Draco arrived at the Astronomy Tower twenty minutes early. He was disappointed to find Hermione was not yet there. He was curious to see what kind of a mood she was in since breaking it off with Ron, and since she didn't know that he already knew, he was a bit hopeful that she would see fit to share that information with him personally. If she did, that meant she was starting to view him as friend, someone she could openly talk to, and not be guarded. If she didn't, that meant he still had a lot of work to do to gain her trust. Each second that ticked closer to class time felt like another lost chance to have that conversation. To calm his nerves, Draco pulled out his sketchpad and began drawing the first thing he saw, the large telescope in the center of the room.
Ten minutes later, Professor Sinistra emerged from her office next to the staircase. "Good evening, Mr. Malfoy. Do you know if Miss Granger is planning to join us today?"
"As far as I know, she is, Professor." Draco replied, barely concealing the desperation in his voice.
"I guess she does have a few minutes more, but it is terribly unlike her to arrive with such little time to spare. She's usually at least fifteen minutes early. I hope nothing else has happened to her." Her comment was absent minded and certainly she did not think harm had come to her student, it was simply a figure of speech, but it hit Draco directly in the gut.
He had searched for her before class, and she was no where to be found. "Did I give up looking for her too quickly? She did just break up with Weasley... what if he did something to her? What if she was miserable and distraught and alone somewhere in the castle? What if she regretted her decision and was back at the cottage reconciling with him?..."
He was starting to feel the urge to pack up and go search for her once again when hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the stairwell. "Sorry I'm late Professor," Hermione gasped, as she appeared in the doorway. "I was studying and lost track of time." She was careful to look only at Professor Sinistra as she spoke and made her way to an empty stool. Once settled, she stole a glance at Draco only to immediately regret it. His still dampened hair, loose tie and undone top button caused a flashback of his naked body to dance through her mind. The blood rose to her cheeks and in her hurry to focus on something, anything else, she knocked her inkwell onto the floor.
"Miss Granger. You're a bit out of sorts tonight." Professor Sinistra mused. Hermione was glad she was the most laid back teacher at Hogwarts. "Might we take a few moments for you to get things back in order?"
"Yes, Professor." Hermione managed a weak smile, although the only thing she wanted to do was run out of the room in embarrassment. She moved to get off her seat and clean up the ink, but a simple flick of the Professor's wand left everything as good as new. Hermione nodded to her gratefully, and took great care in laying out the rest of her supplies before indicating she was ready for the lesson to begin.
Draco could only assume Hermione was acting so strangely because of her breakup. He felt disappointed that it was affecting her so much. He knew she would be sad about it, but he had hoped she would view it as a relief rather than regret it. He mentally kicked himself for getting ahead of himself yet again when it came to her. He had hoped that with Weasley out of the way, he'd be able to fill that spot he knew rightfully belonged to him anyway. "Friends, first, Draco. Friends, first." He reminded himself. The remainder of Astronomy was spent in silence, both the students making sure it appeared they were completely focused on Professor Sinistra's lecture on using stars for navigation, when in reality they couldn't get their thoughts off each other.
"I trust you'll be able to pack up without supervision." Professor Sinistra said as a statement not a question, as she swept her office door shut behind her.
Draco stuffed his notes and quill into his bag quickly, but lingered at his desk waiting for Hermione to finish. "We're both going to the same place, so it only makes sense for us to walk together." Draco stated, hoping she would be comfortable with it.
"Yes. I agree." She responded, looking at him for the first time since she'd had the flashback.
The walked side-by-side out the door and down the staircase. "Have you ever been sailing?" Her question caught him off guard.
"No. I haven't. My family was never very fond of big bodies of water." He peeked at her from the corner of his eye when he mentioned his family to see if she had any negative reaction, and was pleasantly surprised to see she had none. "Plus, sailing is far too muggle a thing to do for pure bloods such as them." Draco's hoped the amount of loathing he felt towards his family and their pure-blood-means-everything philosophy came through in his sickened tone.
