Harry and Ron were laughing loudly at something Ginny had said, but that was to be expected. It was as if nothing had changed with them, or at least they thought it was like that. Hermione's longtime friends didn't realize just how much she wanted to be walking out of the great hall with Draco at that moment; her head was beginning to ache from all the noise and while she hadn't seen a portion of the battle during the day in a long time, Hermione was afraid it was going to happen again. Head aches often happened before she saw pieces of the battle, though she slowly convinced herself that it was possible for it to be an actual head ache. Not everything had to lead to something bad, she knew, and it was silly to keep thinking that it did.
"Hermione, are you okay?" Neville asked quietly, concern laced into his voice. "Is Malfoy okay? He all but ran out of here,"
"I wasn't looking at him," Hermione denied quietly, sighing heavily and forcing herself to take a bite of the dessert sitting in front of her.
"Sure you weren't," Neville muttered. "I know something is going on between you two, Hermione, and you don't have to tell me what it is but you shouldn't lie to me about it either. I honestly don't care that you're friends with him. He's not rude to you or anything, anymore, so why should I?"
Hermione frowned at him, wishing she could remember the exact moment when Neville began to read her so well. In the past she'd been able to outsmart him in cases like this but now he just knew what was going on. "So I was looking at him," she said, her voice getting softer to make sure none of their other friends heard it. "And I am concerned that he left so quickly, but I don't know what it is and I don't expect he'll tell me until he's ready. Draco likes to take his time with things like that. He didn't tell me about his father going to trial until the day before we left for the holiday. We'd been friends for a while by then and I know he'd known for a while too,"
"Do you think it's something like that? Maybe his mother?"
"His mother? No, Harry said she saved him,"
"The ministry doesn't care about the good things Death Eaters do. They wanted to rub Snape's name in the dirt, didn't they? Even after all he'd done that was good,"
Hermione frowned and shook her head, the image of Snape dying popping into her mind for a moment. She'd never really liked him, nor had she hated him in the way other Gryffindors had, but him dying in front of her had affected her. "If it is something like that, I'm sure Harry will be called on her behalf. He would be the best person to make sure she didn't get in trouble. And Harry would tell me before Draco does,"
"I think maybe you should go talk to him. You never know; showing you care could make him-"
Hermione was well prepared to explain to him that she did care and Draco knew that she cared, but Luna cut in at that moment talking about how nice she thought the pudding was. Neville continued to glance at her throughout the remainder of dinner with worried eyes, and Hermione fought the urge to ask him whether or not he cared about Draco. There didn't seem to be another reason as to why he would be so worried about Draco's behavior, but Hermione knew that wasn't the truth. Neville was being kind about her friendship with him because he cared about her and wanted her to be happy, not because he thought it was good for Draco. "Do you want to come to the common room with us, Hermione?" Harry asked, smiling as he turned to look at her. He hadn't seemed to notice the tension between her and Neville, something Hermione was used to. "You haven't been up there much,"
"I think I'll just go back to my own," she declined politely. "But I'd be happy to walk you all up there,"
Five minutes later, after Ron had stuffed the last of his cake into his mouth, they walked out as a large group and began the slow climb to the Gryffindor tower. Harry and Ron were joking with each other and Neville, Luna, and Ginny were all talking quietly; Hermione was walking with Harry's arm around her shoulders as she listened to her friends. She'd missed the comfortable feeling of being with them and not truly worrying about what she could do wrong so the walk was actually quite pleasant even though she mostly kept quiet. Hermione was forced into hugs after they reached the Fat Lady, though all she wanted to do at that point was go to bed. Exhaustion usually caught up with her after dinner and that day had been no exception.
She got back to the common room only to find it empty. Hermione tried Draco's door and found it unlocked, though he wasn't inside. With a sigh she walked to her room and picked up a book and a blanket before going back out to the common room and curling up on the sofa. She would at least wait until he got back before going to bed; if Draco wanted to tell her something then, she wouldn't deny him the chance. She would be there for him, as he'd been there that morning. Sure Draco wasn't the best at comforting people, but she'd appreciated him that morning in the bathroom. Draco Malfoy hated crying yet he'd stayed with her when she'd broken down. Hermione was thankful it hadn't lasted long because she didn't like crying very much either, but him being there was appreciated all the same.
After a while Terry and Hannah came in, sat down, and began chatting about new conversations they'd had with students about things they could do to improve house unity. Hermione felt bad that she wasn't taking her responsibilities as serious as they were, but she didn't exactly have the motivation to sort out other's problems when she was still trying to sort out her own. A half hour passed with them ignoring her and Hermione focusing on her book before the door opened yet again. Hermione looked up, expecting to see Draco and get an explanation of where he'd disappeared to, but it was Professor McGonagall who entered the room. "Miss Granger, I need you to come with me,"
An overwhelming feeling of dread settled in her stomach. The last time McGonagall had pulled her out of a room it had been to tell her that her mother was dead and Hermione couldn't stop her mind from jumping to the conclusion that something had happened to her father as well. "Professor, what's going on?" she asked, standing up and regarding the older woman with concerned eyes. She quickly found that McGonagall was looking at her with the same expression.
