Disclaimer: Check previous chapters, please :D
A/N: WOOH, well, here's chapter thirty-one of Only a Pretense! It's unbeta-ed, by the way. I just started my senior year in high school last Monday and I had been insanely busy already. Yep, busy on the very first week of school, but it's because of college admission talks and applications. Stuff like that. After all, college is a BIG DEAL here in our country so… there XD
Anyway, I'll stop babbling. I present to you, chapter thirty-one! Review afterwards *wink* *wink* Enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-One: Three Healers
Hermione had been right in predicting of a downpour on the day she had her first picnic with her other Slytherin roommates. Although, she overlooked the fact that it would not merely be a drizzle but an all-out storm.
It had been raining for a week now and the students roaming around the school were feeling lethargic. The weather had been almost cold and the constant pitter-pattering of the raindrops seemed to hypnotize the students and beckon them to fall asleep right where they were.
The constant buzzing of the Great Hall was reduced to a soft hush, drowned by the unceasing thunder resounding all over the Unplottable castle. Lightning would continually flash, illuminating the whole room. Some candles were already extinguished because of the powerful breeze and the teachers were already annoyed in relighting them. Dumbledore, ever amused, only waved his wand and that did the trick. No matter how much the wind was powerful, the light of the candles were too stubborn to be extinguished from their wicks.
Afternoon classes had been cancelled the next day. The teachers had observed that no matter how much they tried to get the attention of their students, their attention would always divert away to the windowpanes or just snore themselves into dreamland.
To say the students were ecstatic was an understatement. Hermione, for one, was eternally grateful for this sudden delightful announcement from Dumbledore. This was, to put it simply, surprising for her, especially since she was renowned as someone who enjoyed studying, no matter how boring the lessons could be.
Hermione seemed to be sporting this humongous headache recently. Teddy blamed it on the bad weather, which she agreed. Storms rarely visited Hogwarts, after all. Magical persons rarely contracted such diseases like flu and fevers and so, it was understandable that they were still healthy, despite the drastic change in the weather. But then, almost all of the Muggle-borns in school was another story; their immune system seemed to be surprised with the sudden change of weather; thus, the flu.
Now, the whole castle was silent, seeing that almost all of the students retired back to their bed earlier than the usual, comfortably snuggled under their warm comforters.
Almost all of the Slytherins seemed to be the only ones awake in the whole castle. After all, it was a Saturday and despite how much they longed to be tucked under their blankets, they couldn't. Their meeting time was looming and they could not afford to go to sleep, especially if they want to go back to Hogwarts in one piece.
There was this rumor running around the circle of new Death Eaters that instead of using rats as their practice dummies, they would actually be using human beings now. Almost everybody, if not all, was not exactly enthusiastic with this gossip. Some inquired to their Senior Death Eater Draco Malfoy, but he was adamant to keep quiet.
Teddy and Blaise had asked him to tell if it was true and Draco only shook his head stubbornly. Even Hermione had beseeched him with that ridiculously adorable look of hers. His resolve almost broke, but thankfully, the young Malfoy had enough logic in him to know that if secrets from their Dark Lord were revealed, he would be at the receiving end of the monster's wand. And no matter how much Draco loathed the said poor excuse of a human being, he still had the decency not to provoke Voldemort. After all, they were talking about the vilest, most powerful wizard of the whole Wizarding World.
"It's almost time," Draco reminded to the whole bunch of awakened Slytherins in the common room after noticing that a few of them were starting to doze off. His announcement had been effective, seeing that they all snapped awake and focused their attention to the grandfather clock with snakes as its hands permanently bewitched against the wall under Salazar Slytherin's portrait.
Hermione, who was one of those who were almost falling asleep, groaned and slowly sat up. She had been extra grumpy that day because of numerous reasons. One: she had to put up with Ronald Bilius Weasley's constant foul attitude as they met up in the library to start researching about Draught of the Living Death and its effects to the drinker. To say that it was awful would be like saying that Hagrid was not a half-giant.
Another was that Seamus Finnigan, another fellow Gryffindor of hers, was the reason why for the very first time, Hermione failed a practice exercise. They had Transfiguration first thing in the morning and she was actually looking forward to it. She was partnered to the Irish bloke and he had this reputation of blowing up almost everything he jinxed. They were trying to transfigure a cactus into a rose and Finnigan, ever proud, audaciously announced to Hermione that he could do it all by himself and he did not need a 'snarky Slytherin's' help. Hermione, helpless, only watched as their cactus burst into flames and was given a 'T' by Professor McGonagall for the very first time. She had cried her eyes out on Harry during both of their free periods and pointedly ignored how Harry tried to restrain himself from laughing but failed miserably.
