A distraction
"Hermione?" I groaned as Malfoy's voice pierced through my sleep. It had taken me long enough to get off to sleep and even then, I hadn't exactly slept well. I could feel the rays of sun poking through the curtains, but I was not in the mood to raise from my bed. That first day away from Tom had been great and I'd felt so much brighter but that night the nightmares had started. I'd barely slept for longer than 45 minutes at any one time in two days now. I hadn't left my room too tired to get up and too sick of the images in my mind to eat. If anything, the worst thing was the feeling of guilt I couldn't help but feel at leaving Tom. I hated myself for wanting him, for loving him, for even thinking of going back to him.
"Granger get up! I need your help." Draco groaned; his voice spiked my attention. Opening one eye I glared at him over the top of the quilt.
"What could you possibly need my help with?" I mumbled as the dull ache returned to my bones. I sighed. I couldn't be bothered to get up but I knew that I should.
"You'll see, come on, it's a time restricted thing. I'll be in the kitchen." He replied sounding chirpy as he chucked a pile of clothes at the end of my bed. I didn't have many clothes right now but I figured that wasn't why he was offering me clothes. Groaning again and wiping my eyes I waved my wand and the black joggers and hoodie appeared onto my body. They were slightly oversized so I guessed they belonged to Draco but they were comfortable and that's all I wanted right now.
Sticking my hair in a messy bun, I made my way downstairs. This place was huge but I tried to retrace the steps that Tinky and I had taken two days ago and luckily I found the kitchen easily enough. Draco was stood in the middle of the kitchen with a bunch of tools and his infamous smirk.
"Why does it worry me seeing you with that bloody smirk." I said standing back, for some reason I still didn't want to be too close to other people, I liked being in my own bubble, out of reach if you like. Draco laughed a hearty laugh as I rolled my eyes. I couldn't help but think it must be the first time I'd heard him laugh out of joy rather than spite and in many ways it was nice. He had a sweet laugh that was almost contagious.
"I promise it's nothing bad. In short I've been redecorating the manor for a while and I want to get the kitchen done." He said seriously as he waved his hand dramatically to show me the room. It was incredibly dark and despite the tall windows there appeared to be very little light coming through.
"And you need me for this?" I replied sounding unintentionally short.
"Well quite frankly Gra…Hermione, I don't like seeing you beat yourself up and I know if anyone is organised enough to help me with this its you so roll those sleeves up and get planning with me." He said matter-of-factly before turning away and scanning the room for a moment. I stood quietly for a moment but I knew he was right, if I wanted to start a new life I needed to set my focus to new things. I had to be occupied and this might just be the thing to occupy me.
"Ok, so I guess more than anything we need to brighten this up. So we come up with a pattern scheme, I'm thinking white walls and cupboards with grey marble sides and some form of grey or wooden flooring." I said gesturing to various parts of the room as I moved.
"Then we have glass fronts on the cupboards up here and three bigger lights hanging down above the island over here whilst we use built-in spot lights to cover the rest of the ceiling." I added thinking of different fittings that would work well in here.
"You're going to want it to be the sort of place you can sit to enjoy lunch or breakfast rather than always sitting in the dining room. Oh, and you could leave a vase here to fill with different flowers each week so that Tinky and Tinnie have something pretty to look at. Those windows could be cleaned off and that'll bring in more natural light too." I was so lost in imagining the room this kitchen could be I'd barely noticed Draco hadn't said a thing. Turning around I saw him watching me with the smallest of smirks on his face.
"I knew you'd be the right person for help." He said after a few moments. I couldn't help but blush and suddenly feel a burst of shyness.
"It should be done by the end of the day easily enough." I replied softly once I felt my cheeks burning a little less.
"Right captain we best get started then, just tell me what to do." Draco said raising his wand.
Over the next few hours we used magical and muggle methods to completely transform the kitchen. My vision came alive in front of my very eyes and I had to admit it certainly was a wonderful feeling. The walls were painted, the floors were laid, the cupboards were sorted and the lights were set. In what felt like a flash dinner time had arrived and we were finished. Draco smiled as he looked across the room and smiled softly. Looking at him I laughed as I realised he had paint smeared across his face and his hair was in a complete mess. After realising I was laughing at his appearance Draco gave a slightly embarrassed look before waving his wand and he flashed back to normal.
"So what do you think?" He asked smirking.
"It's stunning." I replied, taking it all in.
"I meant the room Hermione." Draco chuckled smirking confidently. I blushed slightly before smirking back to him.
"Oh so did I." I laughed as he rolled his eyes, his smirk slipping slightly at my comeback. We enjoyed the kitchen and had dinner talking through the progress we'd made in a single day. We could've easily waved our wands and been done a lot quicker but it was kind of nice to do some of it by hand.
After dinner we made our way to the library, the first time I'd been in there and I couldn't help the little bubble of excitement that filled me at the thought of being cuddled up with a good book. To tell the truth I hadn't read much since meeting Tom, I'd lost myself so much I'd stopped doing things I loved. I gasped to myself as I realised this was the first time I'd thought of Tom since waking up this morning. Draco jumped as he heard me gasp.
"Everything ok?" he asked quickly studying my face carefully.
"Yeh, I just realised how much I needed today, thank you." I smiled as Draco visibly relax. I was no closer to knowing his motivations for wanting to help me but he always knew the right things to do and I couldn't help as my fondness for him grew.
"Well, there's one little surprise I have for you" He replied smiling before swinging the door open to the library. The room was dimly lit and felt warm, in the centre of the room two chairs were positioned with a small table between them and on the table was a full hot chocolate set ready to be put together.
"This is my favourite! How did you know?" I asked sounding astonished as I let my fingers trail across the books that lined the shelves.
"I didn't, there's just nothing better than finishing a busy day with hot chocolate and a good book." Draco replied, as he grabbed a book that he'd clearly already started and settled into on of the seats. Scanning the shelves it didn't take me long to find an interesting read before I joined Draco in the seats. As we sat in a comfortable silence and read, occasionally sipping our hot chocolates I smiled. I was finally in a place where I could picture enjoying my days.
Thanks for reading! Happy 2021! Read and review, sending love guys xoxo
