"Hey, where's Harry?" Hermione asks Ron as she pulls her bag off her shoulder and sets it on the floor.
"He has some type of lessons with Snape" Ron responds tossing a Bertie Bott's bean in the air.
"What for?" Hermione scrunches her nose.
"Occlumency" Harry groans plopping down next to Ron on the couch.
"Occlumency?"
"Yeah, it's some mind reading thing" Ron pipes up.
"Ronald, that's Legilimency. Occlumency is closing one's mind." Hermione rolls her eyes. Ron shrugs and tosses another jelly bean in the air and catches it in his mouth.
" Yeah. Snape came before school started saying how Dumbledore wanted me to learn and I thought it would be lessons with him, but instead I have to take these lessons with Snape" Harry grumbles and takes a few jelly beans for himself.
"Sorry mate, at least you got a date now with Cho" This puts a smile on Harry's face.
"Oh?" Hermione cocks her head in Harry's direction.
"Yeah, I finally got up the nerve to ask her out for Valentine's Day" Harry grins sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck.
"Oh that's great Harry. Where are you two meeting?" Hermione feigns interest.
"Madam Puddifoot's" Hermione nods and picks off the invisible lint from her skirt.
"I'm going to head up" Harry announces and leaves.
"So um, Hermione" Ron clears his throat.
"Well goodnight" Hermione walks away before Ron says another word.
"Would you like to go somewhere for Valentine's Day?" Ron mumbles softly as he watches her walk away.
"Harry! Ron!" Hermione shouts frantically as they approach her in the Great Hall.
"What's going on?" Harry furrows his brows as he takes a seat across from her.
"Look!" Hermione snaps open her folded Daily Prophet and shoves it under Harry's nose.
"That must be why Voldemort was so happy"
"What do you mean?" Ron asks as Hermione withdraws the paper.
"Well, I felt my scar burning and I saw his thoughts again and he was ecstatic about something, I guess this is it" Harry points at the newspaper.
Hermione mumbles something under her breath and leaves the table. She is in such a rush that she isn't watching where she's going and she crashes right into Draco.
"Oh!" Hermione exclaims and loses her balance. Draco's arm flinch to steady her so she doesn't fall, but stops himself, remembering where he is. They're no longer in the privacy of his home.
"Watch it Mudblood" Vincent Goyle sneers at her.
Vincent and Gregory walk off, stepping on her paper. Draco lags behind, wanting to help her up behind his friends backs, but decides against it.
Did I really expect him to act differently just because of what happened?
Hermione picks herself up and her paper and continues back to her dorm.
Since Narcissa Malfoy came back unexpectedly, Draco was even more careful with Hermione. He hardly left her side. They had spent most of their time in her room, and he even had the house-elves set up a bed for him to sleep in her room, in case someone came and sneak attacked her while he was upstairs in his room.
"Why do you care so much?" Hermione asked one day while they were sitting in her room. Draco had been reading and froze when she asked that.
"Malfoy?"
"I don't" Draco said icily.
"Then why are you sleeping in here?" Hermione asked smartly, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.
"This is my home, I am welcome to sleep wherever. I am leaving" Draco stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Hermione couldn't help but crack a smile. Later that night, Hermione heard him creep back into the room and plopped himself down in a chair.
"Why don't you sleep?" She called out but was responded with silence.
Hermione didn't want to admit it, but it was kind of nice. She didn't know what she would even do if Narcissa came back again. Or worse, Lucius. But Narcissa obviously had respected Draco's wishes and didn't tell his father about Hermione, since neither one of them ever came back before they went back to school.
Draco leans back in his seat and props his feet up on the desk. For once, he's happy about his tutoring lessons with Hermione. He got away from Pansy just in time. Valentine's Day is in a few days and she was bothering in about it.
"Ahem" Hermione comes in and knocks his feet off the table.
"Rare that you're here before me" Hermione checks the wall clock to see if she's late. She's not.
"Been hiding out"
"Why?" Hermione pulls out her homework planner.
"Pans-" Draco stops himself. He knows everyone thinks they're together and he's not sure if he wanted Hermione to think he isn't.
"Why are you hiding from her? Isn't she your girlfriend?"
"Something about Valentine's Day" Draco groans.
"So, what are your plans?" Draco asks clearing his throat.