During History of Magic, their last subject before lunch, Hermione managed to do another first in her whole student life. Because for the very first time, the brunette allowed herself to sleep on that subject and miss the chance of taking down informative notes she could use for the NEWTs. She was so frustrated once she woke up and merely glared at her parchment with obvious drool splattered on it.
To top it all, her headache worsened. It had been throbbing like mad as she trailed behind Draco (who had History of Magic with her whilst Teddy and Blaise had Care for Magical Creatures), sullen and cranky all the way. The Malfoy heir, instead of helping, was only amused that the mighty Hermione Granger he knew was suddenly becoming all bitchy to everyone now.
"You can stay here, if you're not feeling well, Austen," Draco offered as a suggestion.
Hermione sighed and then shook her head. "Tempting," she commented, gently rubbing her temples to soothe her raging headache. "But I've been absent once already and you know how Voldemort hates those who make up stupid excuses. I can't use the 'Dumbledore and I have a meeting' thing. He might start getting suspicious."
"Here, drink this," Blaise piped in, gently placing a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea on her hands. "I placed a Soothing Potion in it. It might help, I guess."
The brunette flashed a smile at the Italian and sipped the tea. "Thanks, Blaise," she said.
He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and gave her a charming smile. "No problem," he answered back.
Teddy, who had fully dozed off on the couch, suddenly shot up from the couch, alarmed. "What? Where? Why? How?" he exclaimed frantically, brandishing his wand out and lashed out at nothing. Upon seeing the amused looks from his best friends, he blinked and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I had a bad dream," he said, settling comfortably beside Hermione. "Gloomy weather plus gloomy castle equals gloomy dreams. Can't blame the bloke now, can we?"
The carefree Slytherin stretched luxuriously, his arms raised high above his head. When he was about to put them down, he subtly reached over to place them comfortably on Hermione's shoulders. Draco, sickened by his old moves, shoved his arm not-so-gently, which had toppled him off the couch. Teddy landed with a dull 'thud', muffled by their ornate, carpeted floor.
"Damn you!" he exclaimed, shooting up from the ground and pointing a threatening finger at the blond. "You did that on purpose!"
Draco tried to look as innocent as possible. "Language, Nott," he tutted. "There are children around here."
Teddy silently seethed and grudgingly plopped down beside Hermione on the couch once again, this time crossing his arms like a petulant child.
"Now, now, children," Blaise announced, mockingly patting Teddy's lap. Theodore glared and shoved his hand away.
Hermione, amused, couldn't help but chuckle softly under her breath. They were seriously acting like a bunch of five-year-olds. She wondered if Draco and Blaise, who obviously scorned immaturity, realized they would sometimes turn into immature blokes once they started goofing around with Teddy.
"It's time," Draco suddenly said, eyes trained intently on the grandfather clock.
All traces of humor were gone now from the other three and Hermione couldn't help but scowl. Trust Voldemort and his sick ideology to ruin this wonderful moment between good friends.
With a sigh, she stood up from the couch and donned her Death Eater robes and mask. She went into line while Draco moved towards the very front, leading the whole troupe. Two masked Slytherins, which she immediately knew were both Blaise and Teddy, flanked her side and together with the rest, they walked out of the Slytherin common room.
Hermione wordlessly entered the Slytherin common room, afraid that if she were to open her mouth, she might spew all over the carpeted floor.
The Death Eater training for that day was horrifying. Sickening, if she were to describe it further. Apparently, the rumor of using human beings as practice dummies was actually true. And Hermione was not entirely happy with the change of their errand.
Instead of those poor caged rats as their practice dummies, they now used those useless and disobedient Death Eaters who all have offended Voldemort. It was their punishment; to be dummies of the newbies, those who still were not used to using the Dark Arts.
Hermione was so appalled by Voldemort's sudden order. She had to restrain herself from stomping to the Dark Lord's quarters and hex him right there and then, prophecy be damned. 'How could he?' she had asked herself over and over again, stopping herself from bursting into tears as yet again, she watched a Death Eater writhe in pain on the cold, stone floor.
She wanted to defy his orders, be stubborn and audacious and just… be a Gryffindor. She wanted to immobilize everyone in the room and then release all those poor Death Eaters. They might be bigoted Purebloods, but still, they were human beings, and they did not deserve such treatment from anybody.
