Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Hermione Granger couldn't give two fucks about Draco Malfoy. At best, he thinks that she occasionally has some thoughts about him, mainly focusing on ways on how to violently murder him. He knows he's kind of annoying (or blatantly annoying and a prejudiced bully. But you know what they say, prejudiced bully on the outside, but just generally does not give a sodding fuck about fucking blood purity or whatever on the inside). Not that it bothered him - on the contrary, he was fucking fine. Better than fine, he was amazing. Spectacularly golden. He was obviously okay (better than okay!) - no matter what that sodding Blaise said.

So when Draco got partnered with her on an Ancient Runes report, he could say that he did not think about her much, or at all, and therefore he was not freaking out internally or whatever. He was calm, damn it. Calm as a damn cloudless fucking day, with those heinous sun rays that made his skin blister and bleed. Just fucking fine - calm!

And just to, you know, keep up appearances (because no matter how calm he was, pureblood superiority was still very much a thing for everyone else - like, seriously? They're schoolmates with Hermione Granger and they're still - fuck, fine whatever), he contested it. Even went as much as to call her a mudblood again. He very much detested the word mudblood, not only because it's derogatory and uncouth, but also because of the fact it was uncreative and repetitive.

Needless to say, Professor Babbling sent Draco a warning look (which was only kind of frightening) and told him that the pairings were final and that he should be lucky that he was paired with such a witch as Miss Granger because her intelligence was unparalleled - normal praise for Granger, of course - and proceeded to take fifteen points from Slytherin - Theo almost choked him for that one.

When Draco finally sat down next to Hermione, she was deathly quiet. She probably thought that he was going to maybe murder her or something equally as heinous as that, or maybe she was plotting his imminent doom again. Either way, the silence was at best awkward and uncomfortable and at worst stifling and filled with tension - not the good kind.

Professor Babbling finally handed out the specific runes they needed to research and report on and proceeded to prattle on about it. He didn't particularly care about it, as he knew that Granger would write meticulous and well-detailed notes about their next foray into the world of knowledge (how very dramatic of him to think that), so he just stared at her. To make her uncomfortable, of course. Not because he couldn't help it. Of course not.

After the professor finishes giving them their instructions, she gives them time to discuss their reports. That being said, now that Granger had stopped looking at Professor Babbling like she would die if she got even one little instruction wrong, she stares right back at him with haughty haughty conviction. He almost cries.

"Stop staring at me, ferret." Ouch, uncalled for. He was still salty about that one, that Moody was a crazy bastard. Or Crouch junior was a crazy bastard, whatever. Moody would've done it to him too.

He keeps staring at her. "Shan't. Anyways Granger, are we expected to research together or shall we just combine findings after?"

She scoffs. "No, yeah - no. You're not doing your research alone Malfoy, you'll get nothing done."

Oh, how she expects so little of him. It almost makes his heart burst, except it doesn't - because he doesn't have one, of course. She took it away from him. But that was fine, he was fine. Duh, of course he was fine. Whatever.

"How you wound me, Granger. Of course I'll be doing some work, I just prefer not to do it in your presence." He says. It's not even a lie. Honesty is the best policy and whatnot, lying is a sin, fuckever.

"Ah yes, I forgot that his royal snottiness doesn't really exactly prefer the company of a mudblood," Untrue, He does prefer her company. He's basically basking in it right now and memorizing the specific notes in her perfume (vanilla, coconuts and what suspiciously smells like peach). Not that she would know that. "no need to worry Malfoy, you'll be rid of me yet."

"Not soon enough." He fake laments. Granger just rolls her eyes and writes down some notes. Probably a schedule on when they shall meet.

"Don't make me draw it out for you." And under her breath, "prejudiced arse."

Please do, Draco thinks. Granger gives him the piece of parchment she was writing on and says, "These are the times when we are supposed to meet," she points at a row full of hours and dates, "and these are the things you're supposed to research. We're not gonna be meeting everyday - for obvious reasons - but you will have something to do everyday, and god forbid you bring my grade down, Draco Malfoy, I'll see to it that your broom gets shoved so far up your - "

"No need to get so violent, Granger, Merlin." He puts both hands to his heart, "I get it, keep the gory details to yourself. Who knew muggle-spawn could be both so barbaric and have overlarge hair?"

