1993 Third Year

Hermione stood at the top of the owlery holding the letter she had written to her parents in her hand as she lent against the side of a wall overlooking the grounds.

The sun had begun to set on her birthday and she couldn't have been more thankful. Other than spending the morning with her gifts and the occasional birthday wish throughout the day, she'd had an otherwise normal day.

Around supper time, Ginny had suggested that the group had a small celebration for Hermione's birthday back in the common room, to which she declined and told her she wanted to write to her parents and do some studying. When in fact, all she really wanted to do was escape to her and Draco's room and thank him for her gift.

The first part however, had been true. She wrote a letter to her parents thanking them for their lovely gifts and told them about the reaction her picture gained from a few of her friends who had never witnessed muggle photos before. She then told them about the gift Draco had gotten her, although for her father's sanity, she left out the part where the gift had come from a boy.

In truth, Hermione used to enjoy celebrating her birthday with her family where they would go for a traditional meal at the small Italian restaurant in the village, followed by a small fire in the backyard with Hot Chocolates and blankets, finally finishing with pyjamas and a film before she fell asleep on the sofa tucked up to her mum. They didn't make a huge fuss or force her to do something she didn't want and she appreciated that, she always did hate having a fuss made over her.

That fact still remained the same however, now she spent her birthdays away from her parents, they were just a reminder of how she used to celebrate it, how ordinary things were before she started attending Hogwarts. She would forever be grateful for the time she spent at Hogwarts but it didn't change the fact that she felt homesick on occasions like this.

So instead she decided she would rather her birthday go unnoticed so she could avoid the homesick pit that formed in her stomach, although that wasn't always entirely avoidable.

She glanced down at the letter in her hands, trying to ignore the longing she felt to see her parents after only being away for a few short weeks and simply hoped one year she would instead find it normal to celebrate it without them.

Finally she held out her palm to the nearest owl and presented him with a treat. Hesitantly, the owl took the treat as he scuttered his feet slightly to move closer to her and opened his beak a fraction for her to place the letter inside.

Patting the owl gently on his head, she thanked him and smiled as she watched his wings slowly expand before he took off into the distance, soaring through the sky. She sighed at the scene before her and looked towards the distance once more, the sun had set, leaving behind beautiful shades of pink and orange in its absence.

As she climbed down the stairs and made her way slowly and discreetly through the castle, Hermione pondered over the thought process behind Draco's gift.

The pair had been friends since first year, they'd had their troubles and quarrels, but they were now stronger than ever. She spent time with him most nights and had conversations with him she hadn't dreamed of having with anybody else. However, she spent every day with Harry and Ron, the evenings she wasn't with Draco she had been with them, most of her free time during the day and even days through her holidays she spent solely with them, they were her family and they meant the world to her, and yet, Hermione was fully confident that neither of her best friends could have thought up a more perfect gift than the one Draco had given her.

What makes the friendships different? She thought to herself as she absentmindedly turned the corner leading to the corridor her destination was on.

As she reached the entrance to their room she realised she had been travelling on autopilot the entire way there and hadn't actually registered any of her journey. Without a second glance she walked forward past the veil and entered the room, not realising the set of eyes that were on her as she disappeared behind what appeared to be a brick wall to the observer, leaving them confused.

"Draco?" Hermione called as she walked further into the room, discarding her robe and hanging it over a chair. Before she had a chance to further examine the room for her friend she felt two hands on her shoulder and the noise of a loud bang rang through her ears. Turning quickly to shove the culprit, she scowled as she spotted Draco clenching his tomach whilst laughing hysterically at her.

"Your face…" he said through fits of laughter.

Hermione stood cold faced with her arms folded, but not before long she couldn't help relax into a smile at the site before her. This was her favourite Draco, the playful carefree boy she had become friends with, it was a side of him very few people had seen.

"You're not supposed to be mean to me on my birthday."

"If I remember rightly, you don't like to celebrate it, so I see no reason to treat you any differently."

She scowled through her smile and stuck out her tongue at him. She wasn't sure why he was in such a good mood, but she was enjoying it.

