Chapter 5 - Faint

The start of the week proved to be nothing special. Draco went through his classes without having any alone time with Hermione, and he also didn't have time to research the moth any further. He had told Blaise that it seemed to burn Hermione when she touched it, and he showed the same confusion that Draco had experienced when it happened.

It was Tuesday evening and the two of them were in the Slytherin common room finishing up their batch of homework as Pansy glared at Draco from across the room.

"Has she only recently started fancying me, or was I just that oblivious?" Draco asked Blaise as quietly as he could.

"I dunno, mate. I mean, she's always been glued to your side, but I didn't think she'd ever feel hurt by a simple 'no'," Blaise said as he rolled up his finished Charms essay.

"Well she needs to get over it because it wasn't going to happen anyways," Draco said.

The packed up their belongings and headed up to the dormitory for bed where Draco found himself staring at the moth. This was now part of his nighttime routine: Homework, shower, stare at the moth, and fall asleep. Draco kept it in his dorm lately, though; for it had burned through yet another one of his trouser pockets on Sunday night, causing him to nearly lose it again. During most days it was stored safely in the drawer of Draco's bedside table, and was only disturbed at night.

Classes were the same, boring thing on Wednesday and it wasn't until after lunch time that Draco's day had lightened sufficiently. Hermione had waved him into the broom cupboard off of the Entrance Hall, and shut the door, kissing him as soon as she turned to face him.

"You're getting better at hiding this," he said once his lips were no longer preoccupied.

"Thanks, but I didn't just bring you in here for a kiss. My parents sent me the insect book I asked for; I got it during breakfast this morning. Now, I don't think I can touch that thing with my bare hands, so could you possibly put it in a container and I can research it?"

"Why can't you just give me the book?" Draco asked.

"Well, I'll have more free time of course. Don't you have Quidditch tryouts tomorrow?"

"Blimey! I forgot!" Draco smacked his hand to his forehead. "Okay, I'll put it in something for you, and you can meet me in that tapestry passage way around ten tonight and I'll give it to you then, yeah?"

"That sounds good to me. When is your next class?"

"I don't have Astronomy until eleven tonight."

"Good," Hermione said before snogging him.

They were entwined within the broom cupboard for at least twenty minutes, and it was almost just as heated as their fun in the secret passage behind the tapestry. Once they had caught track of time again, Hermione peeked her flushed face out of the door to see if anyone was there so she could escape to her Ancient Runes lesson, but as soon as she'd poked her head out the door, she jumped back in and slammed it shut once more.

"What?" Draco whispered.

"Ron and Harry…I think they just saw me," she was clutched her chest trying to keep her heart from beating too loudly.

"What should we do?" Draco started to panic. What would happen if their secret relationship was known?

They waited in silence, ears pressed against the wood of the door listening for voices or footsteps. After five minutes of hearing nothing but their own nervous breathing, Hermione opened the door again to see the Entrance Hall deserted.

"I'll meet you tonight," she said before hurrying off to her class.

Draco stepped out as well and leaned against the wall just to the right of the closet, trying to calm his nerves. He made his way back to the dorm to drop off his bag, and automatically snatched the moth from the drawer he kept it in. He met Blaise near the lake shore shortly after and sat in the grass. Blaise was doing additional homework and it seemed Draco was merely there for quiet company. It was a sunny day, and Draco peered over the lake to the distant shore, contemplating. Hermione wasn't so bad now that he had actually spent some time with her.

On the other hand, she wasn't herself, and wouldn't have given Draco the time of day if it weren't for that potion. Even though their relationship was forced, he was actually having fun with it. The late nights in the library and secret kisses in passages and closets were enjoyable to say the least. The forbidden nature of it made it even more exciting, and whenever Draco had passed Ron and Harry in the corridors, he couldn't stop the smug smirk from spreading across his face. Knowing something they didn't about someone they thought they knew so well was extremely satisfying.

Blaise shut his book with a loud thump and shoved his school supplies back into his bag before mirroring Draco. They simply looked at the lake for a minute or two, relaxing, when Blaise caught Draco off guard.

"You have the moth with you."

"Was that a question?" Draco looked at him.

"No. I can tell when you're carrying it; your demeanor seems harsh."

"What do you mean my demeanor?" Draco sneered.

"See? You get defensive, and you seem a lot more arrogant as well."

"Whatever, Blaise," Draco brushed off Blaise's accusations.

"I don't think that thing is good for you, mate," Blaise's voice held a tone of genuine concern.

"You don't know any more about it than I do, so just drop it!" Draco retorted with authority.

There was a moment's silence when they looked at each other uncomfortably. Draco could feel himself scowling, his jaw was clenched, and his nose stuck in the air a little higher than usual. Blaise seemed to be trying to say something, working out how to say it correctly.

"I can hear it in the middle of the night sometimes. It whistles quietly, and I think it could potentially be dangerous," Blaise's brow was furrowed, trying to make sense of what he was saying, "I think it's a really dark artifact, and if it was found in your house, it could possibly be too old to even figure out what it is. We need to find an answer soon because it's making me very uneasy."

