Wonderwall
By tearsofher
Disclaimer: don't own characters, just the plot, thank you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I only found out yesterday that I am on the favorite authors list of nine members, and the author alert list of twenty members.. oh, joy, pure bliss. I cannot tell you how happy that has made me. SO TO THOSE NINE, AND TWENTY PEOPLE, THIS IS FOR YOU!!!
Thanks to all the reviewers, I really really appreciate it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
'There's always something
in the way
There's always something
getting through
But it's not me
It's you.
Sometimes ignorance
Rings true
But hope is not in
What I know
Not in me
It's in you.
It's all I know
I find peace when I'm confused
I find hope when I'm let down
Not in me
But in you
I hope to lose myself
For good
I hope to find it in the end
Not in me
It's you.
It's all I know.'
-'You.'
by switchfoot.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Draco wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her close, as she parted her mouth, and he let his tongue slip in. She tasted so sweet, so good.. Her lips were so soft and moist, and she was beginning to kiss him back.
Hermione was in a daze. He was kissing her. He was kissing her. No matter how many times it rang in her mind, she still couldn't believe it. HE WAS KISSING HER. She felt his arms wrap around her, and hold her tightly, and she could feel a white-hot light fill her, like holy water. His lips were molding against hers, his hands holding her against his lean body. Her knees felt weak, and if it weren't for his firm grasp on her, she would've fallen to the ground by now. As one of his hands rose to stroke her neck, she could feel her nerves buzzing hyperactively, electricity crackling through her veins, sending shocks and sparks surging her body. In all of her shock, she had managed to kiss him back, her lips massaging against his, their tongues dancing. But then something stopped her. Something was telling her to push him away. What did this mean? Did he really care about her? She let out a strangled cry against his lips, and pushed him away. Draco stumbled back, startled. He looked at her, confused. Her eyes were still red and puffy, the firelight still chasing the shadows. Her cheeks were tear-streaked and flushed. It amazed him at how she could still be so beautiful. He looked at her questionably.
"I-" she stammered. She had broken off a perfectly good kiss.. Why? Something inside her was tugging at her heart, telling it to stop beating so loud and rapidly. There was doubt, clouding inside of her mind. Why had he kissed her? Was it to just.. Shut her up? She looked at him, and backed away, her eyes brimming with tears again. Draco looked at her, trying to ask what was wrong, but he found his throat had closed up. His hands felt empty and cold, his heart hammering inside his chest. There was a sinking feeling inside of him, his stomach caving in deeper and deeper, until he no longer knew where it was. He felt the butterflies get even faster, but they seemed to be disappearing, one by one. Had he hurt her? Why.. He just didn't know why she pulled back. But he saw that hurt in her eyes again, and he just didn't know what he had done wrong this time. He swallowed hard, and tried at his throat again. This time, it obeyed.
"They don't deserve you," he said to her hoarsely. She looked at him with pleading eyes, as if telling him to stop.
"You deserve so much better, someone who'll listen. Someone who won't abandon you." She could feel her heart crumbling down, folding and falling into ruins. She deserved so much better, so he said. But just not him. She felt herself trembling, tears came out faster and harder than before. Her vision became blurry, but she could still see the outline of him, looking at her. She wiped them away in haste, but they kept coming back, persistent.
" I don't know what I deserve," she said to him through her tears. Draco walked towards her, to try and comfort her, but she had already turned and ran into her room. She closed the door, the sound echoing in his ears. He was left alone, again, with the lazy fire. He stared after her, looking at her door. He hoped she would come out, and let him hold her again. Maybe even to kiss her. But he stood there, for couple of minutes, and nothing happened. Nothing came out of the room; no sound could be heard but shifting and rustling. He walked over to the door, and held up his hand, as if to knock. But he stopped; he was hesitating. Maybe he did hurt her, without knowing. But how? He slowly put his hand back down, and took one last look at the naked door, and turned. He walked towards the fire, and stood in front of it. The heat of the flickering flames wasn't enough to warm his heart, or even his hands that were now trembling. He missed the warmth she brought to him, and the warmth that coursed through his veins, that fevered him. He missed the warmth, her presence in his arms. She had felt so soft, her scent invading his nose, making him light-headed and making everything seem so dreamlike. He had never felt anything like it before, kissing her. It was like a blue sacred light had filled him, healing all his wounds, all his hurts from the past. Making him forget every single thing except that he was here, with her in his arms. Kissing.
