I'll Take That Chance

CH 38 - They Were Both Blushing the Same Shade of Crimson

Harry and Ron were just finishing up dinner where Hermione walked in, face flush and her hair was fuzzy around her head. Ron winked at her and made room for her to sit.

"What's going on, love?" he asked her.

"I've just come from the library. I know we were all supposed to meet there for homework but its completely packed. There was so much noise I couldn't think straight. And the common room was just as bad." As if to prove her point, she pulled her bag out and they saw that her papers had been shoved hastily inside. Harry looked over at Draco who was getting up from his table and jerked his head to the doorway.

"We'll just have to find somewhere else," he told them. They walked into the hall and Draco came up behind him.

"Everything ok?" he asked Harry quietly.

"Library is packed so we may have to postpone studying for a bit," he shrugged and he noticed Hermione chewing her lip.

"I guess we could just work in the Great Hall," she mused, looking around but Harry knew that wouldn't work for her either. She had never been happy working with too much noise and distraction.

"Why dont you all come up to my room? Harry and I study there all the time," Draco offered quietly.

"Study... sure," Ron laughed, and he nudged Harry, waggling his eyebrows. Hermione cracked a smile and Harry blushed profusely.

"Would you mind?" Harry asked.

"Why not? We're all doing the same homework," he shrugged, and Harry smiled up at him.

"Does that sound okay to you?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione. They looked at each other for a moment and Hermione nodded.

"Yes, please, that would be great. It would certainly be quieter than the rest of the school," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I'll be glad to finally get all of this work done and get through exams. I'll be glad to never have to do homework again in my life," Ron joked, easing the tension.

"Me too," Harry added. They made their way up to Draco's portrait and luckily didnt pass many students. No one seemed to care enough to watch them as closely as they had before, but McGonagall still didn't want them drawing too much attention to themselves. Draco gave the password and stood back for the others to go in.

"Thank you," Hermione said as she and Ron stepped through. Before he followed Draco through, he gave his hand a squeeze. Draco smiled down at him and led the way in.

"Where would you like us to sit?" Ron asked.

"Anywhere is fine. You can take the couch if you'd like." Ron nodded and flopped on the sofa, Hermione sitting beside him and she started pulling papers out of her bag. Harry moved to pull the two armchairs closer to the table and Draco grabbed their bags and deposited them near the chairs.

"We've got a lot of work to do," Hermione noted and they all looked at the books and papers piled on the table. Harry heard Draco sigh behind him and watched as he moved to turn on the stereo and light tinkling filled the room.

"Oh, Vivaldi!" Hermione exclaimed, and Ron looked at her quizzically. "He's a composer. I've been listening to his music since I was young."

"He's one of my new favorites," Draco said to her, smiling. He picked up the CD case and turned it over in his hand. "Harry and I picked this out before we came back to school and I've charmed it to play while I work. It's very calming."

"Interesting," Ron remarked as he moved over to Draco and the stereo. He picked up one of the CD cases and turned it over as well, studying it intently and looking at the stereo. "Where does it go?" he asked as he looked it over, trying to figure out where to put it. Hermione and Harry laughed, and Ron turned pink.

"Very funny, have a nice laugh," he said, still studying the case.

"Harry had a good laugh at me the first time I tried to figure it out as well, so don't feel bad," Draco said with a smirk at Harry.

"Hermione laughed at me when I first visited her house and scoffed when her parents stuffed all the dirty dishes into a box in the cabinet, still dirty!"

"I told you, Ron, it washes them. They didn't put away dirty dishes."

"I'd hope not," he said, looking at her with a bewildered smirk. "They had so many strange contraptions there."

"I can imagine. Andromeda does as well, like movies. She loves those, but I don't understand them," Draco said to Ron, and Ron laughed.

"The things they sit and stare at, yes! Like talking pictures that drag on for hours. Those are strange, and they take so long to get through. Like the things they use to point at the box that interacts with it."

"Yes, those game things!" Draco said and he and Ron both laughed. "I can't imagine the type of headache one would get from staring at them."

"You dont get headaches," Harry said, interrupting them, laughing at their naivete. "You enjoyed shopping in the muggle shops at Christmas."

"I did enjoy it. But you have to admit, a lot of those things we found were strange. I guess it's just strange to me the way non-magical people live," Draco finished with a shrug.

"It is strange, and I'm glad you understand! Hermione thinks I'm narrow-minded about the poor souls having to do everything by hand and spending so much time on mundane things. I don't know how muggles survive," Ron laughed, and Draco chuckled with him. They put the CD cases back down and came to sit. Harry handed Draco his Astronomy book and brushed his fingers against his, winking at him. It made him happy to see them all getting along so well.

***

Harry's legs were slung over the side of his chair and his arms were crossed over his chest. His glasses were perched on the tip of his nose and Draco was sure he was sleeping. He used his quill to tap on the bottom of his shoe, but he didn't stir.

"They never did last long during homework," Hermione said, smiling at both of the sleeping young men. Ron had his head on her lap; he had fallen asleep before Harry.

"I've noticed," Draco said, chuckling. "As soon as the books open, I've got about an hour and a half to get Harry through his work. Which is funny, since he's more of a night person. He does not like early mornings," he smirked. He felt the heat rise in his face as he said this, but Hermione had the grace not to poke fun.

"He always has been. Ron's the same way," Hermione said as she stroked his forehead. Draco nodded and smiled at the memory of Harry grumbling at him in the early morning light and the soft, lazy kisses he would give him. Hermione was smiling at Harry and then she looked at Draco for a moment. "He also hasn't been this happy in a very long time." She was smiling gently at him and he looked over to Harry, his hair falling across his forehead and his chest rising up and down slowly in even breaths. He tapped the bottom of his shoe again and he started stirring.

"I love him, more than I've ever loved anyone. And its more than that. He's my best friend and my confidant. We really balance each other out and I hope you can all see that." He watched her carefully and she smiled.

"We do, Draco," she said kindly.

"Oh trust us, we do," Ron said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Ron tossed a pillow at Harry and he slowly sat up and Draco smiled at him. "We hear about, see it, it's everywhere," Ron laughed as he pulled a Gryffindor tie from between the sofa cushions. Draco's eyes widened but it was just what Harry needed to completely wake up. He jumped out of his chair and snatched it from Ron and they all had a good laugh as he tried to stuff it into his pocket.

"Nice try, Potter, but they've already seen it," Draco winked at him, but he knew he and Harry were both blushing the same shade of crimson.