Part XIV:

Someone to Watch over Me:

After they ate, Hermione and Draco went upstairs. She didn't want to go into their dorm, let alone go anywhere near her room. The Ministry had stationed Aurors all around the school. The Headmistress told Draco and Hermione there would be no more amateur sleuthing on their part. They were to let the Aurors handle everything from that point on.

Draco said the new password to admit them to their corridor, and he started through the doorway, but Hermione held back. "I don't want to go in there," she said. He understood. "Where do you want to go?" he asked. He would take her anywhere.

"Can we go to the Manor?" she asked.

He wasn't expecting that. He didn't want to go there. He would rather stay here, with the demons of the present, rather than be there with the ghosts of the past. "We'll be safe here. We have a new password and the Aurors will be lurking around. Come on, Granger, let's go in our dorm. Don't let them win." He took her hand and dragged her through the portrait way.

She walked slowly behind him, still holding his hand. They passed her room first. Professor McGonagall had Padma's room made up for Hermione to stay in for the night. It was two doors down from her room. Draco would be staying in Neville's which was across the hall. The elves were working to make their rooms presentable again, and were trying to salvage what they could from their possessions, but it wasn't very much. Draco had already sent out an order for new textbooks for both of them. He had also Owled one of the house elves from the Manor, for them to send him some clothing and personal effects. He also gave them a list of things to buy for Hermione: clothing, undergarments, toiletries, etc.

Draco said, "We should go to the common room. Professor McGonagall said she would have the elves put our things in there. Let's go see what they were able to salvage from our rooms." Hermione shook her head no.

"I don't care. I don't want anything from there," she complained. She leaned against the wall, and then slid down it, to sit on the floor.

She looked like a little lost girl, who couldn't find her way home. She reminded him of the little girl in the portrait on their door. He knelt beside her and said, "Do you mind if I go look?"

She sighed and said, "No, you go, I'll be in Padma's room." She stood back up, and walked slowly into Padma's room, dragging her hand along the wall as she went. She opened the door slowly, perhaps afraid of what she might find inside, and then she sat on the bed. She just sat there...numb.

Draco went to the common room. There were a few of their things on the table. The elves were able to use magic to repair furniture and bedding, so those things were still in their rooms. He would look in his room later, to see if they were successful in cleaning it up. He picked through some jewellery, must be Hermione's, and he saw a couple of pictures that was hers as well. He really didn't have many personal things here at school, so he didn't have many items that needed saving. He picked up Hermione's things, put them in a box that was left on the table and took them to Padma's room. He laid the box on the floor and sat down next to her. She leaned into his shoulder and put her arms around his neck.

"I want to go home," she decided. "I always considered Hogwarts my home, but not anymore. I want to write to my parents, and tell them I'm coming home for the holidays after all. Will you come up to the Owlery with me? I'm afraid to go up there by myself. I'm not sure how I'll arrange to get all the way to Australia, but even if I have to take a Muggle airplane, I will."

He didn't want her to go. He would miss her and be terribly lonely without her, but not everything was about him. He had never realized that before. He had always been a very selfish boy, but thanks to Hermione, he had learned finally to be selfless, instead of selfish. He would help her to go home.

Draco said, "Maybe Mr. Weasley can arrange an international portkey for you. I would hate for you to have to take a Muggle airplane by yourself, and it would be such a long trip. We should write to him as well. I'm sure Padma has some parchment here on her desk." He started to look for parchment and quill.

"Draco," Hermione stood and took his arm, "I don't want to go by myself. I want you to go with me. I meant I wanted us to go home."

That's what she meant? She wanted him to go with her? What would her parents think? Had she ever told them anything about him? All these years, surely she had told her parents how much he had teased and tormented her, or how he had called her Mudblood, and now, she wanted him to go home with her.

"Have you ever told your parents anything about me?" he asked, guardedly.

"Well, I told them I was dating someone," she stated.

"I mean, over the years, had you ever mentioned me?" He wanted her to understand, but it was hard to ask.

She did understand and she said, "Oh, Malfoy, don't be so silly. I told you, I've always kept the two worlds separate. They don't really know much of anything. They will like you. They're wonderful people, and I can't go home without you."

