praying for dreamless sleep

Chapter 8

Ginny notices something a little different between Hermione and Draco a few weeks later.

It's the first week of October now, and the chill has set it in.

Leaves have turned gold and red, soon they'll fall.

Hermione wears her robes on top of her cardigan and jumpers more often and casts a warming charm when the sky gets dark.

She is sat at the Gryffindor table beside Ginny and has a pastry on her plate, a cup of tea beside it and a book in her hand. All is right.

"Do you have a thing going on with Malfoy?" Ginny asked.

Hermione chokes on air.

Draco is eating breakfast. He is also watching Hermione two tables across. She looks horrified at something Weasley has said.

He thinks he's being stealthy when he's looking but Theo elbows him in the ribs.

"What are you looking at?"

He coughs as toast scrapes the back of his throat.

"Nothing," he gasps out.

Theo snorts. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Don't be an idiot," he said. He sips at juice to soothe his throat. "I'm just making sure everything's alright. Head boy and all."

Theo scoffs. "You're lying through your teeth, mate."

Draco could feel a headache forming on top of his tension headache. "I'm not."

He really didn't want to get into it.

Theo, not getting a hint, spoke again.

"So you're not gazing at a certain Gryffindor head girl?"

"No," he said. Draco tries to force the pink thats starts to tinge his cheeks away.

"Don't believe you."

"Well, I have nothing to convince you of, so don't care."

They're both staring at Granger when she looks at him.

Hermione throws cautious looks over to the Slytherin table as she is scanning the rest of the tables in the hall and sees Draco. Her eyes drift away before doing a double take.

Her mind hasn't caught up with what she's seeing.

She almost chokes again.

He's wearing a muggle black hoodie.

It looks oversized and he wears it effortlessly.

It's so bizzare and out of place but he still makes it look like it belongs on him.

"I really think something's got to be going on because you're still staring," she says, "I guess, it was meant to happen eventually, because opposites and stuff. Two hot people destined to do hot things."

Hermione hasn't heard a word of what Ginny's been saying for the past minute.

She still stares wordlessly at him until he looks in her direction and catches her eye. She can't tell what he's thinking but it feels like she's been caught doing some naughty.

It holds for a moment before he breaks off and turns back to Nott.

"I bet it's designer," she mutters under her breath.

"You know you're not making a good case for yourself when you're literally in a staring contest with him," Ginny says.

"I am not," she said, spluttering.

"I won't judge you for it if you are. I mean, I will. But I won't, so are you?"

"Absolutely not," she said, very firmly.

Ginny stares at her. "Really? Nothing between you two?"

"No. We just have an understanding."

"What? Like from 1902 or something? I knew it," she said, "Are you promised to each other?"

"What? No, of course not. You're getting the wrong idea."

"Then tell me what the right idea is."

"It's more like therapy. We talk. A lot."

"Ah, OK. You're on dates and are getting to know each other," she said nodding heavily, "got it."

"No, not got it," Hermione said, a little frantic, "not dates. Pas du tout."

"Huh? Nevermind," Ginny said. She looks a little too pleased with herself for Hermione's liking. "So if you're not dating, do you like him? 'Like' like him?"

Hermione rolls her eyes. "What is this? Second year?"

Ginny nudges her, as if trying to push out a secret. "Is he in your dreams too? Think about him in your classes? Always looking for him in a crowd?"

"OK," she drags out, "I have a class to get to, so do you." She stands up getting her things and taking her pastry in a napkin with her.

"See you later, Gin." She walks away.

"Can't run away from this, 'Mione," she says a little too loudly as it echos in the hall. "You'll have to face it eventually."

Hermione walks faster. She swears she can hear laughter behind her.