Deep in thought, Draco once again looked at today's schedule. The class with Granger in it would be his last today and the students would be going home afterwards, too. By now, he was sure that at least the pretty blonde – Miss Bennet, if he remembered correctly – was interested in him not only as a teacher, but as a man. Perhaps there would be the opportunity to invite her for a coffee. If she indeed was interested in him, surely she would take her time with packing up her stuff, so she was the last to leave the classroom. Yes, that would be perfect. Also, even if she did not do that, he still could go for her himself the next day. He was in no hurry.
oOoOoOo
Hermione knew exactly what was going on. From day one she had noticed how her pretty classmate could not take her eyes off of the blonde professor, almost drooling whenever he returned her glances. Malfoy himself did not hold back either. What glances those were. It was so obvious that Lydia and the professor were flirting. During classes! Sure, his teaching did not suffer from it and Hermione had to pay him respect for how well he actually handled himself as professor. But still. She was more than annoyed to see him so blatantly courting one of his students. Worse of all, she obviously enjoyed it. Did she not know who he was? Did she not know that Draco Malfoy really was not a gentleman? If anything, he was the reflection of his old houses' heraldic animal: A snake.
"Aaaawww, Hermione," Lydia whispered: "I really think Professor Malfoy likes me!"
Hermione tried to supress a groan: "Really, Lydia, what do you see in him?"
"You need to ask?" Lydia incredulously asked: "Can't you see? He's hot!"
"And an asshole!"
"Hermione!"
Rolling her eyes, Hermione explained: "We were in the same year in Hogwarts. Contrary to you, I really do know him."
"Yeah, yeah. Show off!" Lydia pouted: "Maybe you really went to school with famous people like Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. But you can't tell me you actually know Draco Malfoy."
"Yeah, right, who am I, anyway?" Hermione replied, shaking her head.
She refused to continue this conversation. Though internally, she really wondered how anyone managed to go to Hogwarts – even if they were a few years younger – and still be ignorant of the fact that she had indeed been Malfoy's classmate. Also, how anyone could not see what an arrogant, selfish bastard he was, was beyond her.
Another sigh next to her forced another groan from Hermione. She tried to focus and only look straight ahead, ignoring the dreamy girl next to her, only to be met by Malfoy who was still winking and smirking at Lydia.
Suddenly, that tiny part of her brain that sometimes produced nasty little ideas rose its head. This particular idea lifted Hermione's mood instantly and she could not resist an evil grin. Perhaps those two love birds would not be able to enjoy each other's company today, after all.
oOoOoOo
Draco's mood got worse by the minute. He instantly had noticed how Granger suddenly had started grinning during class and even then he had had a sneaking suspicion it was because of him. Now it was more than obvious that she deliberately took her time to pack her bag – just like charming Miss Bennet did. That girl had reacted in a very promising way to his glances during class. But now Granger seemed hell bent to destroy his happiness.
"Professor Malfoy," Granger purred at that exact moment: "How good of you to still be here. Perhaps you have time to answer some of my questions?"
He waited until she was standing directly in front of him, then he whispered angrily: "What are you doing? Shove off!"
"Oh, but, Professor," Hermione answered just as quietly, her voice dripping with irony: "You cannot actually have anything better to do than answering questions your dedicated students have!"
"You don't have questions!" Draco replied, becoming more and more agitated by the second: "You never had any questions before now!"
"Do you suffer from memory loss?" Hermione laughed: "I've always had a bunch of questions. Just ask our beloved professors back in Hogwarts, they can tell you stories ... And now I happen to have a question for you. Don't you want to know it?"
"Fine, if you just shut up then."
The evil grin on Hermione's face surprised Draco, but it was her question that really caught him off guard: "I would really like to know what your supervisor in the ministry has to say about the fact that you are openly flirting with one of your students during class."
Draco blanched: "What?"
Hermione's evil grin got even sweeter: "You understood perfectly well. I don't care what you're doing in your free time. But here, you're a teacher. I don't like you ogling my classmates when you're supposed to teach. Actually, I'm convinced that it's not well received by your superiors, either."
For a moment, Draco had to fight the urge to just hex her into oblivion. Then, trying to sound as sure of himself as possible, he replied: "Why does it bother you? Jealous?"
To his amusement, Hermione's face turned bright red as she retorted: "In your dreams! I really don't want some pretty boy undressing me with his eyes!"
Happy to have found an opening to get out of this situation, Draco attacked once more: "Is that why Weasley left you? I assume he was sick of the fact that he couldn't undress you even in his imagination."
Draco knew he had won when Hermione took a step back before spitting: "Draco Malfoy! Do you really believe everything the tabloids say? Ron and I, we ... we did not even date! There was this one moment during the heat of the battle, but that was all. Even if there had been anything else, it sure as hell would not have failed because of my lack of ... of dirty mind. I actually do have a pretty vivid imagination!"
"Really?" Draco replied, raising one eyebrow. From the corner of his eye he noticed that Lydia Bennet left, head held up high, obviously pouting. So Granger's evil scheme had in the end succeeded. He crossed his arms, trying to look as menacing as possible, when he hissed: "You can go now. Miss Bennet just left, no reason for you to stay."
Hermione, who had just worked on an angry retort, looked around and found the classroom empty. She sighed deeply and nodded: "You're right. Well, have a nice evening, professor."