A/N: YAY for reviewers! I give you all my humblest thanks. I would've waited to begin writing this chapter until my room is done being cleaned (looks like a 5-day project ahead of me), but since you all are begging for more, I started Sunday night, and continued all Monday (my mom thinks I was cleaning the whole day). And after three days, my room is clean, and now I need to work on my bathroom, which'll probably end up being the other two days of the predicted five.
I just made a timeline for the story, and a lot has happened in very little time. The day they kissed ("yesterday" in the beginning of this chapter) was only October 22. And I forgot about Halloween. I fixed that in this chapter. Currently working on getting Harry/Ron's schedules figured out (I did Hermione's), because I kinda need them.
CHAPTER 10: An Ignored Glance
The day after, a summons arrived from Lord Voldemort. He wished to have a Death Eater meeting Friday (tomorrow) night. Hermione sighed at the letter. How on earth could I have forgotten about him? She wondered bleakly. She hoped he didn't mind the fact that she and Draco were…well, were they together? They couldn't really be, not with Ron in the middle. Hermione would have to do some snooping on Ginny to get him out of the picture.
She sighed. It's not that I don't like Ron, she thought as she packed her books into her bag, it's just that I don't fancy him. And going off and snogging with him feels…weird. She wrinkled her nose in distaste as she headed down to breakfast, allowing Ron to kiss her cheek. She smiled at him and took his hand under the table as they ate. She knew she didn't have to, but though she'd woken up in a bad mood, now she was feeling elated as she thought of last night.
She grinned as she chewed her toast, he likes me too, she thought, and a slow, sappy smile leaked onto her face.
Throughout the day, everyone noticed her brightened spirits, and many girls giggled to each other about how she had probably just been properly snogged for the first time yesterday. Which she had, but not by Ron. No, kissing Ron wasn't really a kiss. A kiss was when both people cared for each other. Her true first kiss had been last night with Draco, and all those times with Ron didn't count, because she didn't feel anything for him. Unlike Draco.
A goofy smile upturned her lips whenever she thought of him. Even during Potions, Professor Snape could not dampen her spirits, though he sneered forcefully at her perfect potion and took off ten points from Gryffindor because of the far-off look in her eyes. She longed to glance at Draco, just to see his beauty, just to see the way he worked diligently on this potion. She imagined a rogue hair falling across his eyes, and though it was just an imagined likeness, she longed to brush it back.
But she didn't dare look his way. So she suffered in silence, daydreaming as she gently stirred her potion, counting the stirs so she would get it right.
During dinner she grinned happily and hugged Ron without much reluctance when Ginny looked her way. She just pretended Ron was Draco, and it was so much easier. She just had to ignore all the obvious differences between the two: height, hair color, eye color (almost the same, but not quite, Ron's were more blue), personality. Of course, that was nearly everything, but Hermione was too cheerful to care how different they were.
She went almost happily as Ron led her off that night to snog her. In fact, she didn't even notice they were off alone together until Ron began to kiss her. Per usual, she just sat there and let him kiss her, daydreaming of Draco. She nearly couldn't breathe, his arms were around her so tight that there was hardly any room for breath.
Ron's hands began to inch up her shirt. Lost in thoughts of the person she wished was snogging her, Hermione nearly didn't notice. But the higher his hands went on her stomach, the more conscious of it she became. She pushed his hands down forcefully, drawing back. She looked him in the eye and then caught sight of a clock over his shoulder. "I'm gonna be late for detention," she squeaked, grabbing her bag and running up to Gryffindor tower to put it away. She'd planned on doing homework tonight in the library, but that didn't look like it would be possible.
Hermione hurtled through the doors to the Great Hall nearly ten minutes late. "I'm sorry, Professor, I was…busy," she said breathlessly. Professor Wood raised his eyebrows and indicated she should begin.
"Probably off snogging that weasel of hers," Draco said vehemently from the nearer end of the hall (though starting out at opposite ends, each of them came a little closer to the middle of the room to clean each night, and by now there was only about a quarter of the hall separating them).
