Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Hermione awoke the next morning still feeling exhausted. She stretched and rolled over to find Draco still asleep. She suddenly became aware of the fact that they were still naked. She sat up and was going to move to put something on.
Draco felt movement next to him, he slowly opened his eyes. "Morning. Where do you think that you're rushing off to? It's Sunday. We have no classes, we can just lounge today." He leaned forward and kissed her shoulder.
"I wasn't going to get up, I was just going to put some clothes on. I didn't want to wake you." Hermione turned towards him kissing him softly. "Good morning to you too." She allowed Draco to pull her back down into the bed.
Draco began placing kisses all over Hermione's face. "How did I get so lucky? I've treated you horrible for six years, and you forgive me for all of it. And now I get to spend every night wrapped in your arms, and wake up to your beautiful face every morning."
"Draco, I'm the one who's lucky. I get to wake up every morning to the most popular guy in school. Listen, I'm really uncomfortable laying her...like this...can I please put some clothes on or something?" Hermione pulled the sheet up around her. She was very modest about anyone seeing her naked.
"Of course, hold on." Draco summoned a t-shirt, and a pair of boxers from his open dresser drawer for her to put on.
"Draco this has the Slytherin house crest on it. You're not trying to turn me into a Slytherin are you?" She smirked at him as she pulled the t-shirt over her head, and slipped on the boxers.
"You could never be a Slytherin, you don't possess the right attitude. We Slytherins are superior, and we know it. No...you are a definite Gryffindor through and through, but you're my Gryffindor." With that he pulled her close to him and hugged her tight.
"Oh, I'm yours now am I? My, you are cockier than I thought Mr. Malfoy. I belong to noone." She snuggled in close to his chest breathing in his smell. There was a knock at the portrait hole downstairs.
"Bloody hell! Who could that be?" Draco rolled over to get up, and summoned a pair of boxers for himself to put on. He then walked over and grabbed a t-shirt and slipped it on. Hermione was already halfway to the portrait hole when he walked out. "You know, you look good in my boxers Miss Granger." He was trying to stop her from opening the door dressed like that, but she didn't catch on. He just shook his head and smiled as she opened the portrait.
Hermione wiggled her hips a little as she started to open the portrait hole. "Hey Gin. What's up?" Ginny walked into the portrait hole and shut the door behind her.
"I just wanted to talk to you about Harry and Ron. Whoa...hold on...I'm sorry! I'm going to come back later. I'm interrupting something. We can talk later." Ginny's face had gone as red as her hair, and she was trying to look at anything but Draco and Hermione. She started to walk back to the door to leave.
"Wait Gin! You're not interrupting anything. What's the matter?" Hermione couldn't imagine why Ginny had reacted that way. She looked to Draco who was just standing on the stairs wearing his signature smirk. "What? What's going on?"
"'Mione, you realize that you are both standing there in boxers and a t-shirt? I can really come back later, maybe give you time to get dressed or something?"
"Oh...right...sorry. No it's fine, we just woke up that's all. You're not interrupting anything. Please, stay. What's up with Harry and Ron?" Hermione tried to cover herself with her hands. How could she have been so stupid as to answer the door wearing nothing but Draco's boxers and a t-shirt.
Ginny came over to the couch and sat down. "It's about their plans for the quidditch match. I know what it is they are trying to do. They are going to talk to Dobby about getting him to jinx a bludger to chase after Draco like he did to Harry that once. I think that you should go talk to Dobby."
"Wait a second, Dobby? My family's old house elf? What does he have to do with anything?" Draco was now interested, and he came down and sat in one of the cushy armchairs facing Ginny.
"You do know that Harry is the one who set Dobby free, right?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, I think Lucius mentioned it once. Why?"
"Well...now Dobby works here in the Hogwarts kitchens. Before he left your house he was trying to warn Harry about the bad things your father had been planning...with Riddle's diary. He tried to get Harry to leave Hogwarts by setting that rogue bludger on him. Ron and Harry are mad at Hermione for being with you, and they want a way to hurt you, and still make it look like an accident. They want to get Dobby to jinx a bludger during the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game...to go after you."
