Chapter Four: Spin and Twirl
8. I want to go ice skating.
"Ferret, can you be a good gentleman and open my music box for me?" Hermione asked, head buried in a book – Hogwarts: A History; Second Edition to be exact.
A few weeks after the release of her book, Hogwarts: A History; Second Edition by Hermione Granger was an instant best-seller. They were able to sell a hundred million copies all over the Wizarding World. Of course, being the author, the brunette was ecstatic.
Now, the ex-Gryffindor and ex-Slytherin were in Hermione's bedroom. The brunette was sitting on top of her bed, head buried in her book. Draco, on the other hand, was lying on the brunette's bed. He was hugging her ferret stuffed toy tightly against his chest. Apparently, he was taking a nap.
"Draco," the brunette said, shaking him awake with her eyes still glued on her book. "Come on. Please do it for me."
The blond shifted on her bed and glared up the brunette. "Granger, I'm taking a nap here!" he growled angrily.
"Well, you're awake now," she pointed out, eyes landing on his stretched out form. "So, please open my music box."
"Why don't you do it yourself?" he snapped, burying his head under the stuffed toy.
Hermione kicked him in the ribs. The blond, shooting daggers, begrudgingly moved into a sitting position while nursing his painful ribs. "I'm going to kick you out of my room if you don't do what I want you to do!" she threatened him, wagging her finger.
Draco rolled his eyes and buried his head in between his hands. "Am I a bloody murderer in my past life, Merlin?! Because, you sure are punishing me mercilessly right now!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms up in the air.
Unable to contain it, the brunette softly giggled. "Oh come on, you're being so dramatic," she told him. "Come on, just open my damn music box and everything will be all right."
"You know, Beaver," the blond said, his bare feet now touching the ground. "If you cursed every day, I might have followed all of your orders. I can't believe that you weren't placed in Slytherin. You're more suited to my House than bloody Gryffindors who don't even know the difference between bravery and stupidity."
Hermione scowled. "I'd kill myself if I was placed in Slytherin," she told him.
"Well then, why are you mingling with one?" the blond asked, now fully standing. He was gesturing to himself, a small smirk playing on his lips.
The brunette clutched her ferret stuffed toy and threw it to the blond's face. "Quit it, will you?" she asked. "We're twenty-five-years-old, Draco, for goodness' sake! We should be scoffing at the ridiculousness of house rivalry now!"
Draco rolled his eyes and walked towards her desk. Her music box was currently on top of it. "Who's being dramatic now?" he asked.
Hermione only scowled at him. When Draco opened her music box, Hermione smiled. That song playing, her favorite song, would really soothe her no matter how big her problem was.
"Hermione, I have a question," the blond said as he sat down on the brunette's bed again. He picked up the ferret on the floor and placed it back on her bed.
"Yeah?"
"Why does your music box have an ice skater?" he asked. Hermione looked up from her book, quirking one eyebrow up. "I mean, you know that Mother has one. And her music box has a ballerina. I'd seen a lot of music boxes before and all of them have a ballerina."
She closed her book (after marking the page where she had left) and released a huge sigh. "Well, my music box actually came from my Mother."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that's new. I never knew that," he told her, scooting closer to the brunette.
Hermione tilted her head slightly to the left, face contorting into deep thought. "I remembered the times when my Mother would tell me she dreamt of being an ice skater," she said, a faraway look on her face. "Mother was an excellent ice skater. You should have seen her swirling and twirling on the ice skating rink. She was so… so wonderful." She then looked at him, a small sad smile on her face. "When I was ten-years-old, a few weeks before I had my first train ride on Hogwarts Express, my parents brought me to a Muggle Amusement Park, Happy Land and - ."
"Sorry to interrupt you, Hermione, but Happy Land? Are you serious?" he asked, snorting. "The owner must have a wide imagination. Imagine naming his own amusement park as Happy Land. Utterly hilarious."
Hermione rolled her eyes; her lips were twitching upwards. "As I was saying, a few weeks before I started studying at Hogwarts, my parents brought me to Happy Land Amusement Park." She glared at Draco, silently challenging him to interrupt her again. "There was an ice skating rink there, you know. And we would twirl around, happy that all of us were together. We continued to go to this amusement park every time I went home for Christmas break."
