A/n- yet another chapter- in ONE day! Oh- and I can't remember when Draco's dad is put into prison and when that relates to the Half Blood Prince, but in this the HBP has not occurred and Mr. Malfoy is in Azkaban (not that it has much to do with the plot).
Disclaimer: wish it was so, but it's NOT!
Summary: Hermione admits her trust and Draco admits something else (to himself anyway).
Jackknifed
The snows of deep winter had settled upon the Hogwarts castle, moving in from the sleeting rain to replace the icy chill with a hibernating blanket of silence.
The lake had frozen over, its banks frosted, crackling against the dirt, crested upon the little island in the middle of the lagoon.
Nothing had been uttered openly about Draco and Hermione's little detour in the rain. Just the casual glances between classes, between the assigning of homework.
Yet, when they met, the pair could nearly talk of nothing else for the next month, until that snow had littered the ground with its delicate white.
It was late afternoon then, on a Friday.
Draco stood, in usual quietness upon the snow covered Owlry steps, hands clasped together, leaning upon the stone.
The cold nipped dully at his pale nose and he drew his green and silver scarf round his neck tighter. He sniffed, balancing his broom against his left foot.
"What did you bring that for?" Hermione said as she joined him.
"Thought maybe I'd go out for a little joy ride, eh?" He smirked at her, brightening at her presence. Hermione rolled her eyes, pushing his arm with her mittened hand.
Hermione gave a sigh.
"Did you, you know, talk to your father lately?"
Draco paused, looking at her.
They had discussed, recently, his father.
His father's idiocy.
His father's current incarceration.
"No, I haven't." Malfoy said finally, running a hand through his hair.
"Don't let him get to you." Hermione said matter-of-factly. Draco stared at her. "You're far too bright to be taken advantage of anyone, especially your father."
"You know, at the beginning of the year I would have hexed you for that one."
"Good thing it's not the beginning of the year then, isn't it?" She grinned at him and Draco grinned back, feeling all too comfortable talking about his father.
Draco watched as Hermione reached up to fix his scarf, knotting it in a little tie over around his collar.
"Warm?"
"Very."
"Good."
Malfoy let out a low whistle, tipping the handle of his broom from one hand to the other. He saw Hermione eyeing suspiciously out of the corner of her eye.
"Still not keen on flying, eh, Granger?" The bemusement in his voice was unconcealed. Hermione grimaced, taking the broom from his hands and weighing it in her own.
"Not particularly, no."
Malfoy smirked.
"Well, don't you think we should change all that, then?" His eyes glinted with a dangerous fire, a smoldering, pale gray. His lips were pursed; chin thrust forward into the air.
Hermione blinked at him.
"Well, come on!" Draco reached over and grasped the broom, bringing to his chest and down, swinging a leg over it. One of his feet hooked into the little iron stirrup in the back, the other steadying himself on the ground.
His hand reached out towards Hermione.
If only she would take it.
Trust me. Draco pleaded inwardly.
Hermione looked from the broom, to Draco, and then out over the grounds, noting how particularly far down they were.
"I don't like flying, Draco." She murmured, taking a step towards him.
"Ah, but you adore me." The boy drawled. "So hop on."
Hermione threw him a rueful smile and placed her hand within his.
Draco grinned, pulling her a little closer, lifting up her hand as she slid onto the broom in front of him.
"Sure it won't…ah- break? Malfoy?" Hermione gripped the varnished handle in front of her. Draco slipped his hands around her waste to also grasp the front.
"Ready?" He breathed, feeling an odd soaring sensation as he whispered softly next to her ear.
Hermione shook her head 'no'.
"Good." He laughed as he kicked off the ground, somewhat awkwardly due to the extra weight. Yet, the broom's strength held, at least his father had done something right by buying it for him.
The Nimbus shot up to the top of the Owlry, the wind buffeting it slightly.
Hermione's weight shifted, tipping them dangerously close to the shingled roof.
A shrill cry escaped her lips and Draco felt her hands clamp down on his.
Grinning, Malfoy leaned out, striking his heel against the roof of the Owlry, rocketing them off into the air, Hermione's shrill noise lost amongst the winter wind.
