Ch. 11
The next morning he woke up and knocked on Hermione's bedroom door. A week ago the thought that he would stay the night at her place was not existent, and now he couldn't believe he had. He knew that with the type of injury she sustained it wasn't a good idea for her to spend the first night out of the hospital wing alone.
This morning was a holiday for the school so no classes were actually in session. If there were classes, he didn't think she would be ready to go back and teach. He didn't want to fight with her so soon after she was released and had been careful not to push any of her buttons like he usually did.
Hermione, to his surprise came out fully dressed with her hair done.
"Going somewhere?" he asked skeptically.
"Other than breakfast?" she returned. "Yeah, I have a few things I need to do today…"
She was aware that Malfoy would need to approve because she was released to his care, but she didn't want to feel like she was beholden to him.
"Such as?" he could guess.
"I do have research to do in the library, and we didn't finish decorating, and I need to make some catch up plans for my classes…" she said in her know it all voice.
"Nope, not happening," he said in a sweet tone that made her think she could convince him otherwise. He had been expecting this.
"I feel just fine," she played off his objection and continued to get ready.
He stood back from her to give her the impression that she could leave if she wanted to. "You feel fine because that's an effect of the draught you took last night. If you push yourself you'll wind up back in the hospital wing." He tried to explain.
"Malfoy, seriously, I feel fine," she said in a final tone.
"Let's see how you feel after breakfast," he suggested and she agreed. She would just need to make it through eating and they could get started.
They walked to the great hall and Hermione continued on about how well she felt. Draco just smiled in a calculating way and she didn't want to hear what was on his mind.
When she walked into the great hall she noticed all the decorating they were supposed to do had been completed. She stopped in the doorway and looked around the hall, her eyes wide because of all the beauty. "Did you finish this?" she asked as students squished past her through the doorway. She looked over at Draco and waited for his answer. He just stood and smirked, taking in the smile and shock on her face.
"Do you like it?" he asked. "I'm not sure the pumpkins are as big as you wanted, but I also didn't want to make any more of them explode," he added sarcastically.
"Draco," she reached out to hug him. "I love it, thank you!" He patted her back and stepped back so she would release him. He liked the hug, but not the attention they would get for having had it. Normally he would have asked her to consider where she was, but it wasn't her fault, he knew she wasn't well at the moment.
They ate and she realized she did have some pain when she chewed but expected that to leave her in time. He saw her make a few pained faces while she ate. After she got done eating Draco leaned in.
"Still insist on not following directions Granger?" he questioned.
"I told you, I'm fine!" she said in an irritated tone.
"Good, I was hoping you would say that." He waived at Madame Pomfrey who was looking their direction. Hermione shot him a glare, wondering what he was going to say. "It's pretty simple. If you insist on being strong willed about this," he paused and took a moment to scrutinize her defiant eyes, "then you can go back to the hospital wing with our friend over there," he added matter of factly.
She wondered if it was possible to like someone and hate them at the same moment. She wanted to yell at him but knew that wouldn't bode well either.
"If you get enough rest today you should be good to go to lessons tomorrow." He offered to entice her. It had the opposite effect.
"Maybe I should just go back to the hospital wing if you're just going to be controlling…I bet you're getting some kind of satisfaction out of all of this, aren't you?" She whispered to him. She didn't really mean what she said, her anger had taken over and irritation about her injury.
His face fell, he had spent the day with her yesterday just baby sitting her to make sure she was safe, and she just threw it all in his face.
"On second thought," he said in a cold whisper, "maybe I was too generous in checking you out early. Like you said last night, there were plenty of other things I could have been doing." She had crossed a boundary and hit a nerve.
She regretted her words, and his words made sense to her. "Look," she sighed as she tried to think of how to answer him. "I do know you had other things to do Draco. When I think about how much you're helping me I do appreciate it and I know that spending this much time with me can't be very much fun for you." She said, depressed as she pushed her food away and made a dejected face.
To make matters worse he didn't reply to what she said, feeling guilty of his own words and worried he would just add to the misunderstanding if he tried to set her straight.
He stood up and she walked beside him silently as she went back to her place. Draco came in with her and made up the couch. "I think you can sleep without me here tonight," he wanted to give her space and just check on her intermittently throughout the day because she was irritated with him.
She walked over to the sleeping draught that he had left on the counter and drank down a cup full. Then, she refilled it and drank that down as well.
"Granger, what do you think you're doing?" he asked as she filled up the cup a third time.
"Letting you have your space," she replied as she held the cup up to her lips, he put his hand on her arm to block her from drinking it.
"That potion is strong and I wouldn't recommend drinking more than the two cups you already did." He didn't realize the idea of him leaving would effect her so much.
She continued to lift the cup despite his attempts to block her.
"I'll stay, that's what you want?" He said, trying to guess so she would stop the behavior.
