Don't own, don't sue. Thank you to all my reviewers and faithful readers.

----- Chapter 14: Downpour ----- (Draco's POV)

­­­­­­­­­We walked down the corridor in silence, reaching our dormitory with no conversation to speak of. Granger headed towards her room, making her way between the irregularly placed furniture.

I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, trying to think of any reason she would have had to laugh at me during dinner. It was ridiculous! How dare she laugh at me, a pure-blood Slytherin!

"Oh Malfoy," I said aloud, "don't start that again. You just recently promised to squash, or at least start deflating your over-inflated ego. She was probably laughing at something that had happened earlier. Maybe a joke she heard, or something." I paused, I thought I had heard footsteps. "No need to worry," I reassured myself.

"No need to worry about what?" Granger smiled at me in the mirror.

While I had been staring into the sink, she had sneaked up behind me. I jumped, "Granger! Do you have a death wish? Because if not, leave me in PEACE!"

"Sorry, I was just wondering if you were going nutty. Talking to yourself and all," she lazily wandered back to her sink on the other side of the room.

I couldn't help staring as she swayed her hips ever so slightly, how could I not have noticed? Obviously she had grown up over the summer, a little more mature than sixth year, but Granger ever being considered attractive was mind-blowing.

I looked away quickly, but not quite fast enough.

"What, Malfoy. Never seen a girl in pajamas before?" she said laughing. She bent over the sink and proceeded to brush her teeth.

As she rinsed her toothbrush and I finished washing my face, there was a fork of lightning that illuminated the enormous window that had been placed at the end of the huge bath.

I glanced at Granger in time to see an involuntary shiver run down her back. There was no mistaking it, I could see it clearly through the thin tank top that she was wearing. I swear I saw her shivering more violently as she walked through the door and disappeared into her room without a word.

I followed her in after knocking on the open door. She was lying in bed with her back to me. "You need something?" she asked, turning over to face me.

Though concern was all that was in my mind, only sarcasm came out in a mimicking voice. I sounded like I was talking to a child, "Just wondering if you were scared of the mean old thunder and lightning."

"Yeah right Malfoy. But I could call your mommy to come down here and tuck you in, if you want."

"My mother hates me, Granger. Why would she do that?"

"Oh, sorry," she started to move as if she was going to get out of bed, but halfway through decided against it. "You know what? I'm too tired for an argument. Can I get a rain check on this one?"

I glimpsed the pouring rain through the window. "Alright, Granger, but only because it's raining. Next time you'd better be prepared." I turned on my heel and walked across the bathroom.

Closing my door I heard her say, "Goodnight, Malfoy."

"Goodnight, Hermione," I whispered softly.

A jolt went through my body. Had I just called her Hermione? Was I going soft… again? Had she put a spell on me? What's a rain check?

All of these thoughts took control of my head as I laid down to sleep. My eyes closed, and the flashes of lightning shone through my eyelids, the light coming in through the open curtains.

I woke, and groggily checked my watch. From what I could make out of the clock face, it was somewhere in the middle of the night. I searched for the source of my disturbance. I didn't have to pee, I wasn't thirsty, I wasn't hungry, then I heard some noises coming from the common room.

I rolled hesitantly out of bed and trod slowly into the common room. Granger was moving around the common room, opening every window on the two side walls.

"Here, don't just stand there, make yourself useful. Get the rain blankets from the couch and bring them over here. We need to spread them out under all of the windows so that they catch the rain and the floor doesn't get wet," she directed me from her position near the door.

For some reason, I found myself following her directions.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked after we finished spreading the blankets out onto the floor on either side of the common room.

"Oh, only about ten minutes or so. This should improve the Qi in the common room greatly, don't you think? Oh, I love the rain, it's so beautiful, isn't it?" she rattled her words off so fast that I could barely understand her. She cringed as another flicker of lightning lit up the room, followed by a crack of thunder. (AN: Qi is pronounced 'chi', you know, the whole energy thing.)

"Are you okay?" I asked, noticing she was shivering violently.

"Yes, Malfoy, I'm fine. Just cold, you know. I'm going to bed."

"Are you going to sleep this time or are you going to wake me up again?" I enquired, testily.

"No, I'm fine, I just told you. I'm going to bed. I won't bother you again."

I went back into my room and opened the window, allowing more cold air into the already freezing dormitory. I opened the doors to the bathroom and common room, letting the air flow freely as I thought it should. Granger's logic had obviously gotten into me. All that Qi was affecting my mind.

I fell asleep easily enough, but was disturbed once again.

I woke, slowly opening my eyes to find Granger's face filling my entire field of vision. She was kneeling at my bedside, her chin resting on the edge of my bed. She reminded me of a puppy dog with those big brown eyes of hers. Her face was a mixture of fear, utter terror, and surprise. She jumped up quickly and stood there, thinking about whether she should run or stay put.

"What's wrong?" I asked, as nicely as I could seeing that it was two in the morning.

"Malfoy, I can't sleep. I didn't say anything before because I knew you'd make fun of me, but I don't care anymore. I'm scared to death of the thunder and the lightning. I said I wouldn't bother you again… don't hurt me."

I laughed slightly, wondering if I could use her fear against her, but it was too late at night for that kind of torment. "Alright, get in if you want. There's more than enough room for about four people in this bed."

"Thank you, Malfoy."

"You probably don't want me to tell anyone about this, right?" I asked after she got herself comfortable. She had positioned herself so that her head was resting on her pillow just inches from my shoulder, her lying on her side and I on my back.

"I figured I wouldn't have to ask seeing as you would never even think of telling a soul that you had shared a bed with a mudblood like me," she smiled.

"Oh, yeah. Anyways, I thought you loved the rain," I changed the subject.

"Of course. It's just the thunder and lightning I hate. Goodnight, Malfoy." She whispered the last sentence, sending shivers down my spine and clearly ending the conversation.