His lips were swollen, and they felt extremely hot, as if they had been stung with fire-bathed bees. He licked his lips, and he could still taste her. He sighed, as he ran a hand through his fine hair.
"What is she doing to me?" he asked himself, and rather, the flames that seemed to bounce off the sides of the fireplace. He grabbed his wand from inside his robes, and whispered a spell that immediately extinguished the fire. The aroma of smoke filled the room, and he gave it one last look, then walked towards his room.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next day was uneventful; the classes seemed to be longer than usual. The professors seemed to be droning on and on, and Draco would've fallen asleep but his attention was locked on Hermione. She was sitting with her usual idiot friends, but she hadn't uttered a word to them, even at breakfast. He saw Potter and Weasely exchanging confused and worried looks, in concern of Hermione, he was sure. But he just glared at them. The stupid pricks.
Hermione, of course, was avoiding him. She had left much earlier than he had, and she wouldn't even look at him. Her eyes seemed to be glued to the professor, but yet he knew that she felt his eyes on her, and it was irritating her. Draco was irritated too; why was she angry with him? She didn't want him to kiss her? Draco frowned; that couldn't be it. She had kissed him back, after all. Draco had done all he could to try and get her attention, but she still wouldn't give, and he couldn't get all that close. Potter and Weasely seemed to finally recognize she was with them. Oh how he would just love to beat the pulp out of them..
Snape turned to Draco, and drawled dryly. "What is the main ingredient of the Ribsikain potion?" he asked them, but he was looking at Draco. Draco knew what that meant. But he looked around, and no one had their hand up. Even Hermione. Hermione seemed to be staring at Snape, listening attentively.
But he could see her looking at him from the corner of her eye.
"Arymise roots, professor," he answered coolly. Snape smirked, but it was the kind of smirk a dead, rotting person would give.
"Ten points to Slytherin," He said, before turning to write something on the board again. Draco focused on Hermione again, but she still was listening to the bloody teacher. Surely he couldn't be all that intriguing!? Certainly she couldn't keep this up all day. The urge to talk to her, to stare into her eyes was growing bigger and bigger. He was almost itching to speak to her. He just had to. And well, if she was just going to turn away again, he was going to force her to listen to him, or get her to explain what he did wrong. And if her two body guards got in the way. Draco smirked, clutching his wand in his pocket tightly.
Surely it would take more than a week to repair them, even
with Madame Pomphrey's 'magical' medicine.
Finally, the blasted class ended, and they were off to the class that idiot giant, Hagrid was teaching. Draco hated the class, no doubt. The bloody man-if he could even call him that- favored the Gryffindors, like the headmaster. On the bright side, Hermione would be there. Maybe he would get a chance to talk to her. He certainly hoped he would.
Hagrid talked about some creature (Draco wasn't listening, really), but all he could think about was the brown haired girl in the front. She was perfectly still, and she seemed to be sitting by some Gryffindor girl, not Weasely and Potter. He kept his eyes on her for the whole period, Hagrid's rambling about the animal completely inaudible.
Class ended, and they were to head back to their dormitories, but Draco saw Hagrid talking to Hermione whilst everyone was packing up and leaving. He also saw Harry and Ron stare at her, confusion and worry in their eyes. Draco saw Hermione nod, smiling at the giant, and she started to leave. Hermione's gaze met with his, but she quickly turned away. As she brushed past him, he gently caught her arm. She turned to him, trying so hard to disguise the hurt in her eyes.
