Chapter 4

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~DM~

Hermione held out her hand. Draco looked at it from the floor, suspicious that it might be poisoned. Slowly, he stood up, and walked towards her. He was about to shake her hand, but when their hands made contact, they both felt something. Something… like electricity. No, but that wasn't it. It was something… different. Both jumped away from each other. Hermione chewed on her lip, and Draco inspected his hand.

"That was weird," Draco thought. "Our robes are charmed so they don't create static and shock us. Now my hand feels tingly. I wonder how long that's going to last. Stupid bloody- oh, my skin is so smooth today! Well, it's like this every day, but still! And to think, I don't moisturize. Just good breeding I presume" he thought looking at his hand with a proud look.

"Why did that happen? It couldn't have been our robes … I did read something about when two people… no that can't be it" Hermione thought, shaking her head at the silly thought.

Things were painfully awkward after that. Both sat there silently. The only sound was the sound of their breathing. Both eventually fell asleep.

Light peaked through under the door and shined onto Hermione's face. She rolled over to be on her stomach, but something hard blocked her path. Scrunching up her face, she rolled back, and rolled into the figure again. She continued to do this until the figure got up and left her to her slumber. "Probably Harry or Ron. We probably studied too hard last night or had another house drinking game…" she thought sleepily. "I'll apologize to them in the morning for making them move. Right now, I just want to sleeeeepppppp" she thought, drifting back to sleep.

An hour later, Draco was wide awake. He tried falling back asleep after stubborn Granger continuously rammed his back with her body, but failed miserably. He waited a long time, about an hour. He was bored (again), and needed Granger to stop looking so peaceful.

"Wake up." He said, poking her with his foot.

"Nooooooo Haaaarrrryyyyy I don't waaaaaannnnnaaaaaa" she whined, rolling over to escape the foot.

"I knew you and scarhead were sleeping together. You two can't be separated. It nasty to watch really."

Hermione's eyes darted open. She the voice's owner. That snake! She scrambled onto her feet, and looked him cold in the eye.

"Number 1: Harry and I aren't sleeping together. We're just really good friends. Any brainless scumbag can see that. Number 2: I thought it was Harry because Ron, Harry and I sometimes study and play drinking games in the common room, so I thought we all were sleeping there. Number 3: I knew it wasn't Ron because Ron wouldn't wake me up this early. He would be sleeping. Duh. And Number 4: Friends are supposed to stay by your side and support you. That's what friends do. But of course, you wouldn't know because you have no friends!" She stated while Draco watched her dully. At the last part, his expression began to harbor one of anger.

"Number 1: I do have friends. Real friends. Blaise and Pansy." He saw Hermione's mouth open to budge in, so he quickly added, "Yes, I know I'm not including Crabbe and Goyle because they were my body guards, therefore, not my friends. Number 2: I believed that Weasel didn't sleep, because every day, he's dozing off in the middle of chewing his oatmeal, then it all falls out. He's probably not sleeping enough because he's shagging Lavender. Number 3: Before you question my motives, I only watch Weasel eat because Blaise and I, my friend, take photos of him to show the Minister how dreadfully disgusting and revolting the Weasley's are. Number 5: YOU PLAY DRINKING GAMES?" Hermione looked at him with an unamused look.

"Of course we play drinking games. Every house does, even Ravenclaw" she said like this was a known fact.

"I just didn't expect little miss perfect to be a drinker. Probably can't even drink two sips before passing out" he said smugly.

"For your information, ferret, I am a great drinker." She said ferret with venom in her tone.

"I bet I'm better than you. We Slytherins can drink gallons before going out cold. We stop sometimes because it gets boring. The endings always predictable, I win." His stature became straighter and sat there all smug, smirking.

"Well, we Griffindors win when we go against Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

"Oh, that's no accomplishment. Anyone can beat those pixies. We kidnapped a Hufflepuff and betted with each other on how much he could drink before going out cold. Guy couldn't even finish his shot glass. Pathetic." Hermione watched him in horror. All she could squeak out was, "Who was it?"

Draco's face fell a little bit, maybe in shame. "Diggory."

Hermione felt the tears build in her eyes. Thinking about the idea of him being forced to drink alcohol made the tears fall freely. She tried not to sniff or wipe her face. Then it would be known she was crying, and Draco wouldn't just let it go. So there she was, silently crying, hugging her knees. "Oh Cedric. Why did it have to be you! Did they hurt you? Oh, if they hurt you, I wouldn't be able to bear it. You weren't supposed to die! You should have survived! Why did you have to die? Oh, Cedric!" Hermione began to cry harder, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she began to hiccup.

Draco knew mentioning Diggory's name would hit a soft spot in Hermione. At his funeral, everyone was mourning, even him. He shouldn't have felt anything. He was taught not to love. Love makes the heart soft, making it easier to tear. But he couldn't help it. He couldn't be his smug self that day.

And now. Draco felt that same feeling now, like something was tugging at his heart. Hearing Granger cry was horrible. Her hiccups were delicate and soft. He scooted over to her, and patted her back awkwardly. Hermione threw herself into his arms, and sobbed powerfully. Draco was startled at first, but then he relaxed.

"Do I stroke her hair? I feel like I should do that, but I don't know if that's too affectionate. Yeah, too touchy for me. But do I just sit here? I should comfort her somehow. No, father would skin me." Draco looked at her, and thought, "Maybe sometimes people just need a shoulder to cry on."

Author's note: Just to clarify, nothing romantic is going on with Cedric and Draco. How does Hermione feel about Cedric? Were they good friends, or something more? What is to happen next? Leave a comment below, and let me know what you think! Shmanks, you da best!