"Such as them?" She asked quizzically. "Does that mean you don't consider yourself one of them?"
He was glad she had picked up on his subtle hint. "Yeah, it does." He stopped walking and turned to face her. "Hermione, last night in the hospital wing, you told me you know that the person I have been the last seven years is not the real me. You don't know how right you are." He debated telling her the whole truth, but chose to share only a sliver of it that would still fit within the parameters of the Draco Malfoy she knew, and not cross the line into Blake territory. "From the time I was six years old, I spent my summers with Severus. He taught me things about my family that made my skin crawl, but more importantly, he taught me what they believed about blood status was absolute rubbish."
Hermione wasn't sure she properly understood what he was telling her. All she could think of was all the times he had called her mudblood. Why would he do or say that if he didn't believe it? "But, you called me..." She couldn't bring herself to say the word, but there was no doubt what it was. "So many times, you said it. Why would you do that if you didn't feel that way?"
His heart broke. He could see all the hurt that word had inflicted upon her over the years. After all, it was literally carved into her body by his aunt. "The truth is, it was to protect myself. If I had shown any sympathy towards you, even once, I would have been marked as a traitor. That's how serious pure blood families take blood status. And it was to protect you." Her eyes darted to his. "If I hadn't been so cruel to you, my father would have made sure someone else was. I was cruel to you verbally so no one else would be cruel to you physically. I know how it sounds, but that's the way pure blood minds work."
Tears were now pooling in her eyes as she tried to comprehend everything he was confessing. "But I saw the hatred in your eyes."
Draco's posture deflated and he seemed to shrink several inches as he answered. "The hatred you saw was what I felt toward myself for saying it. Every time that word came out of my mouth, it tasted like bile. Many times, I'd soon after find the nearest bathroom and be sick. From the minute I knew you were a muggle born, I've tried to protect you in the only way I knew how."
She tried with all her might to blink back the tears, but they fell anyway. The boy she had always considered her enemy had only been cruel to her to protect her from his family and his family's pure blood friends. "Draco..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words, but none would come. Instead, she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around him.
For a moment, he was paralyzed. He'd been waiting to have her in his arms again for so long that he wasn't sure he should commit to it in case it was a dream he'd wake up from as soon as he tried to return her embrace. His heart finally won out, and he placed his arms tenderly around her small frame. Her shoulders shuddered up and down with each breath as she silently sobbed into his cloak. Her body still fit perfectly with his, just as it had when they were eleven. Her arms tightened around him, and her breathing slowed. She nestled her head onto his shoulder.
They remained in their silent embrace for several minutes before Hermione pulled back just far enough to look him in the eye, and spoke. "I understand why you did what you did, and I forgive you. I just wish you hadn't had to go through these last seven years so alone."
It was his turn to have no words, rather he gave her the look that reminded her so much of her muggle friend, Blake. The one that made her feel like if she stopped breathing at that moment, so would he. She snuggled her head back into his chest and knew she'd found where she truly belonged as she softly stated. "I broke up with Ron today." She felt him tense slightly at her admission, but continued. "In the past three months, I've realized we just want different things. He didn't take it very well, but I know eventually he will see it is for the best."
Obviously, Draco was happy about what she had told him, but he couldn't figure out why she chose that exact moment to bring it up. He tried to contain his pleasure as he replied. "I don't doubt that you know what is best for you." He could have said something about how he was sure Ron would come around as well, but really didn't want to bring him into their moment anymore than she already had. Rather he chose to sate his curiosity about why she brought up her break up. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but why did you chose this moment to tell me that?"
Much to his displeasure, she pulled back once again. This time, smirking slightly as she caught his eyes with her own. "I can see how this might seem an odd time to bring it up, but I assure you I have good reason." Mischief and passion flashed through her eyes as she went on. "I told you about my break up because I need you to know that this," she placed her hand on her chest and then onto his, "this needs to remain a secret until enough time has passed that Ron doesn't think we are the reason I broke up with him."
