Hermione had lost hope.
Because even though she was not interested in attending another Quidditch match, the Slytherins basically forced her to attend the Slytherin vs Ravenclaw match.
So here she was, sitting next to Pansy, Daphne, Theo and Neville, who decided to tag along with Theo.
Harry and Ron were also there, but they were sat in the opposite side —the Ravenclaw cheering stands, they were merely taunting the Slytherins, but Hermione knew that secretly, they were cheering for the Slytherins to win.
Pansy and Harry were locked in a glaring contest, although, Pansy was doing most of the glaring.
Hermione was sat in her usual corner, a book in her hands, but this time, unlike Draco who sat next to her in the last match, Daphne was the one who was next to her and the one who inquired about the muggle book Hermione was reading.
"Where is Ginny?" Hermione asked when she noticed the absence of the girl in both of the Slytherin stands and the Ravenclaw stands.
Pansy smirked at that, "Locker room, wishing Blaise good luck."
Hermione hummed and returned back to her book, thinking nothing of the couple —if they could be called that— that were in the locker room.
***
Blaise trapped Ginny, with his hands on both sides of her face on the wall. Ginny smirked, extending her hands to wrap around his neck and pull him impossibly close.
"Here to wish me luck, Ginevra?" Blaise asked as he lowered his face to her neck.
Ginny tilted her face, giving him enough access to her neck, her lips were still in her iconic smirk, "As long as we get to do this, I will wish you luck for every game until the end of the school year."
Blaise shook his head chuckling before finally trailing his mouth along her neck, leaving behind a trail of bites and kisses, his lips trailed from her neck to her jaw, emitting the sweetest of sounds from her.
Once at her jaw, Blaise trailed upward until his mouth was right beside her earlobe, he exhaled slowly, relishing when he saw the goosebumps form on her skin, then he whispered, "Feeling hot, Ginny?"
Ginny rolled her eyes, "Stop talking and get to work, Blissy."
Blaise tilted his head and pulled back to look at her, eyebrows pulled together slightly and his lips in his famous smirk. Ginny also tilted her head, looking at him with narrowed eyes before a smirk formed on her face.
Her hands that were wrapped around his neck came up to the back of his head and she pulled him close, relishing when she could feel his breath on her face, knowing fully well that he can feel hers on his face.
Ginny bit the side of her lips as she studied his lips then she looked up at his eyes, which were glowing with a dangerous glint.
His eyes were focused on her lips too, studying the way she bit them, before they also drifted to her eyes, connecting chocolate brown with bright brown.
The second their eyes met, both darkened, and Ginny didn't waste any time in pulling Blaise closer, connecting his lips with hers.
Their lips connected passionately, soft at first but hard and fast seconds later.
Blaise's hands dropped to her waist, roaming her body for a while before they stayed on her hips and pulled her possessively towards him, gluing their bodies together.
Ginny bit his lips, in an attempt to get him to grant her access, and he did. Blaise parted his lips ever so slightly and Ginny took it as permission to invade his mouth with her tongue as he did the same.
Their tongues moved in matched patterns and in unmatched speed, both yearning to study and memorize each and every little detail of each other.
Blaise tilted his head as a sign for her to jump and Ginny wasted no time in doing so, her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck, her hands extending to his head.
Blaise's lips left hers and she furrowed her eyebrows before his lips connected with her neck.
Ginny's head hit the wall behind her as she dropped it back and Blaise swore that the sound that emitted from her was the best sound he had ever heard.
His hands found their way to the him of her skirt and were about to fly south, but he was interrupted with a cough from behind.
"Woah there, I am not interested in watching a full on shagging session right before the match."
Blaise rolled his eyes as he recognized his blond friend's voice and he flipped him off.
"Classic, Blaise, but predictable."
Ginny huffed and Blaise adjusted her white blouse, going even as far as smoothing her hair while she glared at his blond friend before dropping her back on her feet carefully.
