Love and Other Misfortunes

Chapter 3

The number of emotions racing through Malfoy as he stood gaping at her were enough to make Hermione's head spin.

It was difficult to think straight with them rushing upon her like an incoming tide. It was also hard to separate her own feelings from his; they tended to bleed into each other and resonate into a feedback loop that grew and grew.

It made her dizzy. She had no idea how Malfoy had hidden the experience for years while working with her.

It hadn't been her first choice to create a temporary bond, in fact it had been very, very far down the list possibly emergency measures. She'd hoped they'd just be able to talk, but he was too far gone. She'd needed to shout in order for him to hear her, and she could tell by the way his eyes lost track of her that he could barely see.

She hadn't expected the experience to be quite so—overwhelming, both physically and emotionally.

It had felt like a supernova in her brain when their lips had touched and the sensation spread through her body like fiendfyre. Then, before the shock had worn off, his emotions had hit her like a ton of bricks. She could feel the desire roaring through him, a simply shocking level of affection and, even in the midst of their kiss, his endless worry that he might hurt her.

When he had started kissing along her neck and letting his hands roam up her body, Hermione was just barely coherent enough to realized that if she did not stop them they would mate, right there on the floor beside his bed.

Pulling away from someone had never felt painful before. It felt like a part of herself were tearing open as she pushed Draco away.

His eyes were black with desire as he'd stared at her, his chest heaving as he shuddered to breathe. Feeling the way he was burning with want made her worry that he'd drag her back into his arms. But almost as quickly as the thought occurred it was snuffed out as she felt Draco sense it, and she felt how it devastated him.

He wanted to die. It was a wave of depression and resignation magnified by his torment over their kiss. She felt like she was being swallowed by it. Fighting to think clearly was felt like wading through a bog.

She—she needed to redirect his focus—before they were both completely consumed by his emotions.

"I'm sorry, Malfoy, it was the only thing I could do to bring you back."

She funneled her focus in onto herself, trying to untangle her thoughts and feelings from his.

She squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to breathe. She needed to see which symptoms the temporary bond had relieved. The mental fog slowly cleared as she focused on the agenda she'd made before entering his room earlier that evening.

She cast a diagnostic spell and was relieved to see his fever was gone. He'd been burning at a temperature that most wizards couldn't survive. His hearing and senses seemed restored. He was still looking dazed and she wondered if he even realized that he was physically feeling better.

"Can you see now?" she asked, trying to draw his attention away the absolute maelstrom of emotions she would never have imagined him capable of possessing.

"What?" he asked, his eyes wide and startled. He glanced around the room wildly and then turned back to her with an expression of horror.

"What did you do?"

"Well..." She could feel him throwing up defensive walls around himself as she explained.

As he stood up she could feel how he braced himself to push her away.

"There's nothing for us to talk about, Granger. This doesn't change anything. I told you already that I find you vile and loathsome. Taking advantage of me in a weakened state in order to fulfill your hero complex doesn't change anything. Get. Out. Of. My. House."