Hermione heard the creaking of heavy doors being swung open, but she kept her eyes shut tightly and awaited further instruction. Presently she heard Draco's soft footsteps returning to her, and then he took her by both her hands.

"Ok?" he asked. He sounded nervous, if Malfoys could even get nervous.

"Yes," she returned without hesitation, although a little nervous herself at being kept in the dark, she trusted him completely.

"Keep your eyes closed. Careful not to trip," he said quietly, then slowly guided her forwards.

Even with her eyes shut she could feel that she was being lead into another room. Their footsteps began to echo in the new space, and there was a slight temperature drop as they passed through the open doorway. She smiled with nervous excitement as she awaited her surprise.

Draco had promised her earlier that day that he would show her more of the Malfoy estate. So much of it had been locked up and left to collect dust after the loss of his parents and the downfall of his family name, but slowly she had encouraged him to venture out of the few wings he had restricted himself to and open up lost parts of the manor. It was late in the afternoon when they made their way to the grander parts of the house after venturing through various bedrooms, bathrooms, dressing rooms, parlours and more. Upon reaching a great set of heavily-ornamented carved doors Draco had asked her to shut her eyes.

Finally, they must have reached their destination, because they stopped and Draco released her hands. She heard him take a few steps back and a steadying breath, before saying softly,

"Okay... open your eyes."

Hermione did, and what she saw was pure heaven. The library! She gasped in amazement.


Written for: 'The Game of Life' Challenge. Prompts: Genre: romance, 300 words, and "Open your eyes" (dialogue).

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

CC cover image (entitled 'Stained glass in Hereford Town Hall') courtesy of Mira66 on Flickr.


A/N: So I ripped off Beauty and the Beast ;) I'm not denying it... this beast has a little more panache though! Thanks for reading, please do review! GG x