Beauty (PG) for alexajohnson
Title: Beauty
Author:
Pairing: Draco/Hermione
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Draco and one other student are invited on an exchange programme to Beauxbatons, but Draco's playboy plans are forced to change when he finds out who the other student is.
Author's Notes: Thank you to my beta chemical_haven.
"Do you have to go?" Pansy whined at Draco as he was packing his things.
Draco sighed. "Yes Pansy, I do." He'd already been through this with her, several times in fact, over the past few weeks. Truth be told, he didn't have to go, but it was an experience of a lifetime and he didn't want to miss it just because Pansy would miss him.
"Will you write to me everyday?"
"Not everyday, Pans," he said as he put away the last of his clothes. He was glad for his magic; he didn't think he'd be able to do it by hand. Too much hassle, he thought. He chanced a look at her, pouting with her puppy dog eyes. "I promise to write as often as I can. Okay?"
Pansy rolled her eyes, but knowing Draco she settled for it. "Fine." She looked over her shoulder to where Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle were playing cards. "I can't believe you're abandoning me with them."
"I'm not abandoning you, Pans, but I'm not going to stop doing things just because you don't want me to. Besides," Draco closed his suitcase, "Dumbeldore has personally asked me to go."
"He didn't personally ask you...."
Draco reached his hand to his head, rubbing his temple and hoping Pansy would stop nagging him soon. She was his best friend, but sometimes she just got too much, even for him. "Yes, he did. Now will you please take that," Draco pointed to a small bag on his bed, "or we're going to be late."
"No," Pansy corrected him. "You're going to be late. I'm not going, remember?"
Draco knew she just wasn't going to let this drop. All the way to the front entrance she whined about it. So much so he just couldn't wait to get her out of his sight. They put the bags down near the old oak door and waited for Dumbledore to turn up. There was also one other student going, but Draco hadn't been told who it was. He didn't particularly care though; he just wanted to get to their destination.
A few weeks ago, Dumbledore had come to him and told him about a new exchange program starting up between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. Draco had no idea why he'd been picked and hadn't asked, fearing Dumbledore would ask himself the same question and withdraw him. Of course, Draco had jumped at the chance - mainly to see all the lovely Beauxbatons girls again. He'd gotten on with them so well a few years ago. He was pretty sure that was part of, if not the whole, reason Pansy hadn't wanted him to go, because they'd spent so long fawning over him last time.
Draco remembered how she hated it and how possessive she had become. It had done nothing but annoy him. He wasn't hers, and he certainly wasn't interested in her like that. To Draco, Pansy was his best friend and nothing more, but she felt differently. For years she'd thrown herself at him, to no avail. Draco was just glad it hadn't affected their friendship, because as much as he hated to admit it, he needed her.
"Malfoy?" Draco spun around sharply, brought out of his thoughts by a sudden female voice. One glance at the woman made his stomach turn and his eyes roll.
"Granger," he sighed, eyeing her as she was flanked by no other than Potter and Weasley. "What are you doing here?"
Granger looked from Pansy to his bags and then back to him. "I'm taking part in the Beauxbatons exchange," she said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, Draco," Pansy whinged. "You're going with her? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't know," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm not exactly thrilled at this new information, Pansy."
"Neither are we." This time it was Weasley who spoke. "Did you know, Hermione?"
Draco expected her to shake her head, but she didn't. Slowly but timidly, she nodded.
"What?" Weasley was fuming, his cheeks were as inflamed as his hair.
"Hermione!" Potter elbowed her gently. "If you knew, why didn't -?"
Annoyed, she cut him off. "Because I knew you'd react like this."
Weasley grumbled, but he didn't deny it.
"Ahh," Dumbledore came cheerily into the hall, a large smile across his face. "I see you're getting to know one another."
Draco turned to him. "Professor, you never said she was going."
Dumbledore waved his hands. "That was irrelevant."
"So why did she know?"
"I feared you would turn my offer down, Draco. I believe this will be an incredible experience for the both of you." Dumbledore smiled once again. "The coach is waiting outside, I think."
Pansy let out a cry of frustration. "It's time for you to go, then?"
Draco nodded and opened his arms to give her a bear hug. "I'll miss you," he said quietly, so nobody else would hear. As he turned to leave, she blew him a kiss, which he didn't return. That would be too far.
*
"Monsieur Malfoy!" A blonde Beauxbatons girl greeted him happily. He didn't recognise her but she seemed to know him. She took his hand and kissed his cheek. "Don't you remember me?" she asked sadly. "It's Carla."
