A/N- This is the 'more!' you've all cried for. (cool, that rhymes…I'm such a loser) I hope you like it, as always. Now I'm going to bed…
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO- Pansy Speaks
Once Hermione got back to the castle, she walked down into the dungeons until she reached the potion storeroom. Trying the door handle, she discovered it was locked. Why wouldn't it be? She pulled out her wand, muttered "Alohamora" under her breath and pushed the door open when she heard it click.
She walked in and looked around the gloomy room. Searching the vials and bottles for a label that might give the potion away as the one she wanted, Hermione remembered McGonagall saying there was an entire cauldron full. Glancing around the room, she noticed there wasn't a large enough amount of any potion to be the one she was after. Sighing, Hermione realised she would have to ask Snape where it was.
Exiting the room and closing the door behind her, she made her way to the Potions classroom. Peering in through a small window at the top of the door, she saw Snape sitting at his desk, correcting papers. She knocked softly, opened the door and walked in.
"Excuse me, Professor Snape?" she said, causing him to look up at her with no interest whatsoever.
"What do you want, Miss Granger?" he asked her with a sneer.
"I was wondering where you kept the potion?" she asked, knowing he would know which potion she was talking about.
"'The Potion?'" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes. I was told it would be in the storeroom, and that I was free to go and collect it. But I couldn't see it anywhere." She told him.
"There are plenty of potions in the storeroom, Miss Granger. I don't see what the problem is, considering you haven't been at all specific in what potion you're after. It would be easy enough to take one that is there, and label it 'The Potion.'"
Hermione looked at him, annoyed that he was pretending not to know what potion she was talking about. "Oh, well in that case, considering you as good as gave me permission, I'll go and take some of the potions that are in there, and hope I get one that's correct."
Snape's lip curled in a sneer at her boldness. "I wouldn't recommend it."
"Then tell me where it is. You know I don't want to say the name of the potion. You never know when someone is listening."
"I assure you, no one is." He paused. "'The Potion' is not in the store room. It's in my office. After spending so long on it, you can't expect me to leave it where any student could happen across it."
"But the store room is forbidden to enter without your permission." Hermione protested.
Snape stared at her directly. "That hasn't stopped students before."
Hermione averted her eyes, and cleared her throat. "Can I have the potion, Sir?" she asked.
"Wait here. I'll go get it." With that, he stood up and walked swiftly out of the room. Hermione stood in the classroom for only a few minutes before Snape came back in, carrying a cauldron in his arms. He dumped it unceremoniously on his desk and looked at Hermione in mild amusement.
"It's heavy. Are you sure you'll be right?" he wasn't offering to carry it for her, just making sure she knew that he found it amusing.
"I'll be fine. It's not as if I have to carry it anywhere." She replied smoothly, receiving the slightly confused look from Snape she had hoped for.
"I don't think you understand, Miss Granger. This cauldron will not stay in this classroom." He said firmly. "It must be removed at once."
"It will be, Professor Snape." Hermione said. "Just give me a few moments." She wrapped an arm tightly around the cauldron, and lifted it very slightly off the desk then she raised her other arm to touch the amulet on her chest.
"You're going to need to lift it a bit higher then that, Miss Granger." Snape said, definitely enjoying himself.
"I doubt that, Sir." She replied, then was gone. When she was placed in the cabin, she started laughing at the expression she knew Snape would be wearing right now. Then she realised she still had the cauldron in her arm. It wobbled and she cursed as it nearly dropped on the floor, but two strong arms came from behind her and grabbed the cauldron before the disaster could happen.
Hermione turned her head to see Draco directly behind her. His arms had circled around her, then he noticed that she was about to drop the cauldron and had grabbed it instead. Hermione was stuck in between Draco and the potion. She bobbed down and stepped out from under his arms. He smiled at her, shaking his head, then carried it easily over to the table and put it down.
"If I hadn't waited for you, you would have broken your back." He said. "Or dropped the bloody thing all over the floor."
Hermione looked extremely relieved. "Thanks for waiting." Then she glared. "Snape was there. He was mean. You should have gone. It was heavy. He sneered at me. I had to talk to him. I think I broke my back." She collapsed on the floor in a heap to prove her point. She looked up at him with her shining brown eyes and Draco laughed at her.
"You're beautiful when you're lying on the floor in a heap." He said to her. "Especially when your robe isn't covering much of your legs at all. Actually, I think we can do without the robe altogether. Want help taking it off?"
Hermione couldn't help scoffing, though she smiled as she did so. "You never give up, do you?"
"What kind of a Malfoy would I be if I gave up?" he asked, moving over to her.
"And what kind of a Granger would I be if I helped you get what you wanted?" she asked, hoping to stump him. Who knew what traits the Granger's were famous for?
