Now, however, things were different and she gratefully welcomed these mornings where no one had to be up and about at any certain time to say, teach classes or something...
She enjoyed laying there for what had easily turned into hours a few times, the two of them talking or a lot of times just simply staying silent, taking in the morning and how perfect the world seemed for just those couple of hours in time.
But this Sunday morning was different because sometime in the very early morning, Severus had been called away to Voldemort's side; leaving Hermione to wake up alone.
After giving up on trying to stay there by herself, she heaved herself out of bed and walked carefully down the stairs, trying hard not to stumble, as she was still partly asleep.
She came down the spiral staircase, surprised to find the living quarters occupied. For a second she felt panicked, but then she remembered why Draco Malfoy was sitting on the couch and she somewhat relaxed, although obviously not entirely thrilled about the whole thing.
Draco only glared at her with a shadow of a sneer, trying to be superior but seeming to not have the strength to let it come on very strong.
Hermione sighed. She knew that whether she liked it or not, Draco was going to be around there for a while and they probably had at least try to get along with each other. She did not, however, expect him to speak to her first.
"Not enough space for another bedroom, Granger," he inquired suggestively with a positively evil grin on his pale face.
Hermione stopped where she stood, feeling the invisible weight that had just hit her hard in the chest. She hadn't really thought of how she would handle this if it were brought up.
But she swallowed hard and took a breath, deciding to shrug it off. She didn't need to explain anything to Malfoy...but he wasn't done yet.
"You know he's just using you, don't you," he prodded, just waiting for her to crack under his stare. But Hermione wouldn't falter. When she didn't respond, his expression became a bit disappointed, but quickly hid it, clearly trying to think up something more clever and hurtful to say to her.
"You know, what is your problem, Malfoy," Hermione countered, a little proud of how well she had just been able to keep him off of her nerves. She wasn't going to let the little weasel get to her.
It took Malfoy a moment to register that she had just basically stood up to him.
She usually just ignores you, he thought, slightly shocked.
Hermione gained more nerve with every second that Malfoy didn't respond; so she continued.
"All you do is put everyone else down...and for what? To make yourself feel a little better?" She stopped and waited, watching how his brow furrowed, apparently trying to do some very quick thinking. Hermione just shook her head. "You're pathetic...and you know what, I feel sorry for you."
There. She'd gotten that off her chest.
Malfoy said nothing. Only half-glared at her from where he was now standing, apparently trying to look more demeaning.
Hermione didn't budge. She glared at him from where she stood her ground, off-handedly thinking of how her wand was currently upstairs on the nightstand, completely useless to her should Malfoy suddenly decide to curse her or something.
Of course, she thought, he wouldn't be so high and mighty when Severus comes back...if he does come back. She quickly shook her head to rid it of that last thought. He would come back. She just had to keep saying that to herself, as if making her mind think it would make it definite.
She came back from her thoughts just in time to watch Malfoy sink down onto the sofa he had just vacated, seeming defeated.
It can't be that easy...she thought to herself, confused now. Had she just won?
"You're right," he suddenly muttered, staring at the ground. She felt her jaw drop open slightly. She raised an eyebrow, unsure if she should let her guard down or not. Did she just hear what she thought she heard...and coming from Draco Malfoy's mouth? It didn't seem possible for the boy who had put her down from the moment they'd met.
"I couldn't disappoint the family," he said in a quiet and monotonous voice as he shook his head to himself. "I didn't dare. So if I was...friendly with someone from another house, especially a—muggle-born..." he swallowed, trailing off, as if it was difficult for him to speak the less degrading term after using 'mudblood' for all of those years.
After silence followed, he didn't seem to know what else to say about that matter and so he crossed his arms and leaned back, scowling, unable to believe that he had just as good as shown his weakest side to Hermione Granger of all people.
"I'm starving," he finally said after a while in a bit of a bitter tone. "Where are those damn elves?" He looked around, keeping his eyes away from her at all costs.
Hermione, who was still shocked at what she'd just heard, was surprisingly able to crack a bit of a grin in his direction and walked over to where he was sitting.
Without much thought at all, she reached out her hand to him, as if to shake it. She noticed Draco glance over at it, contemplating what to do. He looked up at her with only his eyes, questioning a bit at first before seeming to answer every question in his head and reached up, firmly shaking her hand.