Draco laughed. "Do they really think Dobby will go through with it? How thick. He may not work for my family anymore, but he would never harm me. I was never bad to Dobby, or any of our others house elves for that matter. Don't worry Hermione. If they want a way to get me, they are going to have to do it without the help of Dobby."
"Are you sure Draco. Dobby loves Harry, he always said that he would do anything for him. I think that we should at least go to the kitchens and talk to him." Hermione didn't want to take any chances with Draco getting hurt.
"No problem, we'll go down tonight after dinner. I promise there is nothing to worry about. Dobby isn't going to do anything to me." He walked over to where Hermione was standing and wrapped his arms around her kissing her on the top of the head. "So Weaselette, what happened with you and Blaise after we left last night?"
Ginny blushed. "We just stayed and danced for a while, and then came back to the castle. What's it to you, Malfoy?" She wasn't telling the whole truth, but it wasn't any of Malfoy's business.
"Well Blaise is my best friend. The man really likes you, I was just wondering how your night went. Be secretive, I'll just hear it all from him later. Face it Weaselette, your man is like a brother to me, he tells me everything." Draco smiled at the effect that this had on Ginny.
"Listen, guys, we're going to be spending a lot of time together. Blaise is your best friend Draco, and Ginny is mine. Don't you think it's time you guys called each other by your first names." Hermione really wanted them all to get along.
"Fine by me, 'Mione. How about you...Draco? Man that was hard to say."
"Anything for you Hermione. How about a truce Ginny?" Draco held out his hand to Ginny.
Ginny examined Draco's hand for a while. She wasn't sure if she trusted him yet, but he was Blaise's best friend, and Hermione's boyfriend, so she decided she might as well give him a chance. She reached out and shook his hand. "Well...I'm going to go. I'll talk to you later 'Mione. Maybe Blaise and I can come sit with you guys for lunch or something. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind."
"Sounds great Gin. I'll see you then. Please try to talk some sense into Harry. I know if we can convince him to get over himself, he can convince Ron."
"I'll see what I can do 'Mione. I'm not high on Harry's list right now either. Bye guys."
Hermione shut the portrait hole after Ginny left. She turned to Draco. "Why didn't you stop me from answering the door in your underwear?"
"I tried, I told you you looked good in my boxers, but you just did that cute little wiggle and opened the door anyways. I was trying to warn you." He was smirking again, and trying to keep from laughing.
"You could have been a little more clear about what you meant. I thought it was a compliment, not a warning." Hermione crossed her arms and tried to give him an evil look, but it was hard. He just looked so cute standing there with that goofy smirk, trying to keep a straight face.
"It was both, you do look good in my boxers."
Hermione started towards him, and Draco turned and ran up the stairs to his room. Hermione was close behind him. Draco ran in and jumped on his bed, and grabbed a pillow for protection. He held it out in front of him like a shield. "You wouldn't hurt me would you. I'm too cute. It would be a horrible loss."
"You arrogant little ferret." Hermione laughed and ran and jumped on the bed on him, tickling him with all her might.
"Ok...ok...I give...up! Please...stop!" Draco couldn't catch his breath he was laughing so hard. When Hermione stopped tickling, he rolled her over so that he was on top, and looked into her eyes. "You know, you are the only person I've ever let get away with tickling me. Most people I would hex into oblivion if they tried that. You should consider yourself lucky."
"Oh, please don't hurt me. You wouldn't hurt me would you. I'm too cute." Hermione mocked.
"Normally I wouldn't, but you're in for it now Miss Granger. Nobody mocks a Malfoy." He started tickling her. "You're going to have to pay now."
Hermione was squealing and squirming, trying to get away. "Draco...please...stop...NO! Draco...I...can't...breathe."
Draco stopped tickling her and brought his mouth down to meet hers. It was just a small kiss, owing to the fact, that she needed to catch her breath. "That Miss, will teach you not to mock a Malfoy." He laughed and leaned down and started placing kisses along her neck. He could feel her breathing starting to slow down. He continued to kiss down her neck, to her collarbone. He moved the t-shirt out of the way, allowing him easier access to this sensitive spot.
"Draco...mmm...Draco...we can't do this right now. We have so much work to get done. We...should...um...stop. Please...Draco...we need...to stop."
