Dinner time at the Manor was normally a formal affair, however the first meal of the summer break was always more relaxed as the family caught up. Mainly the conversation revolved around what Draco and Hermione had been up to that year, and dinner that night was no exception.
As usual both Draco and Hermione told several stories the other one never even knew had happened. Before they started school in first year Draco and Hermione had decided it would be safer for them not to meet up in school, they didn't want anyone to spot them talking and wonder why Draco was friends with a muggleborn. As such throughout their school lives their paths had rarely crossed, Draco hung out with his friends while Hermione was stuck with Harry and Ron.
Neither Draco nor Hermione were happy that they would often have to go months without talking but they understood the need to keep Hermione's real identity a secret. School holidays were normally the pair's favourite time but over the last few years Hermione's 'friends' had even encroached on that time. As often as she could get away with Hermione would make excuses when Ron asked her to join him and Harry at The Burrow but she did have to spend some time with the Weasley's so they didn't get suspicious. The fact that her 'friends' and their family dug into the precious time she had with her family, Draco especially, was yet another thing Hermione resented them for.
Once talk of school was finished the conversation drifted to that afternoon's 'kidnap' and what would happen next.
"First thing in the morning we send Hermione's book to the Order." Lucius said. "Will they definitely know it's your book?" He asked the witch.
"Yes, my name's written inside and Ginny knows what I was reading today." Hermione replied.
"What happens after that?" Draco asked.
"That's up to The Dark Lord." Lucius answered. "But I'm sure he'll want to taunt Potter and the Order before drawing them out."
"As long as he doesn't taunt them so much they realise they're likely to be walking into a trap and don't come." Hermione said.
"That would mean abandoning you." Draco pointed out. "They wouldn't do that."
"How do you know?" Hermione asked. "It would be stupid to risk several lives for one person."
"Yes it would." Lucius agreed. "But you're forgetting we're dealing with a bunch of Gryffindors here, they'll always act first and think of the consequences later."
"I'm a Gryffindor and I wouldn't walk into a trap." Hermione protested.
"You're not a true Gryffindor, sweetie." Narcissa smiled at Hermione. "You asked to be placed there if things had been different and you were genuinely sorted I bet you would have been a Slytherin."
"She's far too soft to be a Slytherin." Draco said, shooting Hermione an evil grin. "If you were to put the right person in a trap she'd walk into it in a second."
"I hope you're not insinuating you would be the right person to get me to fall into a trap. There's no way I'd rescue you." Hermione retorted.
"We both know you'd rescue me in a second." Draco grinned. "Your life would be boring without me."
"My life would be peaceful without you to annoy me." Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco, although she couldn't help but smile slightly.
"My life would be peaceful if you two learned not to argue at the dinner table." Narcissa said, interrupting the bickering before it reached full flow. "Sometimes I have no idea what's wrong with you two."
"It's called sexual tension, dear." Lucius replied from across the table.
Both Draco and Hermione looked totally mortified, causing Lucius to laugh at the pair. Narcissa briefly chuckled before scolding her husband for embarrassing the children, although she agreed with her husband regarding the sexual tension between Draco and Hermione. Shortly after that Hermione and Draco made their excuses and left the dining room for the night.
As their rooms were next to each other Hermione and Draco walked upstairs together, even though neither of them mentioned Lucius's comment. When they reached the floor where their rooms were located they stopped directly in between the two rooms, hovering awkwardly as neither were sure what to say to each other. Despite being best friends for ever there were still times they were unsure of what the other was thinking.
"I didn't mean it, you know." Hermione spoke first.
"Didn't mean what?" Draco teased. He knew full well what Hermione didn't mean but he still wanted to hear her admit it.
"I didn't mean it when I said I wouldn't rescue you if you were captured." Hermione said. "I'm kind of attached to you so I would rescue you."
"Even if it meant walking into a trap?" Draco asked with a smile.
"Yes, even if it meant walking into a trap." Hermione admitted. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for Draco and Hermione knew the blond boy knew that as well as she did.
"I'm flattered." Draco grinned. "And just for the record I didn't mean what I said either. You're not too soft to be a Slytherin, you'd be a brilliant addition to Slytherin."
"It's just a shame I didn't get the chance." Hermione said. She didn't regret her decision to pose as a muggleborn to help the dark side but she did sometimes wish she could have been sorted into the house she grew up wanting to join.
"You and I could have ruled Slytherin easily." Draco said. "No-one would have messed with us."
"I was under the impression you already ruled Slytherin." Hermione smiled. She was aware of Draco's fearsome reputation and the fact that no Slytherin would ever dare go against something he did or said.
"I do." Draco replied cockily. "It would just be more fun if I had you with me."
"Maybe when this is over I can be." Hermione said. "When we win this war everyone will know how much we contributed and we'll be heroes."
"That still wouldn't change the fact you're not a Slytherin." Draco said. "Lions aren't welcome in the snake pit."
"I'm sure you could make an exception for me." Hermione said, moving so she was standing directly in front of Draco. "I would make it worth your while."
"How would you do that?" Draco asked, trying not to stare down Hermione's top again.
"You'll have to wait and see, but I promise you'll like it." Hermione said, reaching up and giving Draco another peck on the cheek. "Night Draco." She whispered in his ear before pulling back and heading into her room.