Hermione cracked a more knowing smile, it broadening as Draco yanked his hand away at the sight of her facial expression, standing up and scowling again.
"Don't get so excited, Granger," he attempted to sneer at her. "It's not like this means we're friends."
But Hermione only smiled a little more, enjoying how he was trying to act superior again, not willing to let what he really was feeling out.
"I'm going to get breakfast," Hermione said shortly. "Care to join me?" she added, starting off in the general direction of the fireplace.
"Call me crazy, Granger," Draco said monotone, "but I don't think we're supposed to be seen."
"We won't be."
"Oh," he retorted sarcastically, "so you're just going to waltz into the Great Hall and hope no one notices we're there? Yeah. Good plan."
Hermione actually laughed a little. "No," she said, almost at the wall, pausing just before she went through it. "Not the Great Hall..." And with that, she raised an eyebrow and slid through the wall, turning just in time to see the shocked look on Draco's face.
"What the—" Draco muttered and started to move quickly at the wall.
Hermione, who had turned around, shaking her head as she laughed a little more, did not see him practically running at her from the other side of the wall until it was too late; she turned around just in time for him to come plowing through the lack of a wall, running into her with a great amount of force, sending them both over the edge she had fallen off of the last time.
At least this table is here to break my fall every time...Hermione thought to herself as her and Draco fell hard into what was probably the same exact table reconstructed.
"What in the—" she heard Draco curse from where he was, which was basically on top of her.
"Uh..." she started when Draco didn't seem to realize that he was squashing her. "Could you consider getting off of me..." she trailed off, waving her un-pinned hand in a suggestive manor, as if to wave him off.
It took him a second or two, but Draco finally came out of the stupor he had been in from falling and upon realizing he had fallen on Hermione, began to scramble to get up.
It was then Hermione's turn to be surprised again as she looked up to see Draco holding his own hand out to help her up, which she took and stood, looking at him questioningly this time.
"Wow...erm...thank you," she said, sounding a little unsure. But Draco didn't seem to hear her; he just quickly released her hand, as if he were even shocked at himself for just doing it.
"How did we get from up there," Draco pointed to somewhere above them, "to the Hogwarts kitchen?"
Hermione just smiled a little, looking around. "That we would have to thank Dumbledore for."
But she stopped and looked back to Draco immediately after she'd said it, cursing herself for not being able to even think to catch what she was saying.
"Sorry..." she muttered, looking at him apologetically. But Draco just shrugged, leaving a bit of an awkward silence between the two as they started to gather up what they wanted to eat.
"Wait there are stairs?" Draco asked, sounding annoyed as Hermione led him to the exit.
"Yes," she said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. "Which you would have known had you not seen it fit to run after me and throw us over the side of the stairs..."
Draco just scoffed in true Malfoy fashion and began to follow Hermione back up.
When they came back into the living quarters of the Headmaster's office, Hermione turned around to see Draco looking the wall up and down, as if confused.
"What?"
"It doesn't make any sense," he said, sounding indeed confused.
"What do you mean," said Hermione, trying to fully appreciate the fact that Draco Malfoy was looking to her for an answer...openly...and not sarcastically.
"Well the kitchens aren't exactly close to this office," he said, shaking his head. "So how was it that simple to get from here to there...and so fast?"
"This may be a fairly new concept to you Malfoy," Hermione said sardonically, "but it's this thing we use around here...maybe you've heard of it...called magic?"
Draco only sneered at her, reminding Hermione of the way he had always acted since the day they met, but shot a look back at him to rival his own, not going to be the one to back down.
It went on like this for the remainder of the day, each one almost playfully trying to beat the other at a game neither would lose, Hermione actually kind of glad for the company while she would otherwise obviously be alone.
But night came and as had happened more than a few times during the weeks, all became dark and quiet and very lonely for Hermione, and even though she was exhausted, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep sleep for the entire night, let alone actually fall asleep in the first place.
Although somehow, and she was never sure how, she managed to close her eyes as she lay there on the bed, not even able the get the energy to put pajamas on, and finally did find some sort of sleep...even though it was one of the very thin layers that never even allowed for dream-making.
The soft touch that was a gentle kiss on her forehead brought Hermione out of her light sleep what had to be only a few minutes after midnight. Slowly, her eyes blinked open, the rest of her unmoving as she followed Severus with her eyes while he barely staggered across the room.