Hermione wanted to go home, but home was with Malfoy, and if he did not come with her, she would stay here. She once thought of Hogwarts as home. It was only a few months ago, on the train coming back here that she felt as if she was finally coming home, but now she didn't know what to think. She now realized home was where the heart was, and her heart was with Draco.

She sat down at Padma's desk and started to compose letters to her parents and to Mr. Weasley. Draco was still not convinced that he should go with her, but he sat on the edge of the desk, and watched her write her letter. She spilled some ink on the first letter, and opened the top drawer to get some more parchment. She didn't see any, so she opened the next drawer. There, she found more than just parchment. She found several letters, identical to the ones she had received earlier, on the same type of parchment, in the same handwriting. She looked at the letters pensively, and drew them from the drawer. Draco said, "What do you have there? Love letters from Terry to Padma?" and he laughed.

She handed the letters to him, he took them, and jumped down from the desk. He recognized them immediately as well.

"What do you think this means?" Hermione asked. "Do you think she's been receiving letters as well?"

"No, for this one is addressed to you," he discovered, opening one to read what it said. "They're all to you." He opened them all to see, and indeed, there were nine letters in all, all addressed to Hermione, and all saying dreadful, threatening things.

Hermione stood up from the desk so fast, she knocked the chair over. "We have to take these to the Aurors. Someone planted them in here, just like when they planted them in your room," she surmised.

"Maybe Padma's involved," Draco stated.

"No, she couldn't be. I was a dorm mate with her sister for six years, and I had gotten to know her pretty well too, she wouldn't do this. What reason would she have?" Hermione began to walk around the little room, shaking her head.

Draco started opening other drawers, to search for other things as well.

Hermione came up and slammed a drawer from Padma's dresser shut that he had just opened and said, "No, we can't snoop around her room."

"You and Justin searched my room; you had no moral code concerning that," he pointed out.

"That was to prove your innocence," she reasoned.

"Maybe I want to prove Patil's innocence, ever thought of that?" he asked, although nothing was further from the truth.

He went to open her trunk and Hermione sat down on it before he could open it.

"Move, Granger," he ordered, standing in front of her with his hands on his hips.

"No, this isn't right, I don't feel right about this," she stated. Draco bent down, picked her up and threw her on the bed. Before she could get off the bed, Draco had the trunk open. He looked in the trunk, and then looked at Hermione with a look of indignation. Hermione scrambled off the bed and came to stand beside him. Inside Padma's trunk was every letter Hermione had thought she had sent all year, as well as all the letters she would have received. Hermione stooped to look in the trunk, and even saw the letters she had just received the previous day from her parents and Harry. Also inside were the pearl necklace Hermione wore on the night of the dance, a book she thought she lost, her hairbrush, one of her quill, and several other items Hermione had given up as lost.

Pack up all your Cares and Woes:

Draco started taking everything that he assumed was Hermione's out of the trunk. Hermione helped him by saying, "That's mine," or "No, that's not mine." When he was done, he placed everything in her box. He took the letters and put them in the box as well. He wasn't taking everything to the Aurors though, as Hermione suspected. He walked out of Padma's room, with Hermione close on his heels, and he took the box into Neville's room. "We'll both spend the night here, and then hopefully by tomorrow, our rooms will be put back to rights. I don't think there's any need to go to Australia now, unless you still want to. After all, we'll be safe, since Patil's gone until after break."

"Draco, that's fine, we can stay here, but I still don't think she's responsible, and I think we need to take these things to the Aurors." She went to pick up the box off Neville's bed.

He grabbed her wrist and said, "No, we aren't telling anyone. I think I have an idea who's behind this, and while I agree it's not Patil, I still think we should wait and see what else happens. I promise I'll protect you." He held her by her shoulders, and had a very stern look on his face. She couldn't understand why he didn't want the Aurors to know, but she would respect his wishes, for now. She sat down and started looking through the box. After fifteen minutes, she announced that she needed to take a shower.

"I don't know if they managed to salvage any of my pajamas or not," she stated. Draco started looking through Neville's drawers and she said, "What is it with you snooping in everyone's things?"

"I'm trying to find you something to wear, but if you want to go naked, I don't mind," he joked as he finally pulled out a flannel nightshirt, and drawstring pants. "You take the bottoms and I'll take the top," he said smiling.