Draco wasn't stumped on his reply, however. He bent down and wrapped his arms about her, picking her up off the floor. He kept hold of her, and began carrying her across the cabin. "You'd be a very loved Granger."
Hermione understood exactly what he was hinting at. She smiled at him, and said, "What exactly do you want, Mr. Malfoy? That a simple Granger could possibly help you with?"
Draco grinned and placed her on the bed. "As long as it was a female Granger, I can think of plenty of things, but one more insistent in my mind then the others. Shall I tell you?"
"I think I can guess." She told him, reaching up to wrap an arm around his neck and pull him into a long, passionate kiss. When she pulled away, she whispered in his ear, "You want me to wash your clothes, don't you?"
Draco laughed and allowed her to pull him down next to her. As they kissed once more, his hands slowly undid the clasp of her robe and slipped it off over her shoulders. He then rested his hands on her waist, and after a few moments, he took the next step by removing the singlet she had been wearing underneath. Allowing her to remove his robe and shirt, he grinned at her serious face. When she looked at him, a large smile spread across her face, clearly showing she had no doubt of her love for him or his for her.
Draco pulled her closer to him, and his hands gently traced across her bare stomach and her back. As he began to kiss her neck and work his way down her chest, Hermione ran her hands through his hair, and looked at, without really seeing, the floor of the cabin. Suddenly however, her eyes focused on something and she let out a startled scream.
Pulling away from her in shock, Draco looked at her in concern. She quickly stood up on the bed, and moved into the corner closest to the wall. She pointed at a point on the floor, and Draco spun around in alarm. When he rested his eyes on a large huntsman spider that was slowly scuttling across the floor he sighed.
Standing up, Draco walked over and stamped on the spider heavily. Glancing back at Hermione, who looked as alluring as ever, standing on a bed with only her boxers and her bra, Draco smirked. "All gone."
Her expression changed from panicky to outraged. "Draco! That was mean."
"So was you scaring me like that." He replied, sitting back on the bed.
"You didn't have to kill it." she said with a frown, lowering herself next to him.
"What's with you?" he asked, a bit confused. "A few seconds ago, you were screaming in fear. What should I have done?"
"I was not in fear. It just startled me." To this, Draco raised an eyebrow. "You should have just taken it outside."
"I wasn't going to touch the bloody thing." He told her, his face screwing up in distaste.
"Ever heard of Wingardium Leviosa?" she asked, in an almost patronizing tone.
"Have you?" Draco retorted.
Hermione frowned, then answered, "I wasn't thinking straight."
"And you think in my previous situation, I was thinking straight?" Draco asked, snaking an arm around Hermione's bare waist and kissing her softly on the shoulder.
"Well, we need to give it a burial now." Hermione paused, and Draco couldn't tell if she was serious or not. "Oh, I know! We can send it down the river in farewell."
"No we bloody well cannot." Draco said firmly. "The majority of that spider is stuck on the bottom of my shoe, and we are not sending my shoe off. It's not even dead yet."
"Come on Draco, have a heart." Hermione said.
"You have a heart." He told her, prodding her low on the chest with his finger, though leaving it there to trace against her skin for a while. "These shoes cost me thirty five galleons."
"You paid thirty five galleons for shoes?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"I like them." He said defensively.
"Don't you think that's a waste of money?" Hermione asked, peering down at his shoes to see what was so good about them. Finding them nothing but black and reasonably clean, she looked back at him.
"No." he answered her question simply. "I'm going to inherit."
"Inherit what?" Hermione asked, rendered curious by his statement. Draco looked at her for a few moments, as if deciding whether to tell her or not. He shrugged slightly, then tried to remember.
"All of my father's money, for one." he said. "The entire contents of his three vaults at Gringotts. The Malfoy Manor, though if father dies before mother has, then I'll have to live with her there. Not much of an inconvenience though, it's so big, I'll just live in the East Wing and let her stay in the West. Probably fathers connections, and his pets." He grinned as he said the last bit. "Can't remember the rest."
Hermione stared at him in shock. Her eyes were wide and she swallowed a few times before finding her voice. "You…" she stopped, then tried again. "You're going to inherit all that when Lucius dies?"
"Yep." Draco said, pausing to watch her closely. "But I wouldn't want him to die anytime soon. I would be made Master of the Manor, and that's a responsibility I won't be ready for, for years to come."
Hermione nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She knew that the Malfoy's were well off, but this just made her realize how out of her league he was. Hermione wasn't going to inherit anything, aside from a few books or something equally as useless. She averted her eyes and realised that they were actually filling with tears.