Hermione turned red at his comment, and said loftily, "So what if I was?" It killed her to see the jealousy in Draco's eyes as he turned to face her.
"Well, obviously it matters that you were, since you were ten minutes late," he snarled. Despairingly, she wondered why he was being so mean. Oh, no, she thought suddenly. He's not going to pretend like last never happened, will he?
Hermione didn't respond, just gave him a pitiful glance and dropped to her hands and knees to work. After three days of this, her muscles were sore and aching, and her knees sharply protested against the ground. Focusing intently on her scrubbing, she managed to forget how much of a mess her life was.
It seemed like the vacation from her life ended too soon, as Professor Wood stood and stretched, declaring they could call it a night. Predictably, Draco bolted immediately, the professor right after him. Sighing, Hermione stood, feeling all her aches. Wearily, she put her bucket of soapy water up on the nearest table, stepping up onto it and walking over it to retrieve Draco's bucket too. She placed it on the table just as a laugh broke out behind her.
Hermione jumped and turned, then her alarmed look dissipated to look relieved. Before she could speak, the boy behind her spoke first. "How typical of you to pick everything up and put it away before you leave."
Hermione was unsure of what to say, so stood silently as he approached her. What on earth is he—her thought stopped unfinished as Draco kissed her softly. Her body responded immediately, and her aches were forgotten as they snogged each other. Draco's hand slid up her shirt slightly, but stayed on her hip as he pulled her closer.
She pulled back and rested her forehead against the bridge of his nose. Both of them were breathing hard, and his hands stayed where they were on the exposed skin of her hips. "I'm sorry about earlier," he whispered to her. She nodded slightly. "We need to keep up appearances though. It wouldn't do to suddenly be chummy with one another, we need to at least pretend like enemies still." His arms clutched her closer to him, and her arms curled tighter about his neck. "I hope you don't mind?" he said gently, as he tilted his head to kiss her neck tenderly. The kiss sent shivers down her spine.
"No," she said. He paused in his kissing and pulled back to look at her questioningly. He looked like a puppy that had just been denied a treat for doing something good. Hermione chucked, "I meant no to your question, idiot." Looking pleased, he kissed her on the forehead.
"Bedtime," he said, dropping his hands from her hips. Hermione was stunned by the suddenness of it and must have looked confused as she slid her arms off his neck. "What?" he asked.
"It's just…that was sudden, is all," she said, searching for a good reason for him not to leave her to go up to Gryffindor tower.
Draco shrugged, "Well, it's nearly ten already, and we do have classes tomorrow…"
Hermione nearly laughed, "You go to bed at ten?" That was earlier than when she normally went to bed.
The blonde looked vaguely injured, "Yeah, so?" Hermione just shook her head, smiling, then impulsively went up on tiptoe to kiss him. "Bedtime?" he asked, and the look on his face made him look like a little kid eagerly awaiting sweets. Laughing, Hermione nodded and as they turned to go, Draco gently slid her hand in his. Her heart seemed to melt. The grip was tender, and light-but-firm. It was the I'll-protect-you hold of a lover.
The walk to the doors was far too short. With a sad gleam in his eyes, he kissed her goodbye and pushed her through them. She understood, and didn't glance back at him even though her eyes mirrored his pain. If anyone was in the hall, they could not afford to be seen together.
As it was only half-past ten, or near that, Hermione ghosted over to Professor Wood's office. She heard the rumble of speech from the teacher, and laughter from Ginny. Though she listened for a full five minutes, there was no sign of anything between them but friendship. She sighed and went into Gryffindor to finish up the Potions essay due next week.
When Ginny came in at a quarter 'till eleven, Hermione didn't even look up. Ginny had to think she was safe in her nightly rendezvous, and if she knew Hermione had seen her come in late, she may be more careful from then on. Of course, the older girl wasn't even sure that the redhead was doing anything with the professor, but there was always the chance…
Hermione finished the essay and packed up her things, going up to bed herself. As she settled in, she remembered what Draco had looked like as he slept, her perfect cherubic boy. Her lips forged a smile as she remembered the contented look on his face. She fell asleep to the image of Draco in her mind, and slept well for the first time in a long while.