"Ok, ok, I'm stopping." Draco sat up, kissing her one last time on the forehead. "Where should we start?"
"I would really like to get to work on that essay for History of the Ministry. I find that to be one of our most important classes. After that I think that we should get to work on our Transfiguration homework."
"Sounds like a plan. By the time that we're done with that it will probably be lunch time and we'll be going down to meet Blaise and...Ginny. Do you want some toast or something while we work? We haven't had breakfast yet."
"Sure, thanks." Hermione got her book bag and pulled out some ink, parchment, and her favorite quill. She ate the toast when Draco brought it over, barely looking up from her essay. History of the Ministry was one of her favorite subjects. She loved history of all kinds, and reading about former ministers would really help her learn more about the politics of the wizarding world.
Draco sat down and pulled his book over to him, and read over some information for his essay. He wasn't in any hurry to get it done, they still had all day. He wanted to enjoy his toast, and tea before getting into work. He looked over and watched Hermione feverishly writing. In the short time it took Draco to get the toast and tea ready, Hermione had already written quite a bit. It always amazed him to watch her work, he had never seen anyone so dedicated to learning before. He smiled to himself, finished his breakfast and got to work.
Hermione and Draco left the common room for lunch a while later. Hermione had gotten two and a half essays done, and she was quite pleased with the progress. She had decided that it would be best if they went to the kitchens to see Dobby after they finished lunch instead of waiting until after dinner. She wanted to make sure that they had the evening to get the rest of their work done. They walked up to their table at the front of the Great Hall to see Blaise and Ginny already sitting there. "Hey guys," Hermione greeted them as she sat down.
"Hey 'Mione. I got a chance to talk to Harry by the way. He said that he was still angry with you because you didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth about you and Draco in the first place. He did agree that he would meet you and talk to you about it though. He was wondering if you would talk to him after lunch."
"Draco and I were going to go down to the kitchens and talk to Dobby after lunch. Did he still seem really upset?"
"Harry did seem a little upset, he didn't even seem to want to talk to me either. We were in the corridor outside the common room when I asked him to talk to you, and he wouldn't even look me in the face. The Fat Lady seemed to think that he was jealous or something. I'm not sure what she was talking about. Oh, and about Dobby. I overheard them talking about how Dobby said that he could never hurt 'young Master Malfoy'. He said that he was always good to Dobby. Apparently he told Harry that he was happy for Miss Granger and Master Malfoy, and he wouldn't do anything to harm either one of you. So I guess you don't need to bother going down there."
"Well that's a relief. I'll have to go visit Dobby one of these days and thank him. That was very sweet. About Harry, I should think that it's obvious what the Fat Lady meant. Harry is jealous of Blaise, he's liked you for quite a while now Ginny. I'm sure that he'll come around though. How has Ron been?"
"He's dreadful. He won't talk to me, he sulks around the common room, he's actually losing to Harry at chess, I've never seen him so upset. It's a bit sad, really. I think that if you talk to Harry, and bring him around, he can get Ron to come around in time. If Harry liked me for so long why didn't he say something. The thickhead, I liked him for ages, if he would have only said something. Now I'm happy with Blaise, and if he doesn't like it, he can just grow up."
"Well, I'll go talk to him now. I'm done eating, and I want to get this over with. I miss having them around even if they are annoying prats most of the time. Sorry Draco, Blaise, I feel like we've been ignoring you guys. Draco, I'll catch up with you later in the common room. Ginny, Blaise feel free to come visit us later if you'd like."
"Sounds good 'Mione. Good luck."
"Thanks, I'm sure that I'll need it. Bye guys. Bye Draco." She got up from the table and kissed Draco before heading over to the Gryffindor table to get Harry. "Harry...I was wondering if we could go for a walk and talk for a little bit." Hermione was really nervous, she didn't know how Harry would react to what she had to say, and she could feel Ron staring at her.
"Yeah...ok. I'll see you later Ron." Harry got up and left the table and walked ahead of Hermione out of the Hall. "Ginny said that you wanted to talk to me about you and Draco...what do you want to say?"
He seemed a lot more calm than Hermione had expected. "I can't stand fighting with you and Ron. You are my best friend Harry. I don't want anything to come between us."
