"I hate aparating…" As much as Hermione would have enjoyed watching him attempt to prove his skills, she was too busy wobbling on her feet to follow. Hermione left her hand a top her mouth when she felt his hands move against her arms, steadying her with a small brush of thumb over the smooth leather covering around her biceps. Draco tilted his head down to watch her rapid changing expressions, blinking her eyesight back with force before she set him with a firm glare but he seemed to miss it entirely. He just stood there, holding her a few inches before him, ignoring her off expression until she cleared her throat, quirking a single brow in her statement, "I think I got it, Malfoy."
"What? Oh. Right." Fuck. He hadn't even been aware he was still holding on to her like that. And he was still holding her! Draco released his hands much too quickly to cover his awkwardness, his fingers widening off of her like her skin was suddenly ablaze beneath his touch. Hermione looked a bit startled at his reaction and Draco couldn't help but do what he does best, turn his back on a situation completely and run…He motioned with his head and turned on his heel, dropping his hands awkwardly to his sides as he moved down the few spaces to the Silver, go figure, and chrome motorcycle that Draco had tucked into the corner glistening in the florescent glow of the parking garage that it had just dawned on Hermione that she was in. Merlin…she really hated aparating.
Chrome laced rims, brilliant silver pearl paint twisting around metal and steal…it really was a beautiful bike if she knew anything about them. Draco was quick to stalk the machine down; leaving her to her own astonishment as he moved a single glove bound hand to grip the handlebar as he swung his leg over where it was perched on a tilt.
"This is yours?" Hermione was finally tugging her gloves on, nearly forgetting they were still being rung around in her hands from earlier as she watched Draco lean down to slip what looked like a key into the side, giving it a twist before he started to sit upright again.
"Every bolt."
Hermione stood silently next to him, studying his movements, watching as he took two small round objects into his hand before he muttered something over them. She'd also nearly forgotten his skills at wandless magic but his juggling needed some practice. The two helmets bounced to their original size in his singular hand, almost causing him to topple off the bike as his other hand jutted out to catch the second. With a deep scowl, and Hermione's echoing laughter in the cement surround, Draco tucked his own helmet loose over his head, the straps hanging low when he motioned for Hermione to come closer. Now it was Hermione's turn to frown but she bent her waist and her head to follow, allowing Draco to place it over her skull before he moved to press the strands of loose hair away from her eyes. Hermione eyed him with a comical glare when he shut the partial shield closed against her eyes, his smirk never failing while he clasped the straps beneath her neck.
"I don't know about this…I hate flying…and aparating..and anything fast or dangerous really…"
There was the Granger he'd grown to know over the last six years. Draco smiled beneath the shade of his own visor while he adjusted his helmet, "almost thought I'd lost you there, freckles."
"What?"
Draco said nothing, he simply turned and twisted his hand tightly along the handlebar, slamming his foot down on the foot peddle with a loud roar booming around them in response. The engine sprung to life, the whole bike vibrating beneath Malfoy when he straightened it upright, kicking its stand back with an echoing clank as Hermione jumped upright from her leaning position. He offered his hand delicately to her, the smooth leather stretching out but Hermione folded her arms tightly as she commanded out to him, "I will not get on that contraption until you tell me why you call me that, Malfoy."
Hermione demanded quite strongly her request, ignoring the fact that they were nearly shouting over each other to hear one another now. "If you just get on I will tell you, deal?" She still didn't look convinced even as she placed her hand in his when he remotioned it out at his words, standing idle on her feet as he added, "Would you rather trust me and my bike, freckles…or your boyfriend and his temper, Granger."
His tone was harboring just beneath seriousness but it washed against her with much more gravity. He already knew her answer or he wouldn't have asked the question but his use of names for her in description of spending time with Ronald or himself left her with a bit more apprehension then she would have liked to admit.
