The Malfoy Mystery

10 • all too well

Dinner was being served at the Great Hall, stars twinkling brightly as the burning candles floated above the students, ghosts wandering around. Draco, feeling quite ashamed, came into view. He awkwardly sat beside Hermione in uncomfortable silence. Ironically, both of them decided to speak at that exact moment.

"Malfoy, you-" and "I apologize for" coincided, and the duo couldn't help but smile. Draco briefly cleared his throat as the rapid tapping of his foot against the floor became loud.

"I'm sorry for what I did this morning, Granger. It was extremely wrong for me to, Uhm, uh, kiss you without your consent. I'm very embarrassed."

"I forgive you, Malfoy. Moreover, I think it'll take time for you to control your Veela powers. It's not like you'll access it all of a sudden..."

Hermione kept chanting her vows of forgiveness and absorbed the one-sided conversation; Draco's mind blanked after hearing the word 'Veela'; Veela. Monogomous partner for life... Didn't he kiss Granger out of the blue... Merlin, the Hermione Granger, was his monogamous partner for life, the Golden Girl. The boy smacked his face, which interrupted the streak Hermione was in. They bid their goodnights and went to sleep at dusk.

In the morning, things weren't awkward between them. They had considered the previous event as an error. Draco still hadn't had a proper "chat" about it with Hermione. He was afraid to claim Hermione as his 'soulmate' out loud. He hoped the girl could figure this part out herself, which wasn't unrealistic. On the other hand, Theo had started to maintain several feet of distance from Draco, worried that Malfoy might attempt to smack him again.

It had only been a day, yet everyone somewhat knew what happened at the Astronomy tower. Many creative versions were roaming around as rumours. The particularly enticing one was that Hermione asked the young Malfoy to beat Theo up. The second was that Hermione started to cry, and Theo retracted his proposal. A regular person might have let it go as a joke, but Hermione wasn't, was she?

Theo chipped in, "Granger, you look pissed off." He walked next to Granger as the duo walked towards their Arithmetics lecture.

"You'll certainly be pissed off when the entire school thinks of you as a damsel in distress when you actually saved the entire bloody world."

Theo might have chuckled. Several heads turned in the corridor when they heard the brunette curse aloud in public. The girl shot their glares, and the students hurriedly picked up their paces, not wanting to deal with an aggressive poodle. Moreover, the girl was worried that the Weasleys had gotten head of this rumour. Even though it wasn't true, it could stir up some commotion in their household. And the Veela kissing her? She didn't even want to think about it.

They sat in the second last row and whispered so the professor couldn't hear them.

"Granger, did you think about the you-know-what powers of you-know-who?"

Hermione hissed, "Even your code names are obvious to understand, Theo. And yes, I did. There's absolutely nothing I could manage. Maybe help you-know-who control his powers."

The girl behind them was apparently eavesdropping on their conversation because the mention of 'you-know-who' made her hiccup uncontrollably. She shrieked, "You-know-who? You're helping Voldemort?" Her classmate smacked a book across her head and pulled her down to sit. "You idiot, they're talking about Draco Malfoy."

Hermione glared at Theo, "I told you it was obvious."

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Draco, on the other hand, was having trouble containing his powers. They would burst at spontaneous moments. Sometimes, it was controllable, but other times, it was in amounts that Draco had to physically restrain himself. He did something the younger Draco would have never done - seek help from others. After the lessons, Theo, Hermione and Draco were scheduled to assemble in the damaged Room Of Requirement.

Theo visibly shuddered, "Are you certain you need my help, man? I don't desire to be minced by you before I graduate."

Draco sighed, "Nott, no one except you can do this. It has to be you. I mean, just flirt with Granger."

Theo smiled as he took Hermione's hand in his own. He peeked deeply into her eyes as the Room of Requirement transformed into a beach-side panorama.

"Granger. Hermione. You look wonderful today. Might I say I'm the luckiest man alive today?"

Hermione quickly positioned her hands away as she shielded her mouth from chuckling.

Draco reprimanded, "Granger, take it seriously! If I were a professor, I'd grade you F for this."

Theo smirked, "Yes, you would certainly give an 'F' to her." Needless to say, Theo was awarded a couple of flying shoes from either direction.

Draco smirked as Theo groaned in distress, "Speaking of f's, aren't you the one dating Looney?"

"Shut it." Theo picked up Hermione's hand again, though he was severely scowling. It was evident that Nott was whipped for Luna, and he thoroughly relished it.

While the trio mocked each other, Blaise and Pansy weren't enjoying themselves. They had been assigned to a third-year Defence against the Dark Arts lecture as assistants. As Blaise had to demonstrate combating a Boggart, Pansy was quite surprised to see his 'true' fear. Misplacing his broomstick. Needless to state, Parkinson was not pleased with this sight and intended to ignore him. Blaise took this rare opportunity to break off his relationship with Pansy. Zabini couldn't wait to gossip this to his companions. His real friends.

Christmas vacations were about to commence in a month. Draco had unwillingly consented to go to the Burrow with Hermione. Even Theo and Blaise chose to tag along with them. Hermione asked Molly if it was fine, and she was ecstatic to have more people at her place. Hermione wasn't giddy, for her plans might go as planned for once.