Sorry for the long wait, but my posts may be a bit erratic from now on during the lead up to my exams, what with revision and all that. Nevertheless, here is chapter nine. Remember to review if you're feeling like making me happy, and as always... happy reading :)

9. Behind The Curtain

Hermione had been waiting all afternoon for the hospital wing to empty. When she had finally made it to the doorway, she had known immediately that it would be unwise to enter. The room- a long, rectangular space complete with beds lining each wall- had been packed full of people: school nurses, teachers, Draco's Slytherin friends and the like. It was obvious the injuries he'd obtained were quite serious, which worried Hermione greatly. Madam Pomfrey, the head nurse, had been scuttling around the place manically shouting orders and pushing people out of the way. There had been a curtain draw around one of the far beds, and most of the people were crowding around that area. Hermione guessed that was where Draco was. She couldn't have gone in, because what would everyone have thought? No one knew that they had been meeting up, and no one knew why. To them, Hermione and Draco hated each other. A Gryffindor would never come to check on a Slytherin in the hospital wing. It was unheard of.

So whilst standing in the doorway, it was then that Hermione made the sensible decision to wait until nobody was around before going to see Draco. Luckily, she had slipped away before anyone had seen her hovering there like a fool. In order to wait, but stay hidden, she had hauled up in an empty classroom nearby, across a small grass courtyard. The windows of the classroom overlooked the windows of the hospital wing, so Hermione could view who was in the room at all times. She could also see the curtains that signalled to her where Draco's bed was. She signed, knowing that he was lying behind the veil of material, and that he had no idea she was watching from barely a way away.

Her best chance was to sneak in when it was dark. That meant around evening or night time. This was the time when the nurses left to go to their own quarters, leaving the patients to sleep. As chance had it, Draco was the only patient, which made Hermione very relieved. If she was careful, there was little chance she would be spotted. Sometimes the nurses would come back to check up on patients who needed to be treated overnight. Hermione prayed that Draco would not need this kind of attention, and if he did, she hoped she could avoid being seen.

To pass the time, she'd located a couple of books she'd never read before in the classrooms store cupboard- the place the professors kept all the spare equipment they needed to teach. They weren't books you would find in the library, or else there was a high chance Hermione had already read them. They were the sort of books you had to buy in Diagon Alley before term began- books that everyone needed a copy of. The reason she hadn't read them was because she'd happened to complete an advanced placement of the course requiring the information a couple of years back. These books were the core copies, and although she knew most of what was written, they were the only things that would keep her occupied and stop her from going mad with boredom. She knew if she just sat and did nothing, she would eventually just get up and storm into the hospital wing, no matter who was in there. She could barely wait any longer, and she still had no idea if Draco was ok. She didn't like to think of what could be lying ahead for him if he wasn't…

She could- and probably should have- gone back to lessons. She assumed they would be resuming after the Quidditch match anyway, with or without the cancellation happening. The only reason she didn't was because all her afternoon lessons were lessons with Ron, and she didn't think she could bear to be near him for the time being. She would just have to come up with a legitimate excuse later. She knew what she was doing was risky. If she was planning to see Draco, she would have to sneak back to the Gryffindor common room quite late, and she was pretty certain there would be questions asked, but that was something she could worry about later. For now, there was something more important on her mind.

She had no idea what the time was when the last nurse left the hospital wing. It was quite dark outside, but not so dark that it was obviously late. When Hermione looked out one of the many windows in the classroom, all she could see were grey clouds filling the sky, so she couldn't tell if the moon was out yet. She waited a few minutes after the nurse had left before heading round, wanting to make sure the nurse wasn't just going to retrieve something before returning. When she didn't come back after a while, Hermione assumed it was safe. Feelings nervous, she slipped out into the corridor and tip-toed a little way along it.

She looked up at the big double-doors that marked the entrance to the hospital wing, looking left and right to check the coast was clear. Then, with a deep breath, she turned the handle, swung the door open a few inches and stepped inside. The curtains that had been around Draco's bed were pulled back, and Hermione could see that he was sat up, propped against a couple of pillows. As soon as she closed the door, his head shot up, and he turned to look at her. Gulping, Hermione quickly made her way over to him, his eyes following her as she approached him. His bed was right at the end of the ward, but it didn't take her long to get there.

When she did, she quickly drew the curtains closed again, before coming to stand at the foot of his bed, unsure of what to do next. From a distance, she hadn't been able to see him clearly, but now- close up- she could see that he looked awful. He had a black eye, a split lip and his arm was in a sling. His skin was even paler than usual, almost translucent in the dim light. She couldn't see below his waist, which was covered by a thrall of blankets, but she could make out the outline of something bulky covering his legs, like a cast.

