Marked

The Heartbeat

Chapter 6: The Heartbeat

Hermione could not remember ever having been more content; she sat on her comfortable floor with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, a series of books - her books - piled at her feet, and her back resting against the chest of her extremely satisfactory pale blond companion. That there was a war going on, or that her primary reading goal was to investigate the nature of ripping one's soul to shreds, seemed for a moment little more than a minor triviality when compared to her newfound bliss.

Malfoy stirred behind her. "Turn the page, Granger."

She shifted to smile over her shoulder at him. "I didn't realize you were reading, Malfoy."

He bore a feigned look of airy indifference on his face that she had to fight not to laugh at. "I hadn't planned on it," he sniffed. "But I can only sit quietly and admire the back of your head for so long."

The quiet, dignified laugh she intended came out as a girlish giggle. "As you wish, Mr. Malfoy," she replied, shaking her head and flipping the page. "Though I don't think this one is particularly helpful."

He pressed his lips to her shoulder. "What are you looking for?"

"Right now? Nothing specific," she commented, her hand resting on the page. "Though I'm still trying to figure out what the Ravenclaw horcrux could be."

"Wouldn't 'Hogwarts: A History' be the best place for that?" Malfoy asked pointedly.

There was a rustle at the entrance to her tent and they both jumped.

"She has that one memorized, Malfoy," Ron said smugly. "Don't forget it's Hermione you're talking to."

She could feel the disgruntled blond wizard tense up behind her. "I know that," Malfoy replied impatiently, his arm around her tightening possessively. "And you'd better learn to knock, Weasley, or the next thing you walk in on might not be so innocent."

Ron made a face. "Spare me, Malfoy."

Hermione sat up slightly, though she let Malfoy entangle his fingers in hers. "Is there something you need, Ron?"

"Yes," he said simply, inviting himself to sit on the edge of her bed. "I'm bored."

Behind him, Harry made his way into her tent, and she elbowed Malfoy sharply before he could say anything.

"Hi Harry," she said, moving the book from her lap onto the floor. "You're bored too, then?"

He shrugged. "A bit restless," he admitted. "I don't much like sitting around while there are horcruxes to be found."

She frowned unhappily. "This isn't a matter of sitting around," she reminded him, waving her hand over the books. "There's still so much we don't know - what the Ravenclaw horcrux could be, whether there are other Gryffindor artifacts - how to destroy a horcrux - "

"That one's important," Harry said thoughtfully. "I'll give you that one." He looked around her tent, eyeing the many leather-bound spines that lined the walls and littered the floor. "Though do you think you're going to find that here?"

"You're right," Malfoy commented drily. "Surely what she needs are more books."

"Actually," she said, biting her lip. "I've been thinking that there's one book in particular I'd like to find, and I suspect it would be somewhere else."

Malfoy gave her a look. "Somewhere else?" he asked sharply, his tone edged with a poised, aristocratic skepticism.

"Yes." She looked up at Harry and Ron. "Remember the curse I got hit by in the library?"