Chapter 66 – Sneaking in

Draco leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Instinctively she arched into him, and pushed her own lips back against his. Her hands clutched his black robe and she felt like his touch could burn her. When his fingers found the drumming pulse at her neck, the fire spread even more, as his hands brushed against her bare skin.

She felt a need build inside her for more, as he made her blood boil. Staring at each other with wide eyes they both gasped for air.

His hand slid from her neck to her waist, holding her closer, as his hips pressed her against the wall. He pressed small kisses along her neck and shoulder, while his breath come in ragged pants. She hitched a leg up along his waist, hooking her calf around him as he cupped her ass, pulling her even closer. A low whimper left her mouth at the contact when she felt him harden against her.

His finger dug into her hips to keep her upright and she knew there would be a visible bruise tomorrow, but couldn't bring herself to care. It felt right to hold onto him and she wanted to get lost in this feeling.

When Hermione woke up she had tears in her eyes. While she had relived the memory in her dreams the feeling of loss had retreated, but now that she had awoken she felt alone.

She bit her lip and tried to keep herself from sobbing, but it didn't help. Her hands clenched and tears continued to stream down her face.

She wanted to reach out for her wand, to lighten up the dark room, but couldn't. The memory reminded her that it would never happen again. The man she had known and loved was gone and their closeness vanished with him. As rare as these intimate moments had been, she had had someone to turn to.

She looked around the lovely room the Headmistress had set up for her, and felt a longing for more. For something that was her own. The room came furnished and well equipped, but she felt like a guest, not just in this room, but in this life too. She didn't want to leave the safe heaven Hogwarts provided her with just yet and face the world, but she would need to soon.

Small steps, Hermione reminded herself, one after another.

A moment later she noticed something was wrong. Just a small sound outside her room, but it was enough to get Hermione moving.

XxX

"So I was right, something was off."

The light was on and a wand was pointed towards the two intruders.

"Care to explain what you are doing in my rooms? In the middle of the night?"

Hermione wasn't sleeping in her bed like they had planed. Albus sent a death glare towards Scorpius, but he just shrugged his shoulders. In his opinion the glaring woman with the wand was much scarier than his best friend.

The sleeping draught had been placed in the glass next to her bed, but she hadn't drunken anything from it. It had been a calculated risk in his plan, but obviously not in Albus'.

"Sorry Aunt Hermione. This was kind off on a dare. We had a bet running whether you would spend the night with his dad or not. I won by the way." Albus pointed at Scorpius and had a grin on his face. "Told you so!"

It took Scorpius a second to catch on, but he smiled too. It was false and he felt his skin prickle, but he didn't dare to go against Albus reasoning. Deep down he had known from the beginning that Albus wouldn't tell the truth and ask an adult for help. It hurt to be deceived, but maybe his friend had a backup plan.

"Albus Potter!" His aunt was glaring at him, but Albus tried to stay confident. She couldn't know the real reason they were here.

"Your aunt might have bought this act, but I was married to a Slytherin for several years."

"Sorry Miss Granger, this is really on me. I hoped that you and my dad would get along. I saw how much you missed him and set this all up. We should not have invaded you privacy like this, but Albus said we wouldn't know who won if we didn't check."

Her eyes got softer, but her tone didn't change. She breathed deeply and stemmed her temper a bit before she talked.

"I'm disappointed. In both of you."

Nothing else was said for several minutes and they both hung their head. They had messed up and now it would be even harder to get to the time turner than ever before. Scorpius could also see that she still didn't buy their act. His heart clenched when he saw something glister in her eyes.

"I know you both have enough trouble with your fathers, so this once I will overlook it. This once!"

Hermione walked them out of the room and tried not to care if they were caught sneaking around after curfew. She bit her lip and clenched her hand when she watched them vanish into the dark.

Turning around she reset her wards and her password with a heavy heart.

Something was going on here, and it had nothing to do with a bet.

When Albus and Scorpius finally reached the safety of their dorm, Scorpius was not just hurt, but angry too.

"I will not help you keep up this stupid charade any longer." He cursed and glared at Albus. They had made Miss Granger cry, he was sure of it. What else could have made her eye glister. She had been nothing but nice to him and he had wanted to ask her help, he had even asked Albus to use this chance to do so should she be up, but now she would keep a closer watch on them.

He didn't give his roommate a chance to answer and vanished to his bed. Albus was good at hiding his emotions, but after so many years Scorpius had seen the defiance in his eyes anyway. He hadn't wanted to hear what a bad Slytherin he was from yet another person, just because he was able to ask for help openly.