It was nearly eleven before Ginny snuck into the common room again. She froze up upon seeing someone else in the room, and nearly panicked to see it was Hermione. But the brunette was immersed in an essay and didn't even notice. Ginny scurried up to her dormitory without been seen.
She grinned as she got into her PJs. Orlando was such a sweetie. The only thing that frustrated her was his refusal to kiss her. Pretty much the only thing he allowed was him holding her in his arms. She was fine with that, most of the time, but after that first night, he wouldn't even let her kiss him goodnight, and that made her kind of sad.
But he was so noble, and good, and kind. She smiled to herself as she pulled the covers up to her chin. Oh, yes, she could wait a year for him. She refused to lose him; he was too good a person to lose. Her faithfulness to him was unwavering, she only wondered about his. He was older, he could probably find someone his own age that was prettier than her, and smarter, and…better fitted to him.
But he seemed all right with her age and everything. He was just too noble to touch her now and would rather wait. Well, she thought as she closed her eyes to sleep, that's okay. I can deal with it, so long as he holds me and is mine. If I lose that, her eyebrows tilted in sadness, if I lose that, I'm not sure what I'd do. Everything's right when I'm in his arms. I don't know if I can lose that. And so with questionable thoughts, she fell into the deep well of sleep
Hermione woke up feeling just as happy as she had yesterday, though with an underlying sense of guilt. It wasn't just that she had feelings for someone other than her boyfriend; she was actually cheating on him. But, of course, she hadn't liked Ron in the first place. This thought eased most of her guilt, and she went down the stairs to breakfast. Harry was already there, but Ron was suspiciously absent.
"Where's Ron?" she asked as she plunked herself across the table from Harry. He paused, a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth. It looked like he was trying not to laugh.
"Finishing up that Transfiguration essay that's due in twenty minutes," Harry responded. Hermione rolled her eyes as she grabbed a piece of toast and ate it. Hermione asked Harry how quidditch was going, and they got a pretty good conversation going before they had to leave.
Chatting animatedly to each other, they walked to Transfiguration where Professor McGonagall waited for the students. They sat down together and saved a seat for Ron, who arrived five minutes late. He wheezed some unintelligible excuse and ended up with two days of detention. As he sat down next to Hermione, she hissed, "You told me you did that essay yesterday."
Ron's glance flickered to Harry, as he muttered an apology. Not understanding the glance, Hermione brushed it off and listened to what Professor McGonagall was saying, allowing Ron to take up her hand under the table.
Hermione was glad that her last class of the day was Ancient Runes and then she had a free period. Ancient Runes was one of the harder classes, and so it was nice to have the knowledge fresh in her mind as she began to do her homework immediately after. Humming to herself, she packed up slowly, thinking over their lesson and was, predictably, the last person out of the room.
She hugged the wall as she turned into a corridor packed with students trying to get to their next class. Suddenly a door slightly behind her opened. She jumped at the noise and before she could turn to look was yanked backwards. A hand covered her mouth and a familiar voice muttered a warning in her ear. She relaxed in the darkness of the closet (room?), and the hand that was over her mouth fell down to her waist. She smiled and the mouth that kissed her neck gave her shivers.
Turning in the warm grip, Hermione chastely kissed Draco back in the darkness. "So," she said casually, "Where exactly are we?"
"In a closet," Draco said in tones that matched hers. "I wanted to give you something." One of his hands disappeared from her waist and she heard some clinking along with a muttered expletive from Draco. Suddenly a light went on, and she suppressed a laugh at their surroundings. The closet had boxes stacked up, and several muggle-like cleaning utensils (though probably rigged with spells to clean by themselves).
