As Draco and Hermione approached the castle, Hermione swallowed nervously. Draco put his hand lightly on her back.
"Relax: McGonagall's not going to be too upset," Draco murmured as they walked through the door. Suddenly a small pair of hands yanked them both by the arms and pulled them around a corner. Hermione and Draco faced Ginny, who was smirking at them conspiringly.
"What did you do, Weasley?" Draco asked grinning. Ginny giggled.
"Just wanted to catch Hermione before she threw herself at McGonagall's mercy. I heard what happened, and I…er…intercepted Bulstrode and Parkinson before they could rat on you." Hermione gasped and Draco snorted with laughter.
"You didn't!" Hermione yelped. Ginny smiled wickedly.
"I did: I modified their memories: and now they're both in detention for fighting: with each other!" Draco and Ginny broke up in peals of laughter as Hermione looked at Ginny, horrified.
"Ginny, how could you? Pansy thinks Bulstrode broke her nose?" she squeaked. Ginny and Draco tried to stop laughing as two Ravenclaws passed them, looking at the group suspiciously.
"Bulstrode thinks Bulstrode broke her nose," Ginny said, she and Draco now laughing uncontrollably, tears in their eyes. "The best part? They think they were fighting over Goyle." Hermione couldn't help smiling as Ginny and Draco continued to snort with laughter.
"And before you ask, I've already made Zabini and Goyle promise to keep their mouths shut. They both thought it was hysterical. And I think Goyle was more than a bit aroused to imagine them sparring for his affection. Damn, but I wish I'd seen you knock that twit down!" Ginny added admiringly as the three walked together to the Great Hall for dinner, Draco still trying to control his laughter. Ginny turned to him. "How does it feel, Draco, to have a beautiful woman fighting for your honor?" Hermione glared at her and blushed as Malfoy stopped walking and looked at Hermione, reaching for her hand.
"It feels very comforting," he said softly, to both Ginny's and Hermione's surprise, "to have such good friends." Ginny grinned as Draco stepped over to Hermione and pulled her into a hug. "I never properly thanked you, Granger, did I?" he murmured into her ear, feeling her tremble in his arms. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Oh, he smells so good, she thought vaguely, unaware of the grinning looks they were getting from the students passing them in the corridor. Malfoy held her even tighter, leaning to lightly graze her neck with his lips, smiling to feel her shiver. When they started to hear wolf whistles from a group of rowdy Gryffidors, Malfoy pulled away and grinned down at her, delighted to see her eyes still closed. She opened them slowly to look up at him, speechless.
"Well...I…you're welcome, Malfoy," she mumbled, looking away, embarrassed to have enjoyed the hug so tremendously. "Don't mention it." Suddenly Goyle and Zabini appeared. Ginny squealed as Goyle grabbed her, picking her up and spinning her around.
"Weasley, you and Granger are sitting at our table tonight: you're the hero of the day, Weasley," he said in an undertone. "If I'd known you could make girls think they love me, I'd have befriended you long ago." They all laughed.
"Put me down, Goyle, you git!" Ginny said, giggling. He did, laughing.
The group walked into the Great Hall together and made their way over to the Slytherin table. Draco glanced over to the Gryffindors and saw Weasley looking daggers at him. Harry was frowning at Ron and telling him something heatedly, causing Ron to turn red and concentrate fiercely on his plate again, shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth defiantly.
"He's pretty jealous," Ginny whispered in Draco's ear, seeing where his gaze had traveled. Draco raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged helplessly. Ginny shook her head wearily.
"He tried to get back together with her, but of course Hermione would never forgive him after cheating on her with Lavender," she continued to Draco in an undertone. Ginny winked at him and passed him a plate of rolls. "Especially since she has her eye on someone else," she added slyly, causing Draco to turn red. This blushing bit has got to stop, he told himself angrily as he felt his face heat up for what felt like the hundredth time today.
As Malfoy took a bite of a roll he looked up and caught Hermione's eye. She was gazing at him shyly, biting her lip and smiling. When he caught her looking at him, she quickly blushed herself and looked away. Draco laughed. We're a couple of idiots, he thought happily as he continued to eat.
After all the desserts and puddings had disappeared and people started to leave the Great Hall, Hermione and Draco found themselves staring at each other across the Slytherin table, more than a little uncertainty on each of their faces.