The brunette released a huge sigh and looked at her music box forlornly. "You should have seen Father's face while he was watching my mother ice skate around the rink. He had this look… this look that I wouldn't forget at all. Sometimes, it made me almost cry when I watch Father look at Mother with so much love in his eyes. They'd been married for almost twenty years but still, their love hadn't wavered at all."
Draco scooted closer and held her hand. He gave it a slight squeeze, making her smile. "You miss them, don't you?" he asked softly.
The brunette looked at him, her eyes strangely glazed. "Of course I do, Draco. They're my parents after all," she whispered back. A lone tear slid down her right eye and the blond gently brushed it away from her cheeks. She smiled at him greatly, squeezing his hand back.
"You want me to take you to Happy Land Amusement Park?" he asked her. Her eyes lit up and a large grin stretched across her lips. "It might cheer you up. And besides, the eighth thing you want to do before you die is go ice skating, right?"
"Yeah," she said. "That would be nice. So, when are we going there?"
Draco could see the excitement bubbling within her. He gave her a small smirk and said, "Now, I'm going to keep that a secret, Granger." Hermione pouted, making him laugh softly. "We have another important matter to discuss."
"Eh?" she asked.
The blond's face turned serious. "I told my parents about your… current condition yesterday," he told her.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell them on the day we found out?" she asked him, mildly surprised.
Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I figured that you would rather have this secret between you and me for a few days," he told her uncomfortably.
She gave him a smile. "Thanks, I needed that," she told him.
He then released a breathe he didn't realize he was holding and shook his head. "We have to go to the Manor tomorrow, Hermione," he said. "Mother was practically screaming at me for not telling her about your cancer as soon as possible. She was totally devastated, you know. I had never seen Mother cry so much in her life before. Father was actually surprised with her actions."
"I will miss Narcissa," the brunette told him truthfully with a sigh. "She reminds me of my Mother. Not physically, though."
"So, are you coming?" he asked her, pulling his hand away from her grip. The blond had just noticed that they'd been holding hands for quite a while now.
"Will your Father be there?" she asked, a hint of a scowl evident on her face.
He sighed. "Granger…"
"I won't go if he's there," she spat. "I bet he was utterly ecstatic when he learned about my disease, eh?"
Draco frowned, eyebrows knitted together. "It was quite the contrary, Beaver," he told him. "Father walked out of the room after I told them about your sickness." Hermione gaped at him. "I know, I know, Father hates you to the bones. But I have this feeling that he cares for you, a little only, maybe. You should have seen his face when I told him you have cancer."
The brunette managed a small smile. "I'm glad that when I die, someone will remember me," she whispered. "When my parents left me, I believed that no one would notice if I just stopped existing."
"Well, I think all of us want to be remembered, at least by one person, once our life is taken away from us," he told her. Hermione nodded in agreement. "So, are you going? I need to tell Mother so she can fix lunch."
Hermione smiled. "Sure. I haven't seen Narcissa in ages."
"Great."
"So, why are we walking towards your Manor?" the brunette asked him, a quizzical look on her face. They just apparated somewhere near Wiltshire (where the Malfoy Manor currently was) and now, they were walking. "I mean, we can apparate. Narcissa persuaded your Father to lift up the wards so that no one, except your parents, you and me, can apparate to your house. And then, there's your car. Why didn't we ride it?"
"Missed it already, eh?" he asked, eyes glinting in amusement.
Hermione just smiled at him.
It was a normal January day. The weather was still quite cold so her favorite cloak (given to her by her deceased parents) was shielding her from the biting wind blowing against her body.
"Cold?" the blond asked. He, too, was wearing a cloak though it was easy to say that it was very expensive. He was a Malfoy after all.
"Kind of," she told him, hugging her body for comfort. To her surprise, Draco clutched her right hand and started to rub it.
"Does that make you feel better?" he asked.
The brunette looked at him and smiled. His expression was unreadable, in her opinion, but she just ignored it. "Thanks," she said, squeezing his hand.