Outraged that she should do something as stupid as cry, Hermione turned her back on Draco until she had regained her composure. She felt Draco's arm that was still around her waist, tighten and try to turn her around to face him. She blinked away her tears then looked at him with a forced smile. "That's a lot." She commented.
Draco looked at her, more then confused. "You're crying."
Hermione sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Am not."
"Don't lie. Especially about your feelings. I've told you I don't like that." Draco said, reaching up to cradle her cheek in his hand. "Now, why are you crying?" he paused. "It was just a spider Hermione. If you really want we can give it a burial. Or send it down the river. But we'll have to scrape it off the bottom of my shoe, because as I said, I like them too much to part with one of them. Once a pair, always a pair."
Hermione tried to smile, but found it wasn't much of a success. "It's not about the spider. I'm just being stupid. Just ignore me."
"I'm never going to do that." Draco told her sternly. "Is it what I said? You're crying about what I'm going to inherit?"
Hermione nodded. Draco frowned, and asked "Why?"
She sniffled, and didn't look at him. "Because, I never realized how rich you really were before now. You can have everything you want. It's not as if I don't have any money, but surely I'm below you. You should find someone who is your equal, not have me. I'll only bring you down."
Draco stood up in outrage at her words. Hermione looked at him to see anger on his face, an emotion he hadn't held towards her for many months. His eyes were burning at the words she had spoken. "What?" he demanded in a deadly whisper.
Hermione didn't answer. She didn't want to answer. He had heard her, and she waited for him to speak, knowing that he had something to say, but not sure what. His eyes burned into hers and his breath was shallow and unsteady. "How dare you even think something like that? These past months I have grown to love you so deeply, and I thought you returned these feelings."
"I do." Hermione said quietly.
"Then how could you say that?" Draco demanded of her. "Even consider that I wouldn't want to share all that with you? Hermione," he reached out and took her hands in his own. "I love you. I would leave all that in a heartbeat if you even hinted that you wanted me to. Money means nothing to me compared to you." He took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say was more difficult then anything. "I'll even send my shoe down the stream if you want me to."
Hermione laughed through her tears. Draco smiled very slightly at her, then said, "I would ask you to stay with me forever." It was then that Hermione noticed him kneeling down in front of her, and she frowned at him. "But, we're kind of in the middle of a big scary Prophecy, so you'll just have to trust me. Please trust me. I'm not like I used to be, Hermione."
Hermione swallowed, and whispered. "I know. I'm sorry that I keep doubting you. It's hard after nearly seven years of hatred, though."
Draco just nodded, then he grinned. "I had hoped you would ask me what pets I was going to inherit, but you had to do the girl thing and cry instead."
Hermione smiled as he brushed away her tears with a few fingers. "Sorry. What pets are you going to inherit, Draco?"
His grin remained on his face as he said, "Well, there's this little problem. Lucius didn't realise what he was doing until it was too late. But by that stage, he had a dragon. There was no turning back."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "How did your father accidentally buy a dragon?"
"This wizard from Romania talked him into buying a ticket for a raffle to raise money for the Pureblood Society Assembly. Lucius thought it sounded like a worthy cause, and bought a ticket for a few galleons. Only then did he find out that the prize was a bloody dragon. Believing that he wouldn't win, - I mean, who ever does? - he didn't bother to take his name out of the draw. Then he won."
"He won a dragon in a raffle?" Hermione asked incredulously. "That's ridiculous."
"You're telling me." Draco said. "We didn't know what to do about it, then decided that a dragon in the family wouldn't be all that bad. Sounds cool, when you say your father has a dragon."
"Any other pets I should know about?" Hermione asked him.
"Yep. I suppose I should tell you about the Niffler." Draco said in mock seriousness. "That would be a nasty surprise in the future. Oh, and house elves. But, there not pets so much as servants."
Hermione's face hardened. "You still have house elves?"
"Why wouldn't we?" Draco asked, confused. "Unless they die. Or get set free by accident, through the devious schemes of other wizards." He didn't mention the Harry and Dobby incident, but it was obvious what he was talking about.
"I see." Hermione said, not wanting to anger Draco again by beginning to rant about house elf rights. She wrapped her arms tentatively around his neck and leaned forwards. "Will you forgive me for saying what I did?"
"There's nothing much that I wouldn't forgive you for." He said. She smiled and gently pressed her lips against his, kissing him softly. When she leaned back again, he followed her, so they were both lying on the bed. Hermione looked into his gray eyes and felt her heart flutter at what she saw. How could she have ever doubted that he loved her? How stupid for her to even consider him giving her up for another. Draco would always love her, and for tonight, she would let him show her just how much.