Draco laughed uproariously, overcome by the fact that someone could be afraid of flying.
"Where do you want to go?" He said, Hermione's back to him, nestled against his chest on the broom.
They had rounded the Astronomy tower.
"The lake." He heard her whisper softly.
Draco let out a quick breath and turned the broom towards the east. He felt Hermione's tense shoulders relax.
Slowly, her hands released his, her arms trailing up so they opened to the wind.
Draco leaned forward, his chin resting upon her shoulder, her chestnut hair slipping softly by his cheek in the wind. Balancing, he let go of the broom and slowly wrapped one arm around her waist, the other pulling his scarf a little tighter around his neck.
"Still scared?" he murmured.
Hermione shook her head, looking out over the frozen water.
"Good." And he tipped the broom into a small dive.
The ice shot up towards them, Hermione's breath coming in a short gasp as they stopped just a foot from the lake's glassy surface.
As if she had complete control over the broom, Hermione leaned down, legs hooked around the handle. Draco dropped his arm that had held her.
Slowly, she let her fingers brush the ice, a little trail of snow sticking to her palm.
Malfoy kicked the broom forward and it slowly circled around the bank, up to the little tuft of island that rested just offshore of the forest.
Hermione sat back up, a loose pack of snow in her palms.
"It's a wonderland out here, Draco."
"Mmm."
They touched down tentatively onto the frozen grass, crunching it under their feet. Hermione slid off, standing out upon a fallen tree trunk that jutted over the frozen water, facing the Hogwarts' ground.
Malfoy left his broom by the side of an outcropping of rocks and went to her, after she sat herself on a particularly dry part of the trunk. He sat opposite her, watching her calm face.
Her eyes swam with a misty look, a little teary.
Draco's lips parted.
Had he done something?
"Granger?"
The girl sniffed and smiled, a little abashed.
"This is perfect, thank you." Her face was flushed with an excited afterglow.
To Draco, she looked so perfect like that, and that fact surprised him.
The little snow flakes resting in her hair, on her eyelashes.
Malfoy reached out with a hand to draw away the tear that had slid down her cheek, his pale finger resting against her hot cheek.
She wasn't Pansy, her constant bickering only led to Draco's annoyance.
She wasn't Crabb or Goyle, their stupidity unfulfilling to him.
She wasn't Blaise, his jovial attitude never warmed Draco.
She was her own identity to him and he needed that. He needed to be with her, like this. It was when he was with her that he wasn't in the foul mood he always found himself in when around the other Slytherins.
He needed her.
But why?
Draco's eyes widened, his palms hot. He reached up with his other hand, almost in a daze, and cupped her face, his thumbs resting on her cheekbones.
Why?
…oh God. He thought.
It was at that moment, with her face in his palms, her breath bellowing up in cones of clouded white, that Hermione changed.
She was not Pansy. She was not his cronies. She was not Blaise.
Hermione had shared her hopes and dreams with him.
He had done the same with her.
She was untouchable.
Unchallenged.
Undiscovered.
It was then that Draco finally realized why he had become friends with Hermione Granger… and it was so far from the reasons she had confessed.
It was because…
"Draco?"
His thoughts turned to smoke.
Hermione looked at Malfoy with her brows drawn together, a little worried at his vacant expression.
"I-" He started, unsure of what to say. "Will you come to watch my match tomorrow?"
Inwardly, he grimaced, and let his hands fall down into his lap.
Yet, Hermione's lips parted in a wide smile.
"Slytherin versus Ravenclaw?" Her hands covered his in his lap. "I wouldn't miss it."
And they stayed that way for a little while, holding their hands together, grinning shyly.
A/n- WELL? I hope you liked this one, it's probably my favorite chapter. More coming soon! Only…wow… 5 more chapters!!!! EXCITED?!
And I'm sorry to my beta writer Mika because I e-mailed this to her, then like three hours lator, posted. Without her beta! I had really wanted to post this as soon as I could, so I didn't wait! Eeek! Sowy! Much loves, Mika! (This goes to all those reading too, if there are mistakes, its my fault!)
Please review, it gives me warm fuzzies!