Chapter Thirty:
After a few minutes of cuddling in silence, Hermione and Draco had finally fallen asleep. Hermione's sleep kept on being disturbed with weird dreams of dueling and Death Eaters, but as soon as she felt Draco's arms around her, she felt very secure and went right back to sleep.
They slept together for a complete 8 hours; Draco was the one to wake up first and left the room quietly giving Hermione the chance to rest some more.
He brushed his teeth and his hair, and went into the kitchen to cook breakfast. He decided to make Hermione some breakfast that would strengthen her and give her energy for the day.
What could be better than hot cereal? He cooked them some oatmeal in milk, added loads of butter and sugar to sweeten it up. He let it cool, poured it into a bowl, and put it on the tray, with orange juice, a napkin, a spoon and a small vase with one red tulip in it.
He carried the tray into Hermione's bedroom to see whether or not she was awake.
Hermione rubbed her eyes, opening them slowly. To her surprise, Draco was standing next to her bed side holding a breakfast tray.
"Good morning." she said weakly, trying to smile. Her head was in ridiculous pain and everything that happened the previous night was coming back to her.
"Good morning Mione. How are you feeling?" Draco asked concerned, putting the tray on her bedside dresser.
"I'm not sure, my head feels like it's going to explode." said Hermione, frowning.
"Aww, don't worry, I'm brewing a special potion for you, but you can't drink it on an empty stomach. Let me help you get up, get to the bathroom, brush your teeth, and come back here to have your breakfast.
"While you'll be eating, I'll put the finishing touches on the potion and bring it to you. Ok?" asked Draco, handing his hand to her.
Hermione took his hand and got up slowly.
If she thought her head was hurting before, it was nothing to the way she felt right now. The pain turned into dizziness and Hermione felt her feet couldn't hold her. She started falling when Draco held her by the waist and helped her up.
"Take it easy sweetie, and hold on to me tightly." instructed Draco, slowly leading her towards the door.
Taking their time Hermione and Draco made it to the bathroom, Draco helped Hermione brush her teeth, she wasn't even capable of holding the tooth brush properly. After brushing her teeth, Draco led her back to her bedroom.
"Here, hold on to this dresser tightly while I raise your pillows, so they will support your back while you're eating." Said Draco, bringing her palms to the dresser.
"Ok." was all Hermione said. She wasn't happy about what happened, but she had to admit the way Draco was taking care of her, was all worth it. The pain didn't seem half as bad having him by her side.
"Are you going to be fine like this?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes.
"Yes Draco, don't worry." said Hermione smiling.
Draco fluffed up her pillows and folded her blanket away, doing all using his wand, this way, he could still help Hermione stay stable.
He helped her sit on the bed, her back supported by the headboard and pillows. He placed the tray holder over Hermione's thighs, and carefully placed the tray in it's place.
The tulip was the first thing Hermione noticed, she smiled as she took it in her hand and placed it near her nose. Although she knew the tulip had no smell, she breathed into it, and felt Draco's feelings for her, portrayed through the flower. She then placed it back in the vase and took the spoon in her hand to begin her breakfast.
"I think I should do this." said Draco, taking the spoon from her hand and dipping it into the bowl.
He placed a small amount of cereal in the spoon and brought the spoon to her mouth.
"Open wide." he said with a smile, feeding her just like a mother would feed her baby for the first time.
Hermione followed his orders and he placed the spoon in her mouth gently. The cereal he cooked was delicious.
Draco continued feeding her, taking his time, making sure she ate it all, a good breakfast would do her very good right now.
Hermione ate it all to the last spoon, when she was finished she felt a little better right away.
"Do you want some more?" Draco asked her sweetly.
"No, it was enough." said Hermione giving him a warm smile.
"Now stay rooted, I'll take the tray away and bring your potion." said Draco.
Hermione took the vase with the tulip from the tray before he had the chance to leave and placed it on her bed side drawer.
Draco came back two minutes later carrying a tube with a navy blue colored potion in it. The smell of the potion could have been caught miles away and frankly it wasn't too pleasant.