With all of her Gryffindor courage, Hermione lifted her foot to place the center of her arch against the back stand, her hand still clutched in his while she stood her weight up against the peg. Hermione rested her free hand against his shoulder while she swung her leg over to settle in against her seat quite close behind him, her thighs parting to close around his own. Hermione shifted her weight against the firm leather beneath her, her legs brushing tight up against Draco and she suddenly found herself blushing at the intimacy the close proximity was offering. Her other foot lifted up to join suit of her other, feeling her weight centered as she leaned in against Malfoy, her arms naturally folding around his waist for protection but from what on this thing she wasn't sure. Draco lowered his feet to the pavement, pressing and walking the bike back from its parked position, that cocky Malfoy smirk plastered on his lips as Hermione found herself clutching hold of him tighter. She could feel him chuckle low, her fingers grasping the fabric of his jacket; body pressed tightly, her thighs clamped against him once he'd finally angled it toward the correct direction of the road.
"You promised!" Hermione shouted against the buzzing engine below them, Draco lifting his feet from the ground to settle against the pedals.
"I never said when…" Hermione felt her body give a jolt, her head whipping back as the wind rushed over her when he took off without warning. Even with the clear visor on, and inside the tight, enclosed parking garage, she could feel the cool air rushing over her face and through the suddenly all too thin fabric of her clothing. She ducked her head low; the motorcycle dipping to the right and it was all she could do to hold on tight and lean with his body, screaming his name all the while to echo from the cold stone walls. She felt Draco straighten the bike for the first time, shouting back at her, "and I didn't expect you to be able to ride, freckles!" before he tore around another curve.
The wheels gave a squeal on the harsh pavement of the parking garage as Draco began to weave down, twisting and turning at such tight angles that Hermione could only clench every muscle in her body as tight and close as she possibly could to him, praying she wouldn't fall off or be sucked out into the night. With a loud scream from Hermione and the rubber, the back wheel spun rapidly as Draco whipped the back end of the bike around, shooting them out from inside and drowning out her panic entirely. The bike burnt a semi circle into the asphalt, whirling until Draco gave a hard pull, thrusting them out into the direction of oncoming traffic with a rather abrupt stop, the motorcycle jerking to the side so hard that Draco had to toss his foot off the pedal and catch it flat to stop the momentum.
A heavy gasp filled Hermione's lungs, the cold night air stinging her senses at the pause but it was short lived…just as quickly as Draco had settled the sole of his boot to the ground below, he gave a hard kick off, twisting his hand hard against the handlebar and speeding them forward into the night. Hermione's small frame gave a hard pull back at the quick start, her arms sliding a bit from his chest as Draco picked up speed, blurring so quickly that her eyes began to tear at the corners even beneath the plastic shield. Her fingertips were still sliding, loosening as she slid slightly back in the seat until she felt Malfoy's fingers wrap tightly around her wrist, giving it a firm pull to snap her back in against his back as he gruffed out, "you better hold on, Granger." Suddenly, Hermione found herself thankful that no one was on the road and praying to Merlin, Dumbledore, and Jesus himself to keep them off until Malfoy had safely taken them wherever it was that he planned on ending them up because right now she was pretty sure she was having visions of herself being peeled off the side of a minivan.
And just as quickly, and horribly, as she remembered from just moments before, Draco aparated them, bike and all, just as he sped through the blaring red light at the last intersection of his block but Hermione couldn't have told you that because her eyes were clenched closed as tight as she possibly could, her head buried in the back crook of Draco's neck with her breath caught hostage in the back of her throat just waiting for the impact. She tried to open a squinting eyelid but the pressure of the tube like suction was far too strong for any changing positions. Her teeth were clenched so tight they felt like they would shatter apart as her skin pulled harshly on the bone before the air thrust them out crudely into the air with a popping sensation on her entire body. The fabric of her jacket gave a crackle as it adjusted to the new location, Hermione's breath being punched out of her stomach with a huff when she felt Draco's hand squeeze along her forearm hard. Hermione realized she was to terrified to open her eyes to understand why Draco was gripping her arm so tightly where it wrapped around his waist instead of holding on properly like she was damn near positive he was supposed to be doing.
She felt almost weightless still, Draco holding her from being lifted into the air just as the bike's tires met the asphalt from where they'd been tossed out into the night, guiding the tires directly on the motor way lanes. They bounced with a hard squeal, Draco lowering his hand to the handlebars with a firm twist of his hand to send it speeding into the traffic, the streets loaming by around them as Hermione's butt bounced hard against the seat beneath her. Her hands were tingling, the blood pulsing from such a rush of momentum but all she could do was scream his name as loud as her lungs could manage as Draco sped and raced between passed cars, trying to find her fit in against his body like it would somehow shield her from certain death upon impact.