"I need to talk to you," he said to her, his eyes pleading at her. She jerked away her arm, but there was no anger or hostility in her chocolate eyes, or even in her voice. It seemed rather expressionless.
"I'm busy," she simply said to him, and turned to walk out the class. Draco stared after and sighed, then made his way out the classroom.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Draco headed back to his dorm, after tirelessly patrolling the corridors. The hallways were full of lurking shadows, the torches on the walls not exactly helpful. But he didn't mind. It was quiet, except for the sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls. He walked rather slowly, because he seemed to be trapped in his thoughts again, lost. His mind was on her again. He was sure she wouldn't be coming out to read by the fire for a while, let alone talk to him or let him have an opportunity to talk to her. Alone. It had been days since he had tried to talk to her in that classroom. Now he barely saw her; she left much earlier, arrived much later or earlier. Of course, he saw her in the Great Hall, but he was often discouraged. It seemed that she had shut everyone out. She didn't sit with her two friends, but alone at the end of the table. She barely spoke, not even in class. He could see the worry in Professor McGonagall's eyes when she had asked a row of questions, and not once had Hermione raised her hand to answer. Even Professor Snape seemed to be impressed.
She worried Draco. He had never seen her this way, never. It bothered him; not seeing her smile, not hearing her laugh, even if it meant she wasn't smiling at him, or laughing by him. She seemed so solemn, so lifeless. Draco felt as if his lungs froze over whenever he saw her. Had he done this to her? Had his words.. Struck her this deeply? Anxiety often blanketed him, worry and confusion about the girl. She was scaring him. Everything.. He had never been this worried in his life. He cared about her. He guessed it was just a bonus that came with caring about someone. Draco got frustrated just thinking about it.
Just then, a dark figure came into view, walking briskly towards him. Draco peered at the figure, and it seemed to be a girl. She had a black cloak on, and he could see her brown hair on her shoulders. Something about her seemed strangely familiar. She was about five yards away, when Draco halted.
"You there, stop. You're supposed to be in your dorm by now," he said loudly, conviction in his voice. But the cloaked figure did not stop. He quickly blocked her when she was close enough. She dodged him, and ran past. Draco swore under his breath, and chased after her. She was a fairly fast runner, but no match for Draco's long legs. He caught her, and he swung her around. The shadow of her hood covered the upper half of her face, but her mouth.. Thos lips seemed so familiar. He held her by her shoulders, and a certain familiar warmth seemed to overtake his body.
"You," he hissed. "You shouldn't be lurking around corridors at this hour, it's after curfew. Take off your hood." She struggled to be freed from his grasp, but Draco held her firmly. He raised up one of his hands, and slipped off her hood.
Even in the shadows she managed to take his breath away.
Hermione was staring up at him, scowling. He let his grasp soften, as he felt a wave of warmth and chills invade him. His heart was pounding, staring into those warm eyes again.
"Hermione?" he asked. "What are you doing out this late?"
She jerked away from him, but her eyes never left him. She missed staring into his deep eyes, although she refused to believe it. She felt those butterflies return, their speed increasing with every second the world let pass.
"I was sent to do an errand," she said to him. Draco stared at her, the cold air surpassing the warmth that had been rushing through his veins.
"This late at night?"
"Yes."
"What kind of errand?"
"For Hagrid. It's for the class." She shifted uncomfortably. Draco's gaze was still penetrating through her, unwavering.
"Hermione.." he said. She turned away, looking at the floor beside her. The tension in the air was too much. She burshed past him, and he stared after her. She walked down the hall, feeling those butterflies slowly residing. Except her heart was beating as rapidly as before. She could feel the frosty air press against her skin, although her cloak was heavy and warm.
"Where are you going?" Draco yelled after her. She didn't respond. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before taking off after her. Soon, he was at her side again.
"Where are you going?" he asked her. She refused to look at him, as she had managed to put her hood back on again.
"Out."
