I'm staying ahead in my typing so I don't have to rush just before I post. Unfortunately, I've almost caught up what I have written, so posts won't happen daily unless I write like mad. I'll try though. Enjoy, and leave a review to tell me what you think!!
Chapter 11
Long Nights
Hermione's POV
Madame Pomfrey bustled over seconds after Dr-Malfoy had left.
"Hullo, dear. What happened?"
"I severely sprained my ankle again."
"Oh, dear. I'll go get you a potion. You'll be up and running in a few hours."
"Thanks, Madame Pomfrey." She had come to like me after all the time I spent here between Harry and Ron's various injuries. Quidditch was a brutal sport. I wasn't surprised to see the infirmary was almost full. Fred and George's younger counter parts, the Creevey brothers, had introduced a new joke item Friday night. Now most of Gryffindor were having tails removed. Pomfrey bustled back over and gave me a potion, then went over to attend to the newest arrival, a charms experiment gone awry. After gulping down the potion, I sat there for a few minutes, then drifted off.
I woke up hours later to find the infirmary dim. I examined my ankle carefully and was happy to find it bruised, but useable. Pomfrey came over a few minutes later and checked my ankle.
"Well, the bruising should have disappeared because of that potion, but nonetheless, you can walk."
"May I go back to my room?"
"I'm not sure…" just then, the door opened and the Hufflepuff Quidditch team walked in, crowded around one of their players. All the beds were full. I jumped up.
"Put him here." Pomfrey gave me a look, but waved me out the door. She had more important things to do. I limped back to my dorm as fast as I could. I had fluxweed to pick.
Stepping into the common room, I was surprised again to find it empty. I headed over to my favorite chair, but stopped. Malfoy was asleep. His hair fell softly around his face. In sleep, his face was relaxed, but not at peace. He seemed to be battling demons in sleep. My laptop sat on his lap and a game of solitaire was opened. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was 11:45. The eternal question, to wake or not to wake. I didn't want to sit here all night, and I gently reached over and touched his shoulder. His hand reached up and grabbed my wrist and his eyes flew open. His wand was pointed at my heart. I stood there, still. We stayed like that for a second, then his eyes softened a little.
"Granger?" I nodded, unable to speak. He breathed in, then let it out heavily. "I'm sorry." He slipped his wand back in his pocket and let my wrist go. I massaged it gently and sank onto the couch.
*~*~*
Draco's POV
(Back in time a little.) After I left her in the infirmary, I headed to dinner. Pansy was all over me from the minute I stepped into the Great Hall. She was saying how sorry she was that I was stuck working with the mudblood. I snapped at her and left, taking some rolls with me. I stopped in the bathroom and picked up Granger and my bags and headed back to my room. I set Granger's bag on her bed and slipped the loptap out of it. I wanted to play with it. Heading back downstairs, I settled into the big chair I had found Granger sleeping in last night. When prompted for the password, I thought for a second then gave it my best guess. I laughed out loud. Granger was so predictable. I changed her password and started playing a game called 'Solitaire.' I was quite amusing. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was almost ten o'clock. Then, I drifted off to sleep.
**~**~** (Dream sequence)
I was walking through the very dark halls. It was the night after the full moon, which meant there was no moon at all. I had the odd feeling that something was wrong. Something I couldn't place. I found myself in a tower; at the top there was light. I crept carefully up the stairs. At the top, I eased the door open. A tall dark figure in black robes stood over a smaller figure huddled on the floor. The larger figure cast a curse and the one on the floor writhed in pain. I yelled to the taller figure and he turned around and-
**~**~**
My hand flew up and grabbed the wrist connected to the hand touching my shoulder. My eyes flew open and my wand flew to my hand and I held it steady at the heart of the person in front of me. My eyes focused and I realized who it was.
"Granger?" she nodded. I breathed in deeply, then let it out. "I'm sorry." I let her wrist go and slipped my wand back into my pocket. I didn't know what to say to her. She had looked so scared, like she knew what I was capable of. I didn't want anyone to know. A dark hex had been on my lips when I woke up. She sank onto the couch, gently massaging her wrist. "Did I-did I hurt you?" she looked up at me, surprised. "I didn't mean to."
