‘Draco,’ Hermione muttered in a quiet voice that caught Draco’s attention immediately. Draco stared at her for a second when she took his first name instead of his last... there was a feeling in the pit of his stomach but he ignored it and raised his eyebrows in question. Hermione’s eyes dropped to her book and she smiled a little.
‘People will assume you like me or something equal if you don’t stop staring at me,’ Hermione stated casually, like a throw away comment, but her eyes didn't leave the book that she was reading. Hermione was incredibly aware of Draco sitting in front of her with a desk between them. She tried not to noticed how Draco had stretched his legs so that they were in close proximity with her own legs. She could feel him shifting slightly so their legs were touching.
‘No one’s here to see us together, Granger. I can’t believe you’re reading while we’re supposed to be on holiday!’ Draco groaned impatiently and he put his hands behind his head, staring at Hermione with a slight smirk on his pale face, ‘you’re such a nerd.’
Hermione crossed her leg but didn't say anything to his comment; Draco knew she had heard him though since she frowned a little. She didn't even act annoyed, surprisingly, and Draco rolled his eyes at her. He acted as though he was bored but he wasn’t... not really, although he would never admit it to Hermione. Draco was content with talking to her even though it was so late in the night while she read a book in the middle of this large library... he realised just how infatuated he was when he admitted it to himself.
Draco had left the room of requirement an hour ago to meet Hermione in the library and since then they had talked and Hermione had read for the last half hour. Draco let out a sigh and looked out of the nearby window. He hardly ever saw daylight because it was usually dark in the afternoon/evening time and he was holed up in the room of requirement for most of the drawn out day. Although he did leave at midnight just to see Hermione and they would just sit in the library and talk or go down to the kitchens and eat. Draco sighed as his grey eyes roamed the night sky from where he was sitting and he could now make out the moon hanging brilliantly in the air with the stars cuddling around it. Draco’s eyes shot to Hermione when her foot accidently kicked his shin. She glanced up at him with an apology evident in her eyes but Draco glared at her clumsiness. She frowned, drawing her eyebrows together in an annoyed expression.
‘Stop kicking me with your gigantic feet, Granger!’ Draco growled under his breath. Although he was only joking, Hermione took him seriously and Draco tried not to smile when she licked her lips which is something he had noticed about her. Hermione usually licked her lips when she was about to rant or whenever she was annoyed – which was usually al the time due to Draco and his sarcasm. Draco realised he liked this about her.
‘It was a mistake! Why can’t you move your legs away from me? You’re invading my personal space, Draco,’ Hermione said, sitting up straighter as though Draco’s glare had sent a shock through her body.
‘You’ll know when I’m invading your personal space, Granger,’ Draco said with enough emphasis, hoping to capture Hermione’s attention. She looked up from her book and Draco smirked when he saw her mocha coloured eyes which narrowed onto him. They stared at each other in the intimacy of the moment and Draco winked at her, making her blush, ‘if you know what I mean...’
‘It’s way too late at night for your interminable rubbish,’ Hermione said and dropped her gaze from Draco to her book. She felt his leg press against hers and then shot her eyes back up to him when Draco’s foot slowly slid up her jeans, ‘stop being stupid, Draco.’
‘You don’t need to play hard to get, Granger,’ Draco said and stifled a yawn behind his hand. Hermione kicked his shin once more but Draco only chuckled at her, the sound echoing around the library.
‘I think we should go to or common rooms now. You look exhausted!’ Hermione noticed and stood up, pushing her chair back. She closed the book, ‘I’m just going to put this away.’
Draco watched Hermione as she lit up her wand and walked down a couple of aisles to where she had gotten the book from. He raked his eyes up and down her body, wondering about the realisation he had last night. He loved Hermione. Of course he did, she made him feel... a rush whenever she said his first name rather than his last. Draco watched as Hermione stretched to put the book on the top shelf. Her shirt rose up her stomach but Draco looked away with a sharp intake of breath.
‘Bloody hell,’ he whispered to himself at the brief look of Hermione’s very flat stomach. He looked to the window and there was a bird perched on the window sill, attacking the window with her beak.
Draco got up, after a glance towards Hermione who was examining the back of a particular book with interest. Nerd, Draco thought with a smirk as she flipped through the pages. He walked towards the window and opened it up, letting the bird and the cold air into the library. The white bird soared into the room and perched onto the desk and Draco noticed the letter tied to its foot. The bird was beautiful, he had to admit, and Draco stepped forwards to get the letter. Seconds later, Draco yelled profanities that would make his mother faint as the bird clawed his hand deeply when he tried to untie the letter.
‘What are you...’ Hermione stopped in a half run when she saw Hedwig and started forwards immediately with a frown on her face.
