A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews; it made my day. Happy times.

I haven't been putting a disclaimer in, so, um, I disclaim the characters, etc., but I like the plot, so I'll actually claim this one. Hehehe... okay.

Now, I have another question for y'all. Should I continue to put Pansy's little comments in here, or should I just pretend she dropped off the face of the planet? I'd actually like to do that, but for other reasons. The chapters have been going along a lot smoother since she quit tossing her comments in every three seconds. Let me know, eh? Okay, here's the story. Smooches.

Draco didn't know what to do. Should I get in? It IS my bed, after all. But what will she say in the morning? Will she even remember? What does she want me to do? Questions tumbled around in his head for a few seconds until Hermione's voice broke through again.

"Malfoy, I am tired. You are keeping me awake. Make up your mind so I can sleep, would you?"

That helped Draco make up his mind. She called me Malfoy, not Draco. She doesn't want anything from me; she's just being nice again. Why not? He cautiously picked up the corner of the blanket.

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? This is Mudblood Granger we're talking about. That is disgusting. What the FUCK are you thinking? You're not considering it, are you?

Actually, Draco replied to himself, I am. Feeling slightly reckless now, he slid underneath the blankets and slowly laid down on the far edge of the bed. He didn't want to disturb Hermione any more than he already had. He remained there, staring at the ceiling, for what felt like hours. The bed was slowly getting warmer, and Draco became drowsy. He felt his eyes closed and slipped into sleep.

- - - - -

Next to him, Hermione was half awake. She would have been asleep fifteen minutes ago when Draco climbed into bed, but her subconscious wasn't letting her get any rest. ARE YOU INSANE? Inviting DRACO MALFOY to share a bed with you? What the FUCK are you thinking? You don't know him. He could try to kill you, or rape you, or both, or-

No, I don't think he will, Hermione thought. If he feels safe here, which I believe he does, he won't do anything to put that safety in jeopardy. Besides, he and I are both fully clothed. I think I'd notice if he tried to violate me while I'm asleep.

She was still arguing with her subconscious when Draco hit her. She rolled over to face him, an angry question on her lips, when she noticed his eyes were shut, and his face was screwed up as though he were in pain. Oh, he must be dreaming. She watched him for a few more minutes. His face got paler, his hands clenched into fists, and he began to sweat. She didn't know what he was seeing in his dreams, but she knew the panicky feeling he would wake up with; the terror that would follow him through his waking minutes for the next few months, and the nightmares that might never stop. She still dreamt about the day Ron was murdered once a week and that day had happened over a year ago.

Suddenly, Draco sat straight up in bed, screaming. Hermione had been prepared for this. She didn't touch him, but spoke loudly in firm tones. "Draco, it's okay now, you're safe now. Calm down. It will be okay soon. Draco, calm down." She repeated this for a minute, until his breathing became more regular and his body began to relax. He finally seemed to have registered the fact that she was there and turned to his left to see her sitting next to him.

- - - - -

It took him a few moments to come out of his nightmare. He could almost see the limbs of his comrades flying across the empty yard; the screams were still ringing in his ears. The faces of the dead appeared one after another in his mind. He paused to look at what remained of his once strong father, then his once beautiful mother. Both his parents covered in blood; mates dying three and four at a time; fires and flashes of light from spells; all these and more slowly faded away into the night as he became aware of a sweet voice speaking his name. He turned and saw an angel sitting on the bed next to him. Her hair flowed down her back and around her shoulders. The light from outside the window fell across her face, accentuating her beauty. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight. She pushed him away a little to readjust herself. When she pulled him closer again, his head was on her shoulder, and she was pushing his hair away from his face, whispering calming words to him. He slowly relaxed, enjoying the comfort she was giving him.

I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I'm grateful, he thought to himself. When he had calmed down, he realized that the arms holding him were solid and warm. Angels aren't solid and warm, are they? He wanted to find out, but he was afraid she would disappear if he moved, so he asked her.

- - - - -

Hermione was doing her best to comfort Draco. She thought she was doing a pretty good job, because his breathing had returned to normal and he wasn't nearly as tense as he had been. She was also starting to feel pretty good about Draco as a person, since he had accepted her comfort, she being a Mudblood and all.

Suddenly, he spoke. "Are all angels as warm and solid as you?"

She didn't know what to say. He thinks I'm angel? "You think I'm an angel?" she asked.

"Well, aren't you? You look like one."

She didn't know what to say to that. "Draco, look at me."

