---
Hermione immediately scowled as she clenched her jaws together. She wished she knew the answers to those questions herself! Why had she been worried about him? It was definitely impossible that she liked him! Her eyes slightly grew wide at the thought, almost as if she was reconsidering it. She shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest. She was sure Malfoy was looking at her as if she was a lunatic. She finally opened her mouth to speak up. “You asked me two questions and that’s breaking the rule, so I’m going to skip your questions and ask you mine.” She said immediately and sighed. “What is your favorite color?”
Draco blinked a few times as he bent his eyebrows trying hard to register everything. “Really?” He finally asked after a while, his grey, steely eyes boring right into her soft, caramel orbs.
Hermione simply shrugged her shoulders as she raised both eyebrows. “We don’t have to play the game.”
“Black.” Draco answered almost immediately. “My favorite color is black.” He answered again with frustration.
“Lovely.” Hermione said with a fake grin and immediately frowned. “I guess it’s your turn—and don’t forget! You can only ask one question at a time. I already asked one question.”
Draco made a face and rolled his eyes with annoyance. “What is your favorite color?”
“Purple.”
“Oh, I thought it was going to be red. You have so much house pride.” Draco muttered under his breath.
“Do you want me to throw you a snide remark, too? I’ll do it.” Hermione said as she uncrossed her arms, placing them both on her thighs.
Draco lifted both hands up in a sign of surrender. “No, that’s unnecessary and by the way, that’s two questions.”
“Fine.” Hermione said and looked around the room, trying to think of simple questions. Her sharp eyes finally landed on a vase of flowers. She looked over at Draco and slightly grinned. “What’s your favorite flower?”
“That’s three.” Draco groaned as he leaned back in his bed. “Do you know how to play this game?”
“Well, we’re simply playing, ‘let’s get to know each other better’. I’m just asking questions that I want to know about you. Oh, and that will be two questions for you.” Hermione replied with a smirk. “Why? Did you want me to ask more personal questions?”
Draco clenched his fists and shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Let’s just continue playing.” He said and sighed. “And by the way, you’re up to five questions already.”
“Okay, but before we do, I have another question.”
“What?”
“When does the game end?”
“Uh . . . let’s just ask each other twenty questions, each. That’s six.”
“We’re basically playing twenty questions.” Hermione said matter-of-factly. “And you have three.”
“Uh, sure.” Draco said and finally sighed. “I don’t like flowers.”
“You can’t seriously not like any flower.”
“Oh, you’re right! I forgot that you weren’t allowed to hate flowers. My apologies, it seemed to have slipped my mind.” Draco mocked her with a frown.
“You don’t have to be so rude about it.” Hermione said with a glare and groaned. “Just ask your next question then!”
“What’s your deepest darkest secret that you’ve never told anyone?” Draco asked in a serious tone after a while.
Hermione felt her body tense up as she felt shivers crawl down her spine. “I don’t want to tell you.”
“You have to.”
“It’s not a rule.”
“It is now.”
Hermione sighed and stared at him. “I don’t want to. It’s way too personal.”
Draco stared at Hermione for a long time and finally sighed. “Okay, fine.”
“Another time.” Hermione said quietly. “I’ll tell you another time.” She cleared her throat and immediately started to ask him a different question, “What’s your favorite childhood memory?”
Draco thought about it and looked up at the ceiling as he started to think hard. “Favorite childhood memory?” He asked and sighed. “Well, that’s easy. My favorite childhood memory was when my father would leave the manor for a few weeks and I’d be home with my mother.” He shared and slightly started to smile but since he was looking away from Hermione, she wasn’t so sure. “We would always walk around the garden and she’d tell me all these flower names and—“ Draco stopped himself before he got too caught up in the memory. He awkwardly cleared his throat and decided not to move his head. “What’s your favorite childhood memory?”
