Striving For Something Not Temporary

Disclaimer: So yeah, duh, Harry Potter and its characters obviously don\'t belong to me.

A/N: Well this stoy takes place if HBP didn\'t exist I guess. but if you read the first 2 chapters, I\'d imagine you\'d already figured that out. Thanks for the reviews so far guys! It makes me all tingly. I\'ve never written fanfic before so I\'d be overjoyed if you kept it up. I could use all the suggestions I can get.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

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Hermione, in all honesty, could have had a better day. Don’t get me wrong, it obviously could have gone a lot worse, but it did nothing for her nerves. Seriously, one loose mind wire and the whole castle could be in danger. I don’t understand why people don’t just realize and accept that as a fact early on instead of push her god forsaken buttons all day long.

Every time she turned around, she saw the tell tale signs of that blasted sliver orb of hair. If she wasn’t in class feeling his eyeballs molest the back of her head, she would feel it in the corridors in between lectures. During Transfiguration, she was strongly attempted to turn him into a lamp and smash him into smithereens.

Right before lunch, she thought she lost him. She saw him glancing around the entryway of the class she recently departed from, and figured she could sneak past and leave him thinking she was still in there speaking with the professor.

How does he know my schedule so well? Why is he so determined to creep me out? God, if it were any other person his behavior would be welcoming. Maybe she just wasn’t ready for this truce after all. She should just sit the stalker down and tal–“FUCK!”

She was so deeply absorbed in her paranoid delusions, she didn’t notice when her backpack snagged against one of the statues next to the stairwell and completely gutted, scattering her belongings all over the corridor.

“Sacculus restituo.” Draco muttered while her bag lay clutched in his hand instantly repairing itself. He set it down and helped her gather her quills and parchment that were getting lost in the shuffle of hungry students’ feet.

“You don’t need to do this Malfoy. I can handle a little repairing charm, it’s not necessary.”

He didn’t say a word. He just smiled, and placed the pile into her hands. The not so subtle fingers grazing the back of fingers did not go ignored on her part. With that, he simply turned on his heels, and strut away.

He strut away. “GAH!”

She decided to skip lunch and go chain smoke. The man was driving her absolutely bat shit crazy.

After her afternoon in double potions she decided to go wolf down some food and get out of there before a pair of eyeballs dug themselves through to the other side of her brain.

“Bad day Mione?” Ron queried.

“Can’t talk, wreck the flow.” Hermione dribbled.

Harry looked at her in half disgust, half puzzlement, “Jesus Hermione...are you even chewing?”

Hermione spotted a silver orb in the corner of her peripheral. She threw her fork down and shot up from the table. “Ah, that was just lovely! Compliments to the elves, can’t wait to taste their future culinary delights. Bye guys, see you tomorrow at breakfast, I have to go. Loads to do...” she trailed off as she was almost out of hearing range from her quick pace to the doors.

“Seriously dude, what the fuck?” Harry wondered.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ron tucked into his dinner with flourish.

***

Draco sat at his usual spot in the Great Hall, only to notice a bushy brown haze leak itself out the doorway. Maybe he was laying it on too thick. It was lovely to see the effect he had on her. If he had known being creepy towards her affections would get such a rise out of her, he would have started doing this ages ago. Although he loved to see her get all worked up, he knew it really wasn’t the best idea in the long run.

Fuck, the sheer idea of seeing her like this just caused his imagination to go haywire. The more he saw her in that untamed emotional fluster, the more he crazed seeing it while he was lying on top of her. Causing her reaction from other reasons that just being polite.

This thought disturbed him actually. He shouldn’t feel this way about her. I could get any girl I wanted. Why am I so enthraled by a bushy little bookworm? She’s a mudblood nerd for Christ sake. She gets up and rolls out of bed. She does nothing to better her appearance in anyway. I remember her at the yule ball, bitch could really clean up.

No one would want her in her state. All flustered. She has hair that’s it’s own life force for the love of God. Chain smoking crack pot that one is. No one in their right mind should ever be attracted to such a mess. Heh..keep telling yourself that Draco. Keep telling yourself you’ve officially driven yourself to the brink of insanity for wanting that mudblood swat.

In a way, it’s almost as if someone’s actually taken over his body. Every time he says to himself he’s going to ignore her for a while, he just has more of an urge to pay attention to her. Looking at her literally gives him an involuntary urge to smile. Like someone cast a spell on him or something. He’s never lost control over his actions like this. The girl seeks him out and he reels her in, not the other way around.

Everything about her is like a feral cat. Like an angry lion. Why do I want that? I should want a submissive girl that knows how to take orders. Granger won’t take orders. She’d slit my throat. I like my throat.

She’s a stubborn, loudmouthed know-it-all. A beautiful stubborn, loudmouthed know-it-all. Positively lovely really.

Christ. I’m smiling at my own thoughts. I’m going to die a horrible death.

