Draco rushed after her, "Are you alright, Hermione?" He asked rubbing her back.
She was hunched over the toilet, her face wet with sweat. "I'm fine," she gasped. She tried to straighten herself against the sink.
"You just threw up," Draco looked at her dubiously. "You're not fine."
"Seriously, I'm fine – I think," Hermione assured him, as she moved to the sink to splash water on her face.
"What did you have for supper?" Draco asked softly.
"I – uh – had fish and chips," Hermione breathed. She was flushed, despite the water on her face.
Scorpius came rushing down the hallway. "'Mione, you okay?" He asked, worry etched on his tiny face.
Hermione tried to smile at the boy, but Draco could see it was forced and weak.
"I'm fine, Scorpius," She strained, leaning against the counter even more.
Clearly not satisfied with the response, Scorpius stepped into the bathroom. He reached out and hugged Hermione's leg tightly.
Hermione patted the boy's head trying to comfort him.
Draco's brow furrowed. He wanted to make sure she was okay. But it was getting extremely late and Scorpius needed to get to bed. The young boy had had a long day and was clearly tired.
Scorpius slumped against Hermione slightly and his eyes drooped.
Thinking fast, Draco said, "You have a guest bedroom, yeah?"
Hermione nodded, her own eyes drooping, her face looking even more flushed.
Draco reached out and placed the back of his hand to her forehead. She was a little hot, but not extremely so.
"You might have a fever, Granger," he frowned. "Scorpius and I will stay here tonight."
Draco nodded and he smiled at the boy.
"No. I'm fine, Draco. I promise," she protested, but as she did colour drained from her face. She placed a hand over her mouth and pushed Scorpius away.
"Clearly, you're not. You might have food poisoning. Do you have any potions?" He asked opening her bathroom cabinet, busying himself while she vomited again.
With her face still in the toilet, she shook her head no.
"I don't either. Well, it's good you like doing things the muggle way because that's how you're going to get over this," he said coyly. She shot him a look of pure hatred, to which he chuckled.
"Dipper!" Draco shouted into the air.
The house elf appeared with a loud crack, which startled Hermione. She shot back, almost colliding with the shower.
"I'm so sorry for interrupting your night off," Draco apologized.
"No, sir. Master should not be sorry. Dipper is happy to help you," the elf said, looking wide-eyed around the room.
"Could you please bring us back a pair of pajamas for Scorpius and his stuffed dragon? We'll be spending the night here. So, after this you will truly have the night off," Draco smiled.
The house elf nodded quickly before vanishing. With another crack, Dipper reappeared holding the dragon that was nearly as big as him and a set of night clothes. He handed the dragon to Scorpius, who took it gratefully and hugged it tightly. Then he handed the clothing to Draco.
"Thank you so much, Dipper," said Draco.
Dipper smiled brilliantly and said, "Dipper is happy, truly." Then he disappeared, leaving Hermione looking wild.
"Don't start, Hermione," Draco said forcefully. "Scorpius needed clothes and I can't leave him here with you vomiting your guts out." Scorpius giggled like it was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard. "Plus, he has a hard time sleeping without his dragon."
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Draco had finished tucking Scorpius into the guest bedroom. Scorpius, to Draco's surprise, fell asleep instantly. The boy clearly had a big day and was even more tired than he had let on.
He slowly made his way to Hermione's room, only to find her in the bathroom, brushing her teeth.
She looked at him through the mirror and grabbed the clothes that were folded beside her. She threw them over to him, which he caught easily.
After spitting she said, "They're the clothes that I wore the other day. I've washed them, but you'll need something to sleep in tonight. While I might look okay in your old tee shirts, I doubt that my nightgowns will have the same affect on you."
He smiled, "No, I doubt they will. I forgot to ask Dipper for some night clothes of my own." Studying her for a moment, he continued, "How are you feeling?"
Sigh heavily, she answered, "I feel a lot better now. You really didn't have to stay."
"Please, just shut up," Draco grinned, "Besides you helped me out before, when I wasn't feeling well. Let's just say I'm returning the favor."
Hermione smiled at him softly. He thought back to that day he was attacked outside her bookshop. It felt like so long ago. So much had changed.
Looking down at the Slytherin shirt, Draco laughed. "I can't wear this. It's far too small."
He saw Hermione look at him, then to the shirt and then back to him. "No, I suppose you've outgrown it."
"Come," Draco motioned his head towards her bedroom, "let's get you to bed."
As she stepped closer to him, he placed his arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the room. She still felt warm and there was sweat forming on her upper lip. Clearly, she had been lying and was still not feeling well.
"It was probably just the nerves," Hermione reasoned. "I was literally worried sick. You, Malfoy, are a complete arse. Don't' ever do that to me again."
Draco chuckled. "Which caused you to have a fever, as well? It's pretty obvious you have food poisoning."
"Scorpius went to sleep okay?" Hermione asked.
Draco nodded, "He was exhausted. I think we all are. Merlin, I've just realized that every single person that I've talk to today started crying at some point in the conversation. I think that it's time for me to take a hint and call it a day."
Hermione laughed lightly, but slouched against Draco. "I think you're right."
He opened the door to her room and led her in. She went directly to the bed a collapsed on to it.
"Tell me where you keep your pajamas," Draco said, moving to the wardrobe.
Lifting a finger, she pointed to the second drawer on the right. He quickly rummaged through and pulled out the first set of pajamas he could find.
"Good?" he asked holding them put.
Hermione nodded and reached out to take them.
"Can you – uh – can you manage?" He stammered.
She smiled faintly, "I think so. But if not you are more than welcomed to help."
Draco groaned and turned around to give her privacy. "I – uh – I'll get changed in the bathroom, then?" Draco moved around the room, trying not to look in her direction. He bumped into the corner of the bed and cursed under his breath. He heard Hermione laugh lightly.
Once out of the room, he leaned against the wall. He had never taken care of anyone in his life, with the exception of Scorpius. Even in Hogwarts, when Pansy would get sick. He would stay away from her, push her away. He never took care of Pansy, never wanted to take care of her. He hated sick people. It repulsed him. It was different with Hermione, though. What was Hermione turning him into?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
When Draco got back to the room, Hermione was already asleep. She had fallen asleep on top of the covers, so Draco tried to gently pull them out from under her. He tucked her him like he had done with Scorpius and moved to the other side of the bed.
He had never actually only slept with someone before. Astoria had her own bedroom at the manor, so they never slept in the same bed. When he did sleep with someone it was usually following sex.
It was kind of strange knowing that all that was going to happen was sleep. It was even stranger to know that that's all he wanted. He didn't want to have sex with her. He didn't even feel the need to have sex with her. Lying there beside her was enough.
He snuggled deeper into the bed. Hermione's bed wasn't softer than him, or more comfortable, but somehow it was nicer. He looked over at her. Hair was falling over her face, so he gently pushed it back. After placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he lied back on his side and very quickly fell asleep.