Chapter 6

Hermione blushed a few shades of pink and quickly shut the wardrobe door. Malfoy just looked amused. How long had he been standing there? Surely he didn't watch her get dressed. No, she thought, I'd of spotted him in the mirror. He must have seen her sniff his jumper though. How embarrassing.

Malfoy extended his arm. "Hairbrush" he said, looking like he was enjoying Hermione's embarrassment. She quickly marched over to where he was stood, and took the hairbrush from his hand. She looked up at him.

"No need to be embarrassed," he soothed. It did little to help Hermione. He reached up his hand towards her cheek, and gently stroked it. She automatically leaned into it, enjoying the sensation.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

"I don't really know," he replied. He sounded like he was being truthful.

"You should really brush your hair," said Malfoy breaking the spell. His hand dropped to his side.

"Yes, I suppose I should," agreed Hermione. She walked past him, into the bedroom and sat on the bed brushing her hair. She spent far longer working on her hair than she needed to. What had just happened? Why was Draco Malfoy doing whatever he was doing to her, and why did his touch make her insides fill with warmth. Stockholm syndrome crossed her mind. Surely it wouldn't take effect this fast. No, it must be something else. She felt this way when she was with Ron. How long would it take for them to rescue her? Did she want to be rescued?

After several minutes she decided she would look silly brushing her hair any longer. She put down the hairbrush on Malfoy's bedside table. She looked around the room to see where he was. He was sat at the desk again reading a book. She wandered over to where he was sat.
"Hey," she said smiling at him nervously.

He looked up to where she was standing. "Hey," he said and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Hermione blushed again. "That looks a lot better." Hermione smiled at Malfoy, feeling a lot more confident than she had looking in the mirror earlier.

"Would you like to get a book to read?" asked Malfoy. Hermione nodded and Malfoy placed his book on the desk and got up. He walked over to the door. He unlocked it with a flick of his wand.

"I have to go and check that my parents aren't in the library before we go in there. As you know my father wouldn't be best pleased to see you," Malfoy sighed. "If I leave the door unlocked, will you promise you won't try anything funny?" he asked with a serious tone.

"Of course," Hermione answered without missing a beat. She wasn't sure if she was being truthful or not. It was good enough for Malfoy apparently though. He muttered an "I'll be right back" before exiting the room and heading down the corridor.

This was it, thought Hermione. Her chance to make a break, handed to her on a plate. Would she get very far though, wandless and weak from the curse? What would happen to her if she was caught? Would she be tortured or killed? What would they do to Draco if she escaped?

It took her a few seconds to realise she thought of him as Draco and not Malfoy. Why had she done that? Did she care what they did to him? The answer was yes. The easiest thing for him to have done would've been to torture and rape her, but instead he'd taken good care of her so far. She didn't want anything to happen to him. She decided to stay where she was and waited for him to get back.

A minute later, Malfoy walked back through the door. A mixture of surprise and relief crossed his face when he saw Hermione stood there.

"You're still here," he said, the relief evident in his voice, "I thought you wouldn't be."

"I promised you," Hermione stated simply.

Draco pulled her into a hug and murmured "Thank you."

The hug caught her off guard, but Hermione knew that she'd done the right thing in staying. "That's okay" she whispered and she meant it.