"Hermione…" Her hands were so tight against his chest that Draco was sure she was going to intertwine her fingers with his ribcage, "Hermione!" She still buried her helmet and chin in the back of his neck, her rapid breath sending the tiny hairs there alerted on end, "Hermione open your eyes." Draco's speed still continued to climb, his hands secure on the pull back bars, maneuvering them swiftly amongst the lines before he felt her finally lift her head from its tight position. Her body eased from his softly, her tension scrunching down when she began to sit back in her seat, taking in the night that engulfed them.
By the time they got into muggle London, it was a heavy blanket of blackness being harshly interrupted in the bright glow of bolted and glowing signs. They streaked the city in shades of colors flashing and glittering wildly from all heights and angles. Hermione sighed heavily at the glamour of it all whirling by them, hugging in to his torso with a soft murmur he couldn't quite make out under the roaring noise of the bike whisking them in shattering speeds through the town. Cars sped along beside them, Draco gliding between them as she watched it all dance around her. She could feel him laugh as her hands lowered against his body, resting at his belt line, finding her comfort in against him and this damned machine of his as he took it to new speeds and heights in the muggle traffic blending into the streets before them.
She was completely in tune with his movements by the time he'd taken them off the motorway and down into the city streets below, allowing the gravity to rest her against him, her weight shifting into him with ever slight adjustment he'd made. Hermione gave a short tug along Draco's sleeve as they pulled flat at the first stop light they'd rested at, her voice well above the whisper she was attempting as she nearly shouted to him, "Why is everyone staring?"
Draco attempted to tilt his head back to her but the helmet was hindering his abilities as he understood she was referring to the halted cars around them, peering back or over their shoulders where the two of them and his bike sat idle, damn near on display, waiting. Usually he would have informed her that he was Draco Malfoy, even if they were in muggle London, or that this was quite an exquisite motorcycle but he stuck with the answer he was most certain had the hardest and most truth behind it all, "they're staring at you, freckles. You in that leather…" What could he say? Draco couldn't help but feel a bit arrogant and despite the fact that Hermione Granger was the last woman on earth he thought he'd feel pride being stared at on the back of his bike, it amused him terribly.
Hermione was sure her cheeks stung a bright shade of crimson the entire rest of the ride, unable to hold the smile off of her face as she closely watched everyone take notice of their place on the road and for once it felt nice to be stared at for something other than being Harry Potter's best mate. Draco had carefully pulled the bike up against a curb space, flicking out the kick stand even as he held the bike up beneath him still. He held his hand out to her, turning his weight a bit to angle at her when she slid her hand from his waist and took a firm grip. She wasn't aware at how wobbly her legs were until she stood up on the peddle, swinging her leg back off and standing on her own two feet on the side walk while Draco busied himself setting the bike on its stand, bending to kill the engine and snatch the key into his confines.
Draco pulled his helmet from his head, casually shrinking it as he closed his palm while it moved to slide into the depths of his jacket pocket once he'd gotten to his feet but Hermione was still standing rigid where she'd first settled, frozen on step. Draco stepped up to her easily with a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, moving to pull her gloves off from her stiff fingers one by one before moving his hands beneath her chin, popping the latching and hooking his fingers around the bends to pluck it from her head. Hermione sighed out a heavy breath that Draco was pretty sure she had been holding since they'd first left, small droplets of waters frozen against the back corners of her eyes as she chattered her teeth at him while he pocketed her helmet along with his own with a tilt of his head.
"I can't feel my nose, Malfoy…" He was stepping up to meet her on the side walk, his height hovering over her when he tossed his arm over her shoulders, laughing hard with his fingers circling around her shoulder, pulling her into him briefly, shaking his head. Hermione easily folded into the side of his chest but it offered little warmth against the rough leather that met her even as Draco held her close to his side, angling next to her as he led them forward and out into the crowded streets.
"Come on, was it worse aparating on the bike or would it have been worse aparating that entire way and then walking?"
