Seven Minutes | dramione

Chapter 4

Draco sat at the Slytherin table for dinner on that Tuesday evening in late September. He was eating at the speed of a snail, hoping he could delay his tutoring session with Granger for, well, ever.

He had been in a sour mood for days, in anticipation of that evening. He was not looking forward to spending excess time with the bloody bookworm. He'd rather die.

Foreshadowing is a little bit of a bitch sometimes.

Eventually, Draco was the only one left eating at the table. He looked up and saw McGonagall glaring at him from her place at the High Table. She could do whatever she wanted to him if he didn't go. Since Dumbledore was gone, she was the stand-in Headmistress.

He never thought he'd wish for Dumbledore to come back.

He knew McGonagall didn't believe in human transfiguration as punishment, but the look on her face was as clear as day. Draco didn't particularly want to be a ferret again.

He pulled himself up from the table, and slowing began trekking to the second floor. He passed through corridors and climbed up staircases. He ended up at the library doors twenty minutes later, and with a dramatic sigh, he pushed them open.

He lumbered through the library, looking around the shelves for Granger. Eventually he found her at a table near the back. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and her robes dishevelled. She was pouring over an old and dusty book while biting on a pencil.

She heard him approaching and looked up. Draco saw the brief surprise in her eyes.

"Didn't think I was going to show, did you Granger?" he smirked, falling into a chair at her table. She gave him a look.

"Not really," she replied honestly. "I assumed you'd be too busy shagging Parkinson or something."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Is that all you think I do with my free time?"

She bit down on her pencil and began to read from the book again. "You are failing."

"Because I don't give a fuck, not because too many fucks are given."

She laughed at this. It was a nice laugh, he noticed. Like twinkling bells.

His mind screeched to a halt as he tried to dispel the thought. Nothing about Granger was nice.

Nothing.

However, this was the first moment he realized he was maybe a bit wrong on that point.

"Well, mudblood, what are we studying today?" he asked sarcastically.

She glared at him. "Nothing if you don't stop calling me that, ferret."

"Did I hurt your precious mudblood feelings?"

"You might want to shut up, now," she hissed.

"Don't blame me for saying the truth," he responded spitefully.

Granger leaned towards him. "The truth? You want to hear the truth? The truth is that I beat you in every course. The truth is that I am the top in our year. The truth is that I battled death eaters last summer and won. The truth is that I was a part of the same battle as your father was. I got glory. He got arrested. So you better stop calling me that unless you want to follow in his footsteps." She said all of this so menacingly that Draco was shocked into silence.

He'd forgotten how much spunk she had.

She sat back up straight and looked over at him.

"Did you bring your book?" she asked.

He gave her a look, trying to keep an extraordinary amount of malice out of his voice. "Granger, does it look like I even read the school list?"

She rolled her eyes. She reached over and grabbed a book from her schoolbag. She pushed it across the table to him.