She grabbed the top from him and headed toward the showers. He stuck his head out the door and said, "No, I said, I'll take the top," but she was already in the girl's bathroom. He laughed and headed toward the boy's bathroom, with the flannel bottoms in his hand.

Hermione arrived to Neville's room before Draco. Was he serious when he said they should both stay there? What did he mean? Was he implying that they should "sleep together" or just sleep together? Hermione decided there was only one way to find out, so even though it was only eight at night, Hermione headed to Neville's little bed, pulled down the covers, and climbed in. She felt ridiculous just laying there. She felt like some slag. She tried to climb back out of the bed when Draco took that moment to walk in the tiny room.

"Are you getting in bed or getting out, Granger?" he asked with a sly smile. He had on Neville's sleeping pants, and a white t-shirt.

"I, well, I was cold, but then, I thought I should go elsewhere, and then I thought…" she was rambling. She was on her knees, on the bed, and the covers were pulled down. He looked at her with a look she wasn't completely aware of what it meant, but she felt more of an idiot than ever.

He sat on the bed and pushed her back to a seated position. She tried to reach for the covers, but he had his hand on her ankle, which was slowing moving up her leg.

"I didn't think you would take me serious when I said we should both stay in here tonight." He avoided the word 'sleep' because sleeping was the last thing on his mind.

"I didn't," she lied.

"Sure, you didn't," he said back, nodding his head up and down. His hand was now on her knee. He let it slip further up, to her thigh. His thumb was still moving back and forth, although his hand was no longer moving. She immediately folded her legs in front of her and put one of Neville's pillows on her lap. He removed his hand and laughed out loud. "Do you think that big bad pillow will protect you from me?"

"Do I need protecting from you?" she asked.

"You might, if you plan to sleep here with me," he declared with one eyebrow raised. He reached for the pillow and they had a little tug of war. He won. He threw the pillow over his shoulder. Hermione got up on her knees, and scooted back up against the headboard. The wall was on one side and Draco was on the other.

He got up on his knees on the bed and said, "Where are you going? The door's over there," and he motioned with his head.

"I wasn't going to the door," she said, trying to sound calmer than she felt.

"Were you going to the wall, because that's where you are," he said with a grin.

She didn't know what came over her, but she pushed him back, but he only moved an inch.

"You're so strange," he said, seriously. "Now, don't assault me anymore, you bully, and get under the covers, I'm cold." He stood back up and went and got the pillow. He was having some fun, but he could tell she wasn't ready for the type of fun he had in mind. He would just 'sleep' with her, if that's what she wanted, at least, for now.

When he came back over to the bed, she was back under the covers, but was so close to the wall that Draco thought she looked more like a picture on the wall, than a person on the bed. He put the pillow at the head of the bed and plopped down beside her, propped up on his elbow. He patted the space beside him on the bed and said, "No reason to be shy, Granger, we've already established that I won't try anything until you're ready. Come here, my little one, I want to see you. I won't bite, yet."

She gave him a funny look, but came closer. She propped up on her elbow as well. They were only centimetres from each other. She could feel the material of his flannel pants up against her knee. He reached over and touched her nose, then the side of her nose, then her cheek twice, then her other cheek, then her chin. "What are you doing?" she asked amused.

"Quiet, I'm counting your freckles, and now I've lost count," he said.

"I have twelve," she said smiling.

His grin was as wide as hers. "You've counted your own freckles before?"

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" she asked.

"It's a bit odd," he concluded.

"Let's see, you've called me strange, a bully, and now odd. Yes, I would say the likelihood of even getting me to kiss you tonight are close to zero, let alone sleeping with you," she told him. She put her hand up to his cheek and drew her fingers down it feathery soft. She brought her hand back quickly to her side. She was embarrassed that she did that.

He looked down at her hand, and took it in his. He brought it back up to his face, fell back on his back, and said, "That feels nice, do it again," and he shut his eyes.

She moved closer to him, leaning partly on his chest and arm, and she started touching his face and head. She stroked his hair, and even outlined his lips. She touched his neck and then, as if she was really trying to study him, she leaned even closer and she let her hand travel down his chest. He was aware of her breasts pressed against his arm. He was curious as to what she would do next.

She could see the outline of his nipples through his t-shirt. She felt brave, so she traced one nipple, then the other. His eyes flew open, but she was not looking at his face. She was concentrating on the trip her hand was taking.

