Day 4 of 7, baybee! Let's do this thang!

Draco, Flipside

Day 4 of 7

It was evening again, on Monday night. Hermione had just finished her treacle tart in the Great Hall when she remembered that she'd promised Malfoy she'd tutor him in Ancient Runes. She shoved the rest of her dessert into her face and grabbed her bookbag from under the table.

"Gotta go!" she called to Harry and Ron, sprinting out of the Great Hall. "I'll be in the library!"

She skidded to a halt outside the library, nearly crashing into a coat of armor nearby. She made her way to the tables, finally seeing Malfoy. He waved and she went over to where he was.

"Hi," he greeted her warmly. He already had his books out and was peering at the weird, spiky shapes. "I'm ready when you are."

She took out a book she'd found, Runes Simplified for Unbelievably Stupid People, and thumbed through it. "What are you having the most trouble with?" she asked.

He sighed. "Interpretation," he admitted. "I don't really understand half of the meanings of these things."

Hermione opened the book and found the page on interpretation. "First, you kind of have to understand that these Runes are from the Viking people. They are believed to have come from Odin himself, after he hung on the Tree of Life for nine days and nine nights…"

He listened attentively to her every word, even when she started to delve into the utterly complicated history of the Runes. When she finally did get to how to interpret them, he was still listening to her.

"Well then," she said, pointing to the Rune meaning The Unknown, "is blank. This Rune could mean anything. It just depends on how you choose to interpret it. For instance, if you draw it while wondering about your future, it may mean that you are not meant to know what is going to happen."

"This is almost like Divination," he mused, staring at the pictures of the Runes.

She smirked. "I haven't much of a liking for Divination. It's a lot of guesswork. But this…it's just fascinating. I don't know if there's much of a difference, but…"

"I understand," he said. "You can see these Runes, and you can touch them. They have an interesting history and they're beautiful and mystical. They're real for you. But as for trying to read your future with soggy lumps of tea leaves and big crystal orbs, you can't really tell what's going on. At least with this, there's a real purpose."

She was amazed to hear this coming from Malfoy. Of course, she wasn't exactly accustomed to his friendly and compassionate manner. "How could you tell that?" she asked in a breathy voice.

"I can tell," he smiled, looking straight into her eyes.

There was a tense and uncomfortable moment where Hermione could only look into those storm-grey eyes and wonder how he could read her so easily.

Finally she shifted her gaze and pulled out a bag of Runes that she'd purchased to help her study. "Let's try interpreting what you read in these," she said, offering him the bag. "Think of something specific, then reach in and pull one out. We'll interpret it together."

"All right." He shut his eyes, put his hand in the bag, and drew out a smooth, round white stone.

"I know this one means Fertility," he said, "but it also means New Beginning."

"That's right," she encouraged him. "How does it pertain to what you were thinking of?"

He seemed to flush at her words. He mumbled something incoherent and dropped the stone back into the bag.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," she said. "What did you say?"

He raised his head and looked at her again. "I was thinking about you," he said in a low tone.

Her breath caught in her throat. "Me?!"

"Yes. You." He covered one of her hands with his. "I'll tell you the truth, Hermione, I didn't ask you to come here because I need your help in Ancient Runes. I'm good enough at them. I asked you here because I wanted to tell you how I feel, away from Ron and Harry. They're already mad enough at me for all the things I've done, and I can't say I blame them…"

"Draco, it's all right," Hermione said. It was the first time she had ever used his first name when addressing him, besides writing him a note back. "They wouldn't care. They're my friends. I'm sure that you could be friends with them too."

He smirked. It was the first less than friendly grimace he had made in four days. "I'm sure. They'd probably hex me. I know that Harry has a crush on you, and that sure complicates things."

"Don't say anything more, Draco," she said firmly. "As long as you're telling the truth about how you feel about me. You aren't lying, are you?"

"Hardly."

She suddenly felt a tidal wave of emotions crash over her, and she realized that she really, truly had feelings for Malfoy. "Then I'm okay with it," she said. "And you know what? I think we could actually make it work."

He smiled then, and she was instantly struck by how nice he looked when he wasn't frowning or scowling at her.

"All right then," he grinned. "Perfect."

With that, he leaned over and kissed her.