Now Draco realised who she was: the girl he'd spent most of his time with when she was at Hogwarts. "Ahh, yes." He didn't smile, but he nodded to her, not reciprocating her advances. As far as he was concerned, he wanted 'fresh meat'. "You look lovely," he managed to say as he took in her short skirt and tight top, which no doubt she'd put on especially for him. Draco was going to think of something else to say when he felt a presence behind him.
"And you must be," Carla bit her tongue; it was obvious to anyone she wasn't happy with their new companion. "...Gravel?"
Draco turned to see Granger showing a slight annoyance on her face.
"Granger. Hermione Granger." Draco watched her force a smile at Carla. "Malfoy," she tapped him on the shoulder gently, "we are to be shown to our quarters."
Draco sighed, faking irritation. Secretly he was glad Granger had dragged him away from Carla. Once women started acting possessive around him he was usually out of there as fast as his legs could carry him. He could tolerate it for a few days in front of the lads, liking to be fawned over, but after that it was just too much.
As they were walking to their quarters, Draco found himself staring at the two girls in front of him, Granger and whoever was showing them their rooms. The unknown girl was a beautiful brunette with a fantastic sway of her hips, and he quite fancied some alone time with her. Looking from the girl to Granger he noticed a massive difference. Granger didn't sway sexily, walking squarely with her arms crossed in front of her. The brunette had perfectly straight hair tied up into a bun whereas Grangers was bushy and untidy, frizz everywhere. He wouldn't have been surprised to find a bird's nest in there.
They came to a sudden stop and the girl pointed to a room on the left which Granger walked into. He was then shown into the room on the right. It was adequate for their two-week stay, but nothing like Draco was used to back at the Manor.
"Thanks," he said quietly, forcing a smile at the girl. He held his hand out to her. "Draco Malfoy." Much to his disbelief she ignored his outstretched hand and shrugged.
"I know who you are." The girls voice was frosty.
Draco waited for her to offer her name, but she didn't. She just stared at him impatiently. "And you?" He asked at last.
"Shelly Winters." The girl said, but she spoke reluctantly. Realising this was a lost cause he sighed as he placed his bag on the bed, using his wand to unpack. By the time he'd finished and turned around, Shelly was long gone. Draco started to feel hungry, ravenous almost, so he decided to make his way downstairs and hope the house elves catered for him as they did at Hogwarts.
The kitchen was a lot smaller than the one at Hogwarts and there weren't as many house elves either. They were busy clearing up the lunch things. He was surprised to find Granger standing in the corner, scrubbing away, hair tied back in a messy bobble.
"What are you doing, Granger? There are house elves for that."
"Not all of us are lazy, Malfoy," she said in annoyance. "These are my own plates. I would do it all but they won't let me." She nodded towards the house elves.
Draco sighed and turned to the little creature nearest him. "A cheese sandwich. Now."
"Yes, sir," the house elf squeeked, scurrying towards a cupboard, but he was stopped in his tracks by Granger.
"No, Muffin, you don't need to do that."
"But Master Malfoy -"
"- can make his own food." Granger eyed Draco eerily. "Surely you can make a simple sandwich, Malfoy?"
Gritting his teeth to the point they almost hurt, Draco made the quickest sandwich of his life - and he'd only made one before - with a blushing red face and shooted out of the kitchen. In his head he was using every name under the sun for Granger, and swore to make her pay for what she had just done.
*
"Oh, Draco, you're so clever," the pretty blonde named Ingrid said as she sat next to him. Draco had just answered a question and got it right, which seemed like a miracle to Ingrid. He looked across the room to see Granger glaring at him. Over the past few days he'd kept sneaking her books into his quarters and copying down the answers - he was no good at French. It was the perfect revenge and he loved to see her face when he beat her to every answer. He was surprised she still hadn't clocked on yet, since she was supposed to be so intelligent.
Grangers misery wasn't just due to him though. Apart from Shelly, none of the other girls wanted anything to do with her. Draco had watched her walk up to girl after girl just to be shunned as they made their way over to him. Shelly wasn't even in the same year as them, so Granger hardly saw her as it was. For Draco, the best part was her confused looks - she had so many friends at Hogwarts she just couldn't seem to understand it.
It was five days into their trip when Granger just couldn't take it anymore. Draco was walking down to dinner that Saturday evening when he heard sobbing coming from behind one of the statues. Normally he'd just ignore it, but he didn't want to miss the chance that it might be Ingrid or another gorgeous girl.
"Hello?" He asked softly, not wanting to scare her.
The response he got was frosty. "Go away, Malfoy."
So it's Granger. Draco thought. What on earth was she crying about?
"Sorry," he mumbnled, seeing her tear stained face and feeling bad for her. "What's wrong?" He didn't care, he was just curious as to what had upset the golden girl.
