Running - as he was - as fast as he possibly could through the familiar corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Draco Malfoy duly acknowledged the irony of the situation. For the first time in his school career, Draco had been caught out of bed at three o'clock in the morning, and he had been in the library, desperately trying to finish impossible Ancient Runes homework before daybreak. Even Hermione Granger hadn't hit that particular rock bottom yet. He made a note to hang his head in shame as soon as he had stopped running and regained the ability to breathe. As it was, he rounded a sharp corner to the left and – without any further thought – ducked beneath a tapestry and slipped up the steps of the Astronomy tower.
He stood on the top of the tower, his back pressed hard against the circular stone wall of the building and his chest heaving. He wouldn't put it past Filch, the caretaker and part time devourer of children, to spend the rest of the night searching for him, but there was little chance of him catching up with Draco now. He wasn't the Slytherin seeker for nothing, he thought with a smug smile. His grin faltered as he heard hurried footsteps on the stairs. He drew back, in horror, from the doorway and braced himself for Filch's wrath. The footsteps grew louder and louder – Draco winced with each one – and then, without the warning he surely deserved, Hermione Granger burst through the doorway and assumed an identical position to Draco – back to the wall and eyes wide with fear.
Malfoy did a double take. Maybe he had been wrong about Hermione and her homework habits. He began to feel slightly better about himself.
'What are you doing here, Granger?' He wanted to know.
Hermione, apparently only noticing him for the first time, let out a shriek which she immediately stifled with her own hand. Her dark brown eyes still stared at him, huge and shining with fright.
'Filch,' she gasped, 'He's down there.'
'I know, I know,' Draco snapped irritably, 'Why the hell do you think I'm up here? To take in the beautiful view?'
He gestured in front of them with a sarcastic hand.
Recovering, now, from her ordeal, Hermione pointed to the textbook and parchment clutched in Malfoy's hands.
'Were you… working?' She asked slowly.
He looked closely at her – something he wasn't in the habit of doing – and noticed a distinct lack of books or parchment, or anything, in fact, that made her Granger.
'Weren't you?' He replied, more hesitantly than he had intended.
This time, the smile became a smirk that he recognised as a variation of his own but, even when he was looking closely, hers wasn't completely unpleasant.
'It's quarter to four in the morning!' She laughed, 'I'm impressed that you're so dedicated to Ancient Runes though. I imagined that Pansy Parkinson would be the only reason you'd be out of bed at this time of night, freezing your bollocks off.'
Despite himself, Draco was a little bit shocked. Who the hell had this girl been spending time with lately?
And then, just as the very first slivers of sunlight began to appear on the horizon, it dawned on him. The bright eyes, the red lips, the knowing smile? Hermione Granger had been with a boy. For some reason, Draco almost felt as though someone had just punched him in the stomach. Maybe it was because he had been in the library alone all night, but there was definitely some aspect of insanity about him when he opened his mouth and asked, a tad accusingly:
'Who is he?'
The question hung in the air between them like their breath.
'Who's who?' Hermione said, bemused.
'The boy who you're freezing your, um, bollocks off for?' He replied with raised eyebrows.
She at least had the decency to look embarrassed now.
'Oh, no one,' she told him, blushing slightly.
'I'm sure he'd love to hear you talk about him with such warmth,' Draco remarked dryly.
'It's not going anywhere,' she said it quickly, as though she wasn't quite sure why she was revealing this particular information to Draco Malfoy.
'It's just a bit of fun,' she finished.
Malfoy felt a twinge in his stomach again. Just a bit of fun? He had been up to his eyeballs in Ancient fucking Runes all night. Where was his fun?
Hermione looked at her watch again.
'We could probably go now,' she remarked, turning back towards the doorway and not waiting for a reply, 'It's been half an hour.'
Draco followed her down the stone steps in silence, partly because he despised her – of course – but also partly because he was afraid that the odd feeling in his stomach would form into words and force him to say something stupid if he opened his mouth. They walked uncomfortably - side-by-side, but unsure if they were travelling together or not. In a few moments, she would sneak down Gryffindor corridor to the right, and he would skulk left, towards the dungeons and the Slytherin dorms.
It's possible that Draco Malfoy would have made it to bed unscathed that night, if it hadn't been for the ominous rattle of the huge bunch of keys attached to Filch's belt, which suddenly announced his imminent entrance. Without thinking, Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her back the way they had just come. The nearest tapestry covering a doorway sufficed to hide them and to muffle their shaken breathing. They burst through the hanging and fell together on the stone steps hidden behind it, Malfoy breaking Hermione's fall, the steps themselves breaking Malfoy. He barely suppressed a groan.
'Are you okay?' She mouthed, almost looking genuinely concerned.
He managed to nod.
They lay there together, listening intently until Filch had passed them by. They shared a sigh of relief, and then Draco grimaced and pushed himself up on his elbows.
'Are you quite finished lying on top of me?' He whispered indignantly.
He hadn't meant it to be funny, but the situation could hardly be any more ridiculous, so when she laughed, he found himself grinning too. He realised, suddenly, that he was having fun. And then, effortlessly, and without warning, Draco pulled Hermione's face to his with both hands and kissed her. She pulled away, but not quite quickly enough. He heard her breath catch in her throat and felt her hands shake as he caught them in his.
'When they ask you who I am,' he said, his heart racing faster and faster, 'Tell them I'm no one. Tell them it's not going anywhere, and that it's just a bit of fun.'
Her gaze didn't leave his bright blue eyes.
'Just don't tell them that you're meeting me at the top of the Astronomy tower again, tomorrow at midnight.'