Hermione Granger was a model student. She avoided breaking rules and had immaculate grades. She was courteous to her professors and fellow students. She was also a Prefect. This was why one would be surprised to find her in the library. That in itself wasn't unusual, more the fact that she was in the library after curfew. She was looking for books about defense against the dark arts to help Harry with Dumbledore's Army. A sudden noise made her turn. She saw someone moving around in the back of the restricted section. It didn't bother her as she was under Harry's cloak. Refocusing on the task at hand, she continued sifting through books, albeit more quietly than before.
At half twelve she decided to call it a night. So, it seemed, did her mysterious companion. They became less mysterious when the light sparkled off of the other's unmistakably Malfoy blonde hair. Quietly, she set off towards the Gryffindor common room. Unfortunately, this meant she was tailing Malfoy until they reached the stairs. Draco Malfoy was a puzzle to her. He was smart and sly and cunning. He was a bigot and an irritating twat. He was so arrogant and rude, yet she'd seen a different, much kinder side to him.
One night, she'd been making her Prefect rounds, she'd sent Ron off on his own, when she'd heard someone crying. When she'd gone to investigate, she'd been shocked by what she'd found. Draco had been sitting on the floor with a Hufflepuff first year on his lap. She'd evidently fallen down the stairs. Hermione had watched as he healed her bruises and scrapes and murmured comforting words to the sniffling child. This was only one of the many kind things she'd caught him doing. She was shaken from her musings by a loud voice.
"Why yes Mr. Filch. If you'd have those papers on my desk by tomorrow evening, I'll sign them for you." It was Umbridge. Hermione quickly darted in to an empty broom cupboard that was standing open. She tensed and held her breath when Malfoy slipped in after her, shutting the door behind him. Before he turned around, she quickly pulled off the cloak and stuffed it in her robe pocket. It wasn't until Filch and Umbridge were long gone that he cast a 'lumos' and spotted her.
"Granger!" he yelped. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here? You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack." She noted and filed away a few observations. He was relatively civil. He hadn't called her a mudblood, he'd swore, something she'd never heard him do, and he wasn't swaggering around like a peacock. He was acting, Merlin forbid, like a normal teenage boy. He looked like one too. His hair was a mess, his face was flushed, and his robes were crumpled. It was only when she glanced up in to his eyes that she noticed how close they were. Hermione took a hasty step back, bumping in to the shelves behind her.
"Same as you." she answered coolly. "Hiding." They stared at each other for a moment more before he reached back and pulled on the doorknob. It wouldn't turn. Turning around, he tugged on the knob again. Nothing. Pulling out his wand he cast alohomora, along with three other, more complicated unlocking spells. None of them worked. He really looked panicked when Hermione tried two more spells that failed. His breathing came in rasps, and he gulped at the air as though it would run out.
"No, no, no." he was muttering frantically all the while. Draco Malfoy, it seemed, was claustrophobic. She knew she needed to snap him out of it before he had a full blown panic attack.
"Malfoy," she said. He didn't respond. "Malfoy. Malfoy snap out of it." she changed tactics. "Draco. Draco you're all right." She tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. His breathing eased a bit. "You're okay. Everything's fine." she murmured. His wand clattered to the floor and the light was extinguished. His breathing evened and he calmed down. She was suddenly aware of how close they were again, and her hand was still on his shoulder. She snatched it back as though burned.
"Sod off, Granger." he snapped. She rolled her eyes, though he couldn't see it. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness.
"I'd love to Malfoy, but if you hadn't noticed, we're stuck in here." she snapped back. She heard him inhale sharply. Pulling out her wand, she conjured a jar and filled it with the bluebell flames Harry and Ron loved. They caused a gentle, flickering light to fill the small space.
"It's easier than keeping a charm up for however long we're in here." she explained. An awkward silence descended on the pair. The tension was palpable. Suddenly, the silence was deafening and Hermione couldn't bear it.
"What were you looking for in the library?" she asked.
"Books." he deadpanned. She had to bite back a laugh at his answer.
"What sort of books?" she tried again.
"The sort you read." he answered with a smirk. Hermione rolled her eyes again. This time he did see it and his smirk grew wider.
"You're being - unusually pleasant." she commented.
"No need to hide away from prying eyes." came the cryptic response. She took a moment to mull over his words. It brought to mind another bout of kindness she caught him in the middle of.
That night wasn't the first time she'd been in the library under the cloak after curfew. One night she'd been there while Malfoy was making his prefect rounds. She'd not been the only one there. A third year Gryffindor had been lurking around too. Malfoy had caught him. Instead of handing the boy over to Umbridge for punishment, he'd docked five points.
"Umbridge won't hear about this from me as long as no one hears about it from you." he told the boy before escorting him back to the tower. She hadn't understood what he meant then. She did now. He was upholding his reputation. A small smile graced her lips at the memory.
"What could you possibly be smiling about?" Malfoy's voice brought her back to the present. He wasn't hostile, merely curious. She shook her head.
"Oh nothing." Hermione replied. She had no intention of telling him that she'd practically spied on him. She was surprised when he leaned against the door and slid to the ground. She joined him on the floor, sitting opposite him. Evidently her surprise had shown, as he explained himself.
"We're going to be here a while." She nodded her agreement. She glanced down at the jar she was still holding. The bluebell charm had always mesmerized her.
"Where did you learn to cast that? It's not in our course books." he noted with interest.
"I learned this in first year. It's in a book called 100 Charms For Your Little Magical. It's a book full of charms easy enough for first years. That's partly how I knew so much about the levitation spell. It was recommended to me by Professor McGonagall during my first trip to Diagon Alley." she told him.