"What do you think?" Granger shielded her face from his view.
"Er," Draco thought for a moment before he caught on. "It's not the girls ignoring you, is it?" He realised he'd said it too harshly when she burst into tears. "Oh. Why do you even care?"
Granger stared at him for a moment, seemingly searching his eyes to find out if she trusted him enough to confide in him. It was at least another minute before she made up her mind and spoke. "I care if people like me or not, okay?" she said it quickly and turned the face the wall, hiding her embarrassment.
"Really? You have a flaw?" Draco blurted out before realising how insensitive it was.
"It's not just that..." Granger carried on. "I'm not even the clever one here - you are."
"Yeah, um, about that..." Draco didn't think he could do much about the girls, but he may as well own up to what he was responsible for. He was feeling a weird emotion wash over him, which he guessed had to be guilt.
"What?" Granger now had a face like thunder
Boy, women change emotions fast, Draco thought. "I coped off you, I nicked your books."
"I'm still cleverer than you?" she perked up with delight.
"I wouldn't put it quite like that." Draco felt anger at the bottom of his stomach. "I'm no good at French, that's all."
"But still..." Granger looked at the wall in front of her. After a long moment she finally spoke again. "Why don't they like me?" Draco was really surprised that she even felt like that and he couldn't understand why she was telling him of all people. As if reading his mind, Granger answered his thoughts. "You're the only one I know here." She chanced a look at him and he saw embarrassment in her eyes. She stood up quickly and turned to leave.
"Wait," he touched her arm but took it away in an instant. "Maybe if you made yourself fit in more...."
"Sorry?" Granger stared at him.
"Make your hair a bit straighter, wear better clothes," he said as he spotted her large, purple cardigan. "Just be less uptight, you know."
Granger gasped. "Uptight? I'm not uptight. Screw you, Malfoy!"
Draco watched her storm off down the corridor, proving his point. Sighing to himself he made his way down to dinner. It passed slowly and without event, bar lots of fawning, so pretty soon he had his head on his pillow trying to fall asleep.
*
"Correct, Miss Granger," their french Herbology teacher said in class the next day. Draco chanced a look at her to find that she was scowling at him. He hadn't meant to upset her, he'd tried to help, but she just wasn't grateful for it. One thing Draco did notice, though, was a very small hair slide in Granger's hair. It was almost unnoticeable and if they hadn't had that conversation last night he probably wouldn't have seen it himself. It was only a small change, but it was a step towards what he'd been on about yesterday so she'hoping Pansy would stop nagging As they were leaving the lesson, he took it upon himself to whisper "Nice clip," into her ear, walking away quickly so she didn't have time to respond.
As the days wore on he noticed lots of little changes. Each day she became more daring - for her - and more like the Beauxbatons girls. First the clip, then her hair became straighter, shinier. She switched from her jumpers to v-necked shirts. It was the day that he noticed how short her skirt had gotten when he began to realise the impact of his conversation. The hair slide was one thing, but this was on a whole different level. What astounded him the most was that he didn't even like her like that, but as he witnessed the changes he realised that it wasn't her. Though for the life of him he couldn't believe he was thinking like that. Obviously he liked what she was wearing, she looked hot in it, but she wasn't herself. For some unbeknownst reason, it really bothered him.
It was four days before they were due to return back to Hogwarts when Draco saw the full impact his conversation really had had on her. He was trying to catch an early night, for some reason he was knackered, but all he could hear was giggling and music coming from nearby. He got out of bed and threw on his dressing grown, flinging open his door and finding the noise coming from Granger's room. Usually he loved it when drunken girls partied - it meant he usually got some, but as he walked into the room, he was gobsmacked at what he saw.
There, dancing on the bed as though she'd been like that all her life, was Hermione Granger. She was clearly drunk, singing very badly at the top of her voice and dancing like a maniac. There was a group of giggling Beauxbaton's girls, all intoxicated as well, dancing around the bed. It looked like a a wild pagan ritual.
"What are you doing?" He yelled over the music, not quite believing what he was seeing.
Granger turned towards him, a confused look on her face. "Who, me?"
Draco nodded. "Yes, you. How on earth did you get into this state?"
"You said I needed to lighten up - remember?" She giggled and fell backwards on the bed, knocking into the headboard. "Ooops!"
"Get down off that bed this instance!" Draco scolded her, but not sure why. He felt protective, as though he should be looking after her, but she wasn't his girlfriend. She wasn't his friend. She wasn't even someone he liked...was she?
Granger stuck her tongue out at him. "No!" she said indignantly, gripping the headboard for balance.
