A/n: So this is my first one-shot so please be nice. Tell me what you and if you like it. Review! I really hope you like this one.
Smile for me
The girl was walking down the many hallways, passing by students but not paying any attention to them. Long ago the girl had stopped caring about the people around her. Her mind was elsewhere and everyone knew that. Sad brown eyes had replaced the usually happy looking eyes of Hermione Granger and who looked at her and knew her before the war started would barely recognize her as the one she was. Not a single smile had crept onto the face of the actually very beautiful girl ever since her two best friends had left. Harry and Ron did not wanted her to get hurt and made her promise she would stay at Hogwarts, the one place they still hoped was somewhat safe. Countless fights it had taken before she had agreed to stay where she was and not even the friends she had left around her could make her happy. She was just too worried about her two best friends who were somewhere out there fighting against the dark lord who was rising and gaining more and more power with every passing day. People went missing and it did not remain unnoticed. Hermione knew what was going on outside the walls of Hogwarts.
With a sigh the girl turned around a corner into an almost empty hallway. She embraced the silence since it seemed to her that it was never silent anywhere in this castle these days. Leaning against the wall she took a moment to enjoy the silence. The laughter of students was turning into whispers and soon died and she was glad to just close her eyes and not hear anything for once. Her mind immediately went to Harry and Ron. She knew they could not send her any owls because it just wasn't safe enough and she did not want to risk sending them a message any other way. Three months it had been since the day they had left. Hermione could still remember it as if it had been yesterday. The girl had hugged the boys and tried to pull them as close as possible before she letting go. After that Hermione had spent the whole day stranding outside the burrow staring at the spot where they had been just hours before. Mrs. Weasley had come outside not long after darkness had taken over the day and led her inside. The whole train ride Hermione had not spoken a single word and even now, three months later, she was not talking much. Her friends were worried but couldn't do much. Ginny had tried to distract her by dragging her to go with her on Hogsmeade weekends and she even tried to hook her up with Dean but all Hermione felt for Dean was friendship and in the end it wasn't fair to the boy if she did not pay any attention to him at all anyway. Some nights she woke up, terrible nightmares haunting her in her sleep and sometimes she simply could not find a way to fall asleep because her mind was racing, screaming that it just wasn't fair and that she should be out there with them, helping them. How could just leave me alone?
"I should be with you!" It was only then that Hermione noticed that she had said the last thing out loud into the empty corridor. Just it wasn't as empty as it had been before. A tall blond boy was now walking through it and stopped right in that moment.
"You should be with me, Granger? Are you kidding me?" She looked up and into the cool eyes of Draco Malfoy. The girl shook her head. Out of all the students that were in this school Draco Malfoy had to go through the same corridor. Misfortune was clearly on her side.
"No, Malfoy. I should not be with you." She managed to glare at him before she pushed herself off the wall, feeling a cool breeze blow across her back. The boy looked back with a frown.
"Talking with yourself?" He frowned but didn't say anything else. Even he had noticed that the usually happy girl had turned into a shell of herself. She wasn't laughing or smiling or talking and most of the time she was just sitting by herself in the hall or the library studying, reading and eating. Looking over her once more he noticed that even eating seemed to have been something she must have reduced. Hermione Granger her bags under her eyes and she become a lot thinner than he remember her to be. What had happened to the girl to turn her into such a mess? Could the disappearing of those two oats she always walked around with have to do with her behavior?
"I'm not talking with myself, ferret. In fact, I'm not talking with anyone."
"Wrong, you are talking with me and you should feel honored." He shrugged and turned to walk away but something inside of him was telling him to stay.
"I don't care about what I should and what I shouldn't. I will do what I think is best and best right now is to just leave you." She made a move to walk but his hand shot up and grabbed her arm.
"Wait!" Instead of answering the girl stared down at the hand tightly gripping her arm. Why on earth would Malfoy want her to stay and what for?
"Are you going to tell me what happened to you?" She looked up with surprise. He just wants know what happened and that's all? Why does he even care and why is he not insulting me yet?
Hermione shook her head once more. Lately her thoughts had been dominant and there was no way to keep her head from thinking.
"Why do you want to know that? It's none of your business." She pulled away and picked up the bag that had slipped from her shoulder when he grabbed her so roughly and walked away, leaving the boy standing alone.
Days passed and the question was still on Hermione's mind. What happened? A lot and nothing at the same time. It had been four months now and not a single word from Harry and Ron. In some way the girl had learned to take that as good news. As long as their names where just in the newspapers because they were still on the run it meant they were not dead and there was still hope. By now it was almost Christmas and Hermione had turned very silent. Not even with Ginny did she talk. The girls just sat together in front of the fireplace and stared into the flickering flames. Ginny had changed a lot too these past few weeks. Not being around Harry and not knowing how he was, was getting to her. She was constantly worried and for once she did not mind the lack of speech between them. Hermione knew how the younger witch felt just that it was love and not friendship. In some way Hermione thought Ginny must feel worse. Ron was her brother and Harry the one she loved. "Do you think they're okay?" It was barely a whisper coming from the redhead but Hermione heard it nevertheless. Her head moved up and she looked at the other girl, not sure what to answer.
