Title: Truth or Dare
Previously on Chapter 6…
"No need to hide to anymore. Everyone will know that Weasley's not number one," said Draco and with an air of superiority added, "Mudblood."
Hermione stiffened immediately, her body tensed. Different emotions swirled in her eyes before settling on one. Draco felt a shiver run through his body and his smirk faltered for a moment. The blond teenage boy was suddenly overcome with uneasiness. Hermione was staring at him with something very close to hate in her eyes. For some reason, it didn't sit very well with Draco.
Chapter 7
Draco waited expectantly to have the awful haired witch explode in her usual habit with her mouth lashing out words at an incredible speed (while still managing to sound like English) while her widened eyes would shoot daggers, taking Draco prisoner with her none too pleasant gaze. And Draco swore that each time Hermione's temper went unleash and amok (he always seemed to be around for some odd reason…), her notorious bird nest that lay on top of her head would suddenly look bigger. Her hair gave quite a good illusion of cackling with electricity, the mud brown strands reaching out to electrocute him. But strangely enough, not a singly audible sound escaped from the oddly quiet and still witch. Her lips were in the process of being tortured as they were pressed into an incredibly thin, tight line. If Draco hadn't been so worry as weither the Gryffindor would spontaneously claw out his eyes or not, the blond Slytherin wouldn't have refrained from noting out loud that Hermione was trying to eat her lips. He wisely kept the comment to himself while wondering if it was actually possible that he was about to witness a person go mad.
No one broke the roaring silence as time slowly ticked by. The uneasiness Draco had previously experienced only mere seconds ago, resurfaced. Fear nurtured the growing unease as Hermione continued sending unfriendly messages with her anger lit eyes.
With that said, Draco silently noted that Hermione wasn't going to perform her usual temper. Syaing that Hermione was mad was an understatement. She was absolutely livid. The last word Draco had uttered echoed in the witch's mind.
Mudblood.
Mudblood.
Mudblood.
Hermione's anger fed the thirsty fire burning behind her chocolate brown eyes as she envisioned images of Draco completely bald, his face exploded with pimples and wearing such horribly clothes that Dobby's pillowcase looked like Gucci material.
Draco willed himself not to take a step back. He fought the raging urge to check if all his hair was still sitting on his head and not the floor. Being to the receiving end of Hermione's scorching glare, the narcissistic Slytherin wondered if it was possible that Hermione could curse fast enough without him having the slightest idea.
Relax, thought Draco, trying to soothe his nerves. Granger strictly follows rules like a religious maniac.
"She looks mad," observed a voice mildly behind Draco. The blond couldn't help it, he jumped, his face portraying perfectly his surprise.
Luck seemed to have deserted him while he was airborne because the moment Draco landed, his large expensive Italian black leather shoes landed on Hermione's right foot. A shriek of outrage quickly followed and Draco winced inwardly. If Draco had been in any other situation, he would have sincerely thought that someone had foolishly tried to steal a precious valuable from a goblin. But no, that shriek of outrage that not only promised more to come but also shot down his disbelief that a human being could make such a sound, came from the suddenly not-mute Hermione.
Now he'd done it.
Why am I still holding her? thought Draco suddenly, seeing his unfortunate predicament in new light.
"You landed on my foot!" yelled a feminine voice in pure outrage, her tone blaming Draco as though he had just done a horrible deed.
The two both knew that it was just a distraction from what really was going to happen. Hermione had finally spoken in what felt like an eternity. Now that she started, there was no way Hermione was going to stop. The said witch kneeled down to try and ease the uncomfortably pain on her right foot while having a deep scowl in place.
"It seems so," observed the same mild voice with a hint of wicked amusement and satisfaction.
Draco turned around and was surprised (and quite annoyed) to see Blaise occupying the same space ten minutes ago. Draco tried to give his fellow Slytherin a silent message with his eyes to leave the library before it was too late but Blaise seemed rooted where he was. In fact, the handsome black wizard seemed fine and ignorant to Hermione's raising temper as he observed with a casual pose, his arms folded in front of his chest. Blaise's body was relaxed-except for his eyes. They were alert and bright, soaking everything happening so that no doubt the moment he left the library, the young Slytherin would do his good deed and spread the word like a disease. The black wizard was comfortably where he was and he wasn't going anywhere soon.