"I want to talk to you." Draco's jaw was clenched; he was getting more irritated by the second. "Now."
She pouted, then looked at the other girls and giggled. "Back in a sec, dears!" She flopped off the bed, wobbling, before catching herself on the dresser nearby. "What do you want?" she said as she left the room, closing the door loudly behind her.
"What are you doing?"
Granger sighed, "What does it look like, Malfoy?"
"This isn't you," he was shocked at how much he almost sounded pleading.
"Isn't it?" she cocked her head to the side. "You said it should be."
"No," Draco sighed. "I didn't." He didn't really have a clue what to do with her in that state. When it was a girlfriend he shagged them, and when it was Pansy he put her to bed, but Granger? In the back of his mind he knew the responsible thing would be to look after her, after all, it was his fault she was like this. Taking her by the hand, he led her back into the room and turned the music off. "Out. All of you."
They all knew Draco, he had chatted up every one of the over the last week, and they quickly did as they were told.
"What are you doing?" Granger whined as she watched her newfound friends leave in a hurry.
"Putting you to bed."
"I don't want to go to bed!"
"Tough." He grabbed her and moved her over to the side of the bed. "Think you can get ready for bed on your own or do I have to do it for you?" he almost choked as the words came out of his mouth. Did he really just insinuate to undressing Hermione fucking Granger?"
"Fuck you, you bastard. You tell me how to get friends and then you scare them away? Arse."
Rolling his eyes, Draco had had enough. "Fine. Do what you want."
"What?" she said solemnly as he turned to leave.
"You heard me." Draco reached for the door handle, but suddenly Granger was behind him, hands on his shoulders, spinning him around.
"Wait," she whispered, and Draco noted how much her breath smelt of Firewhiskey. "Just let me -" Granger didn't finish her sentence, lunging forwards and placing her lips on Draco's.
Astonished, Draco didn't know what to do. The smell of alcohol was horrible, but she was so soft and tender. Then images of Potter, Weasley and Pansy flashed through his head and he pulled away suddenly. "Stop! What are you doing, Granger?"
The realisation of what she'd just done seemed to hit Granger as she slowly stepped backwards, a shocked look upon her face. "Goodnight," she said, hurrying and jumping into bed, turning the light off with her wand.
"Goodnight," Draco sighed, leaving her alone. As he crawled into bed he wondered how much alcohol she must've had to think of doing something like that.
*
"We're here," Granger said quietly, ignoing Draco's gaze, as she had for the last week.
They were back at Hogwarts now, just stepping off the coach. The last few days had been awful; they'd been avoiding each other. Draco figured Granger did it because of humiliation and he knew he avoided her because he thought she'd gone mad.
Draco remembered the brief conversation they had had in the morning after the episode. Hermione's hair had gone back to being a tidal wave of fuzz, wearing the hair slide that glistened if the sun hit it, and her skirt was back to a decent length. They had sworn in hushed tones, before going off to different tables at breakfast, not to tell anyone what had happened, but they hadn't really needed to. Neither wanted to speak about it ever again.
"Whatever," Draco mumbled to himself as Pansy flew up to him, giving him a hug.
"Draco!" she squeeled. "Are you okay? You never wrote to me once!" As she said that she punched him in the chest as hard as she could, which, luckily for Draco, wasn't very hard at all.
"Sorry, I was busy." He wasn't really focusing on Pansy, she was rattling on about something that had happened while he was away. He was watching Granger greet her friends with delight instead.
"Draco? Did you hear me?"
"Er, what?"
"Ugh!" Pansy stormed off, muttering to herself.
Draco was about to shout something after her when he felt a presence to his left; it was Granger.
"Sorry," she whispered. He must've looked confused as she carried on. "About the...you know." And Draco did know, nodding in recognition.
"Where are Potter and Weasley?"
"Carrying my bags in for me."
"Why? They could've just used magic."
Granger shrugged. "Look, I just wanted to apologise, so...."
"Right," Draco nodded. As he watched her go he focused on her walk. Whether it was his influence or not, her hips were swaying as she did so. It was an image he'd been seeing every night before he went to sleep. The way she wrapped her hair around her quill when she was bored and the way her cheeks blushed bright red when she got something wrong were regular features too, but they didn't get him off quite like picturing her arse did now.
The reason Draco had gone to Beauxbatons was to shag as many girls as he could get his hands on. Not to fall in love and especially not with Hermione fucking Granger. Luckily for him, he thought, he didn't think he had. But he knew, as he tucked his wand into his pocket and picked up his bag to follow after Pansy toward the Slytherin dorms, that it would take a lot longer than two weeks to get over that beauty.
dmexchangemods is an account created solely for purpose of posting the gifts created for this exchange. It has not authored or created these gifts.
