#﴾ amotentia ﴿ ⇢ Draco Malfoy

[bccksmarts]

  Gods, the way he spoke was just... it was something else. He was so calm, relaxed, speaking where appropriate, made his comments as if it were so simple. How? How could he? She was stood there just managing. Of course, however, she was brave-facing—as if to prepare for some sort of inevitable... and there certainly was one.

  Her cheeks were still rather rosy, pinked rather. Yes, he definitely noticed it, then... Bugger. Not that she minded, on the contrary. Wetting her lips ( for god knows what time, it just seemed to occur a lot ), Hermione fidgeted. ❝I'm not offended,❞ she mumbled, ❝I just... It's a worrisome thing, regardless if there's spells and things that can resolve an injury. Things like that can be fatal if you're not careful.❞ Not that she thought Harry, Ron, Ginny or even Draco weren't careful whenever they played, and not that they wouldn't act responsible for whatever would happen out in that field if any of them ever taught this little one how to play, let alone fly. Making a little smile at him, Hermione tilted her head, ❝I'm an only child too, you know,❞ Of course he'd know... probably? ❝So I get what you mean, well, in a way.❞ She lightly shrugged her shoulders, that smile still remaining on her face. Having friends growing up, before Hogwarts, just wasn't a thing for her. Not really. She was too focused on her reading, her learning... typical of her, really. She got called weird and very different than most girls her age, but it didn't seem to really bother her. Her parents loved her for it, so that's all that mattered.

  Watching him carefully, Hermione witnessed that bit of colour on his face and his persona shift. Embarrassed? Uncomfortable? She couldn't tell, but it had her eyes widening. So... did he not want to see her? Well... that stung. Just a bit. Unless she was reading into it wrong, which she could be. She very well could be. But, dear Merlin, had she been dying to see him. To tell him. The words just weren't coming to her, not now. But they will. She'll make them.

  For now, she can be content with his compliments about her work and the effort she went through to get to where she was and what she had done. Accomplished, more like. Her lips curving up, along with her nose wrinkling, she mused a, ❝Well, you're welcome,❞ as if to be slightly cocky. She worked hard, after all, and seeing her achievements get noticed? By him? If that didn't add some sort of fire to her, nothing would.

  Wait—was he leaving? So soon? She felt herself going pale. She could tell him right now. She could do it. He'd know, and it'd all be out in the open. Obviously he'd basically just given her an invitation to show up at his place if she so needed to, but... ❝I—❞ She started, her breath catching in her throat. Bloody hell, 'Mione, come on, out with it, her brain urged, her teeth digging into her bottom lip again, ❝I do—need something, I mean.❞ She intertwined her hands down in front of her, being mindful of her little bump, ❝I think we need to talk.❞ Yes, that was putting it vaguely, but the tone she was using... she hoped he understood. As lovely as this all had been, and would love to keep it that way, this particular conversation needed to be away from prying eyes and ears, considering they were still out in the open.

A small laugh, more of a chuckle really, escaped his mouth as he replied, “Oh, I have a few guesses. But I wouldn’t want to make you any redder.” He snorted softly, opting to not tell her of any of his escapades as as a child. And most certainly not the ones where he had been on a broom. No, Hermione Granger would not like that at all. “No need to get offended. I just know that’s most often the cause for not wanting to get on them, so I assumed.” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug before nodding in understanding. 

“Fortunately for us, magic has been able to mend us in many of those cases. But I see where you come from. It is quite dangerous to get on a broom if one is not properly trained, why paying attention in class was so important.” He knew he’d made a fool of himself that first flying class, but he’d been a horrible little Slytherin back then too. It didn’t help that his father had practically encouraged it. “If it helps, having those people around will be good for the child in the end. It is a very lonely childhood when it’s just you for company.” He didn’t mean to make things so somber, but it was true. His parents tried to entertain him as a child, his mother in particular, but he’d still been lonely. And no amount of events where his parents brought over their friends children once in a blue moon didn’t help. And it didn’t help being alone in that huge manor either with just a house elf for company. Granted, that had been part of why he’d treated Dobby so well. 

At the mention of wanting to see her, Draco felt his cheeks warm a little and he looked down at his feet as he shuffled them a little, suddenly feeling shy. “No, I … I just thought I might is all.” He rubbed the back of his neck against as he met her eyes. Draco was not normally this awkward, in fact, he liked to think of himself as cool and collected when it came to women. Somehow Hermione brought this out of him, not that he would ever admit to it. 

Snorting softly, Draco said, “Oh yes, I’m sure they knew they had to give in to you, didn’t they? You’re welcome. I did always think the House Elves didn’t deserve to be treated the way they did, it was just always … normal. Not that I’m excusing it, but it’s good to know that they’ve got some rights now.” Though from what he had heard, many of them hadn’t changed much of their positions, other than their owners were now paying them and they weren’t considered owned anymore either. That was going to be difficult for some of the wizarding community to get used to, but they all would in time, he was sure.

“Anyway, it was nice to run into you again. If you need anything, you know where my place is.” She knew because that was where she had disappeared off from that morning. Draco wanted to flat out ask her if the baby was his, he wanted to offer support, but if she didn’t want it, then he wouldn’t force it on her. 

@bccksmarts