"It must have been incredible, that first visit. My first visit shocked me and I grew up with magic." he commented. She marveled at the civil conversation they were having. Especially the topic. He had just acknowledged that she was muggle born without the slightest bit of contempt. No need to hide away from prying eyes, his words drifted through her mind. He was an interesting person to talk to, she admitted to herself. Talking to him brought a strange feeling to her stomach. It was almost like- no. She put a stop to that train of thought. She did not have butterflies because of Draco Malfoy.
"It was." she confirmed. "I could show you the spell if you like." she offered. Hermione mentally kicked herself. Why would he want to learn anything from her? She had most likely ruined their fragile truce and she had no desire to be trapped with a hostile Malfoy for Merlin knows how long.
She was astonished when he said, "Sure." Setting the jar to the side, she picked up her wand.
"The incantation is Caeruleum Igne." she told him as she moved so that she was next to him instead of across from him.
"Blue fire?" he asked wryly. She giggled and nodded. She almost clamped a hand over her mouth when that horrid sound escaped. Had she really just giggled? Because of Malfoy? Pushing the thought away, very far away, she focused again.
"You know Latin?" she asked.
"A bit. I'm fluent in French though." he responded.
"Me too. But anyway, the wand movement is like this." She made a movement similar to the levitation charm movement, but instead of flicking her wrist at the end, she moved her wand straight down and the flames appeared. She blew them out. He tried a few times before she spotted his mistake. Without thinking, she reached over and gently covered his hand with hers before running the motion. Her hand lingered there for a moment before she realized what she'd done. She snatched her hand back, her face tinged pink. This time, when he tried the spell, it was successful.
"Wow," he murmured. The blue light danced off of his hair. He looked at her, and she found herself staring into his steel grey eyes. There were touches of blue in them, she noticed. She blushed and looked away when she realized she was staring.
As she cast around for a topic to break the ever present silence, her head tilted back to lean against the door and her eyelids drooped. She cast tempus and realized it was well after midnight. Hermione didn't realize she'd fallen asleep until she woke up. She was disoriented for a moment until it all came rushing back.
It took her a moment to realize she was leaning on someone, and that there was only one someone that could be. It was then that she noticed the hand that was resting over hers on the floor between them. Listening, she could tell that Malfoy was awake because of his erratic breathing. Shifting her head off of him while feigning sleep, Hermione began to 'wake up'. The hand on hers moved away. She sat up straight and stretched as much as the confined space allowed.
"Sleep well Granger?" Draco teased without malice. She flushed slightly.
"What time is it?" she asked him in lieu of answering.
"Just after two." he informed her.
"Draco." she said. She hadn't meant to use his first name.
"Yes Hermione?" he asked. He'd used her first name.
"Do you hate me?" she asked. She hated how vulnerable she sounded. She wasn't sure where her words were coming from. Stop talking, her mind screamed. "Because I thought I hated you, but now I'm not so sure." It was then that a realization dawned on her like the morning sun, or more accurately, hit her like a ton of bricks. The blushing, the giggle, the touches, the- butterflies, it all pointed to one thing. She fancied Draco Malfoy.
"I never hated you Hermione, As my father's son, there are certain things that are expected of me. I may not agree with those things, but if I don't do them, my life would become very- difficult." She nodded in understanding. "I've never hated you." he repeated. "Quite the opposite are so beautiful and smart, yet you aren't like most girls. You've got a fire in you." His cheeks pinked slightly. "I'm rather lucky that you're even talking to me after the way I treated you. Why are you talking to me?" he asked uncertainty.
"Ava Toliver." The Hufflepuff first year. "Mathew Dean." The Gryffindor third year. "Luna Lovegood." He'd helped her out of a tight spot with Filch. "And Ramond Baxter." A second year Ravenclaw who he'd helped after he'd been subjected to a 'detention' with Umbridge. Draco looked at her, shock playing on his face.
"How did you-?" he trailed off.
"Between Prefect rounds," she pulled out the invisibility cloak. "And this, I hear a lot of things I shouldn't." They were inches away from each other now. Leaning down, Draco brushed his lips against hers, but she pulled back a bit. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly. "This could make life complicated for you." In answer, he leaned in and their lips met.
The kiss wasn't what she expected. Although her hands did end up on the back of his head and neck, it wasn't a battle of tongues, and it wasn't a passionate snogging session. He didn't leave marks on her skin and her hands didn't wander up his shirt. It was chaste and hesitant and unsure, but it was perfect. After a moment, he pulled back.
"That was-"
"Yeah." She smiled brilliantly at him.
"Hermione, I've fancied you since we were twelve years old, and I wanted to know if you would do me the honor of being my girlfriend." She kissed him again in answer.
It was Ginny Weasley who found them the next morning. She had borrowed the Marauder's Map from Harry to look for Luna, and she'd seen the names Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy together in a broom cupboard. Naturally, she'd wanted to investigate. Especially considering the new advanced locking spells put on the doors to said cupboards by Umbridge, in order to catch their occupants. She opened the door to find them sleeping. They were both sitting on the floor leaning against the shelves on the back wall, and Hermione's head lay on his shoulder. They were holding hands. The pair woke at the sudden light that filled the space. After many stuttered excuses and much blushing, they set off for breakfast still holding hands.
"Pansy Parkinson, you owe me a Galleon." Ginny said aloud as she watched their retreating forms.
A/N: So I'm not really pleased with this, but review and let me know what you think.