Thank Merlin for Draco Malfoy because without him, she would have gone insane right there and then. He knew all along that they were going to use human beings as their practice dummies. While they journeyed out of the Hogwarts castle and into Hogsmeade, she found herself accompanying him, Blaise and Teddy nowhere to be found. They had a light conversation, which was surprising, since everything was tensioned around them.
He dropped hints; clues that they would stop using rats from now on. She even thought that he heard sincere worry in his voice as he continued to give her lighthearted clues on what would happen that night.
She almost cried when she walked inside the dungeons, a bunch of weakened Death Eaters piled neatly at the middle of the very room. Apparently, she guessed, they were tortured beforehand before they were to be used by the newbies.
Draco seemed to be constantly around her all throughout the training session. He seemed to detect her sudden defiance and he reminded her again and again as softly as he could that she had a task. He would constantly mutter words connected to her task. Hearing those made her stop doing something stupid, although, she could constantly feel tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.
And now that the training for that night had ended, Hermione reckoned her headache never seemed so huge before. She guessed that a band of banshees and hippogriffs were stampeding inside her head. Or partying wildly, which was equally unpleasant. She had been feeling absolutely sick as they ventured back to Hogwarts, worn-out and dreary.
Despite her nausea during their training, she was able to observe that Blaise and Teddy did wonderfully. She knew, deep down, they loathed what they were doing. But as Slytherins and Purebloods, she guessed they were raised to be stoic and cold when confronted by things they absolutely hated. Because of that, she further admired Blaise and Teddy… almost all of the Slytherins for hiding behind such carefully crafted mask of apathy.
Draco crafted the best mask of them all. With chin raised in confidence and wand poised to curse, nobody would ever suspect that he was sickened with what he was doing and that he had absolutely no choice but to follow if he wanted to preserve his life and his mother's.
Thinking about that made Hermione ponder if the spoiled first year she used to see in the corridors, bullying other students, was actually the real Draco Malfoy. But then again, she was still not entirely sure who the real him was. Even he, who should know himself better than others, did not know who he truly was.
Which was saddening, really.
"Careful," the blond suddenly warned, grabbing her right arm to stop her from toppling over. His sudden voice had cut her off from her reverie. Her mind went back into present, which she wished did not, because her headache seemed worse than ever.
"Are you all right?" worried Blaise asked, grabbing her other arm and helped Draco direct her to her bed.
Before she even knew it, she was sitting on her bed.
"I don't feel so good," she moaned, placing her head in between her knees.
"Are you going to vomit again?" Teddy asked, trying to lighten the mood around the room. Draco, who thought he was not helping at all, glared.
Hermione suddenly perked up, her face abnormally green, before standing up with great speed. She ran towards the bathroom, pushing Blaise aside in the process. Once she arrived at their loo, she knelt down in front of the toilet bowl and started to barf.
Amidst her retching, she distinctively heard Malfoy tutting. "I knew you should have stayed behind," he lightly reprimanded, although missing his usual disapproving tone.
Someone suddenly rubbed her back with soothing circles. She took a deep breath, comforted by the sudden gestures, and felt Teddy wiping her mouth with a conjured, moist towel.
That was all she remembered before everything turned black and she fell limply against Blaise's chest.
When she woke up the next morning, she felt like she had eaten a thousand stones. Her stomach felt heavy, despite vomiting all of its contents last night. Her mouth, though, was abnormally parched and with all of her might, she sat up to grab her wand.
"Easy there," somebody commented. Hermione focused her blurry eyes at the other occupant in the room and met Blaise's onyx eyes. "Water? Do you want water?"
She made a feeble sound, hoping it sounded close to a simple 'yes'. Merlin, even talking seemed so hard for her!
Thankfully, Blaise seemed to get what she was trying to say for he gently placed a cool cup of water on her hand. Hermione greedily gulped its contents and before she knew it, the cup was empty.
"Thanks," she managed to gasp out. She cringed at the sound of her voice, which was almost unrecognizable.
Blaise nodded, grabbing the cup from her hands and gently placing it on her bedside table. "Merlin, Hermione, you're awfully warm today," he commented, a small frown marring his handsome features. "Draco's right, you know. You should have stayed here instead of accompanying us to the Malfoy Manor. Your condition might have gotten worse."