"No, I've had worse." She gave me a small smile. "And what are you doing with my laptop?"
"I decided it would give me something to do while I waited for you to get back. So are we going, or are you too crippled to walk?" she glared at me.
"Yes, we're going as soon as I get upstairs and get my ACE bandage. But I'm not sure I'm going to get up there anytime soon." She replied, then went to stand up.
"Hold still, I'll go get it. Where is it?" she gave me another small smile.
"It's in the top left drawer of my dresser. You may have to dig a bit." I headed up the stairs and she called after me. "It's peach colored." Entering her room, I pulled open the drawer and started shuffling things. Finding it I walked out her door. "Malfoy, I need the cloak at the end of my bed too!" I rolled my eyes and picked it up and ran down the stairs. I stopped in front of her and bowed low.
"Is that all, your highness?"
"Well, a cup of coffee would be nice, but I'm all set for now." She mock-waved me away with a smile. Taking the bandage she deftly wrapped it tightly around her ankle then moved to stand. I offered her my hand and held he upright while she regained her balance. She pulled her cloak on and headed for the door, and dropped my hand when she realized she was still holding it. A blush ran over her cheeks.
"Ready now?"
"Yeah, let's get this over with." She pulled her wand out of her pocket and whispered 'Lumos'. "I know a shortcut to the grounds. Follow me and stay quiet." I nodded and lit my wand.
The walls were dark, the only light coming from the bright moon outside the windows. She led me down a few dark halls and stopped in front of a statue of a one-eyed witch. She tapped it and said something I didn't catch and it jumped aside.
"What the-"
"Hurry up." She ducked inside and started moving quickly down the corridor. I knew the Wonder Twins wandered the school at night, but I had never been in this passage before.
"Where does this lead?"
"Cellar of Honeydukes." So that cleared up the problem of Potter's head being in Hogsmeade back in third year. Damn him.
"Granger, we only need to get to the Forest, not Hogsmeade."
"I know that." She replied, then stopped and tapped a stone sticking out of the wall with her wand. The wall slid open. "This tunnel comes out right behind greenhouse three, the closest one to the Forest." She walked down the new tunnel.
"And you found this-?" I didn't bother finishing the question.
"Ron tripped, but other than that it doesn't matter. Come on, my ankle hurts and we have classes tomorrow." I followed her, but had to duck as the ground started sloping upward before the roof did. At the end of the tunnel there was a ladder. She muttered 'Nox' and her wand went out. "When I tell you, climb up." Without waiting for an answer she climbed up the ladder, favoring her sore ankle. A few minutes later, a small light appeared at the top of the ladder and I put mine out and climbed up. When I stepped out, I was surprised at how cold it had gotten. Reaching into my pocket, I found the scarf Granger had leant me and pulled it on as I followed her inside the forest.
"Do you know where this plant is?"
"Yes, it's in a small clearing further in."
"Alright, I'll follow you."
"Keep your wand ready, you know the Forest is restless at night, especially during the full moon." She gave me a knowing smirk, then turned and headed in.
"Haha, very funny, Granger. Laugh it up." She laughed a little, then we both fell silent, not wanting to attract attention. A few minutes later I walked straight into her, sending both of us to the ground. I caught myself on my hands and knees, not wanting to squish her too bad. "Why did you stop?"
"Because I was so beautiful."
"Oh." I helped her up. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine." She limped across the clearing and knelt down and started picking some plants. Looking around, I saw she was right. The clearing was beautiful. The moon slanted through the trees at the edges and lit the clearing. I crossed it quietly and knelt down next to Granger.
"Are you sure that's the right plant?"
"Yes. She picked several handfuls of the plant and put them in a pocket. I stood, and she tried to follow my example, but lost her balance. My seeker skills kicked in and I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her up, and against me. He body fit against mine perfectly. She felt warm in my arms, like she belonged there. A minute later she stepped away, blushing madly. My body yelled at the loss of contact.
