Disclaimer; I own nothing!

A/N Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the update to 'The Deal'. It was not my favorite chapter but it needed to be written to get to what is coming next. Now this chapter for 'Saving Draco Malfoy' is one of my favorites. I really love the way this story is going, I have been frantically writing getting these ideas down on paper (or computer screen) Every time I think it will only be one chapter, it turns into two. (Now I know where JK is coming from) Well I hope you like it as much as I do. Happy reading and don't forget to review!

Dinner at Number 12

Later in the afternoon everyone at number 12 Grimmauld place was waking up at different times. The deep satisfaction of another Horcrux destroyed gave everyone enough peace of mind to rest for the first time. Ginny cuddled next to Harry in his room, her head lying peacefully on his shoulder. Tonks and Remus were curled up by the fire in the sitting room holding hands in a sweet fashion. Draco and Hermione were sound asleep in her room, though in different beds. She had fallen asleep before she had the chance to talk to him about their actions the previous night. But in her dreams the night replayed over and over making her yearn for his touch when she woke up. To her dismay he was still asleep and she refused to wake him. She stood up and stretched before heading down to the kitchen and fixing some stew for everyone when they woke up. Unlike other times she used magic and it was done quickly. The smell of the food soon had everyone clamoring about the kitchen getting bowls and spoons. Ginny made some crusty bread and Harry carried the pumpkin juice and the oak matured mead from the cellar. Soon everyone was seated around the table except Draco and Ron.

"I'll see what's keeping them." Hermione said wearily before heading back up the steps. She heard a commotion near the bathroom and stopped to listen in.

"I heard you Malfoy! You were calling for Hermione in your sleep! Now what is going on?" Ron yelled.

"It was nothing, I was dreaming she was in trouble and was calling out for her. You don't need to butt your large nose in my business!"

"No, you were moaning, not calling." Ron said through tight lips and a red face.

"Just move out of my way weasel, I promised her I would be civil to you and I am good on my word."

"You just watch yourself Malfoy. You may have helped Harry, but that doesn't mean we are okay with you hurting Hermione. Your reputation precedes you."

"RONALD WEASLEY!" Hermione shouted causing both boys to jump a little. "HOW DARE YOU ASSUME ANYTHING!"

"I didn't…I mean I'm not…you know I was just…"

"I heard what you were 'just' doing. You listen to me right now. My personal life is none of your business. It hasn't been for over a year. Now Draco here has been a huge help to the order, and he deserves to be treated with respect. It's none of your business what he dreams about or who for that matter. Now go downstairs and eat dinner with everyone and I won't mention your poor behavior to Harry." Her voice was stern and Ron knew she meant what she said.

"Fine." he said stomping down the steps.

"Thanks for attempting to be civilized with him. I just don't know why he flies off the deep end sometimes."

"No problem." he said.

"Dinner is ready by the way." She said avoiding his eyes.

"Thanks. I will be down in a minute." he replied, trying just as hard to avoid hers. He had dreamt about her and must have been vocalizing the dream. She started to walk in the other direction towards the stairs when he called out.

"Hey, about the other night…"

She turned to face him, tears welling up. She didn't want to cry but she had an awful feeling that he was about to brush her off.

"Yes." she replied.

"It was the best night of my life." he said only slightly blushing. "Thank you."

He walked quickly towards her and hugged her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged back before skipping down the steps. He followed a minute later and sat at the table having a deep sense of belonging with the rest of the group. The rest of them were in high spirits and were chatting animatedly. Draco looked around the table and smiled. Never had he felt so right, so at peace with the world. He was finally where he was supposed to be all along.

"Do you want more peas?" Tonks asked.

"What?" Draco asked finally coming out of his daydream.

"I asked you if you wanted more peas." Tonks asked again looking at Draco in a peculiar way.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking." he said voice trailing off at the end.

"About what?" Hermione asked piping up.

"A lot of things. Mostly…never mind." he said blushing slightly.

"Come on mate," Harry started "you can tell us."

"Yes, we're all friends here." Hermione said glaring at Ron in a slightly threatening manner. Ron went red before nodding slightly at Draco confirming what Hermione was saying.