She released a noncommittal sound for her reply. "Not in the mood… for reprimanding," she wheezed out, followed by wracking coughs. Blaise was quick enough to give her a handkerchief, which she gratefully clutched and covered her mouth.
"M-merlin," she stammered, throat still raw from coughing. "I've never been this sick before."
The Italian chuckled and flourished his wand. "You haven't taken care of yourself quite well, Granger," he lightly scolded, although a charming smile was still seen on his face. "Now, look at you; your immune system is taking its revenge."
Hermione softly chuckled and was about to lie down on her bed once again but Blaise stopped her.
"Wait, I'm going to let you drink something." He summoned a small vial from his trunk. He grabbed the cup from her bed and poured the contents of the liquid inside it. Next, he grabbed a teapot Hermione was surprised to be there and poured some tea inside the cup, too.
"Here, drink this," he said, giving her the now filled cup. "Tea plus a little Pepper-Up Potion works amazingly together. I bet that you'll be well in no time."
The brunette eyed the cup fondly then stared at Blaise, trying to smile at him brightly. She only managed a small one of her own, but it was still enough for him. "Thanks," she said yet again. "I'm being such a nuisance now, huh? I'm depriving you from your free time by taking care of me."
"Nonsense," he said, sounding as if what she just said was preposterous. "That's what friends do, right? Take care of each other. And besides, I'll be leaving as soon as you drink your tea. You'll feel sleepy as soon as you downed all of its contents anyway. You'll be lethargic for the rest of the day, I'm warning you. Also, once you wake up, Teddy might probably be here instead of me. We're switching duties today."
"Duties?" she asked.
He nodded. "Of taking care of you," he elaborated. "We struck a deal last night as soon as you passed out. For every meal, one will return here in our room and take care of you."
Her heart swelled in gratitude. "Both Teddy and you?" She was hoping for Draco, too, which had greatly surprised her. Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment, thankful that she had been blushing a few moments ago because of too much warmth.
Ever so slightly, Blaise raised his eyebrow. "Well, Draco's included, if that's what you're hoping for," he nonchalantly said, although the green monster inside him had once again burst into life.
If it was possible, her cheek darkened. "I'm not hoping… for that." She yawned in between her protest, which Blaise found strangely adorable.
"Now, now," he said, slowly standing up from his seat. "I think I'm straining you too much. You're supposed to be well tomorrow. Drink that up right now."
She obliged without any protest and downed its contents. As soon as she finished the tea with Pepper-Up Potion, Hermione started feeling a little bit woozy.
"Thanks," she murmured once again, releasing a huge yawn. Her eyes started to droop and she allowed Blaise to push her slightly back on her bed.
"Sleep tight," was the last thing she heard from Blaise before succumbing into darkness.
The next time she woke up, she guessed it was probably noon, judging by the brightness all over the room. She had to shield her eyes from the light, groaning as the intensity of the light had made her headache worse. Blaise's tea and Pepper-Up Potion had apparently not worked; Hermione was still feeling dizzy and nauseous.
"Oh, the light, I'm sorry," a voice proclaimed. She heard a few shuffling here and there and soon, the room was coated once again with calming darkness. Hermione sighed, voicing out her comfort, and tried to open her eyes to thank the other person in the room.
Her eyes met the blue eyes of Teddy Nott and she smiled. "Hey," she greeted, trying to sit up from her bed.
Teddy was immediately beside her and helped her up. "Hi," he exclaimed, smiling down at the brunette. "How are you feeling?"
"Awful," she truthfully said, although the small smile was still seen on her face.
"Blaise said he had given you a small amount of Pepper-Up Potion already," he continued, this time frowning. "But I guess it did not work. Your fever hasn't gone down ever since. I think it went up a degree or two even."
"I figured that out," she said with and pained sigh. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Four hours or so, I'm not really sure," Teddy said, inviting himself to sit on her bed. "I just came back from the Great Hall after eating lunch."
Hermione managed to flash a small smile. "So, it's your duty now, huh?" she asked, shifting slightly on the bed to look at Teddy.
The carefree Slytherin smiled back happily. "Yeah," he said. "I'm not really good at taking care of people, if you must know. Annie rarely got sick at home and when she is sick, I'm usually not beside her. So bare with me okay?"
He suddenly perked up, as if remembering something, before fishing out a few candy pieces from his pocket. "Here are my few favorite sweets," he proclaimed, gently dropping them on her lap. "I don't know if it will make you well, though. But what's the best cure for discomfort… SWEETS!"