"It's nothing too serious," McGonagall assured her. "Nevertheless, I need you to come with me," Hermione nodded and followed her out of the common room, where the worried expression on McGonagall's face melted into one of complete fury.
"Professor?"
"Draco Malfoy was attacked," she said quickly.
Shock was the first emotion that settled in Hermione's mind, though anger quickly took over. "What?" she asked sharply, her eyes narrowing. "How badly? Is he okay? Who did this?"
"He'll be fine, though I had Madam Pomfrey check him over and give him a sleeping potion. Do you know why I did this, Miss Granger?"
The anger in her voice made Hermione blink as she realized it was her that Professor McGonagall was angry with. "No, I don't,"
"Do you know the consequences of being deprived of sleep, Miss Granger? I'll inform you they are quite severe, so if you would kindly explain to me why Mr. Malfoy-"
"Professor-"
"And I would also like to know why I'm sure I would find you in the same condition,"
"You have no right to-"
"Miss Granger I simply want to protect my students. What is going on with you two?"
"I-Professor I-Just let me see Draco, please? I'll... We'll explain everything in the morning. I promise. But please, just let me see him. When he wakes up I want to talk this over with him,"
"Do I have your word, Miss Granger?"
"Of course," Hermione said quickly.
"Then come with me," Hermione was led to the hospital wing at a quick pace, something she was pleased with. Getting there quickly meant that she saw Draco sooner and that was something Hermione wanted. McGonagall hadn't explained what had happened when she said that Draco had been attacked and Hermione had been playing the worst case scenario in her mind. They arrived at his bed, Madam Pomfrey nowhere in sight, and Hermione let out a small sigh of relief. He didn't look too bad. "He's lucky he didn't break anything," McGonagall said quietly.
"What happened?"
"We think a tripping jinx had him falling down the stairs. He went head over heels, Miss Granger, and his head was injured but Madam Pomfrey healed that rather quickly. She says there will be bruising but it hasn't shown up yet so there's currently nothing we can do about that,"
"Someone wanted him to get seriously hurt then," Hermione said. "He could have broken something-he could have broken his neck!"
"And he's very lucky that he didn't,"
"Very lucky?" Hermione asked shrilly. "Someone basically tried to kill him and you're calling him lucky?"
"Miss Granger-"
"Do you even know who did it?"
"No. And Mr. Malfoy didn't see who did it; he said that when he was still awake,"
"I want them caught," Hermione said, her mind no longer thinking rationally. "I want to go through every damn student in this school until we find out who did it and-"
"Miss Granger we can't go interrogating every student!"
"Well then how are you protecting him?" Hermione asked, her voice steadily raising.
She'd been about to start shouting when Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her quarters with a rather annoyed look on her face. "You must quiet down, Miss Granger!" she said furiously. "Look at him, you're already starting to disturb his sleep,"
The three witches looked to Draco in surprise; sleeping potions shouldn't be interrupted by one person shouting. They were stronger than that. Draco, who'd been laying still was now muttering incoherently under his breath. "What's going on?" McGonagall asked, a worried sound to her voice that almost made Hermione forget how angry she'd been with her moments ago.
"Is he-Is he having a nightmare?" Hermione asked, wondering if the suggestion would be helpful. She didn't know if he ever had nightmares; he never mentioned any to her but Hermione wouldn't be too surprised if that was the case. She was sure she looked the same when she was having one. His face contorted as he rolled onto his side. Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall watched him in shock for a few seconds, though Hermione didn't want to do that. Instead, she sat down in a chair and reached for his hand. He flinched when she touched him, though her hand was being held too tightly for her to try and pull away. "Go," she whispered. "There's nothing you can do to stop it, just go,"
"Miss Granger you must go to bed," Madam Pomfrey tried.
"I'm not leaving him," she said defiantly.
A few more minutes of angry conversation followed, as the two older woman attempted to force Hermione away from him, but she continued to refuse until they'd walked away in defeat. Hermione hadn't left Ron when he'd been in the hospital wing in sixth year and she didn't plan on leaving Draco either. She knew it wasn't true, but it seemed like he needed her and she wasn't going to leave when that thought was in her mind.
Hermione stayed in her chair, almost falling asleep on multiple different occasions, but she forced herself to focus on different things every few moments so she wouldn't drift off. She'd focused on Draco's pale face and the bruise forming by his temple no less than ten times by the time four o'clock came around, and even then there were two more hours before he was supposed to wake for the day. It was a Thursday morning and neither of them had a class on Thursday mornings, so Hermione reassured herself that they would have time to discuss what they were going to do. Now that McGonagall knew something was up with them they couldn't just avoid the topic; she wouldn't let them. And while Hermione didn't want to share her secret with anyone else and let them know about her nightmares, she really had no other choice.
