It was, Hermione had to admit to herself, uncomfortably quiet. Normally she wouldn't have minded reading a book in peace, but right now she just wished Malfoy would break the wall of silence that prevailed in the apartment since he had kicked out Zabini.
Contrary to expectations, Malfoy had remained calm and hadn't raised his voice. Instead, he had just given Zabini an unambiguous look and walked him to the door. The black-haired wizard hadn't opposed him. He probably had known all too well what would have been in store for him in that case. After that, Malfoy had disappeared into the bedroom and hadn't reappeared yet.
Hermione sighed and nervously twisted a curl around her index finger. She wasn't much help, of course. Since the embarrassing situation in the living room and after seeing Malfoy's angry face, she no longer dared to go near him.
Everything in her wanted to follow him into the bedroom and correct what he had just heard, because of course she hadn't told Zabini the absolute truth. Malfoy had been an asshole and was certainly still self-absorbed. But it wasn't true that Hermione still felt this intense dislike for him. There might even have been a slight affection for him over the past few days, which wasn't due to the sex but more to his concern for her.
Yes, she wanted to talk to Malfoy, but for the first time in this bloody week, her big mouth failed her completely. She felt petrified, and the fact that Malfoy was punishing her with silence instead of anger didn't necessarily make things any easier.
Hermione wondered how she would feel if she were in Malfoy's place, and immediately felt guilty. Of course, her situation was strange and not exactly pleasant either, but he had never treated her badly in the last few days. She thought about how he had held her hair when she'd thrown up and how he had cooked for her. Fuck. Had she wronged him?
After pacing the living room a few times, Hermione crept over to the door Malfoy had disappeared behind and put an ear to it. It was quiet and she wondered what she had expected. Malfoy was unlikely to sit on his bed and cry. She shook her head, annoyed with herself, and then boldly tapped the dark wood.
"Malfoy?" she called softly and waited a moment before entering the room. It was a few seconds until she spotted him, then she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, sighing.
Malfoy stood in front of the window and looked out. His back was to her, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his trousers.
"I'm sorry you heard that," she said, wincing when he immediately snorted loudly.
"You can't fool me, Granger." There it was again – her last name, sounding so damn derogatory coming out of his mouth.
Hermione rubbed her forehead and bit her lip nervously. Why hadn't she just kept her mouth shut? What did she care what Zabini thought or said?
Once again she gathered all her courage. "I only said it to satisfy him. He scared me. I... I wanted to get rid of him," she whispered, noting that it must sound like a bad excuse to him. But what else could she tell him? It was the truth that she had told Zabini exactly what he had wanted to hear so that he would leave the apartment as quickly as possible. Little had she known that Malfoy was standing behind her at that moment, listening to every word.
She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I am grateful for your help." That was also the truth. She didn't know what else he expected from her.
The next things happened so quickly that Hermione didn't have time to react. Incredibly agile, Malfoy turned and crossed the room in a few long strides. A second later, Hermione felt herself being pressed against the door. She gasped and looked anxiously at Malfoy's angry face hovering close in front of her own.
"I don't believe a word you say," he growled, and goosebumps ran down Hermione's spine.
By Merlin, since when did she find Draco Malfoy attractive when he was angry? Her gaze lingered on his exposed, flawless, white teeth and she gasped softly.
"It's the truth," she breathed, squirming slightly, but he still had her pinned against the door firmly.
She wished she knew what was going through Malfoy's mind right now. She didn't trust him to really hurt her, but on the other hand she hardly knew him - and he had been a Death Eater long enough. How was she supposed to know what he was going to do next? She flinched when she felt the tip of his wand under her chin.
"If I were you I'd be really careful what I say, Granger." He was still growling and Hermione swallowed hard. "I'd say you've got it pretty good here, considering what your status is. Maybe I was too nice to you. Devil knows what has gotten into me."
Hermione searched desperately for a word that could describe the tone of his voice. When it came to her mind, she went cold. Malfoy actually sounded hurt, although he was trying hard to hide it. She looked into his face again, searching the stormy gray eyes for his true feelings, but all she could see clearly at the moment was the same confusion she had been feeling for days.
They stared at each other for a while and Hermione breathed as shallowly as possible. Malfoy was still pressed tightly against her and her previous thoughts took over in her head again. She felt the heat building up between her legs and gasped softly. What the hell was wrong with her? After all, it hadn't even been twenty-four hours since they had done it. And that only because Malfoy had made her do it, right?
Hermione's head was spinning and the only way to clear it was to distance herself from the former Slytherin. But he didn't give the impression that he would be releasing her any time soon.
She shivered slightly as the tip of his wand slowly trailed down her throat. Malfoy held her gaze and she didn't dare to say anything or even push him away - not to mention that he was stronger than her anyway. Only when his wand disappeared from her neck and he pressed even closer to her did she find her voice again.
"Malfoy."
Hermione wasn't sure if her exclamation was an invitation or an expression of sheer horror at how the situation was changing. But apparently there was only one possible interpretation for Malfoy and after a few seconds she felt his lips on her jaw.
"Fuck, Granger, you are getting on my nerves. I can't wait to finally be rid of you," he cursed breathlessly while his lips continued their path down her jawbone and his tongue gently brushed against her skin.
