Chapter Thirty-four

Hogsmeade

Harry and Ron liked the idea of spending Saturday in Hogsmeade very much, so they decided to do the same and visit the small town with their girlfriends. As they were all of age, they didn't need permission to go there and were free to visit on weekends.

Draco frowned as he saw Hermione coming down the castle stairs with Harry, Ginny and Ron.

"Have you been waiting long?" she asked as she reached his side.

He grimaced at the others and leaned down to speak in her ear.

"This is a date and we were supposed to be alone, Hermione."

She blushed violently.

"And we are going to be! They just want to go there too, but they won't stay in the same place as us."

Draco rolled his eyes and looked up, glaring at Harry.

"How little imagination you have that you need to copy my ideas, Potter" he said, grumbling through his teeth.

Marissa was coming down the stairs as well, approaching Ron.

"As far as I know Hogsmeade isn't yours, Malfoy" Harry replied, raising his eyebrows.

He snorted and grabbed Hermione's hand, starting to walk.

The other two couples followed, talking to each other. Draco was very serious the whole way and didn't participate in the conversation, but he kept a close eye on Hermione and watched as she chatted with her friends.

When they reached the entrance to the village, he stopped.

"Potter, Weasley... Good riddance" Draco grunted, tugging at Hermione's hand.

"Draco!" she whisper-shouted, annoyed.

"Just a joke... I meant see you later" Draco muttered, looking back at the two boys.

"See you later, Malfoy. Take good care of our friend" Harry said, turning around and continuing on his way with Ginny, Ron and Marissa.

Draco narrowed his eyes as he watched them walk away.

"You'll have to get used to being around them, they're my best friends" Hermione murmured, gently stroking his arm.

He pulled his jacket a little tighter and sighed. Even though it was late March, it was still quite cold and there was snow in the village.

"I know... give me time, but I'm warning you, I'll never be his friend" he answered, walking with her hand in hand.

Hermione laughed softly.

"I don't expect you guys to be friends, but you two need to get along better and be able to be in the same place without arguing."

"I think I can do that" Draco admitted, nodding slowly.

She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

"You need to get used to being around my friends too" he added, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione felt a knot in her stomach. She had met Theo, Blaise, Gregory and Draco in a corridor once that week, and Draco had caught her in his arms, introducing her to them so she got to know them a little.

It was a very awkward moment. They had all insulted her quite a few times in the past, even that year, but Draco had done it many more times too and she had forgiven him... so, if she tried, she could overlook his friends' former attitude.

They had felt weird talking to her too, but Draco had made it very clear to them that they had to start being nice to Hermione if they wanted to keep his friendship.

"It's going to be hard, but I'll do it. At least with Pansy I think it'll be easy" Hermione said, snorting.

Draco hid a grin.

"Yes, she hasn't hated you for a long time now. She realised how I felt about you before I did, she knows me too well" he muttered, pausing.

They entered the Three Broomsticks and saw Harry and Ron with their girlfriends at a table by the window. Hermione's mouth dropped open when she saw Draco walk towards the door that only adults could pass through.

"Come on, we're repeating a year and we're of age" Draco told her with a mischievous grin.

She smiled back at him and entered. Hermione had never been in that part of the pub before.

"I'm not actually repeating, I never got to start seventh year. Harry, Ron and I spent the whole year looking for horcruxes" Hermione whispered.

"I know."

Soft, ambient music was playing, and almost every table was occupied by wizards and witches much older than them.

"You still smell like lavender" Draco commented, glancing sideways at her.

"So do you" she replied, blushing.

Some people stared at the sight of them holding hands, others were more polite and looked away after a little scrutiny.

"We're too well known" Draco mumbled, giving a poisonous look to a man who hadn't taken his eyes off them since they came in.

He decided to ignore the gawkers and walked to one of the two remaining tables, sitting down with Hermione.

"What's the difference between here and outside?" she asked curiously, looking around.

"It's quieter here, they only serve alcoholic drinks, and they have really good food" Draco explained.

The waitress waved her wand in their direction and a tablecloth covered the table, leaving two cards with the menu on it.

"Have you tried the elf wine?" Draco asked, glancing at her.

Hermione wrinkled her nose.

"Don't do that, it's made by free elves and they make a living that way."

She smiled at him and shook her head.

"Well, you're going to try it today. Go on, choose what you want to eat" Draco added.

"Have you been here many times?"

"This year Theo, Blaise and I have been here a few times. Pansy and Gregory like it less, but sometimes they join in" he commented as he read the menu.

Hermione concentrated on the meals offered there, trying to picture Draco in that place with his friends as they laughed and drank together.

The waitress came over and, after taking down their orders, made the cards disappear. She brought them a bottle of wine and two glasses, returning behind the bar afterwards. Draco opened the bottle and poured some into Hermione's glass.

"Taste it."

She took a sip and licked her lips.

"It's really good" she admitted, smiling shyly.

"I knew you'd like it" Draco said, filling both glasses to the top.

"Are we going to drink the whole bottle?" Hermione asked, a little frightened.

