Just You

Reckless (8)

The next time she talked to Draco was a week later at the prefect meeting. And even then, they didn't talk much. She was around him constantly. Neither of them had any time to relax, so she would either see him for prefect duties, classes, or in their dorm. They both didn't have a social life, especially since they started preparing for tutoring other students. On monday, McGonagall's letter for them arrived on what they needed to teach the students.
Hermione had four she was tutoring, as did Malfoy. Two in DADA, one in Potions and one in Arithmancy. She was going to take two in the head's library back to back on wednesday afternoons since her head would already be full of DADA info, the Potions kid on saturday mornings, and the Arithmancy kid sunday evenings. That left the rest of her time to plan the lessons, plan prefect duties, and almost no time to do homework. But she was confident she was going to make it work. Especially since these days she was thinking less and less of Malfoy. She was starting to think she would never hear from him again.
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Just when she thought she was over him.
He hadn't done anything explicably wrong, or anything towards her, but still. Hermione was growing worried. Malfoy was acting strange. In fact, he was acting like the old Malfoy. Two weeks after she and Malfoy kissed, he came into their dorm drunk.
It was two hours past curfew when he came stumbling through the door. He didn't even notice her reading on the couch until she spoke to him as he walked unsteady towards his room.
"Malfoy, where have you been? Are you alright?"
"Shut up. I'm fine, Hermione." He called her by her name. Draco Malfoy was drunk and saying her name. His voice was cold as ice. His face looked sober, but his body said otherwise. "I was just visiting some friends."
"So this has nothing to do with the Slytherin party going on today?" He gasped.
"Hermione! How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I am head boy, and as such, I would never lie about something like this."
"Yes, but you're also Draco Malfoy." Hermione pressed her lips together. His walls were partly down. This could be her chance to talk to him. "Maloy, do you want to talk to me about the real reason why you think you needed to get drunk tonight?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
"I mean, is it the same reason you've been avoiding me for two weeks?" His face grew impossibly colder.
"Nope." He quickly walked to his room, and Hermione didn't see him until their Charms class the next morning.
Ever since then, he'd been getting more reckless. Hermione guessed it was partially her, but there was definitely something else going on. One day when she came to their dorm, she saw him burning a letter in their fireplace. She couldn't make out any words, but there was the unmistakable Malfoy seal marked at the end of the page. Hermione couldn't even imagine what that letter might be about. She had guessed that his relationship with his parents was a bit complicated, but now she knew how much he wanted to distance himself from them.
One day, she found a letter on the table. She started to read what seemed to be a letter from his mother begging him to come and see his father in Azkaban. Before she could get too far, Draco cast incendio on the page and nearly burned her hand off.
It was now a month and a half before they had really spoken to each other, and Hermione was doing ok. It turned out that tutoring students was easier than she thought it was, and every saturday evening was spent talking to Ginny, Luna and Neville in the three broomsticks. But besides once or twice a week, she didn't have much free time. And she was getting really sleep deprived. She had been staying up late most nights when Draco didn't come home before curfew so she could check to see if he was alright. He always gave her the same cold look.
During her prefect meetings, they were planning the first school event. A Halloween concert. They had gotten numerous bands to come to Hogwarts on Halloween, and the concert would be in the great hall, starting at 9 pm. They got special permission from McGonagall to have no curfew for people at the concert, just as long as there were staff members to keep and eye on the students when the concert ended.
The other new development that had occurred in Hermione's life was figuring out just how smart Draco Malfoy was. In the past, she never paid him any attention. But now that he had made a point to tell her that he was going to rival her this year, she realized he wasn't joking. He had a knack for DADA, and it killed Hermione every time he beat her to answering a question in class.
It was absolutely infuriating. Her thoughts were filled with him once again, but different. Instead of thinking about how he would kiss her, she thought about how Slughorn liked his potion better than hers. She wanted to blow his brains out. She knew she was still getting better grades than him, but it irked her everytime that he would outdo her in the smallest things.
She thought about this as she was studying in their common room, sitting in a chair across from him. Her eyes shot daggers his way. She loathed him. The fact that he would smirk at her when he got the question right. How when the teacher was reviewing his work, he would stare at her to make sure she was looking. But outside class, Draco acted as though she was a ghost. Or he was. Cold and calculating.
There was something about today that put her over the edge. Just a random day in October. Everything was going great, but he just had to be there, looking perfect all the time. She set her book down and stared at him.
"Why the hell do you have to be so infuriating all the time?" She huffed out.
"Granger, I have no idea what you're talking about." He didn't look up from his Arithmancy book.
"So you're telling me that all of the sudden you start trying in class, beating me to questions, trying to do better than me, and then act as if I'm not there, like it's normal?"
"I'm not going to explain my behavior to you. If you have a problem with me, say so." Hermione was done with whatever this was. She had been played by him before, and she was not having it. Maybe he had some problems at home, but that was not an excuse to act like an arsehole all the time.
"Draco, look at me!" His eyes were wide when they shot straight up to hers. "First, you act like you're interested in me, then we kiss, and you shut me out. You don't even acknowledge my existence! Then you start coming home drunk, and I'm here up every night making sure you're alright. Then, on top of that, you start trying in class. You smirk at me and make me so frustrated, and then you come here and treat me like a fly on the wall. I want to know why. I deserve to."
Hermione was breathing heavily after her speech. Malfoys face was a mask, but his eyes showed something like regret. A certain guiltiness. He looked worn down; tired. He put his book down, and sat straighter.
"Listen Hermione, I don't want to talk about this right now. I have a lot on my plate, and I know you do as well. I'm willing to give you some answers, but not this moment. Saturday, perhaps?" Hermione was so confused. He was so poised. He was acting like nothing affected him. She saw right through it. But if he really was that busy, she could cancel her night at the three broomsticks with her friends for Malfoy.
"Saturday evening works for me."
"Good. But, I'm bringing us some drinks. Trust me, if you want me to talk, we're going to need them."