'For Teddy Nott, most probably,' she thought, trying her best not to look witheringly at the innocent candies on her lap. Apparently, Teddy had been telling the truth – he was not really good in taking care of people. He should have known that giving sweets, or anything with a sickening amount of sugar really, are not good for sick people.
But goodness gracious, he was looking so pleased and hopeful at her. Teddy looked as if he had done something worthy of her applause. And she hated to offend him. He was, after all, only trying to help her be well once again. His innocence (plain stupidity if she was to use Draco Malfoy's vocabulary) should not be blamed at all.
"Minnie?" he suddenly asked, uttering his nickname for her. An unknowing smile appeared on her face; hearing him say his father's term of endearment for her had fueled her determination to eat the sweets and not disappoint adorable Teddy.
She just gave him a sleepy grin and grabbed a random sweet on her lap. Hermione opened the wrapper and popped it inside her mouth. She tried her best not to cough. Somehow, her infected throat detected the sickening sweetness of the candy. It had started to become itchy.
"Thanks," she smiled, hoping against hope that the smile on her face had not turned into an awful grimace.
"It helped?" he asked.
Hermione merely shrugged.
"I hope so!" he exclaimed.
Her cheeks started to get a little purple from restraining herself from coughing.
Teddy grew alarmed. "Minnie… GRANGER!" His alarm morphed into horror as Hermione started coughing horribly, sounding so raspy and hoarse the young Nott flinched countless times. "Sweet Salazar, are you all right?"
She waved a dismissive hand while rubbing her chest to cease her cough. "I'm… fine," she managed to wheeze out, taking a few calming breaths.
He was looking ludicrously hysterical; Hermione had to restrain herself from laughing. "I'm sorry!" he cried, conjuring a cup and bewitching it to fill up with water up to the brim. He gently gave it to Hermione and she finished its contents in no time. "I'm terribly sorry."
"It's all right," she answered back, a huge wave of dizziness suddenly overcoming her form.
"You look pale," he pointed out, almost whining. "I did something wrong, didn't I?" Realization dawned into him. "Sick people should not eat sweets?" She merely smiled sheepishly. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Hermione tiredly sighed and lowered herself on her bed, covering her whole form with the comforter. The sweets placed neatly on her lap tumbled slowly until they landed on her bed. "I did not want to burst your hopeful bubble," she honestly confessed, giving him a sweet smile. "But thanks nonetheless."
Teddy groaned and stomped a few steps towards her. "Draco and Blaise will kill me if they discovered I did not take care of you properly!" he cried, crouching down to be leveled with her head.
She gingerly retrieved her hand under her comfort and fondly placed it against his cheek. He seemed surprised with her action; she even felt him heat up under her touch. "You did a very sweet thing, Teddy," she said. "No need to get so fussy because you're giving me a massive headache."
He blushed deeper and stood up, determined to be quiet so as not to worsen her headache. Hermione found his silly determination absolutely cute.
"Is it all right if I sleep now?" she asked. "You might get bored to tears."
"It's fine," he whispered. He absentmindedly tucked her comforter securely around her. "Go to sleep, Minnie."
He seemed to struggle on what to do next and finally settled to do something that had immensely surprised both – Teddy kissed her forehead.
"Get well soon," he mumbled almost incoherently, cheeks the envy of all the tomatoes in the whole world.
Hermione only smiled and hummed under her breath, her eyes gradually drooping. The last thing she remembered was seeing this goofy grin spread widely on his face.
It was Draco's turn to be 'on duty' that night after dinner. Teddy, unsurprisingly, had landed himself in another detention for fooling around. Blaise, on the other hand, had to tutor a pathetic fourth year Slytherin who was failing in Potions.
And so, as much as he wanted to retire to the library and read a Potions book recommended by his godfather, he couldn't. And of course, it was all Hermione Granger's fault.
'It's always her fault,' he thought, snorting.
Her determination was sometimes worthy of his infamous 'Draco smile'. But most of the time, Draco reckoned she was being plain stupid and too Gryffindor for his own liking. One perfect example of this was what had happened last night. It was blatantly obvious that she was not feeling well. After all, she had a rough half-day and it would have been best if she just ditched their Death Eater training that night and retire back to bed. But she was adamant to come. Goodness, he even had the urge to throw her over his shoulders and lock her in their room until they came back!
Draco only sighed and climbed up the staircase towards the Slytherin rooms, the recommended Potions book in hand.