Hermione was confused. He had said he hated flowers but he seemed happy when he was talking about his mother and the garden. She shook the thought away and slightly grinned. “My favorite childhood memory was when my parents got me my very own library when I turned eight. I was still so young but . . . goodness.” She sighed dreamily as she slowly drifted off into her happy memory. “I loved the feeling that I got when I walked inside and just being surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of books. The smell of old books was just so attracting and I literally lived in there. My parents would have to yell at me to get out of the library and they would complain about how I smelled like books.” She said with a soft giggle at the memory. “One time, I—“ She suddenly stopped herself and saw Draco’s face for the first time since she started talking. “Oh, I’m sorry. Uhm, what was your worst childhood memory?”
“I guess some things never change. You’re still a bookworm and frankly, you do smell like old books, no offense.” He said and hid a grin. He had looked over at her when she talked and saw how happy she was. She didn’t even notice he was staring at her the whole time since she was already in her own little land. “My worst childhood memory?” He stated the question to himself and his face grew dark. “Well, my worst childhood memory was when my father came back.” He said with bitterness as he grew angry just thinking about the man he hated most. “What about yours?” He quickly asked.
Hermione felt the hostility he had towards his father and dropped it. “Uh, my worst childhood memory was . . . when I went to the zoo for the first time in my life because a monkey somehow managed to pull on my hair. It was frightening and it managed to take some of my hair.” She said as she absentmindedly touched the back of her head, reliving the moment. “It wasn’t great.” She said with a frown but swore she heard Draco laugh. She shot a glare at him and frowned. “Are you laughing at my pain?”
“What?” Draco asked as he bit back his laugh, hiding it with a cough. “Me? Laugh at you? Never.” He said as he faked another cough. “My, it’s getting cold in here, isn’t it? I believe I’m catching a cold.” Draco stated as he looked around the place, ignoring Hermione's gaze.
Hermione remained frowning and glared at him. “Laugh if you want, I don’t care.” She said with a pout as she leaned back in her chair.
“Really?” Draco asked and immediately took action as he roared with laughter.
Hermione didn’t think he’d laugh that hard and immediately regretted telling him. She felt her cheeks turn a bit red from embarrassment and frowned. “Shut up, it isn’t that funny!”
“Oh, but it is! You got your hair pulled on by a monkey! A monkey!” He shouted as he continued to laugh hysterically. But regretted it when he felt a sharp pain strike throughout his abdomen. “Ouch,” He gasped, trying to calm down. “But it’s just too funny, I can’t stop.”
Hermione couldn’t help but crack a grin at the sight of Malfoy laughing. The laugh was different . . . it was still a bit taunting but she could hear the joy in his voice. She was somewhat glad her story brought him laughter. She started to laugh a bit, too and before she knew it, she was laughing hysterically with him. “Now, that I think about it . . . it’s pretty hilarious . . . getting hair pulled on by a monkey.” She said through her laughs. The story wasn’t that funny, but they laughed like there was no tomorrow.
With just a little game of ‘let’s get to know each other better’, a.k.a. 20 questions, a possibility of a strong friendship blossomed without them knowing . . .
---
Hermione’s head fell sharply to the side and she immediately woke up from the impact. She opened her eyes and looked around the place. She sighed and yawned as she looked around the place. She had fallen asleep on the chair with her arms hugging her knees with a blanket over herself. She unwrapped her arms from around her knees and let her legs hang off the chair. She furrowed her eyebrows at the blanket on her. She didn’t remember covering herself last night with the blanket, but then again, she didn’t—no couldn’t, remember anything from last night. She sighed and got up as she stretched. She yawned once more and finally noticed Draco was still sleeping on the bed. She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at him curiously. Had he put the blanket on her? She thought to herself and immediately shook her head as she silently laughed to herself. Impossible.
Hermione grabbed her wand from the table beside Draco’s bed and looked around for the time. She finally found the clock and sighed as she closed her eyes. It was already ten o’clock in the morning. She furrowed her eyebrows as she immediately opened her eyes. Why wasn’t anyone in here? Madam Pomfrey?
