When Hermione woke up, she felt as if she had taken the beating of a lifetime. Her muscles were sore and her heart ached.

The first thing Hermione wanted to do was run to Draco's room to see if he was there. But she was able to control herself to an extent. She rose slowly out of her bed, in order to reduce any creaking in her mattress. Walking lightly to the common room, Hermione was taking care to breathe very lightly. When she came to Draco's door, she held her breath and turned the knob slowly, praying for silence. Without a single creak, she opened the door and peered in.

There he was, her savior. Draco was sleeping, and instead of his normal style of sleeping with his limbs spread out which Hermione both hated and now loved, he was lying on his side, tightly holding a pillow in his arms. Oh how she wished she was that pillow, and that he was holding onto her with dear life.

But instead of going to him, Hermione backed away, letting out a long breath. She decided a long, hot shower would do her good.

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Draco awoke to the sound of running water. He too was sore. He forced himself to sit up. Draco stretched his body and thought a hot shower with Hermione would do nothing but good.

He rose to join her before he remembered the night before. Draco's heart fell into his stomach with a lurch. A pain spread through his entire body, starting on the inside and spreading out. He fell back onto his bed, paralyzed with fear and self-hatred. There was no way he could join Hermione in the shower after all the things he did to her.

Draco was laying for a couple of minutes before he decided he needed to do something for Hermione, but nothing too big.

Suddenly, his stomach started rumbling and groaning with hunger. Draco thought that she must be hungry too. He decided to make sure that a breakfast was waiting in her room by the time she got out of the shower.

A house-elf helped Draco put together a breakfast that he and Hermione had shared the morning after their first time together: porridge with cinnamon and apples, toast, orange juice, and pancakes with different types of fruit syrups. It had been a good morning for them; they had talked about their future and laughed over their past.

The memory was cut short when Draco heard the water shut off, so he quickly moved to his room.

Draco quieted his beating heart and listened for Hermione to walk out of the shower and head to her room. He couldn't help but think to himself, "What is she going to do? What will happen next?"