He turned his head and looked up at her.

"Hermione? But – what – what's going on?"

"You had a nightmare, and it seemed like you needed some comfort. So I comforted you." She shrugged her shoulders.

He didn't say anything for a minute. Then, "Thank you."

She smiled into his eyes. "You're welcome."

He picked himself up out of her arms and lay down on his pillow again. She wouldn't admit it, but Hermione missed the weight of his head on her shoulder and the warmth of his arms around her waist. Instead, she busied herself with straightening out the bedclothes and fluffing her pillow. When she lay back down, she felt a long bump where her pillow should have been. It was Draco's arm. She moved to sit back up and started apologizing.

"Be quiet and lay down," Draco said to her.

"I, well, okay, I guess." She tentatively smiled at him as she settled herself on his arm. It felt... odd, but right, somehow, under her neck. There they lay on their sides, facing each other, for hours. Sometimes Draco talked about his nightmares; other times Hermione told Draco stories about her and Ron; they took turns reminiscing about Hogwarts; and after a while, they both drifted off to sleep.

XXXXX

The next morning, Draco awoke with a mouthful of hair. Confused as to whose it was, he pushed it out of his face and looked around. Squinting at the light beginning to stream through the window, he recognized the ceiling of the room he was in. It was in London, at Black's old house. He had come here yesterday... the rest of the day and night came back to him. He realized the hair in his face belonged to Hermione Granger. Never thought I'd live to see the day that I'd share a bed with someone that wasn't a pureblood. He smirked, then realized what he had just thought to himself. I need to adjust my thinking patterns if I'm going to be staying here. If I don't, I'll be kicked out, then I'll be dead for sure. At this, his life-preservation instinct kicked in, and he promised himself he'd behave today.

The hair suddenly moved away from his face. I must have woken her up. He held still, waiting to see what she'd do.

- - - - -

Hermione began to wake up, feeling quite warm. I'm going back to sleep. It's too early to get up yet, anyway. She could see the dawn's early rays through her eyelids and figured she had at least half an hour yet. Besides, she'd had the strangest dream, and she wanted to think about it before she had to get up and face the day. It had involved Draco Malfoy...

She rolled over and snuggled into her pillow. What's wrong with my pillow? It's moving. She cracked one eye open to see what the deal was. She was greeted with a strange sight. I don't have a satin pillow. She blinked and looked again. It wasn't satin... and it wasn't a pillow. It was a bare chest. She gasped and looked up into a familiar face. "What happened?"

"I got hot and took off my shirt."

"Oh." Hermione was remembering what happened last night. So it wasn't a dream, then. Huh. Never would have thought I would end up in bed with Draco.

Draco now, is it? Her conscience asked.

Shut up. "Did you sleep at all?"

"Yeah, a little, I think."

"I didn't bother you last night, did I?"

"No, you didn't. Actually, I think if you hadn't been here, I wouldn't have slept at all."

"Did you have more nightmares?"

"Yeah, but not as bad as the first one."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah."

They fell silent. Draco was thinking about how strange it was that this woman, whom he had tortured for so many years, could set aside her feelings to comfort him. I didn't know there were actually people like that in the world.

Hermione was thinking about how strange it was that she, who had only slept in a bed with two other men– one being her father when she was little – could so casually jump into a bed with the man that had been the bane of her existence for seven years. I didn't know I had it in me.

"Do you need to get up?" Draco asked.

"No, I've got another half hour or so before I need to do anything."

"Okay. Just want to stay here for a bit, then?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Actually, no. I don't." Draco was surprised that those words had come out of his mouth. He had never laid in a bed with any woman just for the sake of doing so.

"Okay, then, I'll just stay here." They stayed there for a few minutes in silence, then Draco spoke.

"I think we should talk." Did I really just say to a woman, 'We need to talk'? WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?

"About what?" Hermione yawned.

"Well, about what I said last night."

"Which part?" she asked with a little smile.

He smiled back. "About calling you my friend."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah. So, uh, what do you say?"

Hermione paused. "Yes. After what happened last night, I don't think I have any choice in the matter."

Draco grinned. "Wicked."

A/N: So, there you go. No sex, no screwing around, just good ol' cuddling, as requested by reviewers. However, don't think that this is as far as it's going to go. There will be more twists to this story, I promise you. Just wait. More nudity, too.

Okay, hit the little button, go on, it won't hurt. It makes me feel pretty good, anyway.

With warm fluffy thoughts,

-Kat