Draco reached into his robe and pulled out a black rose, which he handed to her. It was the epitome of perfection, it's petals rounded and black, with a dark green stem and a couple of leaves arching off it. She inhaled sharply at the delicate beauty of it. Hesitantly, she reached out to stroke a petal. "I've put a preservation charm on it," Draco told her huskily. "It's pretty much indestructible now."
"Where did you…?" she asked, captivated by the dark rose she now held.
For a minute, Draco didn't say anything, and when she looked up at him, he looked obliquely guilty. "Ah…that night at my Manor," he said, "When I left you standing on that ledge as I went around, I stopped by the garden and cut it. I grow them in mum's garden." Hermione nodded, not caring that he'd left her out on a ledge an extra minute to get this.
"Merlin, Draco," she said, holding the rose close. "I don't know what to say. 'Thank you' seems inadequate for such a gift." She looked up to see his gray eyes studying her.
In that moment, her heart swelled for him, and her love was so much that it hurt. But the feeling subsided, and in the small space of the closet, she stepped closer to him, and as his arms wrapped around her, she turned in his grip so that her back was to his stomach and chest. She turned her head and tucked it under his chin. They stood like that for some time, until Draco coughed from the musty air in the closet. Hermione turned to face him, and he looked both guilty and apologetic for ruining the moment. She smiled at him and kissed him before disentangling herself from his grip.
"Draco, I need…" a look of confusion crossed her face as she realized there wasn't really anywhere she needed to go at the moment. She shifted, knowing there was something she was forgetting, and her movement stirred up the dust around them. She coughed as it tickled her throat, and suddenly she remembered. "Are you doing anything tonight?" she asked.
"No, why?" Draco said curiously.
"Oh…" she muttered. Why didn't Voldemort tell him to come to the thing tonight. She began to say "No reason" when she decided she would take Draco with her anyway. Father needed to know about them, and besides, she wanted the company on the way to Hogsmeade and back.
"Draco, will you come with me tonight? Father's having a meeting, and I don't want to go alone," she said.
Draco looked uneasy. "I don't think I was invited," he said slowly.
"I'm inviting you, then," Hermione snapped. He looked startled at her temper, but she didn't offer an apology and he shrugged it off.
"I guess…" he said, still sounding unsure. "But," he cautioned, "If the Dark Lord doesn't want me to be involved in the meeting, then I'll wait somewhere else for you." He looked into her eyes, obviously seeking approval. Hermione frowned, but decided she'd take what she could get and told him that was okay.
"And can we get out of here? The dust is starting to bother me," she added.
Draco laughed. "I didn't expect us to be in here this long, so yeah." They both turned to frown at the door. One of them would have to leave the other behind. Hermione bit her lip, while Draco merely looked indecisive.
"Room of Requirement in ten minutes?" she asked. Grinning to her, Draco nodded. Hermione walked out into the deserted corridor, then beckoned Draco to come too. They split off into different directions, and in just five minutes was already there. She paced outside of the door, wishing for somewhere with books and comfortable chairs.
A door opened up, and she walked into what appeared to be a perfect haven for someone like her: books lined the walls, and there were several large poufs and a couch and a large armchair around a coffee table. Grinning, Hermione went to one of the walls and picked out a book, settling in on the armchair to read until Draco came.
Not too long after starting reading, a voice behind her laughingly said, "Already curled up with a book. Ah, I fear I have lost my fair maiden to the wiles and charms of a book." Hermione snorted and mock-glared at Draco as he came around the armchair. Marking her page in the book, she got up to put it down on the table, placing her rose on top of it. When she turned back around, Draco was seated cross-legged in her outsized armchair.
Faking annoyance at him, she wagged her finger admonishingly. But he merely indicated that his lap was perfectly empty, and she shrugged and settled into his lap, with her legs dangling over the arm of the chair. She snuggled into his shoulder and his arms went around her. "Very typical of you, to pick some place lined with books," he told her.
"Of course," she said. "Would you expect anything different from me?"
"No," he said, squeezing her gently.
"Would you want it any other way?" she asked quietly.
"No," he said. "I like you. That means all of you," he said, poking her forehead. She grinned and snuggled closer to him.
