Short Change Hero

Chapter 13: Manners

Chapter Thirteen

Hurricane

"Welcome to the inner workings of my mind,
So dark and foul I can't disguise,
Can't disguise nights like this,
I become afraid,
Of the darkness in my heart,
Hurricane..."

Hurricane by MS MR

Tuesday October 1st, 1996

After Potions Class outside in the Hallway

In a rather hastened set pace, Draco rushed past students whom casually walked down the corridor, as he watched the somewhat bushy hair from Granger's head bobbing rhythmically in-between Weasel and Potter. Huffing loudly, he swerved around a group of fourth years while he looked upwards towards her; he watched them closely as they seemed to be heading towards the library. For the past four bloody days, she had managed to avoid talking to him, even during potions class yesterday and today, which granted was an accomplishment in itself, but enough was enough.

In all honesty, as Draco thought about Friday after the dinner party, the more he thought it the more he could not even remember what he had been thinking at the time when he just told her about the attacker and about- her wanting him. Obvious or not, it was something that should not have been said aloud, ever, let alone to her face in the heat of the moment.

There just was something about her telling him to leave her alone that did not sit well with Draco, and no matter how much he thought about his task, it seemed far more suffocating without having some sort of a familiarity in his life. Such as bothering a certain know-it-all, ruffling her tamed feathers, like he use to in past school years, when things were far less complicated. On the other hand, maybe it had to do with the newly found cinnamon scent that he begrudgingly and gradually started to miss when she initially started to ignore him along with her fiery touch.

Rolling his eyes at his quite daft thoughts, he rounded the corner as he stood from a fair distance away, observing the 'Golden Trio' splitting ways, which left the witch all alone to head towards the library where she always went at this time. Taking two strides down that hallway towards her, Draco followed her around yet another corner and up a set of stairs just outside the library.

Once inside he pursued closely enough to see her but far enough that she would not see him, and with a shake of his head, Draco then headed down the aisle near the back and paused with only a singular bookshelf between them. Peeking through the small opening above the books to see her sitting at her regular table in the back, he inhaled softly and then let himself rub his pointer finger against the small scar upon his right palm.

Then right on cue, Granger pulled out a book that seemed somewhat familiar to him, and when she opened to her bookmark just before taking one brief glance at her wristwatch, he gulped. Slowly but surely, he tilted his head to his right while gritting his teeth together for a second and took two steps around the bookshelf, and the only sound he could hear was of their breathing and his dress shoes echoing against marbled flooring.

"D'you always have that bushy head of yours in a book, Granger?" He asked aloud as he stopped walking towards her when her brown irises tore themselves away from the page riddled with ink inside her book to look at him. Giving her a familiar fleeting glimpse of his signature smirk, he watched her roll her eyes and then go back to reading as if he was not here. Raising his eyebrows at her palpable effort in ignoring him, which he would like to add she had been doing for days now. Draco then shook his head, pulled out the chair at her table opposite of her and sat across from her.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she sighed, speaking clearly yet lowly at the same time while not even looking away from her book. Grinning at the sound of her voice for a slight second then realizing what he was doing he stopped and cleared his throat in order to get her eye contact. Once she looked up towards him, her curly hair strewn in a mildly tamed mess aside from a singular curl that hung in her face, Draco then ignored the urge to brush it behind her ear. After clearing his throat once more, he then scooted his chair forwards and turned to watch her blink twice as if telling him to get on with it.