They lay in comfortable silence; the type of silence that did not need to be interrupted by small talk, nor did it make them feel awkward or uneasy. It was the kind of silence most people experienced around family or close friends and if they were lucky enough, that special person.
The moment was perfect. They were both naked, lying beside each other, neither feeling the least bit self-conscious about their appearance, knowing the other did not care. The soft cotton sheets were pulled waist high, leaving their chests exposed. Neither them had spoken a word for a long time, at ease in the peaceful night's stillness. In the distance, with the window wide open, the sound of traffic could be heard along with the hushed sounds of nocturnal animals waking.
Draco lay on his back, his right arm behind his head, staring at Hermione. He watched her tracing the faint dark mark on his left arm, with her steady breathing hitting his shoulder, reminding him this was indeed very real. If it had been anyone else, Draco would not have let them see the remains of a very bad mistake he made when he was a foolish teenager, but with Hermione, he felt so at ease and content, he would let her do almost anything. This included a few things he would never admit to his mother, or anybody else for that matter.
Draco sighed softly, releasing a lungful of air, and closed his eyes, relaxing into Hermione's soft caresses. His arm tickled where she touched him, but he only smiled more, enjoying the feeling more than he ever had before. He was soon coming to realise that of all the places in the world, this was fast becoming his favourite. The moment really could not have been spoiled by anything, save an interruption from the Dark Lord himself. Thankfully, that would never happen, leaving them to relish in each other's company.
He could feel himself falling deeper and deeper into a never-ending abyss, which he had all the time in the world to explore with Hermione by his side. He knew he was falling love, there had been some tell tale signs. He was starting to imagine their future together, one with bushy-haired, blonde children and growing old together, sitting in matching armchairs with grey hair and many grandchildren underfoot. He grew overly angry at the thought of anyone hurting her, or touching her, or even looking at her the wrong way. He had even realised he would take an unforgivable curse for her. He knew he had fallen and hard.
Love... The word sounded brilliant in his head, finally making sense to him. It was like falling into another world that was far better than the one he came from, a world he never wanted to leave. He felt like Alice, falling into the rabbit hole, but he did not want to leave his Wonderland.
"Draco?" whispered Hermione, pulling him up gently from his reverie back into reality.
His eyes found hers as she stopped tracing his mark, resting her hand on his arm. Her brilliant brown orbs pierced his soul, like a dagger. She looked at him gently, with genuine affection but also with a purpose, one that she could not be deferred from. Draco waited for her to speak, but she only looked into his eyes, as if waiting for him to show any sign of wavering.
"Can you promise me something?" said Hermione, straightening her back, a look of new, staunch confidence in her eyes.
"Of course, 'Mione," said Draco.
He held eye contact with her, observing the change in her body language. She went from a show of silent confidence to near break down and tears.
"Please don't b-break my heart," said Hermione, gulping down the tears she felt forming in the corner of her eyes. The last thing she needed at that moment was to cry, when she was already opening up and vulnerable to whatever Draco would say back to her.
"I won't," mumbled Draco, quickly pulling Hermione close to him and gently stroking her hair. She visibly relaxed into his chest, resting her head in the crook of his neck, where she to fit so perfectly. "I promise."
Hermione revelled in his soft touch, having him stroke her hair was truly one of her favourite past times with Draco. However, she jumped up suddenly, struggling out of Draco's grasp. She now had a hardened look in her eye, catching Draco completely off guard, her arms crossed protectively over her naked chest. He was unsure of what to do with Hermione like this. She looked like she would either burst into tears again or hex him into another dimension if he said another word. But he also knew that if he did nothing, it could be even worse. He began to reach out his hand to touch her arm, a safe place, when she spoke.
"If you do, Draco, well..." said Hermione in a faintly warning tone. Draco tensed, ready to reach for his wand if things got nasty, but he was not expecting what came next. Hermione spluttered through a thick veil of tears that had suddenly appeared, "R-Ron said he would never break my heart and then he did, so bad!"
Hermione fell back on Draco, sobbing onto his bare chest. Draco was too stunned to react for a moment; this witch changed so much he did not know if he could handle her. When his brain had clicked with the changing situation, he body moved accordingly. Wrapping his arms around Hermione, Draco made soft cooing noises and tried to calm her down.
"Oh, Hermione," said Draco, pulling her close again and rubbing her back gently. "Ron is just a big... prick!"
Hermione let out a choking laugh. She did not know whether or laugh or cry, settling for a mix between the two as Draco just held her tenderly.
"It's just... I-it is still broken," muttered Hermione, burying her face into his chest, but Draco pulled her off him with a confused look on his face. She hesitated before explaining, "My heart, Draco... It's still broken."
Draco let go of Hermione and shuffled away from her, to the edge of the bed. Moments ago he had been having thoughts of being in love with Hermione and their future together, only to be told that she... what? That she still had feelings for her prick of an ex-boyfriend? That she could not love him because her heart had been broken? He did not understand. His mind rushed as he tried to think of all the possible meanings of what she had said.
If her heart was still broken, did that mean she had not gotten over Ron yet? Was she still expecting Ron to come back and fix it? Or was Draco supposed to fix it? How was he going to do that? He had never dealt with a broken heart, let alone have a broken heart himself. Sure, he knew how to break hearts, something he was not exactly proud of. He was sure Pansy still hated him even though she was happily married with two children. But to fix one? That was certainly a baffling subject.
Draco did not know what to do and felt more confused and anxious by the minute. It did not help that all Hermione could do was sit there and stare at him, her eyes filling with tears as she fully expected him to tear whatever was left of her heart that she had given him. He wanted to ask her what he should do, but now felt like one of those moments where he had to think for himself, use his semi-intelligent mind.
"I-I don't know what to do Hermione," he answered honestly. "I want to help, I just don't know how. What do you want me to do, Hermione?"
She smiled sweetly at him, obviously pleased with his answer. That smile still had to the power to make Draco's stomach turn and flutter. It made him feel light headed and wonderful. He knew he would do anything to see that smile every day, even if it meant heading into uncharted waters. Eventually he would learn how to fix her heart and hopefully this knowledge would help him in the future if they had a daughter. Even if he did not, he would still know how to look after their daughter; a swift punch to the guy who had torn her heart up would sort the problem out in no time.
"Just," began Hermione, breathing in and out and brushing away her remaining tears. "Just, please don't leave me."