She just scowls at him, and he thinks about how nonthreatening she looks like that. He could already tell he was in for a load of trouble.

Prejudiced arse indeed.

The first thing on Granger's list of Things To Do and the Times On Which to Do Them (she literally put the title on top of the parchment which was so fucking swotty of her, it was adorable) was to go to the library and take some notes about some book on Anglo-Saxon runes. It was, first of all, kind of insulting that she would even insinuate that he needed to review Anglo-Saxon runes like he hasn't already memorized them but he guesses that nothing could go wrong with researching more about them.

So he does just that and gets so absorbed by researching and reading and learning that he doesn't even notice it when Blaise and Theo come inside of the library, or when they go up behind him until Blaise knocks on the table.

When he looks up for a microsecond and hums, going back to reading on about some guy named Daniel the Barbaric and how he managed to find a way to make the wards on his castle ten times stronger by adding runic inscriptions that would make his enemies blow up into smithereens if they sensed that the intruders were coming with ill-intent. He thinks that of course some bloke from the 8th Century with a name like Daniel the Barbaric would choose for his enemies to blow up instead of simply disintegrating into nothingness and of course Granger would hide a passive-aggressive warning through a damn book of Anglo-Saxon runes. These runes were mainly used for poetry.

He was - quite pointedly - ignoring the shit-eating grin that Blaise had on his face and the single most smug smirk he knows that he will ever see Theo plaster.

"So I heard you and our darling girl Granger have been partnered on Runes." Theo says. He chuckles lowly and starts waggling his eyebrows. "Maybe you'll, I don't know, finally grow a pair and ask her out or something."

"Or something." Blaise repeats solemnly, nodding his head in agreement as he settles his elbows unto the table and clasps his hands together. "Don't make me pray for it or something, Draco."

Draco puts his book down and glares at both of them, "Sometimes I do wonder if chaos is an acquired thing or inherited."

Theo shrugs and sighs, taking his jab in stride. "I know, I know. Such a nuisance, our chaotic charm."

"Chaotic charm?" Draco cocks an eyebrow at both of them.

Blaise nods again, and closes his eyes. "Yes, yes. Must be all the inbreeding."

Draco snorts, and Theo says, "We should be breeding it out with normal genes, none of these delightfully mutated ones."

"I wouldn't call Granger's energy normal, dear Theo." Blaise says. "Maybe manic - " Theo hums and nods, " - yes, yes definitely manic, and our dear Draco here is cool as a cucumber, isn't he?"

Theo nods again, and Draco fights the urge to just slap it upwards and maybe inflict some damage on his jaw (unhinge it, or something) and his neck (maybe some spinal damage will sort him out, or something). "Such a wonderful balance, it is. Our Draco, so calm and collected, charming, with dear manic Granger. Yes, a wonderful pairing."

Draco scoffs, and crosses his arms. "Do the both of you just have an inability to, I don't know, shut the fuck up, or something?"

Blaise sighs and nods again. "Or something."

"Just ask her out already." Theo says, "I mean, she hates you - "

" - we get it - " Blaise and Theo say together. Draco suddenly feels very excluded because that was probably rehearsed.

" - but I mean, how hard could it be to make her un-hate you?"

Draco taps his chin with one arm, "Particularly hard." He picks up one of his sharper quills, and sighs dramatically. "I would like some peace and quiet now." He flings the quill between the small space between Blaise and Theo, and it pierces it self on the wall behind them. "I do have some Anglo-Saxon runes to research."

Blaise and Theo just laugh.

Later that night, after dinner, he corners Pansy in the Slytherin common room and basically begs her to help him out with Granger. And since Pansy is such a remarkable friend (his words), she would help him, right?

"I will literally throw you off the Astronomy tower, Draco." She says, eyeing the hand that was gripping her arm. Then she just sighs, and says, "Fine. Fine, I'll help you, fucking Salazar. Let go of my hand, please?"