"Oh fuck!" was the first curse Hermione heard when she woke up the next morning. It was quickly followed by "Shit!" then an even louder "Bloody hell." Opening her eyes groggily, she saw Draco sitting up next to her glancing out the window. He turned to see her watching him, and he pointed angrily out the window, where the sun was up and the gurgling of the river could be heard faintly.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked him, raising a hand to place on his bare chest to hopefully calm him down.
"You let me fall asleep last night." He said to her accusingly.
"Well, for a few hours you wouldn't let me fall asleep." Hermione told him, causing a sheepish smile to spread across his face. "I was tired. You let me fall asleep as much as I did you. Besides, I don't see what the problem is."
"Hermione." Draco said, amazed at her lack of realization. "Today is Monday. We have classes."
It only took a few seconds for Hermione's eyes to widen, to scramble out of the bed, collect all her previously discarded clothes and begin to dress. Draco followed her lead, pulling his clothes on as quickly as possible. They finished at the same time and Hermione hurriedly reached out and grabbed Draco's arm, also taking hold of her amulet. She took them to the forest border, as nowhere in the castle would be safe during the day.
Exchanging a few words to confirm they had Charms now, they raced across the grounds and into the castle. Draco in the lead, they ran quickly along corridors and up staircases until they reached the door to their Charms class.
"Shit, this is bad." Draco cursed, waiting to catch his breath before he entered the classroom.
"My sentiments exactly." Hermione replied, glancing up at him. Then she looked around and realized that she didn't have any books or parchment. "Yep, definitely shit. Perfect word for this situation."
"There's no point not going in together. If we don't, one of us will be even later." Draco told her, to which she agreed.
"What's our excuse?" Hermione asked. "For being late?"
"Um…" Draco thought about it, his breath coming more steadily now. "We were…dueling?"
"Dueling?" Hermione sneered lightly at the suggestion. "Yeah, I can imagine how that excuse would go. 'Oh, sorry we are late Professor Flitwick, we were just trying to curse each other just outside. Hope you don't mind.'"
"I notice you haven't thought of anything, little miss I'll Knock Draco's Suggestion Back, But Not Give My Own." Draco said, glancing at the door. "I think we'll have to wing it. It's getting later by the second."
Hermione looking worried. Draco leaned forward and kissed her briefly. "Don't worry, it's just one class. I'll see you after dinner in the cabin." Then he opened the classroom door and stepped in. Hermione followed him, and felt a wave of relief wash over her when she saw the entire class scattered about the classroom, busy performing altering-appearance charms.
She sneaked across the back of the room, Draco moving the opposite way and managed to reach Harry and Ron without being noticed by Flitwick. Harry looked at her in amusement when she sidled up next to him and asked what they were supposed to be doing.
"Where were you?" He asked, instead of answering her question.
"Nowhere." She replied quickly, looking as if daring him to make a comment.
Harry grinned devilishly. "Ha, nowhere my butt. You were getting some, weren't you?"
Hermione's jaw dropped at hearing such a phrase come out of her friend's mouth. She whacked him on the arm, trying to ignore the blush that rose to her cheeks. She was spared answering his blunt question when Ron turned around. He looked at her with a small jump of surprise, and then he smiled.
"Hermione! I didn't think you would come to class. I thought you might be sick, or something." He paused for a moment. "Where were you? You're nearly an hour late."
"You were right." She replied, latching on to his idea. "I was feeling ill, but when I started to feel better, I thought I'd come to class. Only a few weeks till our NEWT's, you know."
Ron nodded, looking at her with an odd expression on his face. Then he slowly glanced around the classroom to see Draco also now present. Shaking his head slightly, he waited until Hermione moved away to help Parvarti with her charm, before turning to Harry.
"I can't believe they're still together." Ron said quietly, jerking his head at Draco across the room. "I thought she would have told us."
Harry knew there would be no point in denying Ron's words. "I suppose they have their reasons, and we should respect them."
A smile crept across Ron's face and he looked over his shoulder at Hermione. "I wonder where they could have been? Studying, do you think?" Ron's face showed he clearly didn't believe this option, and knew exactly what they had been doing.
Harry grinned. "That appears to be the likely option."
Ron chuckled, then got back to practicing his charm. Harry watched Hermione for a few minutes, then turned his attention to Draco across the room. Harry could tell they found it hard not to look at each other, or smile across the room. He sighed and thanked Merlin that he and Ginny could be open with their relationship.
Draco opened the door of the cabin from the inside and peered out into the darkness. He couldn't see much, aside from the emerald glow of the Glowing Oaks, and a faint patch of moonlight through the trees. He called over his shoulder to Hermione, who sat on the couch, "I don't know where she is. Can't see her out here."
Hermione sighed and called back, "Just leave the door open so where she gets here, she can just walk in."
