Chapter Thirty-one

Draco's dorm

They didn't speak all day, although they exchanged glances every time they met in the Great Hall. Draco preferred to give her space to think about what she wanted to do freely, when she had decided she would surely look for him to tell him her answer.

The hours passed very slowly, the day seemed endless and the sun wasn't going down fast enough. He didn't know how long he'd have to wait, but hopefully it wouldn't be too long.

Draco stared at the green canopy of his bed for hours in the pitch dark, wondering if she'd be able to believe him and give him another chance as he had asked, all the while listening to the breathing and occasional snoring of his roommates.

He found it hard to fall asleep again that night. What he didn't know was that Hermione couldn't sleep as well. She'd thought about everything they'd said, and she knew quite clearly what she was going to do, but she was afraid of what would happen once she told him.

In the middle of the night, she got out of bed and sat on the small bench by the window, staring silently at the moon as she remembered Draco's words and everything they'd been through together those past few months.

Stupid idiot. He could have realised how he felt much sooner, saving them both all this trouble. With one last sigh, she went back to her bed and closed her eyes.

Better try to sleep so she didn't look like a raccoon when she woke up.

The next morning, Draco came down the stairs to his dormitory to find himself face to face with Pansy, who was sitting on one of the black sofas with her legs and arms crossed.

He got startled when he saw her serious face.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, stopping in front of her.

"Sit your fucking arse down here for a moment, Malfoy."

He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her. When her friend called him by his family name, it was because she had something important to tell him.

Pansy glanced back over her shoulder, watching the rest of the students who were milling around the common room before leaving for breakfast. She moved closer to the blond boy and spoke into his ear.

"Well... Do you remember what you said of me being right about everything?"

Draco pursed his lips and nodded silently.

"And that you said you'd listen to me next time?"

"I didn't say that, Pansy" he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

She frowned and grabbed his arm tightly.

"Listen to me for once, you stubborn bastard. When you talk to her, tell her everything you feel... everything. Don't keep things to yourself out of pride or shit like that, because you won't get another chance" Pansy said with a deep voice.

Draco jerked his arm free of her grip.

"Okay, but don't be like that, it's not your style."

A small smile curved Pansy's lips.

"I know, it's yours. Maybe if I behave like you, it will make you understand for once."

"Who's the drama queen now?"

"You are. You always have been, ever since we entered Hogwarts. I still remember your screams when the hippogriff scratched you."

Draco elbowed her and she started laughing. He stood up and looked sideways at her.

"I'll try" he muttered under his breath, shaking out his robes.

"Don't try, just do it" Pansy replied with angry eyes.

Draco snorted and nodded once, walking away towards the exit to the dungeons. She stood up as well and pulled her robes back on, smirking at herself.

"Why are you so happy?" said Blaise, who had just come down the stairs.

"I thought I'd never see Draco in love, he's quite a sight" Pansy murmured, laughing softly.

"What? Is he in love? Did he tell you that?" Blaise asked, his eyes widening.

Pansy rolled her eyes and, after placing a kiss on her friend's cheek, left the common room laughing and without answering him.

Just after breakfast, Draco walked briskly towards the Arithmancy classroom, feeling Pansy's eyes on his back. He was looking forward to seeing Hermione and being close to her.

Theo had distracted him in the Great Hall and he had barely seen her. By the time he finished eating she was gone, and he knew she liked to arrive early to the classroom.

When he entered, the room was already half full and he couldn't help the half smile forming on his face as he saw her at the desk they shared. At last, Hermione was going to stop pretending he didn't exist, or so he hoped.

Draco walked over quietly and sat down next to her, seeking her gaze. It didn't take long for those almond coloured eyes to fix on him.

"Hello, Draco."

"Good morning."

They continued to stare at each other, and Draco's smile curved as she blushed.

"Can we...can we talk after class?" Hermione asked in a whisper.

He nodded.

"Where?"

"I don't know...I'd rather be alone with you" she said, sighing as she looked around them.

Draco twisted his lip into a grimace. It was raining and they couldn't go out of the castle.

"I'll wait for you on the stairs leading down to the dungeons at lunchtime."

"All right. This time, I'll be the one to steal some food so we don't starve to death" Hermione said, smiling.

He smiled back at her and the two stopped talking, the professor was already at her table.

They looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes several times and, once the lesson was over, he leaned towards her.

"See you later" he whispered.

Hermione swallowed and nodded nervously.

Draco left the classroom with his Slytherin friends and she made her way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, where Harry and Ron were already sitting. That class was also over quicker than usual, and Hermione rubbed her hands together as she entered the Great Hall with her two friends.

"You're going to go and talk to him now, aren't you?" Ron asked when he saw her fidgeting like that.

"Yes, I'm going to get some food and leave" she said, nodding.

"You'll tell us about it later?" Harry breathed, leaning closer to his friend.

"Of course."

Checking to make sure no one was noticing her, Hermione filled several napkins with food and stuffed them into the pockets of her robes, heading back out into the main corridor.

Luna smiled as she watched her go and Ginny frowned.

"I hope she doesn't regret this" the redhead muttered, snorting.

"I don't think so, he won't screw it up again" Luna replied as she scooped rice onto her plate.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, and began to eat without comment. They preferred to wait to hear what had happened from Hermione, but from experience they knew that Malfoy wasn't exactly an expert in kindness and understanding.

Hermione walked to the stairs leading down to the dungeons, and received several hateful glares from some Slytherins walking up them to the Great Hall.