Draco's annoyance doubled until he realized what he was doing. Why would he try to save Blaise if he couldn't get himself out of this mess in the first place? It was such a Gryffindor thing to do.
But Draco's train of thought ended abruptly as Hermione's foot crashed onto his right foot. His foot throbbed with pain as Draco let out a yell.
"What the bloody hell was that for? Are you mad?" the blond Slytherin asked angrily.
Draco freed Hermione from his hold as he sat down on the cold marble floor and took off his shoe. He rubbed his foot (which was covered by a very beautiful green silk sock with a snake head on each toe) and shot the crazed witch a murderous glare of his own. His anger skyrocketed as Hermione looked down at him, the corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly upwards while she raised one eyebrow.
"Pardon me," said Hermione, her voice coated with sugar as Draco's face contorted into a mask of fury. " It was an accident."
"That was no accident, you stupid cow. You did that on purpose!" hissed Draco, showing the maturity of a small child as he stabbed a finger in her direction.
Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously low at the words "stupid cow".
"Don't you just have a wonderful time insulting people, ferret! Always have to have new little nicknames because you're just too immature to handle anything like an adult," snapped Hermione venomsly.
"Oh yes beaver, I forgot you handle the situation just like an adult," replied Draco sarcastically.
"It's more than you could ever do!" hissed Hermione as she remembered she was in a library. She even made the oh so famous shushing noise, putting a single finger to her lips. That just irked Draco even more.
He opened his mouth to give a very loud answer just for Hermione's sake, only to be distracted by the sight of his new Italian black leather shoe. Some sort of mysterious brown substance was smeared all over the expensive shoe. It was the exact spot where Hermione had stabbed Draco's foot with her quite heavy weight. Blood rushed to Draco's face as he slowly turned around to stare unbelievingly and furiously at his shoe-ruiner.
"How dare you?" he whispered ever so quietly that Hermione almost didn't hear him.
She was momentarily stunned by the expression painted on his face and what he had just said. Although she would admit that she was no psychic (unlike Professor Trelawney of course…), Hermione had been more prepared for insults flying her way. She unfortunately couldn't answer the simple and confusing question with a rather witty insult she had prepared.
"How dare I what?" asked Hermione, taking a small step back as Draco rose gracefully from the library floor. She would admit that he was taller than her (like most boys) but suddenly the blond Slytherin seemed to be looming over her.
Hermione's anger faltered for a moment as she inwardly wondered if she went too far. The Gryffindor witch almost instantly squashed down that idea.
This is Malfoy we're talking about, she thought. He's probably mad about his ruined shoe.
"How dare you ruined my shoe, that's what!" exclaimed Draco as though he was talking to a stupid, slow child.
Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"Your shoe?" she asked, not bothering to hide her disbelief.
"Your shoe?" mimicked Draco in a false feminine voice. "Of course my shoe, you stupid cow!"
Hermione was really starting to hate that nickname Draco had unwisely given her. Draco however continued his rant.
"Do you have any idea how much this costs? This is Italian! This is black! This is real leather!" Draco practically screamed in Hermione's face. The sudden too close proximity made Hermione take a step back.
"Does it look like I care? It's just a shoe Malfoy, this isn't going to kill you. So stop yelling in my face!" replied Hermione with equal hostility.
Draco looked as though he was just slapped across the face.
"Just a shoe?" he echoed faintly. "Just a shoe? Well, why don't you just take a look at what's on my bloody shoe? Hmmm?"
The slightly baffled Hermione gave Draco a glance, questioning his sanity before grudgingly looking at the shoe Draco had practically shoved in front of her face. A couple of seconds ticked by before the Gryffindor witch looked back at Draco, only showing annoyance at being forced to smell the odor coming from the shoe.
"Well?" asked Draco impatiently, his storming gray eyes shooting daggers at Hermione.
"Well what?" Hermione snapped back, showing the same amount of politeness. "It's your fault you don't know how to wipe your own shoe."
