♕ three

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"Oi!" 

Blaise's voice echoed off the walls of the stairwell. Draco turned around and saw his best friend hurrying down the steps after him. He wore an unusually mischievous grin. 

"What's up?" Draco asked tentatively. Blaise continued smiling devilishly. 

"What's up is that you're partners with the Gryffindor princess," he said. "That's got to be brutal."

Draco laughed. "Yeah, I thought so too." He shrugged. "I suppose it'll be tolerable though." 

Blaise scoffed. 

"At least you'll get good marks, but that's about the only tolerable thing about Granger, isn't it?"

Draco felt something knot in his stomach. 

"I suppose," was all he said, as the pair made their way down the corridor. 

"Malfoy!" came a girl's voice from behind him. He turned around to see Granger making her way down the corridor toward the pair.

Blaise turned to him and snickered. 

"I'll leave you to it, then!" he said cheerily, turning on his heel and  heading off in the other direction. Draco rolled his eyes exasperatedly before turning back around. 

"What's up, Granger?"

Hermione slowed to a stop in front of him and quickly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She met Draco's gaze for a second but promptly looked down at the floor.  

"We should, uh, probably agree on a time to work on the project later, right?" she said hesitantly. Draco nodded.

"Yeah, sure. What time?"

Granger looked down to think for a second. Her brow furrowed and the splash of freckles across her nose moved slightly as her face scrunched up in thought. Her eyes looked almost amber in midmorning. Her finger traced over her lip as she ruminated.

"Is after dinner okay?" she said finally. "In the library."

Draco nodded. "That works." 

The two stood there in charged silence. It lasted only moments but to Draco it felt like minutes- the heat in his face start to rise as Granger's eyes bore tentatively into his. Her mouth parted slightly, as if she was about to say something, when a yell interrupted her from down the hall. 

"Hermione!" hollered the interloper, breaking Draco from his thoughts. He looked up and Granger turned to see Ron Weasley hurrying down the corridor toward them.

It was as if Weasley was a rubber boot that had completely stifled all the electricity in the hallway. Draco snuck a quick glance at Granger but there was none of the heat that he had felt moments before. Instead, she was beaming at Weasley. 

"Hi Ron," Hermione said sweetly. Draco didn't know if this was his cue to leave or if Granger wanted to discuss the project further, so he stood there as silently as possible. 

When Weasley's eyes met Draco's, his smile faded. 

"What are you staring at, Malfoy?" he said coldly. Granger looked back and forth between the two boys, as if worried both might explode. 

Draco responded coolly. "We were just talking about our project, actually, before you interrupted us."

Granger's eyes widened. 

"Nevermind that though, Ron, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Weasley looked like he wanted to say something further but Granger looked expectantly up at him. He closed his mouth reluctantly and turned to face her. 

"I don't know why Malfoy's got to be here," he began, stealing a menacing glance over at Draco, "but I was just wondering if you were free after dinner? Maybe to take a walk or something?" 

Hermione looked quickly at Draco and then back to her boyfriend. There was panic in her eyes. 

"I'm so sorry Ron, but Malfoy and I actually were going to meet in the library after dinner."

Weasley's face changed, from freckled neutrality into deep hatred. 

"Maybe we can do it tomorrow," she insisted quickly, "before Breakfast or later in the day, right?"

Instead of answering his girlfriend, Weasley turned to Draco.

"You touch a hair on her head," he said threateningly, raising his pointer finger, I swear I will you," he jabbed his finger into Draco's chest, "and I will you." He jabbed again. 

Draco tried his best not to burst out laughing. But he let slip a little smile- instantly, Weasley shoved him backwards. Hermione gasped. 

"Ron, stop!" she said shrilly. But Weasley ignored her.

"You think I'm joking, do you?" he said menacingly. Draco put his hands out in front of him and shook his head, trying to appear as non threatening as possible. 

"No, I believe you're serious," he said soberly. 

"I'm just upset that my plans of murdering my Astronomy partner tonight in the Hogwarts library have been thwarted." 

Weasley's face grew even redder, if that was possible. He drew his arm back slowly as if to throw a punch but Granger quickly intervened. 

"Ron, stop, please!" she urged, grabbing his bicep and tugging it down. "Malfoy and I are just going to work on our project!" 

"He's gonna hurt you, Mione," Weasley snarled. "Once a death eater, always a death eater, am I right?" 

Granger let go of Weasley's arm out of shock. Draco himself was quite taken aback. 

He supposed it was the truth, but still, it felt like an icy dagger in his chest to hear mention of the person he used to be. Obviously Draco was accustomed to scathing remarks and skeptical looks, but no one ever explicitly mentioned the old divide. Lots of Draco's Slytherin classmates had returned to find redemption. And with the school's whole house unity campaign, things had seemed pretty normal. But to hear Weasley say it out loud made Draco's heart stop. 

"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed. Her voice was almost a whisper. Her face was white as a ghost. 

There was not an ounce of remorse in Weasley's eyes. Draco regained his composure and took a step toward him. 

"Watch your mouth, Weasley," he said, his voice dangerously low. "The war may be over, and we may all be on the same side now, but I'll make you regret those words. Fancy barfing some slugs again?"

Weasley was fuming. He didn't seem to have a response. Instead, he turned to Hermione and pointed his ruddy finger at Draco. 

"Ask Professor Sinistra for a new partner," he said quietly. Hermione's mouth dropped open. 

"You can't be serious, Ron," she scoffed. "Sinistra wanted to pair Slytherins with Gryffindors, remember?" 

"Then pick another Slytherin!" Ron urged. "Anyone's better than this rubbish," he said, pointing at Draco, who feigned surprise. 

"Aww, really?" he replied, grinning. "Means a lot, Weasley." 

Weasley ignored him and turned, pleadingly, back to Hermione. 

"I'm just trying to protect you," he urged. 

Hermione rolled her eyes. 

"There's nothing to protect me from, Ronald, you're delusional! Draco is not going to hurt me! I think you're just jealous that I don't spend every single minute of my life with you!"

"I'm your boyfriend, you're supposed to make time for me!" Ron exclaimed angrily. 

"Well you went flying off the handle at the thought that I might have plans outside of you!"

Weasley didn't respond. Draco stood there as the two Gryffindors glared at each other. He didn't want to break the silence. 

It was Weasley who turned on his heel and walked away, pride obviously wounded. Draco opened his mouth to say something to Granger but by the time he turned back to her, she was already walking briskly in the other direction, leaving Draco standing, alone and very confused, in the middle of the corridor. 

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