Still tired Hermione stood in front of her Advent calendar and looked for the second wicket. She used this calendar every year, magically refilling it with chocolate over and over again, but still every year she had to look for every single wicket again. Her face lightened up as she discovered the number two on the left boot of Santa, and another smile touched her lips after she let the sweet chocolate melt on her tongue. She loved this Advent calendar, it reminded her of the good old days when she was still a little kid, not knowing anything about being a witch - or anything about Voldemort.
With a mug full of hot coffee in one hand and a slice of toast in the other, she sat down at her small dining table to take another look at her time table. The one class taught by Professor D. Malfoy was set right before lunch break today. Great. She knew very well that she got easily irritated when she was hungry. She really turned into a fiend then. Yesterday Malfoy had ignored her, only once he had thrown an angry look at her and for the rest of that lesson he had stuck to his script. It had been a pleasant surprise and she really hoped it would stay that way. Somehow she doubted it, though. Perhaps she should make use of the small pause before Human Ressources class to buy at least a snack at the cafeteria? She really did not want her hungry temper run away with her only to end up in an unnecessary fight with Malfoy. Yes, that definitely was a good idea. Five minutes should be enough for it.
oOoOoOo
As fast as he could without actually running Draco paced through the long hallway. The teacher’s meeting this morning had taken ages and now there was no time left for his second breakfast at his favorite cafe on the other side of the street. But under no circumstances did he want to teach in front of his class without having eaten anything - just the thought of his growling stomach being heard by the students made him cringe! So he had to take the detour to the school’s cafeteria and see what snacks they offered.
He was happy to discover that almost no students were present, so he could instantly access the small vending machine for snacks. He was just rummaging through his pockets on the search for some coins, when a very distinct, very familiar brunette woman pushed to the front.
“Granger” He hissed: “I was here first!”
“Good for you” She snapped back, sounding as annoyed as he felt: “But I don’t have all day to wait for your Lordship to find some cash. I am hungry and class is starting soon.”
Draco felt his stomach turn cold with rage. It was easy to irritate him when he was hungry, and this particular witch always seemed to know just which buttons she had to press: “I am your teacher. You should treat me with more respect. And call me Professor Malfoy!”
“You wish!” Hermione snorted, while choosing a pack of cookies: “You are younger than I am and on top of everything you didn’t even graduate from school. Do you honestly expect me to have respect for that?”
“I am your teacher!” He insisted. At last she turned and looked him straight into the eyes. Draco gulped as he saw her face - obviously she was just as easily irritated when hungry as he was. Her gaze was murderous. Wary whether she once again would make use of one of her infamous slaps, he fell back a step before continuing: “Even if I wasn’t your teacher, it’s not very polite to jump the queue!”
“I’m done here anyway, Professor!” Hermione sneered while stepping aside to let Draco access the vending machine. He decided that it would be below him to stoop so low as to react her taunt, instead he considered his snack options. It seemed that the cookies Hermione just bought would actually be the only substantial meal he could get from this machine. With a short glance to Hermione - who was eating one cookie after another, looking rather smug - he typed the number, put in the right amount of money and waited. To his dismay a little red bulb went off and the display told him this particular product was no longer available. With a loud jingle his coins returned to the small box beneath him, while Hermione broke into resounding laughter.
“Oh, what a pity, Professor! It looks like someone bought the last pack of cookies right underneath your eyes!” She jeered before she reached for yet another cookie in her now half empty pack. The hunger turned Draco’s annoyance into overwhelming anger and before Hermione knew what he wanted to do, he had grabbed the hand holding the cookie. She watched with horror as he forced her to turn her hand to him. Before she could even blink, his lips had closed around her fingertips and his mouth had swallowed the cookie.
“Are you mad?” She screamed confused and angry, pulling away her arm: “Are you completely mental?”
Now it was Draco who looked rather self-satisfied: “I wanted those cookies. You were the reason I couldn’t buy any, so you had to pay at least some price. Any problems with that, Granger?”
Dumbfounded Hermione stared. The loud sound of a gong interrupted their conversation to tell them it was time for class. Draco nodded once more, then he went away with long strides. It took Hermione a moment longer to wake up from her rigour, but then she rushed after him. Just before the classroom door she caught up to him.
“Malfoy! Wait!” She yelled short of breath. His brows raised Draco turned to see what else she could want from him. With a triumphant grin Hermione handed him her cookies: “I really appreciate you eating from the palm of my hand, but we should keep this professional, don’t you think, Professor?”
Whistling cheerfully, Hermione entered the classroom and sat down on her spot, while an absolutely flabbergasted Draco Malfoy could only stand in the door and stare.