Blaise turned around and came face to face with his friend, feeling bitterness as he spoke, "I could hex you to oblivion if I could right now, but we need our seeker to win."
Draco smirked, "I would love to see you try."
"Well, since someone interrupted my fun—" Ginny began but was interrupted by Blaise.
"Our fun."
"Yes, that, anyways, since someone so politely interrupted our fun, I'll make my way out." Ginny said, glaring pointedly at a smirking Draco as she did so.
Just as she was about to walk away, Blaise grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him, ignoring the groan that undoubtedly came from his friend as he connected his lips with his lover's.
The kiss was sweet, short and his favorite kind of kiss, and he knew Ginny loved it more than she let on.
He pulled back to stare at her eyes, "Now that, was my good luck kiss."
Ginny smiled at him, "I think you got more than that today."
She turned around and walked back to the door, smiling sarcastically at Draco as her eyes met his.
"Good luck boys! Make us proud!" She called just before she exited the locker room.
Blaise then turned his attention to Draco, "So?"
Draco shrugged and leaned against the wall, "So?"
Blaise rolled his eyes, "You just ruined one good making out session."
"Looked more than that to me." Draco smirked and Blaise glared at him before rolling his eyes.
Blaise turned around and grabbed his broom, before a smirk spread across his face, "So, what is between you and Granger?"
"What is between me and Granger?" Draco feigned nonchalance.
Blaise turned to face him sharply, "You know what I mean, she has you hooked! You follow her around like a lost puppy!"
Draco glared at him and rolled his eyes, "You do know that we are bound together?! I am not burning my own flesh because of some old teenage drama."
Blaise raised a brow, "You are telling me you don't have any, and I mean any, feelings for Granger?"
Draco shook his head, grabbing a water bottle from a cabinet.
He doesn't have feelings for her...he can't have feelings for her.
They would never accept him and most importantly, she would never accept him. He is the bad guy in this story, he is the death eater, the disappointment, the fallen Slytherin prince.
What good can come from him liking the Gryffindor princess?
Nothing, exactly. He can't even begin to think of people's reactions if something ever happened between them.
The world would turn upside down and he would be the reason for this change of normalcy.
But damn it, he can't lie to himself, he has feelings for Hermione and it is growing out of hand and he feels like throwing himself in the midst of a hurricane to avoid all of those unnecessary feelings.
But even if he thinks it is inconvenient to have feelings for her, he still feels his best around her, he feels like someone worth being around, and her Gryffindor persistence and her whole exquisitely echanting presence is something he can't fathom losing.
He is falling deep and he can't figure the beginning from the end.
"But you did beat those Hufflepuffs for hexing her." Blaise crossed his arms.
Draco huffed, "Yes, and so did Pansy."
Blaise narrowed his eyes, "You are a terrible liar."
"Can we stop talking about Granger for a while and head to the match now? I came here to get you in the first place."
Blaise shrugged, "If that is what you want to do."
Blaise fixed him with a look, "But I'll get you to admit it, and when I do and you don't know what you are supposed to do, you can always count on me."
Blaise walked the few feet between them and put a hand on Draco's shoulder, "Until then, you should really come face to face with the facts and accept them yourself."
And then he walked off.
***
The Slytherins won, even after Ravenclaw's strong attempts to win. And since they won, that meant that there will be a party in the common room.
So now, the Slytherin team stood at the foot of the cheering stands, all drinking water and laughing with each other, ignoring the glares that they received from the Ravenclaw team —understandable though— and the glares coming from the Hufflepuffs.
Blaise looked pointedly at Draco when he caught him looking at Hermione who was making her way down the stands with the rest of their friends.
Their. That would never get old.
"Congratulations guys!" Ginny exclaimed, looking mostly at Blaise and ignoring her brother's glare.
Even though Harry and Ron made a whole show of cheering for the Ravenclaws, they admitted that they wanted the Slytherins to win, Ron took more persuasion to admit than Harry did though.