"Well, you're the one who said that you would rather go hang out with him. What are we supposed to do Hermione welcome Malfoy with open arms. He has made my life a living Hell, he's made all of our lives a living Hell."
"He's really changed Harry. He's not the same as he was before. He really likes me, we have a lot of fun together. If you would just give him a chance, I'm not asking you to be friends with him, I'm not even asking you to like him, but don't hate me because I want to be with him."
"Merlin, I don't hate you. 'Mione when I saw you with him, I was shocked, and then you said that you would rather be with him than us. What I don't understand is why you didn't just tell us that you were friends with him in the first place. Maybe it wouldn't have been such a shock if we didn't see you walking back from spending a day flying with that git. I'm trying to understand what could have possibly made you try to date the guy that called you a mudblood for six years."
Hermione had started to cry. She knew that what Harry was saying was true. "I'm sorry Harry. I shouldn't have said that I would rather be with him than you. I was just angry. You and Ron really hurt me too. You didn't want to hear me explain, you just judged me. A lot of things were said that shouldn't have been said, I know you were both a little shocked and angry, but I didn't like being made to feel like I was some kind of a traitor. It's not a traitorous act to make new friends, or to get a boyfriend. I know he's a Malfoy, but he's nothing like his father."
Harry couldn't stand seeing her cry. He still didn't understand it, but he could tell that it was really important to her. He pulled her into a brotherly hug. "'Mione, I just want you to be careful. You are one of my best friends, and I don't ever want to see anything bad happen to you. I'm sorry I've been such an arse lately. I'm never going to be chummy with Malfoy, but I'm willing to try to get along for you. I'll try to talk to Ron, but I don't know if he's going to be easy to convince. He really loves you 'Mione. His heart is broken right now. It may take some time for him to come around."
"Oh thank you Harry, thank you! You have no idea how happy you just made me. It means so much to have your friendship back. I've missed you so much." Hermione jumped up and down and kissed Harry on the cheek. Tears were still streaming down her face, but they were happy tears now. "Harry one more thing. Please give Ginny a break. She really likes Blaise, and they really seem to be hitting it off. She really did like you for a long time, but you never showed interest until she found someone else. I'm sorry Harry, but I really think that you should find someone else. You are the second hottest guy in school according to Lavender and Parvati's list, you could really have any girl in the whole school."
"Not any girl. Besides I'm not cute, girls just like me because I'm the famous Harry Potter, I defeated Voldemort."
"That's not true and you know it. You're really cute Harry. I know you get a lot of attention because you're famous, and you're good at quidditch, but that's not the only reasons."
"Thanks 'Mione, but you're just saying that. Do Lavender and Parvati seriously have a list of the hottest guys in school?"
"Yes, and you're number two. Honestly Harry."
"That is sick. Rating guys like that, it's horrible. Who's number one?"
"Draco. I only know the top three, and that's Draco, you, and Blaise. You really are good looking Harry, you need to stop being so shy and modest. Well listen, I have to go get some homework done. Please talk to Ron and see if you can stop him being such a prat. If you would like Ginny and Blaise are coming over tonight, if you want to come. Maybe you could bring Ron if you can get him to come around."
"Sorry 'Mione, that's a little much for me. I'll talk to Ron though. I'm glad that we're ok again 'Mione I missed you. See you around."
Hermione kissed him on the cheek and turned to go back up to the school. They had wandered around by the lake on their walk. She turned around after a few steps. "Oh and Harry. I'm sure that you've got a stack of homework waiting for you, if you work on it, I'll correct it for you during one of my free periods tomorrow."
"Thanks. I'll go work on it now too I guess. I haven't done anything. Without you there keeping me in line, I lucky if I'll get anything done on time. Good to have you back as a friend." He decided to walk back up to the school with her. She was right he had a mountain of homework to do, and if she would check what he had done tomorrow, he was definitely going to get as much done as he could tonight. They walked into the castle together and then both went their separate ways. Hermione to the head's dorm, and Harry to the Lion's Den.
I know that I took a long time to update again. I'm sorry. I took some time off for my 21st birthday. I hope that you all enjoy the chapter. Don't for get to review.