"Sorry, I'm really off balance tonight." She gave me a smile and started limping across the clearing. I followed her, silent.
*~*~*
Hermione's POV
When I lost my balance, I hoped I wouldn't go down too hard and break a bone. That would be a little hard to explain. Then I felt Malfoy's arms encircle my waist and pull me to him. His arms were strong and warm, and I felt oddly safe. Then I realized who I was leaning against and stepped away. I could feel myself blushing. I made up some lame excuse, ignoring my body's yelling over the loss of contact. Limping across the clearing, I didn't know he was following me until he stepped on a twig. I slipped out of the forest and over to the greenhouse and opened the passage. Climbing down the ladder, I winced, but didn't stop. I was limping really bad now. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. I was surprised when Malfoy slipped his arm under my shoulders and helped me down the hall. When we reached the statue, he slipped out ahead of me, then came back and nodded. The coast was clear. I stepped through and we headed down the hall and up the stairs, which were thankfully in place. We were almost to our hall when we saw the light from Filch's lantern.
"Shit." I muttered it under my breath the same time Malfoy did. He pulled me into a dark alcove and I yanked the invisibility cloak out of my pocket and pulled it over us. Realizing he was too tall, I yanked Malfoy's hood up and we stepped further into the alcove, just as Filch rounded the corner, talking to his cat.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Norris. We'll catch some naughty little kids out of bed. I know I heard someone." He walked down the corridor, poking into the darker spots, muttering. "I know you're here. Come out and you might get a lesser detention." He was almost on top of us when we heard a loud crash. He spun around. "Peeves!" Filch yelled and hurried off down the hall. "I just set those damn things back up! If you knocked down again I'll-" the end of his threat was lost when he turned a corner. I let out my breath, realizing I had been holding it. I also realized where I was. Malfoy was ducked down and holding me to him tightly. Our alcove was small and getting very warm. I glanced up and our eyes locked. Even in the dim light I could tell how intense they were. I blushed but was unable to look away. Our heads instinctively moved closer. I could feel his warm breath on my lips and my eyes started to drift shut. Then there was another crash. I jumped and maneuvered out of the alcove, my body screaming louder than before over the loss of contact. My mind was racing. What had almost happened? Malfoy stepped out of the alcove and started down the hall. I hurried to catch up, silent. He said the password and went inside and up the stairs. At my door, I paused.
"Night, Malfoy." He turned around, startled.
"What?"
"Night and thanks."
"Oh. Night, Granger." I gave him a small smile and stepped inside, closing my door behind me. It was going to be a long night.
*~*~*
Draco's POV
When I heard Filch, I muttered 'Shit'. It was a normal enough reaction. Then I grabbed Granger and pulled her into the nearest alcove. She yanked something out of her pocket and threw it over us. A second later she yanked my hood up to hide my hair and I tucked my head down. Filch did his usual mutterings to his cat. Crazy old git. He was about to poke into our alcove when something crashed. He ran off, yelling at Peeves. Granger was started breathing again and I realized how close I was holding her. Her hair smelled like spring. She glanced up and our eyes locked. She looked so sweet and innocent and I felt horrible for everything I had ever done to her. My body was reacting to her, and I wanted to kiss her. Our heads moved closer. I didn't care about anything but her. I was going to- another crash sounded and she jumped and pulled away. I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to kiss her. Kiss her senseless. I pulled myself under control as best I could and headed down the hall, unable to look at her. If I did, I wasn't sure I would be able to keep myself from grabbing her and kissing her senseless. I muttered the password and headed for the stairs. Don't turn around. Don't look at her. Don't turn around. Don't look- she said something and I turned around, startled.
"What?"
"Night and thanks." She gave me a small smile and stepped into her room and closed the door. It took every ounce of willpower in me no to throw open her door and- no, that thought wouldn't help me. I let go of her doorknob, wondering when I had grabbed it. Turning around I walked back to my door. I had the feeling it was going to be a long night.
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Another chapter! Hooray! I'm going to go write more. Wish me luck!
~K~