Author:
Pairing: Draco/Hermione
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Draco and one other student are invited on an exchange programme to Beauxbatons, but Draco's playboy plans are forced to change when he finds out who the other student is.
Author's Notes: Thank you to my beta chemical_haven.
"Do you have to go?" Pansy whined at Draco as he was packing his things.
Draco sighed. "Yes Pansy, I do." He'd already been through this with her, several times in fact, over the past few weeks. Truth be told, he didn't have to go, but it was an experience of a lifetime and he didn't want to miss it just because Pansy would miss him.
"Will you write to me everyday?"
"Not everyday, Pans," he said as he put away the last of his clothes. He was glad for his magic; he didn't think he'd be able to do it by hand. Too much hassle, he thought. He chanced a look at her, pouting with her puppy dog eyes. "I promise to write as often as I can. Okay?"
Pansy rolled her eyes, but knowing Draco she settled for it. "Fine." She looked over her shoulder to where Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle were playing cards. "I can't believe you're abandoning me with them."
"I'm not abandoning you, Pans, but I'm not going to stop doing things just because you don't want me to. Besides," Draco closed his suitcase, "Dumbeldore has personally asked me to go."
"He didn't personally ask you...."
Draco reached his hand to his head, rubbing his temple and hoping Pansy would stop nagging him soon. She was his best friend, but sometimes she just got too much, even for him. "Yes, he did. Now will you please take that," Draco pointed to a small bag on his bed, "or we're going to be late."
"No," Pansy corrected him. "You're going to be late. I'm not going, remember?"
Draco knew she just wasn't going to let this drop. All the way to the front entrance she whined about it. So much so he just couldn't wait to get her out of his sight. They put the bags down near the old oak door and waited for Dumbledore to turn up. There was also one other student going, but Draco hadn't been told who it was. He didn't particularly care though; he just wanted to get to their destination.
A few weeks ago, Dumbledore had come to him and told him about a new exchange program starting up between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. Draco had no idea why he'd been picked and hadn't asked, fearing Dumbledore would ask himself the same question and withdraw him. Of course, Draco had jumped at the chance - mainly to see all the lovely Beauxbatons girls again. He'd gotten on with them so well a few years ago. He was pretty sure that was part of, if not the whole, reason Pansy hadn't wanted him to go, because they'd spent so long fawning over him last time.
Draco remembered how she hated it and how possessive she had become. It had done nothing but annoy him. He wasn't hers, and he certainly wasn't interested in her like that. To Draco, Pansy was his best friend and nothing more, but she felt differently. For years she'd thrown herself at him, to no avail. Draco was just glad it hadn't affected their friendship, because as much as he hated to admit it, he needed her.
"Malfoy?" Draco spun around sharply, brought out of his thoughts by a sudden female voice. One glance at the woman made his stomach turn and his eyes roll.
"Granger," he sighed, eyeing her as she was flanked by no other than Potter and Weasley. "What are you doing here?"
Granger looked from Pansy to his bags and then back to him. "I'm taking part in the Beauxbatons exchange," she said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, Draco," Pansy whinged. "You're going with her? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't know," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm not exactly thrilled at this new information, Pansy."
"Neither are we." This time it was Weasley who spoke. "Did you know, Hermione?"
Draco expected her to shake her head, but she didn't. Slowly but timidly, she nodded.
"What?" Weasley was fuming, his cheeks were as inflamed as his hair.
"Hermione!" Potter elbowed her gently. "If you knew, why didn't -?"
Annoyed, she cut him off. "Because I knew you'd react like this."
Weasley grumbled, but he didn't deny it.
"Ahh," Dumbledore came cheerily into the hall, a large smile across his face. "I see you're getting to know one another."
Draco turned to him. "Professor, you never said she was going."
Dumbledore waved his hands. "That was irrelevant."
"So why did she know?"
"I feared you would turn my offer down, Draco. I believe this will be an incredible experience for the both of you." Dumbledore smiled once again. "The coach is waiting outside, I think."
Pansy let out a cry of frustration. "It's time for you to go, then?"
Draco nodded and opened his arms to give her a bear hug. "I'll miss you," he said quietly, so nobody else would hear. As he turned to leave, she blew him a kiss, which he didn't return. That would be too far.
*
"Monsieur Malfoy!" A blonde Beauxbatons girl greeted him happily. He didn't recognise her but she seemed to know him. She took his hand and kissed his cheek. "Don't you remember me?" she asked sadly. "It's Carla."
