Poison

Chapter Seven – Weakening







Hermione blushed and started down at her shoes. She had no idea how to answer the question McGonagall had just asked her.



Her head of house and head-mistress of the school was studying her, waiting for an answer.



“Of course, I didn’t expect the two of you to be best friends, but I was quite hoping that without Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley’s influence the two of you could at least be civil to each other,” she said crossing to the other side of the desk, and grabbing the young girl’s shoulders.



“I understand that quite a few students are pondering his appointment as Head Boy,” she said.



“I’d wondered that myself, ma’am,” Hermione said softly.



“It was Dumbledore’s wish to see Draco finish his final year here at Hogwarts. According to Professor Snape, Dumbledore’s sacrifice was to protect the younger Malfoy. My decision to elect him Head Boy was mostly to protect him from his house-mates, many of whom are still under the influence of Death-Eater parents. It is very important that we keep Mr. Malfoy alive and well, as hopefully the Slytherin students not trying to harm him will follow his example and therefore deny He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named the new generation of wizards to corrupt to his vile mission. And who better to protect him the one of Harry Potter’s best friends, and the brightest witch of her day,” McGonagall smiled down at her proudly, tears welling in her eyes.



“I’m sure you won’t let him come to harm,” she sniffed.



“I’ll do my best to protect him,” Hermione said resolutely.



“Very well. Well, supper must be just about ready. Shall I see you there, Miss Granger?” the head-mistress said crossing back behind the large desk. She nodded, turned and left the office.



She headed down the corridor towards the Great Hall, thinking over what McGonagall had just disclosed to her about Malfoy and his position here. Well, it did answer some questions about why he’d been allowed back as Head Boy. So she was to watch out for him huh? If he kept up that smug behavior, she’d most likely be the one hexing him.



She entered the Great Hall, and despite her lingering anger towards him for that Mudblood comment last night, her eyes were immediately drawn to him, sitting at the Slytherin table. For the first time though, she noticed that he sat alone, the students around him giving him a wide berth. She tilted her head as she realized that she couldn’t remember him actually interacting with any other students in his house since the beginning of term. As she made her way to the Gryffindor table, she was trying to think of any circumstance of him talking to any of the other students in the school, aside from classroom situations. No one but her. She suddenly felt very sorry for him, and all her anger towards him evaporated. She wondered if his loneliness was in anyway responsible for their sudden clandestine relationship. She ate in silence as she drifted off into her thoughts. She’d been lonely too, without Harry and Ron here. No, that was silly; she still had friends that she could talk to.



He watched her as she ate. She was deep in thought about something. He could tell as her brow was furrowed and she was frowning in between bites. He wondered if he was the topic of her reflection. She was certainly the topic of most of his thoughts these days. He wasn’t sure what his feelings towards her were anymore. He didn’t know why the feeling of safety he’d felt as he lay in her arms last night had forced him to lash out at her. The hate he felt for her had almost been like a disease to him since she began hanging around with Saint Potter in first year. Add to that the fact he’d always been taught that Muggle-borns were inferior and needed to be stamped out. Now as he stared into manhood, he wondered if such petty reasons were enough to hold onto his dwindling dislike. She wasn’t a bad looking witch after all. In fact, he was beginning to find her looks suited him more than the flashy good looks of some of the other girls. She was certainly a match for him intellectually, and her stubborn will would definitely keep the fire between them stoked for a long time. He shook his head. That would never happen. For a start they would never be welcome in each other’s worlds.



His musings were interrupted when he saw that red-headed Weasel-ette leaned over to her.



“Malfoy is staring at you,” Ginny said, breaking her out of her reverie.



‘What,” she looked at her friend, who motioned towards the Slytherin table. She looked over and he was indeed gazing intently at her. She blushed, and looked away. “Don’t worry about it, Gin. We just had a disagreement before and he’s probably plotting his revenge, but I can handle anything he’s got,” she said, patting her friends arm, and inwardly laughing at her own small joke.



Ginny looked from her friend to the blond across the hall and back again. His attention was diverted now, so she shrugged, and went back to her meal, leaving Hermione to wonder what Malfoy had been thinking off so intently. She pushed her plate away resolutely, and stood.



He looked over at her movement and she caught his eye, then she looked towards the door. She gathered her things and moved quickly across the room and out of his view. He thought about if for a second, debating whether to answer her obvious summons, and decided that he would. He wanted to apologize for ruining that moment last night. He moved slowly, so as not to attract any undue attention, and headed for the exit.