Just then, as if on cue, Madam Pomfrey walked in with a small grin. “Oh, Miss Granger, I see you’re awake now.” She said with her usual happy voice. “Well, I have good news. I talked to the Headmistress about your situation and she agreed to let you stay in the Head’s common room. The common room is empty and there are four bedrooms in there. You and Mister Malfoy can stay in there until he heals and you might want some company or an extra hand, so you can invite a friend over to stay with you. Mister Malfoy can invite a friend of his, as well. Either one is fine.” She explained and smiled at Hermione. “Or if you don’t like that idea, both of your common rooms will be empty since almost everyone is gone for the holidays so you can possibly negotiate and live in one of the common rooms. Is that alright?”
Hermione immediately thought about Ginny and how the plan could easily be worked out if they lived under the same roof. She flashed the woman a kind smile and nodded her head. “Of course, it’s fine. Thank you so much for going through all that trouble.”
“Oh, the person who should be thanking is me, so thank you Miss Granger for helping me out.” Madam Pomfrey said kind-heartedly. “I have things to do but I’ll be back here in twenty minutes.” She informed Hermione and left.
“No, thank you.” She said under her breath as she smirked. She looked over at a sleeping Draco and shrugged her shoulders. “A small little prank wouldn’t hurt . . .” She said quietly and slowly walked over to Draco. She leaned down so that she was hovering over him. She pointed her wand at her palm and conjured up a can of whip cream. She wore a devious smile as she silently chuckled to herself. She shook the can as fast as she could and took the cap off. She quickly conjured up a feather and leaned down once more. She slowly reached over and started to spray the whip cream on Draco’s hand. She quickly put that aside and grabbed the feather. Without hesitation, she rubbed the feather on his nose like the classic old trick. Right when she was about to step backwards, she felt long, cold fingers coil around her small wrist, pulling her in. Before she could even gasp, Draco’s hand gently hit her face. She stood frozen as he removed his hand with a smirk while whip cream slowly slipped off her face.
“Next time, try to be a tad bit quieter. You make way too much noise.” He stated as he lightly chuckled at her once more. He took a finger and wiped it on her cheek, getting some whip cream and putting it in his mouth. “Hmm, this tastes really good.” He shared as he took his finger out. “You should really try some.”
Hermione glared at him and faked a grin.”Thanks for the heads up. I’m glad it tastes good.” She said sarcastically.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed . . .” Draco muttered.
Hermione stood up straight and pointed to her chair. “WHAT BED?” She asked angrily.
“Hey, don’t blame me. You could’ve slept in the empty beds over there and here . . . or you could’ve slept in this bed with me.” He finished off with a smirk.
Hermione made a face at him and set her wand down on the table. She groaned and grabbed the whip cream as she quickly sprayed it all over him. She immediately burst out laughing once she realized she got his face, too. She took a finger and wiped it off his face, tasting it. “Hmm, it does taste good. You were right.” She threw his words back at her as she lightly giggled.
Draco shot a glare at her and took his blanket off. “Do you really want to go there?”
“Oh, but I just did.” Hermione challenged him.
“Okay, it’s on!” He yelled as he jumped up from his bed, grabbing the whip cream can out of her hands in a second.
Hermione gasped as her eyes widened. “You can’t just do that! And you shouldn’t be standing, you’re injured!” She yelled at him.
“Oh, but I just did.” He said, mocking Hermione with her same exact words and quickly sprayed some whip cream on her. Hermione screamed and started to run away from him while he chased her with the can, constantly spraying at her with every opportunity he got.
“Stop! No, that’s not fair!” She yelled once she realized she got backed up into a corner. She cursed under her breath for getting caught. “Malfoy, put the bottle down.”
“Not quite ready yet.” Draco responded as he shook his head. He placed his hand on the wall next to Hermione’s head, blocking her path. “Just close your eyes and it’ll all be over.”
Hermione glared at him and tried to escape from under his arm but felt his strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her back. She groaned and sighed in defeat. “I just wanted to wake you up and tell you to go to breakfast . . . we’re going to be late if we keep playing around.” She quickly made an excuse.
“No, we can just quickly get this over with and then go eat breakfast.”
“No, I like my idea better.”
“I like mine better.” Draco said with a smirk. “Get ready to be creamed—and don’t head butt me again.”