Her hand went to the ridge of his ribcage, and then down to his flat stomach, but it was stopped by the bunch of the sheet and blanket, which he had draped over the lower part of his body when he first came to the bed. She looked up at him quickly, and he now had his eyes shut. Hermione wrapped her right leg over Draco's legs, leaned forward, leaning completely on his chest now, and started to kiss his lips. His hands came up around her, one on the small of her back, and the other hiking up the nightshirt just a bit, so his hand was touching the curve of her backside, his fingertips feeling the silkiness of her knickers.

If she kept that up, he would be forced to make love to her. He would have no choice. He said, "Are you aware of what you are doing to me?"

And she asked, "What?"

He answered her the only way he could. He pushed her off him and stormed out of the room. What had she done wrong?

Sentimental Journey:

Hermione stayed in Neville's bed for a moment wondering what was wrong with Draco. She had planned on sleeping with him at Christmas. That was to be his present. Maybe she should have discussed the idea with him. Or maybe, he wasn't keen on the thought of sleeping in someone else's bed. It wasn't yet Christmas after all, she had a week to go. She could wait. She just didn't want to wait.

She pulled back the covers, went to one of Neville's dresser drawers, and found a comfy pair of woollen socks. She put them on her feet and went to go get Draco.

He was sitting in the common room, staring in the fire, sitting on one of the overstuffed chairs. She walked in and walked over and sat on the couch. She didn't know what to say. She had rejected him a few times, but he had never rejected her. Of course, she hadn't given him a reason to.

"Draco, what's wrong?" she finally asked.

He turned, surprised that she was there. He hadn't heard her enter. He got up from the chair and went to sit on the other end of the couch.

"What were you doing back there, Granger, in Neville's room?" he asked.

"I was kissing you." She really did not know what else to say.

"Would it have led to more?" he asked point-blank.

"Perhaps, I mean, I hadn't planned on sleeping with you until Christmas, but if it happened sooner, that would have been all right, too," she said truthfully.

He gave her a quizzical look and said, "You planned on sleeping with me at Christmas? When did you plan all of this? Were you going to tell me?"

She felt so stupid. That did sound lame. She wished she could run to her room and hide, but since that wasn't an option, she got up from the couch and sat in the chair he abandoned. It was still warm from his body heat. She drew her legs up to her chin and stared in the fire.

He stood behind the chair and put his hand on her head. He bent down and kissed the top of her head and let his hand fall to her cheek. He came to the front of the chair, pulled her up, sat down, and put her on his lap.

"You are strange, little one," he reiterated. "I hate to keep pointing out the obvious, but you are, no two ways about it. You planned on sleeping with me?"

"Well, haven't you planned on sleeping with me?" she asked. She knew he had.

"I wouldn't exactly call in planned. I've thought about it, constantly, dreamt about it nightly, hoped it would happen, imagine it in every way, and every position, but PLANNED, no, I've not planned the whole thing, only you would do something like that," he declared.

She tried to get off his lap. She thought he was making fun of her, and she felt like crying. He could tell he offended her, and he wouldn't let her leave. "So, Granger, tell me how this was all supposed to work out, since you planned it all. You probably planned what you were going to wear, and what you would say, and how I would act, and how many times we would kiss, and how many minutes of foreplay until the final act, and then how many orgasms we would have." He was making fun of her.

She turned in his arms and hit his chest very hard and said, "I've amended my plan, and now I don't intend to ever sleep with you."

"Oh, I'm not saying it's not a good plan, I'm having a bit of fun with you, that's all. I think it's a right jolly good plan. Very solid. Have you been making notes, outlining the whole thing? Do you have a contingency plan, in case of rain?" Now he was laughing. He was just having a bit of fun, and he had no idea that he was really causing her actual anguish until she shot off his lap.

She stood in front of the fire, turned to him and said, "How dare you make fun of me! Do you think it's every day that I plan to give someone my virginity! I can only give it away once, you know! I loved Ron very much, but I never thought about sleeping with him. You're such an arse, Malfoy! Just go away and make fun of me in private, because I don't want to hear it!" She ran down the hall, to Neville's room and shut and locked the door with her wand.

Gee, he was having some fun. He wanted to sleep with her. He was just trying to lighten the mood. He got up from the chair and sat down in front of Neville's door.

