Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writing "fanfiction" if I owned Harry Potter, would I?
Chapter 9: Together Forever?
Draco walked into the common room, and the first thing he was Hermione's frail figure huddling under a blanket, in the corner of the room.
At first glance, she seemed to be cold and was seeking warmth from her blanket, but with closer inspection, Draco realised that she was crying. Seeing her small frame in a corner, body shivering and wracked with sobs, Draco's heart broke into two. She had so much weight, so much troubles and she still kept all her feelings bottled up and hid her cries, just so that no one would worry about her.
"Stupid girl," Draco whispered to himself, as he felt a tear fall from his eye. All he wanted to do right then was to go up to her and embrace her, console her. He wanted to just sit there with her, enjoying the silence of the night. He wanted to cradle her, just like a baby, and apologise, and then they would fall asleep right there happily, her in his arms.
But he could not. He couldn't. All because of his stupid pride. Draco cursed, and walked towards his room. The moment his hand made contact with the doorknob, he heard a soft thump.
He spun around, only to be greeted by the sight of Hermione Granger, body on the floor, her hair splayed around. Her eyes were closed, and she was deathly pale, but even then, Draco thought her beautiful.
It was no time to think about all this, Draco realised, as he snapped out of his reverie.
"Hermione!" he yelled, rushing up to her. He shook her shoulders, but she gave no response. At that, Draco swiftly picked her up, and carried her bridal style, all the way to the Hospital Wing. He burst through the doors hastily.
"Madame Pomfrey!" he bellowed, and almost immediately, the old matron bustled through her office doors.
"Oh dear, what do we have here," Madame Pomfrey frowned. "I really have to talk to the girl about her excessive appearances here. For now, just lay her on the bed and I will examine her." Draco's eyes widened when she mentioned about Hermione's many trips to the wing. He felt bothered that Hermione was hurt so many times.
As the medi-witch examined Hermione, Draco paced around, outside of the drawn curtains around Hermione's bed, thoughts running through his head like a river.
Soon, she emerged from behind the curtains.
"She'll be absolutely fine Mr Malfoy. She just fainted from exhaustion. I'd expect she'd overworked herself," Madame Pomfrey said. "Now, shoo Mr Malfoy. I'm locking up for the night."
"Can, I stay, please? Just for one night, only one night?" Draco turned on his charms, and tried persuading her to allow him to accompany Hermione throughout the night.
"Well, I guess you can. But, only for tonight." Madame Pomfrey said sternly.
"Thank you, my dear woman," Draco said, kissing her on the cheek, making her blush.
"I'll be in my office, if anyone needs me. Oh, and by the way, since you'll be here, could you tell Miss Granger here to drink this pepper-up potion when she wakes? She'll need it," Madame Pomfrey told Draco, and turned to her office to retire for the night.
Draco nodded in assent and moved to sit beside Hermione's bed. He picked up her hand and held it in his. A tear rolled down his cheek, as he looked on at Hermione's peaceful, but pale, sleeping face.
"Hermione, love, I never meant to say all that. I'm sorry for all I did, for accusing you wrongly, for teasing you. I know this apology is not much amends for what I did to you, but I truly am sorry…" Draco said to her, tears starting to flow a little more freely. He placed a little kiss on the middle of her forehead, and sat back down, her hand still in his, to watch her sleep.
Slowly, fatigue overcame him. He gladly welcomed the notion of having some rest, and, laying his head down beside Hermione, slept.
Hermione woke up feeling groggy, but did not open her eyes. Regardless of that, she could sense that it was nighttime, and all was dark.
Just then, she heard some murmurings.
"…love, I never meant to say all that. I'm sorry for all I did, for accusing you wrongly, for teasing you. I know this apology is not much amends for what I did to you, but I truly am sorry…" She felt a kiss being planted on her forehead, and the figure moving to sit back into the chair. She had a feeling it was Draco.
At that very moment, Hermione felt the most content that she had ever felt, since the last time she could remember, and a small smile appeared on her face, as she again entered into deep slumber…
The next morning, Hermione awoke, feeling much more refreshed. As she sat up, she spotted a blond mop of hair right beside her. She smiled, once again, as the memories of the night before came rushing back to her.
Looking at Draco fondly, she reached out and tousled his hair affectionately.
At that, he shifted and sat up, yawning loudly, his arms stretched right out.
"Finally up, sleepy head?" Hermione giggles.
Draco blushes, but doesn't retort. Instead he smiled and spoke to her.
"You feeling better?" he said, as Hermione nodded to him. "Well then, you'd better take this pepper-up potion."
She again nodded, as she gulped down the potion, and immediately felt the potion take effect. She sighed in content, "That's even better."
"Um, Hermione, I, ah, I don't suppose y-you remember anything f-from last night, d-do you?" Draco managed to get out in a stammer.
"Well that's a first! Draco Malfoy, stuttering! That'd be lifetime blackmail," Hermione said amusedly, as Draco glared at her. As they both stared at each other, they burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation, breaking the tension that was hanging around them.
"But seriously, did you?" Draco asked seriously, putting an end to their laughter.
Hermione sighed and leaned forward. She closed her eyes and placed a kiss on his lips. Soon, she pulled away.
"How's that for an answer?" she smirked.
"Hmm…" Draco rubbed his chin, in mock consideration of Hermione's actions. "I guess I'll just have to take that as a yes."
Both grinned in delight. This time, Draco took the initiative and pulled Hermione to him, planting his lips onto hers. Hermione sank into his embrace, just enjoying the moment.
Draco then ended the kiss, and said, "Well, Hermione, I'll just have to teach you to stop eavesdropping on others then. Didn't your parents ever tell you that it's rude to do that?"
Hermione slapped him playfully on the shoulder, as they both started laughing again. They had never felt happier.
Note: This was a huge truckload of sappiness! Hope you enjoyed it, keep on reviewing! Thanks to all my reviewers and to all who haven't reviewed, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Longest chap ever!
xoxo Chloe