"Out where?"
She didn't respond. He sighed, frustrated. "I wish you'd stop being so stubborn!" he said to her. She glared at him, the shadow failing to hide her glimmering eyes.
"The forbidden forest." Draco gaped at her.
"What? Are you bloody mad? Do you want to get yourself killed? It's raining stones out there!" Hermione looked at him, her eyes uncertain, and worried.
"I know." Draco grabbed her arm, and she stopped. His eyes searched hers, as his grip tightened. Hermione could feel herself breaking, crumbling under his intense gaze.
"I've got to do it," she said, her voice slightly wavering. "I promised I would do it for Hagrid, and I keep my word. It's for the class. Besides, it's not that far into the forest." Draco just looked at her, but he spoke.
"I'm coming with you." Hermione nodded, but she could feel the room getting warmer and warmer. His hand was still on her arm, and she felt as if they were scorching through the fabric of her cloak.
"You haven't got a cloak. You'll freeze to death," she looked at his robes, and he could see her eyes flickering with worry. He smiled faintly. He pulled out his wand, and whispered, "Accio cloak." In a matter of seconds, his cloak flew to him, and he caught it effortlessly. He put it on, and Hermione just looked at him, watching. She watched him as he pulled it on to his lean shoulders, and clasped it with his hands. She looked at his hands, feeling all these memories rush back, making her feel lightheaded. She remembered his hands caressing her cheek, his fingers stroking her gently. She remembered the intense warmth she felt when he had pulled her against him, his hands running up and down her waist, kissing her deeply.
"Hermione?" she was sucked back into reality, as she noticed Draco looking at her, concerned.
"Oh, sorry," she said, a blush creeping through her cheeks.
They headed down and out the corridors, silence trailing them. Hermione had a bad feeling about this, but somehow, having Draco here with her, she felt safe. She stole a glance at him, as he was staring ahead, determined but unsure.
She smiled to herself, she felt as if the terrible frostbite outside couldn't erase the warmth Draco brought to her.
By tearsofher
Disclaimer: don't own characters, just the plot, thank you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I only found out yesterday that I am on the favorite authors list of nine members, and the author alert list of twenty members.. oh, joy, pure bliss. I cannot tell you how happy that has made me. SO TO THOSE NINE, AND TWENTY PEOPLE, THIS IS FOR YOU!!!
Thanks to all the reviewers, I really really appreciate it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
'There's always something
in the way
There's always something
getting through
But it's not me
It's you.
Sometimes ignorance
Rings true
But hope is not in
What I know
Not in me
It's in you.
It's all I know
I find peace when I'm confused
I find hope when I'm let down
Not in me
But in you
I hope to lose myself
For good
I hope to find it in the end
Not in me
It's you.
It's all I know.'
-'You.'
by switchfoot.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Draco wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her close, as she parted her mouth, and he let his tongue slip in. She tasted so sweet, so good.. Her lips were so soft and moist, and she was beginning to kiss him back.
Hermione was in a daze. He was kissing her. He was kissing her. No matter how many times it rang in her mind, she still couldn't believe it. HE WAS KISSING HER. She felt his arms wrap around her, and hold her tightly, and she could feel a white-hot light fill her, like holy water. His lips were molding against hers, his hands holding her against his lean body. Her knees felt weak, and if it weren't for his firm grasp on her, she would've fallen to the ground by now. As one of his hands rose to stroke her neck, she could feel her nerves buzzing hyperactively, electricity crackling through her veins, sending shocks and sparks surging her body. In all of her shock, she had managed to kiss him back, her lips massaging against his, their tongues dancing. But then something stopped her. Something was telling her to push him away. What did this mean? Did he really care about her? She let out a strangled cry against his lips, and pushed him away. Draco stumbled back, startled. He looked at her, confused. Her eyes were still red and puffy, the firelight still chasing the shadows. Her cheeks were tear-streaked and flushed. It amazed him at how she could still be so beautiful. He looked at her questionably.
