Chapter 6: And When He Looks at Her, He Sees a Possibility

"My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me. So won't you kill me, so I die happy?"

Hands Down

Draco walked into the old, dusty library ten minutes after midnight to find Hermione bent over a book studiously reading it. He smirked, her hair was a mess and her eyebrows were furrowed over her eyes in her concentration. Her cheeks were pink from frustration, and she was wearing a rather low-cut muggle top. She looked delicious and it was setting Draco off. He didn't know how he could endure a whole night of her looking like that.

"Hello Granger," he said dryly, noticing that her bruise had almost completely disappeared, "I see you've already started looking."

"I see you're late." She countered and he smiled, she was right. "But anyway it was kind of a last ditch effort. I've found nothing in this entire library."

"Then what are we doing here?" He really didn't want to waste his time in the library if he didn't have to.

"We need to look in the restricted section." She smiled, excitement in her eyes.

"Why would the information we are looking for be restricted?" He asked, following her to the back of the room, where the gates blocking them stood in their way.

"I honestly have no idea. It must be something Hogwarts doesn't want us to find out though." She raised her wand and muttered something under her breath. The lock opened quietly.

"Well done, Granger." Draco said approvingly. He only knew one unlocking spell; alohamora. But that was clearly not what she used since that spell would've caused a sound.

"Thank you." She did a little mock curtsey and Draco laughed, following her into the restricted section. It was really dark, not that Draco wasn't used to that, and she seemed to know her way around very well.

"You spend a lot of time in the restricted section?" He asked as she pulled out a book and shoved it in his hands.

"Define a lot." She pulled out another one, the title confusing him. The Founders and Their Findings.

"I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled and hauled three more books in his arms before she led them to a small table in the corner.

"I just like to know things that other people know, especially people older than me." She shrugged.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I suppose it's because I want to know what they're talking about and understand it fully." She smiled. "I think that conversing with adults can be much more gratifying than with other children."

"Interesting…" Draco didn't really understand that, but there wasn't a lot he understood about Hermione.

"So what first?" He looked at the pile of books and she handed one to him and took the largest for herself. He rolled his eyes and opened it. He was sure he would find something, since it was entitled The Secret Rooms of Hogwarts. But as he read the book cover to cover – there were many pictures so it didn't take that long – he was becoming more and more frustrated. Meanwhile, Hermione was reading her book about the founders delightedly, gasping every once and a while where she found something interesting. He kept asking her what she was finding, but she would just shake her head and ignore him, turning a page and finding something else.

A few hours later, he became so annoyed with her that he reached out under her nose and pulled the book from her grasp. Her angry expression could make up for his annoyance tenfold. He laughed and before he knew it she lunged over the table to grab it. He was quicker than she was however, and he threw the book to the side, causing her to fall in his lap with a thud. He laughed again and she scowled, trying to get out of his grasp. She wiggled her but against his growing erection and he had a clear view of her pale white cleavage.

He didn't really know what came over him, why he leaned towards her to bruise her in a lip-crushing kiss. He didn't know why his hands found the backs of her thighs or why she moaned into his ear when he sucked the pulse point on her neck.

"Draco…" She breathed. "We can't do this."

"What did you find out in the book?" He asked, taking the lobe of her ear in his mouth.

"What?" She asked, pulling away again. He pulled her back, she felt so good against him and he wasn't planning on letting her go.

"I don't know." He murmured into her skin, "Ignore that."

"Wait," she placed her hand on his chest and pushed herself off of him, "this isn't right." She blinked as if she was clearing her mind. He looked up at her, disappointed although he'd never admit that to anyone. He shrugged and leaned back in his chair staring at her. Her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing deeply.

"You're right," he smirked, "I wouldn't want to ruin my reputation or anything." She rolled her eyes and walked off, taking the founders book with her.

"Witch," he whispered after her.

"Malfoy, where have you been?" Neville asked nervously, biting on his fingernails.

"Sleeping," Draco frowned, "why?"

"Hermione's furious you're late." Neville whimpered when he heard a crash come from the back of the Room of Requirements. It's where Hermione had requested they get together, early on a Saturday, to work on their transfigurations assignment. Draco looked around Neville, seeing the crazy auburn hair that could only belong to one witch.

"Draco," she shouted upon seeing him, "do you know what time it is?" He looked at her approvingly. She was dressed in muggle clothing, a loose white, low-cut t-shirt that functioned as a dress with an equally long sweater, and tight black leggings. A long silver locket hung between her breasts and she looked damn sexy. Her anger paralleled the soft look well, and Draco found it hard not to stare at her. She huffed when he didn't answer and he chuckled.

"Time for you to calm down I believe." He smirked and she fumed. He could practically feel the air crackling around him with the power of her anger. He didn't really realize she was so strong, so passionate.

"Sorry," he chuckled, raising his hands a bit when he saw her clenching her fists, "sorry, I'll make it up to you."

"How's that?" She asked, still angry. He went over to her and placed his hands on her arms soothingly. He smiled when she stepped back, surprised.

"Don't worry," he winked and laughed when he saw her brows furrowed across her forehead, "I'll think of something." He reached down and slowly unclenched her fists, dragging his fingers across her palms as he did, noticing how she trembled. He didn't really know why he was so interested in her, or why he wanted to be nice to her. But he did and although he would've never thought it possible, he really did want her. It was almost all-consuming. He'd thought of her all last night, after the library incident and he even had another dream about her.

"I'm sure," she whispered unsteadily, "but we should get started."