Draco finally stopped laughing and moved forward towards her, stopping just a few feet away. She looked up at his face that wore a small smile with bright playful eyes to match as he looked down on her.

"Am I allowed to wish you a Happy Birthday?" He asked softly.

"I think you've done enough," she told him. His mouth twisted slightly before a small fraction of his bottom lip found its way between his teeth as he tried to gage Hermione's reaction to his gift. Her eyes darted to the lip that was trapped and she felt her breath quicken. Suddenly realising that she was staring at his mouth, she forced herself to speak once more and break from his gaze.

"Thankyou for my gift. It's quite possibly the nicest thing anyone has done for me, and probably ever will, but you really didn't have to."

Draco relaxed at her words, freeing his lip and dropping his once tense shoulders back down, he smirked at her and shook his head.

"You're my best friend, of course I had to."

"I told you not to get me anything."

"Ah!" He all but shouted at her with a smug look on his face, "you told me not to buy you anything because I didn't know the meaning of a 'small gift', well - I didn't buy you this gift!" He let out a small laugh before he grabbed her hand and turned towards the window, pulling her along with him.

He sat down in the middle of the seat and faced her, Hermione remained very aware of the fact that he hadn't let go of her hand.

"Ok, so if you didn't buy this gift, how did you acquire it?"

"I discovered it a few years back in our library. I think father 'confiscated' it on one of his many…" he paused for a moment, not wanting to fully disclose everything that his father got up to, not because he didn't trust her, but because he didn't want to burden her with every dark secret he kept about his family. "Raids with work." he continued.

"And I'm okay to keep it? Won't they notice its gone?"

"They haven't stepped foot in that library for years, they won't notice a thing. If they do, I'll just say I lost it at school."

"You'll always find a loop hole won't you?"

"Where are you concerned? Always," he said through his grin.

She chuckled to herself, shaking her head at his comment. The older Draco got, the more of a charmer he became. She often wondered where such a personality trait came from, she certainly couldn't imagine him learning it from Lucius. The thought made her both shiver and giggle at the same time.

"Something funny?"

"I'm just trying to picture your father teaching you how to be a smooth talker."

"What an odd thing to picture. Do you think I'm trying to smooth talk you?" He asked through his trademark smirk.

Hermione felt her ears burn the second he finished his question. Embarrassed, she pulled her hand away from his and hid behind her fingers.

"Hermione I'm kidding," he said softly, reaching forward to pull her hands away. She fought to keep her face hidden but the feel of his hands on hers distracted her from her need to hide.

"Father isn't exactly the bonding type, the only thing I've ever learnt from that man was how to keep my wits about me," she was thankful he had skirted over the comment, although it was short lived, "my charm just comes naturally," he said before he winked at her.

She pulled her hands from his once more and swatted him on his arm before shuffling back to sit cross legged on the seat whilst Draco rubbed his arm dramatically where she had hit him.

"And your modesty too I bet?"

"No that's something I've picked up from you,"

Hermione sighed and shook her head at him once more before turning away to look out of the window. She enjoyed these playful moods that Draco found himself, sometimes she couldn't decide if he was teasing her or flirting with her and at this point she wasn't sure which one she preferred.

"Are you going to be going to Hogsmeade at the end of the month?" He asked before moving to sit cross legged opposite her, his knee a millimetre away from hers, their proximity made her stomach flutter before she forced more words out of her mouth.

"I plan too, are you?"

"Of course. I can't wait to be able to leave the castle grounds."

"Do you not enjoy being at Hogwarts?"

"I do, it's just, sometimes I feel like I need to-"

"Breath," she finished as she gazed outside at the calm breeze that rustled the trees down below.

"Exactly," he smiled, "why don't you fly?"

"Excuse me?" His question startled her, although only briefly, as it was one of the things she enjoyed about Draco's company, she never knew where the conversation was going to end up.

"You don't fly. Is it a choice or does the brightest witch of our age have a weakness?"

She scowled at him as he smirked down at her, he knew admitting that she had a weakness was something that wouldn't come easily to Hermione and she wasn't oblivious to his methods of provoking her.