"Now, I know it doesn't smell delicious, and honesty it isn't. But it would make you feel better, and that's all that matters." said Draco, coming closer to her.
He sat by her side, and placed the potion tube next to her mouth.
"Now drink it all up in one sip, and swallow as fast as you can. I don't want the taste to stay in your mouth." said Draco opening her lips with his fingers.
Underneath her lips Draco noticed Hermione's teeth were clenched.
"Now hun, you must drink it." said Draco smiling at her childish gesture.
Hermione just shook her head for no and continued frowning.
"Now, Mione." said Draco a little louder.
Hermione opened her mouth and gulped the potion down in one sip.
It tasted bitter, smelled disgusting, and made Hermione want to throw it up as soon as she swallowed it.
"I know you will get an urge to throw up, but you must fight it. It's the only way this potion works, you have to do as I tell you." said Draco, supporting her.
He took her hand in his, and talked to her to make her forget about the feelings of nausea.
"This potion makes it extremely difficult to drink, but trust me, it works. My mom used to brew it for me, when Lucius wasn't feeling too happy with me. He hit me with the Crucio you know, quite a few times." said Draco, a sad expression on his face.
Hermione immediately forgot about the potion, and remembered what Draco had told her about his father. 'He never mentioned this.' Hermione thought to herself. 'His childhood must have been even worse than I thought.'
"My mother would take my hand in hers, and stroke it." he continued taking her hand in his, stroking it gently.
"I don't know why, but it always made me feel better, made the whole process seem a lot easier." he said, looking into her eyes.
Hermione did feel better, having Draco sitting next to her stroking her arm. His touch soothed her and made the pain go away.
"You'll be fine, believe me, give it a few more minutes and you will feel as if nothing happened." said Draco, giving Hermione an encouraging smile.
Hermione tried to say something back, but as soon as she opened her mouth she felt the potion going back up her throat threatening to get out, she quickly closed her mouth and gave Draco a weak smile.
"Don't try to talk." said Draco laughing lightly.
"It makes it a lot worse." he added.
Hermione just gave him a "Gee thanks for telling me earlier." kind of smile and shut her mouth hoping this weird sensation would go away soon.
A few more minutes of silence from Hermione, and comforting words from Draco, the potion was spreading down her body, making the nausea disappear.
Hermione felt her strength coming back to her, and a weird sense of lightweight filling her.
"Now I feel like I weight nothing but a few grams." said Hermione, amused.
"Yeah, that's the next step, but it would last less than a minute, don't worry, you've been through the worst already." said Draco, now taking both her hands in his, holding them tight.
"Draco, I could not thank you enough." started Hermione. "If not to you, I don't know what I would have done." she added.
"Don't thank me, it was my fault you were stunned in the first place." replied Draco, the feelings of guilt taking over again.
"No it wasn't.." Hermione started arguing as Draco cut her mid sentence.
"Hermione, you do not have enough energy to argue at the moment. Just relax and we'll get to that subject some other time, ok?" asked Draco.
"Ok." Hermione replied.
"Can I get up?" she asked.
"Not yet, in a few minutes." Draco answered sitting on the bed closer to her, pulling her into a sweet embrace.
Hermione sighed into his shoulder deeply. Yesterday's events still playing in her mind. How could she have been so irresponsible? She placed Draco in such a dangerous position. What if she wouldn't have recovered? How would he have taken her to St.Mungo's? What would she have done if she would have woken up and hear that he was sent to Azkaban?
Thoughts kept on going in and out of her head, as Draco was trying to sooth her with his hug. 'He is so good to me, and I repay him by acting foolishly.' she thought to herself.
Draco pulled away from the hug and stood up.
"Now try to get up without my help." he instructed.
Hermione tried, and felt it was much easier to keep her balance now. She stood up on her feet, feeling some dizziness, but it was much better, unlike it was a few minutes ago.
"How are you feeling?" asked Draco.
"Much better, thank you." said Hermione.
She walked closer to him, took his arms in hers, and wrapped them around her waist. She then place her hands on his hair, stroking it.
She moved her face closer to his, making their lips meet at last, for the most grateful kiss ever.