"Only after you tell me what you found out last night." He breathed, inching towards her face so that their noses were almost touching. He saw the light in her eyes, as excited as he was over the mention of the mystery room. She opened her mouth to say something but looked past his shoulder when Neville cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Right!" She said and pulled away from Draco's grasp. "So I found a fake dementor that we could use to teach Draco how to procure a patronus."

"Wait," Draco stopped her, "I don't need you to teach me." He didn't like the sound of that. He wasn't alright with her, consciously or subconsciously, belittling him because he might not know how to make a patronus charm.

"I didn't mean that." Hermione explained as she pulled the black, human-size statue towards the group of three. "We need practice too, right Neville?" Hermione smiled brightly.

"Yeah of course," Neville stuttered, "we could always use the practice."

"Okay so," Hermione started, taking Draco shoulders and turning him towards the dementor, "I'll show you. Expecto Patronum!" She flicked her wand toward the dementor and a silvery, white otter swam out of her like a part of herself and came towards the standing black mass. The light surrounded it; almost caressing it before it surged forward and the dementor was sent flying backwards. The whole room was cast in the beautiful silver glow and Draco was in awe for the power flowing through the room.

"Okay," she said as the light dimmed and was sucked back into her wand, "it's not hard, trust me, you'll do great" She said it with such conviction that it was hard not to believe her.

"Expecto Patronum!" Draco shouted, trying to remember what he'd been taught in his defense class; think of something incandescently happy.

What happened next surprised him, he watched, almost as if he were far away, as his own power took over. A brilliant white stallion danced in front of him and exploded into the dementor. Draco smiled, proud of the way he'd conquered it his first try, proud of the way Hermione was looking at him admiringly. Neville stood wide-eyed beside him and pointed toward the fallen dementor.

"It took me two years to be able to do that."

"It took me awhile, too." Hermione smiled.

"Five tries is hardly awhile," Neville frowned and crossed his hands over his chest. Hermione shrugged.

"It even took Harry a few times to get it." She smiled and Draco did too.

"Well I am a Malfoy." He held his arms out to the side and she smacked his chest playfully, rolling her eyes.

"Well it's a bit harder to transfigure," she laughed, "and even harder to become a full-fledged animagus."

"If anyone can do it, I can." He continued, laughing when she glared at him.

"It's going to be a long and arduous task. We should get started." She said pulling them both towards the couches that had suddenly appeared in the corner, coffee and hot chocolate on the table in between them. Draco immediately sat down next to Hermione on the fluffy loveseat and didn't notice a problem until she looked at him incredulously. He shrugged and drank deeply from the mug in front of him. Neville coughed and looked away when Draco glared at him. He was really getting tired of the nervous Gryffindor.

"Let's get started…"

Eight hours later, they'd researched every transfiguration spell Hermione had ever learned, plus read up on all the registered animagi in the Wizarding World. Draco was drained and hungry, but every protest he'd made about starving, had her rolling her eyes telling him he'd survive.

"Hermione," he grabbed onto her arm, feigning seriousness, "I need food. It's been eight hours, Hermione, eight. That's a little on the ridiculous side, even for you. Please let me eat."

Hermione rolled her eyes and threw her book on the ground, waking the sleeping Neville in the process.

"Fine," she said, waving her wand over the table. Draco smiled.

"Much better." He approved, digging into the food before him. Hermione made a disgusting sound in the back of her throat.

"What?" Draco asked, "You can't expect me to resist. I am a man, whose been kept from food for eight hours. It's almost as bad as those sexy muggle clothes you-" He stopped before he finished, his butter beer halfway to his mouth.

"What?" Hermione asked, blushing.

"Nothing," Draco murmured. She modestly pulled up her top and cleared her throat, scooting away from him. She pulled her hair back and tied it so that it was low on her neck. Draco's gaze followed the long silver strand leading to the intricate heart resting on her ribcage. It had a hexagon shape in the middle, diamonds covering it, with a large circle in the middle of the hexagon. It looked expensive, even for him.

"Stop staring, Draco." Hermione said after a moment.

"Where'd you get it?" He picked up the locket with his hand, brushing her side as he did so. She shuddered.

"It was my grandmother's. I wear it all the time." She breathed as he caressed the cool metal.

"I've never seen you wear it before."

"It's usually hidden under my sweater." She explained, leaning into him unconsciously.

"Why do you hide it?" He didn't know why he was so curious about it, but something about the beautiful piece of jewelry was just so like Hermione, that Draco had to find out more about it.

"Because it's important to me." She said and Draco looked at her blankly; that didn't make much sense. "My grandmother used it during World War Two to save her husband from annihilation. Before she died, the German soldier gave it back to her because he felt bad. He said that as long as she wore it, her loved ones would be safe. So, I wear it all the time, secretly, because it just feels right that way."

"World War Two?" Draco questioned blankly.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione laughed lightly, "all you need to know is that this necklace saved the man she loved. That's why it's important to me."

"What was her name?"

"Melody, why?" She looked confused; he dropped the locket and held her cheek in his palm.

"Do your parents love each other?" He asked, vulnerably, not caring how weak he sounded.

"Of course, my father adores my mother."

"Oh…" He looked past her, thinking about how far that was from his own parents' relationship.

"Draco," she whispered, bringing his attention back to her, "you have the ability to love, even if your parents don't. I know you don't think so. I know that you've been told something different all your life, but it's the truth."

The mood changed suddenly and he gripped her chin fiercely, almost hurting her.

"Don't think you know me, Granger," He whispered thickly, "don't think you can tell me how I feel."

And with that he walked out, leaving a frowning Hermione behind him.