Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns what she owns. I own nothing but my own life... and I've said the word 'own' too many times. Shit.
A/N: Not my finest work imho... but: Sit back, relax and enjoy. Oh, and review! :)
"Ahem," Hermione looked up from her parchment to see Harry shuffling nervously, blinking at her. She smiled. "Hey, Hermione."
"Fancy seeing you here." She teased, making him roll his eyes as he took the seat next to her. She rolled her parchment up to put it away. "Is everything alright?" Her face twisted up into horror. "You're not behind in classes, are you?"
"No, Hermione." He pacified immediately. Hermione relaxed. "I came to have a chat…" She nodded with a smile. "About Ron." The smile slipped. Her hand went to her chest, feeling the ring against her beating heart.
Draco was in the Slytherin common room, going over Ancient Runes with Theo and managed to keep his face stoic when he felt the ring warm up on his finger for no reason.
Granger? He closed his textbook and told Theo he needed a break. Are you all right? Hermione sighed in relief when she heard his voice.
I'm fine. Sorry for interrupting. Just knowing he was there gave her enough strength and confidence to lean towards Harry to have the dreaded conversation.
"I've already told him off for those awful things he said about you." Harry informed her and she nodded. "I don't know that he is ready to apologize, but there's still a lot of bad blood between the families."
"That's no excuse." Hermione chided, resisting the immediate urge to roll her eyes. "He insulted me and didn't even let me explain."
"I'm just saying that he needs some time to adjust." They joined hands over the table. 'Can you at least give him that?"
Hermione nodded, just wanting to be done with the conversation and Harry got up and walked away. She put her head in her hands, Ron's words rolling around in her head. Bad blood between the families, Harry had said. Although how Ron felt about Draco shouldn't have affected what he thought of her. He should have trusted her or at the very least kept his mouth shut and listened to her. When Hermione looked back up, her elbows were black from her spilled inkwell. She cursed under her breath and righted the bottle before grabbing her wand.
"Scourgify." Her head whipped up and Draco raised his eyebrows at her. "Granger the omnipotent…" He muttered and she rolled her eyes. He sat down and she chanced a glance around the library noting its emptiness. Ms. Pince was asleep at her desk. "Is Weasley going to apologize?"
"No…" Hermione turned in her seat so she could face him. "He's still holding a grudge, and I don't blame him." Draco looked surprised. "You used to be a git."
"I'm still a git, according to Blaise." He answered good-naturedly. "But my being a git, past or present, shouldn't have made him call you names." Hermione shrugged.
"Ron Weasely apparently lives by his own rules."
"I'd applaud him after I smash his face." He replied flippantly. Hermione narrowed her eyes into slits, shaking her head.
"Don't say things like that, I can't tell if you're joking."
"I wasn't." She was about to comment again but he held a hand up. "Something tells me you need a distraction. Come with me." She frowned at him and scoffed.
"Excuse me?" He stood up. "No, Malfoy, I still have two inches of parchment to fill, I can't go off gallivanting with you to Merlin knows where."
"Live a little, Granger."
"I'll live when I pass my NEWTS." She replied immediately, pulling her parchment towards her. Draco snatched it away earning a cry of protest from Hermione.
"We can work on Arithmancy with Theo later. You're coming with me now." She groaned in protest but still stood up.
After casting a disillusionment charm on her, he led her to the seventh floor corridor where she could see a familiar door taking shape. She couldn't help it, she gasped.
Is that?
Yes, it is. He replied, smiling shyly. I spent most of the summer vacation here, repairing it. Took me ages. Hermione's lip trembled as they walked to the door and Draco threw it open with a flourish. The walls of the room were painted beige and it was decorated elegantly with vintage furniture. A glass window occupied an entire wall and Hermione froze in shock as she recognized the city. The Eiffel Tower stood tall in the distance.
"How is this possible?" She breathed, stepping tentatively across the threshold. "We are still in Britain, aren't we?"
"We are…" Draco answered as he took her hand and leading her through the room. "But this is what I told the room I needed." They reached the huge window and he pushed a pane open. She could immediately detect scents that were distinctly Paris, the boulangeries and its fresh bread, spring flowers, cheese and tobacco.
