Falling in Love💕

Chapter 2

The next day was somewhat better. There was blackcurrant jam on the table and the good eggs (sometimes they were a bit runny for her taste). She hadn't managed much sleep and fell into an exhaustion coma in the early hours of the morning. Good thing it was a Saturday. If anyone noticed her mood, it wasn't addressed, probably because she left for the library right after breakfast and had no plans to return until after dinner. She could always grab something from the kitchens, the elves had mostly forgiven her.

Sitting in her usual spot- a large table at the back by a window and shielded from view- she reflected that 19 was rather upsettingly the same. The same classes. The same people (well most of them- no. Don't think about that). The same food. And the same crushing loneliness. Ginny was lovely, Luna was a doll, Neville sweet as ever, and Harry sent a wonderful box of sugar quills and a note (on time). It didn't really make a difference.

She pulled the heavy book of goblin treatises towards her and continued making her notes. She worked, bent over for hours when a slight rustling caught her focus. Glancing up and around, she didn't see anything until a pale hand went for Ancient Techniques of the Mind on the side of the shelf. She stopped her work and watched the long thin fingers grasp the spine. The dry sound of old pages turning lulled her and the shoulders she hadn't noticed tense, relaxed. A small groan. The book was replaced and the hand stretched further into the nook. He just missed and Hermione had to smother a laugh when instead of braving her, he just gave up. She let him get 3 steps away.

"Hello Malfoy." All sounds of movement stopped abruptly.
~
Draco Malfoy was having a shite time of it. He hadn't wanted to return. Hadn't wanted to see the stone walls pieced back together, the stationary staircases. Empty, discoloured spaces where portraits should have hung. And now, dealing with the (admittedly most tolerable) third of his trio of schoolyard enemies that had graced Hogwarts with her continued presence he was ready to give up. Perhaps death by giant squid.

He walked the halls with his head bent, trying to avoid the stares that somehow looked right through him and condemned him all in one crushing blow. The only person to have actually acknowledged his presence had been Granger, and wasn't that just pathetic. Buoyed by her glares, he'd tried for some normalcy and ended up making her cry. So, task failed? Anyways, he was faced with her once again. He'd been in his favorite spot of the library (a cosy little window seat wrapped around a bookshelf, completely concealed from view) for an hour when Hermione bloody Granger showed up and ruined any bit of peace he had. It's not like she did anything. Just sat down, hauled an absolutely massive book towards herself and took the most boring notes he had ever seen. But the second she appeared, his chest tightened, his breathing shallowed, and his head hurt. The worst fucking time for whatever this was. Ever.

For 3 hours they sat, Draco barely moving and Granger scribbling away. Unfortunately, he really did need to do some research and the section on memory was right there. Gently, he tried to extract himself from the gap between shelf and window without making a noise. After years of eavesdropping on his father's various (boring) political meetings and his mother's (much more interesting) society teas he wasn't half bad. With minimal sound he managed to creep around to the other end, intent on grabbing the closest useful book. Grabbing it successfully, he waited for her to give a sign she had noticed. Nothing. Okay, deep breath. Flipping it open, he immediately let out a quiet groan, "shite." Sliding it back into place, he saw the book he really wanted. His hand just missed it. It was really too much to hope she wouldn't see his entire arm and left side so he decided to play it safe. He made it three steps before her voice (saturated with humour, damnit) stopped him.

"Hello Malfoy."

Weighing his options, he stood still. She interrupted him just as he was going to make a break for it, cowardice be damned.
~
"Don't let the big bad -if somewhat weepy- wolf stop you." A snort. Then a sharp face peaked around the corner. "I was more concerned of disturbing an irate Granger, a snotty wolf would be no issue." Ha. Ha. Ha. He thought he was funny. There was a horrible, condescending sneer across his face, making it more unpleasant than usual.

Putting on her most patronizing voice, she looked back down at her book and waved her arm gracefully, gesturing to the shelf. "Please, be my guest." She glanced back up when he remained, staring down his nose. Arms crossed, brows furrowed, and stupid mouth open to say something that would no doubt get a rise out of her.

"You haven't, mmm, touched these, have you?" He gave a delicate shudder (oh come on! That was definitely practiced), "I wouldn't want to get sick." He delivered the punchline with such a -purposely- fearful expression that she thought he could have a future as an actor. He certainly had the pratishness for it.

And here was the reaction he was looking for. Damn it, she wasn't good at staying cool.

"ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING?!" She all but shrieked. "ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING THERE? We fought a fucking WAR and you're worried about some mudblood disease?" She shoved the chair back from the table and began shovelling books and papers wildly into her bag. Malfoy stood there with a shark smile.
She stomped over to him and stuck her hand in his face, poking his eyes even sticking her finger in his mouth. Malfoy violently drew back, knocking his head on the shelf in the process. Putting her whole body along his, Hermione put her face so close his eyes were crossed. He opened his mouth but she shut him down.

"What're you going to do? Call daddy? Oh that's right, you can't!" The last was said with such mockery that Malfoy's eyes twitched before growing sharp as a flint knife. Giving him one last shove into the books, "ferret," Hermione walked right out of the library.

That little shite must be bipolar. What the hell was that?
~
Draco looked down at the white hanky, clean and pressed, crumpled in his hand.