"Oh yes, so sorry, of course I did this. It wasn't just some cavewoman who was trying to cut off my foot," said Draco, his voice thick and heavy with sarcasm.
That's when Hermione exploded.
The young witch stabbed Draco's chest with her finger, her eyes blazing.
"I've had enough with all these insults! First you steal the Transfiguration essay that I worked on alone, and then you start insulting me by calling me Mudblood, beaver and stupid cow? And now you dare call me cavewoman?" hissed Hermione angrily as her stabbing quickened with each word.
"Look at my shoe!" Draco persisted, completely ignoring Hermione's outburst.
It was however another thing all together to ignore the continuous stabbing that seemed to have no end. Annoyed as hell, Draco smacked Hermione's hand away like it was a mosquito. That only fueled Hermione's temper.
"Don't touch me like that!" she commanded. That didn't sit well with Draco.
"Don't you touch me like that!" Draco snarled as he copied Hermione by stabbing her, this time on the forehead.
The two continued with their childish yet violent fight, Draco demanding each time for Hermione to wipe away the slime on the shoe while Hermione asked Draco a rather rude question (something useful she learned from Ron).
Blaise, who had been long forgotten in the shadows of the long library shelves, snorted with ill-disguised humor. That attracted the bickering "lovebirds" and ended their fight. Hermione cleared her throat nervously as a blush crept towards her cheeks while Draco glared at the silent Slytherin for interrupting him.
"Something funny Zabini?" asked Draco coldly.
Blaise's eyes looked at Draco's clutched shoe and back at the blond. He smirked.
"No, nothing at all. Too bad your girlfriend doesn't want to clean your shoe for you," replied Blaise.
Draco squashed down the urge to throw his shoe at the smirking black wizard. He might as well have wiggled his eyebrows up and down. The vain Slytherin muttered something that oddly sounded like "cavewoman".
I'm just having a terrific day, Draco thought sarcastically. Why doesn't someone hit me on the head?
It seemed Fate was very sadistic as something heavy collided with the back of Draco's head. He swore he saw stars before slowly turning around to meet Hermione's unwavering glare. And he did something that he would regret later on.
"Mudblood, mudblood, mudblood," he chanted in a sing song voice.
Once again, Draco Malfoy became the righteous victim of Hermione's fast reflexes. This time, Draco's body seemed to be numb while his mind screamed at what was about to happen. Hermione raised her knee and her right foot crashed against Draco's left shin. While Draco gave a surprise yell, Hermione raised her leg once more, preparing for another attack. With all her might, she kicked her leg against Draco's shin. The blond Slytherin howled in pain. Draco fell down, his hands massaging his foot and shin. Tears sparkled in his eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks where there lay a faint pink dusted on his cheeks.
"You'll be paying for that," he managed to gasp as he looked up at the now towering figure of his abuser.
Hermione regarded him angrily before replying, "That's what you get for creating lies and calling me inappropriate names,"
Without further ado, the Gryffindor raised her head up high and turned her heel. Not another word to either of the two young boys, she snatched her wand from the ground. Passing Blaise, Hermione saw that his eyes were fixed on the swearing Draco and he looked…awed. The tips of Hermione's mouth were dangerously close to turning upwards as she stopped at the table she shared with Draco, Blaise's expression painted in her mind's eye.
Hermone whipped around and caught Draco's eye.
"I'm not Jesus you know!" she said finally before turning around, missing his expression.
"Jesus? Jesus! What does Jesus have to do with this?!" cried Draco in an undignified voice, creaking enough to make Blaise wince. "I'll have you know honey that I won't forget this. You'll be getting a letter from my lawyer!"
Hermione stood straight unmoving, counting to ten under her breath while ignoring Draco's dark promises of kidnapping, Rita Skeeter and other unpleasant things.
As quickly as possible, Hermione retrieved her things and stuffed them in her bag. She momentarily stopped, her eyes zeroed on the lonely and unguardedTransfiguration essay that had caused her so much trouble. Hermione paused for a heartbeat before snatching the essay as though it was going to be stolen from her very eyes for the second time. Feeling like a thief, Hermione swung her bag across her shoulder and hurriedly walked away from the table and the two Slytherins without a single backwards glance.
