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art by someonesbeenhere / HanFiction.net on discord
Draco Malfoy’s eyes were a daydream.
When Eighth Year started, Malfoy arrived with his hair buzzed to an eighth of an inch. The soft peach fuzz made his extraordinary eyes stand out even brighter than Hermione had ever noticed. It made her pay extra attention to the color.
It was never just a simple silver or gray; his eyes would pulse from soft silk to dark metal depending on the emotion hidden behind them. They no longer held the fierce sharpness that they had before the war. Back then, she had assumed their cutting edges were based on cruelty and disgust, but now she knew that fear had been responsible for his violent stare.
Now his eyes were soft. They shined with freedom and sometimes even looked like they’d sparkle if he ever smiled.
Hermione Granger wanted nothing more than to see a smile that reached those eyes.
She was lost in her daydream of silver when the real thing appeared in front of her in the library.
“Granger,” Malfoy greeted her. Somewhere between the war and their eighth year, his voice has matured. It was rich and vibrated in her bones. She clenched her thighs together and looked up at him from her book.
Now, in February, his hair had grown from its buzz into a shaggy mess and fell into his eyes. She had to clench her hands into fists to stop herself from reaching out and pushing the strands back.
“Malfoy,” she whispered. She blamed her soft tone on being in the library and not because she was afraid any louder would give away the quiver of want laced in his name.
The male dragged his fingers through his hair. It stayed in place only for a moment before falling back into his eyes. He needed a haircut, but she hoped to Merlin he would not get one.
“It’s Zabini’s birthday this Friday. Stop by for drinks?” he asked.
“Friday? But that’s Valentine’s Day,” she blurted out. No idea why. It’s not like she had a date; she and Ron had ended things months ago.
“True,” Malfoy hummed almost to himself. Then he looked at her, those soft eyes moving to the dark metal. “Are you free?”
“Yes. I’m free,” she told him quietly. His eyes moved back to the soft color of rain clouds, and she felt herself release the breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“Good. That’s what I was hoping,” he said with a tiny smile. She wondered if it was real. She hoped it was real.
“Bring your blonde friend,” he added on quickly, a tone hinting at a shyness she had never heard before. Her heartbeat froze.
“Luna?” she questioned nervously. Her mind raced; there was only one reason Malfoy would want Luna at the party- he liked her.
It was like a punch to the gut.
“That’s the one,” he confirmed. He stood watching her for a moment. She suddenly felt awkward under his gaze and willed her cheeks not to blush with embarrassment for assuming he was asking for her company.
He shifted from one foot to another before running his hand through his hair again. His hand drifted to his pocket, but then he stopped himself.
The awkwardness pulsed between them.
He gave her a nod of goodbye and departed quickly.
Hermione groaned and brought her head to the table in front of her. Of course, she would admit her crush at the same moment she discovered he had feelings for someone else.
Throughout the week, Hermione had done her best to try to talk herself out of her crush. She tried to remember every time Malfoy had called her Mudblood. She thought about how he almost had an innocent Hippogriff murdered. She even remembered how he didn’t stop his aunt from torturing her.
…But she knew he’d be dead if he spoke up in the drawing room.
And whenever she remembered his misdeeds during the years up until and during the war, she remembered his apologies. He had made public and private apologies to all he hurt, including a heartfelt letter that she kept safely tucked in her diary.
This week alone, Malfoy had helped Dennis Creevy up when they accidentally knocked into each other and deducted points from a fellow Slytherin for bullying. He’d even paid attention to Hagrid in Magical Creatures, gave thoughtful answers, and sucked on the tip of his quill when thinking.
She was crushing even harder by Friday.
Luna accepted the personal invite with indifference, more excited about wearing her new dress than where the invite had come from. Hermione tried her best not to bristle with jealousy.
They met in the entrance hall before heading to the dungeons together. Hermione had dressed in a simple red silk cocktail dress, but Luna was decked out in a fluffy pink dress that was covered in hearts. Hermione did not want to judge, but she could not understand how Luna was Malfoy’s type in the slightest.
Entering the common room, they were accosted with loud music and a mix of Valentine’s and birthday decorations. There were students from all four houses; no one seemed to care about blood status and instead reveled in the joy of being eighteen with no authority around.
Together, she and Luna wandered through the crowd until they found the birthday boy and his blonde friend.
“Happy Birthday, Zabini,” Luna said in her singsong voice. “You make a very fitting Aquarius.”
Zabini shot a look at Malfoy that looked close to murder, before turning his attention to Luna. “Thank you, Lovegood,” he said simply. “Drinks?”
She nodded, and Zabini guided her to the drinks. Hermione made to follow, but soft fingers wrapped around her arm and tugged her backward. She would have tumbled from her heels had the chest she backed up into not kept her steady.