"I-" she stammered. She had broken off a perfectly good kiss.. Why? Something inside her was tugging at her heart, telling it to stop beating so loud and rapidly. There was doubt, clouding inside of her mind. Why had he kissed her? Was it to just.. Shut her up? She looked at him, and backed away, her eyes brimming with tears again. Draco looked at her, trying to ask what was wrong, but he found his throat had closed up. His hands felt empty and cold, his heart hammering inside his chest. There was a sinking feeling inside of him, his stomach caving in deeper and deeper, until he no longer knew where it was. He felt the butterflies get even faster, but they seemed to be disappearing, one by one. Had he hurt her? Why.. He just didn't know why she pulled back. But he saw that hurt in her eyes again, and he just didn't know what he had done wrong this time. He swallowed hard, and tried at his throat again. This time, it obeyed.
"They don't deserve you," he said to her hoarsely. She looked at him with pleading eyes, as if telling him to stop.
"You deserve so much better, someone who'll listen. Someone who won't abandon you." She could feel her heart crumbling down, folding and falling into ruins. She deserved so much better, so he said. But just not him. She felt herself trembling, tears came out faster and harder than before. Her vision became blurry, but she could still see the outline of him, looking at her. She wiped them away in haste, but they kept coming back, persistent.
" I don't know what I deserve," she said to him through her tears. Draco walked towards her, to try and comfort her, but she had already turned and ran into her room. She closed the door, the sound echoing in his ears. He was left alone, again, with the lazy fire. He stared after her, looking at her door. He hoped she would come out, and let him hold her again. Maybe even to kiss her. But he stood there, for couple of minutes, and nothing happened. Nothing came out of the room; no sound could be heard but shifting and rustling. He walked over to the door, and held up his hand, as if to knock. But he stopped; he was hesitating. Maybe he did hurt her, without knowing. But how? He slowly put his hand back down, and took one last look at the naked door, and turned. He walked towards the fire, and stood in front of it. The heat of the flickering flames wasn't enough to warm his heart, or even his hands that were now trembling. He missed the warmth she brought to him, and the warmth that coursed through his veins, that fevered him. He missed the warmth, her presence in his arms. She had felt so soft, her scent invading his nose, making him light-headed and making everything seem so dreamlike. He had never felt anything like it before, kissing her. It was like a blue sacred light had filled him, healing all his wounds, all his hurts from the past. Making him forget every single thing except that he was here, with her in his arms. Kissing.
His lips were swollen, and they felt extremely hot, as if they had been stung with fire-bathed bees. He licked his lips, and he could still taste her. He sighed, as he ran a hand through his fine hair.
"What is she doing to me?" he asked himself, and rather, the flames that seemed to bounce off the sides of the fireplace. He grabbed his wand from inside his robes, and whispered a spell that immediately extinguished the fire. The aroma of smoke filled the room, and he gave it one last look, then walked towards his room.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next day was uneventful; the classes seemed to be longer than usual. The professors seemed to be droning on and on, and Draco would've fallen asleep but his attention was locked on Hermione. She was sitting with her usual idiot friends, but she hadn't uttered a word to them, even at breakfast. He saw Potter and Weasely exchanging confused and worried looks, in concern of Hermione, he was sure. But he just glared at them. The stupid pricks.
Hermione, of course, was avoiding him. She had left much earlier than he had, and she wouldn't even look at him. Her eyes seemed to be glued to the professor, but yet he knew that she felt his eyes on her, and it was irritating her. Draco was irritated too; why was she angry with him? She didn't want him to kiss her? Draco frowned; that couldn't be it. She had kissed him back, after all. Draco had done all he could to try and get her attention, but she still wouldn't give, and he couldn't get all that close. Potter and Weasely seemed to finally recognize she was with them. Oh how he would just love to beat the pulp out of them..