Suddenly a thought hit her, and she jerked back from him looking at him suspiciously. "You're skipping class," Hermione said. "Harry and Ron complain about you being in their potions class on Fridays."
Looking incredibly guilty, Draco nodded. Hermione's eyes widened, but before she could say something else, Draco cut in. "Hermione, I needed to see you. I've been carrying around that rose all day for you. I just…I needed to hold you, to be sure that you were really here and I wasn't just dreaming." She gaped, and he wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Oh, Draco," she said, her anger evaporated with his last sentence. She pulled his head to her and kissed him hard, and was surprised when he kissed her back just as fiercely. "I most certainly am here," she whispered, pulling away for a second. Just before he drew her back to him, and snogged her thoroughly, she added, "And I'm all yours."
They both ignored the fact that she wasn't all his, because she was still, technically, Ron's. But each hoped fervently that she wouldn't be before too long.
Grinning incessantly, Hermione went down to dinner. She gave Ron a nice solid kiss (he seemed rather surprised, but then turned a pleased shade of red) before sitting down and serving herself up some dinner. Dumbledore stood to make an announcement, looking delighted with himself. "Ah, students. I am aware that the holidays are coming up—Halloween is just a week away—and I would like to cordially invite you all to stay during the winter break so that you may all attend our very first Christmas Ball!"
Immediately, girls' squeals and boys' grumbles burst out like an infection in the hall. But Hermione did not squeal or mutter, astonished by his words. Dumbledore was, essentially, bribing them to stay at Hogwarts where he could keep a watchful eye on them and hopefully protect them from Lord Voldemort if he chose to attack.
"However," Professor Dumbledore continued, and the voices all hushed, "I am sorry to say, you must be staying here over the holiday to attend. You may not go home and come back and go home and come back. You must stay the whole holiday to attend. Thank you for your attention, you may all eat now."
As soon as he sat down again, girls turned to mutinously muttering boys and ordered them to stay so that they could go to the dance. Hermione saw a lot of puppy-dog eyes turned to boys and snickered behind her hand. Other girls were resorting to violence (she saw Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode both brandish their fists at Blaise until he acceded).
Smirking, she said nothing, and continued to eat. Ginny stared at her forcefully until she mumbled something to Ron about him having to stay. Grinning like Christmas had come early, he nodded. She took another bite of her food before looking up and meeting a pair of pale gray eyes across the room. Smirking, Draco inclined his head ever so slightly, and she smiled as she continued to eat. Oh, yes, she had asked Ron to stay, but it was the person who had needed no words that would take her to the dance.
Dinner was an excited affair after the announcement, for even though the ball was two months away, it was easy to forget how long two months could be. Girls chattered excitedly about what to wear, boys grumbled to each other, and everyone gossiped about who would be talking whom to the dance.
Ron pulled Hermione aside again. This was fast becoming a nightly thing, and though this was only the third day, Hermione was already tiring of it. But she suffered through it, allowing him to snog her, and needing to push his hands out of her shirt once again. The latter he took as good fun, laughing genially and keeping them outside of her shirt (though that didn't quite stop them from heading up).
Finally, and at long last, she was allowed to go to detention. She ran up to Gryffindor tower first though, and put her too-long black cloak into her book bag, which she carried down to detention with her. Catching Ron on his way up, she told him that he didn't have to wait up for her tonight, because she would probably take a bath before going up to bed. He nodded and winked at her before letting her finish running to detention.
She slipped in exactly on time and closed the doors behind her. Placing her book bag on the table, she grabbed her bucket of soapy water and moved to where she'd left off cleaning. Professor Wood settled cross-legged on the table with a stack of papers and began to grade.
During the last fifteen minutes, nearly the whole hall was clean, and Draco and Hermione were doing the last strip down the middle of it shoulder-to-shoulder. Professor Wood waited impatiently for them to finish up, and then bolted right away. Draco walked over and bolted the huge doors as Hermione put the buckets of water back onto the table.