With a small sniffle, Hermione moved to fold her arms close over her chest, shivering into his touch while they made their way into the city still alive in its fullest, "with you it would have been terrifying either way, Malfoy." Draco didn't seem to pay her comment too much mind, gracefully stepping through the passing people with Hermione tucked under his arm, that casual Malfoy smirk plastered to his features while she frowned up at him. Draco was too busy nodding his head at a passing couple of strangers walking the sidewalk opposite of them, a young woman trotting along at the hold of her man's hand when the guy shouted out to Malfoy, "your girl looks great."
Oh that just wouldn't do. Hermione was now officially uncomfortable as she whipped her head to watch the man walking away without a second thought as she tried to stutter an 'I'm not…' before her head snapped back to Draco with a startled expression plaguing her entirely.
"What did he just say?" Her petite frame was becoming rigid beneath the hold of Draco's arm, her hand moving to give his side a small shove to create a couple of inches of space between them, shoving his arm to lift off of her in process, "What did he just say, Malfoy?"
"Relax, Granger." Draco looked just as astounded as she was at the moment, brushing off his jacket at her public outburst, "He said you looked good, do you want me to slit his throat?"
"No." Hermione pointed her finger at him, poking it into the center of his chest as she continued, "He said that your girl looked good and you didn't correct him."
"If you heard him then why are you asking me, freckles? And I said I'd slit his throat if that's what you want. Do you want me to bleed him, Granger? Seriously…who's going to stand in my way?"
"Draco…" She wanted to say that this was probably, again, a horrible idea and that she shouldn't have came but she could only lower her eyes to the ground between them. She wanted to tell him that despite everything that was caving in between Ronald and herself, she was still his girlfriend and Draco was still the boy who treated her like dirt and who only now decided to change face and confuse her every thought with every passing opportunity.
Draco opened his palms to her, leaning his head down to lessen the gap, ensuring she heard his every word that was meant for her and her alone. "No one knows who you are here, Granger. Just some girl they passed in the street with some guy."
"You're a little too good at this sneaking around thing, you know." Never in her years did Hermione think she'd ever hear Draco Malfoy refer to himself as 'just some guy' but he was nonetheless as he stood before her. It wasn't the part of her that wanted to just enjoy the night as it unraveled that made her hate herself at the moment however, it was the want to trust the man before her after everything and still anything that he could do that truly had Hermione berating herself internally.
Draco's brows lifted up, rather amused at her comment as his hand moved to settle at the meet of her shoulder blades along her back, lightly persuading her to turn back to the streets ahead of them, guiding her to hesitantly start back to moving down the sidewalk. "Yes well, usually I'm the one doing the hiding…not being hidden so live it up, Granger." At that, Hermione slunk her arms around his bicep, hugging his limb to trap between them as she angled her head up to him, probably fully ready to analyze him and his but Draco lifted his hands to the vast opening before them, cutting her off from her thoughts before she could make them verbal, "now pray tell what is the first required item on this shopping list before your boyfriend comes looking for you?"
Draco didn't under notice the small wince that crossed her face at the mention of Weasley, her lips pursing in for a moment as she was fighting the thoughts down before his very eyes. "All I have packed and shipped is school required items." Hermione repeated her statement from earlier before she seemed to think it over, her arm still looped underneath his own as she counted the items out on her fingers, "Uniforms, robes, books, quills, parchments…" She paused to take a deep breath and Draco quickly closed his free hand down on her counting digits, batting them away.
"I get it, freckles."
"I need normal things, Malfoy…clothes. Dresses, pants, socks, shoes…" They stepped under the large walkway, monstrous iron beams twisting in a huge canopy above the city, intertwining the buildings and shops together delicately when Draco motioned to their left, "This normal enough for you, Granger?"
Shopping was never really Hermione's favorite thing in the world to do, despite her interest in finer things, but even she had to admit to herself that shopping with Draco Malfoy was an experience all in its own. It'd been so long since she'd had to chance to really go shopping, let alone go out, or the chance to visit muggle London and she'd nearly forgotten how spectacular it was at night. She never really was sure when they'd left a store and entered another from the second they'd stepped foot in that first building. It was all an endless stream of shops, vendors, bars, night clubs, and people crowding here and there to her. For a while, she just followed Draco around, gawking over this or that, trying to take it all. He'd practically had to force her to finally start doing what they came there to do in the first place…shop.
