Temptation

That bastard. After all of the hints that she had given him, after all of the things that she had done for him, and he was off snogging a dim-witted girl who he had almost never talked to and certainly never showed an interest in. But, there he was, with his flamboyant red hair, looking almost as if he was trying to eat Lavender Brown’s face off. Hermione walked briskly through the halls of Hogwarts, trying to put as much distance between herself and Ron as possible, doing all of her possible not to let the tears slip from her eyes. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and veered away from her initial destination, the library, into an empty classroom that was never used. It was chilly, just as everywhere in the school where there wasn't a toasty, roaring fire. She hardly noticed this, tears spilled down her face, glittering in the moonlight like diamonds. She felt betrayed, she shouldn't, she had never told Ron how she felt about him. Suddenly, she heard the knob on the door twist and hurriedly tried to wipe her tears. She saw the blonde hair first and resisted the urge to groan, there was only one person in the school with hair as fair as this. Draco Malfoy. His eyes swept the room quickly, stopping on her. She was sitting on a staircase and felt exposed, sitting there, alone.

“What are you doing here, Granger?” he asked, his grey eyes gazing at her lazily. She hated his nonchalance.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Hermione replied, but she could not muster the attitude that she usually put into her remarks when she talked to Draco. Her voice cracked slightly also, something she immediately cursed herself for. The last she wanted to do was show some weakness in front of him.

“Maybe I’m doing my prefect rounds. Never know. At least I’m not the one crying on the floor in an empty room. Let me guess, poor dumb Weasley broke your little-wittle heart?” he smirked, but surprisingly enough, Hermione saw that it seemed hollow, like his mind was elsewhere.

“What would you know about that, eh Malfoy?”

“I sure know more about the matters of the heart than you, Granger.” he was still in the doorway of the room, leaning casually as if nothing bored him more than to be here. His clothes was all black, as usual, making his pale skin and blonde hair striking.

“Huh, I wasn't even sure you had one.” she replied, her voice squeaking a bit but she was glad to realize that her tears had dried.

“You’re hilarious, Granger. Now, as much as this little chat was fun, I've got to go.” And with that, he was gone. Hermione closed her eyes and sighed. At least bantering with Draco had made her feel just a little bit more like her normal self. Just as she was thinking that, Harry walked in the same door which had been closed just seconds earlier.

***

The boy sighed, leaning his head against the corridor. Ever since the stupid Yule ball, he couldn't help but think of how gorgeous Hermione had been. And of course, she had to be a damn mudblood, she was supposed to absolutely disgust him. And she had, for many years but now it seemed that he did not quite hate her as much as before. There was absolutely no mention that he was even close to liking her, though. That would be a disgrace to the Malfoy family and his pureblood, actually not minding a mudblood and possibly talking to her without contempt, absolutely out of the question.

Draco passed his hand through his thin hair, he had to focus. He had things to do and he that definitely didn't include thinking about Granger. He needed to get his head straight, think about his mission. This was the single most important thing in his life at the moment and would be until he succeeded. The teenager knew what the consequences could be, and not only for himself but for his family. His left arm seemed to sting a bit more as he thought about all of his and he cringed at the memory of the Dark Mark being branded into his flesh. He was walking towards the seventh floor of the castle, almost subconsciously; he was spending almost all of his time there now. The Slytherin common room was no longer the place where he felt most at him, the Room of Requirement was.

He had been coming here most of the year, and he now knew how to get there and how to get in the hidden room with his eyes closed. Draco knew where the lone Comet 140 lay so that he wouldn't trip on it and where the books that could help him repair the Vanishing Cabinet were. Because, that was his reason for always being in the Room of Hidden Things in the first place, the Vanishing Cabinet. If his plan worked, everything would be all right. The Dark Lord would be happy, his family would be safe and he would not get punished. Draco sighed as he got to the hidden entrance, walking in front of it three times and the door magically appeared as if out of nowhere.

His mind seemed to relax a bit as he went in; this was a place of comfort, as if nothing could hurt him. This was exactly what he needed, a shield from the outside world.