"Hermione just got a book from her parents this morning. It's an insect book, and I'm hoping she can find something at least a little helpful in there," Draco said in complete understanding with Blaise; Draco often heard the moth whistling within his bedside table in the middle of the night as well. As much as the moth unsettled his nerves, he didn't feel like he could part with it. Draco felt almost proud of having such a unique object in his possession.

Draco spent most of the afternoon finishing essays and reading his class books, and was almost late to meet Hermione. He had to hurry up to his dorm to find a small container, and rummaged through his potions supplies. Finally he found a small glass jar with a lid that only had a few porcupine quills left inside. He dumped them out and replaced them with the moth, which he then shoved into the pocket of his robes before setting off to the hidden passage.

He found Hermione already there waiting for him. Slightly out of breath, he took the jar out of his pocket and handed it to her. She took it and faced him, a slight look of foreboding in her expression.

"Ron and Harry did see me earlier today. They wanted to know who I was with."

"You didn't tell them, did you?" Draco's mouth went dry.

"I didn't say anything actually. I was on my way out of the common room when they asked and I just gave them a look and left for class."

"You know they'll ask again," Draco said, struggling to come up with an excuse for her, "Can't you just say you're with someone else or that you were alone?"

"Why would I have to hide if it was something I could openly tell them?"

"True," Draco sighed, "What will you tell them?"

"I don't know."

"Try to come up with something that they'll believe, okay?"

"I'll try, but I don't really see how we're going to keep this secret much longer. I mean, you already told Blaise."

"The only reason I told him was because he already suspected it after you followed me into the dungeons, remember? I pulled him away because he was going to hex you, and if I hadn't insulted you, it would've given everything away right then and there. Granted, I had to tell him anyway, but you get my point. I tried to keep it hidden, but Blaise is smart; he knows me too well."

"He's a good friend, not chastising you for it. I have no idea how Ron and Harry would react. 'By the way, I'm going out with our supposed enemy.' I think they'd assume you've poisoned me or something." Hermione said with a small laugh.

Draco felt his stomach drop a few inches, but just smiled to cover up his guilt.

"Well, I'll let you get to Astronomy, Draco," she said, finally pocketing the moth and turning around.

"No kiss this time?" Draco was confused.

"I didn't think you'd want to. I mean, we snogged earlier and you told me the other night that you wanted to slow things down."

"Well, the night we were here was just escalating really quickly, and you usually always want to kiss me."

"Yes, I do, but I'm just not sure you feel the same," she added sadly before walking out of the passage.

Hermione's statement rooted Draco to the floor, shocked that she could even see through her clouded obsession with him. He knew then that he would have to step his game up and really commit to the role of 'boyfriend', which he has never played before. Or he could tell her the truth; having the brightest witch in the school helping with find a remedy was very tempting.

Astronomy was useless: everything explained during class went in one ear and right out the other. Draco was too concerned about Ron and Harry finding out as well as the fact that he'd upset Hermione to focus on anything. Once in his bed, it seemed more comfortable and peaceful than it had been since arriving at Hogwarts. Maybe the moth really did have an effect on him.

Breakfast tasted a lot better on Thursday, seeing as Draco had a satisfyingly restful night of sleep. His first lesson whizzed by, and Herbology was right before lunchtime, but when Draco and his cronies arrived at the greenhouses, he spotted something odd. Hermione was missing from the Gryffindor table. Harry and Ron seemed to be as calm as ever, and went about their class work, Draco was distracted throughout the whole lesson, and when it was finally over, he walked directly behind Harry and Ron to listen for anything concerning Hermione.

Trying to act as casual as possible, he followed the two Gryffindors up to the Great Hall for lunch. Not hearing a word from either of them about Hermione, Draco led his fellow Slytherins to their own table. He couldn't help but glance over at the door every few minutes, hoping to see Hermione walk in, but she never did.

Draco very well couldn't have asked Harry and Ron, nor could he ask if his own friends had seen her recently. Once alone with Blaise, Draco looked around for eavesdroppers and asked him about it.

"Yeah, I noticed she wasn't around, but I don't think it's anything you should worry about. Maybe she's just sick or something," Blaise answered casually before stalking off to do homework.

Draco decided to use his free lesson to check the hospital wing, having taken Blaise's assumption to heart. He opened the door to the ward, and peeked in, and saw her on the only occupied bed. Luckily, none of her friends were visiting at the moment and Draco walked over to her bed with caution.

"Hey," he whispered.

Hermione turned her head, and he saw that she was very pale.

"Hi," she said weakly, "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't see you in class, and I got worried."

"Aww, you're sweet," Hermione seemed dazed, and Draco immediately thought of the moth.

"What happened?" he pulled a chair close to her bed and sat.

"I don't know really; I was studying that moth, and I started to feel dizzy. Then, I woke up here just a few hours ago."

"Did Madam Pomfrey tell you what happened?"

"I guess I was just faint, probably from not eating much or something. I'll be out of here tonight," Hermione smiled at him dreamily, and held out her hand wanting it to be held. Draco obliged and grabbed hold.

"Did you find anything in the book?"

"Yes actually. It's definitely a moth, but after what happened I can't remember the details," she sighed, "Can I have a kiss?"

He kissed her just as the door to the infirmary opened. He whipped his head around to find Harry and Ginny standing in the doorway with their eyes popped out of their skulls and their jaws practically to the floor.