So they sit on the armchairs near the fireplace, and Draco tells her that he and Granger have been partnered in Ancient Runes for a report ("She still thinks I'm a prejudiced arse, which isn't necessarily true but I mean how could she know right?") and how he had threatened Blaise and Theo with violence in the library and they had just laughed at him ("I flung a quill between the both of them and it stuck to the wall behind them. It was actually - actually kind of cool.")

Pansy sighs, and runs her hand through he face. Really, she loved Draco. They have been friends since they were in nappies, but he was just so fucking stupid with these things.

Fighting the overwhelming urge to slap him, she says, "Have you tried apologizing?" and Draco looks scandalized.

"Ap - " he shudders. "Apologize? Whatever on Earth for?" A mantra of apologize apologize apologize starts in his head, and he kind of wants to scream now.

"Sometimes I worry for your sanity. I mean, you seem smart enough but sometimes I worry that the dumb blonde thing might apply to you - but obviously, hair color doesn't affect intelligence, does it?" Draco nods, and Pansy sighs. "Yes, yes. Quite true, it does not. That would be the inbreeding."

"I just worry that she'll reject my apology. I'm quite annoying, and I like to think I'm quite a convincing actor. You know, she thought I didn't hear earlier, but she called me a prejudiced arse." Draco nods when Pansy looks at him with disdain, "reckon I could win an Oscar?"

"With that pretty face?" Pansy asks, "Reckon you will." She stands up, and heads to the girls dorms. He doesn't stop her.

Two days after that, Draco finds himself unable to concentrate in the middle of Potions class when he remembers that he and Granger would meet at the library later that day according to the list of Things To Do and the Times On Which to Do Them, and zones out Professor Snape's frankly boring lecture (he'd already read up on the topic a few days prior) and just starts doodling on his parchment until the bell rings.

He quickly fixes up his things and puts them in the ridiculously expensive dragon-leather bag that his father had bought him for his birthday a few months prior (Lucius had called it practical, while Draco and Narcissa both knew that Lucius just liked to look nice and make them look nice as well, which was not crime) and quickly fixes his hair before reprimanding himself that it was only Granger - he was fine, no matter how many times he had ranted to Pansy about it in the past few days, or how many times Blaise and Theo had wiggled their eyebrows at him at the same time and had outright refused to acknowledge him if he hadn't asked Granger out yet.

Fucking Slytherins.

He sits down in his usual place in the library, and starts putting out his things and rereading his notes. It wouldn't do t make Granger feel smarter than he was, after all. Even if she probably was (in some aspects, anyway).

It is a few moments later when Granger sits down across from him, painfully punctual as always, and says, "You're early." In a barely concealed tone of surprise. He is almost hurt.

"Of course I am." Draco rolls his eyes. "I am not so painfully inept that I show up late."

Granger huffs and says, "Perhaps." and Draco has to fight the urge to smile at her and succeeds because he is a soulless bastard.

"Perhaps?" Draco asks, smirking.

Granger nods, "Perhaps."

During the study session, Draco starts to notice how seamlessly Granger has researched and done her part, and he is almost impressed but he's expected it, so he really isn't. And after a half hour's passed, he sees Blaise, Theo and Pansy sit at a table a few seats away from theirs. Blaise and Theo wiggle their eyebrows again, and Pansy mouths apologize. Right.

" - so during the report, I'll handle this aspect of the Anglo-Saxon - "

" - I'm sorry." Draco blurts out, and fuck fuck fuck what the fuck, and Granger looks at him with an expression akin to confusion. "I-uh-fuck," he starts to laugh nervously and run his fingers through his hair to give them something to do. He looks away from her and stares at what some vandal has written into the table possibly centuries ago, "I believe I must apologize for my behavior, you know, my bigoted blood prejudice and the making fun of your hair and stuff or other."

"I, uh - " Granger clears her throat, and says. "Well, that's - I mean - " she inhales sharply and gives him a hard look. "What spurred this on? This is a surprise and not to mention quite sudden."