When the oak doors closed behind him, he cast a glance around the entrance hall. She was standing near the doorway to the grounds, and when she was sure he’d seen her, she headed out. He followed, making sure that he wasn’t seen by anyone else. Outside it, the sun was setting, so the grounds looked orange. She was heading towards the lake, and he quickened his step. He quickly made up the ground but slowed when he noticed how she walked. She had a sway to her step, which made her skirt swish around, giving him a lovely view of her rounded thighs. He felt himself harden at the memory of being between those thighs. He watched as she got to the waters edge, and leaned against a large tree and looked back at him.



He didn’t take long to reach her, and stood in front of her. She looked at him thoughtfully, her eyes drifting down his body. He didn’t try to hide the evidence of how much she got to him.



“What?” he asked, trying hard to control his breathing.



“Nothing, I’m just thinking” she replied, making her eyes look away from the bulge in his pants, and back at his face.



“About?” he said taking a step towards her. Her body responded instantly to his close proximity.



“You. Me. Everything” she said looking down towards the water, so that he wouldn’t be able to see the lust in her eyes.



“Look, I just wanted to say I’m sorry about calling you that name, again” he said, huskily.



Her eyes flicked back to him. She searched his face for any sign of deceit, and when she decided that he wasn’t lying, she smiled.



“Thank you. That means a lot to me,” she said.



“Enough of this, I need to taste you,” he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her around the trunk until they were hidden from the castle. He grasped her chin, and kissed her, snaking his other arm around her waist and pulling her up against him. Her hands rested on his shoulders, and she opened her mouth to him willingly.






* -* - *- *

They could barely keep their hands off each other all the way back to their common room. Every time they passed someone in the hall, they had to fain indifference. As soon as the portrait door closed behind them, they were ripping at each other’s clothes, flinging them any which where in their desperation to be together. Their lips met again, and he closed his arms around her waist.



He started to direct them to the couch, but caught his foot on the rug by the fire, and tripped, taking her down with him. Once he was over her body, the couch was forgotten, and it was all he could do to stop himself from coming right away, and he pushed himself into her. She moaned and arched, trying to get more of him inside. He pressed down on her knees, and she pulled them up. He hands were on the floor on either side of her hips, and he began to thrust in and out of her. She clawed at his back, urging him to go faster and harder.



He leaned down, capturing her mouth again. Her tongue darted into his mouth to engage his own. He growled in the back of his throat. She loved it when he made that noise, and she felt the tension in her core reach its peak, and she cried out into his mouth, her body quivering. He groaned as he felt her muscle contracting around him, and couldn’t stop himself from giving in to his release.



---



She sighed as he ran his hand down the back of her leg. They were still sprawled naked on the rug in front of the fire where they had landed. She was lying on her stomach, her arms folded under her chin, facing the fire. He was lying on his side next to her, head towards her feet. She turned and looked at him. Whatever her feelings for him were, or were becoming, she couldn’t deny that the sight of his body drove her crazy. He was pale, lean and slightly muscular. The touch of his hand on her was comforting and calming, despite her emotions being in turmoil.



He was thinking similar things as he watched her body, still shiny from their bout of passion, glowing in the fire light. There was no denying that the hate that he had felt for her was dwindling; half the time he could barely remember why he’d ever disliked her in the first place. When she wasn’t being all pompous and perfect, she was actually good fun to talk to. He leant forward and kissed the spot behind her knee. She shivered and giggled.



“That tickles,” she laughed. He liked her laugh. It wasn’t the simpering, fake laugh that most of the girls in his world threw at him, trying to get his attention. It was real and genuine. He grinned.



She groaned and rolled over.



“We still have to get our potions paper done,” she said, wearily. He sat up, sighing.



“Well, two head are better than one.” He stood and helped her up, putting a small kiss on her nose as her body touched his. She looked at him, confused by the intimate touch, but determined not to fight with him tonight.



“Let’s get to it then” she said breaking free of his grasp to retrieve her clothes.



He watched her for a moment, confused by his impulsive urge to peck her just now. He watched gather her clothes, and move towards her room.



“Meet back in ten minute?” she asked, shaking him from his thoughts.



“Uh, yeah, no problem,” he replied. She disappeared into her room, and he began to collect his things.



This was definitely getting complicated. And dangerous.