𝑀𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑒

𝒮𝒾𝓍

"WHAT DID YOU TAKE FROM MY VAULT?!!"

"N-Nothing! I swear"

Hermione clawed the marble floor in hopes of escaping the cruel and evil witch

"LIAR! CRUCIO!"

Hermione screamed from her already raw throat, she tasted the metal substance in her mouth from when she bit her cheek too hard, her body felt as if it was on fire and a billion tiny knives penetrated her veins

The curse stopped and Hermione sobbed

Bellatrix forced her onto her back and pulled out her knife, Hermione pleaded and begged her but Bellatrix just laughed like a maniac

"Let's see how dirty your blood really is"

Pain, all Hermione felt was pain as she screamed and writhed under the cruel witch ash she crackled and dug her knife into Hermione's once innocent skin

Hermione shot up out of bed, a rouge sob broke from her lips as she brought her burning arm to her chest, it was bleeding again, it never stopped bleeding, a reminder of her dirty blood, she felt her stomach turn, bolting out of bed she ran into the private lavatory and barely reached the loo before her stomach discharged everything into the loo

She didn't know how long she stayed there, throwing up everything that had been in her stomach, she finally stopped and laid down on the cold floor, her body burning and her shirt clinging to her torso, her breathing was frantic, she needed to get out of her room, frantically putting on her shoes she silently made her way out of the dorm and ran all the way to the recreation center, her heart felt if it was going to beat out of her chest, she reached the wooden door and that's when she heard the soft music

Slowly creeping into the room she watched as Draco Malfoy did several barrel turns before stopping and looking into the mirror

"What do you want Granger?" He asked, Hermione coughed awkwardly and looked towards him

"I-I couldn't sleep...I didn't mean to intrude" Hermione answered, she suddenly felt self-conscious, she was wearing a pair of leggings with a sweater she had 'borrowed' from Harry and her hair was in a thing that had once resembled a bun while he wore a pair of athletic shorts and a tight white shirt

"You want the studio?" Draco asked

"No, I just needed to get out of my room" she said

Draco nodded slowly before turning back to the mirrors, the music started up again and Hermione awkwardly sat down by the wall, crisscrossing her legs, and watched as Draco began moving again, she watched with fascination as he glided across the floor, she was always trained privately and never truly enjoyed watching other people dance, she always pointed out the flaws and small mistakes no matter how hard she tried not to, but not with Malfoy, his movements were for the lack of better words...perfect

Draco noticed the small smile threatening to break onto Granger's face, her face was somewhat unreadable but he could always see what she was thinking, after many years of observing her and trying to one-up her, he picked up on her small traits

This felt like a distant memory for him, but the roles were reversed, he couldn't quite pinpoint it but he knew that it was a memory, the flower ring that hung around his neck was proof of it

He finally finished and was panting while Hermione clapped gently, the smile broke out on her face, the first genuine smile she has shone in over a year, sure she'd laughed freely a few days ago but the smile that threatened to split her face in half hadn't made itself known in over a year, he smirked and bowed dramatically, at that moment they weren't childhood enemies, they weren't children who had fought in an unnecessary war and had seen death before their time, they were just two people who had connected with their shared love of ballet

"How long have you been dancing?" Hermione asked him

"Since I was a child, you?"

"Likewise" she whispered, Hermione bounced her knees with anxiety "c-can I see you? Dancing I mean? I just...you're really good" she said, Draco raised an eyebrow at her

"Did the golden girl just compliment me?" He smirked

"Come off it Malfoy, I give compliments when appropriate, don't let it get to your head"

Draco chuckled but didn't say anything else, instead he restarted the song, Hermione watched him as he counted down and began dancing

Hermione was quickly entranced, his footwork was perfect and Hermione could swear that his magic was taking form out of him

One thing her teacher always told her was that if you could feel a change of shift in the atmosphere around you while someone is dancing, that's when you know that someone had the true gift of ballet

And as much as Hermione hated to admit it, Draco bloody Malfoy had the gift

She payed close attention to his steps, with his hand movements, she was completely focused in his dance that she didn't realize that the music had ended

"Well?" Draco asked

Hermione jumped and felt her cheeks heat up

"Well...it was...decent" Hermione said, not willing give him the satisfaction of getting two compliments out of her

"Decent?" Draco smirked

"Yes, decent" she confirmed

"I think you're lying" Draco stated

"Am not" Hermione told him

She was, she definitely was lying but she wasn't going to give him the privilege of being right

"Are too"

"You're an immature child"

Draco scoffed dramatically

"Now that is a lie" he said

"Is not"

"I am not an immature child, if anyone is immature here It's you, you're even sitting like a child"

Hermione looked down at her crossed legs, she huffed and stood up again

"Very well Malfoy, I think it is best for me to go back to bed before I punch you again—"

Draco snorted

"—but I would like to say that you are a decent dancer, goodnight" she said and walked out

"Night Granger" Draco called out, she could her the smirk in his tone

He was insufferable, that much was a given, he may be a talented dancer but that didn't overcome the fact that he was insufferable