Draco stood for a while looking at Hermione's closed door before he went into his own room, shutting the door behind him.
By the early hours of the morning Hermione still hadn't fallen asleep, her mind was firmly on the boy sleeping in the room next door and their changing relationship. For a long time Hermione had only thought of Draco as a friend but over the last couple of years she had come to realise he meant much more to her than that.
Looking back Hermione wondered if part of her always knew she thought of Draco as more than a friend. Despite knowing all about her real parents Hermione considered Narcissa and Lucius her mum and dad but she had never thought of Draco as her brother. She was also aware that no-one had ever referred to her and Draco that way either, while she had heard both Lucius and Narcissa call her their daughter she had never heard them call her and Draco brother and sister and Draco had never referred to her as his sister.
Despite growing up like siblings and having a deep bond with each other Hermione only ever thought of them as friends. From an early age Hermione knew Draco was her best friend and that she would never be closer with anyone else. The only time Hermione ever worried about their friendship was when they were due to start school and she knew they wouldn't be able to talk every day.
For the first year of school Hermione worried that Draco would prefer his new Slytherin friends and once they were home he wouldn't want to know her. The fact that they rarely saw each other in first year did little to help Hermione's worries. Fortunately when the holiday's rolled round little had changed between the pair and Draco reassured Hermione that they would always be friends.
It wasn't until second year that Hermione and Draco started coming into more regular contact at school. While Draco had made enemies out of Harry and Ron in first year he usually ignored Hermione during the occasional run-ins they had. Second year saw an increase in the arguments, she was sure that Harry and Ron would often look for Draco just to have an argument.
With the increased level of interaction it was harder for Draco to ignore Hermione, it got to the point he had to insult her just to make sure no-one got suspicious of their friendship. As the run-ins increased steadily throughout second, third and fourth year Hermione realised that Harry and Ron were pretty ineffectual during the arguments. Usually they let Draco insult them while they lost their tempers, every now and again they managed to throw in an insult but those were few and far between.
The more Harry and Ron remained quiet during these encounters the more Hermione found herself speaking up and fighting their corner. Throwing insults at Draco wasn't anything new as while they were close growing up they could also fight like cat and dog. Both Hermione and Draco came to look forward to their arguments, they would often reminisce in the holidays and congratulate each other on a particular impressive insult.
The more Hermione and Draco argued the more vicious the insults became and the more people were convinced the pair truly detested each other. The only thing they had to be careful of was to make sure their arguments looked nastier than they were, throwing the odd hex here and there often disguised the fact they were both enjoying the verbal sparring they often indulged in.
Hermione wasn't sure exactly when the romantic feelings seeped into their friendship, although she suspected they were always there and were just well buried until Christmas of their fifth year. Hermione had spent Christmas that year at home, much to her relief, the Weasley's had tried to get her to spend the holiday with them but Hermione insisted she should return home and be with her family. The entire holidays had passed far too quickly for Hermione's liking and before she knew it she was packing to go back to school.
After Hermione had finished her packing she had stripped off ready for a shower when Draco had suddenly arrived in her room. Hermione and Draco never knocked when entering each other's room so when Draco had wanted to ask Hermione something he had just wandered into her room, not realising she was only wearing her underwear.
Hermione could still remember the way Draco had stared at her for several minutes, his eyes wandering over her scantily clad body. After a while Draco seemed to realise he was staring so he stuttered out an apology and bolted from the room, his pale face flushed bright red. Hermione had found Draco's embarrassment amusing but she also found she wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed herself, in fact she really hadn't minded the way Draco had looked at her.
That incident seemed to be the catalyst for the growing attraction between the pair. After that incident Hermione caught Draco looking at her far more often than normal and she herself started paying closer attention to her good looking friend. By the end of fifth year Hermione definitely knew that she thought of Draco as more than a friend and judging by the lustful looks he threw in her direction the feeling was mutual.
During the summer between fifth and sixth year Hermione considered discussing their attraction to each other with Draco. She knew however that if their relationship took a romantic turn it would be harder for them to stay away from each other at school so she refrained from discussing things with Draco. Despite not mentioning anything to Draco he seemed to be on the same wave length as he repeatedly mentioned how much easier things would be once Hermione could stop pretending to be someone she wasn't.
Their fights during sixth year got even more heated as the repressed sexual tension between them threated to explode. Several times Hermione had to use all her willpower to refrain from kissing Draco mid-fight and she was often aware that if they had been alone their arguments would have ended up with them ripping each other's clothes off. Luckily all of their friends seemed to miss the real reason for the tension between them, Hermione's friends were convinced that she hated Draco more than anyone while Draco's friends though he felt the same about her.
As Hermione lay in her bed thinking about Draco she thought about the revelation she had had earlier in the day, things were now very different and her life could return to normal. She had already decided that even if Voldemort failed to draw Harry out and end the war there was no way Hermione was going back to pretending, she was now free to be with Draco. For the last year Hermione had been subtly flirting with Draco but she had upped the flirtation in the few hours since he returned home with the hope that things could finally progress with their relationship.
Smiling at the thought of what was to come Hermione finally drifted off to sleep, wondering how long it would take her and Draco to give into their lust and fall into bed together.