"I was just thinking that…well, how different things could have been for me if I was put in Gryffindor." he said in a low hushed voice.

"But the sorting hat is never wrong." Ron said in between mouthfuls. The rest of the table gave him a harsh look. Hermione reached across and poked him in the arm causing him to almost choke.

"That will teach you to shovel food in your mouth like a pig." she said before turning to Draco.

"I don't think things would have turned out any better Draco." she said patting his hand. The rest of the table looked over at Hermione like she had just used Voldemort's name aloud.

"What?" she asked looking around. "Never mind doesn't matter. Anyway, I think the sorting hat put you where you belonged back then. Now, you belong here." She smiled in her reassuring way and it made him feel like he owned the world. His appetite improved immensely and he helped himself to more food and joined the conversation about the next trip.

By the time evening rolled around they all had gathered in the sitting room in front of the fire talking. Again Harry and Ginny were sitting together cuddling as were Remus and Tonks. Draco looked at Hermione and longed to hold her. It would have been the icing on the cake. Hermione glanced over at Draco and caught his eye. The corner of his lip turned up into a slight smile. She looked away and swallowed hard. She wanted to be near him, but the others…what would they think? And would he even want her to sit by him? She took a deep breath and scooted across the carpet till she was sitting near him leaning her back on the couch. She tilted her head till it rested on his shoulder. To her surprise he reached over and grabbed her hand. None of the others looked up from what they were doing. Even Ron looked lost in a daydream.

"Hey you." Draco whispered in her ear sending shivers up her spine.

"Hey back." she replied. "I'm so glad you are here."

"Thanks." he grinned. "So another week till we head to Godric's Hollow?" This had been the topic of conversation that night. They had decided to go in a week's time, along with the rest of the higher order members.

"Yes. We are so close…" she said voice trailing off.

"Don't worry about it right now." he said soothing her. "Let's just enjoy today."

Hermione smiled at him.

Later in the evening up in Hermione's room she was getting ready for bed. She stood in front of the mirror and brushed her long hair before securing it in a loose bun. Draco was presumably in the bathroom taking a shower. The thought of him made her stomach feel heavy and her heart beat hard in her chest.

"Pull it together Hermione." she said aloud to her mirror image. Just then she heard him approaching the door. Quickly she sat on the bed and tried to look nonchalant. He entered the room without much noise and let his eyes adjust to the dimmed light.

"Hermione?" he whispered.

"I'm here." she replied nervously.

"Oh, I didn't see you there." he said as he walked towards her.

"It's alright." she said shyly. Her mouth was getting very dry. He sat down next to her and looked into her wide eyes. The moonlight that shone through the bedroom windows was just enough to catch the specks of different colors her eyes had to offer. He leaned in nervously and kissed her. She responded immediately kissing him back with fierce passion. Draco felt his heart beating loudly in his chest. He had never felt the things he was feeling at that moment in time. It was as if the whole world was revolving around the two of them. He had no other thoughts in his head other than her. The mirror of Erised had proved that. He kissed her deeper, pushing his tongue into her mouth and grabbing the back of her head keeping her lips pressed tightly to his. He began to push her back onto the bed. She was breathing hard and fast and trying to speak into his mouth. He pulled his lips off of hers and let her catch her breath.

"Draco…" she panted.

"Mmph…" he said cradling her neck with his left hand, his right was quietly snaking up her nightgown.

"Draco…stop." she whispered. His silver eyes re-focused on hers.

"What is it?"

"What are you doing?" she asked sitting back up and smoothing the front of her nightgown.

"I think you know the answer to that." he smirked.

"Maybe I should have rephrased that. What I meant was what did I do to make you think you had free reign to feel me up?" Draco noticed her voice sounded slightly annoyed.

"Well the other night…uh, what?" he asked in a confused way.

"The other night was wonderful, but I thought we were in danger, I was scared." she said shaking slightly. "I didn't mean for this…" she said motioning between them, "to become an all the time thing. I mean we aren't dating, I don't even know how I feel right now."