"Don't you have plenty of other things to do?" she asked, clearly hurt and her eyes filling with tears.
"I lied, okay! I just wanted you to listen, I don't want you to get hurt again," he tried to find the words and was feeling some desperation.
Suddenly, his actions made sense to Hermione and even though she didn't agree with him, she could actually see that he cared for her. She began to lower the glass and as she did she brought her other hand up to cover a slight yawn. He rested his hand on her arm and ran it down the length of her arm as he reached for her hand and took the cup. He had a concerned look on his face.
"You're my only friend, remember," he tried to offer. "I'll help you go lay down…" he said as he held out his arm.
Hermione did it quickly, she stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek before taking his arm to be lead to her bedroom doorway. He heard her snoring as he made up the couch for himself.
The next day lessons went well and she was starting to feel better day after day. She was getting ready for the Halloween party that all the heads of house were planning to chaperone. After dinner McGonigal called the heads of houses together to discuss preparations the evening before the event.
"There will be a celebration similar to what we've seen in previous years; a dance, live music, and some goodies and punch for the students. I'd like each of the heads of houses to be there keeping an eye on the students to ensure this event goes as planned."
Each of them nodded and the meeting broke.
Draco walked her back to her place and saw her inside. He planned to go sleep back at his place two nights ago, but when he started to pick up Hermione would act like she didn't want him to leave. He felt torn and a little awkward.
He sat down on the couch and straightened his pillows and blankets up. "I'm going to have to sleep back at my place eventually, and you seem like you're doing better," he tried to get the conversation rolling.
She sat down next to him and handed him a cup of tea. "It's true, I am feeling better." She hesitated before sharing the next part. "For some reason, I feel better having you near." He gave her an odd look, "I know that sounds weird," she finished. She couldn't explain what about him made her feel that way.
"I'm just across the hall." He tried to down play her concern or he'd never go back. He had to keep reminding himself that they were friends and not to do things he shouldn't do or say around her because he cared about her feelings. It was exhausting. "Really Granger." He said in a tone that was meant to make her feel ridiculous. "I'm going back over tonight." He had been sleeping lite wondering if she was going to wake up and she never did.
"You're right. You need to be rested for tomorrow. I've heard the Slytherin students like to party, so you could be busy tomorrow." She returned, laughing.
"Laugh it up Granger, because I have a feeling there will be at least one house that's more of a challenge than mine, and that's your own." He teased her.
"Oh you think so?" She raised her eyebrows.
"Think? No, it's a fact. Do you want to put a wager on it? To make things more interesting?" He pushed.
"What are the terms?" she asked haughtily.
"If I win, you grade my papers for a week, if you win, I grade yours for a week…" he offered.
"But I like grading my papers," she frowned.
"But you're going to lose, so you'll get double," he reminded her.
She couldn't take him disrespecting her house any longer and decided to take the bet. If she didn't take it, then he would insinuate that she didn't have any faith in her own house, and she wasn't going to tolerate that. "You're on," she replied as he got up.
"You're the one who better get your sleep. Like you said, long day tomorrow." He wore a smirk as he got up, imagining having no homework to grade for the next week.
The next day Hermione made an announcement to her house table that she was excited for them to be at the dance that evening but expected all of them to be on their best behavior. She stated that any students who were not following the rules would be removed from the party. She didn't want to give Malfoy her homework for the week, but also didn't want to lose the bet.
He eyed her skeptically as they walked back from lunch and to her quarters.
"What?" She asked him when she looked back at him and he didn't speak.
"I just think it's funny…" he trailed off.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "What is?"
He snickered. "You just proved me right about your house…out of all the students going, none of their heads of houses singled them out to have that kind of speech, especially not in front of the whole school," he returned.
It dawned on Hermione that he was right and she felt bad having singled out her house like that. She decided to change the subject.
"What are you planning to wear to the party tonight?" She asked him.
He noticed she changed the subject and left it alone, although it did make him smile. "Probably just dress robes, you?"
"Not dress robes, but still something nice," she said as they reached her door. They went their separate ways and Hermione started getting ready. She took a shower and curled her long hair so that the loose curls hung down, and even put on make-up. She put on a few sprays of the vanilla perfume she liked and put on a dress that was floor length and elegant but still showed off her curves. It was charcoal gray with sparkles so it would blend in well with the black robes most people might be wearing.
She didn't wait for Malfoy to meet her for the party and went to the great hall to watch as the students filed in. Many of the students didn't recognize who she was until she spoke to them.
"Professor! Is that you?" Travis Bones asked her when he arrived.
"Yes, Mr. Bones, move along," she instructed with a warm smile.
She waited for Draco and secretly hoped he would comment on her dress. She shook her head for a moment, "since when do I care what he thinks?" she asked herself. Her emotions were confusing her lately.