“Now, that you mention it . . .” Her voice trailed off as she looked up at him. They both looked ridiculous since they had whip cream all over their face, hair, and clothes. “I really don’t want to hurt you, but you’ve left me with no choice!” She yelled as she suddenly grabbed his arm, biting his hand. She quickly made her escape as she laughed, leaving Draco in the corner. She ran towards the door and right when she reached for it, the door opened and she bumped her face into the door. “Ow!” She groaned in pain as she fell backwards.
Draco from the corner burst out laughing once he saw her fall, even though he was still holding onto his bitten hand. “Ha! That’s what you get for biting me!”
Hermione scrunched her nose as she rubbed her forehead. “Ouch.” She whined and glared at Draco as she bit her bottom lip. “Shut up!” She yelled furiously as she sighed.
“Hermione, are you alright?” Hermione raised an eyebrow at the familiar voice and stopped rubbing her forehead. She looked up and saw Ginny looking down at her.
“What happened to you, mate?” Blaise asked Draco as he peeked in through the doors, looking at his friend.
“What the bloody hell? Why are you two here?” Malfoy asked as he got up, dropping the whip cream can down on the floor.
“No, the real question is . . . what the hell happened to you two?” Blaise asked as he stared at his friend. “And why is there a whip cream can on the floor?” He questioned as he pointed at it.
Hermione got up with the help of Ginny’s and dusted herself off. “Thank you.” She said and looked over at Draco and Blaise. “It was nothing.” Ginny raised an eyebrow at the comment and stared at her friend.
“You tried to pull the whole whip cream and feather prank, right?” Ginny asked after a long pause.
“No . . .” Hermione mumbled under her breath as she looked down.
“How many times have you done that prank? That’s the only thing you know how to do! You failed to prank Ron, Harry, and me.”
“I was so close but he was already awake and he slapped me in the face with the whip cream and then I sprayed some whip cream on him . . . and then the battle started.” Hermione explained.
Draco snickered as he wiped off some whip cream off his face, wiping it on Blaise’s robes. “You failed that prank and yet, you still attempted to try it on me?”
“Shut up.”
“You’re supposed to be helping me so don’t try to pull any more pranks on me.”
“You’re not the boss of me!”
“What?” Draco snapped at him.
“I’m going to do whatever the hell I want!” She yelled back as she stomped on the ground.
“Guys! Before you break out into a big fight, let me just say something!” Ginny yelled and immediately the couple quit yelling but they continued to glare at each other. “I was coming here to give you breakfast since I went to the kitchens and I met Zabini on the way. I guess he decided to get some food for Malfoy and we came here together.” She explained and stared at Zabini.
“But, before you two even eat, I think you guys should just go freshen up a bit, a shower perhaps would be good.” Blaise said and stared at his friend. “I’m not sure if you can shower though.”
Just then, Madam Pomfrey walked in with a gasp. “Oh, what happened in here?” She asked, looking at the random spots with whip cream on it. “And what happened to you two?” She asked as she pointed to Hermione and Draco. “And when did you two get here?” She asked as she looked at Blaise and Ginny.
“I’m very sorry about this whole mess; I’ll have it cleaned up. I have a question, though. Will Malfoy be able to shower?” Hermione asked the nurse.
“Why of course. But he will have to put a fresh layer of bandage around his waist. I added the ointment on the bandage with my wand so it’ll be fine. I’m guessing you will have to shower so I’ll go look for it right now.” She said with a smile as she walked off.
Hermione walked over to the table and grabbed her wand. She quickly shot a non-verbal spell and in a few seconds, the place looked good as new. She glared at Malfoy and scowled when he glared at her back.
“Okay, you two really need to stop—“
Blaise got interrupted by Draco, “You know you should be thanking me.”
Hermione scoffed and let out a laugh. “And why should I be thanking you?”
“Who do you think put that blanket over you?” Draco asked with a hiss and immediately bit his tongue, already in regret for revealing that. He groaned and clenched his jaw as he looked the other way.