Snape turned to Draco, and drawled dryly. "What is the main ingredient of the Ribsikain potion?" he asked them, but he was looking at Draco. Draco knew what that meant. But he looked around, and no one had their hand up. Even Hermione. Hermione seemed to be staring at Snape, listening attentively.
But he could see her looking at him from the corner of her eye.
"Arymise roots, professor," he answered coolly. Snape smirked, but it was the kind of smirk a dead, rotting person would give.
"Ten points to Slytherin," He said, before turning to write something on the board again. Draco focused on Hermione again, but she still was listening to the bloody teacher. Surely he couldn't be all that intriguing!? Certainly she couldn't keep this up all day. The urge to talk to her, to stare into her eyes was growing bigger and bigger. He was almost itching to speak to her. He just had to. And well, if she was just going to turn away again, he was going to force her to listen to him, or get her to explain what he did wrong. And if her two body guards got in the way. Draco smirked, clutching his wand in his pocket tightly.
Surely it would take more than a week to repair them, even
with Madame Pomphrey's 'magical' medicine.
Finally, the blasted class ended, and they were off to the class that idiot giant, Hagrid was teaching. Draco hated the class, no doubt. The bloody man-if he could even call him that- favored the Gryffindors, like the headmaster. On the bright side, Hermione would be there. Maybe he would get a chance to talk to her. He certainly hoped he would.
Hagrid talked about some creature (Draco wasn't listening, really), but all he could think about was the brown haired girl in the front. She was perfectly still, and she seemed to be sitting by some Gryffindor girl, not Weasely and Potter. He kept his eyes on her for the whole period, Hagrid's rambling about the animal completely inaudible.
Class ended, and they were to head back to their dormitories, but Draco saw Hagrid talking to Hermione whilst everyone was packing up and leaving. He also saw Harry and Ron stare at her, confusion and worry in their eyes. Draco saw Hermione nod, smiling at the giant, and she started to leave. Hermione's gaze met with his, but she quickly turned away. As she brushed past him, he gently caught her arm. She turned to him, trying so hard to disguise the hurt in her eyes.
"I need to talk to you," he said to her, his eyes pleading at her. She jerked away her arm, but there was no anger or hostility in her chocolate eyes, or even in her voice. It seemed rather expressionless.
"I'm busy," she simply said to him, and turned to walk out the class. Draco stared after and sighed, then made his way out the classroom.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Draco headed back to his dorm, after tirelessly patrolling the corridors. The hallways were full of lurking shadows, the torches on the walls not exactly helpful. But he didn't mind. It was quiet, except for the sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls. He walked rather slowly, because he seemed to be trapped in his thoughts again, lost. His mind was on her again. He was sure she wouldn't be coming out to read by the fire for a while, let alone talk to him or let him have an opportunity to talk to her. Alone. It had been days since he had tried to talk to her in that classroom. Now he barely saw her; she left much earlier, arrived much later or earlier. Of course, he saw her in the Great Hall, but he was often discouraged. It seemed that she had shut everyone out. She didn't sit with her two friends, but alone at the end of the table. She barely spoke, not even in class. He could see the worry in Professor McGonagall's eyes when she had asked a row of questions, and not once had Hermione raised her hand to answer. Even Professor Snape seemed to be impressed.
She worried Draco. He had never seen her this way, never. It bothered him; not seeing her smile, not hearing her laugh, even if it meant she wasn't smiling at him, or laughing by him. She seemed so solemn, so lifeless. Draco felt as if his lungs froze over whenever he saw her. Had he done this to her? Had his words.. Struck her this deeply? Anxiety often blanketed him, worry and confusion about the girl. She was scaring him. Everything.. He had never been this worried in his life. He cared about her. He guessed it was just a bonus that came with caring about someone. Draco got frustrated just thinking about it.
Just then, a dark figure came into view, walking briskly towards him. Draco peered at the figure, and it seemed to be a girl. She had a black cloak on, and he could see her brown hair on her shoulders. Something about her seemed strangely familiar. She was about five yards away, when Draco halted.