Another two hours passed and Hermione fought off exhaustion as she noticed Draco begin to stir. He opened his eyes slowly and groaned, putting a hand to his head and immediately yelping. "Draco are you-"
"My letter," he said quickly, sitting up and looked around with wide eyes despite the pain Hermione could see in them. "My letter, where's my-"
"Draco what are you-"
He immediately jumped to grab a piece of parchment on the table by his bed. He promptly fell off and groaned again, though he continued to clutch the parchment tightly in his hands. He stood slowly, his face pale, and sat on the bed. It was only then that he seemed to truly notice her. "Granger what the hell are you doing here?"
"Professor McGonagall came to get me last night and told me you were hurt,"
"But what are you doing here?"
"I wasn't going to just sit in my room all night and worry about you,"
"Please tell me you slept,"
"I wasn't going to wake Madam Pomfrey up with a scream," she said quietly.
"Damn it, Granger, you're supposed to take care of yourself!"
"I was taking care of myself! I was just worried about you and-You know you have no right to be mad about this. It's basically what you've been doing for me ever since you found out,"
"But I don't give a damn about whether or not I'm sleeping; you need it,"
Hermione stared at him for a few moments, her frown not once leaving her face. He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back against the pillow on his bed and sighing. "Look, I did what I wanted to and you don't get to be upset about that," He nodded, resigned, and stared at the wall across the room. "Draco what happened?" she asked, reaching out to grab his hand. "Professor McGonagall said that-"
"I don't know, Granger. I'd rather not talk about it,"
"Draco?"
"What?" he asked irritably, frowning deeply.
"You're not looking at me,"
"Your point?"
"What happened?"
"It's none of your damn business,"
"Draco-" Hermione stopped as he turned to look at her, finally meeting her eyes.
"They know what's happening, Granger," he said quietly. "They know about how little sleep we're getting because of the stair thing. McGonagall's going to ask you about it and I let your secret go because I couldn't catch myself on the damn stairs,"
"I don't care about that,"
"But I care, Granger! If it weren't for me then you wouldn't have to try and explain something you don't want to talk about and it's my fault and I-"
Hermione hesitated before standing up and holding both of his cheeks. She knew the action was bold and it had shocked Malfoy, she could tell by the look in his eyes, but she had to make him see reason. "Draco I don't care about that. Do you hear me? It would have come out eventually and... and maybe someone will find some way to help me. I don't know. But I don't care about that. I care about the fact that you got hurt last night,"
"Granger what are you-"
She surprised herself by kissing him rather quickly. It was another action that surprised him, but neither had the time to comment on it because McGonagall walked into the room a few moments after Hermione pulled away. For the next half an hour McGonagall listened as they explained why they weren't sleeping, and the news seemed to only upset her. She promised to call them both to her office later in the week once she'd come up with a solution to their problem. She'd left them to Madam Pomfrey fussing over Draco before he was released, and they walked back toward the common room.
Draco had been quiet ever since Professor McGonagall had left, and it wasn't until he pulled her into a side corridor often used to get to the great hall that he said a word. "Granger why did you tell me it was okay when it so obviously wasn't?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You've hid that all year and the only reason you're telling anyone now is because McGonagall found out that I wasn't sleeping. How are you okay with that?"
"Because in the moment the more important thing was that you were okay. I'd rather you be okay than my sleeping patterns still be a secret,"
"You care about me then,"
"Draco you already know that I do. I don't know why you're still so unsure,"
"Because I don't...Granger I didn't think that you..." Something flickered in his eyes, an emotion that Hermione assumed wouldn't be shared with her. But after a moment Draco was leaning in and kissing her gently, and she was sure he was appreciative of her words. Hermione knew the appreciation wasn't needed because it was simply how she felt, but she didn't say anything about it and kissed him back. It had surely only lasted a few seconds before he pulled away and took her hand, leading her back to the common room. "Get some sleep," he said quietly. "You're exhausted,"
"There's not enough time before my first class," Hermione said, frowning. "I'd rather just heal your bruises,"
"My-Granger I haven't even looked to see if there are any," he said.
"There's already one on your face, Draco," she stated, pulling him into her room as Terry and Hannah weren't in the common room or probably even awake yet. "Are you okay if I-" she started, grabbing some of the bruise removal paste from her trunk. He only nodded in response and closed his eyes, sighing heavily. "Draco? What's gotten into you?"
"It's nothing," he said, though Hermione knew that wasn't really the case. But she didn't want to do anything that would upset him, as that would only make him angry and she didn't want a fight. He would tell her, eventually.