She sat on the edge of the table, and Draco prowled over to her, a wolfish smile on his mouth and a roguish gleam in his eye. She grinned at him as he came to stand in front of her and capture her mouth with his. Hermione scooted toward him as far as she could, until she was nearly falling off the table, and she wrapped her legs around his.
Breathing heavily, she pulled back and leaned her forehead against his. He moved around to nip playfully at her ear before breathing on her neck and kissing it. Shivering in his grasp, she let go. She just let go of all her worries, her hopes, her mistakes, her regrets, her accomplishments. She let go of everything but the shivers he gave her and the comfort of his presence. "Oh, Draco," she murmured as he began to suck on her neck. He moved to another spot so that he wouldn't leave a mark as she continued, "We need to leave." He kissed her ear in passing then stepped back and checked her neck to be sure he hadn't left any marks. Smirking in a very self-satisfied way, he gave her a tender and sweet last kiss before grabbing her bag.
"Let's go," he said, as he handed her the bag. She put on her cloak, as did he (he'd shrunk it and put it into his pocket), and they left the Great Hall, two shadows in the dark night. She stashed her bag in a broom closet off the hall and then they were gone, spiriting across the school grounds. They kept up a steady stream of conversation, and before long, Hermione wasn't surprised to find her hand lovingly nestled in his.
Hermione and Draco flittered through the shadows of Hogsmeade like wraiths, reaching the Shrieking Shack just as midnight hit. Someone Apparated with a crack in front of them and, upon seeing two of them, hesitated. "The Dark Lord said that only the Lady would be coming," a male voice said uncertainly.
"He is my guest. Let him come," Hermione told him.
"But the Dark Lord said," the man began.
"I overrule," Hermione snapped. "I can take it up with him when we arrive. Don't worry, you won't be in trouble unless you disobey me." Tentatively, he held out a roll of parchment. Hermione and Draco both took it, and their eyes met just before they felt the familiar tug behind their navels.
A room put itself together before their eyes, and Draco was looking around curiously. So it wasn't Malfoy Manor this time. Hermione took his hand protectively and they followed the other person down the hall. As she walked in, all eyes turned to her, and Voldemort stood up from his throne. "A guest, Chicklet," he asked softly, and in his voice was danger, she could tell.
"A trustworthy member of our ranks, father. No need to be alarmed," she replied, respectfully inclining her head.
"Ah, but darling, I didn't ask you to bring anyone," Voldemort said sweetly.
"No, but I brought him, and he's here now." Voldemort said nothing, but she could practically feel his eyes narrow. She took Draco's left arm and pulled up his sleeve to prove that he really was of their ranks. "May we start with this meeting?" she said impudently.
The Dark Lord sat down, and Hermione parked herself in her throne. No one bothered to conjure up another seat for Draco, so he just stood behind and to the right of her chair. "Okay, well. As most of you have noticed, we haven't been doing very many raids these past few months. But this is because I've been making my own plans, and they are bigger than a few paltry raids," he said.
"I have been thinking of hitting a major muggle area. Like London, perhaps. With such numbers as we have, we can kill off a good many of the muggles in town there, and with our superiority, we shall easily overcome."
Hermione frowned in the depths of her hood. He had told her that they killed only bad people. Well, she would bring it up with him later. "We haven't had much fun lately, I know, but if all of you are just patient, I promise, you'll get your fun."
"But…er…sorry for interrupting, father, but wouldn't it be better to take the muggles as slaves rather than kill them?" she asked timidly, not wanting to see all those muggles dead. If they were only taken as slaves, they had some chance of gaining freedom. All the heads in the room turned to stare at her in shock, and she was glad they couldn't see her blush under her hood.
"What a…brilliant idea," Voldemort murmured. "Then we can use them for sport and own them. All in favor of the idea?" Nearly every hand went up. "That's settled then. We shall just capture the London muggles." A murmur of appreciation for Hermione went up, and she smirked. Talk about the raid continued for over an hour, and Hermione was bored nearly to tears. She and "the Malfoy boy" were expressly forbidden to come, though Voldemort didn't seem to realize that Draco was the person standing behind her.
