4.1 | Draconian ✓

06 | prior

  

0 6

p r i o r   i n c a n t a t o

Relives previous spells.

PANSY HAD SEEN many strange things in her life. But nothing came close to what she saw now:

The Slytherin snake and Gryffindor's princess sitting side by side on a bed.

If her fourteen-year old self had seen this, she would've thrown a blue fit. Pansy smirked at the thought of that.

She sat on Draco's desk and watched Draco speak to Hermione quietly. She could barely hear them but one thing was sure – Hermione Granger was not doing well. Where was that know-it-all attitude and the bloody Gryffindor pride? This Hermione looked at Draco with...

Adoration.

Yes, that was the word for it. Hermione looked up at Draco like he hung the moon. Like he was the only reason the world (or her world, at least) existed. She seemed to cling onto every word he spoke, her eyes fixated on him and no one else, her fingers clutching Draco's like he was her lifeline.

Pansy couldn't remember Hermione ever looking at anyone that way. Not even the Weasel, back at Hogwarts. Pansy wondered if Draco could see what she saw.

Or maybe he couldn't. The smirk on Pansy's face grew as she catalogued the minute details. The unusual warmth in his eyes, the way he leaned towards Hermione as he talked before pulling away, his fingers interlaced tightly with hers.

Well.

Guess there were still miracles during a war.

Finally, Draco straightened. Hermione slowly turned her gaze to the Slytherin witch, and Pansy grinned. "Hello, Hermione."

Hermione looked startled before her lips lifted in a weak smile. "Hi."

"I'm Pansy Parkinson." Ignoring Draco's annoyed growl, Pansy grasped Hermione's hand in a firm shake. "I don't suppose you remember me? Fellow schoolmate, Slytherin and one of your many arch-nemeses?"

Hermione's eyes grew wide, her eyebrows knitting together faintly. Pansy could practically see her trying to recall. It was an alarming sight. Who knew that the cleverest witch of their year would be reduced to this?

"Draco, a word?" Pansy threw him a meaningful look. He hesitated. Noticing the anxious look on Hermione's face, Pansy turned to the girl. "We can talk in here. You just have to muffle your ears."

She couldn't believe herself. She – Pansy. Being kind to Hermione. But the look on Hermione's face made her feel like she'd done the whole world a favour. Hermione let Draco muffle her ears and sat quietly next to him.

Their hands, Pansy noticed, never separated.

For good measure, Draco shut the door with a quick wave of his hand. Pansy didn't have to look to know that he was bolting it with magic locks. He was terribly private that way. No wonder none of them knew about Hermione's existence.

Once Draco was done, he turned to her. "What do you want, Parkinson?"

"How about you start from the very beginning? Like, were you searching for her?" She knew that she'd hit the nail on the head when he remained silent. "Alright, so you were searching for her. When did you find her?"

"The patrol I took over from Theo."

"The Quarry? That's about – " Pansy did a mental calculation. " – a week ago, then? We truly are losing our touch if we couldn't tell that you were hiding a fugitive in your room." She shook her head in mirth when Draco's eyes flashed amusement. "What was she doing there?"