They groaned at the very same time and Hermione spontaneously wanted to curl up and die. The burning pleasure she was feeling again almost made her pull him to her.
However, she still wasn't sure how angry and therefore dangerous Malfoy was. So she just carefully wrapped her arms around his neck and tentatively ran her fingers into his blond hair while Malfoy's hands were already exploring her body.
After a few minutes he picked her up and carried her over to the bed where they hopelessly lost themselves in each other.
Again - for the second time.
+.+.+
They lay side by side in the rumpled sheets, breathing heavily, and Draco was somehow mollified. He felt Granger's warmth next to him and it didn't feel as bad as he might have thought. Actually even good.
"This is mad," Granger whispered softly, rolling onto her side. Draco turned his head and looked at her briefly before shrugging.
"You're paid well, Granger, so don't complain about the trouble." His lips involuntarily twisted into a cheeky grin and he flinched when she punched him in the side.
She hit him. Again! Meanwhile, this almost became a ritual between them, which he actually shouldn't and wasn't allowed to tolerate. But Draco's bad mood was gone, so he just caught her hand and pulled her over to him without much effort. He pressed his lips to hers and snorted in triumph as she immediately surrendered and became almost cuddly. He promptly broke away from her and gave her a meaningful look.
"See, Granger. You want it. No reason to deny it any longer." With these words, he got up and began to search for his trousers, which he had carelessly thrown into a corner of the room.
After he had finally found them and put them back on, he turned around and glanced at Granger, who had sat up in bed and wrapped the covers around herself.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes.
"What?" He raised an irritated brow and grabbed one of his shirts.
"Using my last name," she snorted, rolling her eyes. "You called me 'Hermione' yesterday. Don't you think it's a bit ridiculous to keep saying 'Granger'?"
For a moment, Draco was confused. He brushed some hair back from his face as he studied her. Then he decided to play dumb.
"I said 'Hermione'?" She nodded and he shrugged nonchalantly as if it meant absolutely nothing. He took his time to get dressed before answering. „I don't know. I like calling you Granger. It's kind of naughty."
He smirked and mouthed her last name, causing her to blush instantly. That was exactly the reaction he had hoped for. "Admittedly, it also reminds me a bit of the old days. Hogwarts." She nodded, but didn't look entirely convinced.
"These aren't particularly fond memories. At least not concerning our relationship," she whispered.
She was right about that. After all, they had hated and always avoided each other at school. Of course, she'd always gotten in his way when he'd had unfinished business with Potter and Weasley.
He didn't know what else to say and therefore remained silent, which didn't stop Granger from promptly pestering him with the next question. Merlin, that witch could never just shut up.
"Zabini said that you behaved strangely at the Ministry. What did he mean?" She looked at him curiously, and Draco resisted the urge to tell her that it was none of her business. For some reason he wanted to keep the peace that the sex had restored between them.
He even really believed her now that she hadn't meant everything she'd said to Blaise. No witch could feign so much lust with a person she found utterly repulsive. Draco's subconscious triumphed once more.
She snapped him out of his thoughts by just going on talking when he didn't answer right away. "Zabini said it's my fault you don't have a clear head." She mimicked Blaise's voice with amazing skill, and Draco actually had to laugh.
Yes, that sounded like his friend. He would round on him for that, and Blaise would wish he had stayed out of Draco's business. But all in due time.
"Well," he began thoughtfully, scratching his chin where was already a hint of fine stubble. "Let's just say I made a few decisions that Blaise didn't agree with. We don't always agree, although that rarely happens. But I'm afraid I actually went a bit too far today." He grimaced and met Granger's intense gaze.
Merlin, her eyes were glued to his lips. He would like to go over and do some completely different things with those very ones. Fuck. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Why was Granger of all people suddenly having such an effect on the lower part of his body? It wasn't normal. She wasn't even his type. He snorted softly and tried to take his eyes off her.
"Why?"
"Merlin, Granger, you really are relentless." She grinned and he smiled a little as well. "I wasn't particularly kind to Umbridge. But before you ask: no, I won't tell you about it. These are Ministry matters. You'll have to be content with that answer." He turned, leaving her alone in his bed.
She didn't need to know that he had snapped at Umbridge that her pathetic leadership was not a favor for the department and then called her a scheming old hag in front of an associate. He had risked quite a lot with that, Draco knew that himself. Especially since his own successes were long in coming. But for some reason that didn't interest him today. He hated Umbridge and with each subsequent visit to his office she infuriated him even more. He'd always hated her, of course, but ever since he'd seen what had happened to Granger, his dislike of the Toad had grown with each passing day.
Granger. Once again it all was about her. He moaned softly and massaged the bridge of his nose. He couldn't deny it anymore, no matter how hard he tried: he was angry about what had happened to Granger. And he was also angry with himself because he had followed all of the Toad's instructions so far.
Something had started to simmer inside him, but what was it? A touch of rebellion? Draco shook his head in confusion. However, he knew for a fact that she was the trigger. She. Because she had suddenly appeared in his life.
If he didn't know better, he would even claim to have a soft spot for Granger. It was a feeling he couldn't really describe because it was so unfamiliar.
But that couldn't be true, right?