Predictable.
Pansy stood next to Harry, leaning her head on his shoulder as Harry's cheeks turned crimson. Pansy seemed to be enjoying the sight.
Daphne and Ron stood next to each other, both talking about something passionately and smiling.
Hermione stood next to Neville who was watching as Theo congratulated his friends' win.
"Well! Since we have a party, everyone needs to get ready." Ginny clapped her hands once.
Blaise scrunched his face, "Why get ready?"
Ginny looked at him as if he suddenly grew two more heads, "No offense, but you smell, and so does the rest of the team. We are having a party, not a sweat mixing session."
Blaise rolled his eyes.
A lot of nods and mumbles were offered before everyone started going their own ways. Draco walked to Hermione's side who was just hugging Neville.
Draco started at Neville's back as he walked with Theo back to the school, a feeling of envy, bitterness...and is that jealousy he senses?!
He mentally rolled his eyes and slapped himself a few times. He needs to get a hold of his feelings.
"Hey."
He looked back at Hermione and was met by a small smile and kind eyes.
Her kindness will slowly kill him.
"Hi."
Hermione smiled and walked a few steps in front of him, towards the courtyard.
After a while, it dawned on Draco that he was supposed to follow her, so he did.
You follow her around like a lost puppy!
Salazar Slytherin, Blaise was proving to be right.
"Congratulations for the win, you guys were good up there, not that I understood anything of what you all did." Hermione turned and looked at him as she leaned against a tree, sliding down soon after.
Draco merely thanked her and slid down beside her, his back on the tree and his hands intertwined together, his elbows on his knees.
"The Ravenclaw seeker was by all means awful, didn't stand a chance against me." He shrugged.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Your ego is as big as your head."
Draco smirked, trying to bite off the reply but he simply couldn't help himself, "I could think of bigger thi—"
Hermione's eyes widened and she placed a finger on his lips, shushing him, "Don't you dare finish that sentence."
Draco grinned but it fell short as he noticed how close their faces were.
If she was just a little bit closer, he could have felt her breath on his face.
Hermione's brown eyes appeared lighter with the sunlight reflecting upon them, giving them an exquisite glint that Draco decided he liked.
Her curls were flying around her face due to the strong wind surrounding them, and Draco admired the way her locks moved with ease and with determined movements, he yearned to extend a hand and wrap his finger around one of her curls.
Her mouth was in a firm line and her eyes were narrowed and glaring at him, though, he was more focused on her lips, her lips which he yearned to feel and memorize an—
Woah, where has that come from?!
Hermione didn't seem to notice at first, seeing that her finger remained on his lips, but when his eyes met hers again, he was surprised to find them focused on something...
Hermione swallowed visibly the second she noticed how close she was to him, her mind was reeling with thoughts and feelings...most of all, that weird feeling of fluttering that she felt when her eyes dropped to his lips.
Hermione snatched her finger back faster than lightening and turned around to sit back in her place, her back to the tree.
"So, are you ever going to tell me what happened with your dad?" Hermione asked as a means to stop the feeling of tension that was encompassing them, but what that question did was the complete opposite.
"No, what matters is that it was an awful visit and probably won't happen again." Draco answered and Hermione hummed.
"Did you receive that letter from professor McGonagall? The one about the chasse aux partenaires?" Hermione asked shortly after.
Draco nodded, "Yeah, did you?"
Hermione nodded and got it out of her robes.
Draco squinted his eyes, "You have it with you at all times?"
Hermione shook her head, "No, but I wanted to see if we all had the same letter."
"Do you?"
Hermione extended her hand to him, "See for yourself."
Draco grabbed the letter from her hand, brushing her fingers with his accidentally, which led to his heart fluttering as an electric current shot through his hand and arm, creating a feelings that he always felt when their hands accidentally brushed, when their legs accidentally pumped together and when they were close enough to feel each other's warmness.
Once the letter was in his hands, Draco opened it and read it quickly, remembering his own letter as he did so.
