I lied, this chapter has a little more fluff, but not much.
*.*.*.*
Fifteen — All I Ask
look don't get me wrong,
I know
there is no tomorrow
all I ask is if
this is my last night with you,
hold me like I'm more than just a friend
give me a memory I can use
take me by the hand while we do
what lovers do
it matters how this ends
cause what if I never love again?
"What do you mean you still have detention?" Ginny's screams of anguish were heard throughout the Gryffindor Tower early Saturday morning. "It's the cup, we need our captain!"
"Well Snape is holding me to my detention."
Ginny glowered at him. Harry avoided her eyes by finding the carpet covering the floor very interesting. "Next time you try to kill someone, don't get caught by the person who enjoys making your life a living hell, because now, my life is a living hell!"
"It's not that bad, we're better than Ravenclaw anyway! Make Dean the seeker and end the game as fast as you can! You don't need me to win."
"Well, I would have liked to win with you," Ginny mumbled.
"And I would have liked to win with you too," Harry smiled a little at her, "I'm sorry." He gently tapped her calf with his foot.
She smiled a bit and tapped his shin with her foot. "It's okay."
The game was phenomenal, Hermione had to admit. Sometimes Quidditch was so fucking boring (to her), especially if it was a shutout, but this was amazing. Everyone was screaming, stomping in the stands, waving handmade signs, and singing 'Weasley is Our King!' Hermione was sure Harry could hear it from Snape's office. The team kicked Ravenclaw's ass (450 to 140!) and there was a celebratory party in the Common Room that included some of Fred and George's fireworks and lots of alcohol.
The portrait hole swung open an hour after the party begun and revealed Harry. He grinned at the sight of the party and Ginny holding the cup. She saw him open the door and ran to him after practically throwing the cup into Ron's hands. She launched herself into his arms and he hugged her tightly. She pulled away to speak, but he kissed her instead. Hermione was smiling like an idiot and held Ron back before he forcibly removed them from each other. There was cheering from the Gryffindor girls in Ginny's year and Luna couldn't help but join in.
"Do they hafta do that?" Ron whined. Hermione smacked his arm and resumed talking with Dean and Seamus.
Harry and Ginny whispered a short conversation, and then left through the portrait hole to go off on their own adventure.
*.*.*.*
"C'mon, it's your birthday!"
"It really doesn't matter to me, Hermione."
"You're turning 17! It's a big deal!"
"It's just another day, 'Mione."
"Draco …"
"Hermione, love," he smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "I love you, but my birthday is really no cause for celebration for anyone other than you."
"Then let me celebrate you!" Hermione begged him. "We could get a bottle of firewhiskey, sit in front of the fireplace, kiss a little bit, hmm?"
He chuckled as she settled herself on his lap. "That does pique my interest."
She threw her head back and laughed. "I thought it might."
*.*.*.*
"Alright class, we were first introduced to Amortentia on the first day, correct?" A bunch of heads bobbed up and down, affirming Slughorn's rhetorical question. "So for our final, I thought it would be fun for your final exam to brew your own Amortentia. I have written certain steps on the board but you must fill in the blanks. If you seek extra credit, I ask that you write down the distinct odors you smell when it is finished." Slughorn was smiling to himself, his eyes darting around the room to make it look less conspicuous that he was waiting for Hermione and Draco's reactions. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "This should be fun. Get to work!"
Harry glanced over at Hermione, who was already shedding her robes and pulling out her book. Ron was busy talking with a pink-faced Neville. "Can I borrow your book?" He asked quietly.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Still haven't retrieved yours from the room?"
"No, and I don't think I ever will."
"That's a bit ridiculous, Harry."
He quickly changed the subject. "Are you going to write down what you smell?"
Hermione quickly glanced at Draco's table and shrugged. "Extra credit's extra credit. Besides, all the professors know anyway." She added as she went to retrieve her cauldron.
"What?" Harry asked a bit too loudly, drawing Neville and Ron's attention.
"What, mate?" Ron asked.
"Nothing. Just amazed Hermione isn't annoyed that this is our final considering it almost killed you."
"Nah mate, this potion didn't almost kill me, Malfoy did."
Hermione's cauldron fell from her grasp and landed loudly on the table, drawing everyone's attention. "Sorry, everyone." She pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned in to speak directly to Ron. "I'm sorry, you said who almost killed you?"
"Malfoy. He's the one who poisoned the mead, Slughorn said it was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Dumbledore, but he couldn't remember who had given it to him. Coincidence?"
Hermione pushed aside her current state of bewilderment to shake her head at Ron's ability to always blame Draco for something. "Wow, amazing how you can come to that conclusion and yet you can't remember what mandrakes are for!"
"Oi, I remembered!"
"Only when I told you after the test! Does second year ring any bells for you?"
"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, is there a problem here?" Slughorn appeared in between Harry and Neville who had been very quiet during this exchange.
"No, professor. We were just getting started with the potion." Hermione glared at Ron and got to work.
The testing period passed uneventfully and Hermione finished her Amortentia quickly, practically the first one to do so. She questioned whether it would be okay to write down what she smells, but seeing as basically all the professors knew about the two of them, it wasn't that big of a deal. And she can't imagine Slughorn actually knowing was Draco smells like, because that would be really odd. And it's not like he can test it, because Slughorn could only smell what he was supposed to smell.
So, at the bottom of her steps, she wrote "Apples, Crisp Cotton, and Aftershave" and turned it in.
*.*.*.*
When he arrived at the Room of Requirement, Hermione was already there, sitting with a book and her feet propped up on the table. She smiled at him when he entered the Room and returned to her book.
"Aren't you glad finals are over?" She asked.
He merely nodded in response. "It's our, uh, our last night together," he said softly while leaning against the bookshelf that held the classics.
"Only for a while," Hermione shrugged. "We'll see each other again in two months. Who knows, maybe we'll be Heads together, and then it can all come out, no more lying, no more sneaking around."
Draco shook his head and exhaled slowly. "No, I don't think so."
Hermione knew something was wrong, something was off. He wasn't looking at her, he was fumbling with his tie, he was restless. She stood and walked to him.
"Draco ..." She whispered, pulling on the waistband of his trousers so he would move closer to her. "You don't need to worry about facing your parents or Him. You can come to our side, you can fight with us, you can fight for good." She placed her palm on his cheek, guiding his eyes to hers. Hermione was staring up at Draco with those bright brown eyes that made him wonder, if he stayed in the Room of Requirement with her forever would anyone even notice?
He swallowed slowly. "He will kill them, Hermione," he whispered.
She knew that, she knew everything. She knew he was given a task, a task that he had forty-eight hours and counting to complete. He had stalled this long, would he not complete the task? But would that mean he would have to watch his parents die in front of him? She could go to Dumbledore and Snape and tell them to protect them, but wouldn't they have already thought of that? Were the Malfoy's too proud to ask for help, to ask for protection? They didn't have the faith in Dumbledore that Snape did.
Shaking her head free of the rampant questions, she hugged him close. She placed her hands on his face and brought his lips to hers. She tried to drown out his fears and shut down his thoughts with the force of her kisses.
If this was all she could offer him, if this was all she was going to have to remember this six month love affair, then by god she was going to make it worth it.
The next morning, Hermione awoke and rolled over to cuddle into Draco's side — only to find that he wasn't there.
There was only a note on the pillow.
You're right, I have to deal with this, and I will. Tonight. Just promise me one thing, stay in your dorm. Do not come out.
Please don't forget about the good side of me, please don't lose hope. This will all be over one day. Don't forget about us.
But I'm not a hero like Potter.
I'm sorry
