Hermione shivered as she sat down into the booth across from Draco, immediately noticing how the dim lighting caused a series of shadows to dance across his pale skin. She tried her best to steady her breathing, and she hoped that the rosiness in her cheeks had disappeared by now, but she couldn't help the fact that her heart was pounding violently in her chest.
"I didn't take you as a liar, Granger," Draco smirked, drumming his fingers on the dark wooden tabletop.
"A what? We've been here less than 5 minutes and I haven't said a word." She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what he was getting at.
"Oh I know how to get into The Twisted Basilisk, Draco!" He mimicked in a sassy, girly voice that sounded nothing like hers. She could feel the corners of her mouth turning up against her will; she had never seen this playful side of Draco and she liked it.
"Well, I was going to find a way eventually," she shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about it. "I just had to find it in the first place." At that moment a figure approached their table, its chin just barely clearing the height of the raised booth. Hermione would have called it human but it only looked to be half that; its features looked more like a goblin.
"Anything to drink?" He croaked, his beady eyes narrowing when they landed on Hermione. Clearly Draco didn't seem phased by them, but Hermione was just now realizing what a risky and unfamiliar situation she was in.
"We'll have two Nightflowers, please." Draco said, sliding him a galleon. The creature gave him a cold laugh.
"Sorry pal, might want to wait a few more years and maybe grow a beard before you can have that."
Draco narrowed his eyes and slid a few more galleons across the table, and the thing hesitated for a moment before snatching them up and scurrying off.
"I can order for myself, you know," Hermione said irritably. "I don't even know what's in whatever the hell a Nightflower is."
"Trust me, you'll love it. Now anyways, aren't you curious to know why I asked you here?" He arched one eyebrow, and she was almost positive that he knew she couldn't fight her curiosity much longer.
"Fine." She said, dropping the issue of the drinks. "So why did you need to see me here so urgently?"
He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by two large frothing glasses being slammed down on the table in front of them. "Enjoy," the thing said, hobbling away.
Hermione eyed the drinks on the table in front of her, feeling equally cautious and fascinated. The top half was a translucent, sky blue liquid that progressively darker as it went down, turning midnight blue and then navy and then an inky black…and at the very bottom there were tiny little silver flecks in it. "Draco this looks like…"
"Don't you want to hear what I have to say?" He cut her off quickly.
"I do but I also want to know what this is made of," she was getting more agitated now, wondering why she was here and what she was doing and had gotten herself into. Her mind took off, trying to figure out how to remove herself and get back to safety. Her thoughts were interrupted by Draco.
"Hey. Hey it's okay, I just need you to trust me." He said in a calm, steady tone. She immediately felt her muscles relax and she looked up at his face. It no longer looked cold and hard like it had the past 5 years she had known him…his features had softened and genuine concern for her showed on his face. "It's gonna be okay. I know the drink looks like the Dimentare potion from earlier, I know. They're derived from the same plant but this has different properties, I promise." He spoke in such a reassuring tone she felt almost as though she had no choice but to trust and listen to him. After all, why would he be telling her this if he didn't want her to know the contents of the drink?
"Alright, I trust you." She said, and the second she spoke the words it felt like an invisible partition between them shattered, disappearing with all her inhibitions.
"Good," he smiled, lifting his glass to hers. With a shaky hand she raised hers as well, and they clinked together cheerfully. "Bottoms up," he tipped the contents down his throat and she followed suit, realizing that he wouldn't drink anything that would harm himself. It was a shocking taste at first, burning her mouth, but after a few seconds it developed into the sweetest taste she had ever experienced, leaving her feeling warm and relaxed inside.
"Not bad," she took another sip and Draco grinned at this. "Now can you finally tell me?"
"Yes, I can. First of all, I had to ask you so suddenly because I needed to speak to you alone and undisturbed. If people saw us talking they would obviously ask too many questions, especially Harry and Ron." Draco laughed a little at this, and Hermione felt herself grow a little defensive.
"So what they look out for me? It's not like you've treated us well." She countered, siding with her two best friends. Draco sighed heavily and took another sip of his drink.
"I know that Granger, but can you believe me when I say people change? In case you don't remember Harry and Ron weren't always the nicest to you either." Hermione realized he was right, there was a point in time where they had avoided spending time with her and teased her behind her back. And it was true Draco was being nicer than usual…
"Okay fine, well what did you need to tell me so urgently?"
"You're the smartest witch I know. You're the top of our class, one of the brightest students Hogwarts has had in years…" he paused, looking up from the table into her eyes. They were strikingly grey, and his entire demeanor was very fitting for the snowy winter scene that she could see in the window to the side of them. "I need your help." She realized now that his eyes were pleading; he looked almost scared.
"With what?" She took a larger gulp of her drink, now thoroughly enjoying the shock of the burn and the sweetness that soothed it.
"My family. My father specifically. Now that Voldemort's back, my father is even more roped into doing these horrible things and I'm supposed to go down the same path, and I just can't do that. I can't be who he wants me to be but if I don't it's going to be terrible and I don't know what to do and I need you to help me figure it out."
The words tumbled out of his mouth so rapidly Hermione could hardly keep up, but his face looked so earnest and fearful that she knew she needed to do something for him. She felt an immense care for this boy, who she had hated for so long, rising up inside of her. He finished the rest of his drink, as did she, and for a long time they just watched each other. She knew what a risky undertaking it would be; she had no clue where to even begin. Finally she dipped her head, indicating a nod.
"I'll help you."
A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little longer than the others! I really hope you guys enjoy it. Remember to comment and thank you guys so much for all the support!