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xknivesandpensx · 10 months

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Like Pieces of a Puzzle

Chapter 6

Summary: What if Harry wasn't the only extra student called upon to participate in the Triwizard Tournament? Far from the most popular candidate, Draco not only has to take on the trials but also deal with his unexpected feelings for Hermione. Will he be able to face the challenges as well as follow his heart?

Chapter length will vary. I'll be referencing both the books and movie versions. Some things from what I've previously written will be mentioned, all of which you can find here.

And for those who asked to be tagged: @dayane245love

The last person Hermione expected to see was Draco. Not only were her S.P.E.W. badges scattered across the floor (after spending so much time making them too), the narrowed gaze she received brought about a wave of apprehension.

Probably because his blue eyes lacked the usual gleam of resentment. She knew, obviously, his hate of her didn’t suddenly disappear. His demeanor gave no indication otherwise. Both arms remained rigid at his sides as his lips creased downward in a frown.

He came off a mix of haggard in appearance and distracted given it took a moment for his attention to redirect itself. Maybe angry as well, something Hermione considered to be of no surprise.

Getting a better look though, his complexion took a rather white hue against his already pale skin tone.

“How about you try watching where you’re going!” Draco retorted. He moved past her, not really in the mood to deal with the strange sensation prodding his chest.

“I could say the same to you,” Hermione breathlessly remarked, more to herself. She knelt to gather her things, tossing them noisily in the box.

She shook her head, fighting the urge to say more. The unexpected collision threw off her guard. Hermione intended to head straight towards the common room and tell Harry and Ron about her newest idea, only to have her enthusiasm diminished.

The same routine between them started to grow tiresome. Biting comebacks, staggering silences, or he simply paid her no mind. Sometimes each one happened in the mix of a single day.

Maybe a tiny part of her clung onto a thin thread of hope. She took Ginny’s advice or at least tried to when it came to keeping herself open to other possibilities. Though she lacked any form of anticipation, especially given the school year just started.

Her head snapped in his direction after hearing a cracking sound beneath his shoe. He must have accidentally (or purposely, she wasn’t quite sure which) broken one of her badges. Hermione barely realized they spread so far.

“What’s spew?” Draco questioned, after picking it up and inspecting the letters. His voice echoed in a condescending way, yet not entirely held in an offensive manner.

“It’s S.P.E.W.,” Hermione corrected, gathering the last few, placing the box on the nearby bench. “The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, if you must know.”

“Of course, you’d feel sorry for the house-elves, Granger.” He rolled his eyes but tossed it in with the others. That must be the reason she hurried off to the library every day. The whole thing seemed like a waste of time.

She thoroughly believed in her cause and therefore felt no shame remarking in return, despite her reluctance to quarrel. “Given how your family treated Dobby, I’d hardly expect something as decent as fighting for elf rights would matter much to you.”

“Let me guess, Potter told you all about that, did he?” he asked, raising a brow. He certainly remembered his father’s particularly unhappy mood. “What does he know anyway? He lived under a staircase for most of his life.”

“And so what if he has? At least Harry values the well-being of others.” Perhaps judging Draco’s level of concern wasn’t entirely fair. After all, she knew very little of his inner circle.

“Ah, yes. Let’s congratulate Saint Potter and is overwhelming generosity,” he threw back in a drawling sort of tone. “Associating with blood traitors and Mudbloods alike. How charitable.”

Draco started to wonder if Pansy’s assumption of something going on between Harry and Hermione were true. She never failed to defend him and constantly stuck by his side. The suspicion rose from sheer lack of proper knowledge. But the two seemed awfully close and he happened to notice them head to the library the other day together. Obviously, he knew suspicion led nowhere.

Still, the mere idea irked him, no matter the innocence of a relationship at fourteen may be. And if he outright asked? He’d face a hostile defensiveness alongside the implication of another thing entirely – an obvious announcement that he…

Draco pushed it down. If he even allowed the sensation to flicker, he’d fall straight into whatever every nerve ending in his body screamed at him during moments such as these.