"We'll see if we feel like it. It won't go to your head so much when you eat, don't worry."

Draco took a sip and winked at her.

"You really want to get me drunk" Hermione said quietly, raising an eyebrow.

"Just a little, I'm sure it's a lot of fun to watch."

"I don't know, it's my first time drinking."

Draco snorted softly, putting a hand to his forehead.

"You're such a good girl, Hermione... you need to learn to do crazy things."

She frowned.

"I'm sorry, but I've broken dozens of Hogwarts rules every year. I'm not a good girl at all."

Draco chuckled and pulled his chair closer to hers, resting a hand on her thigh.

"You're right. If you were a good girl, you wouldn't have ended up tangled up with me" he whispered close to her ear.

"Exactly" Hermione said, trying to contain the shiver that his words had caused.

Draco smirked at her, taking another sip from his glass.

"I think we should sneak into that bathroom every weekend."

Hermione looked up at him and saw that his grey eyes were fixed on her.

"Sometimes I think you just want us to get expelled" she replied quietly, a smile on her lips.

"Prefects don't go there at night."

"Because they're out in the corridors, keeping watch."

He arched a brow and one corner of his lips twisted upwards.

"Ask your friend Potter to lend you his cloak, then you won't have any trouble. I can hide well, I've never been seen" he muttered, biting his lower lip.

She blinked several times in surprise.

"You know about Harry's cloak?"

"He didn't tell you about the time I caught him spying on me on the train?" Draco replied, laughing.

"It's true... you broke his nose."

He nodded, still laughing, and drank some more.

"Don't let me get drunk" Hermione demanded, grabbing the hand he had on her leg.

He moved closer and kissed her forehead.

"Relax, we'll just have a drink to see how you feel... Is that okay?"

She nodded, smiling.

The sleeve of Draco's jumper had lifted up a little, revealing part of his Dark Mark. Hermione noticed it and brought her fingers up to that area, leaving a caress.

Draco pulled his arm away and frowned.

"I hate it" he grunted between his teeth.

"Don't hate it, they're our war marks" she said, pulling up her own sleeve until her 'mudblood' scar was visible.

She linked her arm with Draco's and clasped their hands together, smiling at him. He smiled back and kissed her on the lips for a second.

"Will I notice something soon?" Hermione asked, holding the glass with her other hand.

"You've only had one sip so far, you're never going to notice anything at that rate" Draco murmured with a chuckle.

Hermione nudged him and they both moved away from the table as the waitress levitated the food towards them. Draco had a bite of his meal and then glanced sideways at hers, attacking it with his fork.

"Hey!" she protested once she saw him stealing some french fries.

He ate them, still giggling, and Hermione joined in.

"And I... can I try some of yours?" she asked, looking at Draco's plate.

"Take everything you want" he said, smiling.

The two finished their meal, sharing laughs and stories from when they were younger and loathed each other. Once they left, the bottle ended up emptier than Hermione had thought.

Her cheeks were burning and she couldn't stop smiling. Draco was holding her tighter and tighter around the waist and was starting to whisper in her ear everything he was going to do to her that night when they slept together.

They went into Zonko's and, after buying a couple of items for pranks, they headed to the shop that George had opened in Hogsmeade in September, a branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Hermione stopped at the display case where they had all the love potions and bit her lower lip, looking at Draco.

"If you want another bottle that smells like me... I'll buy you one" she said quietly, pointing at them.

Draco shook his head, smirking.

"I don't need it anymore, I have you now."

She couldn't help but smile back at him and threw herself into his arms, kissing him. They heard some giggles around the shop and Hermione pulled away from him, feeling quite embarrassed.

"I shouldn't have done that" she said, looking down.

Draco grabbed her shoulders and they walked out into the street.

"You can kiss me whenever you want, Hermione. Don't be embarrassed, we've been hiding long enough this year... Don't you think?"

"You're right" she admitted, clutching the arm he had around her neck.

The sun had already set, and they walked back towards the castle together. When they reached the corridor that led to the Great Hall, they heard the murmur of all the students eating dinner inside.

"Are you hungry?" Draco asked, glancing at her.

"No, we had a big lunch and I'm still full" Hermione replied, touching her belly.

"Much better. We'll be able to get lost without anyone spotting us."

Without another word, Draco pulled her towards one of the towers. They climbed up the stone staircase to the top floor, where Hermione had never been before.

"Draco... Isn't this the tower where it's forbidden to go inside?" she said, frowning.

He lifted both eyebrows but didn't answer, smiling wickedly.

"Alohomora."

The door clicked open, Draco pushed Hermione and the two of them went inside.

"We're going to get into trouble" she protested quietly.

"It's no big deal, there's nothing dangerous here and no one's going to find us."

He lit some candles by waving his wand and Hermione saw that they were at the top of the tower. The windows were boarded up, she remembered that more than once she had been with Draco sitting on the stone railing of those balconies.

"What do they keep in here that they don't let the students in?" she asked with a confused voice.

Draco turned her around and Hermione gasped at the sight of the Mirror of Erised.