Dramione Diaries | Fluffy Oneshots

06 | balloon

Dearest Ginny Weasley,

I'm going to kill you!

Hundreds of miles off the ground, a certain tall, blond Slytherin and a particularly intelligent, brown-eyed Gryffindor stood on opposite corners of a small basket, staring blankly at the scenery. The strong wind brushed past them, tangling her long curls and devastating his coarse hair, but unfortunately not blowing away the intensifying tension between them.

In what universe did you think this was a good idea?

Ginny had told her they would have a best friend outing together in which she had something special planned. Hermione, unknowing of her schemes, blindly accepted jubilantly. Ginny had led her to an open field where a large, red balloon covered the sky with a woven, scarlet wicker basket resting on the grass underneath it. Hermione was too in awe of the red balloon to realize that her ginger-haired friend had pulled her into a basket with someone else rather than herself, and soon they were in the sky before she could even comprehend what Ginny had done.

"Have fun up there!" She heard the lighthearted voice of Ginny along with a male's booming laughter. Hermione leaned over the basket to glare at her best friend and the boy who was waving next to her, Blaise Zabini.

I'm not trusting you anymore. Our friendship? Nonexistent.

"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant," she heard the blond groan after a long while. "I'm stuck in the sky with a bushy, know-it-all beaver."

Hermione scowled, her lips parting at his insults. "And I'm stuck with a tosser who's gone completely barmy," she remarked, then muttered, "Merlin, those two are incorrigible."

"Tell me about it," he scoffed, then stood stiff at his words. He swiveled around to glare at the tangled brush of hair, "Don't try and make me agree with you."

Hermione scrunched her nose in disgust and whipped around to face him, "I wasn't trying to."

I hate the git. I hate your 'beautiful' friendship with the ferret's friend. Yes, Malfoy and I do try and tolerate one another for the sake of your strange friendship. No, it does not mean we like each other.

"Malfoy, if you hate it here, why don't you just apparate out?" She found herself questioning, raising a curious brow.

His eyes expanded and she noticed the way his silver eyes started to flit around her, but never at her. "Why don't you apparate out?" He sneered.

She released a huff of air and stared at the scenery of  the green, snowcapped mountains that reached higher in the sky than they did. "Because I've never done this before and regardless of having terrible company, I want to experience this."

He fell into silence, slightly nodding at her words before catching himself. "I despise you. But I like being in the air." He found himself mumbling almost inaudibly, but she was able to hear it through the whistles of the wind somehow. She didn't think much of it, as it made sense since he loved Quidditch.

They had a moment of silence, listening to the air against their ears and the echoing cawing of birds in the sky, too immerse in the scenery before them that they completely forgot about one another.

Although, I did enjoy the scenery. Malfoy and I hardly talked about anything meaningful, if that's what you're wondering. If you thought something would come out of this.... you were... well... I'm not certainly sure myself.

"Aren't you afraid of heights?"

Taken aback at the suddenness of his question that broke her serenity, Hermione shrugged nonchalantly. "It depends I guess. Brooms and I, we're not the best match. But being up here in this feels nicer and more stable. Besides, now that apparition is an option, I guess it just feels a bit safer."

"You can get splinched."

"Better than going five-hundred kilometers per hour on a broomstick and slipping off at that velocity," she almost shivered at the thought.

"Granger, I thoroughly don't understand you. Not that I want to understand you," he quickly added the last bit with a biting tone.

"Of course you don't, you're a nitwitted ferret," she nearly growled.

"And you're a boring bookworm who doesn't know what fun is," he retorted back.

"I know what fun is," she snapped. "In fact, I'm having fun right now!"

"Yeah? So am I!" He attempted to challenge.

"Good for you!"

"Great!"

"This is stupid," Hermione groaned, turning to prop her arms against the hot air balloon basket and rested her chin on her hands.

"You're stupid," he responded childishly, knowing that she was, in fact, definitely not. Hermione simply scoffed at him and continued to look at the view. She felt him settled in beside her and mimic her actions, crossing his ankles as he leaned against the basket.

"Why are you on my side?" Hermione questioned, sounding a bit peeved. She had tensed when she felt him come near, and she hoped he didn't notice.

"I never knew we claimed sides," he answered, a smug lilt to his voice.

"This side has been mine since you pretty much inhabited that corner over there," she nodded back to where he was previously.

"Well now I want to inhabit this side."

Ginny, oh Merlin, why me? He made everything I say into a challenge. He even purposefully asked random questions to start a kerfuffle. What peeves me the most is that this wanker enjoys it! I don't understand him- not that I want to understand him.

"Merlin Malfoy, why do you enjoy this?" She sighed frustratingly.

"Enjoy what? Being stuck in this big balloon thing in a small enclosed box with you? I really, really don't."

"You're infuriating."

He grinned, "So I've been told."

I don't know how, but it's been a bit more tolerable with him. Maybe that's what happened during this experience. Because ever since then, his teasings and insults became more frequent but less hurtful. And I actually quite like it.

I still hate you though.

Your friend,

Hermione Granger

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sorry i didn't put much thought into this