He was watching her as she stood there taking it all in, her eyes travelling over every inch of him, filled with a deep sorrow. She finally opened her mouth to speak, her lower lip trembling. 'Oh, Draco…' she breathed in horror. This was what Ron had done to him. She couldn't imagine anything worse.

Their eyes met, and Hermione couldn't help but frown. Draco's eyes were bright with wonder, shining through the darkness of the room. She was about to ask him why in the world he looked so happy, when he spoke. 'You said my name,' he whispered, so quietly Hermione almost missed the words.

'What?'

'You've said it twice now. I heard you- on the Quidditch pitch. When I fell, the last thing I heard was your voice, screaming my name. And you said it just now.'

'Draco…' Hermione started.

'There you go again,' he cut in, his voice hoarse.

'Draco,' Hermione repeated, testing the word on her tongue. A word she had never before spoken aloud until today. She laughed quietly at the obscurity of it, and Draco laughed along with her, although his laugh was more of a painful squeak. He broke off into a fit of wheezing coughs, doubling over. Without thinking, Hermione rushed to his side and placed her hands on his shoulders in a gesture of comfort. Once he had finished coughing, her eyes searched his face with worry. 'Are you ok?' she asked in concern.

'I'm fine,' Draco insisted, his eyes finding hers again. He paused. Then he said it. 'Hermione.' She smiled at him. 'Hermione Granger,' he said again. 'It feels strange to say that.'

'Strange like the first time you said 'Voldemort'?' Hermione teased.

'No,' Draco croaked in defence. 'A good kind of strange.' He grinned up at her. 'I like it.'

'Me, too,' Hermione said, and she meant it.

Draco patted the bed by his side. 'Sit with me,' he pleaded, chewing his lip timidly.

Hermione nodded at once. 'Of course,' she replied, perching on the edge of the mattress, facing him.

'I had a feeling you would come to see me,' Draco said with a warm smile. 'Don't ask me why, I just did.'

Hermione returned his smile, but hers was a smile filled with sadness, not a joyous one like Draco's. She still wasn't sure as to why he seemed so cheerful, especially given his current condition. If she were Draco, she would have been livid at Ron, or at least she would have been upset. 'Draco,' she said (a little hesitantly- she wasn't quite used to addressing him on a first name basis), 'I'm sorry for what Ron did to you. I'm not even sure if it was an accident or if it was on purpose, but I can assure you that I am very, very mad at him. When I saw you falling…' she paused, unsure of how to voice what she was feeling. 'It was the most frightened I've ever been.'

'There's no need to be concerned,' Draco assured her, running his hand up and down her arm with a touch as light as a feather. The contact caused Hermione to shiver all over. She felt that she should be the one comforting Draco, not the other way around. 'I'm alright now.'

'No, you're not,' she said. 'You're badly injured, you-'

'I'm ok,' Draco pressed, the hand that had been stroking her arm moving to hold her hand. She didn't pull away when his fingers entwined with hers. 'If anything, I've been blessed.'

'What do you mean?' Hermione asked, a little frustrated by his nonchalance.

'I mean that, although it hurts, it's a good thing that I'm injured. Once my father hears about this, he'll have to postpone my mission. It… it was supposed to be soon, but it will take me a good while to recover, and they haven't sorted out the Vanishing Cabinets yet. They need to make sure they allow for a large number of people to be transported through them, and they're not quite there yet. And now, they'll have to wait, because I can't help them,' he said with a triumphant smile. Hermione guessed when he said 'them'; he was referring to the Death Eaters. 'I'm glad I fell.'

Hermione drew a short breath. 'Draco, don't say that! You could have come off even worse, you could of, you… you could of…' she stumbled for the right words, unsure of what she was trying to say. 'Aren't you mad at Ron?' she asked, changing the subject.

'No,' Draco said. 'Because, really, he did me a favour. And plus,' he smirked. 'I know you'll get him for me.'

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. 'Already have,' she giggled. She decided not to go into detail about the fight. She decided it was for the best that Draco didn't know how close Ron had come to figuring out the truth. He had enough to worry about for now. 'So,' she said, looking down at her hand, which was still clasped with Draco's. 'Your father won't be angry with you?'