She didn't immediately move when he fell, knowing that her interference would only serve to worsen what she was sure would already be a horrible mood and added pain. Even though she wasn't necessarily panicked, Hermione heaved a look and a sigh of pity when he didn't get up and quietly got out of bed.
She walked past him to the wardrobe and opened a drawer where at least a hundred little potion vials sat neatly arranged, all labeled and color-coded and lifted one out, carefully examining it first before closing the drawer.
Kneeling down beside him, Hermione very carefully and gently turned him over onto his back, placing his head in her lap and uncorked the vial, emptying its contents into his mouth and then setting it aside.
A tear tried to escape from her eye, but she stiffly sniffed it back, shoving it away with her free hand, the other brushing some stray hair away from Severus' face, feeling as though if he wouldn't allow her to completely patch him up she could at least console him in some way, even if he was unconscious.
Hermione had to keep telling herself that she couldn't shed a tear for him about this, at least not while he was there; it was his choice to answer Voldemort's call...he had to. She didn't like it, Severus of course knew this, but the discussion, which had been brought up its fair share of times, had always been immediately closed because it was, as he put it, "just the way things were".
Leaning down and strategically placing light kisses on his forehead for a time put her at more of an ease and soon she was relaxed, at least knowing that he was safe for now.
A strip of sparkling sunlight make its way slowly across the floor, a result of the drapes only being closed part of the way, finally traveling to the opposite wall where Hermione still sat, a bit slumped, but a hand resting on Severus' shoulder whose head lay still in her lap.
Slightly jerking awake, Hermione briefly questioned her being on the floor and then glanced down at the man in her lap, remembering how she had ended up there.
She looked at him with slight contemplation, yet again brushing some stray hair away that obscured his eyes; eyes that were heavy with sleep. She noted how her legs had lost feeling in them, but didn't really care at that moment because as soon as her hand left Severus' face, one eye opened slowly, in a bleary state and immediately found hers.
He only felt partial confusion, remembering that he had only made it as far as to reassure himself that he was back where it was safe, where he wanted, needed to be; back at least close to her. Unfortunate as it were, only getting half way across the room before he had collapsed on the floor from the injuries he'd sustained, he took at least some comfort in the fact that Hermione had come to his aid (as much as he hated to have such help from anyone) and on top of that, had stayed with him there on the floor for the rest of the night.
"Good morning," Hermione barely whispered with a small, yet slightly unsure smile, putting her hand lightly on his cheek, almost reassuringly.
"What in Merlin's name did you pour down my throat," Severus muttered bitterly, swallowing and shaking his head in utter distaste.
Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned her head against the wall, hand moving down to rest by her side. "I'll excuse that tone," she said, "and the fact that you fail to allow anyone to give you any proper help because I know you've had a difficult last few weeks—"
"Months, really..." Severus interrupted groggily, shaking his head to himself, trying to stay calm with his frustration that Hermione had to yet again bring up the fact that he was, actually being a child about getting help for his injuries.
"I gave you a potion that you brewed," she continued, a bit of exasperation apparent in her voice, "don't worry. It's not as if I've poisoned you."
"I wouldn't expect you to have the courage to do something so..." he trailed off as he caught sight of her expression and narrowed his eyes, finally closing them, knowing it was a battle he wouldn't not win, but of course, not willing to ever admit to it.
Hermione had enough good grace to let it go; she knew were she in his position, she would be in the same irritable state, not in any sort of friendly mood.
With what could be called an accepting look, Hermione summoned a pillow from the bed and replaced it under his head where her own lap had been and got up, her back protesting in every way after the long night, muttering something about how impossible the man was.
"And where are you going exactly." Severus asked as Hermione made her way towards the door, his eyes still closed. "Going to just leave me here on the floor?"
Hermione gave a coy smile that she knew he couldn't see, but would at least sense and paused at the door.
"I'm sorry," she half-mocked, "did you have somewhere important to be?"
No answer, only an eyebrow raised.
"That's what I thought," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I'll be right back." She laughed to herself as she went out onto the landing of the staircase and went down into the living room, which was quiet and still, suggesting Draco was still in his hidden room under the floor.
After retrieving some breakfast and a vial of a pain potion, Hermione made her way back upstairs and scoffed, although unable to hold in a grin as Severus still remained on the floor, looking a bit more awake now and in the process of becoming very grumpy indeed.