Draco closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. He knew that this would be coming, but he had hoped it would not be for a little while.

"I just wanted to be near you again." he said returning his gaze to her eyes. "Is that so wrong?"

Hermione looked into his endearing eyes and to his soft pink lips.

"No, it's not wrong, but…" and then his lips crashed down on hers again.

"You are the first person in as long as I can remember to treat me like a person, not just an object to achieve a goal. My mother was the only other one."

"Oh Draco…" she started.

"I don't like the sounds of that 'Oh Draco'" he sighed.

"It's not that." she said standing up and walking over to the window. "It's just that I was raised to wait for marriage for those kinds of things. And the other night was wonderful, but sex without love…it's not for me."

"What makes you think we were going to have sex?" he smirked.

"Well you were…you know!" she emphasized.

"I was kissing you. Got your mind in the gutter?" he laughed. Hermione scowled.

"Look Hermione, if you want to take it slower I'm okay with that. Just don't shut me out completely." he said standing next to her at the window and kissing her neck.

"I won't." she replied turning around and standing on her tiptoes to kiss his lips back softly.

"That being settled…" he said grinning wickedly and raising his eyebrows.

"Draco don't you dare." Hermione warned as he backed her onto the bed. She fell back when her knees caught the edge of the bed. He grabbed her wrists above her head with one hand and feigned like he was going to kiss her. Instead he took his other hand and tickled her furiously.

"Stop!" she squealed in between giggles. "I hate being tickled!"

"You shouldn't have told me that." he laughed. "It's like telling me not to eat the forbidden fruit."

Hermione shrieked with laughter before wriggling free and running around the bed.

"You are so in for it now!" she yelled before leaping across the bed and tackling him. She ripped his shirt off and began tickling his chest and stomach.

"You are out of luck. I am not ticklish." he said smugly.

"Oh yeah?" she asked before her hand reached his underarms. His smug look turned into a slight smile.

"Oh no I'm Draco Malfoy and I'm not ticklish!" Hermione mocked him as he continued to fight a fit of the giggles. His pale face was turning a shade of red that was visible even in the dim light of the room. He began to breathe hard through his nose to try to suppress his urge to laugh. After a minute or so he could no longer take it. He began to laugh loud and hard. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked so relaxed and child like when he laughed it made Hermione's heart swell with happiness.

"Stop, stop!" he yelled in between laughs. "I give up, you win!"

"Say Hermione is the queen!" she said teasingly.

"NO WAY!" he yelled in a laugh.

"Say it!" she joked.

"NEVER!" he shouted back giggling like a mad-man.

"You asked for it then!" she said leaning over and tickling his underarms with both hand. He squirmed and shrieked in a high pitched voice.

Just then Harry and Ron came bursting through the bedroom door. Harry was in just boxers and a bathrobe but had his wand in hand and was pointing at Hermione and Draco.
"What is going on in here?" Harry gasped out of breath from running down the stairs. "I heard Hermione scream. What's all this?" he asked as he realized that Hermione was in her nightgown on top of a shirtless Draco Malfoy. Ron looked ready to strangle the both of them.

"I can explain Harry." Hermione said getting off of Draco and standing up. "I got carried away goofing off." she looked down at the floor and not in Harry's eyes. Draco stood up and quickly put his shirt back on.

"Why did you scream then?" Ron asked looking Hermione directly in the eye.

"I didn't…uh, that was…" she broke off laughing again and Draco turned very red.

"It was me. But in my defense she was tickling me." he said pointing at Hermione who was covering her mouth trying desperately to stop laughing at Draco.

"I don't even want to know." Harry said turning his head and putting his hands up towards the couple. Draco and Hermione were now so overcome with fits of giggles that their faces were very red from trying to suppress them. Ron threw his hands in the air as a sign of disgust and walked out of the room followed by Harry who was just as out of sorts.

"You got us in trouble!" Hermione said jokingly.

"You started it." he said smugly.

"Did not!" she replied. "You are impossible."

"That's me," he answered "the impossible Draco Malfoy." he grinned like a child who just won a game of hide-and-seek.

Hermione couldn't help but smile back at him.