He thought she was being too hard on herself. Her health had dropped drastically ever since the day when she first arrived at the hidden room where her parents were currently residing but was then stopped by Rookwood. She had spent an awful lot of time in the library, researching and researching on the counterhexes of the wards surrounding her parent's room.
It was funny for him, seeing that he had been acting like her a few weeks after his mother was confined in St. Mungo's. He had dedicated almost all of his free time in the library, earnestly trying to find a cure for the dark curse Lucius had placed upon her (and secretly trying to distract himself from the fact that Hermione Granger had just died). Healers were slowly giving up on her case already and he could perfectly see it. It was not exactly the expression a son wanted to see on the healers' faces regarding the state of his mother.
And so, he researched and researched and researched… yet, he did not approve of Hermione's constant researching.
'Funny indeed,' he thought, now fully stepping inside their room and noiselessly closing the door behind him.
When he turned around to look at the brunette, he scowled. Merlin, she looked awful! She was still sleeping but he could see that she was physically hurting now.
Draco carefully approached her bed. Up close, she looked more awful than he thought. The dark bags under her eyes were prominent. Sweat was forming on her forehead and she seemed to have some slight difficulty in breathing.
'Did Nott and Zabini really take care of her?' he mused, absentmindedly setting his book on the chair beside her bed.
He gingerly reached for her forehead, planning to wipe away the perspiration from it, but when his fingers touched her pale skin, he retrieved it back almost immediately. She was burning hot and it had alarmed Draco immensely.
"Merlin, Hermione, what are you doing to yourself?" he thought aloud, brushing off her fringes from her sticky forehead. "Next thing you'll know you'd be occupying that empty casket of yours."
The young Malfoy sighed once again and planned to go straight to the infirmary to get a Pepper-Up Potion from Madam Pomfrey when the sick brunette on the bed stirred.
Draco carefully watched her when a soft moan escaped from her lips and she blearily opened her eyes. Seeing her awake made him think that instead of getting well, her illness seemed to get worse.
"Hey," he thought, slightly bending down to look at her more clearly.
She peered up at him through unfocused eyes. Hermione seemed to stare up at him blankly at first, before releasing another soft groan.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, which he later on thought was a stupid thing to ask, seeing that her answer was predictable.
Hermione answered him nonetheless. "Like hell," she rasped out. Draco cringed at the sound of her voice.
"Those gits did not take care of you properly, did they?" he asked, roaming around her form. His eyes landed on the candies Teddy had previously given to her and scoffed. "I should have known Theo would be stupid enough to offer you candies when you're not supposed to eat one."
Her form of reply was a raspy cough. She tried to sit up but Draco gently placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down. "Oh no, no, nuisance," he said. "It's better if you don't exert too much effort."
She did not budge and her head hit the pillow once again. Her clammy hand clutched his wrist, her grip weak from deliriousness. "It's cold," she moaned. "Darn cold."
He immediately summoned his comforter and wrapped it around Hermione's form. "Better?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Draco," she said, "it's cold."
He sighed and stared helplessly at his wand. One thing he learned from Madam Pomfrey was that no spell could comfort a sick person. Healers and researchers did not bother to find or create one, seeing that flu and fevers were almost foreign to the wizards and witches of the Wizarding World; the blood flowing inside their bodies serve as barriers from these certain viruses. Thus, flu and fevers were still a bit… Muggle for them. And Hermione Granger was Muggle-born, and so, it wouldn't be surprising if she caught a cold.
"I'm going to get a Pepper-Up Potion, you just wait here…" His voice faltered when she refused to let go of his wrist.
"Stay," she said. "Please."
In normal circumstances, he would have fought hard not to succumb to her wishes, despite the fact that he had loved her dearly ever since. But now, seeing her so vulnerable… so weak… Her requests seemed irresistible. He did not put up a fight. "But you're cold," he reasoned out, although all thoughts of going to the infirmary were all gone.
She only released a strangled groan for her answer.
A sudden idea occurred to Draco and he had pushed it away almost immediately. It was silly; plain stupid even. And besides, he did not want Hermione to think that he was taking advantage of her during her weakened state.
But it was the only thing he could think of right now. He had read somewhere in the library after begrudgingly researching something for Muggle Studies (which all were required to take up at least once before graduation), he came across a book saying that the best thing that could comfort a sick person was physical warmth.
Physical warmth. Body. Arms… Hug.
