Thunder and Muggle Ghosts
Disclaimer: All characters and the world of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.
The first sprinkles of the rain clouds came upon the Hogwarts castle. Drops of rainwater lightly decorated the large Victorian window in the Head Girl's room. Thunder clapped from afar, the flashing light it produced left as quickly as it came and one Hermione Granger flinched from beneath her comforter.
She started cursing herself inwardly. She wasn't usually like this. She used to love the rain and thunder. It was always a calming weather for her. She would grab one of her many books and sit on the couch facing the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate. Tonight, of all night, she decided to read the book her aunt had sent to her a few months ago. Usually, she would have devoured it on the first day upon receiving the book, but she then she decided that that particular book could be put aside for a month or two. It was a horror novel by a famous muggle author. As a child, horror stories used to scare her. With all the headless ghosts flying around Hogwarts, she wouldn't have survived her first year if it weren't for her roommates' presence. Now, she was in her seventh year and was made a Head Girl as everyone had expected. The Hogwarts ghosts didn't scare her anymore. In fact, she was friendly with them. However, their presence only confirmed her doubt that ghosts really exist!
She shivered beneath the covers. There was nobody in her room. She couldn't run to Harry and Ron. The long walk to the Gryffindor's castle would surely kill her. The nearest person was the Head Boy whose room was only across the hall from hers. She winced at the thought. They just had a huge row in the Great Hall that the other students had to separate them before they started throwing hexes at each other. She didn't even know what the fight was all about. The only thing she remembered was he mentioned something about pumpkin juice and all hell broke loose.
Another lightning flashed across the sky followed by a rumbling thunder. She let out a yelped. Giving in to her fear, she grabbed her pillow and made a mad dash to the Head Boy's room. She didn't bother to knock and thankfully, he didn't lock the door either. She must have slammed the door a bit too hard because the moment the door was closed, Draco Malfoy jumped up from the bed and pointed his wand at her.
"Don't!" She managed to scream before he could utter a hex and used her pillow as a shield.
"Granger?" he said, his voice was groggy and sounded slightly annoyed. "What do you think you are doing here at this hour? I could have hexed you!"
Hermione ran to his bed, still clutching her pillow tightly. "Move a little, will you?"
"What are you doing here?" Draco repeated his question.
"I'm too scared to sleep in my room alone…" she admitted as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
Draco starred at her and turned his head to the window. "You are scared of a little thunder and lightning?"
"No!" She felt herself blush. "I'm not… It's just that my aunt sent me this book. It is a horror story by a famous muggle author. I'm just scarred… a little. Muggle ghosts aren't as nice as the Wizarding ghosts. Wizarding ghosts just float around and pull pranks on you. Muggle ghosts are scary and evil! They pull you into the telly and suck your blood dry."
Her fellow Head watched her with a wide opened mouth.
"I'm serious!" Hermione yelled and proceeded to use her pillow to smack his face and suffocate him. "Stop looking at me like that."
"Omphh!" He removed the pillow from his face. "Are you trying to kill me, woman?" he said breathlessly. "If I die, I will haunt you and I'll be the scariest ghost you'll ever see."
Hermione scowled, but she didn't hit him anymore.
Draco smirked and moved to his right to make more room for her. "Get in here, Granger. Let's just go back to sleep. We have potion first period tomorrow morning."
Hermione accepted his invitation happily. When Draco lay down on the bed, she used him as her pillow instead. "I'm sorry," she whispered. When he didn't respond, she continued again, "I didn't mean to dump the pumpkin juice on your head. Well, I did… but I'm still sorry."
"I probably deserved it." He replied softly, his eyes showed regret. "I'm sorry too. For everything I said to you this morning. I didn't mean it. You know I love your hair." He proceeded to wrap his arms around her and kissed her hair just to prove it.
Hermione giggled. The man could make her so angry one moment and then reduced her to a giggling fool the next moment. She looked up at him and placed a quick kiss on his lips. Draco frowned and pulled her up to give her a proper kiss.
"I'm not scared anymore." She smiled, still keeping eye contact with him.
"Do you want to go back to your room?"
"No," she replied, returning to using his chest as pillow. "I'm good here."
"Aren't you afraid that your hair is going to suffocate me if you sleep like that?" he teased and then yelped. "Ouch! Stop! Stop pinching me!"
"Then stop making fun of my hair!" She gave one last pinch. "You just apologised and now you are making fun of my hair again."
"I know, I know. And I'm sorry. Again. It's just too hard to resist." He laughed. "I really, really do love your hair. It's very soft despite its bushiness and—okay, okay, I'll stop." He put up his hand in mock surrender when he saw Hermione was about to pinch him again. "I love you."
"Cheater," she glared, but her tone stated otherwise. "You won't be forgiven that easily the next time."
Draco wrapped his arms around her, a knowing smile plastered on his face. "I know." He murmured. "Sleep tight, Granger. I will keep you safe from your blood sucking ghosts."
"Hmm…" Hermione sighed contentedly. "Night, Malfoy."
"Good night, Granger."
end
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it.