It was awkward looking over any apparel to find something to suit her picky taste with Malfoy looming around but it wasn't hard to find items of her interest with such a vast selection. Draco made it hard not to enjoy his company, going so far as to prance out of the dressing room in whatever Hermione tossed in his arms as long as she emerged to model her own attire and Hermione had to wonder if this was truly the Draco Malfoy that Pansy Parkinson, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and the rest of the Slytherins saw every day that he just hid from the world or if this was something he only brought out on choice occasions. Whatever it was, Hermione was thankful for it at the moment.
For Hermione, it may have been a series of carefree motions to Draco, but it was enough to give her the ease to begin feeling a bit more herself again. She wasn't the teetering shell of emotions between trying to forget the past and trying to maintain a relationship that was broken at every seam here with Draco, laughing through the city streets and joking around the splendor of stores.
Draco couldn't explain the next six hours with Hermione any better than he could have explained what an iphone was because the truth of the matter was that he loathed shopping with the hatred of a thousand suns. He had people for this…people he could have called to do this for her but it wasn't about getting the things she needed that had her wanting to leave tonight and he knew it. She simply needed to breathe on her own after a confining situation and that was something he could understand very easily. What he couldn't understand was why he was so willing to give it to her, however.
Every moment she stayed near him he wondered if he was damning his nightmares further into his head or if he was helping ease the notion that she was alright in his mind, for whatever reason it was necessary to do that. She made it easy to be near her, to watch her laugh and share stories, compare scars and memories. Draco couldn't help but wonder if this was how she was around Potter and Weasley, crossed legged on the stool once he'd finally convinced her that he would need caffeine in order to stare at more shiny objects that she called purses. Her cheeks were constantly powdered with a pale rose burning from her wide smile, her hands so animated with the laughter on her face when Draco informed her that if she ever tried to pull her wallet out when he was at her side again he would be forced to get her etiquette lessons.
He hadn't let her pay for a single thing. At first it only made her awkward, unsure how to handle someone, let alone a man who just so happened to be Draco Malfoy, buy her anything but that soon switched to confusion. Her confusion changed to irritation and her irritation soon morphed to an annoyed acceptance before she finally just accepted Malfoy's horribly old school way of handling money in the presence of a woman…even if it was her. He'd literally bought her every item that she'd thought she might want and then seventy others. He'd paid for dinner and now coffee once they'd finally settled in to the small venue still bustling with patrons in the night and still Draco seemed downright irritable that she'd even attempted to pay moments before while he sipped his coffee from the tall container in his hands. With a small yawn pressing Hermione's lips open, she moved to slide the back of her hand up to cover her mouth when she'd finished scoffing off his comment on her unladylike attempt.
Sure, he could have let her pay for her own things but he simply didn't feel like it. What? Oh, alright…Draco was sure this would be one of the last moments he would see the woman before him before school began and she would be entwined in her own life, her own romance, and for whatever reason, he felt compelled to ensure she could look back and have something good to remember whether it be about him, after the memories, or simply just when she needed it. It seemed lame to him but Draco felt it necessary to see her as her, even if it was just this once, before she transformed back into that frazzled little book worm he'd grown to ignore.
It almost pained him to say it, his fingers wrapped around his cup, placing the bottom against the shiny table surface, "It is getting pretty late. I should probably get you home so you can get some sleep, freckles."
Hermione had just finished stretching when he'd finished his statement, moving her hands to take a long drink from her own cup, closing her eyes when the warm liquid rushed past her lips. Running her tongue along the outline of her lip to rid it of the frothy foam clinging behind as she set her glass down to join him, lowering her legs to cross one over the other more comfortably. "I am pretty tired, you have to be too. I can't remember the last time I was out till…" Hermione moved the sleeve of her jacket to glare at her watch, gasping with wide eyes at the digital time staring brightly back at her, "Oh my God, Malfoy! It's five thirty in the morning!"
"Yep, that settles it," Draco clapped his hands on the table, pushing his stool back so he could rise up, "Time to go, nighty night."
