A Man Can Change - A Draco/Hermione Story

As Swollen and Red as a Tomato

I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS: J.K.ROWLING OWNS THEM. This is just a fanfic written by a huge HP fan.

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“We should probably –“

      “Talk now?” Hermione interrupted Draco. He agreed and they walked hand in hand out of the Hospital Wing and up to towards their common room on the seventh floor. Hermione had been given instructions on how to make the potion and what times to take it by Madam Pomfrey. She would have preferred none of this to be happening in the first place, and that the stone hadn’t been discovered at all, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

      “Draco, they never did mention to us why Snape could have been so ‘worried’ about the dreams. I mean, the resurrection stone’s protection spells are hardly anything bad, so why would he have told us to get to her immediately?”

      “I’m not sure, we should ask him when we get up there.” Draco replied.

      When they reached their common room, and thought about it, Snape’s portrait appeared and he stared down at them. Hermione couldn’t read the expression on his face, so she just smiled at him.

      “Sir, we wanted to ask you why you were so worried about these dreams Hermione is having.” Draco started. Snape just seemed to stare down at Draco with expressionless eyes.

      “I wasn’t ‘worried’. I don’t ‘worry’. I was merely telling you to get to her immediately in case –“

      “In case what?”

      “Don’t interrupt me Draco. I may be dead but that doesn’t mean you can smart mouth or interrupt me. I was under the assumption that perhaps someone was accessing Miss Granger’s mind while her defences were low. I am sure you both know of the dreams Potter used to have when the Dark Lord did such a thing to him? Well that’s what I thought was happening to you.” Hermione was astonished. She thought that had to have been the most he had ever said at once. She was even more astonished when he continued. “I take it by the ingredients in your hand that you are being treated for the dreams. Tell me, what was the cause?”

      There was no hint of concern whatsoever lacing his words, but he was clearly interested. She wasn’t sure whether or not he knew of the stone being hidden in the room, but surely he would know considering that he guards the room itself?

      “Well it was either one of two things. The first was pregnancy, which isn’t the cause –“ Draco was cut off by Snape as he had done so earlier.

      “Pregnancy? Sexual relations between a Slytherin and Gryffindor? It’s wrong, and you are violating school rules.” He spat down at the two of them.

      “I said, it isn’t the cause. And no, there are no ‘sexual relations’-“ Draco made the little bunny fingers with both hands around those words, “- going on between the two of us. The cause of the dreams are to do with the protection spells wrapped around...” Hermione suspected he must have thought the same thing she had been earlier, did he or did he not know about the stone?

      “If you are talking about the stone, then yes I know about it. How peculiar that it has such... effects.” He said in his long drawl. Draco let out a deep sigh beside her.

      “Wrackspurt.” He said loud and clear. Snape got the message that Draco couldn’t be bothered talking about it anymore and swung open revealing the common room.

      As they passed Snape on the way in, he said to Hermione, “Holding hands now are we? I thought I told you to be more careful.” Up until this moment, she had actually forgotten about their linked hands between their bodies, and it made her slightly nervous at the fact she was about to have a very serious conversation with Draco.