That meant he had to lie down beside her, wrap his arms around her form and pull her towards himself. They were not exactly new to Draco. He had fantasized in doing that numerous times to Hermione already. But doing it for real?
'Fat chance,' he thought, although knowing that his resolve was crumbling down. She was visibly shaking now, trying to wrap the two comforters around her shivering body as much as possible.
"For heaven's sake," he grumbled under his breath and gently pushed her aside to give him room.
He slipped under the two comforters beside her, stock-still, afraid that if he were to move, she would suddenly push him away with all the strength she could muster and accuse him for being a sick, perverted git. It was awfully warm underneath the thick blankets and it did not help ease his discomfort.
Then to his immense shock, he felt her arm wrap instinctively around his midsection and tried to transfer his body heat to her own.
Despite her delirious state, she sensed his astonishment. "Just a minute," she murmured, comfortably snuggling against his chest. "And you can get up."
She stayed silent and was soon fast asleep, her head slightly leaning against his chest.
Butterflies fluttered wildly inside his stomach and he furiously blushed but did not let her go. In fact, he allowed his itching arms to wrap themselves around the slumbering brunette and pulled her closer to him.
The feeling he was experiencing now was absolutely indescribable; this was different from the fantasies he came up in his mind. It was real, absolutely real, and he was not imagining it during one of his Hermione-deprived moments.
His 'Draco smile' appeared on his face as he gazed at her face, letting his adoration for her shine blatantly in his eyes.
Despite the uncomfortable heat he was feeling, despite the fact that she was still disguised as a boy, and despite how sickly and ashen she looked, he thought he had never seen her so beautiful before.
"Blasted bint," he grumbled. "Making me sappy."
He tucked his chin comfortably on top of her head and released a noiseless yawn. He was feeling sleepy himself.
As his eyes slowly drooped due to tiredness, Draco Malfoy was absolutely sure of two things that time. One: Hermione's promised minute had finally ended.
And two: he never wanted to let go of her anymore.
He was slipping in and out of dreamland. He would stir countless times, arms surrounding such a warm and comfortable pillow, but he wouldn't dare open his eyes. He was comfortable, too comfortable perhaps, and he did not want to leave this bed with an abnormally soft pillow just to move to his own. He knew it wasn't his bed. His own bed was softer than this one, but strangely, he felt more comfortable here.
Draco distinctively heard a door opening and shuffling feet. He softly sighed in contentment, snuggled nearer his comfortable pillow, which had in fact, caught the attention of the newcomers in the room.
"You… YOU SICK, PERVERTED PIG!"
His eyes bolted open almost immediately. He sat up, alarmed. He instinctively slipped his hand under the pillow, expecting to find his wand, but he then remembered that he was not on his own bed.
Draco's mercurial eyes focused on his best friends, one fuming and the other slightly shocked, and rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, Nott," he started, noticing how his best friend's nostrils flared in anger. "No need to be so noisy."
Teddy had taken big strides until he was beside the bed and to Draco's immense surprise, grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the bed. Since the Malfoy heir was caught off guard, he was not able to fight back. Instead, he landed with a painful 'thud' on the carpeted floor.
"What the hell are you on about, Nott?" the irate Slytherin cried in exclamation, standing up almost immediately from his fall.
Instead of being answered by the usually carefree Slytherin, a voice broke all throughout the room. "Teddy?" Hermione's croaky voice whispered.
Draco watched, stock-still, as the Theodore rushed towards Hermione's side, who was now wide awake, and rubbing her itchy eye…
… on the bed he had been occupying moments ago.
Oh.
"Oh," he said, saying it aloud instead of merely voicing it out inside his head.
Teddy subtly glared into his direction before turning back to Hermione, his face morphing from unadulterated anger to worry. "Are you all right, Minnie?" he gushed out. "Did he do something to you?"
Her face scrunched up into confusion as her eyes darted to Blaise, and lastly to Draco, who was looking abnormally quiet. "Hmm… what?" she asked, eyes landing back to Teddy. "Who did something to me?"
"Don't be idiotic, Theo," Draco snapped, taking a few steps toward the carefree Slytherin. "I did not do anything."
Hermione seemed surprised with his comment and frowned. She thoughtfully ran a hand through her hair and then gasped, remembering what had happened a few hours ago. "Oh," she said, blushing furiously red.
"What's the matter, Hermione?" It was Blaise this time and she only shyly smiled at him before returning back her attention to Teddy.
