Fiercely Stubborn Hearts

Chapter 9

Draco watched her door and waited. She always came out. He wished she would come out. He tried to tell himself he was just watching to make sure that she wasn't hurt because he knew Potter would absolutely kill him if she was and no one made sure that she took care of herself. He tried to convince himself that he was really just watching that door in order to keep his own well being intact. He looked down at his book and held it in front of himself, ordering himself to read. But his eyes just flickered back over the book to look at the door. 

It was maybe three in the morning when he realized she wasn't coming to the Common Room that night. He got up for a few moments and paced, feeling the bruises and scratches from the battle stretch over his muscles as he moved. Why did he feel worried? Why did he feel like he should run and burst into her room and ask if she was alright? His fists clenched and unclenched as he paced. What was he even thinking about? He didn't care about her. He didn't like her.

He nodded to himself, yes. He need to keep telling himself that. He didn't like her. 

Then, why was he still standing there? Why was he still looking at her door with that concerned expression on his face? 

He forced himself to sit down. Forced himself to read. Dropped his book. Shit. He leaned down to pick it up where it had landed after bouncing off his knee.

She had chosen him, he realized. She had chosen him over Weasley. That was weird, even with the way that Weasley had been acting like a colossal arse. The Weasel had always acted that way with Granger. Draco wondered if maybe this was only the first time she was beginning to really realized how badly the red head had treated her. No, he thought, she was far too smart for that. Not to mention, he had played witness to some of the worst of their fights. Maybe not the direct witness, but he always heard about them. Everyone always heard about it. It was those weeks afterward that you were supposed to act especially carefully around the two of them as both were prone to lashing out at each other and the destruction radius varied. Even he listened to common sense in those moments when the two were fighting. 

He couldn't help but also remember that she had told the Weasel that she had broken up with him. Over the summer, he presumed. Weasley had still looked injured at that, especially in the way that he still appeared to be jealous of his own brother being friends with her. Draco knew that Granger would never do that to someone she had dated before. She would never go and date the other siblings. She was too honorable for that. She was too Gryffindor for that. And it wouldn't have shocked Draco to know that Weasley has been completely overreacting about his brother being friends with Granger. Honestly, he wondered how they had even lasted to the summer, despite the Battle of Hogwarts(when Weasley and Granger had started dating) being at the end of the school year. The only reason they had lasted that long, he supposed, was likely because of Granger.

He stopped thinking. Look at yourself Draco, he thought, you're acting like you care about her relationship now.

He assumed that she and the other Weasley-George- were not actually dating.

He didn't care. He didn't.

He grimaced. Maybe he did.

No. He didn't.

He rubbed his eyes and put his face in his hands. Perhaps he did. He didn't want to care about her. It was so much easier to not like her. He didn't want to get mixed up in her life anymore than he had to. He gave a long, drawn out sigh and leaned back in his chair. Maybe Pansy was right. Maybe he was attracted to the brunette. He couldn't say she wasn't attractive. He shook his head. He really couldn't say that. 

"In that case, figure it out, and I'll do my best to help you."

That was what Pansy had said. He nodded. He needed to talk to Pansy.