"Yes, it is, isn't it? But no, we'll be working together and I thought it would be best if you didn't have to, uhm - " Draco looks up at her, and she arches one brow. She's so beautiful like that, he says as he stares at how her lips have opened just the tiniest bit, a surprised expression on her face. And softly, " - wonder if I'm... well..."

Hermione smiles up at him quite menacingly, and she says, "Quite frankly I shouldn't forgive you, Draco," and his blood freezes over because, uh, Granger what the fuck? "but I know you didn't mean it - "

"What do you mean you know I didn't mean it?" Draco asks because if his crush on her was that obvious he might actually just dig up a hole in the ground and die, or something.

She rolls her eyes, "Honestly Draco, it's quite a bit obvious that you don't believe in that stuff. Colin Creevey - a muggleborn, might I add - " she scoffs and tosses her hair behind her shoulder. Draco is awestruck for a good two seconds, " - dropped his books in the Great Hall yesterday, and you helped him pick it up even though it wasn't your fault."

Draco scowls, "So I'm chivalrous, it doesn't mean I'm not a prejudiced arse." He put particular pressure on the last two words, and Hermione flinches. Draco almost feels awful, and he catches Pansy's lips forming a straight line when he looks at her. Shit.

"I didn't mean that." Hermione says petulantly. "Or I mean - ugh. I was just annoyed, let's not make it a whole production."

"Surely it still bothers you." Draco frowns. Why is she forgiving him so easily?

"Of course it does." Hermione waves her hand around flippantly as she says this, and he almost buys it if it weren't for the furrow in between her brows. He is, for maybe the fifteenth time that day, suddenly hit with the overwhelming compulsion to grovel at her feet. "But the fact that you're apologizing right now just confirms my suspicions. You don't actually believe in that shite."

"We can be work partners without you forgiving me." Draco says uneasily. "You know, I don't quite deserve it - " phew, that was hard to get out of his mouth, " - not really."

Hermione crosses her arms over her chest and leans back against her chair. "Do you not want me to forgive you?" She sounded a bit cross.

Draco swallows. "No of course I do, I just - "

Hermione growls, "Then apology accepted, asshole." She then resumes her lecture on the report, which Draco had totally forgotten about at this point, and he allowed himself a smile.

"Did you ask her out?" Theo asks, sprawled on the floor in front of Pansy, who was stroking his hair, eyes closed. Blaise looks at me expectantly, and Pansy just rolls her eyes. Oh Pansy, ever the realist. It was almost cute, and mildly terrifying.

"No. I apologized." Draco says, popping a piece of cookie (may his mother's endless reign of sweets and pastries never end, Merlin bless her) into his mouth. Around a mouth full of deliciousness, "What's the difference, honestly?"

Theo opens his eyes, and in a monotone voice, says, "Well, the difference is that she could still very well date other guys instead of you."

Blaise nods in agreement. "Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, Draco, she's got quite a line of suitors."

"Don't be ridiculous, she smiled at me." Draco says cockily, breaking off another piece of cookie. And yes, he did quite know about her line of suitors. Those dickwads McLaggen and Weasley - little shits if he ever did see any - not that he cared of course. Because he didn't. Whatever.

"She also smiles at Potty and the Weasel," Pansy says haughtily, "and the Weaslette." She grumbles under her breath.

Theo holds her hand in his, and pats it supportively. Ouch, so that was why she grumbled under her breath everytime she saw the Weaslette and Hermione together. She was jealous.

"The Weaslette?" Blaise says in a tone of disbelief. "You like her?"

Pansy sniffs and raises her chin, "Irrelevant, the topic at hand is Draco's crush on Gryffindor's resident muggleborn swot."

Draco growls and transfigures his cookie into another sharp quill, flicking it to the wooden wall behind them. Blaise whistles lowly, and Theo chuckles while Pansy looks at where the quill hit the wall. It glistened in the light from the wall of water beside it. A peacock feather.

She shakes her head, "You could have transfigured that thing into a dart, you know." She rolls her eyes, "bloody idiot."

"It looks prettier this way, don't you think?" Draco asks through gritted teeth. "Much more theatrical. Very therapeutic. Soul cleansing, even."