"Oh my lord…I can't believe it's so late." Hermione was still reeling in the shock of the time, a slight smile creeping on the corner of her mouth at the thought of it before she shook her head, scrunching her nose and wobbling her finger at him, "Wait! I mean, hang on a second." She laughed softly at her correction, pulling her cup close to her body as she remained seated, "I'm not sure I, well, I don't really think that…"
Draco rolled his eyes, pushing his chair back beneath the table before taking his own cup into his hand, ignoring her pausing as he rounded on her, preparing himself for their leave."For fucks sake…some time this hour, Granger."
"I'm not ready to be alone yet! Ok?"
"Ok."
"What?"
"I said ok, Granger."
"Good." Hermione had her face tightly pursing together, fine lines of confusion beginning to seep in over her bronzed features before she tilted her head at him, "Wait…what?"
With a brief sigh, Draco stood before her, resting his cup against the top again closer to her own, his opposite hand leaning his weight against the back of her chair as he spoke to her, "you'll stay the night, if you're not ready to be alone. Not that big of a deal, Granger. It's not like we won't be sharing a dorm for the rest of this year."
That's right. It wasn't that Hermione was being forced to share a Heads title with the one and only Draco Malfoy that had Ron's wand in a twist. It was the fact that somehow the powers that be at Hogwarts decided it best to lock the two of them away in a dormitory together and alone. At the time of reading the news, Hermione had nearly passed out and even still she was unsure of such a rather unreal idea. "I don't know…I mean are you sure?" She looked like she didn't want to like the idea but the way she was ringing her hands around her cup had Draco believing that somehow she truly felt safer this way, at least for now.
"We can stay at your mum and dad's but chances are Weasley is going to come looking for you sooner or later..."He was just getting ready to finish his sentence when she did that awful cringing thing again that had him doing some facial morphing of his own. Draco scowled, moving his hand to motion at her, "What the hell is that about? Why are you so worried about seeing your own boyfriend?"
"What are you talking about?"
Hermione looked truly shocked at his sudden question, shaking her head before he interjected, "What are you worried about happening?" It wasn't like she was afraid to be alone for fear of being hunted, harmed, or killed because that would have made sense to him. She seemed to be willing to be alone if it meant not being faced with Weasley and all she could do was sit there still shaking her head at him.
"Nothing! Seriously…I just don't want to fight right now…with anyone."
Hermione had seen him angry but never so bitter as Draco turned his head away from her, taking his sights out into the night through the large window behind her but he certainly didn't appear to look like he would be dropping it any time soon. Much to her own shock, Draco ducked his head, swallowing harshly before he spoke lowly to her, "Fine, freckles. For now."
And just as he said he would, Draco let it be with the dangerous promise of later. Hermione had expected Draco to throw a tantrum for not getting his way like she was accustomed to but he simply let her have this one. He hadn't said much to her the entire way back to his flat, not even as he opted to take the lift up to his floor instead of aparating them up. He'd offered her a small smile once and a while when he'd glance down to catch her staring, trying to pick his thoughts apart but his words remained still. Once, he'd pretty much growled at her when she'd tried to help him with her bags but still, no real words. She felt like she should apologize, for what she wasn't quite sure, but she wasn't sure why she should feel sorry for not wanting to expose herself so openly even if watching him move so rigidly back inside his foyer to deposit her bags to the floor was pulling at her heart strings.
"Draco…"
"You're tired…" His words were slightly harsh and abrupt, Hermione flinching at the change in his tone and demeanor towards her as he straightened his back, turning to face her, "…Why don't you take the bed."
"You're not coming?"
It was Draco's turn to flinch. It was a statement he was truly unprepared for. He'd shared his bed with many women in the past, occasionally finding himself in too much of a stupor to kick them out before the morning light but none since the war. He'd never been at ease enough to allow a woman to sleep beside him, especially now, and he certainly had never thought about that woman looking slightly hurt at the notion that he'd decline being the one he'd accept it with. "I…" that was all he was getting out, paused and lost on his words.
"Please? I said I don't want to be alone."
"Merlin fucking…" Draco smacked his hand on his forehead, sighing heavily as he ran it down the center of his face. Granger had him stuttering and she had his pulse moving so quickly in his chest that he wasn't sure how to hold his composure better than he was at the moment. He couldn't stand her begging, it physically made him ill, and it took everything in him to roughly swallow, growling lowly into the room as he tossed his arms down to his side. Hermione was surprised he didn't stamp his foot, she would have, but he opened his hand up to the hall lining down to his bedroom, his brows raised, his eyes wide in a rather annoyed and startled expression without a word.