‘That bloody bird!’ Draco exclaimed, showing Hermione his hand that had a scratch that delved out of his wrist and up his pale hand. He sighed and waved his wand over it so that the scratch healed up, a little spell that Hermione had taught him. Although he couldn't do it as well as Hermione could.
Hermione ignored him but she did glance at his injury. It wasn’t serious at all and she was sure it would heal up in a few days. She turned to face Hedwig who was hooting indignantly at Draco as though shouting at him. Once Hedwig’s eyes turned to Hermione, she held out her leg obediently for her to take the letter which was obviously from Harry. Hermione wondered why it had taken so long for him to reply back but it didn't hesitate to untie the letter.
‘Thanks, Hedwig,’ Hermione muttered softly and scratched the snowy owl so that her feathers ruffled. Hedwig let out a hoot and then looked up at Draco, flapping her wings at him in anger, ‘looks like Hedwig isn’t too fond of you.’
‘I was just trying to get your letter for you when it attacked me!’ exclaimed Draco and rubbed his hand. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and took his hand in hers. Draco looked into her eyes as she muttered a better spell that healed up his wound immediately, ‘that’s what I get for trying to be helpful?’
‘I can get my mail by myself now, Draco. I’m a big girl,’ Hermione said, annoyed of his whinging. They stared at each other for a while and Hedwig took the opportunity to fly off into the dark sky. Draco narrowed his eyes at Hermione’s tone and she sighed, walking forwards with the letter in her hand, ‘sorry. I don’t mean to be... moody. I’m just tired!’
‘I can tell, Granger,’ Draco smirked and closed the distance between them with a step. Hermione turned around before he could say anything or make a move on her; she was not in the mood. She walked a little away from him and perched herself on the desk, unfurling the letter that she had just received. Draco frowned as she moved away from him and then he grew suspicious when she read the letter and darted her eyes up to look at him, ‘who would be sending letter to you?’
‘Just Harry,’ Hermione shrugged as though it was no big deal but she re-read the letter again.
Dear Hermione,
I can’t believe you stayed at Hogwarts with Malfoy without telling me! You know what he is and even if you don’t believe it just yet, you’ll see that Draco Malfoy is a death eater. I do not want you within spitting distance of him. You don’t have to tutor him at all. Maybe this time Dumbledore’s plan wasn’t a good one. But if you know anything about Malfoy, you must tell Dumbledore or myself.
I’m glad you liked your present. The card and present you gave me was great, thank you. Take care and stay away from Malfoy. I’m pretty sure he’d try to get closer to you just to get information about the order.
Love
Harry.
‘You better not tell him about us,’ Draco said... although it was more of a demand and Hermione didn't appreciate being told what to do. He walked forward to where Hermione was sitting on the desk. She watched him with a frown and scrunched the letter up into a ball as Draco’s eyes followed her action, ‘I’m serious, Granger.’
‘Why shouldn’t I tell him?’ Hermione asked, pushing the letter into her jeans pocket. Draco’s eyes went to her pocket and then back up to her face that looked determinedly at him. He stood between her legs, surprising Hermione, and started to caress her cheek softly with his thumb.
Hermione watched as Draco contemplated her question as though he didn't really have an answer. He took a few steps backwards and ran a hand lightly through his hair. Hermione was suspicious now, why would Draco not want Harry to know about them? It wasn’t because he was scared that Harry would be angry, Hermione knew Draco well enough to know that he wouldn’t be scared of Harry.
Maybe it was the reason that Harry thought although he was known for being a little extreme when it came to judging people (not surprising since he had been through so much). Hermione fingered the letter in her pocket as Draco turned his back on her. I’m pretty sure he’d try to get closer to you just to get information about the order,Harry had wrote in the letter. Was that really the reason why Draco didn't want anyone to know about them? Or it could be because Draco was afraid of his father... Hermione was just so confused! She didn't know what to think and if she could trust Draco or not...
‘We should go,’ Draco said and took her hand in a swift motion. Hermione got off the table, too shocked at the urgency in his voice to react. They walked together in silence and were soon out of the library. Draco turned to her as they walked and whispered, ‘everyone will be back tomorrow night.’
Hermione made a hmm noise but didn't elaborate any further. She was aware that Draco had dropped her hand in exchange for shoving it deep into his pockets. Draco glanced at her as they walked down the stairs and towards the Slytherin common room. Hermione kept looking straight and a thought was buzzing in her head. Draco was hiding something.
‘What a gentleman,’ Hermione whispered, crossing her arms over her chest as they got to the Slytherin common room. Draco turned to her in front of the door and raised his eyebrows, ‘who’s going to walk me to my common room?’
