Chapter 2
The two wizards were buried under a mountain of books. Hermione glanced towards the clock that was slightly off place above the main entrance of the library. "We have got to get those books back into the restricted section before they catch us and we get expelled!"
"Loosen up, Granger, there isn't anyone here." Draco scoffed at the girl in frenzy. He strode towards a wooden railing behind the bookshelves and leaned over to the window but he saw nothing.
The air around thickened as tiny water droplets suspended in the distance. What were once gentle flakes of white were now a harsh combination of ice. The dense snow collided with the ground violently and thrashed against Hogwarts' frozen lakes. Specks and pellets of ice pounded against the window. When Draco saw no students heading back amidst the blend of fog and storm, he grinned to himself.
"Are they all coming back?" Hermione questioned before looking out the window. "Well that was unexpected…" She trailed off.
Draco spun around grandly as he closed the space between himself and the witch, glaring into her eyes as he'd done before. He licked his lips intently. "Looks like it's just you and tonight."
"Okay Malfoy, would you stop flashing your glittery eyes at me, it takes much more to get me interested."
Draco crouched, repeatedly beating at his thighs as he erupted with laughter. "Me? Trying to seduce you? I thought you'd know better."
"I was only joking," she teased, as they retreated back to their research.
They spent a few more hours researching through the last of the books they'd picked out but found nothing. Hermione suggested that maybe Dumbledore's personal library might contain more information and since he'd accompanied the students out of the school, his office would be unoccupied. Thankfully, Hermione had spent enough time around Harry to know the password to unlock his chambers.
They stood outside the office entrance and Hermione firmly pronounced "knitting patterns". Draco gave a hideous grimace and shook his head as he the platform lifted them up into the office. They were greeted by a cheerful Phoenix perched on a horizontal rod in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"He's got a billion books, we're never going to find anything!" Draco rolled his eyes pessimistically.
Hermione slid her wand out of her coat waved, reciting "Accio books about deals and binding spells!" Three books instantly flew out of their position and she directed them to hover over to Draco. He took the volumes in hand and waited for Hermione to prompt their next move.
A sphere of ice hit hard against Dumbledore's window and there was a deafening smash. They ice scattered all over the office as the wind rushed in to occupy the atmosphere. In the spur of the moment, Draco had grabbed Hermione and used his coat to protect her from the incoming dangers. He tossed out his wand and with a flick the books were midair beside him. Smaller pieces of ice were raining down on the wooden floors. Draco stayed with his arms tightly wrapped around Hermione's body as they descended into the castle's hallways where the snowstorm couldn't get to them.
Hermione's heart was beating quicker than she would have liked; she wasn't sure if it had been because of Draco's arms around her and the tingling sensation she felt deep in her stomach or the surprise the snowstorm had caught her by.
After a few seconds of remaining in each other's embrace, they awkwardly pulled away, deciding to go without the mention of it.
Draco wasn't much for compassion or care but the minute he felt that the snowstorm could have been a danger to Hermione, he had felt the pressing urge to protect her. He told himself it was because he needed her to break the bind for him; but deep down he knew it had been more than that. Somehow in the last few hours they'd spent together, he'd enjoyed it much more than he was expected to.
"Everything just keeps getting better, doesn't it! To think a magic school doesn't have protection from snowstorms! This is absurd! My father will hear about this; we could have died in there!" He paused for a while from his rant to catch his breath, "Where are we going to sleep? I'm sure all the other rooms have had the same fate as Dumbledore's office." Draco deduced, once again sulking in his negativity.
"Dungeons, silly." Hermione giggled at how bad-tempered and easily irritable this boy was.
He made a face at Hermione in response to her calling him silly. They headed down towards the dungeons and made sure to avoid any windows in the vicinity.
Hermione opened the bolted dungeon door with an "Alohamora". For her it was simple, she had mastered that spell since her first year. Hermione was getting eager about this; she'd never been down to the dungeons as it was against the rules but today didn't seem like the day to be following rules. She'd already broken a few major ones as; going into the library's restricted section, breaking into Dumbledore's office and most importantly, enjoying the company of Draco Malfoy.
They entered a room in the dungeons and Draco lit it up with a "Lumos".
-;-
Granger and Malfoy found a bed with a shabbily concaved mattress that had been thrown into the deepest corner of the room. Hermione set the 3 books they took from Dumbledore's office on the table along with her wand. Draco handed her a pile of woolen blankets and she neatly unfolded them to cover the whole mattress.
"Well, I'm drained, so I'm going to go to sleep before my whole body combusts from exhaustion." Hermione joked with a frown. She placed her shoes tidily at the edge of the bed. Draco threw his own off in the middle of the room. He took the 3 books and sat on the bed leaning against the headboard.