Hermione's expression was stony and cold while inwardly the young witch felt gleeful. The young heroine suddenly had the urge to giggle. Giggle! After hitting Draco like he deserved, Hermione felt her cold expression slipping away.
She replayed what she had just done, her chest puffing with pride.
That will teach him not to mess with me, Hermione thought victoriously, as she glorified in what she had done.
Draco was feeling three things at once. He was feeling damn proud that he had wiped the disbelief from Blaise's eyes. His fellow Slytherin had believed every single word coming out of his mouth while Hermione looked as though she was about to vomit. But unfortunately, the blond teenager also feared his life. That look of pure loathing Draco had received from the furious Hermione was anything but comforting. A flash of an image of himself being beaten to a pulp by a cheerful Ron, Harry and (Oh dear Merlin, thought Draco) Hagrid made Draco flinched noticeably.
Would she go run to Potty and Weasel? he thought as he slowly got up from the library floor.
"You all right there?" asked Blaise, his voice hardly holding any sympathy or concern while snapping Draco from his thoughts.
"Of course not. She's a girl for crying out loud. She cannot hurt me," growled Draco angrily. He limped noticeably towards the table he had been sharing with her.
Draco made a silent oath to never say or think Hermione's name ever again. The crazed Gryffindor seemed to enjoy beating the injured Draco (although he had secretly liked hitting the brown haired witch on the forehead several times). It made him want to duck for cover and kick something at the same time. What was wrong with him? More importantly, what had she done to him?
Hearing Draco's answer, Blaise snorted out loud. The angry blond gritted his teeth, hating the fact that his "friend" was effortlessly looking more graceful than he did.
Why the hell is the table so far away? Draco screamed silently as he continued to limp.
Draco's scowl deepened as he muttered profanities under his breath.
"That Gryffindor got you pretty good," noticed Blaise, walking straight beside the hunched Draco.
All Blaise received was a heated glare that could melt ice. A ghost of a smile was playing on the observer's lips. The mischief and arrogance reappeared in his eyes.
The prideful blond turned his gaze back to the table. The pain from his foot and shin hadn't died down like Draco had hoped. His wand was useless now, serving no purpose since Draco didn't know a single medical spell. He seriously doubted that Blaise would do such an act of friendship even if he begged. Draco could tell that Blaise would rather see Hermione beat him up again.
Draco stopped short, his eyes searching the table.
Gray eyes widened.
He swore loudly.
"What?" asked Blaise, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
He followed Draco's unmoving gaze and another pair of eyes landed on the table. Confusion briefly touched Blaise's face before his expression of boredom dominated.
"So?" he asked, clearly not understanding the reason behind Draco's reaction.
Draco swore under his breath once more.
"What?" repeated Blaise, this time openly annoyed.
Blaise Zabini was known for being patient but after seeing a few events, he certainly didn't want to miss anything.
She got me, thought Draco, his anger mounting.
Having enough of hearing Blaise repeat the same question, Draco spoke.
"She took her Transfiguration essay," he explained. Unfortunately for the blond, his vague explanation didn't satisfy Blaise.
"So?" repeated Blaise, a frown appearing on his beautiful face.
Draco resisted the urge to punch the Slytherin standing beside him. He opened his mouth ready to give another rudely vague explanation when he suddenly closed his mouth shut.
What am I suppose to say? thought Draco. I can't say that I was bribing her for obvious reasons.
"I wanted to burn it," answered Draco, smoothly and simply.
It actually sounded like the most promising idea Draco had all day. A detailed image of a dirty, sobbing Hermione being strapped against a chair, screaming wildly while Draco burnt her essay one page at a time and laughed maniacally but still managing to catch the light in his hair and getting his good side…
"Interesting," Blaise said, shattering Draco's fantasy.
Draco stood a little straighter, the mischevious glint back in his eyes.
"She won't know what hit her," he said evilly while rubbing the back of his head.
End of chapter 7
A/N: I feel very bad for leaving this story for hanging for so long. I'm really sorry for people who were waiting so patiently(I haven't given up on the story!). The next update won't take as long! See you next time.