She ignored them and leaned against the stone wall, waiting. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and she could feel her own pulse racing.

A couple of minutes later, her heart skipped a beat as she saw Draco appear down the corridor, walking towards her.

He stopped beside her, too close, so that their faces were only a couple of centimetres apart. That citrus smell mixed with wood surrounded her completely, confusing her even more.

"Come with me" Draco murmured, holding her hand.

They walked down the stairs together and he felt Hermione's hand tremble.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To my common room."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

"I know yours, I think it's only fair that you know mine" Draco replied without looking at her.

Hermione tugged on his hand, forcing him to stop.

"If I go in there and I'm seen with you, we'll be in trouble" she said, her voice cracking with nerves.

"I don't give a fuck" he answered, shrugging his shoulders and resuming his walk.

They came to a stone wall that looked just like the others.

"Chocolate gargoyles" Draco mumbled.

The wall moved aside and they both stepped through the gap.

Hermione was speechless at the sight of the gigantic green room, with the five round windows overlooking the bottom of the lake. She couldn't help but shudder as she remembered that this was how Draco had first seen the mermaid, when he had entered the lake completely bewitched and she had miraculously managed to save him.

Draco didn't stop, he continued on his way to the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories, ignoring the five third year students who were gaping at them.

He walked up the stairs, his hand intertwined with hers, and stopped at the door to his room. Draco opened it and let her through first, he knew that his three roommates were in the Great Hall.

Hermione took a few steps and scanned the room with her eyes. It was practically the same as Harry and Ron's room, but with different colours. Everything had shades of green and silver, even the trunks.

She wrinkled her nose a little at the enemy's display of colour, though she smiled as she remembered that Draco had felt that way too when he visited her dorm.

Hermione heard a screech and, turning her head, saw that an eagle owl was on a perch, next to one of the beds. She approached it slowly, recognising Draco's pet.

"Is she always here?"

"Almost every day. She doesn't like the owlery. Her name is Dark" Draco said, not missing a single gesture from Hermione as he let her observe everything calmly.

"We've already met" she replied, smiling.

She gently stroked the feathers on the back of her neck and the owl pecked her fingers affectionately.

"She doesn't usually like strangers" murmured Draco, who was already standing next to her and frowning at the bird.

"Well, she seems to like me enough" Hermione said, still petting Dark.

He caught a lock of her curly hair between his fingers and held it to his nose.

"Maybe it's because she knows how I feel about you" Draco whispered softly, making Hermione tense up.

"Draco, I..." she began, her voice a little shaky with nerves.

He sat on the edge of the bed and tapped twice beside him, inviting her to join him.

"I'm listening, Hermione."

After she sat at his side, Hermione bit her lower lip, not knowing how to tell him and suspecting that he wouldn't take it well.

"I've been desperate for two days, waiting to know what you're going to tell me. Don't torture me any more" Draco added, leaning down to speak close to her ear.

"Okay... I'll just say it" Hermione agreed, sighing.

He fell silent and Hermione looked up to meet his gaze.

"I... I feel the same way about you. I've actually been in love with you since the first time I told you, that afternoon in the Shrieking Shack... or maybe even before that" she confessed softly.

Draco smiled slyly.

"Maybe I was too at the time, but I didn't know it. It took me a long time to come to terms with it, you know that."

"You don't have to swear" Hermione muttered, grimacing.

She felt Draco's arms around her and his breath on her neck.

"Thank Merlin you're alright. If anything had happened to you, I think I'd have lost my mind" he said, sighing and making her hair stand up with that sigh.

"Wait, I'm not finished."

Draco lifted his head and looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"We both may feel the same way, but I don't know if it's a good idea for us to be together... I'm not sure if it would work."

Draco frowned.

"Why do you say that?" he asked, annoyed.

What was that bullshit all of a sudden?

"You've never been in love. You'll probably be overwhelmed by getting into a relationship, because you've never been in one before... and besides, we're going to have a lot of people against us when they find out."

"Fuck them, let them say what they want. And as for the other thing... you and I have been in something very much like a relationship for almost six months now, and I couldn't like it more."

Hermione smiled, feeling herself blush, and Draco tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"We only need to do it right once... this time. It's better if I haven't had anything serious with a girl before, I like you being the first one" he murmured, looking into her eyes.

She looked down, feeling embarrassed.

"You're the first one I've ever felt this way about too, Draco... because I was never really in love with Ron, even though I thought I was."

Draco grinned and lunged for her lips, unable to hold back any longer. He pushed her down gently and lay on top of her on the bed, enjoying her kisses.

Hermione closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. After so long without being this close to him, she felt the heat of his body burning her more than ever. His kisses were stealing the air from her lungs and her brain was fogging over, unable to take in everything she was feeling at the moment.

The kiss ended and she found Draco's grey eyes fixed on her.

"Do you want to make another bet?" he asked, smiling sideways.

"Are you going to try and force me to sleep with you again?"

"I never forced you, you wanted too and you know it" Draco murmured, moving down to her neck to leave a trail of kisses.

Hermione stifled a shiver and sighed.

"What are we going to bet now?" she asked, very curious.

"In a few days, I have a match against Gryffindor again. If we lose, I'll let you decide what we're going to do. Even if you want us to keep it a secret until we leave the school in June, I'll be fine with that. But, if we win... we'll do it my way" he said, looking back into her eyes.

Hermione lifted her brows.

"Your way? What does that mean?"

"If I catch the snitch before Potter does... you'll know" Draco replied, raising his eyebrows.

"No cheating this time" she warned him with a serious face.