Honeysuckle

Roots

"Well than let's teach you the ways of wizarding society".

Hermione was broken out of her rant by Draco's words. With mouth hung open she blinked and stared at the young wizard like he had grown an extra appendage, which in all reality could happen in the world that she lived in. She continued to gape and was having a hard time forming thoughts as it seemed the uncanniness of the situation had shut down her mental processing. Sensing her momentary mental petrification Draco did the one thing he knew would fire her back up. He gave her his famous Malfoy smirk.

And oh did it work....

As soon as she saw his face Hermione bristled. "I knew it" she said, throwing her hands in the air. Turning on the spot and walking further into the field before her she shouted "I should have known that you were pulling a stunt. How could I have even begun to think I could have a civil conversation with you! Gahhhh!" There was a sudden push of air from somewhere deeper into the room causing a wave to pulsate through the field around them. She continued to mutter to under her breath about hexes and some dish that was best served cold. Draco stood where he was watching her retreating back, her robe fluttering around her in a sudden gust of air that seemed very unlikely to exist inside a closed room but he didn't question it in that moment but just focused on her. Suddenly very worried that he had made a terrible mistake Draco panicked and ran after her. He quickly closed the gap between them and reached towards her. The cool slender fingers of his right hand encircled the warm flesh of her left wrist and time stood still. The grasp was not harsh but held a sense of urgency and stopped her in her tracks. Magic seemed to burst from where their skin connected. The Room of Requirements whirled and shifted presenting the two with an entirely different environment. Gone was the field of wildflowers to be replaced with a courtyard with trellises covered in a golden flowered vine giving off the most pleasant of scents.

"Hermione please listen to me; I am not trying to mess with your mind. I just wanted to jolt you out of your petrification. Seriously though; I truly mean you no harm and I meant what I said. Who better to teach you the ways of this world than someone who grew up having to navigate the most treacherous of them all?" he said. Hermione hadn't turned around yet but had also not yanked her hand away from him either. Her robe had slid down her arm when he grabbed her wrist leaving her shoulder and neck exposed due to the lack of coverage. A faint tinge of rose could be seen encroaching along her skin. "Why?" she whispered. Shocked beyond belief at the way he was acting and not wanting to have a false hope that there was anyone in the whole school that would take the time out when it seemed even her friends could not be bothered to tell her anything about wizarding culture and customs. Turning to her left Hermione rotated on her heel until she faced him and said a little more firmly "Why?" She looked up at him and searched for any signs of malice in his face but she found none. What she saw was someone who was shocked and worried but also something else. Perhaps it was loneliness, the same as she felt because she knew there was nothing that felt worse than being alone when you are surrounded by others.

Feeling rather awkward at having grabbed her wrist he let go and spoke "Why not?" he said raising his shoulders in a small shrug. "It may be because I am desperate to try and keep a piece of my soul as far from being tainted by the charade I put on. Maybe it is because I am afraid that if I don't do something to redeem myself that I will lose all of who I am before we graduate." As an afterthought, he tried to break the sudden intense aura that surrounded them he smiled and ran his hand through his disheveled hair and chuckled "maybe it will be the greatest thing ever to show the rest of the prats at this school that not only are you the smartest witch of our age but also the epitome of everything they hold dear. Oh, how the aristocrats will fall faint from the sight!" Feeling some of the tension drain from her she smiled and laughed herself. Fixing her robes so that they once again sat properly on her shoulders she pondered for a moment. There was nothing she could truly loose from his offer but much she could gain. She also loved the idea of messing with the prissy girls in this school. Something in her said take the chance and so she did.