GRANGER DANGER // Dramione

Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were in their final year at Hogwarts, the year after the war. The castle had been rebuilt, quieter now, stained with memories of blood and ash. Amidst the ruins of the past, something unexpected bloomed-Draco began flirting with Hermione, the Head Girl. At first, she thought little of it. Perhaps it was a clumsy olive branch, a second chance for friendship and redemption. But his charm was persistent, his compliments subtle yet addictive. He made her laugh when she forgot how, looked at her like she was something soft in a world turned hard. Slowly, cautiously, she let herself fall. They had been dating for four and a half months, and though whispers followed them down corridors, she didn't care. For once, things felt right. Steady. Real. Life was great. Her book that she was writing didn't lead to any writer's blocks, and her friends were friends with 'the snakes.'

Until that night. She was heading back from the library when she turned a corner and froze. There, in the shadows, Draco stood with Astoria Greengrass. "Here's your money, Greengrass," he said, and Hermione's blood ran cold. "Granger actually fell for it." Astoria laughed, triumphant. "The bet is successful. You are now the proud owner of half the gold in my Gringotts vault." Draco chuckled, the sound low and amused. "It'll all be mine in a year anyway, my beloved fiancée." Fiancée. Hermione didn't hear anything else. Her mind went blank. The books fell from her arms, unnoticed as she cast a silencing charm on herself, more instinct than thought. Her chest cracked open with the weight of betrayal. She didn't scream. Didn't confront. She ran-because she already knew the rest of the story, and it was never meant to end with her.

But, she doesn't completely run away. She wasn't a coward. She was a Granger. And the name meant Danger.