Now Draco realised who she was: the girl he'd spent most of his time with when she was at Hogwarts. "Ahh, yes." He didn't smile, but he nodded to her, not reciprocating her advances. As far as he was concerned, he wanted 'fresh meat'. "You look lovely," he managed to say as he took in her short skirt and tight top, which no doubt she'd put on especially for him. Draco was going to think of something else to say when he felt a presence behind him.
"And you must be," Carla bit her tongue; it was obvious to anyone she wasn't happy with their new companion. "...Gravel?"
Draco turned to see Granger showing a slight annoyance on her face.
"Granger. Hermione Granger." Draco watched her force a smile at Carla. "Malfoy," she tapped him on the shoulder gently, "we are to be shown to our quarters."
Draco sighed, faking irritation. Secretly he was glad Granger had dragged him away from Carla. Once women started acting possessive around him he was usually out of there as fast as his legs could carry him. He could tolerate it for a few days in front of the lads, liking to be fawned over, but after that it was just too much.
As they were walking to their quarters, Draco found himself staring at the two girls in front of him, Granger and whoever was showing them their rooms. The unknown girl was a beautiful brunette with a fantastic sway of her hips, and he quite fancied some alone time with her. Looking from the girl to Granger he noticed a massive difference. Granger didn't sway sexily, walking squarely with her arms crossed in front of her. The brunette had perfectly straight hair tied up into a bun whereas Grangers was bushy and untidy, frizz everywhere. He wouldn't have been surprised to find a bird's nest in there.
They came to a sudden stop and the girl pointed to a room on the left which Granger walked into. He was then shown into the room on the right. It was adequate for their two-week stay, but nothing like Draco was used to back at the Manor.
"Thanks," he said quietly, forcing a smile at the girl. He held his hand out to her. "Draco Malfoy." Much to his disbelief she ignored his outstretched hand and shrugged.
"I know who you are." The girls voice was frosty.
Draco waited for her to offer her name, but she didn't. She just stared at him impatiently. "And you?" He asked at last.
"Shelly Winters." The girl said, but she spoke reluctantly. Realising this was a lost cause he sighed as he placed his bag on the bed, using his wand to unpack. By the time he'd finished and turned around, Shelly was long gone. Draco started to feel hungry, ravenous almost, so he decided to make his way downstairs and hope the house elves catered for him as they did at Hogwarts.
The kitchen was a lot smaller than the one at Hogwarts and there weren't as many house elves either. They were busy clearing up the lunch things. He was surprised to find Granger standing in the corner, scrubbing away, hair tied back in a messy bobble.
"What are you doing, Granger? There are house elves for that."
"Not all of us are lazy, Malfoy," she said in annoyance. "These are my own plates. I would do it all but they won't let me." She nodded towards the house elves.
Draco sighed and turned to the little creature nearest him. "A cheese sandwich. Now."
"Yes, sir," the house elf squeeked, scurrying towards a cupboard, but he was stopped in his tracks by Granger.
"No, Muffin, you don't need to do that."
"But Master Malfoy -"
"- can make his own food." Granger eyed Draco eerily. "Surely you can make a simple sandwich, Malfoy?"
Gritting his teeth to the point they almost hurt, Draco made the quickest sandwich of his life - and he'd only made one before - with a blushing red face and shooted out of the kitchen. In his head he was using every name under the sun for Granger, and swore to make her pay for what she had just done.
*
"Oh, Draco, you're so clever," the pretty blonde named Ingrid said as she sat next to him. Draco had just answered a question and got it right, which seemed like a miracle to Ingrid. He looked across the room to see Granger glaring at him. Over the past few days he'd kept sneaking her books into his quarters and copying down the answers - he was no good at French. It was the perfect revenge and he loved to see her face when he beat her to every answer. He was surprised she still hadn't clocked on yet, since she was supposed to be so intelligent.
Grangers misery wasn't just due to him though. Apart from Shelly, none of the other girls wanted anything to do with her. Draco had watched her walk up to girl after girl just to be shunned as they made their way over to him. Shelly wasn't even in the same year as them, so Granger hardly saw her as it was. For Draco, the best part was her confused looks - she had so many friends at Hogwarts she just couldn't seem to understand it.
It was five days into their trip when Granger just couldn't take it anymore. Draco was walking down to dinner that Saturday evening when he heard sobbing coming from behind one of the statues. Normally he'd just ignore it, but he didn't want to miss the chance that it might be Ingrid or another gorgeous girl.
"Hello?" He asked softly, not wanting to scare her.
The response he got was frosty. "Go away, Malfoy."
So it's Granger. Draco thought. What on earth was she crying about?
"Sorry," he mumbnled, seeing her tear stained face and feeling bad for her. "What's wrong?" He didn't care, he was just curious as to what had upset the golden girl.
