Title: I Believe In You
Author: YummySushiToo (sushi3579@yahoo.com)
Summary: In which Hermione receives a terrible shock, and Draco is put back together again. Includes shrieking, blushing, dancing, and lame joke telling.
Disclaimer: If this were mine, I'd be Mrs. Orlando Bloom. Sadly, I'm not. Draw your own conclusions.
Chapter FiveAfter falling into an uneasy sleep, Hermione was awakened later that night by the sounds of struggling, and then, to her surprise, yells of terror. She sat up quickly, all vestiges of sleep suddenly gone. Her mind registered that Draco was in the spare bedroom, and that he needed help. She ran into the spare bedroom and saw Draco, tangled in the blankets, his legs and arms flailing wildly. Though his yells were unintelligible, it was clear he was very frightened.
Once again, Hermione wondered why she, of all people, had been appointed the task of healing a damaged soul. She wasn't certain that she could, having had seen so much horror of her own. Did that even equate, fighting in a large-scale war against an evil wizard, and watching one's parents die?
But she remembered her earlier resolution to help Draco in any way she could. She was a Gryffindor, by Merlin, and all that courage would go to waste if she didn't even try.
Hermione shook Draco's shoulder and called his name. Almost instantly, he calmed. After a moment, he opened his eyes and focused on her face.
"Is that really you?" His voice was small and trembled a bit. "I thought I was having another dream when you found me." He sat up as he spoke, and his eyes grew large and swam with tears. "You are real, aren't you, Hermione?" he whispered, urgently.
Sitting on the bed next to Draco, Hermione could only nod. It seemed that the sudden lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. They stared at each other for a few minutes, and then she found her voice. "Are you all right?"
Smooth, Hermione. Ask him a question that you already know the answer to. Your first opportunity to talk to him in years, and you completely blow it. Hermione was beginning to think that she was going a little batty. Her mind had been quite against her lately. Not a good sign.
Thankfully, Draco didn't notice her mental ramblings. He gave her a wry grin. "Honestly, no. Not a bit all right. In fact, downright bad." He looked down at his hands, which had been twisting in his lap, then back up at her. "You?"
"I could be better," she said with a little nervous laugh. "But I meant just now. You were yelling in your sleep." Hermione reached over and stilled his twisting hands with one of her own. "Can I help?"
Draco heaved a huge sigh and met her eyes. "Will you stay with me? I don't like to be alone." Hermione must have looked like she was going to refuse, because he added, "Please?"
So that was how Hermione Granger ended up in bed with Draco Malfoy. They lay on their sides, facing each other. Draco pulled Hermione close and rested his hand at her nape, cradling her head. She snuggled against him briefly, and then settled. In the fleeting moments before sleep, both had the same thought: We fit together perfectly.
**********
The next morning, Hermione awoke feeling Draco's warm arms wrapped around her. She reveled in how content it made her feel, and then carefully extracted herself. It just wouldn't do to let Draco wake up with her there; it might unsettle him. That, and the fact that if she got too comfortable, she'd want to stay there all day. Or forever, her rebellious mind put in helpfully.
Shuffling out into the kitchen, Hermione yawned and glanced at the wall calendar. She idly wondered how many days until Saturday, and then stopped, eyes wide. Clearly marked on a square labeled "Tuesday," were the letters "H/R," indicating a scheduled breakfast with Harry and Ron.
Bloody, buggering, sodding, hell.
Today was Tuesday.
And, unless she had read the clock wrong, they would be arriving in fifteen minutes.
Draco was in her spare bedroom. Asleep. In Ron's clothes.
Oh, shit.
Hermione ran around her flat in a frenzy, tidying things that were already tidy, picking objects up and setting them down again in the same place. All the while, she muttered, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"
Draco, awakened by her panicking, watched her from the doorway of the spare bedroom. An amused smile touched his lips as he tried to get her attention. He began, "Her –" as she made one pass by the door, "Herm – " as she made another. Finally, he caught her arm and stilled her frantic pacing. "Hermione. First of all, why did you leave? And second, what in Merlin's name is going on?"
Her wild eyes met his confused face. She chose to ignore the first question in light of the bigger crisis. "Harry and Ron are coming over," she began breathlessly, "And you're here, and I don't know what they'll do, and you're wearing Ron's sweats, and – "
"And what? Floo them and tell them not to come round today. Or tell them I'm here, but I have some horrible, contagious disease – like heterosexuality – and if they're around me too long, they'll catch it.
"And what do you mean, 'I'm wearing Ron's sweats'?" He wrinkled his nose. "Did he sweat in these clothes?" He held up a hand, shaking his head. "No, no, don't tell me. I'm too traumatized as it is."
Hermione laughed, nervous and high-pitched. "I just don't want anyone to know I've found you yet. I'm afraid they'll –"
"What? Lock me in a padded room, show me inkblots, ask me strange questions, like, 'Do you have a fondness for shrubbery?' and from that conclude that I have an unnatural fixation on either my Mum or my arse?" Draco laughed and shook his head. "Not bloody likely."
"No, but they will ask you lots of questions and subject you to hundreds of tests," answered Hermione, her smile fading. "I just want to keep you safe, that's all."
"I see. And now that Potter and Weasley are coming over, the secret will be out," he concluded. At Hermione's nod, he added, "Well then, it seems I have no choice. I'll hide in here, and they'll never know." Draco went into the spare bedroom and closed the door.
Hermione felt guilty, hiding Draco like that, but she felt it was the only way. Harry and Ron didn't always see things from both sides, and they wouldn't understand Hermione's desire to help Draco heal before thrusting him back into society and allowing him to be subjected to the grueling interrogation she was certain the Ministry would give. No, they would only see Draco as a witness to a crime, and not a victim. Hermione's first priority was protecting Draco and keeping him safe, and no one, not even her best friends, would stand in her way. She knew it would require some spectacular lying, but she was ready.
She heard two distinctive cracks of Apparation. Ron and Harry had arrived.
Let the show begin, thought Hermione grimly.