"I don't feel in control when I'm on a broom, and if I'm honest I find the whole thing unnecessarily dangerous,"

Draco scoffed at her words and shook his head. She watched from her seat as he stood up and headed towards the alcove beside the fireplace. The light beaming from the fire resulted in the alcove being hidden by complete darkness and she hadn't realised what he had reached for until it was brought further into the light.

Her stomach flipped as her eyes travelled over the length of the broomstick before they moved to his face that lay riddled with excitement. At a loss for words, Hermione sat frozen on the spot staring at the broom that gradually got closer to her.

"No." She said sternly before he had a chance to propose anything, "not a chance." She added before he stopped in front of her and knelt down.

Hermione felt the smooth touch of Draco's fingertips once more as he placed them under her chin and moved her head to face him, her eyes following soon after as she tore them away from the broom beside him. Any humor had been removed from his face and all that remained was a look she had only seen once before from him.

"Hermione, do you trust me?" He asked softly, her eyes drawn to his lips as he spoke. All she could bring herself to do was nod in response and he continued.

"Then trust that I won't let anything happen to you. Why wait until Hogsmeade when we can leave the castle tonight. No-one will know, just you and me,"

She looked into his eyes and wondered how she would ever find a way to say no to him when he looked at her this way.

"Promise me." She whispered, moving closer to the face that was just a few inches away from her own, she was so close she could almost taste the breath that escaped his mouth.

Draco stared down at her, his eyes moving from her own to her lips, contemplating his next move.

'What if she wouldn't want me to' he thought to himself as he watched her lips part ever so slightly.

Finally, he rose from his knees before he made a decision to do something he may later regret and climbed on top of the window seat, unhooked the latch on the window and pushed it open wide. Standing before her with his broom in one hand he held out his other once more, gesturing for her to take it.

Hermione caught her breath and looked at the hand stretched out before her, knowing that the second she took it there would be no turning back. She moved to place her hand in his and his firm grip helped steady her as she too climbed on top of the window seat however, she was very aware of the shaking in her legs as she stood opposite him trying to stay focused.

Just as she stood up next to him a slight breeze came in through the window making all of Hermione's senses tingle. Everything that screamed at her that this was a bad idea suddenly went quiet and she was able to focus on the boy in front of her.

"Lets to this," she told him whilst taking the broom from his hands and mounted it.

"Cute," he laughed at the sight of her on a broom, it didn't look in any way right for her to be mounted on a broom but in his pubescent mind, it worked wonders. Draco shook his head slightly, clearing his mind of any impure thoughts he was starting to have before he spoke again, "but I'll need to be at the front to control the broom, unless you think you can?" He smirked when she shook her head rapidly.

"Then scoot on back," he told her before he climbed onto the front, "wrap your arms around my waste and do not let go, trust me Hermione you'll be fine."

She did as she was told and wrapped her arms around him tightly, tucking herself into his back and thankful he had made her sit there so she could hide into him.

"Make sure your eyes are open, no hiding," she scowled into the back of his head and looked through to the side of him, out of the window. "On three. One-"

Before he reached any higher a number they shot through the window and soared through the air. Hermione gripped him almost as tightly as she held her eyes closed whilst she let out a squeal as they picked up speed.

After what felt like a century to Hermione, Draco had put some distance between them and the castle and had began to slow down until he reached a complete stop, just above the Black Lake.

"Hermione?" He called for her but there was no response, if it wasn't for the almost unbearably tight grip she held around his chest, he would've considered the possibility that she had let go before they had even left the room.

"Open your eyes Hermione."

"No thanks, I'm good," she protested, he let out a small laugh in response. Draco moved one of his hands up to meet where hers overlapped and stroked his thumb along the smooth surface of her hand.

"Hermione, open your eyes," he said with a softer tone this time. Once more she did as she was told, inhaling deeply before she straightened her back and opened her eyes on her exhale.

Hermione had seen some spectacular sites during her time at Hogwarts. The castle itself was something to behold but the many towers around the castle, which of course she had visited most if not all, were all positioned in such a way that whoever stood at the top of them were blessed with some of the most beautiful views. However in that moment, she hadn't seen anything more breathtaking than what lay before her.