They continued to walk, talking occasionally about this and that. But their hands, Hermione's right and Draco's left, were still tightly clasped together. One might presume that they were lovers, just being happy in each other's presence. But a good observer would see that they were close friends…with the love being hidden deep, deep down.
Hermione didn't notice when Draco suddenly shifted his hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. She didn't even notice when his guard broke off and his eyes shone, watching her adoringly.
She was too busy talking.
"So, this is it?" Hermione asked, shifting slightly in front of the main door of the Malfoy Manor. She was fiddling with a loose strand from her cloak as she stared at Draco nervously.
"Come on, Granger, where's all that Gryffindor bravery?" he asked her, amused. He was somehow feeling a sudden sort of déjà vu, watching her as she nervously wringed her wrist while staring at the door. It made him think of the time when Hermione was hesitating in going inside Dr. Nobleman's office for her medical check-up.
"I'm afraid at what Narcissa will do to me," she said, followed by a defeated sigh.
"Silly Granger," he said, messing up with her brown tresses. "Mother tends to get a bit melodramatic, you know."
She grinned. "Yeah," she said. "Mothers always tend to get a bit melodramatic."
"Hell yeah," he said, giving her a charming smile.
"So, will your Father be inside?" she asked. Again, a scowl appeared on her face automatically.
"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione," he said, shaking his head. "Father is in a meeting with the board of directors of St. Mungo's. He told my Mother that he would come home late today. So, don't worry about my Father seeing you." He clutched the doorknocker of the front door and started to knock.
Almost instantly, the door flew open. Instead of sending some random house-elves, beautiful Narcissa Malfoy came into sight. Before Hermione knew it, she was enveloped in the older woman's arms. Shocked, Hermione looked at Draco. The blond sighed and mouthed, 'I told you so'.
"Oh, Hermione darling," the older woman wailed. "How are you? Are you in pain? Do you feel sick?" Narcissa pulled away from the brunette. Hermione was shocked to see tears rolling down her cheeks. "Draco, why didn't you apparate here directly or used your brand new car! It's freezing outside! What if something happened to Hermione? Come, come. Come inside." Narcissa beckoned Hermione inside the house with the blond trailing behind them, a scowl on his face.
"I made lunch extra healthy," she said, wiping her tears with a lacy handkerchief.
"Narcissa, really," Hermione said, patting the older woman's arm. "I'm quite fine. Nothing has happened to me yet. The doctor said I'll feel the symptoms two months from now. So, look at me. I'm still quite fine. At the moment, I am probably healthier than 70% of the population!"
Narcissa's face contorted into pure anger and for a minute, Hermione thought she looked a lot like a real Malfoy. Draco, alarmed, clutched his mother's shoulders and tried to pull her away from the brunette. "Let me go, Draco," she ordered. "I'm your mother and I'm ordering you. Let me go." Sighing, Draco stepped back and cast Hermione a worried glance. She gave him a small smile of reassurance.
"Narcissa, please calm down," Hermione said, enveloping the older woman into another hug. "I'll be fine. Please calm down."
"I can't calm down. I can't," she sobbed, hugging the brunette as tight as she could manage. "Oh Hermione, I don't want you to die. You can't die. Look at you, so young and beautiful. Life's been unfair to you before… why is life unfair to you again? It took away everything that you cared so much for."
"Calm down, Narcissa. Calm down," the brunette murmured, rubbing her back comfortingly. To her horror, tears started to well up in her eyes, too.
"You've been my daughter for six years, Hermione," Mrs. Malfoy continued. "I love you so much. You're my daughter. You can't just die."
Tears streamed down the brunette's eyes. Draco patted the brunette's arm, trying to comfort her, too.
"You have to take your medication," Narcissa said, pulling the brunette away from the hug. "Draco told me you refused to take your medication. Hermione, please. Take it. Take the medication."
"I… I can't," she said.
"Do you have a financial problem?" she asked. "Don't worry, dearie, I can take care of it. If Lucius refuses, I'll sign our divorce papers. Do you understand me, honey? Please take the medications. Please."
