three little words ; 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞

11. Help Me, Kiss Me

Hermione's POV

It was late afternoon, and Hermione had drifted asleep in the common room on a chair. The common room was empty, and she had a faint smile on her face, indicating a pleasant dream.

Draco was sitting on the floor, and Hermione was beside him, her head in his lap. He stroked her hair with his long thin fingers, and Hermione took his other hand and played with it. His fingers were so warm despite the pale wash of his skin. She sized up their hands together, and Draco didn't care. He seemed lost in thought, a small smile on his face. Her hand was much smaller than his, and much more frail. Although he had thin fingers, they were strong and able. He was perfect.

"Hermione," Draco whispered. When she sat up and looked in his eyes, he continued. "When's your birthday? It always seemed to come in the beginning of term, right?"

Blushing, Hermione nodded a little. "Yeah. September 19th." Then, a little suspiciously, "Why?"

Draco dropped a kiss on her lips. "Don't worry about it. I didn't want to miss it; it's such an important day. The day you turn seventeen."

She grinned and nodded.

Everything vanished in a matter of a second, and Hermione jumped, checking her watch, panicked. She sighed when she realized it wasn't super late, but dinner was soon. She had no idea why the common room was completely empty, but it didn't bother her too much. Gryffindors were typically social, so nothing was really out of order.

Practically skipping down to dinner, she was especially cheery during the meal, to the excitement and bewilderment of her classmates and friends. A dream like the last was definitely one to think about. It made her giddy like a kid, almost squealing whenever she thought about seeing him. She caught him looking at him, and she raised her eyebrows a little, making him smirk playfully. Those silent, light-hearted conversations that they had, that was the best. It was like they could read each others' minds.

When dinner had finally finished, Hermione leapt off her seat and beat her friends to the common room. When they came in, Ginny was the first to ask. "What's going on with you, Hermione?"

"What do you mean?" She replied, puzzled.

"You're too...happy." Ron said bluntly.

Hermione blinked, then smirked. Setting her face in a mock-pout, she slumped her shoulders and shuffled her feet. "Fine. I guess I'll go up and climb into bed. Maybe I'll grab a book and read away my sorrows." She kept going with the act, leaving to go upstairs to the dormitory. She only stopped when she heard a snort. Obviously Ron. She turned around, one eyebrow raised, and bowed dramatically. Her friends clapped slowly.

"See? I'm not too happy." Hermione concluded.

Satisfied, her friends piled onto the couch, and she gasped. The time! "Shoot, I forgot my book in McGonagall's room! I hope I don't run into her, but if I do...you know..." she looked around nervously as she covered for herself.

Harry nodded. "Detention," he said, his mind somewhere else.

"Don't worry, Hermione. She practically loves you, she'd never put you in detention," Ginny agreed, almost half-heartedly.

It was then that Hermione noticed how tense Ginny was while sitting next to Harry. Did something happen? She thought, concern for her friend washing over her. Ron seemed fine, and Harry didn't look like he noticed Ginny's odd behavior, so she put the thought to the back of her mind. She had someone to see.

She headed silently to the classroom, her safe haven it seemed like, and sat in thought when she saw that Draco hadn't arrived yet. Getting comfortable in a chair, she leaned forward and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration.