Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, but I do own the story (my idea for a cute Draco/Hermione fic, don't steal it).
Author's note: So I really should be updating my other fics, but this is just a short little Draco/Hermione piece, b/c I've been obsessing about them lately. I know I have Ron/Hermione thing going on in my other HP fic, but this has to be my favorite ship in HP, only b/c I love Draco and Hermione is so much like me, it's not even funny. Though I would like to be in Slytherin rather than Gryffindor. A little late for Valentine's Day, I know, but the title was originally going to "My Mudblood." Do you know how many fics are out there that are already have that name? So I changed the title and the last line so it wouldn't be too sappy… hopefully it's not. Read, enjoy, but remember to review!
Hermione quietly walked down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone in the Gryffindor tower. It was 1 o'clock in the morning, but she had to see him. Quidditch had kept him so occupied this past week that the only time they could see each other was in passing, but even then they couldn't hug, kiss, speak, or even look at each other. It was tormenting her! She didn't care at this point if she got in trouble, which was a lot coming from Hermione: Miss Perfect Prefect.
She gingerly opened the portrait door, thankfully not waking the Fat Lady. Once it was completely shut, Hermione ran. Her impatience was boiling at her skin; she couldn't hold her feelings for him in any longer. Down the many flights of stairs and out the main doors, she finally stopped to find her bearings. A fog had covered the grounds, making it very difficult to see anything. Finally, a faint green light twinkled to her left, causing Hermione to grin and run towards it.
As she neared the tree by the lake, the same tree she and her friends had sat beside on hot summer days, he came out of the shadows.
"Draco," she sighed and leapt into his arms. With all his might, Draco held Hermione close, breathing in the scent of her hair. Holding her waist with one arm, his other hand weaved into her thick curls as they frantically kissed each other as if each was their last.
"I was afraid you hadn't received my message," he whispered into ear before he kissed her neck.
"If I hadn't I would have sent you one myself," Hermione admitted, breaking away slightly to look into his steel eyes that for once were filled with love and warmth. "I've missed you too much. I can't stand this any longer Draco! We have to—"
"No, love, you know we can't," said Draco, massaging her neck as Hermione lowered her head in submission and understanding. With one finger, Draco lifter her head to his eye level so he could gaze into her deep brown orbs. "If anyone were to find out, do you realize how much trouble that would cause for us? My father would hunt you down; I could never let that happen to you!"
"… Pansy is starting to suspect," whispered Hermione.
"What?"
"She's been extremely mean to me… more than usual. It's like she finds me in her spare time just to call me 'mudblood.'" At this Draco gave a grin of encouragement.
"I'll have to have a talk with her then. I'm the only one that can call you 'mudblood.'"
"Yes, but the meaning behind yours is different than hers."
"Oh, so you finally realized that when I call you 'mudblood,' I'm really saying 'you want to have a quick shag?'" quipped Draco in a hopeful tone. Hermione punched him playfully as they both laughed and settled down at the base of the tree. With Draco's back to the tree, Hermione leaned into his chest and Draco wrapped his arms around her stomach. For a few minutes, the two of them just sat there. That was it. They were happy enough just to finally be with each other for once. After while though, Hermione decided to break the silence and turned slightly to look at him.
"What if Pansy meant the same as you do when she calls me 'mudblood'? That would be really disgusting," joked Hermione.
"Actually, I was thinking it would be rather kinky." That deserved another punch.
"But seriously Draco," said Hermione, her face completely solemn and sorrowful, "what are we going to do? I can't stand walking down the hall, not being able to speak to you, or at Quidditch games not being able to cheer for you, or at meals not being able to sit with you, or in the library—"
"First," interrupted Draco, "Nothing is going to happen in the library unless we shag first, then study. I'm not you, I'm your boyfriend, who thinks of nothing except fucking your brains out—"
"Draco—"
"Second, don't think it just hurts you, because it hurts me too. I hate having to be mean to you because of my house, my friends, and my parents. I hate it!" At this Draco held Hermione closer, not caring of being overprotective, or controlling; right then, he needed to hold her.
And Hermione needed to be held, for tears were falling down her soft cheeks. Clutching his shirt, Hermione closed her eyes and breathed in his fresh scent of rain. She could smell him a mile away, no matter where they were.
"I love you, Hermione. I love how you know the answer to anything, and you're not afraid to stand up for what you believe in. I… I love how everyday, when you wake up, you look at the glass as half-full. Even if you do hang out with the most pathetic crowd at this school… I love you for who you are… I just wish sometimes I could be as strong as you… then maybe I can leave this life of pressure and hate." Hermione pulled away slightly to look at him, and cupped his cheek so he could look back.
"And I love you Draco," she whispered, now crying, "I love how you're always so calm and collected. You know what you want, and you go for it. Me… half the time I can't think of what to do, there's so many choices. And you're so determined and witty… even though half the time your jokes are either to Ron or Harry… you really do have to be nicer to them—"
"Not now, love."
"And when you call me 'love'… when we have these special times together… You're the only one that recognizes my hard work. You don't ever scoff, or call me an over-achiever… You help me reach for my dreams… even if there are too many…" Draco smiled at her, and combed her hair back with his fingers so he could see her face.
For hours they sat there… silent… taking each other's presence in. When the sun began to pierce the horizon, Draco woke the sleeping Hermione gently, and they walked hand in hand to the castle, not worrying for once that someone might catch them.