Hermione smiled gratefully at Mrs. Malfoy. Just looking at her reminded her so much of her mother that it hurt. "I can't, Narcissa. I just… I can't. Draco knows why already. And he understands. Please try to understand my decision, too. I love you, too, Narcissa. You've tried to be a good mother to me and you succeeded, I promise. And for that, I'm thankful."
Narcissa's eyes welled up again but unsurprisingly, she didn't protest. "All right, dear, if that's what you want," she whispered hoarsely, trying to stem the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
The brunette smiled and gave Mrs. Malfoy a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Narcissa. I love you so much. Mother would be grateful to you for looking out for me."
"Well, that's settled then," Draco said. For a few minutes, the two women had forgotten he was there. They looked at him, their eyes red and puffy. He smiled at them sheepishly. "What? I'm sorry to have cut this short, you know. It's just making me feel awkward."
Hermione chuckled and ushered the blond towards her to give him a hug. Narcissa smiled knowingly at her son who was red from head to toe. Of course she knew about his love and the engagement ring. She just didn't understand why he was so cowardly. She wanted him to propose already! But then again, he was the son of Lucius Malfoy. The Malfoy father had proposed to her after they'd been going out for five years.
"Narcissa, did you see my record book? We can't start the meeting without it," Lucius Malfoy said, announcing his arrival. "Damn it! Where is that -?" He abruptly stopped once his eyes landed on the only non-Malfoy in the room. "Hermione Granger, what a pleasant surprise."
The brunette automatically scowled as she looked at Lucius Malfoy.
"Mr. Malfoy," she curtly said… bordering impolite.
"Lucius, be good. I'm warning you!" Narcissa cried. Mr. Malfoy's eyes landed on his wife and was surprised to see that, she too, had the tell tale red puffy eyes.
The eldest Malfoy in the room looked at Hermione again. The brunette looked back at him with animosity. Lucius chuckled. The Muggle-born really hated him. "Accio record book," he announced, waving his wand. Almost immediately, a blue book landed on Lucius' hands. "Well, it's nice to see you here, Miss Granger. I have to go now."
The other three were surprised with Lucius' lack of hostility. He then approached his wife and kissed her cheek, telling her to wipe her tears away if she didn't want to become ugly in the future. He gave Draco a pat on the shoulder, demanding him to sleep in the Manor tonight. And lastly, he patted Hermione's hair, surprising her. "You don't deserve to die," he told her, giving her the first, most genuine smile she had ever seen. "People who love you" – he looked at his son pointedly – "will suffer, you hear me Granger? So, I order you to live longer."
Hermione snorted, though inside, she was starting to appreciate Lucius Malfoy.
"Good day." And with that, Lucius apparated.
"That was surprising," Narcissa said, looking dumbfounded. "Now, let's eat lunch."
Hermione yawned, her head on Draco's lap as they lounged in her living room. The blond was sitting on the couch, absentmindedly stroking the brunette's beautiful brown tresses.
"Go home, Draco," she told him groggily, eyes dropping closed. "I want to go to sleep."
Draco moved his knee, trying to keep the brunette awake. "Don't sleep yet, Granger. I have a surprise for you," he told her, right hand still buried under her brown tresses.
"Eh?" she asked sleepily, slowly sitting up. "And, what is it?"
"You'll know soon," he asked, a small smirk gracing his handsome face.
"This better be good, Malfoy," she murmured to him and summoned her cloak. The blond just looked at her smugly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go."
"You are bloody kidding me," Hermione said, breathless as she stared at Happy Land Amusement Park. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. "Happy Land…" Her eyes landed on the still smug blond and gave him a huge smile. "But… but… it's closed."
"Are you sure?" he asked, walking inside the amusement park. Hermione was right. Judging by the lack of light and the lack of people, the amusement park had been closed for at least an hour. Not surprising, considering it was almost midnight.