Hermione rolled around under the covers to face him.
Draco was too busy flipping frantically through the pages to notice that Hermione was staring at him. As he referenced to each book, Hermione finally spoke. "Are you scared?"
He lifted his head up making his face into an expression that read only "I don't get scared, Granger."
Hermione argued, "You must be scared, this is Voldemort."
Draco backed away, "Don't say his name!"
He pursed his lips and closed his eyes. After a minute of silence he hesitantly admitted, "Of course I'm scared of him, he's…you know who. He could rip me to shreds. But I'm not going to go around moping and feeling sorry for myself."
Hermione's expression softened as she took his wrist firmly into her hands. "You're going to be alright. I'm going to make sure of it." She played around with his wrist and traced the outlines of his veins. Chills ran through Draco's body. He wasn't expecting Hermione to touch him and he was very aware of how close their bodies were.
He grabbed his books and pretended to ignore her ardent gaze. Hermione continued to gently trace around his wrist, and went further up his arm, which sent another round of shivers up his spine.
"What?" Draco asked nonchalantly.
"Yes?"
"You're staring."
"And?"
"It's creepy."
"You're interesting." she murmured, nibbling on her bottom lip.
The corners of Draco's mouth twitched a little as if he was trying to hide his naughty smile, "So are you, Miss Granger."
"It's interesting that you're being nice to me. Or that we're even in the same room, much less the same bed." She fidgeted, under the covers.
"I saw you reading." Draco affirmed.
"And?"
"You were so engrossed in the stories."
"Well that's how it is with reading."
"I know."
"You know?" Hermione exclaimed. "I didn't know you could even read."
"Of course I can read! I love to, in fact. It was watching you read that fascinated me and I decided to try it."
She squinted her eyes with suspicion, "Really? You're not joking? This isn't one of your sarcastic little Malfoy comments?"
"No," Draco exclaimed protectively, "I mean it. You got me interested in reading. And thank you for that."
"Wow." Hermione teased, "I barely looked at you and broke you apart, honey, you started reading!" She gave a little punch against his shoulder.
"Shut up, Granger." Draco sniggered in embarrassment.
"So what else does can this oh-so-mighty-and-intelligent new Malfoy do?" She challenged him.
Draco grasped the blankets and threw them aside as he leaned in towards Hermione, pinning her against the concrete wall. Her eyes widened and she trembled under his strong hold. He rested his hand on her cheek, closing in on the few inches that separated their lips.
He sucked on her lips gently, waiting for her to respond. Hermione responded with hesitancy. She nibbled on his as she traced the outline of his neck. He pulled away first, examining her face. She was biting her lip to prevent a smile and staring down at her fidgeting hands.
"You know, mostly I've wanted to slap you throughout the years but in the last few hours I've wanted to do this- a lot." She confessed, still looking down.
He tried to catch her gaze and muttered, "So have I, 'Mione."
"'Mione?" She grimaced.
"Yes, 'Mione." he said, licking his lips.
"So we kissed and that gives you the right to create nicknames for me?"
"It really does." He concluded, brushing his finger against the edge of her lips.
"Well, then I'll call you Dragon." She teased; proud that she'd came up with a nickname so fast.
"That's not even a nickname," he shook his head, "You're horrible at this."
She shifted towards Draco, and leaned in till their lips glided against each other. He'd been too worried the first time to notice that she tasted of strawberries. It blended in perfectly with his taste of mint. He traced over her upper lip with his tongue.
"Weren't you tired a few minutes ago, Granger?" he pulled away, hand still gently rubbing her neck.
"Not for this, Malfoy." She said, biting her lip, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. "Have you found anything in the books?" She picked one up and flipped crudely through the pages.
"Not yet. I doubt I'll find anything in here. If even there is a spell for my situation, it'd be tricky to perform it without you-know-who coming to kill me afterwards." He frowned, massaging his temples.
Hermione jumped out of bed, took her wand in hand and incanted a spell. The rumbling and smashing of the snowstorm above stopped, silencing the whole of their room, the loudest sound in the room caused by their breathing.
She slipped under the covers, "You're welcome. I'm sure we'll find something soon. Now go to sleep, I suspect everyone's coming back tomorrow and… well we've got to be up early or else we'd have lots of explaining to do when Professor Snape finds us here."
They adjusted their positions and Draco lifted up his book and motioned towards his himself to lay her head on his chest.
"I'll read a little more. You're tired, go ahead and sleep, 'Mione." He stretched forward and kissed her forehead. He felt so safe around the smell of books and Hermione, while she drifted off to sleep listening to his heart beating against her ear.
;i;