And Blaise just says, "There are better ways of letting out pent up frustration, namely wanking off." While rolling his eyes

Draco just huffs and gets another cookie from the box.

The next time Draco goes to the library, he had just gotten out of the shower after a particularly grueling afternoon of Quidditch training. He yearns for the warmth of his bed, but there was work to be done and be thinks that Granger wouldn't be too keen on him not pulling the work, even though he is forgiven and all.

He walks through the shelves and takes the books that she has outlined in her timetable of doom, and finds a seat away from other people. Once he is settled, he starts taking notes. Occasionally, he takes a cookie from where the are hidden in his robe and nibbles on it. Madame Pince wouldn't be happy about him eating in the library, but he really didn't care.

Halfway throughout his notes on Maria the Wise and her use of Anglo-Saxon runes within time turners and protective warding, he hears a soft mewling noise from the shelf over. He stuffs the remaining bit of cookie he had into his mouth and drops his quill into it's holder and goes to investigate the strange noises.

When he draws nearer, the sounds get louder and turn in angry meowing. When he is but a few feet apart, he finds a ball of orange fur curled up underneath a library table, furiously pawing at an old handkerchief.

The beast was hideous, with a head that looks like someone's sat on it and fur sticking out at odd angles. He inspects it for a bit, and considers hexing to bits, actually, just for being insulting to the eyes, when the creature looks at him with what he swears is disdain. He decides that he, in fact, would not hex it but simply stare right back at it with a petulant look.

"Meow!" The creature said, and then hissed at him. He rolls his eyes and crouched next to it, holding out his palm with a sneer.

"Come here, cat. We shall find your owner." The cat stares at his hand for a moment, and Draco huffs, and shaking his head. "Any day, now."

The cat nuzzles his head into Draco's palm quite spitefully, and looks at him with what he recognizes as a demand to be held. Draco's sneer intensifies, and he says, "I do not want to carry you, cat. You are quite capable of walking on your own, are you not?" because how dare this cat ask to be carried by him. He was hideous.

The cat looks at him, appraising, and saunters out from under the table, tail and head held high.

Proud beast. He thinks viciously.

Together, human and cat walk and weave themselves to Draco's table, where he tidies his things and casts a feather-light charm on his bag. Granger will understand, probably, that along with the Quidditch practice and the occurence of this squash cat, he would be unable to complete his studies tonight. She would probably praise him for helping this creature, ugly as he is. Yes, he would help this creature.

They walk into the front of the library, and suddenly the cat starts to saunter towards a table seating a curly haired witch who was frantically writing notes. "Cat," Draco hisses. "Do not disturb her, she is working." The cat ignores him and stares quite shrewdly at him for a moment before he jumps into Granger's lap.

Draco is horrified for a moment, when Granger starts to smile and says, "Crookshanks! I was a little worried when you didn't come to the common room after dinner." The cat drops the hanky into her lap, and her smile tightens. "Ah, yes, so that's where my hanky went." She sees Draco and he scowls at her, disbelief on his features.

"That beast is your cat?" He shakes his head. "Unbelievable. He is perhaps the ugliest thing I've ever seen. His most compelling feature is his intelligence."

Granger glares at him, and so does the cat. "You've no right to judge Crookshanks, Malfoy." She says pointedly.

"I've got every right to judge Crookshanks, Granger. I cannot believe you named your beast Crookshanks." He says haughtily. He puts his bag down on the table next to her, and puts the library books levitating behind him on her table. "I will be sitting here."

Granger smiles at him (he freaks out inside) and rolls her eyes, continuing to write her notes.

"So let me get this straight, that beast that frequents the lower levels of the Astronomy Tower is Granger's cat?" Pansy asks, scowling. "There can only be room for one ginger pussy in—"

Blaise hoots and Theo wiggles his brows while Draco puts two fingers to his forehead in exasperation. Sometimes he swears he is going to kill his friends for all of this deviancy, but then he won't have any friends, and that was kind of worse in a way. Or maybe better. Eh, no. Probably worse.

" — no, no, Pansy, no. I get that you've finally bedded the Weaslette — "

" — her name is Ginny — "

" — but that is no reason to brag about your conquests, oh my God." Draco says, and huffs. "How uncouth of you." Because, honestly, it kind of was.