"So…we are all agreed?" Voldemort asked, as if the Death Eaters actually had a say in it. Nobody moved, but he continued anyway, "Good, good. Ah, would…the Malfoys please stay after, I must speak to you privately about another matter. But, if you would step outside? I need to speak with my daughter."
Hermione stood up from her chair as everyone left and looked expectantly at her father. "Yes, father? What did we need to talk about?"
Voldemort shut the door and then turned to her, and a smile flickered across his lips. "Crucio," he murmured, pointing his wand at her.
It was a pain beyond pain. It felt as if her bones were on fire, as if she was being suffocated, and her lungs were burning for oxygen. Her own screams rang in her eardrums and reverberated in her head, which felt like it was going to split and spill her brains all over the floor. Surely, her heart would burst.
And then it was over. She lay, panting on the floor, unable to move. Draco had been immobilized, and was standing mid-step on his way to her. She drew her head up and looked at Voldemort in confusion. "Now, Chicklet," he said softly. "Next time I invite you to a meeting, assume that meeting is invitation only. In other words," he paused for dramatic effect that was lost upon her, "No guests." He lazily flicked his wand, "Crucio."
The pain was far worse than last time. Her body already ached from hitting the floor as well as the torture of the spell. This time, it was just…unimaginable pain. When it was finally over, she lay wheezing on the floor, and Draco was kneeling over her, helping her up. Tears rolled from her eyes in generous amounts, and she hurt too much to wipe them away. Voldemort walked over, and Draco bared his teeth at him but stepped away from her.
The Dark Lord pulled back her hood and gently kissed her forehead. She was too exhausted to even shiver. They were handed a portkey and bid adieu as she felt a painful jerk behind her navel and they were gone.
Hogsmeade appeared before her, and Hermione made no move to get up from the ground. She was still breathing raggedly from the spell, and tears still made their way down her cheeks. Draco picked her up and cradled her to him as he carried her back to Hogwarts. She wept the whole way, and Draco was already up on the seventh floor before he seemed to realize that he didn't know exactly where Gryffindor tower was.
"Er…where's your common room?" he asked her gently.
Frantically, Hermione wrapped her arms around him, saying quietly, "Please don't leave me."
"Oh, Hermione," he breathed into her hair, "I'd never leave you. Here, I've got an idea." He walked them down the hall and then began to pace in front of a wall. It took Hermione a while to get her brain to connect to the fact that it was the Room of Requirement. A door appeared, and Draco led them through it to a room lavishly decorated with greens and blacks and silver accents.
Without setting her down, Draco pulled back the blankets on the bed and set her between them in a sitting position. She was confused for a minute, but then he took off her cloak, her school robe, and her shoes before picking her up again and brushing them off the bed and tucking her in. He picked up her stuff and hung them on the back of a chair.
Her eyes widened with fear as he walked over to her and kissed her forehead. Was he going to leave her? She didn't want to be left alone, especially not in a strange room with a strange bed and in the darkness. "You want me to stay?" he asked, seeing her look. He brushed back a curl of hair and she nodded tiredly.
He went back to the chair and took off his own cloak and robe and shoes, but as an afterthought, took off his shirt too. She smiled slightly at him, thinking about how beautiful he was as he came and lay on top of the blankets next to her. He rolled onto his side and wrapped his arm around her comfortingly. "You can," she yawned, "You can come under the blankets if you want to," she murmured exhaustedly.
"Too hot," he mumbled back in her ear. "But if you want me to…?" Hermione thought about it for a second, and nodded slightly. Draco squirmed until he'd displaced the blankets enough to get under them and then wrapped his arm around her again. She shivered happily at his warm touch and snuggled up to him, ready for sleep.
I served out my detention
—Fall Out Boy, "Honorable Mention"
Okay, that chapter was 2 pages longer than I meant it to be, because I needed to get those last scenes out. I hope you all enjoyed!