“Hermione,” Malfoy said in her ear. The sound of her name on his lips caused a soft gasp to leave her lips as she spun around quickly in his arms.
This close to his face, she could see the small scars from the chandelier crashing. She resisted the urge to trace them with her fingertips. When his silver eyes locked with hers, the color moved to dark pewter. He leaned forward, and she pressed up on her toes.
Their lips touched in barely a whisper before he pulled away from her. His hand released her arm, and he swallowed hard. He moved his hand to take something from his pocket but thought better of it.
“My apologies,” he said, taking another step away. She could feel his warm breath still there and the soft tingle of a could-have-been kiss. By his third step, he had melted away into the crowd.
Hermione’s mind scrambled as her heart beat wildly. She touched her lips softly and tried to recall if they had even touched his.
She wanted to hear her name again.
Hermione spent the rest of the party debating about leaving. Luna had never returned, and Hermione tried her best to socialize with other students, but she was still distracted by the blonde. When she successfully hit her limit of feeling stupid and desperate, she decided it was time to leave without goodbyes.
Outside the common room, Hermione heard a soft giggle from down the dungeon corridor. She could see a couple at the end of the hall and didn’t want to disturb them, but it was also the only exit from the dungeons.
As she neared, it was impossible not to notice the platinum blonde hair peeking out from around the corner. Her stomach dropped, and she suddenly felt ill.
“There you are,” a voice in her ear made her jump. She turned quickly to see the blonde she assumed was currently being snogged standing right behind her and not attached to anyone's lips. He seemed slightly out of breath, as if he had been running after her.
Hermione gave Malfoy a puzzled look, then looked back towards the couple. As they shifted positions, she saw the pink fluff of a dress and dark hands roaming up the pale skin of a girl's thighs.
“Is that Luna and-” Hermione started.
Malfoy nodded. “They shagged randomly one night during winter break. Thought it’d be a good birthday present to invite her.”
Hermione blanched.
“I thought you invited her because it’s Valentine’s Day, and you, well, I thought you might-” Hermione blabbered; she tried to stop herself before she admitted her big fat crush.
“Me? No… That's why I invited you,” he said in a nervous whisper. Slowly, he extracted a letter from his back pocket. He had been running after her. The envelope was thick and sealed with the Malfoy wax crest but slightly crumpled. On the front, written in his scrappy lettering, was her name. Hermione.
“What’s this?” she asked, taking it from him and tracing her finger over the lettering. Her mind was racing with so much new information she could barely breathe. He had invited her because he liked her. And he had followed her out of the party to hand her a-
“A letter of intent,” he said, looking down at her with those soft gray eyes she dreamed about and the half smile that haunted her. “I’m a bit more formal than Zabini.”
She nodded in understanding. Formal pureblood courting started with a letter of intent as a declaration of a future together to be decided within a year. There were only two outcomes: breaking up or marriage.
“May I think about it?” she asked, looking up at him. She had never noticed how tall he had become; he almost had to lean over her to look down at her properly. She quickly realized it was why his hair was always on his face.
“Take as long as you need,” he said gently. “But I’d prefer sooner rather than later.”
She nodded. He ran his hand through his hair again, and she finally clocked it as a nervous habit. She made him nervous.
“Draco?” She had never called him by his first name before; she rather liked the taste of it on her lips. It fueled her want to taste more.
She took a step closer, placing her hand on his chest to steady herself as she lifted up on her toes to press her lips against his. This time there was no questioning the contact as he pressed his lips against hers longingly. His arms wrapped around her, drawing her closer and up and up until her feet barely connected with the ground.
She moved her arms around his neck and held on for life. She was crushing the envelope in her fist, but she didn’t need to read it to know her answer. His tongue brushed against her lips, and she opened her mouth; a soft sigh of approval escaping her lungs was met with a groan of his own agreement.
“About bloody time!” Zabini’s voice echoed through the corridor.
Hermione gasped at the sudden disruption, hiding her face in Draco’s neck.
“Been carrying that ruddy letter with him for almost a month now,” Zabini grinned wide, his arm wrapped around Luna’s shoulders as they approached.
“Sorry to trick you,” Luna told Hermione, "but Cupid always plays dirty.”
“Plus, now I get birthday sex,” Blaise grinned. Luna swatted him before pulling him through the common room door.
Draco held up two fingers at Blaise before turning back to Hermione with a broad smile.
She reached up and pushed his hair back from his silver eyes; it was softer than she could have imagined. His smile spread further upward as his eyes searched hers, revealing a pair of beautiful matching dimples. It had been worth the wait.
“I’m done thinking,” she told him before kissing him again.