The neurons in his brain were firing so rapidly he was sure they were about to short-circuit. She had said 'this' and moved her hand between them, indicating there was something between them. And she had said 'we'. Did she mean we as in we... as in a couple, we? Even if he'd been able to put together an intelligent response, she didn't give him the chance before stretching up to place her lips softly on his. Every attempt to make sense of her words vanished as the woman he loved kissed him for the first time. His mouth melted onto hers. It was unlike the passionate, hungry kiss they had shared the previous morning that had been impulsive and fueled by lust. This kiss was simpler, but held more meaning than any kiss either of them had ever experienced.
Hermione broke away, returning her head to his shoulder, nuzzling into the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around his waist once again. Draco placed a kiss on the top of her head before resting his chin there. A single tear of joy escaped down his cheek. In that moment, he had everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he willed it to never end. "I feel like I'm dreaming." He breathed.
She responded by snuggling closer and saying, "You're not the only one... Logically, I can't explain this. It makes absolutely no reasonable sense after everything that's gone on between us. Despite my brain saying don't trust it, my heart knows this is right. It feels natural, like we should have been together all along."
"Hermione?" His voice felt like home to her.
"Hmmm..." she answered.
It was his turn to pull back so he could look into her eyes. "Kiss me again." It was a command, but his voice was desperate... like he was begging.
She nodded, but took her time following through, choosing to first mentally capture every detail of the way he was lovingly looking down at her. She placed a hand on each side of his face. He quivered at her touch. The distance between them so short, yet her lips so far away. He almost rushed forward to claim them, but resisted knowing it would be a far better payoff if he waited for her to be the initiator. His breath caught in his throat as she ran her thumb over his bottom lip.
"Kiss me." He repeated, his voice shaking with desire.
She slid her hands into his hair, resting her upper arms upon his shoulders. Every move she made brought them closer together. She could feel his heart pounding, as she was sure he felt hers. Her breath caressed his mouth. His blood throbbed through every vein, anticipating her contact. Then it happened. Her lips met his, and all control was lost. Their tongues tangled expertly around one another. Her hands clutched wildly at his platinum hair. He could feel himself swelling, but he didn't pull away, rather wrapped his arms around her more tightly. She moaned lustfully as she felt his hardened manhood digging into her.
She threw her head back, exposing her neck to his hungry lips, and he didn't hesitate to devour it. Licking the length from her collarbone to jawline. Bursts of pleasure rolled from her lips. In one motion, her lifted her and spun them, pressing her against the stone wall. The warmth and wetness of her arousal pulsed between her legs as she locked them around his waist. Draco groaned in ecstasy as their mouths came together once again. He pressed both his hands against the wall on either side of her, pinning her to the wall with his body.
She clawed at the back of his robes, wishing they were out of the way. He bit down on his lip as she trailed kisses along his jaw and down his neck. He whimpered as her tongue flicked the hollow of his collar bone, and his knees buckled. He recovered just in time to keep them both from falling, but the start had caused Hermione to instinctively drop her feet to the floor.
"I think I've found your weak spot." She teased, tracing the hollow with her tongue once more. Again, he knees buckled and an involuntary gasp escaped his mouth. "Aha... I have!" She exclaimed, half-giggling.
"Now that's not-" He was cut off by her lips on his. "Fair..." he forced his words out in between her barrage of kisses. "You" -kiss- "know" -kiss- "my" -kiss- "weakness" -kiss- "but I" -kiss- "don't" -kiss- "know" -kiss- "yours".
"And you won't, if I have anything to say about it." Hermione chuckled, ending her 'assault.' She gave him one last peck on the cheek before turning to retrieve her school bag from the floor. "We should get back. I'm sure we'll need to be well rested if we are to put on a convincing charade that nothing is going on between us tomorrow."
Draco reluctantly followed suit and grabbed his bag as well. She was right. Even with his twelve years' experience of putting on an act, pretending not to be with her now that he finally was would be the most difficult thing he could imagine. He snuck one more lingering kiss before they started the walk back to the library portal. They moved in comfortable silence, their fingers just barely intertwined.