"You make it sound like she's a visitor." Draco said, standing the door open and walking back to the couch. "Maybe I should put on the tea and get the biscuits out. Our very first visitor is very exciting. I don't see how you're containing yourself."
Hermione smiled and said, "Well, tea wouldn't be all that bad." Draco raised an eyebrow and pulled out his wand. Quickly drawing up two mugs, he muttered a few words under his breath, then handed a mug full of hot tea to Hermione. She took it from his with a smile, and sipped it. She pulled a small face and handed it back to him, much to his confusion.
"I don't have sugar." She said. "White, with no sugar."
"Oh." Draco said with a frown. "I didn't know that. Do you drink coffee the same way?" He muttered a spell, which replaced the sugared tea, with plain white tea. He handed it back to her and she took it with a small "thanks."
"No. I don't really like coffee." She confessed. Draco nodded, and made a mental note to remember that for the future. "Hot chocolate's nice when it's snowing outside." She said. "But usually just tea. What about you?"
"Coffee." He said. "But tea is good enough for now."
They sat for only a few minutes before a clicking sound by the door alerted them of Credere's arrival. Her hooves clicked gently on the wooden floor as she walked in nervously. Hermione stood up quickly with a smile and walked over to her. "Hello Credere."
'Hello Hermione.' She answered, her eyes darting around the room in apprehension.
"You don't need to be nervous. It's only Draco and myself. We'll help you. He will communicate with you like he did the other day. Is that alright with you?" Hermione asked, as Draco walked over to the cauldron full of the potion and scooped out a cup full.
'That is fine.' Credere replied. 'Where do you want me?'
"Right here will do for now. Once you've changed back, we'll carry you to the couch," Hermione pointed to the couch, because it wasn't as if Credere had ever heard of one before. "Then we'll try to get you standing up. It might be hard, but hopefully we can get you standing without holding on to anything by the end of the night."
'That sounds good.' Credere replied. Draco walked over with the potion, and held it out to Hermione.
"You do the honors. I'll stand by to catch her." he said. Hermione nodded and poured the potion down Credere's throat. She spluttered softly after she had swallowed, but didn't comment on the foul taste. Quickly, the changes began, and after a minute or so, Draco and Hermione stepped forward to catch her before she fell backwards to the floor.
Draco wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, as Hermione stepped aside. Casting an unreadable glance in Hermione's direction, Draco carried her to the couch, and put her down. Moving away quickly, Draco motioned Hermione forwards. Hermione sat next to Credere and waited for her to open her eyes, which she had closed in fear at being lifted off the ground.
"Credere? Are you all right? We can do this tomorrow if you want." Hermione suggested, which caused Credere's eyes to snap open in protest. Hermione smiled at her. "OK then. Let's get started. First I want you to watch me stand up, so you can see what I do."
Demonstrating standing up a few times, each time feeling like a bit of an idiot, Hermione allowed Credere to see when she leans forward, how her feet are set on the ground and the way its possible to stand up without pushing off the couch with your hands.
Draco was trying extremely hard not to smirk at Hermione. He knew that this was the only way to do this, but she did look funny, explaining how to stand up. After a while, it was time for Credere to try. Hermione made Draco sit on the other side of Credere and then made Credere put an arm around each of their shoulders.
They both stood, and slowly pulled Credere up with them. She wobbled when they made to let go of her, and fell back onto the couch, looking upset with herself.
The night passed slowly. After a few hours, Credere was able to balance by herself, but still found it difficult to stand from sitting without help. Draco mentioned that in their confrontation with Voldemort, he doubted there would be sitting on a couch then standing up involved. It's not as if Voldemort would invite them to have tea or anything. He suggested they concentrate on walking the following evening, but for now, call it a night
"You're right." Hermione agreed. "It's nearly twelve. I think we should get back to the castle." She turned to Credere, who was standing with her arms out to the sides, swaying slightly, but managing to balance on just two legs reasonably well. "Credere, we'll continue tomorrow night. When it gets dark, come back here. Is that all right with you?"
Draco closed his eyes and entered Credere's mind incase she wanted to say anything before she changed back. After a few moments, he looked at Hermione. "She says that's fine, and that she's very happy about getting so far tonight. She'll be back tomorrow night, and wants to say thank you for being so patient."
Hermione smiled, then watched Credere change back into her natural Unicorn body. Credere nickered softly, then walked out of the cabin and into the night. Hermione sighed and flopped onto the couch.
"Don't get me wrong," she said to Draco as he sat down next to her. "I don't mind doing this, but that was the most tedious couple of hours I've ever experienced. Hopefully things move faster tomorrow night."
"She's learnt balance." Draco pointed out. "That's a pretty big step."
"Yes, but now she has to learn to walk. That'll be just as difficult." Hermione sighed.