Hermione immediately widened her eyes as she stared at him in shock. “You were the one who put it over me?” She asked with an incredulous look spreading across her face. She suddenly got an epiphany. She remembered what happened last night.
Last night . . .
“Okay! Another question.” Hermione said finally and grinned. “What is your favorite spell?” She asked as she curiously stared at him.
“To use or just the spell itself?” Draco asked her as he stared at her. “And don’t count that as another question.” He snapped at her before she could say anything.
Hermione simply nodded and slightly grinned. “The spell itself and then the spell you like to use.”
“That’s two questions.”
“Just answer it.”
“Avada Kedavra.” Draco answered instantly without hesitation. He stared at Hermione innocently and raised both eyebrows, shrugging his shoulders. He kept his serious face and immediately cracked up once he saw Hermione’s face grow dark. “I’m joking. My favorite spell is Obliviate.” He said after a while.
“Why is that?” Hermione asked as she furrowed her eyebrows. “And don’t count that as another question.” She warned him with a small, playful smile. Draco simply nodded and sighed.
“I always wondered what it’d be like to be obliviated. I sometimes wish that I could use that spell on myself . . . there are so many memories I’d kill to erase. I wish that I could start anew, build a new life, and forget the past . . . simply just move on.” He said quietly. “But, I’m too much of a coward to use it against myself. Besides, I still have someone I want to protect.”
“Who do you want to protect?” Hermione asked with a frown.
“That’s a personal question for me.” He answered quietly. “Later, I’ll tell you later.”
Hermione stayed quiet for a while and silently sighed to herself. She couldn’t help but feel bad for him. She had no idea someone like Draco Malfoy could have such a . . . hard life.
“The spell I like to use is Expelliarmus .Why? I just do. Disarming another witch or wizard is just . . . fun, I guess. I just like using it, it makes me feel . . . like a wizard.” He said and pondered for a few minutes. “I’m not sure. I just like using it.” He finally summarized and sighed. “What about you? Which spell do you like to use and which one do you like just because?” He asked.
“I like to use Expulso . . . I just like blowing things up.” She said with a small laugh. “That makes me sound too vulgar and utterly vicious.” She said and shook her head. “It comes in handy sometimes. You never know when you’ll have to blow something up. Life or death situations.” She stated and remained silent for a while, thinking of a spell she liked. “I’ll have to say . . . a spell I like is . . . Accio. It really comes in handy at all times! It’s just a reliable spell. I love it.”
“You’re quite peculiar.” Draco claimed as he looked at Hermione.
“I beg your pardon?” She asked and slightly scoffed. “You’re quite unusual yourself, so I wouldn’t be talking.”
“No, you’re definitely odd.” He said and suddenly leaned towards Hermione. “I think you’re a special case. You’re a very bright witch but you like to blow things up and on top of that, you’re lazy so you depend on a spell.” He summed everything up and shook his head. “You’re strange.”
Hermione glared at him and rolled her eyes as she pushed his face away from her, slightly cracking a grin. “Whatever you say, oh so wise one.” She said as she slightly bowed down to him.
“I like the sound of that.” Draco stated with a small grin.
“Are you smiling?”
“What? No.” Draco quickly said as he frowned immediately.
“No, I think you were.” Hermione said with a small grin.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“I saw it!” Hermione said as she got up, staring at him.
“You’re mental.”
“I saw it!”
“No, you’re bloody tired, aren’t you? You should really get some sleep.” Draco said as he pushed her away.
“No, no. I’m not tired. I’m perfectly fine.” Hermione insisted as she took another step closer to Draco’s bed. “Just admit that you smiled, I’ll keep it a secret.”
“Why is it so important for you to know?”
“Well, why is it so hard for you to just admit that you smiled?” She asked as she crossed her arms across her chest.
“Well, why do you want to know if I smiled or not?” Draco asked as he stared up at her.
“Well, why can’t I know?” She asked him as she stared him down.
“Get some sleep, Granger.” He said after a long pause and looked the other way.
“Fine, then, I’ll just say you did smile.” She said and sighed while she turned around. She suddenly felt her shoe get caught up in something from the bed and started to fall backwards. “Woah!”