"Oh, I'm meeting Harry at Three Broomsticks-" Hermione catches herself before saying another word.
"Oh" Draco bites the inside of his cheek. Something about that rubs him the wrong way.
"Um, yeah. So let's start." Hermione flips open a book but Draco's too upset to work and shoves the book off the table.
"Uh, okay, what's your issue?" Hermione bends to pick up the book and Draco puts his feet back up on the table.
"I am not in the mood for your bratty behavior, Malfoy." She snaps.
Draco sighs inwardly and reluctantly removes his feet. As upset as he is about her meeting up with Potter, he didn't want her to leave. Especially since he's trying to avoid Pansy. Plus, ever since her stay at his manor, he wants to be with her even more so, to sort of watch over her.
"So how was your date?" Hermione asks as the two gets up to leave. Hermione had gotten Harry an interview with Rita Skeeter and it just ended. Harry shakes his head at her question and groans.
"What happened?" The two of them snake their way to the door.
"Well, she got all upset because I said I was meeting you." Harry frowns.
"Harry! She probably thinks you like me! Why did you say it like that?"
"Well then, how was I suppose to say it?" As they walk together, Hermione spots a blond head out the corner of her eye.
"I don't know, but you should've said it in a way that you didn't want to, how it's such a hassle to have to meet up with me. You should've reassured her there's no attraction between us, that you think I'm ugly or something. She's insecure" Hermione says quickly.
"You're not ugly" Harry interrupts causing Hermione to blush.
Seeing her smiling and blushing at something Harry said, Draco drapes his around Pansy's shoulder, bringing her in closer to him. Hermione catches this and steps in closer to Harry and the two walk out the door.
"Draco" Pansy coos and nuzzles his neck.
Draco takes a swig of his drink and walks out after them.
"Where's Potter?" His voice startles her. She turns to see him looking around for Harry.
"Why?" Draco shrugs.
"Didn't think he would just abandon his date, so ill mannered"
"He's not my date and where's Pansy?" Hermione smirks.
"Then why were you two together?" Hermione didn't know why, but it sounds like he's upset. Maybe she's overthinking it.
"Why does it matter?"
"It doesn't" An awkward silence falls upon them. The two stand there, unsure if they should walk back into school or not.
"Um, so did you hear about the news?" Hermione tries to break the uncomfortable silence.
"What?"
"The Death Eaters breaking out of Azkaban."
"Isn't that old news?" Draco raises a brow at Hermione who shrugs. She's just trying to make conversation.
"So, do you think there will be Dementors?"
"What?"
"Well, the last time there was a Azkaban outbreak, there were Dementors at the school" Hermione says carefully.
"Do you think they'll be here again this time?" Draco shakes his head in disagreement but Hermione thinks otherwise. She can't help but remember how Dementors were here when Sirius had escaped, and how they were after Harry just this past summer. She couldn't help shake the feeling that they will be back.
Just then, she starts to feel an unnatural cold surrounding her.
"Oh bloody hell" Draco mutters. Hermione spins around to see a dark floating object in the sky.
"Run!" Draco grabs Hermione's hand as he runs towards the school but the figure quickly swoops down closer to them. Draco fumbles with his wand and drops it on the floor. Hermione draws her wand and points it at the figure.
"Ex-expecto P-patronum" She calls. Nothing. She can hear the figure drawing in air in a sucking sound as screams fill her ears.
They feed off of fear. She shakes her head and tries to concentrate.
"Happiest memory, happiest memory" She points her wand again.
"Expecto Patronum!" A burst of smoke shoots out from the tip of her wand causing the Dementor to stop.
"How do you know how to do that?" Draco asks standing behind Hermione.
"No time to explain, it won't hold the Dementor off." Just as she says it, the smoke is gone and the Dementor is coming back towards them even faster.
"Oh bollocks." Draco mutters. Hermione takes aim Smiling, she turns her attention back to the Dementor.
"Expecto Patronum!" An otter springs out from the tip of her wand.
"Woah" Draco stares as the Dementor swoops down at the otter.
"Come on!" Hermione tugs on his sleeve and the two hurry back to the school.
"So, I just saved your life" Hermione pants and Draco gives her a slight shove.
"Oh I have to tell Harry and Dumbledore!" Hermione runs off leaving Draco behind.