‘Just scream if a murder comes at you with a knife,’ Draco winked at her reassuringly but Hermione only mock glared at him. They stared at each other for a while and then Hermione gave in and gave him a small chuckle before laying her head on his chest. Draco stroked her hair, ‘you know you don’t have to sleep alone tonight.’
‘If this is a way of persuading me to sleep with you tonight, it’s not working,’ Hermione said, playing with his jumper as Draco wrapped his arms around her.
‘Not sleep with me but... we have three people in our dormitory which means there is a spare bed next to me,’ Draco shrugged, ‘it saves you walking back alone.’
‘Are you sure?’ Hermione asked a little doubtfully.
Draco rolled his eyes at her and in response he grabbed her hand, turning to the door. He said the password and the door swung open. Draco let Hermione in first and they went into the cold Slytherin common room. Hermione said something like she didn't expect it to look like this but Draco only led her up to his dorm.
‘It’s warmer in the rooms, promise,’ Draco said and winked when Hermione shivered slightly. They climbed some stairs and turned some corners before arriving in Draco’s dormitory. Hermione looked around and let her hand glide over the long green curtains. The dorm looked the same as their own dorms but everything had a green colour that looked really nice. Draco handed her a shirt and Hermione frowned at him, ‘it’s big on me so it should cover you, I guess. I’ll be right back, just leave your clothes on the chair. The bathroom is that door there.’
Draco stepped out of the room and Hermione looked around her. It felt so odd being in here with Draco although she knew he was just trying to be nice... or trying to distract her from their conversation in the library. Nonetheless, Hermione stripped off all of her clothes except for her underwear and then she picked up the shirt. It smelt of Draco, a scent she loved. Hermione tugged the shirt over her head just as Draco knocked lightly on the door.
‘Come in,’ Hermione said a little nervously. The door opened slightly and Draco let himself in before closing the door behind him. His eyes raked Hermione in his shirt and he smirked. The shirt came down to her knees but he knew just how uncomfortable it made her. Hermione blushed embarrassingly and pointed to the bathroom, ‘I’ll be back.’
Draco nodded and Hermione looked down at the ground with red cheeks. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and then turned to go into the bathroom. Draco watched her, his heart beating a lot faster than normal. She was beautiful, there was no denying. Hermione closed the bathroom door and Draco sprung into action. He grabbed her jeans from the floor and fished in her pocket. Draco knew what he was doing was wrong on a whole entire level. He felt a little guilty for inviting Hermione here just so he could read her letter. The letter was the sole purpose and only because he wanted to know what Harry had said about him.
Draco finally managed to extract the letter from her jeans. He held Hermione’s jeans in one hand and the letter in another while the sound of running water came out of the bathroom. Draco hesitated and looked at the letter. The letter that said that Draco was a death eater... of course, Draco had no clue what the letter said. With a dejected sigh, Draco shoved the un read letter back into the pocket and put the jeans back where he found them.
He couldn't do that. He couldn’t read her personal letters; she would hate him forever and the last thing he wanted was for Hermione to hate him. He had had too much of hatred for a lifetime. Draco sat at the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands, moaning slightly.
‘Draco,’ Hermione’s voice floated towards him and Draco looked up to see Hermione standing across from him. She held onto the bedside pole and stared at him.
‘Granger? What... what is it?’ Draco asked and was on his feet immediately when he saw Hermione’s expression.
She was looking fixated on... his hip? No, that couldn't be right. Draco frowned at her when she looked up. The look she gave him was one that he would remember for his whole life. The look was cold, freezing him to the bone and making the warm room turn to ice. Hermione glared at him in shock, anger, rage, and other emotions that Draco could not identify. Draco had a sudden shock jolt through his body. Did she know that he was about to look at her letter? No, she was in the bathroom! She couldn’t have known!
‘Granger, why are you looking at me like I committed murder?’ Draco asked, although he was too shocked at Hermione’s unnatural rage.
‘What the bloody hell have you done to yourself, Malfoy?’ Hermione exclaimed coldly and she rubbed a hand a hand on her throat, backing away from a little, ‘tell me I didn't see that...’
‘See what?’ Draco asked and took a step towards her, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong, Granger!’
Hermione grabbed his arm in a fit of rage. Draco had no idea what she was going to do but his blood grew cold when he realised what it was. Hermione grabbed his cuff and jerked it up towards his elbow so that his forearm was visible. The dreaded dark mark pulsated on Draco’s pale skin, seeming to look ever so bright. Hermione backed away when she saw it, a deep sob came out of her throat and she clasped her hands over her mouth. Draco felt his heart just collapse into the ground as he recognised the expression on her face. He tried to explain but knew he would never be able to.
The dark mark repulsed Hermione and Draco wished he could burn it off his skin.