"Well, it's not as if we have deadline for this." Draco said. "I mean, I had been aiming to get this done before our NEWT's in three weeks, but if we need another week, then we can have it. Voldemort is not expecting us, either way we'll surprise him."
"Maybe we should set a date to confront Voldemort." Hermione suggested. "After we've both finished NEWT's, otherwise, if something happens and we are injured or can't concentrate, it won't effect our results."
"Sounds good." Draco said, nodding.
"We have two weeks of revision classes left." Hermione stated. "Then one week off classes, set aside for us to concentrate on studying. Then a week full of NEWT's. How about that Friday night? We get it done with as soon as we can."
Draco sighed. "Ok. In about a months time, we'll go and kill that evil bastard."
"Right." Hermione said, her tone slightly scared.
Draco wrapped his arms around her and smiled. "Don't start worrying already, Hermione. It's plenty of time. The Professor's have been reminding us how close our NEWT's are since the start of the year, and they still haven't happened yet. Everything always sounds closer then it really is."
Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "A month of security until a night when our lives will change forever."
Draco frowned at her gloomy statement, and asked her what she meant. She answered, "I know in this next month that, unless we are extremely unlucky, both of us will remain alive. But on the night of confrontation, anything can happen. I might lose you, or you might lose me. Or we might both meet when our bodies have died and our spirits find each other again."
"Hermione." Draco said firmly. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I want you to stop. I will have no pessimism spoken in my company. We have involved Credere in this so neither of us will die. So stop depressing yourself unnecessarily."
"Sorry." Hermione apologized, then she yawned. "I want to go to bed."
"Then you should go." Draco told her, and kissed her on the forehead. "See you in class."
Hermione smiled at the touch of his lips on her face and grasped her amulet, picturing her bed. She gathered that Lavender and Parvarti would be asleep at this late hour, and a few moments later that was confirmed. She pulled on her pajamas and crawled under the covers, but didn't fall asleep for a few hours. Hermione couldn't help thinking about how quickly a month would pass, when it might be the last she would ever spend with Draco.
Draco glanced at Pansy who sat next to him in Herbology when she elbowed him in the ribs. He frowned when he noticed her amused face, looking at someone across the room. Following the direction of her gaze, he jumped slightly when he met eyes with Lavender. She smiled at him and flicked her hair over her shoulder in a ridiculous manner.
He scoffed softly, rolled his eyes and continued with his work, but apparently, according to Pansy's running commentary, this didn't discourage Lavender. "Hey, Draco look. Now she's pointing at you and giggling with her ditzy friend, hoping, I believe that you'll look at her and admire her 'seductive smile.'"
Draco muttered, "Her smile is only seductive to stupidity. And she's managed to score as much of that as is humanly possible."
Pansy continued to watch with interest. "Now she's pulling her scarf off and tying her hair back loosely, probably so you can admire her bare neck. Ooh, look. Her neck is very nice. All pale and skin like." Draco glanced up, but not at Lavender. His eyes quickly sought out Hermione, whose hair was up in a high ponytail, with its locks cascading down to rest gently against the back of her neck.
Pansy paused for a few moments, then said. "Ha! Now she's dropped something on the floor at the front of the class, and is bending over to pick it up, now hoping you'll look up to admire her 'big fat backside.'"
Herbology passed, with the commentary continuing to keep Pansy and himself amused. However, after Lavender continued to strive for Draco's attention in Transfiguration and, though more subtle, in Potions, it became clear that Draco's flat refusal to go out with her had not dissuaded her.
When Potions finished, Draco found himself being bumped into on his way out the door. He glanced around and saw Lavender, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. He sneered at her, and looked her up and down in distaste. Apparently, this was a bad idea, as she leaned forward and whispered in his ear as they were passing through the door, "You can look anytime you want. But if you went out with me, you could see it without anything on."
Lavender giggled then, and walked away, evidently pleased with her progress. Draco stood where he was, staring after her incredulously. How could anyone be so thick? That wasn't normal. It had to be a disorder of some kind.
Hermione brushed passed where he stood, and sent him a very small smile. He asked softly, "You're not jealous of her, are you?"
"I don't think I have any reason to be." Hermione whispered back.
"That's my girl." He smiled, then she turned and disappeared down the corridor with Harry and Ron on either side.
"Draco." Pansy's voice spoke from behind him. "The Slytherin common room is this way."
He turned around to see her casting him a strange smile. The same strange smile that he had been receiving from her for the last week or so. "What?" he asked, turning to walk next to her as they headed for the dungeons.
"Just ask her out, will you?" Pansy said.
"Who, Lavender?" Draco asked in repulsion.