'He shouldn't be,' Draco said slowly, with a hint of apprehension. This wasn't surprising as Lucius Malfoy was- as everyone, not just Draco, knew- a bit unpredictable, and very hot-headed. 'It was an accident, and it was Weasley's fault, so my father is more likely to take it out on him and his family. He hates them enough anyway, and he always likes a good reason to have a go at people he doesn't like. He may be a little mad at me, but not much. It's more likely he'll be disappointed,' Draco explained with a shrug that caused him to wince as he moved his shoulder.

'Well, that's horrible,' Hermione said. 'That isn't how a father should treat his son.'

'True,' Draco agreed with a short laugh. 'But Hermione, can we stop talking about my father, please?'

'Of course. What do you want to talk about?'

'You… and me. Us.'

Hermione's heart began to race as soon as Draco said this. 'What about us?' she asked, her voice sounding unusually high to her own ears. She was also strangely warm.

'I didn't thank you,' Draco whispered. 'For coming to see me. It's quite a dangerous thing to do, and you didn't have to come…'

'I wouldn't have not,' Hermione swore, placing her other hand on top of the one holding Draco's. 'You said yourself, you knew I would come.' Her voice sounded breathy, like she was struggling to get the words out.

She watched Draco's lips move as he spoke. They were cracked and dry and ghostly pale, yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from them. Her heart began to beat even faster, so fast she expected it to beat right out of her chest. 'I know,' Draco said, his voice a breath of air against her own lips. His face was so close, closer than she had realised. 'I'm glad you came. All afternoon, all I could think about was you,' he admitted.

Hermione drew in a shaky breath. She gazed wondrously at him, lost in the stormy grey of his eyes. She had no idea what was happening, but she was enjoying the feeling that was washing over her, and she let it consume her. All she could think about was how beautiful Draco was, bathed in the ribbons of moonlight that cascaded from the windows above. Even when he was battered and beaten, he seemed beautiful. How could she ever have thought he was not?

Draco's eyes were roaming all over her face, soaking in every inch of her, a look matching Hermione's that could only be described as lust. 'Say something,' he breathed when Hermione remained silent. He wished that his free arm wasn't in a sling, for then he could have reached out and touched her, and maybe tucked away the soft brown curl that had fallen loose across her face.

'All I could think about was you too,' Hermione whispered back. Her mind was willing her to move, and she complied, her face inching even closer to Draco's, her body gently pressing up against his. They were now so close that their noses bumped lightly against one and others, their breathing loud and harsh. Hermione moved one of her hands off Draco's and placed it just above his hip bone, drawing them closer still. Their eyes found each other again, their pupils wide and dark and ravenous. They knew what they wanted. Slowly, in perfect synchronisation, their eyes flickered shut. Hermione tilted her head to one side, inching forwards, searching.

A loud crash caused them to pull apart. In the silence of the room, the sound of an object falling was almost deafening. In panic, Hermione tore herself away from Draco, leaping from the bed and turning to peek fearfully around the surrounding curtain. In the far back corner, next to one of the many medicine cabinets, a shattered glass bottle lay strewn across the floor, its contents forming a large puddle about the shards. There was no indication to what had caused the bottle to fall. There appeared to be no one there, but that didn't make Hermione feel any better. She was suddenly very frightened.

She turned back to where Draco lay, her hand still clinging to the curtain edge. 'What is it?' he asked, sitting further up in his bed.

'One of the medicine bottles must have overbalanced. It fell and smashed, that's all,' Hermione said curtly. She paused. 'I think should go,' she added.

She thought she could see a flash of disappointment across Draco's face, just for a second, but she couldn't be sure. He nodded at her gravely. 'Yes, you should go. I don't want you to get into any trouble.'

There was a brief silence as the two looked at one and other one last time. Hermione was confused, as was Draco. Neither of them could get a grasp of the situation they were in. For Hermione, it felt as if all her emotions were churning up inside of her and mashing together. She was so conflicted she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go or not. But she had to. 'Right,' she said eventually. 'Ok then.' Without another word she turned to leave, lifting the curtain back.

'Hermione,' Draco said suddenly. He sounded unsure of himself, like he wanted to say more, but he didn't.

Hermione looked back over her shoulder at him. 'I'll see you soon,' she said before he could continue, ducking through the curtain and away. When she reached the door, she looked back again. She'd left the curtains closed, but she couldn't help but look back anyway. Shaking her head as if to shake herself from a trace, she forced herself to continue on out into the corridor.

As she made her way back to the Gryffindor common room, she realised something very, very daunting. She, Hermione Granger, had fallen for Draco Malfoy. She was in love with a Slytherin.