“I think I’ve waisted enough of my time talking to you,” Draco announced after a clearing of his throat. Now all he needed to do was keep walking and she’d no longer possess the ability to control his emotional state.

Hermione already prepared herself for his hasty departure, willing to let him go until her attention locked onto a detail he tried very hard to hide. “What’s wrong with your hand?”

“Didn’t we go through this already on the train?” he asked, reluctantly coming to a stop. Clearly, she didn’t mean the bruise she pointed out upon their journey to Hogwarts, which faded in color since.

“The other one,” she mentioned matter-of-factly. “Did that happen when you were with Professor Moody?” If so, what exactly gave him cause to think something so vile qualified as a proper punishment? She certainly didn’t need to be told what he used, having overheard Ron’s parents talk about it a while ago. From a distance she spotted the redness of his skin and a rather painful looking stiffness of his fingers.

Draco turned his head a degree, holding back his confusion. “Why do you care?”

“Why don’t you?” she countered in full disclosure of her own puzzlement.

He turned to face her fully, attempting to bypass the gravity of the situation. “My father will hear all about it. I bet he’ll be sacked by next week. The sooner the better, if you ask me.”

He couldn’t fathom writing a letter to Lucius, not after filling nearly three pieces of parchment. He merely said it to save face. Dumbledore favored Moody too much to fire him. Though he might test the theory. He found out a few complaints went a long way.

Hermione approached him, chasing away her hesitancy, and attempted to get a better view of the wound. He pulled away before she got the chance.

“I just wanted to see it,” she complained, huffing slightly. “At least tell me what you were doing. Because if it’s what I think it is, you really should go see Dumbledore.”

Lacking the energy to argue, he settled on providing an answer, hoping to slip away soon after, skipping over the fact that Moody threatened to use the Cruciatus Curse on him. “I had to write lines with some kind of quill from the Ministry. As for a trip to the headmaster’s office. I think I’ll pass.”

Hermione ignored the latter. “Black Quills aren’t allowed. Not to mention strictly intended for signing magically-binding documents in the form of blood, in order to make them legally-binding. It’s highly illegal to use them otherwise.”

“Then I can only hope Moody’s dismissal is made a spectacle of,” Draco affirmed, growing impatient. He wanted to be on his way already. “Are you quite finished pestering me?"

Hermione nearly let him leave, but she held too many qualms. Not on Draco specifically. On Moody as well for his detention tactics.

The question hung between them, levitating in place. She opened her mouth to speak and nothing came out. Sometimes Hermione wished her feelings for him would vanish, to never exist in the first place. How much easier things would be if that was the case.

But they did exist and Hermione needed to maintain a realistic outlook.

“If you let me, I can help ease the pain,” she offered. Even he shouldn’t have to suffer for something so minor as poking fun at another student, no matter how awful his remarks were. “It looks terribly unpleasant.”

The comment wasn’t offered necessarily to soften the blow of taking his pride down a notch. It happened to be true. Her skills at casting spells came naturally and while she expected a response in full derision, it shocked her to see him hang back.

He reluctantly sat on the bench, because he really was unwilling to stand too close, all the while thinking he must be insane to accept her help in any regard. “Make it quick,” Draco muttered. He brought his hand out to her once Hermione took a seat. Her box of S.P.E.W. badges rested between them, leaving a small gap.

His hand continued to scar as the letters lessened in visibility. It still hurt, however, like needles jabbing into his flesh. Draco saw how her expression changed upon getting a better view.

Pity. How he loathed to be on the receiving end.

Hermione took out her wand. “I need you to keep steady for this to work, it takes precision. Otherwise, I may make it worse. Dark magic is tricky to counter, even using the simplest of enchantments.”

Despite the attempt, Draco found it difficult to remain still. Even if the pain lessened since he left Moody’s classroom, it kept gnawing inward.

Hermione gently grabbed hold of his trembling hand, surprised, even more so than before, that he let her. It felt strange to feel the roughness of his skin against her palm. Sure, Harry pulled her along while they raced the clock to save Sirius and Buckbeak, but this – it casted a calming effect beneath the static of his touch, enveloping her in an affluency of fuzzy feelings.