"So, Granger," he said from his side of the door, "Do you want to know why I sought you out that day on the train?" She did want to know, so she took a cover off of Neville's bed and put it on the floor, and sat on it by the door to listen.

He continued, "I had spent the first part of the journey in a compartment by myself. I was bored and lonely and I got up to stretch my legs. I saw most of the eighth year students all piled into two compartments, having a right fine time, and I was slightly uncomfortable, because I knew there was no way in hell they would let me join, not that I really wanted to. So, I walked past and I actually sought you out. I had heard from my mother that you would be in school this year, so I decided to have some entertainment, and go make fun of you for a while." He stopped for a moment. That part, he hated to admit, was true. He sought her out to torment her, because he was bored.

She opened the door a crack, but stayed safely on her side. He acted like he hadn't noticed. "I found you in the first compartment, all by yourself, reading a book. At that exact moment you looked out the window, and you looked so happy. You looked overwhelmed at the thought of returning to school. I hated the thought of going back, and there you were, having had a worse year last year than I had, and you were happy about the whole thing. I went back and got my bag, and came into your compartment. I made a little deal with myself, if you spoke first, with anything but a kind word, I would be relentless. I would call you a bad name, and tease you and give you a hard time. I thought you would say something like, 'What are you doing back' or 'no one asked you to come into my compartment', or 'go away Death Eater', but instead, you merely looked at me and continued reading."

She interjected and said, "I was ignoring you. I had made a little mental bet with myself as well, and I thought well, if he speaks to me first, like says hello or whatever, I'll say hello back. Funny, my bet with myself was to be nice to you if you were nice to me, and your bet was to be mean if I was mean."

He said, "I don't see the irony. You are nice, and I am not, so it's not that farfetched that we would each think that way."

"You did say, 'pardon' when you bumped my foot," she reminded.

He looked at her through the crack in the door and smiled and said, "I did that on purpose, you know, bumping your foot."

She opened the door wider and said, "No, you didn't!"

"Yes, I did," he admitted.

"Why?" she mused.

"It was just something to do, and I thought it would get a rise out of you," he said.

"You were nice to me when you helped me get my bag in the overhead," she reminded.

"I thought it was funny when you couldn't get your bag in the overhead, because it was so damn big, and you were so small, so right then I decided, what the hell, someone needs to help the poor little thing since her bodyguards weren't around, so I rose to the occasion," he reflected. He opened the door wider and asked, "What made you follow me, instead of the others, on our little hike. Why did you trust me?"

She opened the door the rest of the way and said, "Well, you said you knew the way."

He laughed and said, "Oh, Granger, I was lying! I didn't know the way!" He was laughing so hard. She tried to slam the door shut again, but he blocked it with his body.

She was half smiling and said, "Do you ever tell the truth?"

"I've told you the truth exactly four times," he said, "I told you I loved you, I told you that you were strange, I told you that I was no longer afraid of Mudblood germs, and I told you that your plan to seduce me was a right fine idea."

Hermione laughed and fell on the floor. "You are joking, right?" she said, giggling.

"Well, maybe I've told you the truth on a couple of other times, but I'm not certain," he said, climbing in the room, and hovering over her body, which was still on the cold stone floor, "May I kiss you?"

She said, "That's not part of my plan."

"Piss on your plan, kiss me, Granger," he said, pressing his full weight on her body. He put his lips on hers and moved them gently, exploring the curves of her smile, and length of her tongue. He put his hand under her head, so it wasn't pressed on the hard ground. He left her mouth and kissed her neck. He put his other hand on her nightshirt and tried to unbutton one of the buttons.

She put her hands on his and said, "That's not part of the plan either, and for your information, it wasn't just a plan, it was going to be your Christmas present."

He started to snicker, but saw that she was sincere, so he stood up quickly, and literally picked her up off the ground, blanket and all, and said, "Far be it for me to spoil a present, so let's just get some sleep. However, I swear if you end of getting me socks instead, I will strangle you in your sleep, and not care what anyone thinks." He led her to Neville's bed and put her down on top of it, letting her crawl in first, then he stayed on the outside of the covers, covering his body with the blanket she had on the floor.

He pulled her body close to his and said, "I can't wait for Christmas," and he couldn't suppress his grin.