could feel was remorse and shame.

- Yeah right. Like anyone would want to ride that.

With these words, the Hippogriff came back, crashing through the trees - and Potter, obviously alive and unharmed on his back.

- Harry! - Hermione cried and Draco felt abandoned - it was almost as if she'd forgotten he existed.

Her reprimand had hit home - and no sooner had Harry's feet touched the ground, Draco was walking - almost running towards the creature.

- You're not dangerous at all, are you? - he shouted, his feet carrying him quickly towards the Hippogriff. - You big ugly-

The Hippogriff suddenly reared up on its hind legs, cutting him off short - Draco stepped away, not fully comprehending what had just happened - someone shouted something, could have been Hagrid - and suddenly the Hippogriff was looming in front of Draco, about to attack-

Draco covered his face instinctively with his elbow and just then a pain went through his arm as he fell down on the grass with a cry. He felt a pang of shame - something like the one as he had felt on that Quidditch match when Potter won and his father had seen him injured.

Hagrid picked him up in his hands as if he didn't weigh anything - and Draco shouted:

- You're gonna regret this! You and your bloody chicken-

- It's just a scratch, - Hagrid said, observing Draco's arm.

- Hagrid, you've still got to take him to the hospital - came Granger's voice. Draco turned around instinctively to look at her, but before he could say anything, Hagrid boomed:

- Right you are, Hermione. And you'll erm.. help me explain what happened?

Granger looked aghast. 

- What do you mean?

- He means, - said Draco sweetly, even though he could only see Hermione upside down now as Hagrid wasn't the best carrier in the world - that you will accompany me to the wing and try to cover this whole thing off. Well, it's not gonna work. Wait till my father -

- Shut UP! - Hermione cried and Draco somehow did, taken aback. - All right, Hagrid, I'll go with you. And you - she pointed her finger right at Malfoy's overturned forehead - will keep quiet the whole time or else.

Draco badly wanted to know what "else" was - but as Hagrid set off with him in his big arms Draco no longer wanted to know. It would indeed be easy to drop him again and he did not want that. He bruised easily.

They walked the whole way back to the castle in silence. Draco was still held uncomfortably with his hands and feet dangling down - and he could see Hermione walking behind them with her brown hair getting into her face because of the wind.

Every time it did, she would raise her hand to her face and brush it away. At one point, she saw Draco staring at her.

- What are you looking at? - she spat out and Draco wanted to reply when Hagrid lifted him up even higher and Hermione was out of his view. Somehow that made Draco even more annoyed than usual and he felt determined to bring Hagrid down as soon as he could.

He was glad when they finally put him down on one of the beds. He listened attentively to the way Hermione made it all sound like it was his fault the Hippogriff attacked him, knowing his father's influence would overrule anything they had to say. Then Hagrid and Hermione turned to leave. Draco looked after Granger - that stocking on her leg he'd noticed previously had now sunk down way beneath the knee and she had stopped to pull it back up.

Madam Pomfrey told him to roll up his sleeve but he stubbornly refused to do so, waiting for someone to attend to him just as he had been used to since he was very small.

- I'll just get the bandages. You better roll up your sleeve, because I won't do it for you.

- No.

- Fine then. Let it stay there till it gets infected.

"Infected". All of a sudden, Draco had a bright idea.

- Oi, Granger!

Hermione didn't turn around at first, and he, desperate not to let her go away, cried again:

- I'm sorry.

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. There was disbelief in her eyes. Hagrid had already gone out the door. Draco made sure he couldn't have heard.

- Can you help me? My arm's barely working.

As if mesmerised, Hermione walked back. Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes and was out of the room - and Draco revelled in the fact that he and Granger were alone.

- What.. what did you say?

- My arm's barely working.

- No, before that.

- I'm sorry, I guess.

Draco smiled. She'd actually believed him. A change had come over her, but she quickly regained her composure.

- Yes. Well. You should be.

- Will you... help me - Draco made a grimace. - I think my arm might be broken.

- It's not broken, you big baby, I saw you fall.

- But it was-

- Oh anything to make you shut up- she suddenly caught him by the hand and in a second had already undone the buttons on the cuff of his shirt, pushing it up too harshly - he cried out in pain that wasn't imaginary this time.

Hermione looked lost for a second, her hand still on Draco's arm.

- I... I'm sorry. - she muttered, loosening the hold of her fingers on Draco's skin.

He looked up at her - it suddenly dawned upon him why he'd wanted her to turn back. He wanted her to touch him - he realised it now her that warm fingers were biting into his white arm. 

Her brown eyes looked almost scared - and she had forgotten to retrieve her hand.

Even though he was feeling strange and almost flushed, Draco smirked.

- Having a tender moment, aren't we, Granger?

She shot up, letting go of his hand, but he had caught her fingers again, as something in his blood realised he hadn't had enough and needed more.

- Oh and by the way, I'm not sorry. Your dear chicken is probably going to be sentenced to death or something like that. My father won't be very pleased.

She tried wringing her hand out of his and though it hurt him, he still held on to her. He only broke his grip when Madam Pomfrey came in again and he bit on his lip as Granger ran out, her hair flying behind her. 

- Oh dear, - Madam Pomfrey said, examining the hand where traces of Hermione's fingers could still be seen. - It really is broken.

But Draco was still staring after where Granger had been, and telling himself it was mere power play that had made his pulse quicken - and that the thrill of lying to her and making her do something for him as if she was a mere servant was the reason he suddenly felt happy and almost content with the turn of events.

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