Draco immediately wrapped an arm around her waist to help her back up, but instead, brought her down on top of him. He groaned when he felt Hermione accidentally jab him in the stomach where his bruise was.
Hermione gasped as she dropped her jaw wide open. “I am so sorry. Are you alright?” She asked as she quickly tried to get up but failed when she noticed his arms were still wrapped tightly around her waist. “Uhm . . . Malfoy, you should really let me go. You’re really hurt and—“
“I’m fine.” Draco muttered and looked over at her. “You really need to stop being so clumsy. This is the second or third time I rescued you from a fall.” He said with a cocky grin. “Do you like being in my arms that much? Am I your Prince Charming or something along those lines?”
Hermione rolled her chocolate brown eyes and scoffed. “I think you need some sleep.” She said and reached behind her and peeled his fingers off her waist and then removed his arm. “Thank you for saving me again, Prince Charming.” She joked and got up. “Get some rest.” She said quietly and turned around, sitting down in her chair.
Draco slightly grinned and looked over at her. “What are you planning to do?”
Hermione reached into her book bag and pulled out a book, waving it in the air for him to see. “Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you.” She stated and immediately looked down, reading quietly.
“Goodnight, then . . . Granger.” He said and sighed as he finally closed his eyes.
“Good night, Malfoy.” Draco heard her soft voice say to him and couldn’t help but to feel a bit warm inside. There was something about her voice . . . he knew he was going have a great sleep.
Hermione slightly grinned and returned to her book, to only find herself reading the same word over and over again. She was biting her bottom lip, replaying her fall with Draco just a few seconds ago repeatedly in her head. She felt safe in his arms . . . she felt like he really was her Prince Charming. She couldn’t brush off the fact that she formed butterflies in her stomach when she wound up on top of Draco. Her heart was beating uncontrollably when she had realized his arms were still wrapped tightly around her waist. She almost wanted to just snog him right there . . . almost. She shook her head violently as she slapped herself mentally. What was she just thinking? She was supposed to be making him fall for her, not vice-versa. She ran her long, slim fingers through her hair and shook her head. “Read.” She muttered under her breath and started to read the book. Unfortunately, she got stuck on the same word as she continued to think about Draco . . .
---
Hermione couldn’t believe she thought that! She stared at Draco and clenched her jaw. “Why did you do it?”
Draco remained silent as he clenched his fists for even bringing it up. “Why do you want to know?”
“Just tell me why.”
“Why is it important for you to know?”
“Well, you put the blanket over me. I want to know why you did that. You could’ve just left me to sleep without one so why?” She demanded for an answer.
“Because I felt like it.” Draco finally said. “You’re supposed to be taking care of me and you were freezing to death. I had to save you so you could help me. It was for my sake. I didn’t want a sick helper.” He spat at her. “It wasn’t a kind act, it was because I need you to help me.” He said and quickly walked off.
Hermione breathed heavily as her chest heaved up and down. She couldn’t believe they actually talked yesterday and had fun. She sighed and groaned as she grabbed her book bag, storming out of the place angrily.
Ginny and Blaise stared at each other and sighed. “That went well.” Blaise finally said and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
“Indeed.” Ginny commented bitterly. “Why is Malfoy acting like such an ignorant prick?” She asked as she placed a hand on her hip. “He’s treating Hermione like she’s a piece of garbage.”
“Well, why is Granger being such a bossy, moody bi—“ Blaise quickly caught himself before he got himself into trouble.
“Moody what?” Ginny asked with red, angry eyes. “You’re smart for stopping yourself there. I haven’t used my bat-bogey hex in a while but I’m sure I’m going to use it very soon . . . on you.” She threatened him and walked off. “Hermione!” She yelled and left Blaise.
Blaise let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He had to be careful in front of that ginger. She was a scary person. “Damn, I need to watch myself from now on.” He muttered and slowly started to walk towards the Slytherin common room.
---
Not as much dramione action, but do not fear. more to come. mwuahaha. please drop a comment/vote, thank you!