On the Nature of Daylight

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Draco was lying back on the black leather couch and staring up at the domed vaulted ceiling of the Slytherin common room. Large stone beams arched up, holding up the walls of the underwater room and keeping the cold, dark water of the Black Lake from crushing it and rushing in.

He thought he saw a crack.

These weren't feelings, they were... Fuck, what were these?

It was normal to feel something, for someone who was so per-

No. Stop.

Try again.

It was normal to feel something for someone who was exactly what he wanted.

Draco pressed his lips together. Not that much better.

It was normal to feel something.

He'd start there.

Just because it had never happened before didn't mean that it couldn't happen, that he wasn't capable of caring about someone.

But not Granger.

Never Granger.

It was normal that eventually one of the girls he fucked would spark something-

No! No sparks! He scowled.

Not sparks, more like a roaring fire. A mix of flickering yellow, glowing orange, and burning red. Gryffindor red.

He glanced back up at the crack.

It was normal... to feel. On fire.

He wanted that crack to break and all that freezing water to come crashing down on him.

It didn't mean anything; she didn't mean anything.

It was just a good fuck. That's all. That's why he was feeling like this because he had never imagined that it would have been this good. He had played it out dozens of times in his head. Hundreds. Maybe that was why this was happening. He had to let all this play out, over and over, until his brain caught up with his cock and he'd had enough of her.

Maybe that could work? At least this way he'd still get to fuck Granger as much as he wanted. And once he had his fill, whenever that was, then it would be normal. Then he could go back to hating her in peace. He could finish his task. He could kill Dumbledore-

He swallowed something sour tasting. That's what started all of this in the first place. He only had a limited time left and had thought what the hell, why not try and get under the Mudblood's skirt? Not like anything really mattered anymore.

It didn't matter. None of it mattered. Nothing he was feeling or not feeling. If fucking Granger made his day just a little easier then he was going to do it. Because he hated everything else. Everything but her.

No, especially her.

Draco stared at the crack until his eyes burned.

This was not normal.

"Stay away from him."

Hermione blinked and looked into the pinched face of Lavender Brown up from her perch on the courtyard bench. It was the first day it hadn't rained in a week and she had eaten lunch quickly and taken the rest of her break out in fresh air. It was cold and bracing, but at least it was quiet here and things were busy enough inside her head sometimes she had to retreat away from her classmates to find some peace.

"I'm sorry, who are we talking about?" Hermione asked, nonplussed.  There was no way Lavender knew about Malfoy.  Right?

"Ron."