A/N: Yes, I have finally returned! Sorry about that, I had massive writer's block for this chapter, even though it's really just a filler (it is one of the longest chapters though). Thanks for waiting and, without further ado, enjoy!
JK Rowling still owns Harry Potter! I know right, you would have thought after twelve chapters I would be earning from this fanfic, but still no...
Last chapter:
He fell asleep contently, sensible of the fact she trusted him fully, and that he had finally trusted her.
Sunday brought the first snow of the winter. It drifted down miserably for the whole day, melting into the wet ground and creating a layer of discoloured mush on every surface. Leafless trees shivered in the bitter wind and murky clouds sprinted across the sky, covering the sun so sporadically it was like a flashlight being turned on and off at random.
Draco woke that day to find a surprising vacancy next to him. He turned his head and squinted past the shard of light that was entering his bedroom through the window. The curtain had been opened fractionally, and there was a silhouette standing there, looking out. As his eyes gradually focused, he saw Hermione, fully dressed (in what looked like one of his mother's tops), gazing out dreamily.
"Morning." he said, his voice husky from just waking up.
"Snow!" she whispered excitedly, still looking out of the window. "It's not settling though." she added, more glumly. Draco sat up, stretching. He pushed his hair out of his face lazily and clambered out of bed. He took a quick peep out of the window and then, satisfied that nothing extraordinary was happening, went to the bathroom, marvelling at Hermione's child-like excitement.
As soon as he had showered, Hermione began insisting she would leave. She checked for the last time that she hadn't left anything and emphatically declined Draco's offer to walk her home, ensuring him that there was no need for two people to freeze to death out there. She bade Draco's mother goodbye – she too seemed unwilling to let Hermione leave so early.
Walking to the door they were both silent, stopping before Draco opened the door for one last, short kiss. As Draco watched her go, weightless snowflakes making a home in her hair, the day in which they would be apart suddenly seemed much longer.
Monday's snow was much more welcoming. That long awaited morning arrived and Draco, having got up unnaturally early, passed the time by staring out of his window in the same way as Hermione had the morning before. Nothing was left untouched or unchanged by the blankets of pillow-like snow - like an overnight invasion of frozen water, Draco's world was suddenly alien, and he loved it. He tore himself away from the window to get ready for school.
He pulled on a pair of gloves before leaving, grateful for them as soon as he stepped outside and the still, cold air nipped at his cheeks. Just as he placed one foot onto the pavement, a wet ball of snow smacked into the side of his head. He let out a yell of surprise and discomfort, and turned his head in the direction from which it had come. He saw nobody, but could just make out the sound of a familiar but muffled laugh.
"I know it's you, Blaise." he called out. The laughing continued, and a minute later a figure, wrapped up in a coat, appeared from behind a bush.
"So – so funny – you – your face! I've been waiting out here ages to do that, but it was so worth it!" he said hysterically, forcing the words out between laughs.
"Shut up. That was really cold." Draco replied, grumpily. "It's not funny Blaise, seriously." His friend continued laughing. Draco gathered up some snow from the ground and formed it into a ball discreetly. When Blaise was distracted, doubled over in fits of laughter, Draco squashed the snowball onto the top of his head, letting in dribble down over Blaise's face and neck.
"ARGH!" Blaise exclaimed, flicking bits of snow off his forehead.
"Now it's funny. Cold, isn't it?" Draco chuckled, satisfied. Blaise glared at him for a while, then brushed it off.
"Okay, let's call it evens for now – we can settle this after school in the park." His eyes glistened mischievously and Draco nodded enthusiastically, then paused, knowing this would be the best time to own up. They were perfectly alone, and comfortably genial.
"I'll bring Hermione." he stated, trying to sound dismissive, but not quite managing to throw Blaise off. In fact, the other boy stopped dead in surprise. After a moment of unintelligible spluttering, he burst out:
"A – when did she become 'Hermione' and not 'Granger'? B – that stupid project is over! In other words, you don't have to even look at her again! Isn't that what you were waiting for?" Draco bit the inside of his cheek twitchily.
"Don't kill me, mate. Hermione is not as bad as I – as we – thought she was. I don't hate her at all - in fact, the opposite really." he admitted.
"I should have known. When you bought her to my party, you weren't doing it just to get in, were you? You really wanted her to come – you really care about her, don't you?" Blaise said, as if he already knew the answer. Draco nodded silently. "I dunno what everyone's going to say about this, but good luck. Today's not going to be easy. For either of you." Blaise warned, suddenly sounding a bit awkward, as if he'd just processed everything.
"It's worth it, though – she's worth it." Draco murmured, ignoring Blaise's look of incredulity.
"Wait until Pansy hears about this…" Blaise muttered to himself.
