Untouched

Chapter 2: A List Of Things I Hate

"Hermione! Good morning, I didn't know you were staying for the holiday." Malfoy grinned at Hermione.

"Umm...good morning, Mal...um..Draco." She stammered, still finding it hard to adapt to the situation. She knew Malfoy was under the potion's effect now, he thought he loved her and he was acting accordingly, pretending they were never at each other's throats before. But what about her? How was she supposed to act? She knew Malfoy couldn't see sense, the potion was clouding his judgement, but wouldn't it be too weird if she acted in love instantly? He must think it's suspicious if she did. She needed to go to the library, there must be a book that would let her know all about the effects of a love potion. Till then, she had to be careful.

"It's great to have you here, I was afraid I'd have to spend the holiday by myself." he admitted, looking down at his breakfast as he started eating.

Hermione, who began nibbling at her own food, decided to stir the conversation into a safer topic.

"So why are you staying here for the holiday?" she asked.

"Oh, I have...some things to do, and I'm glad I stayed, we wouldn't be having this conversation if I had left." he smiled.

"Things? What sort of things?" Hermione did her best to appear nonchalant.

"Nothing important." Malfoy replied abruptly, his brows furrowed, but then they smoothed back again "You're not eating." he pointed out, looking at Hermione's plate then up at her.

"I'm not hungry." she replied, standing up, surprised when Malfoy stood up the next minute.

"I need to go to the library, there's something I need to read." She said as she started walking away but Malfoy's hand grabbed her elbow and she froze at the unexpected contact. "Wait, I'll come with you." he said simply.

"No." Hermione insisted "I won't be too long, please stay." she requested.

Malfoy looked at her with a sad look on his face, then he hit her with his unpredictable question "But what am I supposed to do when you're away?" he frowned, looking genuinely puzzled.

"Umm..I'm not sure, maybe you could just wait for me." Hermione was too dumbfounded by the question, she couldn't think of a better answer.

"Alright then, just don't be late." he said, then he bowed his head, pecked her on the cheek, before turning around and sitting back at the near table, looking at her innocently as if this was part of their daily routine.

Hermione didn't realize she was holding her breath. She almost ran out of the hall, feeling the need to put as much space between herself and Malfoy as possible. This was not as easy as everybody made it sound, it wasn't even as bad as she thought it would be; it was ten times worse. Her cheek still burnt, and she couldn't even tell how he would react if she turned down his so called love.

After a long search in the library she found the book she was looking for. According to it, love potions mainly depended on clouding the drinker's judgement. Strong potions like Amortentia would make the drinker develop great obsession. Weaker ones, like the one Malfoy was under, cause mild, short-lived infatuation and although it does affect the memory while it's active and after its effect has worn off, it doesn't totally erase a person's memory. So Malfoy did remember how they treated each other before, he just chose to ignore it, and maybe she should do the same for the time being. Hermione walked out of the library only to find Malfoy standing right in front of her, he was leaning on the wall and he made his way to her once she emerged from the library, once again, beaming at her.

"Mal...Draco! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, her brows furrowed.

He looked at her as if she asked the most stupid question in the world and said "You told me to wait for you."

Hermione's mouth fell open at his reply and before she could reply he started asking about the book she was reading and what started as short conversation about books went on and on till dinner. She tried to get away from him by convincing him to go have lunch without her but he refused, saying he needed to spend time with her more than he needed to eat! She tried repeatedly to ask him about the things he said he had to do at Hogwarts but every time she asked about them his eyes would wander away for a while, then he would distract her from the question with another one of his.

When it was finally time to sleep, he reluctantly agreed to let her go...on condition that he walked her to her room. Hermione had never been so happy to see her room before, for her it wasn't just a room now, it was her only escape. She mumbled a goodnight to Malfoy before and reached for the knob.
Malfoy's hand covered hers and she turned around to find him inches away "Wha.." she started to say but he cut her off, bending his head down he aimed for her lips this time, brushing his over hers for a brief moment before stepping back.

"This is how you properly say goodnight." he smiled at her then turned around and walked down the corridor.

Hermione's hand tightened on the door knob, she just stood there, not even trying to open the door. She hated how she was feeling, she hated the weakness in her knees, the tightening in her belly But most of all, she hated Draco Malfoy.