Pansy rolls her eyes and takes a cookie from the box, scowling pointedly at Draco. Theo snickers behind his hand, and Blaise smirks at the two of them. Draco thinks about all of the ways he could torture them into silence, smug fucking bastards. Just because they were in relationships and he was not — honestly, what the fuck?

"You know, you should ask her out already." Theo says, shrugging. "Take our fucking advice already you sodding bastard."

Draco arches a brow at him. "First of all, no. Second of all, I am not a bastard."

A wicked smile takes over Pansy's face, and then, "Stay single then, ferret." And just wow — wow wow wow.

"Honestly, who said this was a bully Draco party? You guys are so mean to me."

"Just ask her out, oh my God." Blaise says, shivering. "If I have to stand one more second of watching you and Granger in nerdy sexual tension—"

"—nerxual tension—" Theo says in a flat tone, nodding.

"—I will actual drown myself in the lake, Salazar's sake."

"Well don't do that, Theo will have nobody to snog." Draco says smugly.

"What—we—what—I mean—" Theo shudders. "I make out with Blaise one time and it's like the world is conspiring against me—"

"Theo!" Blaise laments, and Draco raises a brow because he was just kidding, honestly, what the fuck?

"Well I was just teasing, but apparently it's happened—"

Draco shrieks and turns his hands up in the air as Blaise flings a hex at his direction (so violent, wow), and Pansy laughs in wicked glee.

Later that night, Blaise and Theo retire to their dorms, and Pansy and Draco are left in the common room, alone.

Draco would never admit it to her face, but Pansy was probably his first friend. Sure he was close with Blaise and Theo but Pansy has been a constant in his life since the day he could walk. She was his lifeline and he trusted her completely. Kind of scary considering her tendency to be very menacing, but when it was just the two of them there was almost (keyword being almost) a softness to her. He was grateful for it.

"You know, we do care for you greatly." Pansy says quietly. "I know your father wouldn't like it if you and Granger start dating—"

"—oh, he'd be livid."

"No he won't be. Honestly, you don't give your parents enough credit. They love you, and honestly I think the blood purity thing died in the 60's. Who even believes in the bullshit anymore? Anyways — what I'm trying to say is that they'd probably be a bit upset at first, but they love you and they'd get over it."

"Easy for you to say, your girlfriend is a pureblood."

Pansy frowns, shaking her head. "You forget that she's a girl, and my parents were okay with that. Even with the 'not being able to produce heirs' bit and the 'not very ideal marriage' thing."

"I mean, I just — " Draco runs his fingers through his hair. "I really like her, but it's like I don't want to disappoint my parents. I know they're still expecting me to marry a pureblood, and it's kind of infuriating, quite frankly, but I don't want to let them down and... all that."

Pansy hums in understanding, and Draco sags further down the leather loveseat. "I understand, you know. I didn't want to upset my parents too. It just came to a bit of a boiling point, as it does. I just wanted — " Pansy smiles tightly. " — I'm getting a bit sappy, aren't I?"

Draco smiles at her and says, "Well yes, but I don't mind." He really doesn't mind — he's come to appreciate moments like this. It was refreshing.

She scrunches up her nose, "Don't tell anyone about this or I swear to Salazar that I will hex the living daylights out of you — "

" — hey, hey!" He says, because honestly he was trustworthy. Sometimes, anyways.

Pansy rolls her eyes, and sighs. "Well I just..." she bites her lips. "It came to a point where I just thought about it more, and I decided that I wanted her. Like, there was this indescribable feeling I got whenever I even just got a glimpse of her, and it was like excitement and kind of more than that, and I'm pretty sure you feel the same way about Granger — " and Draco nods, because it's true. Her very presence was enough to warm him to the tips of his fingers and down to his toes. " — and I guess I asked myself if it was worth it, to lose everything for her, to disappoint my parents in that way. It all boiled down to a question of — "

" —is she worth it." Draco finished for her. He nods. "And she is."

Pansy smiles, something deep and warm and true, and Draco begins to see.