Draco nodded as he handed her the letter back, "Yeah, same letter."
Hermione nodded and took it back from his hands, folding it and putting it in her robes once more.
They both sat in silence for a while, both not knowing how to end this awkwardness that encompassed them out of nowhere.
Hermione finally mustered the courage to talk.
"I am going to talk to professor Alvaro."
Draco's head snapped towards her, "What?"
"I am going to confront him. I know for sure he was the one who encouraged those Hufflepuffs to turn on you guys, he is a Hufflepuff after all and meeting them wouldn't have been a problem. I also saw him talking to them a lot of time in between classes and sometimes, in dark hallways and always in whispers." Hermione stated.
Draco shook his head, "I don't think you should do that, I don't trust—"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "It is not your choice, I was merely telling you my plans."
Draco narrowed his eyes as well, "Well, I don't agree with your "plans" if you hadn't guessed already."
"Why?"
He shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to seem caring or anything —though he definitely cared about her— but he couldn't admit that he didn't want her to confront the professor because he didn't trust him...so he chose an alternative.
"Okay then."
"Okay what?" She asked.
"Okay, you can go ahead with your plans, but—" Hermione narrowed her eyes at that, "—I'll join you, whether you like it or not."
Hermione huffed, "You can't do that. He will be suspicious."
"And he won't be suspicious of you? You hang out with me and the others almost every second of the day." He crossed his arms.
Hermione narrowed her eyes even more then huffed before muttering a "Fine."
Draco smirked and —purely on instinct— reached out and squeezed her hand before standing up and dusting his Quidditch robes.
He acted as if he didn't feel her hand shivering. He acted as if he didn't see the blush blossoming from her neck to her hairline. He acted as if he didn't feel the goosebumps that formed on her hand when his hand touched hers. He acted as if he saw nothing out of normal.
But he did. He saw all of those signs and what they did to him was indescribable. Because it proved to him that he wasn't the only who had those same reactions, the only one who felt as if heavens descended on him and embraced him in it's warm aura, the only one who felt as if he was falling and he was standing and he was flying and he didn't know what was happening.
It proved to him that he wasn't the only one who felt those things for her.
And when he touched her hand again to help her stand up, those feelings only intensified as he felt his reactions in her.
***
Hermione was stood at the side, a cup that someone gave her was in her hand.
The voices were loud and the music wasn't making it any better, especially with the green lights that the Slytherins charmed to float around the common room.
Hermione admired the beautiful dress that Pansy gave —no, forced— her to wear. The dress hung low on her thighs, with thin straps holding it up. The green lights floated around her, giving her black dress a green hue that she surprisingly didn't mind.
She took a few sips from her drink and walked to her friends who were sitting on the couches.
Though, the second she went there, she regretted going at all.
Pansy and Harry were on the couch, Pansy almost on Harry's lap as they shoved their tongues in each other's mouths.
Hermione gagged, the sight of Harry —who was like a brother to her— snogging anyone was not something she wanted to see.
Pansy pulled away from Harry to look at Hermione, "Why, Hermione, are you not using your title as the golden girl and your fabulous hips to persuade some people in? They would agree with no thoughts nor regrets." she winked before going back to kissing Harry.
Hermione didn't even get the chance to respond as her cheeks heated up. She averted her eyes and came face to face with Draco, whose eyes were set on her, his lower lip pulled tight between his teeth.
Hermione swallowed and moved so she could stand by him, her hands crossing over her chest.
They didn't say anything, but Hermione could still feel Draco's eyes piercing through her.
She leaned her head on his shoulder, just out of habit, and he rested his cheek on top of her head.
Again, just out of habit, nothing else.
Harry and Pansy kept snogging for a few more minutes and Hermione felt like vomiting, though, she didn't know if it was the sight of them or the alcohol in her system.
Hermione's eyes fluttered open and in a second, she found her elbows in Draco's hands, holding her upright.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he scanned her up and down.