She again, shook her head and placed the food and potion down on the nightstand and walked over to him where she crouched down and looked sideways at him, trying and failing to withhold a smirk.
"Couldn't manage to get yourself up, could you," she said, readying herself for a sarcastic remark that was sure to come her way.
"I am injured after all," Severus muttered sardonically, scowling as Hermione continued to smile at what a child he was acting like. "You cannot possibly expect me to 'get myself up'," he put a delicate stress on the phrase she'd just used, "can you?"
No, I suppose not, she thought to herself with a slight eye roll.
"Well come on then," she said finally, holding out both hands expectantly to help him to stand.
Even though Severus was reluctant to let other people help him in any situation, this one he deemed different in everyway; to him, it was means of getting closer to Hermione and if that meant receiving help from her when he was perfectly capable of doing it himself, he would swallow his pride and let her do it.
Without too much difficulty, Hermione managed to get him into a stand, (even though she knew he was partially 'faking'), and walk him over to the bed where he lay back with the shadow of a satisfied smirk on his face, eyes closed, settling back into some kind of sleep.
She watched him for a few moments, thinking he might perhaps say something else to her, but he didn't and so turned to go back downstairs and get in some more reading before the afternoon was over.
Severus, however, was not quite asleep yet and took hold of her hand just before she got out of reach. Hermione stopped and looked back at him.
With eyes still closed and seeming to just be barely awake now, he murmured quietly, "stay with me..."
Hermione sighed inaudibly and nodded slightly, taking the few steps back to the side of the bed and very carefully crawled over him, noticing how he still had a hold on her hand. She settled in on her side next to him and watched his face relax slightly at the knowledge that she was there.
After some time passed and his breathing became slower and deeper and when she was sure he had fallen asleep again, she studied his face for a moment before whispering a single word, a promise: "Always." She then closed her eyes and slipped back to sleep herself.
But she had been wrong; Severus had not quite fallen asleep again and resisted the urge to pull her close at the very moment he heard the words leave her lips, because he now knew that what had been concealed in his own heart for so long had just surfaced...
And that had been it.
Hermione slowly made her way out of sleep a couple hours after Severus had requested she stay with him, only to find he was gone. She heaved a sigh of frustration and pushed herself up and off of the bed.
She knew she would never get through his thick layer of denial and pride when he was injured, but the man had just collapsed on the floor several hours ago; this, to her, said that he was in no condition to be up and about.
With every intention of going down and hexing him into submission if she had to, Hermione made her way down the stairs and into the living quarters.
Draco glanced up from what he was reading long enough to see it was Hermione and then looked away again. "He left," he said plainly, going back to the book but looking up when she tried to steadily control her breath, trying not to get upset at the fact that he had absolutely no regard for his own well being. "To go teach..." he added at Hermione's expression.
Hermione sighed in relief, closing her eyes momentarily to recompose herself a bit. That, even though it was not ideal, made her feel slightly better, knowing he was at least in the castle and not off meeting up with Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eaters.
"He can take care of himself, you know," Draco said, in what Hermione thought he assumed was something like a caring voice. She only responded with a half glare; finding herself too exhausted to muster a full one. And besides, Draco wasn't the one she was upset with at the moment.
Draco just sighed quietly, now staring at the page rather than reading it, waiting for the tension to cease in the room.
The two of them had been getting along quite nicely, only with occasional disagreements here and there. But the past, in light of recent events and situations, had almost been put behind them, something neither of them could even fathom the reasoning for.
The rest of the morning came and passed, Draco having retreated to his own room to take a light nap while Hermione took part in this on the sofa.
She had thought it a bit odd that Severus had not returned to even his office during the course of the day so far, but decided not to worry herself on it for the time being. She only started worrying at night, when she knew it was not Hogwarts business that kept him anymore.
Something isn't right, her sub-conscience was murmuring in the back of her mind as she began to drift out of a light sleep. Her head pounded. It was constant...BAM BAM BAM. No, she thought, as a voice rang out from the next room that was the main office. No, someone is out there...
"DRACO," she finally heard clearly, being completely aroused from sleep now, bolting straight upright, recognizing the voice. It yelled the name again, right at the door now. Hermione panicked a little, knowing this meant serious trouble.