The brunette trailed behind him while feelings overwhelmed her. Everything was still in place. Some rides, she noticed, were new to her but almost all were still the same. She saw the roller coaster ride her mother was so terrified of. She saw the haunted house which made her cry when she was ten-years-old. She saw the Ferris wheel which was her parents' favorite ride (Hermione was never fond of it. She was afraid of heights). And then, there was the carousel. It was her most favorite ride in the whole Amusement Park. She enjoyed riding the fake horse while her parents watched her from the crowd, waving at her when she was within their sight.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes briefly. For a short moment, she imagined that her parents were there with her, holding both of her hands as they promised to make her day the best day she had ever had.
"Draco, where are we going?" she asked, curious after opening her eyes. None of the rides were moving anymore.
"Oh, just be patient, Beaver," he said, clutching her wrist. He led her to Merlin-only-knows-where.
She frowned. She wasn't really fond of secrets and surprises. But then, she saw the oh so familiar hotdog stand. Her family usually ate at that hotdog stand because they had the most delicious hotdog she had ever tasted. And she knew where this stand would lead them. Tears started to brim in her eyes as finally, her eyes landed on the ice skating rink her mother used to love so much.
The ice skating rink was different from the other rides or stands in Happy Land Amusement Park. The lights were on, illuminating the rink.
Memories flooded back to the brunette as she looked at Draco who was carefully watching her with a small smile on his face.
"I had to bribe a worker to keep this rink open for just the two of us," he told her. "I don't want you to go ice skating with a lot of people here in this rink, Hermione." He then pulled out his wand from his pocket and conjured a pair of white ice skates. "Here, wear these."
Grateful, Hermione clutched the ice skates away from the blond and removed her ordinary shoes. She was thankful she was wearing knee-length pants.
And then, she glided onto the ice.
Hermione had never felt so free before as she completed a small spin. She was glad she could still ice skate after six years. She looked at Draco, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Come on, Ferret! It's fun!"
"I don't know how to ice skate, Beaver," he truthfully said, cheeks reddening. For once, he admitted that he wasn't good at something.
The brunette laughed. "Oh come on," she said, twirling again. Her hair flew out behind her, splaying in the wind. "I'll teach you."
Sighing, Draco conjured another pair of ice skates in his favorite color (black). He didn't have any other choice. He changed footwear and attempted to glide smoothly onto the ice but Draco just slipped, feet working hard to keep him upright. Eventually, his feet couldn't keep up with his teetering body, resulting to a loud thud as his butt made contact with the cold ice.
Hermione laughed, cheeks flushed, as she smoothly glided towards the blond. She gripped both of his hands and pulled him up. "My God, Draco, you're so heavy," she told him. Draco scowled as he tried to regain his balance but to no avail. He would slip and start to fall, but Hermione kept an arm firmly wrapped around his waist. "Draco Malfoy is not good at ice skating. This must be the best day of my life," the brunette teased him.
Draco's scowl grew as he tried to steady himself by placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "I don't really fancy ice skating, Granger. This is so boring!" he whined. "I'd rather ride my broomstick and play Quidditch."
"I really don't understand why boys like Quidditch so much," the brunette said, unwrapping her arm from the blond's waist. She gripped both his hands and slowly, she glided backwards, leading him. Draco slipped again, though, thankfully, he didn't fall. "I mean, aren't you afraid you'll fall? Quidditch is the stupidest, most dangerous sport I had ever seen in my whole life."
"Many would disagree with you, Hermione," the blond said. "Why don't you try riding on a broomstick one day, huh? I promise you'll feel the excitement while zooming around the night sky. I bet you'll even feel the adrenaline rush."
"Excitement my ice skates," she mumbled, frowning. "I like my feet better on the ground, Draco, thank you very much."
He just chuckled at her comment.
They continued to skate around. Draco would occasionally fall, sometimes bringing a laughing Hermione down with him.
"Tell me more about Mrs. Granger, Hermione," the blond said after falling for the umpteenth time.
Hermione looked at him, surprised. But then, she gave him a small smile and sighed. "She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my whole life," she told him.
"Well, I guess our mothers are the most beautiful woman in our life's, Granger," Draco told her, making Hermione softly chuckle.