"What do you think?" Granger shielded her face from his view.
"Er," Draco thought for a moment before he caught on. "It's not the girls ignoring you, is it?" He realised he'd said it too harshly when she burst into tears. "Oh. Why do you even care?"
Granger stared at him for a moment, seemingly searching his eyes to find out if she trusted him enough to confide in him. It was at least another minute before she made up her mind and spoke. "I care if people like me or not, okay?" she said it quickly and turned the face the wall, hiding her embarrassment.
"Really? You have a flaw?" Draco blurted out before realising how insensitive it was.
"It's not just that..." Granger carried on. "I'm not even the clever one here - you are."
"Yeah, um, about that..." Draco didn't think he could do much about the girls, but he may as well own up to what he was responsible for. He was feeling a weird emotion wash over him, which he guessed had to be guilt.
"What?" Granger now had a face like thunder
Boy, women change emotions fast, Draco thought. "I coped off you, I nicked your books."
"I'm still cleverer than you?" she perked up with delight.
"I wouldn't put it quite like that." Draco felt anger at the bottom of his stomach. "I'm no good at French, that's all."
"But still..." Granger looked at the wall in front of her. After a long moment she finally spoke again. "Why don't they like me?" Draco was really surprised that she even felt like that and he couldn't understand why she was telling him of all people. As if reading his mind, Granger answered his thoughts. "You're the only one I know here." She chanced a look at him and he saw embarrassment in her eyes. She stood up quickly and turned to leave.
"Wait," he touched her arm but took it away in an instant. "Maybe if you made yourself fit in more...."
"Sorry?" Granger stared at him.
"Make your hair a bit straighter, wear better clothes," he said as he spotted her large, purple cardigan. "Just be less uptight, you know."
Granger gasped. "Uptight? I'm not uptight. Screw you, Malfoy!"
Draco watched her storm off down the corridor, proving his point. Sighing to himself he made his way down to dinner. It passed slowly and without event, bar lots of fawning, so pretty soon he had his head on his pillow trying to fall asleep.
*
"Correct, Miss Granger," their french Herbology teacher said in class the next day. Draco chanced a look at her to find that she was scowling at him. He hadn't meant to upset her, he'd tried to help, but she just wasn't grateful for it. One thing Draco did notice, though, was a very small hair slide in Granger's hair. It was almost unnoticeable and if they hadn't had that conversation last night he probably wouldn't have seen it himself. It was only a small change, but it was a step towards what he'd been on about yesterday so she'hoping Pansy would stop nagging As they were leaving the lesson, he took it upon himself to whisper "Nice clip," into her ear, walking away quickly so she didn't have time to respond.
As the days wore on he noticed lots of little changes. Each day she became more daring - for her - and more like the Beauxbatons girls. First the clip, then her hair became straighter, shinier. She switched from her jumpers to v-necked shirts. It was the day that he noticed how short her skirt had gotten when he began to realise the impact of his conversation. The hair slide was one thing, but this was on a whole different level. What astounded him the most was that he didn't even like her like that, but as he witnessed the changes he realised that it wasn't her. Though for the life of him he couldn't believe he was thinking like that. Obviously he liked what she was wearing, she looked hot in it, but she wasn't herself. For some unbeknownst reason, it really bothered him.
It was four days before they were due to return back to Hogwarts when Draco saw the full impact his conversation really had had on her. He was trying to catch an early night, for some reason he was knackered, but all he could hear was giggling and music coming from nearby. He got out of bed and threw on his dressing grown, flinging open his door and finding the noise coming from Granger's room. Usually he loved it when drunken girls partied - it meant he usually got some, but as he walked into the room, he was gobsmacked at what he saw.
There, dancing on the bed as though she'd been like that all her life, was Hermione Granger. She was clearly drunk, singing very badly at the top of her voice and dancing like a maniac. There was a group of giggling Beauxbaton's girls, all intoxicated as well, dancing around the bed. It looked like a a wild pagan ritual.
"What are you doing?" He yelled over the music, not quite believing what he was seeing.
Granger turned towards him, a confused look on her face. "Who, me?"
Draco nodded. "Yes, you. How on earth did you get into this state?"
"You said I needed to lighten up - remember?" She giggled and fell backwards on the bed, knocking into the headboard. "Ooops!"
"Get down off that bed this instance!" Draco scolded her, but not sure why. He felt protective, as though he should be looking after her, but she wasn't his girlfriend. She wasn't his friend. She wasn't even someone he liked...was she?
Granger stuck her tongue out at him. "No!" she said indignantly, gripping the headboard for balance.