It was a clear night and the moon was at its fullest and as clear as day it shone down over the lake they hovered not 6ft above, illuminating the entire lake and it's close surroundings. Never had she seen the castle from an angle such as this, it was well lit with a slight mist surrounding it, it would've almost looked eary if she didn't know what wonderful magic it held inside.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. Draco nodded in response and streered the broom towards the right, pushing forward slowly towards to the side of the lake without making her too aware they were on the move again.

Once they reached land again he gently touched down and Hermione moved off the broom to sit on the ground where she could admire the view of the castle properly.

Sitting down beside her he too looked over at the castle before his eyes were drawn to the girl beside him. He couldn't help but admire the look on her face as she stared up at the site before them in complete awe whilst her eyes twinkled in the moonlight.

Not before long she pulled her legs up close to her chest and hugged them tightly, it was only then Draco realised how cold it was beside the lake and how Hermione had a skirt with no robe on.

Standing up he unclipped his robe and gently draped it around her shoulders, startling her in the process.

"What're you doing?"

"You're cold, I'm fixing that," he shrugged as he sat back down beside her, slightly closer than he had originally been.

"But now you'll get cold," he scrunched up his nose slightly, which she had learnt was his way of disagreeing without words. Without thinking, she shuffled herself up to him so their legs were touching and she draped the robe around the pair of them, all the while Draco froze as she did it, drinking in the closeness of her face that was only a few inches away from his when she wrapped her arms around his shoulder to position the robe around them both.

Completely oblivious to the effect she was having on Draco, she continued to get comfy in her new position as she leant back against his chest, resting her head backwards in the nook of his neck.

"Wrap your arms around me and this way we will both stay warm."

For some reason unknown to him, he hesitated to do something that he's done over a hundred times by now. He'd had Hermione fall asleep in his arms on many occasions in their secret room, he'd even tucked himself up in hers on the odd time, but every touch felt like it had a different meaning now, like it wasn't just a simple act between friends.

Despite his conflicting thoughts, he moved his arms along with the robe draped around them and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her into him before resting his head against hers. This wasn't the evening he had planned, in fact, he thought he would have spent his evening having Hermione read her new gift to him as he drifted off to sleep, however this version of the evening was a much better outcome.

"Thank you Draco,"

"For forcing you to face your fears and get onto a broom with me?" he felt a sharp nudge of her elbow dig into his stomach before she laughed and shook her head at him.

"Not quite."

"For being the best flyer and bringing you here in one piece like I said I would? "

"Draco!" she said through laughter and turned to face him, his trademark smirk hung on his lips. For the first time since leaving the castle, she looked at him. She had always enjoyed the way the moon's reflection against his eyes made the shades of grey and silver dance around together, although she didn't enjoy the butterflies in her stomach that were doing the same. She swore in that moment, the way he looked at her, the way she melted in his arms, he could ask the world of her and she would say yes.

"Well then if not for my excellent flying skills, what for?" his voice low as he asked. She cleared her throat and turned her face slightly towards the moon, breaking the trance she had found herself trapped in on his eyes.

"For making this the best birthday I've ever had," she answered and turned back to him, "the present, the idea to leave the castle, the location, everything. I couldn't ask for anything more." With that she moved forward and pulled him closer to her by his shirt as she leaned up to kiss his cheek.

All of the conflicting thoughts Draco had been having cleared the moment her lips touched his cheek. He no longer wondered why touching her now felt different to every other time they've touched, why being so close to her made his stomach flip in ways he couldn't explain. He knew in that moment that his feelings of friendship towards the Gryffindor he'd grown so close to over the years were changing. He didn't just see her as a friend anymore and he could see that so very clearly now.

As she pulled away from him and loosened her grip on his shirt, his hold around her tightened, leaving just a short gap between them both, their noses almost touching as she looked up into his eyes. Her breath hitched slightly, she knew what she wanted to do, but she didn't want to be the one to do it.