"What are you thinking, Granger?" Draco asked softly. She looked down for a moment, before meeting his eyes and smiling.
"Oh, you know." She giggled. "Just thinking about Parkinson and Bulstrode in detention for fighting over Gregory Goyle. It seems so unfair, somehow. To Goyle, I mean, that those are the only two fighting over him." Draco burst out laughing.
"You're right, that is unfair," he said, standing up. "Shall we do our Saturday night rounds, then?" he asked, and she smiled and nodded, following him out of the Great Hall.
As they started their rounds, first covering the Hufflepuff wing, then making their way up to Ravenclaw tower, Draco couldn't help thinking of the night before, when he had come into her room to wake her from that nightmare, and he tried desperately to think of a tactful way of asking her if he could spend the night in her room. Malfoy, you git, there is no tactful way to ask that, he thought dispairingly, as they walked through the darkened corridors together, the hallway illuminated by their wands.
"And what are you thinking about?" Hermione asked him curiously.
He turned to her and said cautiously, "Well, I was just thinking about your nightmares, actually, and how much they seem to upset you. What do you dream about, if you don't mind my asking?" Hermione looked stricken all of a sudden, and Malfoy stopped walking and reached to touch her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Granger, you don't have to tell me: I shouldn't have asked," he said, seeing how her face had fallen. She shook her head.
"No…no, Draco, it's ok. You can probably guess, if you tried," she muttered. "The particular night I usually dream about…you…you were there," she said, so softly that he almost missed it. "Malfoy Manor," she whispered sadly.
Suddenly it dawned on Malfoy what she was talking about, and he remembered the night before, and the words she had cried out in her sleep: "No…I'm telling the truth, please stop!" Bellatrix, he thought miserably, she was dreaming of being tortured by Bellatrix… And he had been there, feeling sick with fear, Voldemort's inevitable approach too terrible to comprehend, paralyzing him with dread, watching Granger get tortured. He had instantly known that it was Potter, covered with a stinging curse to disguise him, and Weasley and Granger, and he had desperately not wanted to be the one to confirm it to his parents. He had hedged, but it hadn't done any good: they had found out, Bellatrix had seen the sword, and the rest…the rest was horrible, a history only worthy of nightmares.
As all this occurred to Malfoy, he realized with a start that he and Hermione had been having very similar nightmares. He stared at her, and the haunted look on her face. He stepped towards her and took her in his arms. "I'm so sorry," he said, feeling tears sting at his own eyes. "I was such a coward," he said, his words sticking in his throat. Hermione hugged him back fiercely.
"Draco, Draco," she murmured, her hand sliding into the soft hair at the nape of his neck. She leaned against him, her face resting on his shirt, and smiled. Even as she relived the horrible events of the war, she couldn't help but feel a thrill at touching his hair for the first time. It's so soft, she thought blissfully as they clung to each other.
Through her happiness at being this close to him at last, she sighed at his sad words of regret and wanted nothing more than to bring him the peace that she knew he needed, and deserved.
"Draco, you are no coward: you were the victim, all along, you were his pawn. You know this, Draco. You're very brave: I wish you could see that." She pulled back to look at him, and their eyes searched each others'. He smiled down at her, and leaned to kiss her forehead gently, letting his lips linger for far too long to be merely friendly.
"Thank you, Hermione," he whispered after a moment, staring at her lips, wanting so badly to feel them on his. But he just smiled at her, loving the feel of their arms around each other. He reached around to place his hand on top of hers where it was still entwined in his hair. She blushed and snatched her hand away, as if she had just realized she was touching him in such an intimate way. He laughed and pulled her hand back to where it had been.
"I like it when you touch me there," he murmured, pulling her closer to him. She is so sweet, he thought, feeling slightly dizzy. Every time we touch it's as if there's a small explosion. I wonder if she feels it too…As she smiled up at him, her dark eyes shining, he somehow felt confident that she did. I hope the poor girl realizes I can't possibly say goodnight to her, he thought, reaching for her hand as they finished their rounds. My bed, hers, the common room couch, whatever have you, but I can't possibly let go of her tonight. He squeezed her hand, and felt her squeeze his back affectionately.
And as the two continued their Head rounds for the evening, although they were walking side by side, in both of their minds they were still locked in a sweet embrace, falling more deeply in love with every moment, and with every touch.