Dedication: Brittni for the music bonfire and the memories of the cricket.
Disclaimer: I own nada.
Chapter 2: Cliché
It was a cliché day that some would say would mean it was perfect. The birds singing could be heard in the Gryffindor tower. The annoying light of the sun could be seen through the crack in the curtains in the windows. There was a silent peace among students and teachers that wasn't seen in a long time. To most, it meant that it was one of those rare days where an awkward occurrence wouldn't take place, and the threat of the Dark Lord was idle. To Hermione, it meant that it was a day of naivety that could have been spent training for the battle that would be taking place before the end of the year. To her, it was a day that was being wasted and spent in blissful unawareness that bothered her to the core before it even began.
Hermione stretched her limbs and yawned, feeling something beside her stir. She blinked in confusion before remembering that she had given into Harry and spent the night in the Gryffindor tower. She opened the curtains of his bed a little to see that there was movement from Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. If she walked out of this bed, there would be talk from one of the boys to their girlfriends, and that would mean rumors. She rolled her eyes at the thought and looked at Harry.
She loved to see him at peace. His dreams had been nightmare ridden- especially so after fifth year. He still slept with the mirror under his bed, hoping that someday Sirius would contact him with it. It was even worse after what happened last year. That didn't matter now though. He was possibly having a nice, mellow dream about what it would be like after the threat of Voldemort was extinguished. His mouth slightly opened, his black hair sticking up in gravity defying positions, and his face so calm and relaxed, he looked just divine.
She slouched against the headboard of the small bed and closed her eyes for a few second before opening them again. She shifted for a second and sighed, pursing her lips. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep. She was ready to start the day, but she couldn't. She didn't know where Harry put his invisibility cloak; she didn't want to wake him either. She closed her eyes for a few seconds again, this time opening them to a pair of green ones.
"Good morning." She whispered, sliding over a bit to let him have room to get up. He stared at her for a few minutes before smiling.
"Morning." He tried to stifle a yawn unsuccessfully. "Did you sleep well?"
"Very well, thank you. I would ask you, but the drool coming out of your mouth speaks for itself." She stifled a giggle, but it only increased when he wiped the small amount of spit from the corner of his mouth. The glare he shot her next made her giggle uncontainable, and soon she was giggling loudly enough to wear she knew they could hear outside the curtain.
Her theory was correct when she heard the voice of Seamus come within the curtain, "Potter, you best get the girl out of here before a prefect or Granger comes in here." His voice seemed disgruntled.
Her giggles turned into laughter when she heard him say that. She couldn't control herself so she stuffed her head into Harry's pillow. Harry had a smile plastered across his face, at a loss as to what to reply. He put his feet onto the floor and stretched a bit against the curtain.
"I don't think I'll have to worry about Hermione today. Something tells me she's still in bed!" Hermione continued to giggle at his reply but hit him when he said, "Just wait while we get decent."
She shot his back several glares while he opened the curtain just enough for him to get out and hand her his invisibility cloak. More glares ensued after he came back into the bed.
Stifling a yawn, her head traveled downward. Her eyes slowly began to dart back and forth on the page before flipping to another. The boys' conversation had gotten progressively less interesting as it went from classes to Quidditch. She didn't find this particular book very interesting, but she couldn't help herself from reading up on it. It was yet another text about time travel. The concept interested her ever since her brush with time travel in her third year. This book was just repeating concepts she already knew.
She, however, didn't flip idly through it like most people did. She soaked up every ounce of new knowledge that was presented. While the concepts were the same, the details were not. She could learn from it and form her own concepts that were different than those in the book. She flipped the page again and began to read the print. She only stopped when she felt eyes burning on her back.
She had learned to recognize when someone was watching her. How could she not when she spent the greater part of her young adult life in the position that she was in? If she hadn't learned how, she would have gotten ambushed last year just a little before school ended. She cringed at the memory and returned her thoughts to the present. The eyes were boring into her back and had been for quite a while. She could tell from the intensity of it. She shivered under the weight of the yes before turning around, her eyes meeting with gray ones. Her gaze was locked with Draco's.
It felt so unnatural but so comforting at the same time. She was too wrapped up in her own emotions to think about the type of gaze he was sending her. Whether it was a glare like usual or the glances of befuddlement she had been receiving lately was a mystery to her. All she knew was that right now she was in her own obsessed world with Malfoy not only acknowledging her but focusing his attention solely on her. He didn't even notice when Zabini tapped him on the shoulder. She tried not to smile.
The boys hadn't even noticed that she no longer had her head in her book. They hadn't even noticed that she had turned to the other side of the table to look to the Slytherin table. For a few more seconds Malfoy seemed to look thoughtfully at her before his perfectly shaped left eyebrow was raised and his smirk appeared on his face again. He winked at her before turning his attention to Blaise who looked at Hermione and licked his lips before he and Draco burst out in snickers.
Blood rushed to her face. She turned back to Ron and Harry who were presently discussing Divination very loudly causing Parvati and Lavender to turn to them- their mouths open and gasping like fish out of water. She frowned at the girls and at Harry and Ron for provoking them. They would have noticed had they not been so caught up in their own conversation so much. She stood up, not wanting to be there when the confrontation happened. High pitched yelps from the girls and unintelligible outbursts from Ron were not what she wanted to witness at the moment.
"Hermione," Harry turned to see her heading towards the door. "you're already leaving?" He cocked his head in confusion.
"Oh yes. I'm quit tired, and I have to turn this book in before I head to bed." She yawned fakely. She'd gotten a great amount of sleep last night, but it was the quickest excuse she could think of that wouldn't need her to appear in the Gryffindor tower. She wanted to head to the library then to her rooms for some reading.
Harry stood up and walked over to the middle of the Great Hall where Hermione was currently standing. A concerned look was plastered on his face when he opened his mouth, "Will you be alright in your rooms? I'm just afraid that he will try something." He emphasized the word he bitterly while looking to the Slytherin table to where Hermione had be staring just a few seconds ago.
"I'll be fine, Harry. I promise. Malfoy wouldn't dare try anything." She looked him in the eyes to assure him.
"Alright, but if he does, come to the tower. My bed is your bed." He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
She walked out the hall and began her journey to the head rooms. She took the familiar path without even thinking about it. She smiled at the portraits that surrounded her and waved to the ones that said hi. She said her password, "Quintaped", before walking into her rooms. She hadn't even taken a full step after the portrait hole closed before she was pushed against the wall, the familiar scent of Malfoy gracing her nostrils.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews tons... It REALLY really motivates me to write more. I wrote half of this chapter the second after I got my first review. Thanks bunches. Please review.