Hermione struggled to nod her head, sweat forming on her brows and coils tugging at her chest. She felt awful.
"Wow, Granger, I didn't know the sight of us was that repulsing." Pansy said sardonically.
Hermione shook her head, struggling to talk.
Draco took one glance at the cup that was surprisingly on the floor —Hermione assumed it fell from her hands when she got dizzy— and then he pulled Hermione upright, before snaking an arm around her back and another behind her knees.
In seconds she was in his arms.
"I don't think this is caused from the revolting sight of you making out with Potter, Pansy." Draco said as he made his way to the stairs and started to make his way up.
***
He carefully sat her down on her bed before sitting down next to her and putting his hand on her forehead.
He furrowed his eyebrows, "You are warm."
She smiled slightly, ignoring the tingling in her stomach from his touch, "I had fire whiskey."
He hummed, "That is what I am worried about."
Hermione's nausea suddenly came back in stronger waves than previously, her head spinning.
Hermione suddenly stood up and dashed towards the bathroom, Draco hot on her heels.
She barely made it to the toilet's seat when her stomach's contents flew in a waterfall down the toilet.
Hermione's eyes teared from the ordeal, and her head that was coated with slight sweat was now drenched in it. Her face grew hotter and her head grew lighter.
Her hair was somehow pulled away from her face —Draco, she guessed later on— and she was able to free her stomach from any contents that turned it upside down.
A handkerchief was suddenly on her face, wiping away the sweat as an uncharacteristically soft voice spoke from behind.
"Hey, you are okay now."
She inhaled slowly then stopped vomiting before exhaling slowly.
"Good girl."
She suddenly felt herself being lifted off the floor, and in no time, Draco was tucking her in her bed.
He wiped her face again and smoothed down her hair before conjuring a cup of water and a mint.
"Here, take this and then you can sleep."
She nodded and he helped her lift her head slowly to help accommodate her in drinking.
After she drank the water and took the mint, Draco settled her back in bed.
He was about to turn away and leave when he remembered her night terrors, and he knew that she wasn't feeling good and waking up in the middle of the night shaking would certainly not help. It was happening quite often and Draco still didn't know how to help her, so for now, he was sticking to blaming himself for those nightmares.
But this time, he will do something.
He sharply turned around and went to his side of the room before rummaging in one of his cabinets.
He found the dreamless sleep potion in seconds and then he turned around and walked back to Hermione's bed
"Here, take this. It will help." He said as he helped her sit up a little on the bed.
Once she drank the potion, Draco tucked her for what seemed like the hundredth time in bed.
Hermione was asleep in seconds.
Draco turned and got ready to go back to the party.
But this feeling —this indescribable feeling— pulled him back to her, and he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone in the dorm room.
Even though he knew that she would be okay, even though he knew that she won't have nightmares, Draco stayed with her that night.
He simply sat down on the floor next to her bed and leaned his head on the side of her bed, one of his knees bent and the other leg stretched before him. He brought one hand to rest on his bent knee while his other hand rested on the bed.
Without a second thought, Draco intertwined Hermione's hand and his together, relishing in the feeling of electricity that traveled up his arm.
His chest was doing flips and his mind was doing the splits and he wanted to scream because the feeling that he felt when her touch met his touch was euphoric, dangerous and exquisitely lethal, but he couldn't.
He knew no good would come from what he was feeling, but there was no stopping his feelings, no stopping his thought process nor his desires.
He wasn't able to just shut down his mind and stop caring about her, because what he felt towards her was not something he wanted to risk. He adored what he felt between them, he adored it and he adored her.
He just didn't know what to do about this desire, this need, this dangerous and so beautiful feeling.
But at least he knew what he wanted. At least he admitted it to himself, this time, not regretting what he felt towards this beautiful witch that he so longed to call his.
He wanted her, and he didn't know what to do about it.
***
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Chapter 18 will be up next Saturday!