"Quite right," she said. "My mother had a very OCD personality. She liked everything clean and neat. If she saw a speck of dust in our house, she would make a fuss and would scrub and scrub until our house was squeaky clean. Guess I inherited that from her, huh?"
Draco smirked.
"She was a nice woman," she said, making a small spin. Draco stopped gliding now. "She would give food to the kids who were begging for money. My mother once lectured me about giving food instead of money if someone was begging. Told me they might just use it in a bad way. Anyway, she also made the best spaghetti I have ever tasted." She span again, oblivious to the fact that Draco was now sitting on the rink, knees drawn to his chest as he watched her… mesmerized. "She loved clothes… I definitely didn't inherit that from her. Every piece of clothing she wore looked smashing on her. And then…"
The blond completely zoned out. He didn't hear what Hermione was saying as he continued to watch her. She would spin and twirl at times, her hair billowing against her face. She would then absentmindedly swat her hair away from her face. But again, it would defy her wishes and billow against her face again.
A small smile grew on his face when the brunette tripped slightly. But then, his smile faded once he saw the tears streaming down the brunette's face. "Hermione," he called out, alarmed.
The brunette stopped ice skating and looked at him. "Yeah?" she asked. A tear slipped down from her eyes again. Surprised, Hermione placed a finger on her cheek. It was as if she hadn't noticed that she had been crying.
"Come here," he said, trying to stand up. Unfortunately, though, he fell flat on the floor again.
Hermione immediately glided towards the scowling blond. "Are you all right, Draco?" she asked, eyes wide and shining.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly, eyes trained on her puffy eyes. "Why are you crying?" He lifted his right hand and brushed her tears away from her cheeks.
"I don't know," she said truthfully, sniffling.
"Are you tired?" Draco asked. "Do you want to go home?"
She sighed. "I don't know," she whispered. "I'm… I'm tired, Draco. But I don't want to leave this place. It's… it's the only thing that reminds me of my parents."
Draco leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "Come on, I'll take you home." The blond waved his wand and immediately, their ice skates were replaced by their ordinary shoes. Another wave of his wand and then, the lights disappeared. He then clutched the brunette's arm and apparated both of them to her apartment.
Hermione shifted on her bed for the umpteenth time. There was a huge thunderstorm outside and it was making her quite uneasy. She had never been fond of storms. It was frightening her. There was something eerie about thunder and lightning.
She flinched when thunder roared in the night sky. She hugged her ferret closer to herself, trying to summon sleep but unfortunately, she didn't have any luck at all.
Rain was pattering hard against her window. She released a soft whimper as her room illuminated briefly because of the lightning.
"That's it," she said shakily, standing up from her bed. She was again wearing a white tank top and shorts. Her hair was messily scattered around her face as she bent down and grabbed her stuffed toy.
After taking a quick breath to calm herself, Hermione apparated to Draco's old room in the Manor, knowing that he would be spending the night there.
Upon seeing him lying on his bed, Hermione instantly felt relieved. Draco knew about her fear of storm, even though she pointedly denied it every time she would apparate to his house whimpering and sometimes crying because the storm was making her scared. Sometimes, Draco would predict the storm and would volunteer to sleep at her house, making up a silly excuse that she had learnt to just accept. He knew that Hermione was quite embarrassed about her fear.
Thunder roared again and the brunette squeaked. She approached the sleeping Draco and woke him up. "Draco, come on. Please wake up," she pressed urgently.
The blond stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around until his eyes focused on the panic-stricken brunette. "Granger, what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?" he asked, voice thick with sleep.
"Can I sleep here, please?" she asked. Hermione pointedly noticed that Draco's only clothing was his favorite boxers (designed with ferrets!). She didn't mind, though. She was used in seeing boys shirtless.
"Go home," he grunted, rolling over. He hugged his beaver stuffed toy closer to himself and covered his face with his comforter. He heard Hermione's squeak when lightning lit the room. He sighed knowingly and removed the comforter from his head. "Go back home, Hermione."
"I…I can't," she said shakily. "There's a… err… there's a boogey monster under my bed! And I'm scared!"