"How is this possible?" She repeated and her voice shook as tears came to her eyes. Paris brought memories of her parents, memories that she'd tried to keep buried for a year.
"This is the parlour room of my mother's apartment in Paris. We're still at Hogwarts; the room can imitate every aspect of this room, right down to the Parisian smells. Even when you close the window." He smiled sadly. "I can smell my mother's favourite perfume." Their gazes met and held for seconds longer than necessary and Hermione turned around to close the window. She stepped away and surveyed the room.
"It looks amazing…" She remarked. "Your mother has excellent taste." He nodded, looking around with her.
"Except when it comes to men, naturally." It was said with a tinge of sadness or bitterness and there was a beat of silence as he strolled to a small couch and sat down. "It might make me seem a little crazy but I come here to feel closer to her." Hermione held her breath. "I just miss her so much…"
"I understand completely." She looked to the window again. "Seeing Paris again is bringing back all sorts of happy memories with my parents. We came here after second year." She smiled fondly moving so she could sit next to him. "I miss them too." Without stopping to analyse her actions, Hermione covered his hand with her own. He glanced at her to see that she was already staring at him. "I needed this, Draco."
"I know."
"Do I even want to know how you figured out that I loved this city?" He pretended to think as she studied his profile. He really was beautiful. She'd noticed it years ago, but his beauty had always seemed so untouchable, especially to her, a muggleborn from an obscure family. But now here he was, telling her his secrets and looking at her like she was something precious to him. She blinked when she realized he was talking to her.
"Now who's the awful friend, Granger?" She stammered. "Can I assume you didn't hear a word of what I just said?" She shook her head, red with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry." Her breathing accelerated and she shuffled closer to him. "I'm just a little distracted. He smirked smugly.
"I'm very distractible." She threw her head back in laughter.
"And arrogant as all hell." He moved their hands so he was clutching hers tightly. They sat in companionable silence. "Thank you for this," Her voice was barely audible. "This almost makes up for everything you put me through in the past…" His eyes widened.
"Really?"
"No." He let out a short bark of laughter and yanked her towards him. She toppled into his lap, laughing loudly as they fought, she tried to get up and he attempted to keep her down. She used the arm rests of the couch as leverage and pulled him down with her. They both caught their breath and simultaneously gasped as they realized their compromising situation. She was on her back and he was on top of her, his legs between hers.
"And your intentions finally become clear." She teased lightly, bringing levity to the situation. "Dragging me from the library for a cheap snog in the come and go room."
"Aptly named then." He grinned. "Get it: Come and go." Hermione's eyes stifled a smile. "And for your information, Granger. There's no such thing as a cheap snog. Not when it comes to you, anyway."
And then he kissed her.
To say that Hermione Granger had never been kissed before would be a lie. She and Victor Krum spent many of her free periods in the Transfiguration Corridor studying and he'd been happy to kiss her for as long as she'd liked. However, she'd never been kissed the way Draco Malfoy was currently kissing her. The kiss made her feel weak in the knees and she was sure that if she wasn't holding onto his shirt, she would have fallen to the floor. It was like a little bomb going off in her head. They parted, breathless, and Hermione said the first thing that came to her mind.
"Well shit, Ron is going to have a cow." Draco pulled himself up and stared at her, incredulously. She righted herself too, and fixed her shirt.
"Gods, Granger, I've just snogged you senseless and your first thought is Weasley?" He rolled his eyes. Hermione felt a small flower of alarm blossom in her chest as he got up and started walking to the door.
"Wait, Draco." He didn't stop. "Jesus, Draco, please." He still continued marching to the door and Hermione stood and whipped her wand out. "Wingardium Leviosa." He yelped as he was lifted off the ground and pulled back towards her.
"Fuck, Granger. Warn a guy."
"I tried to stop you, you pig-headed arsehole." She argued hotly. "It's not my fault I had to resort to less than pleasant methods of stopping you." He narrowed his eyes. "Now will you please listen?" He folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.
"What?" He said after a beat of silence. Hermione had the sense that there was some apologetic speech that could be made about how much she liked him but eventually, she settled for throwing herself into his arms and pulling his lips down to hers.
It felt a little like coming home.