"WHAT!?" Hermione watched desperately as Pansy Parkinson produced more and more exclamations of surprise, reacting to what Draco had just told her. From the confused stares shot her way from Pansy and the apologetic ones from Draco, she could confidently guess what (and who) the subject of the conversation was.
It was Monday morning, before lessons had even started, and already news was spreading about her and Draco. Rumours were inevitable at this point, but she was still desperate to ensure Harry heard it from her first, causing a kind of fidgety impatience every time they had to stop. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the low buzz of students and the high-pitched screams issuing from the groups of children outside, still throwing clumps of snow at each other.
"That went well." A voice said softly, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm. She looked up at Draco, his face showing the utmost solemnity, only interrupted by the right side of his mouth pulling up slightly, the echo of a smile. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Come on." They weaved their way through the corridors and upstairs, Hermione now silently begging to find Harry sometime soon. Her wishes were soon answered, and glimpses of a jet black hair and round spectacles could be seen at the end of the long corridor. Draco hung back, letting Hermione approach her friend by herself. The walk seemed long and fateful, the walls repeating themselves, making her feel like she was no closer to him. Despite having finally found him, seeing Harry only brought up anxiety in aggressive bubbles that accumulated in Hermione's stomach as she anticipated his reaction. He noticed her arrival, and she also noticed that, in a stroke of luck, Ron wasn't around to disturb them.
"Hermione!" Harry called, smiling as she moved towards him.
"Hi Harry." she replied. He must have noticed the weariness in her voice, as his eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. A lot's happened since Friday, that's all." she said, unintentionally cryptically. Harry waited, the concern for her merging with confusion. Hermione took a deep breath.
"What's he doing here?" Harry cut her off before she even said a word. He was staring at something behind her, and she swivelled around to see Draco walking towards them, each step purposeful. When he reached them, he took up one of Hermione's hands in his own. She blushed, but didn't object.
"Ah." This was all Harry said, but it was enough.
"What you said, last Thursday, about us dancing? You weren't completely correct, but it ended up that way, if you know what I mean." Hermione said, watching him carefully. He just nodded vaguely, taking it all in. "Could you tell Ron? I don't think I could face him. He might take it better if it comes from you, even though I know it really should be me telling him. Please, Harry?" she requested, and he nodded more firmly now, causing her to sigh in relief.
To say the day was tiring would be an understatement. Hermione found herself swarmed by numbers of girls, some not even in her year. Most were curious and nosy, wanting to know all about Draco rather than her. Some, like Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, were thrilled for her, and left soon after, swooning over stories of her weekend that she only supplied to a few of them. A few spat hateful comments at her, especially when Draco was seen with her, because they believed Draco was theirs and she wasn't good enough for him. She only coped because he was never far away, insisting on shadowing her everywhere and reassuring her whenever she was doubtful. They were the news of the year, if not the school, and everyone was talking about them.
For the few who either hadn't heard or, quite sensibly, had given up on believing rumours, some solid proof came at lunch.
Draco and Hermione sat together in the canteen, causing a handful of turned heads and groups frequent stares from students of the younger years. After all, their rivalry was famous, and it appeared that their romance would be even more so. They were alone for a while, but were joined by Harry, who came alone. Coincidentally, Hermione had spotted Ginny in the corner of her eye, eager to run over and question her. When Harry joined them however, she decided against it, and remained with her group of friends, blushing faintly. Hermione noted Ron's absence with a guilty pang in her heart, but was soon distracted by the arrival of two more people. Blaise and Pansy sat down, Pansy excitedly professing to Hermione that she was the talk of the school. The girl seemed bent upon making up for her reaction earlier and, though the awkwardness and coldness subtly remained in her demeanour, both Hermione and Draco were warmed by the effort. Blaise just sat there, flitting between concentrating fully on his girlfriend and observing the new couple.
As they left, the whole room seemed to be watching. Mouths stopped mid-chew, and heads turned in their direction. There was no noise but the occasional whisper and the clatter of cutlery. Hermione kept her gaze on Draco as they left. His jaw was set, and he kept sighing impatiently. After a moment, he began glaring around at everyone, the heat of the look making a few people drop their eyes.
"Should we give them something to actually talk about?" Hermione suggested, and she recognised the inspired shine in his eyes when he looked at her. It was the look he gave when he was about to cause mischief.
"Go on then." he said daringly, smirking. He stepped in front of her and they both stopped walking. She was mirroring his playful smile as she pressed her lips to his, only half hearing the gasps of what must have been half the school filling the room.
Thanks for reading and please review, it would make me so happy! I've just seen the word count, and it really is quite lengthy, isn't it? Ah well, hope you weren't bored to death :)
You can probably sense this fanfiction coming to an end, and it kind of is, but there are a fair few chapters to go. As always, I hope you liked it and thanks for the support. See you in the next chapter!