He finished up his musings, along with his meal and started to make his way up to their common room. He had a huge transfiguration essay due and he figured he’d get a start on it. He assumed from Hermione’s hasty departure from the Great Hall, she’s obviously avoiding him and she’s probably be in the library or something. Now was the best time to get it out of the way he assumed.

He entered the common room and threw his robe on over one of the chairs. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt as he grabbed his bag and made way for the study room. He stopped abruptly when he came into contact with that ever loving eye full of stink gazing at him from over a potions book, before returning to the reading.

Ooooh...Maybe I should just go to the library instead.

God damn feet! You need to mind your master! Don’t sit down. Don’t sit down. Don’t sit down! Fuck. Stupid feet.

He grudgingly got out his transfiguration assignment at what almost seemed against his will. What the fuck is wrong with him? He dinked around with it for a few minutes before actually settling into it. They sat there for a few minutes before he had the sudden urge to look at her.

Draco NO. You know better. Don’t look at her.

But what if she’s looking at me? I need to look at her.

Draco, no. It’s a trap. She’s a crazy gorgon woman Draco, she’ll turn you into stone! Where are your balls boy? Do not make direct eye contact...DO NOT MAKE DIRECT EYE CONTACT!!

He sat at the table caught up in his internal battle of strength with his hands on his forehead and his fingers clamped in his hair to keep him from looking up at her. He grudgingly opened one eye and peered out the corner. He realized the stink from her eyeballs seemed to finally possess her entire face. His eyes were shocked opened by this and realized that the gorgon had really struck.

“God damn it Draco, you’re getting on my NERVES!!” she roared as she shot up from her chair and slammed it into the table. She stalked off to the balcony and slammed everything in her path.

Well, Jesus fucking ball sack.

Draco inched towards the balcony doors slowly. He opened up the door a crack to peer inside. Everything seemed calm enough, so gathered up the rest of his bravado and attempted to make his way outside. He suddenly realized this may have been a mistake when something long and smoldering was weaving itself around his face. It appeared to be attached to something solid.

“Nerves, Draco! NERVES!” She roared, her lit cigarette was clenched between her fingers in her fist that she was shaking omnipotently into Draco’s face.

“Whoa! Fuck! Calm down! I came out here to fix this alright?”

“We had a truce Draco! You’re freaking me the fuck out, seriously! Why are you acting like this? What the fuck?!”

“Look, I’m sorry alright, just calm down! Really, I know I’ve never shown it to you, but seriously I’m capable of being a nice and generous person. Please...”

“Phhaah! She uttered while slumping back into the patio chair.

Draco took this as some fucked up sort of invitation and sat down in the chair next to him, lighting his own cigarette. “Hey, what’s that?” Draco inquired, picking up a bright orange stick with metal forming on the top of it.

She let out an exhausted sigh, “It’s a bic.”

“A what?”

“A bic lighter.” she replied again, while flicking the metal and allowing the fire to glow from it. “It saves on matches.” Setting it back down on the table next to the ashtray.

“That’s amazing!” he exclaimed. He picked it up and started playing with it. “How did you ever think to transfigure something like this?”

“I didn’t actually. It’s a muggle invention.” She grinned a bit as she saw his face frown again from puzzlement. Seeing this she started again, “Oh, suddenly it’s not as good anymore, it that it? A muggle made it so it’s inferior to your standards?”

“No, that’s not it at all. It’s amazing, Granger. It really is.” He continued to play with the red plastic button on top and listened to it hiss.

She let out another exhausted sigh. “Why are you doing this Draco?”

He knew she wasn’t referring to the lighter. “Look. My apologies again. Seriously. We called a truce. I want to be nice to you, not alienate you. That wasn’t my true intention. I just want to show you that I’m trying to grow up okay? Just let me try to be nice.”

Many thoughts rushed through Hermione’s mind, and all of them circled in to the fact that he seemed so sincere. “This is weird for both of us obviously. I’m just not used to you like this. You seem so sincere, but you need to give me some time with this without getting angry because I don’t trust your intentions. I do want to get along with you Malfoy. I just don’t know how to react to you yet. I have no idea who you are.”

He outstretched his right hand to her, “Hello, my name is Draco Malfoy.”

“Uhm...Hermione Granger.” She said as he took her hand.

“Hermione. It is such a pleasure.” He raised her hand and brushed his lips across the base of her fingers into a tender kiss, then looked into her eyes and smiled warmly at her.

Hermione’s stomach fluttered a bit. Who does crap like that anymore? “Draco, you big ol’ dork!” she giggled.

“Listen, I’m gonna go finish up my homework okay? I’ll see you later.”

“Okay. Oh, hey! You forgot your lighter.” He said, outstretching the lighter in her direction.

“Keep it, I have loads of em.” She disappeared back into the common room.

Draco sat back down and gazed at his new lighter. An orange crappy bic lighter. A dime a dozen, common, only lights when it wants to, piece of shit lighter.

As he sat there grinning and sticking it into his pocket, his unconscious thoughts kept floating around to the idea that it was the best gift he’d ever received in his entire life.