"Nothing happened," she said, coming into Draco's defense. She determinedly tried not to meet his eyes in fear of blushing more. "He just… took care of me and, dare I say it, quite well for I don't feel nauseous anymore." Her hand shot up to her forehead and smiled. "Come to think of it, I'm not feeling too warm now."
Draco seemed surprised with her comment and secretly felt relieved and triumphant. Out of the three of them, he was the only one who successfully made her well. He then lightly commented inside that Muggle customs and traditions, albeit how weird they were, were actually effective.
Teddy, on the other hand, seemed not too thrilled with her comment. "But… but… he was sleeping beside you!" Both of Draco and Hermione's cheeks darkened simultaneously. "And… and… his arms were wrapped around you! Surely that had meant something different, seeing that that bastard's a guy and you're a girl, Minnie."
"Nott - "
"Teddy, really," Blaise said, stepping in before an all-out war between his other best friends happen. "Nothing happened. Do you doubt Hermione now?"
That had struck a nerve or two in Teddy. "O-of course not!" he cried out passionately, holding her hand to further prove his point. "I trust you with all of my heart." He threw a dark glare into Draco's form and he, in return, rolled his eyes. "You should have told me all you needed was a hug just to cure your illness. I can bloody well hug better than… than… him!"
"And that 'him' is standing right here," he said in a dangerously sing-song voice, almost growling.
Hermione gently smiled and patted the hand that was holding her other. "I'm fine now, don't worry," she said.
"Do you want to have some tea, Hermione?" Blaise asked, diverting her attention back to him.
"Yes, please," she said, her smile widening.
Blaise rounded at Teddy and grasped his arm. "Let's go," he said but the pouting Slytherin wouldn't just budge.
"I'm not going to leave her with him," he cried out adamantly.
Draco rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time, his patience for his best friend running thin. "Oh for Merlin's sake, Theo!"
He strolled towards the other two blokes and not-so-gently slapped the back of Teddy's head. Theodore cried out in indignation, but was merely stopped by a chuckling Blaise.
"We'll be back soon, I swear!" Teddy cried before being pulled away by Blaise.
Draco was the last one to stride out of the room. Thankfully, he was still a little near to her bed; therefore, her hand shot up and wrapped around his wrist, stopping him completely.
He looked at her curiously, a perfect eyebrow arched higher than the other. Hermione shyly smiled and slightly tightened her hold with his wrist. "Thank you," she said earnestly.
She never knew how disarming she looked for him and he only nodded his head, breaking their gaze so that she would not see how his cheeks darkened.
"No problem," he replied. Hermione loosened her grip with his wrist and his hand fell limply back to his side. Draco sullenly thought his hand felt emptier now that she was not holding it.
An awkward silence settled between the two. Thankfully, Teddy's head popped back into the room.
"Oi, Malfoy!" he cried, pulling him out of the room. "Stay here or you'll die a perfectly slow death."
Draco rolled his eyes at Teddy's exaggeration and even caught a fond smile appear on Hermione's face. "We'll be back," he told her as his farewell before being completely dragged out of the room.
As soon as he was gone, her smile changed into a full one. Merlin, she'd never felt better than before! That was when she noticed that an extra comforter was wrapped around her body. Draco's, she guessed, and she secretly blushed, fingering the rich material of the Malfoy heir's comforter.
It smelled so much like him. She cautiously looked back at the door before lifting the said blanket to her face and inhaled deeply.
Yep, it smelled so much like him. And good Godric, it was so intoxicating.
"What is happening with me?" she thought aloud, letting the comforter drop back on her lap as she lied down on the bed, her mind consumed mostly of the blond young man who had just held her in her sleep.
"Maybe I'm still sick," Hermione murmured to herself, her cheeks abnormally warm, before falling back into dreamland.
A/N: Well, that's the end. I hope I made most of you satisfied with a few of Dramione moments in this chapter :D
Golly gee, OaP will soon have 600 reviews and I'm insanely happy XD I mean, come on, more than a thousand? That's so awesome already *wink* *wink*
Speaking of 600, "11 Things" already reached that much reviews! Gah, I've finished that thing ages ago; I haven't even officially edited it, but still, I'm receiving more reviews. Goodness, people, you make me cry XD
So, allow me to thank all those who favorited, alerted, and reviewed Only a Pretense, 11 Things, and some of my other works. And also, I want to thank those who had favorited and alerted me :D THANK YOU SO MUCH!
That's it for now :D Until next time! Once again, drop a review!
With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe