Day By Day
Chapter 1: Don't get caught
A/N: I own nothing, everything belongs to the lovely J.K. Rowling. However, all grammatical mistakes are mine.
"'Mione, can you please help me with my Charms essay tonight?" Ron asked as they were walking to the Great Hall for lunch. Hermione rolled her eyes, the war was over and a lot of things happened but yet, some things hadn't changed. "Ronald, when will be the day that you are finally going to do your own homework?" Hermione replied and he sheepishly laughed, scratching the back of his head. "When I don't have you around to help me?" He uncertainly said with a laugh and Hermione sighed with a smile whilst shaking her head.
"I'm sure that if you keep that up, she'll be gone soon." Harry jokingly said and Hermione laughed at Ron's shocked face, until he realized it was a joke.
"The golden trio! Just the people I wanted to see." Said a voice coming from behind the three of them. Draco, Blaise and Theodore passed by them and Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, I want to bet you've been longing for this since the moment you woke up, am I right, Malfoy?" Hermione sarcastically said and Draco chuckled.
"You know my feelings so well, Granger." He jokingly replied, covering his left chest with his right hand with a smirk and then continued walking, being the first one to enter the Great Hall.
It's been about a year now since the war had ended, and they were halfway into their seventh year. And something between Draco and Hermione had changed, even though she wasn't quite sure what. All she knew was that their insults turned into sarcastic jokes, and to tell the truth, she was more than okay with that. She was done fighting, and was always in for a little humor.
The three of them took a place at the Gryffindor table, Ron immediately reaching for the food and Harry planted a kiss on Ginny's forehead. Hermione smiled, happy to still have them around. She grabbed some toast and nibbled on it. Her hands reached into her bag, grabbing the daily prophet out of it. She hadn't had any chance to read it this morning because Ron was enthusiastically talking about how they were going to win the upcoming Quidditch match from Slytherin.
But now he was too busy stuffing his mouth full of food, and she took advantage of the silence. She skimmed through the pages, but nothing interesting was mentioned at all.
Professor McGonagall made her over from the long table of teachers and pointed her wand at the ceiling, which resulted in thousands of soft ringing bells, suggesting that lunch was over and Hermione folded the newspaper and stuffed it into her bag before standing up and walking out of the Great Hall with Harry and Ron.
They made their way over to Potions and took a seat when they entered the classroom. Professor Slughorn happily greeted his students and when the class was quiet – which took a while, seeing as the Slytherins were engaged in some sort of conversation – he started to talk.
"Welcome, welcome everybody." He said and Hermione smiled. Professor Slughorn always greeted everyone like he hadn't seen them all summer.
"I've decided to change things up a little for this lesson." He said and the students all curiously listened to what he had to say. "I've paired all of you up to create a potion." A few people groaned, not liking the idea of being paired up with someone they might not like.
"Your job will be to create a non-existing potion, and the best pair will win a price!" A few heads shot up, becoming highly motivated knowing there was a price.
"The pairs will be: Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnigan;" Professor Slughorn started to enumerate the names.
"Dean Thomas and Pansy Parkinson;" Groans were heard from both sides.
"Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini;" The two high fived each other and scooted over to each other.
"Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom;" Hermione started to look around the classroom, searching for someone she wouldn't mind being paired up with, but then her name was called.
"Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy." Hermione groaned, she should have seen it coming.
Hermione reluctantly grabbed her books along with her schoolbag and walked over to where Draco sat and took a seat. "Well, well. Did you miss me already, Granger?" Draco said with a smirk and Hermione faked a smile. "Yes, Malfoy. I couldn't wait to see you again. In fact, I have been daydreaming about you the entire lunch break." She said with a sickeningly sweet voice and then chuckled.
Draco smirked, "Of course you were." Hermione rolled her eyes and put her books on the table. "So, got any idea on what kind of potion we should make?" She said, turning serious and saw him leaning back on his chair. His feet lazily kicked in front of him and his hands behind his head. He just shrugged and nodded at the book. "Maybe we can mix a few potions together out of the book?" He suggested and Hermione bit her lip, thinking for a second before nodding in agreement and then opened the book.
Hermione looked through the book, and then pointed at two potions that were on both sides of the paper. "How about these two?" She said and Draco moved forward – keeping respective distance whilst glancing over her shoulder. "Murtlap essence: soothes and heals painful cuts and abrasions, and invigoration draught: presumed to give the taker an energy boost." Draco read out loud, his breath tickling her neck and she shuddered slightly.
Then he leant back and raised an eyebrow at her, "So, why mix these two together, again?" He asked and grabbed a small twig that was laying on the table and twirled it around his fingers.
"Well, after you fall and hurt yourself, you'll always feel discouraged to do stuff – in fear you'll get hurt again. So that's why I suggest to add the energy boost in." She said, her voice seriously and Draco chuckled. "You really do have a strange mind."
"Anyway, I don't see why not. Let's try." He said and Hermione smiled with a nod. She got up from her place to collect the items from the shelf, and when she got everything she needed, she headed back to the table they sat at and placed the items on top of it.
They both pushed their seats to the side and with the book in front of them, they started to follow the recipe. Of course, even though they got along better than before, they still weren't friends and so a few annoyed comments and some insults were thrown at each other. But, compared to a few years ago, they had gradually improved.
After nearly two hours of intense working, they finally finished their potion and professor Slughorn came towards them, asking about what they made. "We mixed two potions together, sir. A healing potion together with an energy boost. To give the victim an energy boost to continue their day." Hermione said with a satisfied smile and she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Draco rolled his eyes, but she just ignored it.
Professor Slughorn grabbed a knife that was laying on their table and cut in his hand, which made Hermione flinch. Then he grabbed a small glass and poured some of the potion into it and drank it. They all looked mesmerized as it successfully healed his hand and a broad smile formed on their professor's face. "Well done, you two!" He said and then walked over to the next pair.
Draco looked at him walking away and then shook his head, "That man is crazy." He said and smirked his infamous smirk. "Just a little." Hermione replied and started to clean the table.
She got a little aggravated when she noticed that he was just staring and doing nothing, so she said: "Are you going to help me, or what?" But he just smirked, "No, I'd rather watch. I like a girl who knows how to clean." He said coolly with a wink. Hermione scoffed and lightly hit him in his shoulder with her elbow when she walked passed him to put the ingredients back on the shelf.
Draco feigned pain when she returned but then smirked, causing Hermione to roll her eyes. She always felt like she was doing that a lot whenever she was around him. Then Draco dusted the table with his hand, removing the small dusts of the table and then wiped his hands clean on his robe. "Wow, that must have been a tough job to do. Thanks for helping and the great amount of effort you put in, Malfoy." Hermione said but he just rolled his eyes. "Can't expect me to clean a table." He coolly said and Hermione sighed, "Actually, I can." She mumbled under her breath before sitting down on her chair, waiting for professor Slughorn to end the class.
When after a few minutes of waiting he did, she quickly grabbed all her stuff and got up. "Pleasure being with you, Malfoy. But it's a greater pleasure to leave you again." She said with a smile and he smirked. "Until next time, Granger." He said with a wink and Hermione walked away.
"How did working with the ferret go?" Ron asked and Hermione shrugged, "It was okay." She said and Harry and Ron looked at each other for a second before shaking their heads in disbelief. Even though the war was over, they hadn't bothered to become friendly with Draco. Hermione didn't blame them, and she never would have intentionally done it herself, but somehow it happened.
Although, deep down she knew why she forgave him. But she wasn't going to let anyone know why, at least, not yet. She'd tell her friends when she was ready for it. Maybe they'd see the good in him then as well.
With a sigh they all walked out of the classroom and Hermione bid her goodbyes to Harry and Ron. They were free now but Hermione still had two classes left, so she made her way over to her first class: Muggle Studies.
Hermione yawned as she walked through the dark corridors, making her way to the Great Hall to eat dinner. Her two classes had finished and by now it had turned evening. She was planning to eat something and then head to the library so she could make her homework in peace.
She heard a few footsteps behind her, and a voice followed: "Granger! What a lovely surprise. Nice seeing you again." Draco said as he caught up with her, now walking next to her side.
Hermione looked to her left, "Malfoy! Just the person I wanted to see." She sarcastically said and he smirked. "Where are your friends? Not here to guide you through the scary corridors?" Draco said with a smirk. "Where are your friends, Malfoy? Not here to guide you through the scary corridors?" Hermione retorted, emphasizing the word 'scary' just like he had done. "Touché." He said giving in.
By the time they were done talking they had arrived and Draco grabbed her arm just before they were in sight of the great hall and Hermione looked at him questioningly but he just smirked, letting go of her arm when they came to a halt. "Don't want people to see us two coming in together, do you?" He said and eyebrow wiggled at her, "See you around, Granger." And with that, he walked in front of her, into the great hall.
Hermione didn't bother to call after him, because she knew that what he said was true. They had an image to keep up. Because even if their relationship improved, they still weren't friends, and were sure as hell not planning to be seen together in public.
Hermione waited a few minutes and then started to walk, casually walking through the wooden doors of the Great Hall. Her eyes landed briefly on the Slytherin table, and her eyes caught those of Draco. He winked at her with a smug smirk and Hermione just rolled her eyes, sometimes he was just too much, trying to win the upper hand.
Hermione smiled to herself, she'd get her revenge for that soon. Her eyes slid to the Gryffindor table and took a seat on the bench right next to Harry, who was talking happily to Ginny.
"'Mione!" A voice across the table said and Hermione's eyes landed on the person calling her, only to be greeted with Ron talking with an open mouth. "Can you please help me with my charms essay tonight?" He said, trying to be cute but failed when a piece of food fell out of his mouth.
Hermione's face scrunched up in disgust, "Actually, I was planning on making my own homework at the library." She said and Ron pouted. "Please, 'mione! Help me out. It's due for tomorrow and I don't understand it at all!" He asked and Hermione sighed in defeat. "Hand your work over to me, I'll make it for you tonight." Ron smiled gratefully at her, handing over the assignment. "Thanks!" He said but Hermione just waved it away with her hand.
She took a sip from her pumpkin juice and took a bite of her turkey and ate some potatoes. Suddenly the soft ringing of bells echoed through the Great Hall: dinner was over. Professor McGonagall made her way to the front, standing on the eagle podium where Professor Dumbledore once stood. "I hope you all had a nice dinner, may I please remind you to be at your dormitory at ten o'clock. Anyone wandering through the corridors after this hour, will be in trouble." She said, sternly looking around the students but then a smile covered her lips. "Good night!" She said and went back to her seat.
"I'll be in the library." Hermione said and Harry and Ron nodded. "See you later, Hermione!" Harry said with a smile, which Hermione returned. She grabbed her schoolbag and made her way out of the great hall, walking up the old marble stairways. They suddenly started to move, causing Hermione to grip the railings tight.
When she arrived at the third floor, she wandered through a few corridors, only to walk downstairs again to the second floor, and then walked underneath the large wooden archway of the library. Hermione smiled as she sniffed the air, the scent of books filling her nostrils.
She walked to the far back of the library and positioned herself at a small table. Taking a seat and glancing in front of her at the books. She would start with herbology, a subject that didn't come to her naturally. Hermione reached out to a book that caught her interest, figuring it would be able to give her all the information she needed to make the assignment.
After a long hour of non-stop writing she groaned and stretched her right hand, hearing a painful crack and then heaved a sigh. She had finished three feet of parchment and was a little disappointed that she couldn't find more, but it would have to do. Seeing as she officially only needed to hand in a half foot parchment.
She then moved on to Ron's homework, finishing it in only ten minutes, keeping it short just like he would do and tried to make it look like he had done it as best as she could. Hermione sighed, she was crazy for doing other people's work. But yet, she couldn't help it. She loved helping her friends out.
After that, she stood up and walked a little further down the aisle, and stood on her toes to grab a book off the higher shelf, one that covered ancient runes quite well. She had to translate a two feett long parchment from ancient runes to English.
So she walked back to her seat and started to write and search, which lasted for quite a while.
"Aren't you a naughty girl, being in the library at this hour?" A voice whispered in her left ear and Hermione shot up, dropped her quill and got brutally ripped out of her thoughts. There she saw Draco standing with a broad smirk on his face, his arms casually on top of each other and leaning against the desk opposite from hers. The candle light shone on his hair, creating a dark shadow at his eyes. "Malfoy! What are you doing here?" Hermione said and stood up, grabbing the desk for support seeing as her body was full of adrenalin because of the shock.
Draco put a finger against his lips with a grin, "Shh, wouldn't want Filch to hear you." He quietly said and Hermione's face scrunched up in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked confused and then noticed the silence that hung in the air. She couldn't hear a single movement, and then her eyebrows furrowed even deeper into confusion, "Malfoy, what time is it?" She asked, a slight fear creeping its way into her body.
"A few minutes past eleven." He said quietly with a smirk. "But, seeing you all stressed, I take it wasn't your intention to stay out this late?" Draco guessed and Hermione's eyes widened. "Crap!" She muttered and quickly grabbed all her stuff, running on her tip toes to bring all the books back. Then she walked back to Draco, and pushed her dignity aside. She couldn't afford a detention, so she needed his help.
"Malfoy, can you please help me to get to the Gryffindor tower?" She asked, her voice shaky, feeling quite scared.
Draco sighed, but then smirked, "Beg me." He said, his voice smug and Hermione groaned. "I'm not going to beg, Malfoy. Forget it."She said and he shrugged his shoulders casually, pushing himself away from the desk. "Suit yourself." He said and turned around, walking away from her and Hermione sighed, closing her eyes to think.
She could either give her pride up entirely by begging him to help her out, or she could try on her own to slip back into the Gryffindor tower, taking a huge risk on getting caught by Filch.
Hermione opened her eyes and angrily pushed her things into her schoolbag before quietly running after Draco. "Malfoy, wait!" She whispered and when he turned around with a huge grin on his face, she regretted her choice immediately. Nonetheless, she had to ask him. She had to beg him, otherwise she would never get to the tower.
She sucked a deep gulp of air in and then stared at him, narrowing her eyes. "Malfoy, can you please help me get to the Gryffindor tower?" She asked through gritted teeth. "What did you say? I didn't quite catch that." Draco said, a hand behind his ear and a huge satisfied grin on his face. Hermione hit him on the arm, "Malfoy!" She said angrily and he chuckled, "Fine, I'll help you. But only because you asked me so nicely." He teasingly said and Hermione sighed in frustration.
They sneaked out of the library in silence, and Draco guided her through the dim lighted corridors, showing her which ways were the safest.
They quietly moved through the corridors, holding their breaths whenever they heard a sound – although, most of the times it was just a whizzing sound from the candle.
As they neared the sixth floor, it started to get risky. They could hear Filch talking softly to his cat, and Draco had led her through several classrooms to avoid bumping into him.
They were about to move around the corner so they could get to the stairs that led to the seventh floor when they heard Filch's voice again. Only this time it sounded really close, as if he was standing only a few feet away from them. Hermione's eyes widened in horror and accidentally let out a small gasp, and everything after that happened really fast, too fast for her to process at that moment.
Hermione was thrown into a wall that was covered in shadows, and her vision got blocked by Malfoy, who was standing as close to her as he could. His cloak was covering most of their body parts and his hand was covering her mouth. She stared with wide eyes at his grey ones. His eyes were slightly squinted, looking at the hallway as best as he could, looking for any sign of Filch.
Hermione could feel her heart pounding hard as she awaited the excruciating moment of uncertainty. "Did you hear that Mrs Norris?" Filch's voice bounced off the walls and both Draco and Hermione held in their breaths. Knowing that if they made one wrong move, it would've all been for nothing.
She was grateful that Draco was pressed against her body, because her knees felt so weak that she would've fallen otherwise.
Draco's eyes drifted to hers and they intensively stared at each other. His eyes were cold, and his expression stony but, she didn't miss the small hint of uncertainty in his eyes, even a little fear. She wasn't the only one who was scared to get caught. Hermione could feel the hot air of her breathing bouncing back on her face via his hand that was still covering her mouth.
She took this moment to fully take him in, seeing as this was her only opportunity to look at him up close. His hair style had changed back as to how it was in his third year, the bangs freely hanging in front of his forehead. Slightly sticking to it because of the sweat that had formed on his forehead. His grey eyes were like a hawk watching the corridor, and his lips were firmly pressed together, refusing to let a breath escape.
After a few minutes of shaky breaths, buckling knees and uncertainty, Draco finally backed away from her, as quiet as he could. His left hand reached upwards and he laid a finger on his lips, telling her to stay quiet. Hermione nodded carefully and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth and fully backed away from her body, only to come closer again and grabbing her by the elbows when she nearly fell because of her weakened muscles.
When she finally regained some strength, she nodded and he gave a curt nod in return, pointing at the corner they were at before. He grabbed her and they quickly but quietly made their way to the corner. Draco subtly looked around the corner and when he saw nothing, he pulled Hermione along to the staircase, and they swiftly moved up the stairs, stopping when they arrived at the portrait.
Only then Hermione realized he had grabbed her hand and Draco quickly noticed as well, letting her hand go as soon as he noticed and then awkwardly stared at her before composing his posture.
Hermione stared at his eyes for a second before mouthing a 'thank you'. He then leant forward and his lips grazed against her ear, "Goodnight, Granger." The vibration of his voice brought shivers down her spine. He moved away with a smug smirk on his face and then stealthily moved down the stairs, out of her sight.
A/N: First chapter! Please let me know you if you liked it, that way I'll know to post the next chapter soon! Also, I am always in for criticism as well, I take great joy out of learning from my mistakes, so don't be shy and review me about it!