Scrambling up from the sofa and around the back of it, she made it just in time for Draco to peer out of the trap door, only for her to force it closed with her wand as Lucius Malfoy burst through the door.
Hermione stopped dead, holding her wand firmly down towards the invisible door, her heart racing at an unbelievable rate, knowing she was in big trouble now.
"Well, well, well," sneered Lucius upon seeing her. "I knew Severus was hiding something here...not even—sharing—with the rest of—us." He seemed to barely be able to speak; even from where she stood Hermione could smell the stench of too many Fire Whiskies on his breath, making her want to vomit, not just from the smell but from the fact that he was drunk and potentially more dangerous now than ever because of it.
Lucius staggered over closer to where she was standing, her mind racing with thoughts of where to go, what to do. She seemed trapped, and found she indeed was.
Right as Lucius looked to be taking a steadying pause in his "walking," Hermione tried to make a run for it, dodging to the left, hoping he wouldn't react fast enough.
But he did.
Lucius lunged to his right at the same moment, reaching out and grasping a firm hold on Hermione's forearm, but losing his balance and falling forward slightly, shoving her backwards and into the wall. He, however, found this to be a good position to be in and snarled with an evil grin, as though enjoying watching his prey struggle against him.
He seemed to find this tiresome after a while though, fighting with her and so he put an end to it. "ENOUGH," he bellowed, taking her by both shoulders and crashing her against the wall again, leaning into her, the rancid stench of the whiskey pouring into Hermione's face.
She would have continued to struggle had her head not collided with the wall hard and making her feel dizzy and somewhat disoriented for a few moments. Her mind was clear enough to know she was going to have a tough time getting out of this one, but she knew she couldn't let Draco come out; his father was most likely not here to take him on a father-son camping trip.
"Where is he," Lucius snarled, right in her face, lingering there, waiting for her to answer.
Hermione glared the best she could. "What do you want with him so badly," she hissed, trying to cover up her immense fear with hatred, knowing normally he would never answer her, but while he was 'impaired', she knew he wouldn't be able to comprehend he was saying anything about it.
Lucius chuckled in a low, sinister yet drunken tone, still very close to her face. "The Dark Lord wishes him captured...the one who brings him will be without a doubt honored..." He paused, as if reminiscing reluctantly. "I have failed him already so many times," he continued regretfully. "But now...NOW I shall be back at his side, rewarded for bringing him my coward of a son."
Hermione only shook her head, still glaring. "You're horrible," she accused deadly. "Your own son?"
"That disgrace is not any son of mine, not anymore," he spat, causing Hermione to flinch. A few moments silence followed before he yelled, "WHERE IS HE??"
Hermione jumped again, not having been expecting it, as she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts of how to get away, but Lucius had such a deadly grip on her arm, she had low hopes for escape.
But when she looked back at Lucius, his expression had changed, and she didn't like it one bit more than the first one.
"But you," Lucius said in a low voice, now getting closer than before, making Hermione wish that this wall was fake as well so she could just disappear through it. She could see where this was going. "You..." he reached up with his hand, very lightly brushing her cheek with it. Hermione flinched at the touch of his long, cold fingers on her face. "I think," continued Lucius, "I shall find more than one good use for you, my dear. You are coming with me. Perhaps that will prompt Severus to bring my son to me. If he doesn't, then I suppose there is still," he paused, seeming to be thinking of the right wording to use, "advantages for me," he finished with such a grin it made Hermione feel sick to her stomach.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she all but snarled, trying once more to struggle away, but no such luck.
Another amused chuckle as he reached up with his wand and a malicious grin, silently putting her out of it before she even had time to do anything about it.
Hermione tried to fight it as she felt her body going weak and numb, losing sight of the living room, every sense in her body leaving her as the spell took over.
Lucius picked up her now limp body and started to leave, but turned to face the room as he passed the sofa. "I know you're here, Draco," he said into the air. "You know where to find me. If she's trying to save you, you'll come for her. I'll be waiting."
He waited for a moment looking around suspiciously, before turning to leave only pausing when he saw a cloak draped over the nearby chair.
"An invisibility cloak," he murmured to himself. "This will be good to have, wont it," he asked to the empty room, picking it up and throwing it over Hermione, erasing her from sight. With that, he flashed his evil, satisfied grin once more before laughing manically and leaving, slamming the door behind him.