"Thank you, Malfo…"
Hermione held her hands in front of her waist, her smile light as she angled to face him while she made her way by, Draco's hand snapping up to cut her off, "I don't even want to hear it, Granger…go." How could she not grin? The great Draco Malfoy looked downright defeated and pushed beyond his limits as he trudged his way into the room behind her, pulling his wand from his back pocket to flicker the lights on around them. Hermione hadn't waited for the lights, already pulling the jacket from her body when the amber glow engulfed her with Draco's stare, shaking his head as he turned it away from her shrugging off her heels all the while.
Draco kept his back to her despite the fact that he could hear her wrestling around to pull off the clothes trapping in the curves of her body. Any healthy young man knowing that there was a half naked woman behind him would be insane not to take a glimpse and from Draco's vast knowledge in the field, he was sure Granger was down to her knickers by now but his eyes remained true to the spot against the wall, scolding himself mentally for feeling the need to be noble, for once.
Draco carefully removed his boots and coat, placing them over a chair beside a particular set of drawers after he'd discarded his belt. He was just lowering his hands to the clasped button of his jeans, trying to focus his eyes permanently glued to the ground before him when she'd set her hand against his back. The small motion nearly had Draco jumping into the drawers in front of him, whirling around with a startled, wide eyed expression before he let out a choked noise. She was indeed down to her knickers, her arm tossed over her bare chest with her first offending hand out stretched and pointing to his chest as she demanded, "shirt, please."
Draco was still in shock to the nearly naked form that was Hermione Granger all but on display before him. He was sure she was hiding something more than those curves beneath her robes but this wasn't the picture he'd truly imagined. He was sure however that he'd never be able to forget it much to his own displeasure to that thought. "You want my shirt? Did I not just buy you an entire sleep wear line?"
"Stop gawking and give it." Hermione bypassed his question as Draco lowered his eyes off of her bronzed skin to the grey t-shirt still clinging to his chest before she added, "I don't know who in the world has touched those clothes before me tonight and I am not all about going to clean something before I go to sleep."
There was a brief smile hinting around the pale curve of Draco's lips when he raised his gaze up to her, "Is that the excuse you're going with?"
"It's not an excuse!"
Draco only gave her a disbelieving look before he moved to duck his head and reaching behind his back to tug the shirt up and off of his body, talking to her all the while. "You'd rather wear my dirty t-shirt than a remotely cleaner brand new shirt because you'd have to clean it…" He easily removed the fabric from his shoulders, taking it in a single hand and holding it out to her with a cock eyed expression. He wanted to tell her that she was supposed to be this undeniably prudish bitch but she was damn close to flashing him as she tugged it over her head, popping her arms out of the holes to let it drape loosely against her petite body that Draco found himself lost for the words. "You're right. That isn't an excuse because that makes absolutely no sense to me."
"Yes, well, you giving me the shirt also makes absolutely no sense to your argument now so…" The slow bend of Hermione's shoulder slid to pop a flash of skin out through the neck of his shirt as she rested her hand against her hip, turning to brush past him, her eyes boldly raised up to follow his own the entire path.
"What?" Hermione glanced over her shoulder at Draco's slack jawed expression, strolling to crawl her body up the bed from the foot and moving to tuck her feet in to slide her body beneath the covers as Draco's sight locked onto her. She moved like she'd done this a thousand times, crawling into his bed in his shirt, adjusting the pillows behind her head and beside her where he was sure to lay.
Those platinum brows shrugged the smallest inclination higher with another lost shake of his head, tossing his newly discarded jeans off onto the chair, "Absolutely nothing, freckles. Absolutely nothing."
She seemed horribly amused watching him move so rigidly to turn back the sheets dressed in only a pair of dark grey boxer briefs but he certainly wasn't awkward about his own body. Years of Quidditch had done Malfoy well, his frame toned accurately against pale alabaster flesh but he looked more than concerned that there was an equally naked woman waiting as he slid his legs in the bed, waving his hands to dismiss the lights when he leaned his back in against the head board.
"You're not going to have a heart attack are you, Malfoy?"