But they should have been worrying, for right inside the castle, it seemed like the entire Slytherin and Gryffindor houses where standing outside the Great Hall with their pajamas on. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape were there as well, but fully dressed, with extreme looks of worry plastered to their face.
The second Draco and Hermione walked into the door, they froze, for everyone turned to look at them. Time had stopped. Draco pushed Hermione behind him to protect her from the scowls on all of the students' faces, but inside he just wanted to grab her hand and run.
Harry looked like he was about to kill Draco. Ron had a similar look, but his was filled with more sorrow. Ginny was looking around confused, with a look that just said "What the crap? How did all these people get here?" Crabbe and Goyle just had looks of shock, wondering what to do. Pansy looked like she was about to throw a temper tantrum. Snape had a look of disgust as if someone had dropped a dung bomb right under his broken-beaked nose. McGonagall looked half-shocked, half-what-the-hell-am-I-going-to-do-now? And poor Hermione, for the first time she too wanted to run away with Draco. She couldn't stand to look at her best friends' faces. She just wanted to break down and cry. Everyone else's faces were either of disgust, shock, or hatred.
Dumbledore was the only one smiling.
"Well then," he began, walking slowly to the couple, "Looks like we've found our missing students. Professor Snape, if you would go and tell Mr. Filch that we've found them, it would be of great help." Snape nodded in agreement, but before he turned and left, he gave Draco a "we're going to talk about this later" look. Draco straightened his back and scowled back, for once not looking forward to seeing Snape in the potions classroom.
"Professor McGonagall?"
"Yes, headmaster?"
"Would you please send an owl to Mr. Malfoy, saying that as governor, it is not within his rights nor duties to interfere with personal student affairs, therefore there is no reason why he should come here unless to visit his son and Miss Granger." McGonagall also nodded, but gave Hermione a "come find me if you need me" look. Hermione gave a small whimper, and closed the space between herself and Draco even more.
"Now that you both are safe and sound, it is time for your punishment. As prefects, you both know that wondering the school grounds after curfew is not allowed."
"Yes headmaster," whispered Draco and Hermione in response, fearing their punishment with every fiber of their body and hoping to whatever higher power that Dumbledore didn't separate them further.
"Now let's see… the Valentine's Day dinner is coming up. I wanted to organize it myself, as well as decorate it, because Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays, but I think I'll leave it up to the two of you. You must organize it, which includes menus, musical arrangements… that sort of thing, and you must prepare for it… without magic. That means helping the house elves cook the food, decorating the castle and the Great Hall, making party gifts for all Hogwarts students. You have a month before Valentine's Day, and don't worry about the work load. There will be plenty of students that will be assigned detention until then to help you out. But I expect it to be the best Valentine's Day dinner we've ever had."
"Yes headmaster," answered Draco and Hermione, slightly relieved. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with delight.
"Now then, breakfast will be served soon, so let's all go get ready, shall we?" referring to all the students still there. Many of the students went back to the two dorms, but Harry, Ron, Ginny, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy stayed behind. Draco and Hermione wished Dumbledore would stay and shoo the rest away, but Dumbledore was already walking back to his office. Harry was the first to step forth.
"Hermione, get away from him now."
"No Harry—"
"He's obviously got you under some spell!"
"No, that's not it, Ron!"
"You mean to say that you actually want to be with the Draco Malfoy?"
"Yes Ginny—"
"Unbelievable!" shouted Harry, pacing in frustration. Draco just held Hermione closer. Ron clenched his fists and looked down to the ground, while Ginny just scratched her head, looking at Hermione in shock.
"No…" whispered Ron, "No, this can't be. Hermione, you're coming back to the common room with us, and we're going to talk." Ron advanced on Draco and Hermione with anger in his eyes, but Crabbe and Goyle blocked his way.
"You two go back to the common room," commanded Draco, "For once, I'm not going to hide behind others… but thanks anyway." Hermione smiled inside, and Crabbe and Goyle nodded to their leader. As they walked away, Pansy just stood their, glaring at both Draco and Hermione.
"And what about us?" she screeched. "Are you just going to forget the passion that was between us?"
"There never was an 'us' and there certainly wasn't any passion, Pansy. So go back to the common room, and don't ever forget that. I love Hermione." Pansy's eyes welled up with tears as she ran back to the Slytherin common room. At this point Harry's jaw dropped, Ron looked like he had been hit by a bus, and Ginny simply said "Pssh, this is way too much for me, I'm going back to bed. Hermione, just come and talk to me when you need me."
"That's right, Potter, I love Hermione… I LOVE HER!" Draco shouted, clutching her close to her body. But instead of scaring Harry and Ron off, Draco only made it worse.
"That's it," stated Harry, grabbing Hermione's arm, while Ron grabbed the other. Hermione struggled the best she could, and Draco fought for her with all his might, but Harry and Ron won, and began to slowly drag her away.
" Draco!" shouted Hermione, reaching out for him with one arm. Draco realized that he lost, and could only keep himself from falling apart.
"We'll have Valentine's Day… my mudblood," shouted Draco, watching Harry and Ron cart Hermione away from him. At this, Hermione stopped struggling, and allowed Harry and Ron walk her to their common room, but constantly looked back at Draco.
"My mudblood…" he whispered.