In that moment Hermione felt like everything shifted. The breeze calmed, the grass came to a standstill, she could hear her heart beating in her ears, and what was probably a few seconds felt like minutes as she waited to see what Dracos next move was. Tired of waiting she closed her eyes and all but closed the gap between them as she felt her nose touch against his and his lips were no more than an inch away from hers -

"Did you hear that?" his voice startled her and she pulled away. Embarrassed and suddenly feeling very awkward, she pushed herself away from him and stood up. As she rose from the ground Hermione realised that the breeze hadn't just calmed, it had vanished. There were no crickets or hoots from owls, it was almost as though every creature that spoke in the night had lost its voice.

She turned around and looked back at Draco, confused by the sudden silence of their surroundings only to be greeted by a concerned look on his face as he stared wide eyed towards the forest behind them.

"You know, it's incredibly quiet out here, you didn't have to make up some noise… y'know, if you didn't want-" It was then Hermione had realised he hadn't been lying, as the sound of a howl broke the silence around them and caused birds to flee their nests in the surrounding trees.

Every hair on her body stood on end and a shiver shot straight through her spine as the noise of the howl echoed and coursed through her body.

Draco reached for his broom and jumped up, in one swift movement he'd moved her onto the broom and kicked off from the ground, heading back towards the castle. She hadn't had chance to think about her fear of flying as she held onto him whilst they soared rapidly through the air. Within minutes he slowed down as they approached the window of their room, Hermione hadn't realised they had arrived until she felt the floor beneath her feet causing her to dismount and she moved to take a seat at the table.

Draco moved to close the window and light the fire without saying a word. Every student that attended Hogwarts from the day it was built was told about the various kinds of creatures that the Dark Forest harboured, along with every child that grew up learning about Hogwarts. However, as the years went by and students were forbidden to enter the forest, a lot of what may once have been fact became almost an urban legend.

"Perhaps it was just a regular wolf?" Hermione asked, almost to herself than anything, a nervous laugh following soon after.

Draco hummed in response whilst he looked down at the fire, he knew different as he caught a glimpse of the creature before they took off, but he didn't feel like it was something Hermione would want to hear right now, he didn't want that to be how she ended her birthday.

"Anyway. I better get going, I told Ginny I'd help her on her Transfiguration homework in the morning before class," She said without looking at him as she reached for her cloak.

The moment they'd shared before he heard the first howl flashed into his memory and he urged himself to say something, but at a loss for words he simply nodded as she grabbed her things and he watched her leave.

With a deep sigh he gathered up the remainder of his things and headed towards his dorm, mentally kicking himself for not responding to Hermione, not correcting her on the doubts she clearly had on him not wanting to kiss her.

"And where have you been?" Blaze's voice broke him away from his thoughts.

"For a walk."

"Oh really? Have you taken up strolling around the castle as an extracurricular too?"

"Blaze, for once, shut up. I'm really not in the mood for your smart arse remarks," he snapped and stared at his friend who he'd clearly shocked with his outburst.

"Ok, Jeez." Blaise mumbled and rubbed the back of his head as Draco took off walking again. As they reached the portrait for the Slytherin dorm room Blaise stopped him and turned Draco to face him.

"Look, I know we don't always see eye to eye, that's no secret," he started, Draco nodding in agreement, "but we have been friends for years, I'd like to think you could talk to me if something was bothering you."

For a moment Draco pondered over the idea of coming clean to Blaize, telling him all about his secret friendship with Hermione, how that friendship was turning into something more and the internal struggles he was having at that transformation given the difference in their blood status. However, the harsh reality was that Blaize and Draco did not have that kind of friendship, infact, the only person in his life he had that kind of friendship with was Hermione, and he wasnt fully sure he hadn't ruined that just a few moments ago .

"There's nothing to tell, I went for a walk, that's it." He lied before muttering the password and entered the Slytherin common room. Thankfully the common room was empty, which meant he didn't have to pretend to be anything more than fine to the rest of his classmates and instead he slipped into bed, knowing full well sleep wasn't on the cards for him, as he thought about how he was going to make it up to Hermione.

He had to come up with some sort of plan to make her realise she wasn't the only one, his feelings for her were changing as well.