(a/n): Pretend the room of requirement has no restrictions because it makes for a better storyline xx

Draco wasn't sure why he was so broken about the fact that Granger was going on a date with her boyfriend. They'd practically been dating since the first year, or at least that's what everyone assumed. Maybe he just hoped that something would change between them after their abrupt kiss the other day. Now, pacing the empty corridors alone, he realized how naïve he was.

What part of him thought that one kiss after years of bullying would make up for anything? His family and the man they had been loyal to tried to kill her and her friends. Draco knew they could never be together. She was forgiving, but he would need to spend the rest of his life making it all up to her. And for the first time, he felt like he would be okay with doing that for someone.

All the Head Boy wanted to do was head back out onto the quidditch pitch and practice. While he spent most of his evenings training with his team, the nights he had off felt empty and meaningless. How great would it be to have something else to make his life worthwhile?

What was the worst thing that could happen if he left the corridors unattended for a few minutes? Well… a lot of things could, but he was hoping none of them would be too bad. So he set off for the pitch after an hour of boring patrolling where he realized he went in a complete circle. Heading down a corridor of the seventh floor, his footsteps fill the empty space.

Draco suddenly stops short, straining his ears to hear a faint noise. It sounded like a song; one vaguely familiar. As he slowly stepped closer to the unknown source, he began to fill with a joyous feeling; one he would almost call 'love.' The blonde-haired wizard's interest abruptly increases as he realizes the song is Something by The Beatles. Who else would play that, other than Granger?

He gazes at the wall he recognizes all too well. The door to the room of requirement. Draco begins to think of the first thing that pops into his head; Hermione. Pacing in front of the door three times, it slides open quietly to reveal a dark red, almost gothic room. Even with the solid rock wall out of the way, the record still seems distant. Taking another few steps into the large area, he notices a spiraling staircase in the corner.

A part of Draco was incredibly happy that he decided to go up the stairs. The other part was disgusted at what he laid his eyes on.

A significantly smaller room was connected to the staircase, with the same dark color scheme. The only thing in this one was a large bed, most likely a queen-size that took up the majority of the floor space. On top of it, half undressed, laid Granger with her Weasel boyfriend. The floorboard squeaked underneath his shiny black boots, and the couple looks over at him in shock.

"Merlin!" he swears, moving to cover his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Weasel yells at him.

"I don't… think you're in a position to be asking me questions."

"I'm in a position to have sex with my girlfriend."

Draco rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, that's going to have to wait. I need Granger for something."

After another painfully awkward minute of fighting –Draco averting his eyes to the boring wall and away from the couple- Granger told him to wait downstairs, and came down a minute later. "What do you need me for?" she asks.

"Patrolling. I need to train."

She squints at him, not quite understanding, but continues to follow him out into the corridor.

"You were losing your virginity?" Draco suddenly asks, needing to know the answer.

She coughs awkwardly. "Is it really your place to know?"

"Yes. We kissed two days ago and you avoided me. I deserve some answer."

Granger crosses her arms. "Okay, yes. I was about to lose my virginity, but that plan is ruined." She pauses, like she's debating on her next sentence. "I'm rather relieved."

Draco stops in his tracks for the second time that night, turning to look at Granger. She crashes into his chest, practically squeaking as she does so. He takes a step back, holding her hands in his. She gazes up, her beautiful, bright brown eyes wide as they look into his rather dull grey ones. "Listen to me, okay?" he asks, never breaking their intense eye contact.

"You don't need to do something you don't want to do. No matter what. If they try to push you toward it, or guilt you into it, they aren't worth it. Understood?" Draco knew he was being intense, but he hated to think about how Granger was more likely to put others' wishes before her own. He hated to think about how close the Weasel had been to getting her to completely give herself over to him, especially when she wasn't ready.

Weasel really was a weasel.

"Understood," Granger speaks quietly, giving a small nod of her head.

Draco clears his throat. "Alright. Er—do you want to go with me?"

"Where?"

"Down to the pitch. I need to get out of here or I'll… Merlin, I don't know, but whatever it is won't be pretty." Draco runs a hand through his disheveled blonde hair. The stone walls on either side of him seemed to be growing closer by the second, causing his breath to grow shaky.

Granger appeared concerned as small beads of sweat formed on his forehead, even though he was only standing in one place. "Yeah, let's go."

Draco was surprised that she'd agreed so quickly, but he figured she probably just wanted to make sure he didn't faint on the way down. Even after everything, she looked out for him. He loved her.

