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She was one of the last to leave the Great Hall, Neville and Ginny hanging back just a little longer to finish their final dance. Slipping off her shoes, she took the steps at a slight jog and navigated her way through the dimly lit hallways.
"It seems foolish to traipse about the castle so late at night." Adrian Pucey smirked, circling her close enough to inhale the scent of her vanilla shampoo. "I thought you were meant to be the smart one."
Hermione sneer in his direction, her wand gripped tightly in her hand. "Excuse me." she snapped, moving to step around him.
Pucey blocked her path easily, sliding in front of the staircase leading to Gryffindor tower. "Now, now," he purred, dragging his finger down the side of her face before she slapped it away. "There's no reason to be in such a hurry. The night is still young." The gleam in his eye was enough to put her entire body on edge. Holding her wand defensively across her body, she used her other hand to gather up her skirts to keep from tripping.
"Don't touch me." she snapped, stepping away from him.
The older Slytherin chuckled, advancing on her again until the tip of her wand touched his chest. "I don't believe for a second that a swot like you would use magic outside of the classroom."
Before she could prove just how wrong he was in that assessment, Malfoy turned the corner, his long fingers pulling the tie from around his neck. Rolling the sleeves of his crisp, white dress shirt up to his elbows, he stopped when he saw the position the two were in.
Pucey towered easily over the Gryffindor's small frame, her back flush against the stone wall with no space to move. Lowering his head to the side of her neck, Pucey inhaled deeply with a pleasurable groan, his hands touching her waist. Malfoy took a step closer, his own wand extended cautiously.
"Don't waste your time with that one." Malfoy drawled, twirling the wood between his fingers lazily. "Come on. I heard they're keeping the party going in the dungeons."
"I'll catch up with you." Pucey replied, never taking his eyes off the brunette forcibly pressed between his chest and the wall. He opened his mouth to continue, but a muttered spell fell from Hermione's lips and he was forced back, his body slamming into to wall across from them.
"You stupid bitch." he snarled, righting himself with his wand aimed directly at her head.
"Hey." Malfoy snapped, his voice more dangerous and deep then it had been a moment ago. "There's plenty of other witches to try your luck at. Let's go." he suggested firmly.
The older Slytherin looked back at his housemate with a deadly smirk. "She's just a Mudblood. This is all they're good for." He stalked back over to her, his tongue skimming his top lip threateningly.
Malfoy tossed his jacket over the banister and stepped between the two, bringing a hand behind his back to discreetly move Hermione towards the stairs. She took them two at a time, only stopping to look back once she reached the landing just outside the familiar portrait.
"Mudblood or not, she's just a girl." She heard Malfoy say in a harsh whisper. "Leave her be." Hermione disappeared into the common room before she could hear Pucey's response, wanting nothing but a warm shower to wash away the feeling of his hands on her.
She wasn't surprised to find the library deserted the following Saturday, most of her classmates choosing to sleep in with no mandatory obligations. She was, however, caught off guard when she spotted Draco Malfoy surrounded by a stack of tomes in a secluded part of the Potion's section. Before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed the necessary materials from her bag and took the seat across from him, opening her Transfiguration textbook and readying a fresh piece of parchment.
"Are none of the empty tables to your liking?" he asked without looking up from his book, his quill scratching away beside it.
"Why did you help me last night?" she countered, pushing her hair behind her ears. She continued to watch him even as his eyes remained glued to his workspace.
"I know better then most what Adrian Pucey is capable of." he said with a scoff. "I'm subjected to his constant boasting in the common room." Malfoy set his quill aside and finally met her gaze, Hermione surprised by the almost silver color of his irises. "I'm a lot of terrible things, Granger, but I'm not a rapist. And I don't consider walking away and letting it happen much better then doing it myself."
Her parted lips clearly showed her surprise, and he cut her off before she could gather a response.
"You truly think me such a monster that I would knowingly let something like that happen?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
A thick silence filled the space around them as she considered his question. "You hate me." she said with a shrug, not knowing how else to respond.
He let out a dry, humorless laugh. "I've watched my father knock around my mother enough times to know that even I have limits to the pain I'm willing to inflict on others." Malfoy met her eyes without blinking. "You annoy me to no end, but that doesn't mean I wish you to be violated in that way." Shoving his things into the black leather bag at his feet, he stood from his chair without another word.
"Thank you." she whispered as he passed. "You're not what I expected."
He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath without turning around. "I get further and further from the person I thought I was every day."
"I like this version of you." she admitted, refocusing on the work in front of her as his footsteps faded into the distance.