"Yes, because you know I would encourage that relationship." She rolled her eyes. "No idiot. Hermione."
"Oh." Draco couldn't think of what to say, so he left it at that.
"I know you still like her. Don't you?" Pansy asked curiously.
Draco waited until they had passed a group of fourth year Ravenclaw's, to say, "I can't like her."
"And why not?" Pansy asked, stopping to shift her books around so she wasn't in danger of her ink bottle dropping on the floor.
Draco took a few of her books to make it easier for her, and answered, "I'm a Death Eater, aren't I?"
"You mean she won't accept you because of that?" Pansy asked in shock. "Well, that's just ridiculous! You've accepted her, and she's a mudblood for Merlin's sake."
Draco glared at her, but realized that she was just stating the facts, as she knew them, not insulting Hermione. "No, not because of that. Because Voldemort won't accept one of his Death Eaters dating a mudblood."
"If you don't tell anyone, then he can't find out." Pansy suggested. "I mean, go out in secret or something."
Draco averted his eyes for a moment. "Huh. It's a good idea, but I don't think it would work."
Pansy examined him closely and then her eyes slowly widened. "Oh shit. I can't believe I've been so stupid."
"Try." Draco said, a little smirk quirking the corner of his mouth.
"Shut up." Pansy said in a dismissive tone. "You never really broke up, did you?"
"Well…" Draco said slowly. "Define the term 'broke up.'"
Pansy began to smile as they walked down the stone steps leading down into the dungeon. "I'll give you multiple definitions. A) You stopped seeing each other. B) You're not going out anymore, but have managed to stay friends. C) You hate each other to death, or D) It was all a ploy and you are still together, but don't want anyone to know about it."
Draco remained silent, but when Pansy pushed him by saying, "Go on. Pick one." he felt obliged to answer.
"I would like to choose C) to shut you up." he selected.
"But which one is closest to the truth?" Pansy asked, stopping as they reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room. They didn't go in, as there would be too many people to continue this conversation, and Draco knew he wouldn't be able to escape Pansy's questioning that easily.
He sighed in defeat, knowing Pansy knew the answer. "D."
Pansy grinned. "Ha! How cool, I didn't think you were actually going to tell me."
"I wasn't." Draco replied grumpily. "You forced it out of me."
"It was fairly obvious Draco." Pansy pointed out.
"It was? I mean, it is?" he asked, a worried frown appearing on his face. Pansy's grin disappeared and she seriously considered his question.
"Well, no I suppose. But I've known you a long time, and I can read your every expression. Plus, you've defended her enough times. And certain encounters have left no room for doubt."
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, shifting his books slightly.
"When you first 'broke up,' I called her a mudblood and you nearly bit my head off." Pansy told him with a smile. "There was a Transfiguration lesson where McGonagall made you sit next to her. I noticed you accidentally touch her chest region, and all she did was blush and laugh in embarrassment. No serious comment or violent action. Also before the Quidditch Final, I saw you two talking together. Kind of sad, that one was. The other day, she followed you across the Entrance hall after dinner, then led you away." Pansy paused for breath.
"In DADA when you worked together," she continued, her eyes narrowed as she recalled. "Not once did either of you use a hex or curse that involved pain. She shares looks with you all the time. Hermione seemed overly interested in the whole Lavender asking you out thing, which personally I'm glad about so I had someone to laugh with, but if you two had seriously broken up, it wouldn't matter if she was Lavender's friend or not. She would have avoided you."
"Are you done?" Draco asked, and Pansy held up a hand to silence him.
"And yesterday in Charms, I thought you two sneaking late into class together was only slightly suspicious. Considering you never came back to the common room Sunday night, and neither of you were at breakfast." Pansy stopped. "Do I need to continue?"
Draco was now looking at her in mild alarm. "That's almost creepy. Seems like you've been spying on me."
"Nope. Just observing."
"Hmph." Draco grumbled. "Well you can't tell anyone."
"I don't intend to. I just wanted to make sure I was right." Pansy told him.
Draco smirked. "Of course you did."
Pansy eyed him as if a thought had just occurred to her. "Is Voldemort the reason you two 'broke up'?"
"Yes." Draco answered shortly.
"Did he find out about you two?" Pansy asked, concerned.
"Yes." Draco replied. "But I fooled him so he thought it was a lie told by another Death Eater."
"How did you do that?" Pansy asked incredulously.
"I'd prefer not to say." Draco told her, shuddering at the memory of Voldemort sifting through his every thought.
"What happened to the other Death Eater?" Pansy asked hesitantly, believing she already knew the answer.
"Yet again, I'd prefer not to say."
"Voldemort killed him?" It was less of a question, and more of a statement. Draco just nodded.