The Heads walk down the corridor, Granger a few feet behind him due to the fact that he was practically running there. This one night off made him realize just how hooked on the sport he was; so much, in fact, that it was more than just a series of games. It helped him stay calm. It gave him something else to think about. Without it, the only thoughts swirling in his mind were dark and depressing. Draco didn't want to go back to that place again.

It took the pair nearly fifteen minutes to get down to the quidditch pitch without being seen. They both knew there would be consequences if they were caught, especially since it was after curfew now. Draco would have left Granger outside while he changed into his uniform, but he didn't want to leave her alone in the middle of the night. Practically pulling her into the Slytherin locker room, he told her to sit on the bench between the rows of lockers. "Stare if you want to. I wouldn't blame you," he smirks, and she rolls her eyes and turns her back to him.

Draco stripped down to his boxers, tugging on his tight pants and warm fitted long-sleeve shirt. He skipped out on the protective aspects of his uniform because he wasn't going to be using bludgers or even taking out the snitch.

When the muscular boy turned back to Granger, she was still facing away from him. As he walked over, he saw a deep blush on her face. "I'm done," he informed her.

"O-okay," she stutters out quietly. What Draco had failed to realize was that Granger was sitting in front of the mirror, and her eyes had never left his body.

He wondered if she was just nervous about breaking a school rule. That was probably it. The only reason she'd ever broken rules was when she was saving her best friends' lives. That was a pretty good excuse.

Draco grabbed his Nimbus from the equipment room, leading Granger back into the pitch. The stars, lightyears away, shone brightly above them. "Care for a ride?" he asks her.

She bites her lip, crossing her arms as the wind picks up around the pair. "I don't know… I don't like heights."

"You can hang on to me," he offers. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"…Promise?"

"I promise."

She gradually agrees, sitting sideways due to her dress, behind Draco. He feels her dainty arms wrap around him, nearly taking his breath away. He was alright, though, because after seeing Granger underneath the moonlight, Draco's breath was long gone.

When she was situated, Draco kicked off from the ground. She let out a small scream as they started out shaky, but became silent besides her short breathing as the castle they both called home became small in the horizon. The stars seemed to grow closer and the moon is bigger now than it was on the wet grass.

They fly away from the pitch, towards the sparkling lights of Hogsmeade. The cool air whips at his hair, pushing it down on his scalp. The only thing he could focus on was Granger's hands pressed against his muscular stomach, only a thin piece of fabric between their skin. Maybe it was good that Draco couldn't see her sitting behind him. He might start to love her even more, and do something stupid like kiss her again.

Draco tilted the broom down to fly nearer to the quiet town, close enough to see the people on the street. Granger grips him tighter. "I feel like I'm going to fall," she groans, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"Maybe then, you'd know how it feels," he says under his breath, looking back and admiring her. Raising his voice, loud enough to hear over the wind whipping past them, he says, "You won't. I think it feels more freeing than scary."

"You've been doing this for years. I flew once," she reasons. "Seven years ago."

"You'll get used to it."

Granger doesn't say anything after that. Maybe because of the fact that he was dipping down closer to the surface of the Earth, on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. "Get ready to land," he warns, bending his knees and bracing for the impact. The two of them hit the ground with a loud thud, and they step off the broom. Draco takes it in his right hand, leading Granger down the cobblestone street.

"It's nearly midnight, Malfoy. We have to get back to school soon," Granger speaks up, rushing to keep up with his long strides. Draco stops in the middle of the town, near the circular gold fountain. The water colors rotate between the four houses' colors, streaks shooting from the center of it. The Head Boy sits against the two-foot wall keeping the water on the bottom of the fountain.

Granger stands at his feet. "What are we doing here?"

Honestly, he didn't know, himself. So, he said the only thing he could conjure up in his mind. The only thought he could put into words. "I just needed to get out. Away."

Granger nods in understanding, lowering herself down next to him. "Sometimes it feels . . . claustrophobic, mentally. Like there's no place to get away from anything there."

Draco glanced over at the pretty girl sitting beside him. Her eyes were sparkling in a different way, this time. They were filled with tears threatening to spill over and slide down her cheeks. And if they chose to, Draco would wipe them away for her.

The Head Boy couldn't tear his eyes from her own. They reflected the bright moonlight shining down on them. He saw flecks of beautiful gold among the dark brown. He could stare into them forever.

The stars were luminous and breathtaking, but Hermione Granger's eyes could dull them with no effort. And that was exactly what he told her in the next letter.