Silver and Gold // Dramione

Fire

6th Year, September 25th

The first week being trapped with Hermione in a dormitory went by far smoother than he expected. Her desire to annoy him with indulging questions all but vanished in the hours passing, and he noted she herself almost vanished along with them.

She kept mostly to her room, barley coming in and out of the common room a few times to grab a book off the massive shelf before retreating back. The few times he had managed to meet her eyes, intending to scare her again, playing her little game, she already looked afraid before he had done anything.

It startled him slightly to know that she was in a perpetual state of fear in her own living situation. It worked out for him well enough, he had free reign over the armchairs, and he had learned how to use the muggle kettle to make tea wherever he wanted.

But she barely showed herself.

And something was unnerving about her fragile presence.

She was purposely avoiding him. Everytime he closed his bedroom door, he could hear hers open. He could hear her knock more than three times every time she used the bathroom that stood between the bedrooms.

The only thing about her that hadn't been avoiding him was her hair. Everytime he stood from an armchair he found a few strands of brown curly hair weaved in his fingers, or stuck to his robes. He found one in his bed one morning and silently cursed her out, despite knowing she was none the wiser.

Her hair was everywhere, the armchairs, the kitchen, his clothes, he felt like he was being consumed by her and she had barely been in the same room as him besides for potions class.

She barely looked at him then either. Draco could see Aurie glance between them, guessing as to how the rooming situation was going, before listening to Slughorn.

The first Monday back in class Slughorn had praised the two of them and had them stand in front of the class like prized cattle.

The entire class looked annoyed in some fashion. 

Weasley and Potter changed from ready to kill him, to looking at Hermione worriedly. Seamus and Neville could barely tell how to read the room, as evident by the bewilderment splashed on their less than Gryffindor-looking faces. Blaise, Theo and Pansy's expressions were all different. Pansy was looking exactly at Hermione in the same way Weasley was looking at Draco. Theo was simply smiling at Draco, attempting to be supportive, and Blaise was trying not to laugh, at Hermione's awkward shuffle away from him. 

Once again Draco noted that Aurie Francis was the only one genuinely pleased with the situation, and smiling between both Draco and Hermione.

By Wednesday Hermione still hadn't made eye contact, despite Draco feeling like he was living with a shedding cat version of her who was always everywhere, and Aurie looked genuinely worried.

She caught Draco on the way out of potions and asked to speak with him. Draco was confused, but obliged, curious to know why she seemed to have a weird soft spot for him.

Initially he told himself that it was because she was new, and didn't know his reputation. But with the amount of time she spent talking with Hermione, and then the opposite exposure of her time with Pansy, he was genuinely baffled as to why she wasn't hexing him into oblivion for one of the two girls' reasons.

- "How much have you seen of Hermione?" -Draco was caught off guard by her question, unsure of what answer she was looking for.

- "She hides out in her room most of the time" - he responded, deciding that blatant truth was the only way he was likely to get anything out of her, if there was one thing he wasn't it was a lair. -"Anytime I'm in a common area she avoids it, and she triple checks rooms before going in to make sure I'm not there" - , he concluded his thought and Aurie looked shocked.