"I'm sure they're alright, Gin. They are somewhere out there fighting against the dark lord and I am sure they are going to come home soon. They've been gone for so long." The redhead nodded. Four months. Thinking about these few months seemed oddly longer to her.
"I miss them so much. There was always a big brother around to protect me and there was always Harry Potter, the boy who could manage to light up the darkest night and now there are just people; people without faces and without names." Hermione knew what Ginny was talking about. The girl had begun to act just like older girl. She did not pay much attention to the people around her anymore.
"We aren't the only ones who have changed." It was just a sentence but it caught Hermione's attention once more.
"What do you mean by that? We aren't the only ones who've changed?" The redhead nodded.
"Yes, we are not the only ones. Malfoy's changed too. Haven't you noticed?" Hermione shook her head. She did not want to admit that she had been thinking about the blond one. In fact she had been thinking so much about him that she simply did not pay any attention to what he was doing.
"How? I mean he is still the same jerk he always has been, right?" Ginny shook her head.
"It's really weird. I bumped into him yesterday and he looked at me and almost apologized and he was oddly nice. As if he knew what we were going through. It was as if he actually cared. Everything about him was screaming for a reason." The girl shrugged. "Maybe it's just temporary."
"Yeah, maybe it's temporary or maybe he is sick." A hundred thoughts were running through her mind. Had his behavior changed before or after they talked? And was the certain change because of their conversation? Hermione stood up and looked down to the girl sitting in the armchair to her left.
"Listen, Ginny. I have to go. I forgot my essay in the library and it's due tomorrow and I can't just leave it there over night. I need fresh air as well." She knew Ginny could sense something was wrong, not only because she was stuttering nervously all throughout her speech. She grabbed her bag and made her way through the common room and into the hallways. Once more silence was embracing her and she took a deep breath. Draco Malfoy had gotten to her. Something about him made her think about him all the time in a very analyzing way. Tons of questions had been on her mind these past few days ever since they talked. She had not only been thinking about Harry and Ron but the blond just as well. Why had he cared? Why did he want to know more? Why did he not insult her? Had he really changed just like Ginny said? She pushed herself off the wall against which she unconsciously had leaned and made her way down the corridor until she had reached the library. No one was in here anymore at this time and usually she would have been the only one but at the far end of it she could see one of the charmed lamps shine. Someone else was in the library studying at this late hour. With silent steps Hermione made her way over to the row of shelves where she had been studying in the afternoon and grabbed her essay. She had not been lying when she told Ginny she left it there but it came quite handy as an excuse to leave for just a few moments. It was only then when she heard a voice next to her. On the other side of the shelf someone was looking for a book and named book had just fallen out of the shelf and onto the persons had.
"God, damn!" The person on the other side was cursing and Hermione pressed herself against the shelf as if she was trying to become a part of it. Draco Malfoy, the person she had tried to just run away from was on the other side of the shelf and as if that was possible, Draco managed to shock Hermione even further.
"God damn it, Granger!" She could hear him hit the fist against the shelf. But that wasn't what concerned her. Did he know that she was on the other side of that shelf?
"I hate you for filling my thoughts, Granger!" He was shouting by now, not loud enough to be heard in the front of the library but loud enough for Hermione to hear it. The girl took a deep breath and stepped away from the shelf. She had heard enough and wanted nothing but to get away from here. On her way out she fell over several books that were placed on the floor. By the time she reached the exit she was sure Draco must have heard her and indeed he had. Right after he heard the books fall to the floor on the other side of the shelf he had looked around it to spot Hermione disappear around the corner. He had no idea how much she had heard but he swore to himself that moment that he would not care about it and try what he had been trying these past weeks, find a way to make her smile again. For some reason he felt unable to hate her any longer and Draco knew if anyone would find out about this he would be in trouble. The boy tried to push the thought away and went back to his books only just to find himself unable to study any longer. Angrily he grabbed his books and left the library.
This time almost a month passed before Hermione saw Draco again. She guessed he noticed her and was now avoiding her, scared she might know too much about his secret or whatever it was she had heard. Hermione had not told anyone about what happened in the library and she wanted to keep it that way. Malfoy had been acting strangely and she wanted to find out why. Maybe after all she needed a distraction like him to get her mind off Harry and Ron. That way she had time to be there for Ginny for once instead of always being the one to cry onto the younger girls shoulder. Still the question of what was going on with Draco Malfoy never let her go and after four weeks had passed she finally got up and walked towards the library, hoping she would find him there. In some way she was angry and wanted an explanation as to why the boy dared to take up so much of her time and her thoughts. She had been worried a lot about Harry and Ron especially because it was getting more and more dangerous to be out there with every day that passed. She had currently started to exchange letters with Mrs. Weasley and she knew they both shared the fear of losing someone dear. Everyone did share the fear but Hermione felt oddly calm when the older woman told her everything would be alright. Still there were no news about Harry or Ron. Nobody knew where they were, how they were and just the missing news about their deaths in the newspaper reassured them that they were still alive. Once more the fear of losing them was rising inside of her but she pushed it aside. By now even teachers had started to worry and asked her what was wrong. Only McGonagall knew about the worries of the young woman. They all knew not to trust anyone but Hermione simply could not hide her worry. She knew she had lost weight and probably she was looking as if sleep was her biggest need but she did not care.