"You there, stop. You're supposed to be in your dorm by now," he said loudly, conviction in his voice. But the cloaked figure did not stop. He quickly blocked her when she was close enough. She dodged him, and ran past. Draco swore under his breath, and chased after her. She was a fairly fast runner, but no match for Draco's long legs. He caught her, and he swung her around. The shadow of her hood covered the upper half of her face, but her mouth.. Thos lips seemed so familiar. He held her by her shoulders, and a certain familiar warmth seemed to overtake his body.
"You," he hissed. "You shouldn't be lurking around corridors at this hour, it's after curfew. Take off your hood." She struggled to be freed from his grasp, but Draco held her firmly. He raised up one of his hands, and slipped off her hood.
Even in the shadows she managed to take his breath away.
Hermione was staring up at him, scowling. He let his grasp soften, as he felt a wave of warmth and chills invade him. His heart was pounding, staring into those warm eyes again.
"Hermione?" he asked. "What are you doing out this late?"
She jerked away from him, but her eyes never left him. She missed staring into his deep eyes, although she refused to believe it. She felt those butterflies return, their speed increasing with every second the world let pass.
"I was sent to do an errand," she said to him. Draco stared at her, the cold air surpassing the warmth that had been rushing through his veins.
"This late at night?"
"Yes."
"What kind of errand?"
"For Hagrid. It's for the class." She shifted uncomfortably. Draco's gaze was still penetrating through her, unwavering.
"Hermione.." he said. She turned away, looking at the floor beside her. The tension in the air was too much. She burshed past him, and he stared after her. She walked down the hall, feeling those butterflies slowly residing. Except her heart was beating as rapidly as before. She could feel the frosty air press against her skin, although her cloak was heavy and warm.
"Where are you going?" Draco yelled after her. She didn't respond. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before taking off after her. Soon, he was at her side again.
"Where are you going?" he asked her. She refused to look at him, as she had managed to put her hood back on again.
"Out."
"Out where?"
She didn't respond. He sighed, frustrated. "I wish you'd stop being so stubborn!" he said to her. She glared at him, the shadow failing to hide her glimmering eyes.
"The forbidden forest." Draco gaped at her.
"What? Are you bloody mad? Do you want to get yourself killed? It's raining stones out there!" Hermione looked at him, her eyes uncertain, and worried.
"I know." Draco grabbed her arm, and she stopped. His eyes searched hers, as his grip tightened. Hermione could feel herself breaking, crumbling under his intense gaze.
"I've got to do it," she said, her voice slightly wavering. "I promised I would do it for Hagrid, and I keep my word. It's for the class. Besides, it's not that far into the forest." Draco just looked at her, but he spoke.
"I'm coming with you." Hermione nodded, but she could feel the room getting warmer and warmer. His hand was still on her arm, and she felt as if they were scorching through the fabric of her cloak.
"You haven't got a cloak. You'll freeze to death," she looked at his robes, and he could see her eyes flickering with worry. He smiled faintly. He pulled out his wand, and whispered, "Accio cloak." In a matter of seconds, his cloak flew to him, and he caught it effortlessly. He put it on, and Hermione just looked at him, watching. She watched him as he pulled it on to his lean shoulders, and clasped it with his hands. She looked at his hands, feeling all these memories rush back, making her feel lightheaded. She remembered his hands caressing her cheek, his fingers stroking her gently. She remembered the intense warmth she felt when he had pulled her against him, his hands running up and down her waist, kissing her deeply.
"Hermione?" she was sucked back into reality, as she noticed Draco looking at her, concerned.
"Oh, sorry," she said, a blush creeping through her cheeks.
They headed down and out the corridors, silence trailing them. Hermione had a bad feeling about this, but somehow, having Draco here with her, she felt safe. She stole a glance at him, as he was staring ahead, determined but unsure.
She smiled to herself, she felt as if the terrible frostbite outside couldn't erase the warmth Draco brought to her.