Hermione spoke the spell in a whisper, unable to meet his gaze after its completion. Her thumb brushed over the marking, now able to get a proper view. “Well, it certainly hasn’t changed in appearance. It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”

“No.” Draco let her slowly pull away, immersed in an abrupt coldness once her fingers released. Unannounced to Hermione, he experienced the same awareness, though he lacked the ability to compare to another.

She looked down at her feet. “No remark about me touching you or name calling?”

Draco paused for a moment. “I’ll let it go just this once.” He couldn’t thank her or shake the lessons drilled into him. He was taught not to express gratitude to someone of lower standards to himself.

Though he ought to leave, Draco leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, further inspecting the results of her spell, as if simply to do something amid the quiet. He shouldn’t have allowed her to help, the notion in itself came across wrong. Handling pain was child’s play, yet he caved.

In the past he may have gone straight to Madam Pomfrey, complaining all while seeking attention, but the mere thought of people crowding him, especially Pansy, who’s fussing he didn’t necessary mind, deterred him from the start.

Draco’s silent disposition started to unnerved her, especially while alone in his company.

For a second, Hermione imagined pushing the box out of the way and pressing into him. One hand reaching up to touch his jaw. Kissing him without any shyness or particular gentleness. She wanted to know what it felt like to have his lips on hers. If only.

Instead, she logically reflected on their positions and shifted uneasily, choosing to broach a certain memory rather than indulge in fantasies.

“Draco.” It almost felt funny to call him by his first name to his face. Typically, his surname sufficed. “Do you remember the day we met?”

Sometimes she wondered how much he recalled. They were so young, it seemed like eons ago rather than a few years.

He turned, brows furrowing from the random mention. “What about it?”

“Well…” She stopped short, not entirely anticipating a remark free of ridicule. “Have you ever thought back on it? I suppose you regret being nice to me, in your own way, of course. I’m a little embarrassed. I practically invited myself to sit next to you.”

Draco couldn’t figure her out. She went from arguing to offering to help, then into a casual conversation, speaking as if they were on friendly terms.

“You’ve always been a tad too assertive for your own good.” He pushed himself upright, resting his back against the wall. “You were looking for a frog or something of the sort.”

“Toad, actually,” Hermione corrected. Nostalgia washed over her. Their little moment on the train left a fond imprint, even after their second year rolled around and he started to call her a Mudbood.

“Must you always be so precise?” A twitch of a smile formed. It tugged at his heart, mixing seamlessly amongst an ounce of dread for the very thing he thought impossible from the start. That he denied only minutes ago.

He truly developed a sense of attraction towards Hermione Granger. And in acknowledging it, he considered the damage it inflicted on his family, the shame and humiliation he’d cast on his parents. Narcissa may not judge him too harshly (albeit disappointment would reign overall) but Lucius, he’d be furious. Draco, in no means, desired to test his father’s temper.

“Unfortunately, I can’t help myself,” Hermione commented. She hated to spoil their first, however brief, civil conversation in a long while. She feared it’d revert and the preference to maintain a good memory persisted. “It’s nowhere near curfew, though I best get going. Harry and Ron will start wondering where I am.”

She moved to place her wand away.

“The candy I gave you,” Draco slowly added, almost ready to chastise himself. Maybe for right now, until she disappeared, he’d humor his feelings for her. “It’s no longer sold but Honeydukes has some. All you have to do is ask for it specifically, if you still like them as much as I remember.”

Hermione stood and picked up her box, confused by the unexplored reason behind his comment, surprised he remembered the small detail at all. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

He caught sight of the smile she made in mid turn, finally departing. Draco knew going back to hating her after fracturing his predetermined loathing of the girl would be an immense struggle.

#dramione #draco malfoy #hermione granger #harry potter #the goblet of fire #tumblr has been giving me a hard time the past few days #making it difficult just to get this in my drafts #i almost decided not to keep trying -_-#but i managed #somehow #anyway here's a full dramione chapter for you all #nice comments are always appreciated #sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes

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