Sighing she entered the library and looked around. Nowhere she could see any signs of life and even Madame Pince seemed to have disappeared somewhere between the shelves. Slowly she stepped forward, determined to find Draco Malfoy even if she had to search the whole castle for him. But she was lucky. There around the corner Draco was sitting at a table, leaning over some books and a piece of parchment, scribbling something onto it. Slowly, much slower than before she walked over to him and coughed.
"Could I please talk with you?" The blond boy looked up away from his parchment. Surprise was clearly written across his face but she also could that he was not comfortable being around her in that moment.
"I don't see what we would need to talk about. If you don't mind, I have to finish this." He was pointing down to the parchment. Hermione shook her head.
"No, we have to talk about what happened four weeks ago. I know that you know that I was on the other side of that shelf when you said something that we both know you did not want anyone to hear. I just want to say that I'm sorry and that I did not mean to listen. I was there accidentally." Draco was surprised. Hermione Granger had just apologized to him? Something inside of him made him feel funny over that thought. He had to take a deep breath to keep him from laughing out loud. Actually Hermione had done nothing wrong. She had been at the wrong place at the wrong time but that wasn't her fault and he couldn't help but her tell her so.
"It's okay. There is no need to apologize. But I think there might be something I should explain." Hermione nodded, waiting for what he was to say next.
"You heard me say your name, I assume? Well I was indeed talking about you. You had been on my mind ever since we talked in that deserted hallway. Not like you think. It was just that I had noticed something for the first time." He went silent and Hermione, who had been staring to the floor, finally looked up.
"And what did you notice?"
"You don't smile anymore! You usually used to smile with everything, even your eyes but now nothing is smiling and you have changed so much. Even I can't help but notice. Granger, why aren't you smiling?" She was taken aback by his words. Why aren't you smiling? Over and over these words echoed in her head.
"I…I don't know. I just don't smile, I guess. I don't have a reason to smile but why do you care?" Silence followed the question that was still echoing through the room long after Hermione had closed her mouth. The boy shifted on his feet. He clearly did not know what to say to that.
"Hermi…Granger. I do care. For some weird reason I care about…you. I want to make you smile!" Hermione stared at him with her mouth open. Draco Malfoy wanted her to smile? What made it more confusing he wanted to be the one to make her smile? She shook her head in disbelief but deep inside she felt the familiar. It was a warm, tingly feeling that she could not quite place.
"You want to make me smile? But why? I don't understand, Malfoy." He shook his head.
"Don't call me Malfoy. Call me Draco. I have long ago stopped calling you Mudblood and Granger just seems wrong. I think I like you, Hermione." It was the first time he had ever said her name and she felt butterflies in her stomach at the sound of it. Suddenly she knew why she had been so focused on him these past few weeks. She looked up into his eyes, his icy cold eyes that did not seem icy anymore at all. She shivered.
"But…I don't know what to say." Draco only looked at her and moved forward, closer to her. Hermione who did not know how to react stood there not moving.
"Then don't say anything." He closed the distanced between them and gently cupped her face. Gently, ever so gently he kissed her and Hermione felt like a firework was exploding inside of her. Stars were in front of her eyes as she closed them to respond to the featherlike kiss. Slowly almost as if she was hesitating she wrapped her arms around the pale boys waist only to feel him move one of his strong hands to hold the small of her back. Deeper and deeper she fell into the kiss until she was fully embraced by this new feeling. Minutes passed in which neither of them pulled away from the other and slowly Hermione understood what she had been feeling for all these weeks. She needed Draco. He made her feel something she had never felt before and right in this moment she did not care what the world would say. Breathlessly they pulled apart and it was only then that Hermione looked into the eyes of Draco again. He was smiling and his whole world smiled with him it seemed.
"Hermione, do something for me. Stay with me and, please, will you do something else?" Hermione did not have to think and knew the answer right away. She would stay with him no matter what.
"Whatever you ask for, I'll do it." She looked at him still breathless, waiting for his reply.
"Smile for me!" It was a simply request but his words were like magic and just like that Hermione Granger found her missing smile again. And she smiled, brighter and happier than she had ever done before and she leaned up to Draco and whispered one little word before leaned to kiss him again. And that's how she finally got her missing smile back.