Despite his sleepiness, Draco chuckled. "Goodness, Granger, you're twenty-five-years old and you still believe in boogey monsters under your bed?" He watched as she whimpered from the sudden roar of thunder. He scooted to his left, giving Hermione some space. "Come here."
Hermione smiled gratefully and plopped down beside him. "Thanks, Malfoy," she murmured. She scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around his body. Hermione leaned her head against his bare back, a contented smile on her face.
"Sleep tight, Granger," he said, breathless.
"Don't let the bed bugs bite," she said. Soon, she was fast asleep, judging by her deep breathing.
Draco waited for a few more minutes before shifting on his bed to face the already slumbering brunette. It was moments like these that Draco's eyes would become unguarded. He placed a hand beside her cheek and gently rubbed his thumb against it. Hermione released a sigh but didn't wake up, making the blond bolder. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her towards him as close as possible. Her head ended buried in the crook between his shoulder and head, allowing him to feel her soft, warm breath blowing against his neck.
He then ran a hand through her hair, eyes drooping close. "Goodnight, love," he murmured, forehead leaning against her head. Soon, he was fast asleep.
"Draco, honey, breakfast is served!" Narcissa announced, opening her son's bedroom door. "Goodness Draco! You slept in again. Your Father's - ." She made an abrupt halt once her eyes landed on the two forms on top of Draco's bed. "Oh," she said, a hand now covering her mouth. "OH!"
Her eyes widened upon seeing Hermione on her son's bed. His arms were wrapped around her, as if he was hugging a teddy bear.
Hermione snapped awake, eyes immediately landing on the she-Malfoy. "Oh, Narcissa!" she said brightly, sitting up. "Good morning!" She shook the blond who eventually, though, begrudgingly woke up. "Morning Mother," he said, releasing a huge yawn.
"Why is -? Draco, why - ?" she asked, eyes still wide and disbelieving.
Draco's eyes widened, too. His cheeks grew hot. Hermione looked at him suspiciously, confused with his sudden reaction. "It's not what you're thinking, Mother!" he exclaimed, totally embarrassed.
"What are you – OH!" Hermione exclaimed, cheeks reddening, too. "It's not what you're thinking, Narcissa. See! I'm fully dressed!"
Mrs. Malfoy chuckled and shook her head. She approached Hermione and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Silly Hermione, of course I know that!" she exclaimed, eyes landing on her son. "I was just trying to tease" – she glared at Draco – "you." The blond scowled and rolled his eyes.
Hermione chuckled, too. "Well, got to go," she said. Her eyes landed on the blond and she gave him a smile. "Sorry for bothering you last Draco. I was just afraid of the boogey monster under my bed." She was trying her best to stifle her smile but failed, nonetheless.
Draco smirked widely. "Don't worry, Granger. I had a good time last night… OW!"
The brunette slapped his arm painfully, face furiously red. "Shut up," she growled. Draco was not unnerved, though.
"Do you want to eat breakfast here, dear?" Narcissa asked, looking at the two with amusement in her eyes.
"Thank you for the offer, Narcissa, but I'd rather not," Hermione said, standing up from the bed. She stretched luxuriously and released a wide yawn.
"I'm going home now."
"Oh, darling, even in the morning you still look so lovely," Narcissa complimented, shooting Draco a wide, knowing smile.
Hermione gave a smile for her thanks before apparating away. Once she was gone, the she-Malfoy looked at her son and shook her head. "You're hopeless, honey. Utterly hopeless."
"What?" he asked, glaring at his mother.
Narcissa just shook her head and gave him a kiss on the head. "Just freshen up, Draco. Breakfast is ready."
"Yeah, whatever," he grunted.
A/N: WHAT TIME IS IT? REVIEW TIME! LOL! Anyway, seriously, please review. So far, this is the sweetest chapter I had ever typed (thanks to my dear beta reader, tiger-eye-heart, for adding some stuffs here and there and correcting my grammar). Oh, and I like Good!Narcissa and Good!Lucius. Isn't Narcissa adorable? hahaha :D
And well, I just realized something. SIX MORE MONTHS BEFORE HP6! Hahaha, I seriously cannot wait.
Anyway, REVIEW!