"I might actually, yes." He wanted to lie to her and tell her to dream on, be the strong weight barring man he'd tried his damnedest to stay true to but she was moving closer against the mattress, the smooth expanse of her legs brushing against his in her movements.
The room was dim, the weak moonlight emitted softly through the sheer white curtains draping the full glass windows lining two sides of Draco's bedroom but he could still see her watching him softly from where she was propped up against the pillows. His arm lowered to slide around her shoulders, moving down the bed a few inches to better tug her closer in against her body. She moved easily at his acceptance, wrapping her arm around her own body and resting her other against his chest while she intertwined her legs in against his own. She was still staring, even as he hugged her head in against his chest, resting his chin at the top of her head with a small sigh, lowering his eye lids in the rising hours.
"I'll be gone in the morning." Hermione's lashes fluttered against his bare chest as she closed her eyes, flattening her fingers with a soft adjustment comfortably against him.
"I'll hunt you down, Granger." The words bit out low and rough at the back of Draco's throat, his sleep deprived day finally catching the better of him but he could still feel her mouth smile against his skin.
"Goodnight, Draco. I had a really nice time…with you…tonight." Her own tone was loopy in her exhaustion, a small yawn rounding the end of her sentence when he wrapped his other arm around her body, allowing his finger to rest against the exposed skin of her hip from where the shirt had been lifted in her movements.
"Then I guess you'll be here in the morning."
Draco's breath was slowing in his chest, his hold on her soft even as she raised her hand to slide the length of his left arm tucked around her back as she angled to face it. The small movement seemed the jar him, Draco raising his head only in the slightest to watch her adjust herself, or so he assumed, but he sat up much more appropriately when he felt her thumb popping the latch and buttons of his arm band, exposed to her touch, with quite the quick determination.
"Stop." He hadn't pulled his arm away but he did move his opposite hand in an attempt to pull hers from her actions but she'd easily swatted his away, not allowing him to cause much of a fuss before she'd tossed it off onto the night stand resting back on her current side of the bed.
"Seriously…Granger…" His words were stressed but even he sounded too tired to really fight with her as she slid to face him once again. She'd voided herself of her own arm bands when she'd slunk into his clothing earlier in the night. He'd already flashed her fears once and she was currently exposed to him in that sense there in nothing but his t-shirt.
"You can put it back on if you really want but I'll leave." Draco opened his mouth in protest, his features obviously unamused at the turn of events even as she curled back in against him, reaching back to wrap his arm back around her body without concern. Draco wanted to inform her that she was forcing him to lay beside exactly what he'd loathed for so long while baring his hatred mark beside her and how truly fucked up that really was but her slowing tone silenced him quickly.
"Would you rather expose yourself and lay here with me, Draco…or would you rather go hide and be just like what it was marked to be, Malfoy?" Leave it to Granger to use his own phrasing against him…but she had no idea what she was really asking him, now did she?
Draco laid rigid for a few more moments against her, feeling the air of the room running over the scared remains of that dark mark where it laid around her waist until she moved to rest her arm a top his own mindlessly before he gave in to her rousing. The long line of his body settled against the mattress, the muscles in his face still tight in his distaste even as he began to let sleep take its hold. Draco wasn't able to think of the symbol that she was covering beneath her delicate flesh for much longer but he did manage to get out a few more words to her before he felt himself be pulled under the call of the sandman.
"I don't keep it covered for me, freckles…"
"I do…" Even as their confessions lingered in the air, masks shredded and haunted memories spliced open to their common touch and sight, they laid together in the warmth of their surround.
Hermione never thought of the few times that she'd fallen asleep next to Ronald and the uncomfortable hours that followed nor did she think about the fact that she was lying next to another man as they laid silently in each other's arms. All she felt was the warmth of his body engulfing her, holding her close like only a lover should, his breath shallow in his chest, heart beating softly against her own with their confessions lingering quietly in the air above them. All Hermione heard were Draco's words echoing over and over again in her head, lulling her off into slumber behind a face she was growing far too accustomed to far too quickly. The twisted memories melted under investigating touch, sending Hermione's lids low one final time as she allowed her mind to fade off into sleep beside the only person currently she felt could bear the weight of her own scars.
