Think twice before jumping to the conclusion (or not)

I found myself outside the Slytherin common room, not knowing how I ended up here. The last thing I remembered was getting away from Ron when he tried to stop me from leaving.

"I know you are going to go find Malfoy, don't do it." Ron grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him.

"Let me go!" I struggled to get out of his tight grip. "You have nothing to do with me anymore and you don't tell me what to do. So, stop making a scene and let me go. Now."

Ginny put her arm on his brother's and said quietly: "Let her go. You need to trust her, I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

"She clearly doesn't!" Ron said angrily, though he finally loosened his grip. "I hope you are happy, Hermione. For the sake of everybody, I really hope you do."

"Likewise!" I squeezed the word out between my teeth and left the Gryffindor's common room without looking back even once.

I felt bad for yelling at Ron. After all, we had been friends for seven years and I couldn't see myself losing him. That was the reason I suggested us stay friends after he left me. It had been harder than I thought. And the whole Malfoy situation certainly didn't help either. I felt alone. It had been a delicate dynamic after our split. Everyone acted extremely carefully whenever Ron and I were in the same room. Everything had changed. Ron, Harry, and Ginny were closer than ever. And I, I didn't know where I stood.

Now that I was actually one wall away from Malfoy, I became hesitant. I could just ask a passing Slytherin to get Malfoy so I could talk to him. However, why on earth would I care about him? That punch was probably more than well-deserved. I could imagine exactly how he looked when he said the word 'mudblood' and how Ron threw his fist at him before he could realize what was happening. 

I weighed my options. I could go back to the Gryffindor tower; tell everyone I went to talk to Malfoy and that everything a mere harmless banter and Ron was overreacting. Or I could find Malfoy, confront him and give him a talk down about how he should stop being a bully. It was a lose-lose situation: what was I supposed to gain from it? I already had no dignity left, and I certainly didn't want to make it a negative number. I sighed and decided to just go back and not talk about it.

"Granger." As I was walking away, I heard a voice lazily calling my name from behind. "You are leaving already?"

"What do you want?" I turned to face him. Standing by the Slytherin common room entrance was Draco Malfoy. Seeing I had stopped, he walked up to me.

As he moved closer, I could see his face clearer. He definitely had a bruise on his high cheekbone.

"I should be asking you the question." He smirked. "A first year told me you were lurking around here, so I figured I'd come to see what the fuss is about. I presume Weasley told you what happened?"

"Mm-hmm."

"And you grew so worried about me that you had to come all this way to see if I'm alright?" That devilish smirked stayed on his equally devilish face. 

"How audacious. Why would be worried about you?" I scoffed. Straightening my back, I looked away as I said: "I'm simply taking a night stroll to rewind after a long day. Goodnight, Malfoy. I bid you farewell."

What the hell was that? I fought the urgent to cover my face in my hands and cursed mercilessly at myself. Malfoy must think it was hilarious and this was going to become something he would pick me on. I could hear him saying 'oh Granger, falling too fast, aren't you?', even though I had no feelings for him. Heading down there to see him was not because I was concerned about him. I was sure of that.

"Very well then," Malfoy shrugged. Then as I was about to leave, he suddenly by the shoulder and wrapped his arm about me. "I'm not sure if you've realized this already but it's almost curfew time, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you have no wish to get caught. I'm not tired yet, so how about we go on an adventure?"

"Are you out of your mind?" I protested. "I don't want to get in trouble. You better let go of me."

"Come on, Granger, stop living your perfect life and not be boring for once," Malfoy held onto me tighter as he grinned. "Let's go to the observatory. I know a secret path."

Part of me was screaming I needed to leave for good, yet the other part of me was morbidly curious. For years, I've resented Malfoy and the feeling was mutual. I never got to spend time to get to know him and perhaps this was my chance. Naturally, it wasn't because I wanted to get tik ow him. It was only because I was curious. Mumbling 'you are going to get us in trouble', I let Draco Malfoy drag me to the observatory.

We walked in silence on our way over. I found myself staring at him and deep in thoughts. I wondered how his childhood was, how he grew up to be who he was. Had he ever showed his true emotions to anybody?

"Stop staring at me in the way Parkinson does," Malfoy sounded annoyed. "It quite frankly scares me."

 "I was not staring at you." I didn't know why I lied. "I was just thinking about something."

"Sure, if you say so." Malfoy curled his bottom lip. "Granger, did you know you are terrible at lying?"

"I have no clue what you are talking about," I said righteously. He chuckled.

We finally got to the top of the observatory. Sitting against the wall, Malfoy finally set me free. The night breeze was fresh and calm. The stars decorated the ink blue night sky, and the world was quiet and peaceful.

"I don't envy Potter, just so you know. In fact, I could care less of who gets chosen to be the Head Boy," Malfoy said calmly, catching me by surprise. He turned to look at me; his gray eyes sparkled in the moonlight. "But I'd be concerned if it was Weasley, he's got a lot of work to do before he can finally get himself together and take on serious responsibilities."

"Well, I suppose you have a point." I was about to defend Ron as per usual but today it didn't feel right after that heated argument.

"Strange," Malfoy squinted and moved a bit closer, "you are not defending him. Maybe you've finally realized how extremely incompetent he is. Or he hurt your feelings again, didn't he?"

I was quiet.

"Seems like I was right." He met me in the eye. I didn't look away. "Granger, I don't even like you and I have no reason to offer you any of my precise advice, but this has dragged on for too long. Listen to me when I tell you that you must move on."

"Who said I need any advice from you?" Though his tone was gentle and sincere, I refused to let my guard down.

"You are acting like an angry hedgehog and just won't let your quills down." Malfoy's laugh quickly turned into a sigh. "I don't know what it was between you and Weasley, and I have no interest in knowing. However, you'll be fine, Granger, there are plenty of suitable wizards out there for you. Maybe next time you can even find someone who's not as poor."

"Malfoy, why are you telling me all this?" I didn't acknowledge what he said and asked defensively.

Part of me was grateful for his words despite how sarcastic they sounded. It was almost like he was trying to help, whether it was out of good intentions or not.

"I don't know. I guess I just feel like talking today." He sighed and looked up to sky. "It's fine, you don't have to understand.

"Understand what?" I asked. He wasn't acting like Draco Malfoy I knew. He had changed, something happened to him that made him become more, well, human. I found myself pitying him – an emotion that I'd never thought I'd feel about him. 

"You talk too much," he said impatiently. I was confused, not knowing what was this about. Only a moment ago he told he felt like talking today, and now he complained I talked too much. "I don't know you."

"You're being very confusing," I frowned. "You are not making any sense. I never thought I'd say this, but if you want to talk about something, I'm here to listen. We've been spending a lot of time together these days, so you might as well start opening up a bit. And who knows? Perhaps we can become actual friends."

"Oh, I see where this is going," Malfoy shed off that slight trace of melancholy in his eyes and returned to his old cunning self. "Granger, you said you want to be friends with me because you are afraid that you'll fall for me by the end of this?"

It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Stop being so narcissistic, will you?" I sneered as I watched a smile appear on the thin lips of that handsome creature. "Listen, you coerced me into signing a contract with you and that was why I'm here. I was nothing but being nice and you just had to…"

Before I could finish my sentence, his lips were pressed against mine.

But it was just a stupid contract, wasn't it?

And wait, did I just call him a handsome creature?