"I want to talk to you." Draco's jaw was clenched; he was getting more irritated by the second. "Now."
She pouted, then looked at the other girls and giggled. "Back in a sec, dears!" She flopped off the bed, wobbling, before catching herself on the dresser nearby. "What do you want?" she said as she left the room, closing the door loudly behind her.
"What are you doing?"
Granger sighed, "What does it look like, Malfoy?"
"This isn't you," he was shocked at how much he almost sounded pleading.
"Isn't it?" she cocked her head to the side. "You said it should be."
"No," Draco sighed. "I didn't." He didn't really have a clue what to do with her in that state. When it was a girlfriend he shagged them, and when it was Pansy he put her to bed, but Granger? In the back of his mind he knew the responsible thing would be to look after her, after all, it was his fault she was like this. Taking her by the hand, he led her back into the room and turned the music off. "Out. All of you."
They all knew Draco, he had chatted up every one of the over the last week, and they quickly did as they were told.
"What are you doing?" Granger whined as she watched her newfound friends leave in a hurry.
"Putting you to bed."
"I don't want to go to bed!"
"Tough." He grabbed her and moved her over to the side of the bed. "Think you can get ready for bed on your own or do I have to do it for you?" he almost choked as the words came out of his mouth. Did he really just insinuate to undressing Hermione fucking Granger?"
"Fuck you, you bastard. You tell me how to get friends and then you scare them away? Arse."
Rolling his eyes, Draco had had enough. "Fine. Do what you want."
"What?" she said solemnly as he turned to leave.
"You heard me." Draco reached for the door handle, but suddenly Granger was behind him, hands on his shoulders, spinning him around.
"Wait," she whispered, and Draco noted how much her breath smelt of Firewhiskey. "Just let me -" Granger didn't finish her sentence, lunging forwards and placing her lips on Draco's.
Astonished, Draco didn't know what to do. The smell of alcohol was horrible, but she was so soft and tender. Then images of Potter, Weasley and Pansy flashed through his head and he pulled away suddenly. "Stop! What are you doing, Granger?"
The realisation of what she'd just done seemed to hit Granger as she slowly stepped backwards, a shocked look upon her face. "Goodnight," she said, hurrying and jumping into bed, turning the light off with her wand.
"Goodnight," Draco sighed, leaving her alone. As he crawled into bed he wondered how much alcohol she must've had to think of doing something like that.
*
"We're here," Granger said quietly, ignoing Draco's gaze, as she had for the last week.
They were back at Hogwarts now, just stepping off the coach. The last few days had been awful; they'd been avoiding each other. Draco figured Granger did it because of humiliation and he knew he avoided her because he thought she'd gone mad.
Draco remembered the brief conversation they had had in the morning after the episode. Hermione's hair had gone back to being a tidal wave of fuzz, wearing the hair slide that glistened if the sun hit it, and her skirt was back to a decent length. They had sworn in hushed tones, before going off to different tables at breakfast, not to tell anyone what had happened, but they hadn't really needed to. Neither wanted to speak about it ever again.
"Whatever," Draco mumbled to himself as Pansy flew up to him, giving him a hug.
"Draco!" she squeeled. "Are you okay? You never wrote to me once!" As she said that she punched him in the chest as hard as she could, which, luckily for Draco, wasn't very hard at all.
"Sorry, I was busy." He wasn't really focusing on Pansy, she was rattling on about something that had happened while he was away. He was watching Granger greet her friends with delight instead.
"Draco? Did you hear me?"
"Er, what?"
"Ugh!" Pansy stormed off, muttering to herself.
Draco was about to shout something after her when he felt a presence to his left; it was Granger.
"Sorry," she whispered. He must've looked confused as she carried on. "About the...you know." And Draco did know, nodding in recognition.
"Where are Potter and Weasley?"
"Carrying my bags in for me."
"Why? They could've just used magic."
Granger shrugged. "Look, I just wanted to apologise, so...."
"Right," Draco nodded. As he watched her go he focused on her walk. Whether it was his influence or not, her hips were swaying as she did so. It was an image he'd been seeing every night before he went to sleep. The way she wrapped her hair around her quill when she was bored and the way her cheeks blushed bright red when she got something wrong were regular features too, but they didn't get him off quite like picturing her arse did now.
The reason Draco had gone to Beauxbatons was to shag as many girls as he could get his hands on. Not to fall in love and especially not with Hermione fucking Granger. Luckily for him, he thought, he didn't think he had. But he knew, as he tucked his wand into his pocket and picked up his bag to follow after Pansy toward the Slytherin dorms, that it would take a lot longer than two weeks to get over that beauty.
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