"Well." Pansy said, her tone resuming its lightness. "It seems your life is much more entertaining than mine. The highlight of my days is watching to see what the highlight of your day will be. And in cases such as that Lavender chick asking you out, I prefer my life than yours."
"I would too." Draco said, opening the entry to their common room and walking in after Pansy.
For Hermione and Draco, every night that week was devoted to teaching Credere how to stand, balance on only two legs, and walk. By Friday night, Credere could walk around the cabin without any troubles at all, and even tried a quick jog before tripping over and nearly falling on her face. Luckily Draco reached out and caught her before she hit the ground.
Draco suggested that they leave the cabin door open, so over the weekend, Credere could just walk in, lap up some of the potion from the cauldron and become Hermione by herself. Then she could practice walking and maybe a bit of fast walking and improve without Draco or Hermione's presence being necessary.
Credere liked this idea, and promised that she would be careful. She knew how to change back to Unicorn, and if she felt at all unsafe she would change back immediately, then wait until Monday evening until she continued.
Hermione agreed to this idea also, as now the NEWT's were only a fortnight away, and she could use the weekend to her advantage by studying. Draco sighed at her devotion to her schoolwork, but decided that no matter how boring it would be, he should do the same.
The weekend passed quickly enough, and Hermione was pleased that she had had the opportunity to concentrate on her study for a few solid days. Harry, Ron and Ginny enjoyed her company (and her knowledge) and were pleased that she took time away from Draco to spend with them. All three had accustomed themselves with Draco being Hermione's choice, but liked it when she was around.
Sunday evening, all four were sitting in the common room. Hermione was writing down points to remember in her Potions essay, the other three were chatting amongst themselves. A small tapping at the window caught their attention, and Ginny walked over and opened it for a large brown owl.
She untied the letter off its leg and waited until it flew away before closing the window and sitting back down. "It's for you, Harry." She said, passing it across.
Hermione looked up, wondering what it could be. Harry opened it with curiosity, saying he didn't recognize the writing. He skimmed the letter, then read aloud.
'Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
I am writing to inform you of my enjoyment in watching you play Quidditch a fortnight ago. It was a most exciting experience, and I marveled at your Seeking skills. As you might know, I have a few vacant positions on my Quidditch team, the Speeding Snitches, and I would be honored if you would take up the position of Seeker.
The current Seeker has recently discovered she is with child, and therefore has resigned from her place on the team. The season training is to start in September, and I would appreciate it if you could write back to me as soon as possible.
Thank you for your time, I hope to see you in September.
Simon Harrow,
Coach of the Speeding Snitches.'
Ginny practically squealed as Harry read the letter and when he finished she was hugging him in excitement. When she finally released him, Hermione saw his massive grin and Ron stood to congratulate his friend.
"I knew you'd get it, Harry." Ron beamed at him. "You knew it too, I don't doubt."
Hermione stood also and kissed Harry on the cheek then embraced him tightly. "Well done Harry. This is fantastic."
Harry turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who was jumping up and down and yelling to her other friends in the common room. Hermione and Ron moved away for others to congratulate Harry, who had the biggest smile on his face and seemed to be as happy as he could be.
"Now he doesn't have to worry about his NEWT's." Ron said in mock annoyance. "That's so unfair."
Hermione laughed and hugged Ron. "You'll do great, and you'll be working at the Ministry before you know it."
"Thanks Hermione." Ron smiled. "And before you know it, you'll be…" He paused and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "What do you want to be?"
Hermione frowned along with him. "I don't know. I just want to do well so I can do anything I want."
"Hermione, you could do anything you wanted, even if you stopped studying from now." Ron told her. "You'll get the highest marks in our year, as you always do. I'll bet you'll be Minister of Magic in a few years. Or Mistress. Whatever it would be."
Hermione smiled. "You have a very wide imagination, Ron. But thanks for the compliment."
Sunday night was spent celebrating Harry's job offer, as it was something he had only dreamt about. He promised Hermione that he would still study and try hard in his NEWT's, so if it didn't work out he would still have his Hogwarts results to fall back on.
Most Gryffindor's took this opportunity to stay up late and eat a fair amount of junk food. Hermione stumped up to her dorm well after midnight with Lavender and Parvarti, and only once she was half-asleep did she stop to wonder if Draco had also received a letter.
A/N- Thanks for the amazing response I am getting for my story. Sorry if I'm starting to take a while to get my chappies up again, but I am doing year 12 at school this year. (For those who don't know, that's my final year of high school.) The homework I'm getting is bordering on ridiculous.
I hope this chapter was alright. My beta-reader informed me that nothing really happens in it. I suppose that's true, but I hope it was good all the same. As always, I would love you to review me you thoughts on it...until next time.