When Neville came into the hall he also did a double take at Hermione. "Wow, you look great Hermione," he had to leave quickly because one of his students was already breaking the rules. She was happy to see that so far all hers were behaving.
"Thanks!" she shouted after him.
She walked up a few steps closer to the party, she realized she was just waiting on Draco and was tired of waiting. She scanned the crowd and didn't see him anywhere. Then someone coughed from behind her and she turned around.
Draco was in his dress robes, as promised, which were emerald green and set off his greyish eyes. He took her in and looked at her like he hadn't seen her properly before. His eyes were wide and he had something she hadn't seen in his eyes before. Was it desire? She searched his eyes while he took her in and reveled in the expression he gave her. She smiled warmly at him and started to feel heat raise to her face.
With her cheeks glowing pink he though she looked even more beautiful. "You're radiant," he said in a soft whisper as he lifted his arm without thinking, leading her closer to the party.
She took his arm and they stood watching the students, until Malfoy broke away. "Excuse me for a moment," he said to her after they had been standing together for several minutes. She was enjoying the music and the general scene and sung along to most of the music.
As the evening went on she only spoke to Malfoy one other time, but she noticed him watching her from across the room and pretended not to notice. She liked the attention from him and she was having trouble understanding why. They had just become friends, it didn't make sense to her.
As the evening grew on, the number of students in the great hall shrunk and shrunk until there were a few students left and it became pretty late. There were also a few teachers present, but no more than twelve people total were left in the great hall. Malfoy had to kick out one Slytherin student while she hadn't had to reprimand any Gryffindor students; a new record.
Once things quieted down, Malfoy came over to Hermione. He had been debating asking her to dance all evening and decided that he was at risk of the party ending without even dancing with her once. He loved how her gown framed her body, she was breathtaking.
He squared up the space between them and leaned in. "May I have this dance," he asked politely as he held out his hand. She smiled and took it and he lead her out onto the floor. Once there, he positioned her hand in his for the slow dance that had just started, and put his hand firmly on the small of her back. She tensed for a moment, not expecting to feel his hand so low, but she liked it, it made her feel feminine.
He felt her tense and whispered in her ear. "Is this okay Granger?" his voice sounding uncertain.
She locked eyes with him and nodded her head while slightly smiling. She was enjoying being so close to him. He was also a good dancer and she hadn't been expecting that.
"Where did you learn how to dance so well?" she asked him.
"I don't know if I would say I dance well," he sounded humble for the first time in her acquaintance. "I learned from my mother," he returned. He was blushing but where they were dancing was a little darker for Hermione to notice.
They danced the next few songs that continued to be slow and Draco led her with grace around the hall. She was having an amazing time when the band stopped and it was over. They both stood there for a moment, still holding on to one another and she locked eyes with him again.
"…Draco…" she began to say something when he cut her off.
"Oh, sorry," he let go of her hand and her back and she felt alone even though he was standing right next to her.
"That was…nice," she whispered, feeling swept off her feet.
He didn't reply but looked around and noticed that everyone else had left and they were alone.
"We're the last ones?" He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed. He had been too busy taking in Hermione to see anything else. She could see now that he was blushing.
His blushing made her blush as well. "I guess we better head back," he added as he walked beside her. She stood frozen to the spot. "Almost forgot," he said as he held up his arm for her again.
She smiled and took it as they walked back to the portrait hole. When they were in front of her door she invited him in.
"I'm going to change and I'll come back," he replied as he lowered his arm and went into his quarters. Likewise, she went in and traded her dress for a comfortable set of pajamas that were also eye catching. She debated changing them many times but then decided to stick with them. She kept her hair and make up the same.
Draco knocked and she let him in and he was taken aback by her for the second time that evening. Her pajamas were a light pink lacey tank top and short bottoms that showed her whole outline. He took in her body as his breath caught in his chest. He was beyond blushing.
He was wearing his pajamas and particularly the muggle shirt that he knew she liked so much.
Hermione moved into the kitchen and put on some tea for them and brought it out after a minute. He was sitting on the couch reading a book when she sat the tray down. She scooted so close that she was right next to him and she intentionally laid her head down on his chest. She held her book open and started reading when he put his arm around her. She looked up at him to see the look on his face, it was still pensive but much more relaxed. She gave him a small half smile as he looked down at her with an unreadable expression. Being close to him made her feel comfortable.
In a short while they both became tired. She got up to put the tea away as he repositioned on the couch. When she came back into the room, he scooted over to make room for her to lay next to him and looked over at her, inviting her without verbalizing it. She half smiled and laid down next to him and snuggled up with her head on his chest. She looked up at him, unsure of what this new found comfort meant for their friendship. As she looked up he put one arm around her, and with his other hand he moved her bangs out of her face and ran his hand through her hair. She exhaled deeply and within minutes, they both were asleep.