AN: So the consensus is that you guys really want his intentions to be good. Well…\
I'm not telling you'll just have to read the chapter (hiding now)
This is a slightly late Birthday present for Ladykate83, I tried to get it done in time, alas it wasn't. Happy Birthday again missy.
Beta'd my lovely lady Astarte_Lydianna, thankfully her laptop is fixed. Also she is writing a Dramione that is looking pretty good, so go check it out.
Disclaimer: All recognized characters and situations belong to J. K. Rowling. I make no money from this.
The day seemed to go on forever. Every time Hermione looked at the clock only five minutes had gone by and she was pretty sure time was playing some cruel trick on her, trying to make her more nervous than she already was.
Care of Magical Creatures in the morning wasn't so bad; she enjoyed watching Hagrid work so carefully with each new animal they studied. She spent her free period between break and lunch pacing in her bedroom and all of lunch staring at her plate.
What if Ginny was right? What if Draco hadn't changed and he was just faking friendliness to look better to the world? Hermione was driving herself crazy, and the next problem was Double Potions, meaning she would have to spend all afternoon in a classroom with the subject of her thoughts.
She managed to pull herself out of her thoughts just before the end of lunch and made the walk down to the dungeons. She found herself to be the last student lining up outside the doors and stood at the back of the line.
As with all the classes for the Eighth Year, the group was a mixture of all four houses. Dean, Parvati and Lavender were there from her house, Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff and Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin along with Draco Malfoy.
Hermione kept quiet and waited, hoping not to draw any unwanted attention from the Slytherins. Professor Slughorn opened the door and beckoned them all inside. They all grabbed a seat, Slytherins in one corner and everyone else together, Parvati opting for the seat next to Hermione and ignoring Lavender altogether.
"Oh no, no no!" Slughorn cheerfully bellowed across the class. "I have a seating plan ladies and gentleman. Up you all get and stand at the back, I will call you to your correct position"
'A seating plan? It's like we're still in primary school' Hermione thought to herself.
"Miss Parkinson, Miss Brown, here please" Slughorn indicated the table in front of his desk. "Mr. Thomas, Mr Goldstein here" and so it went on, pairing up Blaise Zabini with Hannah Abbot and Parvati Patil with Susan Bones.
"That just leaves Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger here please" Professor Slughorn indicated the table furthest from his desk and turned to the board to put up the lessons instructions.
Hermione took a deep breath and sat down in her seat, feeling it right up and back down her spine when Draco sat next to her.
'Oh Merlin I am in so much trouble' she thought to herself before turning to see him smiling at her.
No Smirk. No look of distain. No look of the worry that she was holding about their upcoming evening rendezvous. Just smiling.
"Well it would seem we are Potions partners Hermione. This should be interesting" he said quietly. She just nodded, unable to speak as her mouth went completely dry.
Professor Slughorn called their attention to the front of the class. "Right then students, this year I am going to do things a little differently. The seating plan is just a small part of that. The person you are sitting next to will be your partner in all assignments and class work for the rest of the year"
Hermione didn't know how to feel about that. She and Draco had been getting along for sure, but working together, especially considering she had no idea what was going to happen that evening, this could get really bad.
"Now as you can all see I have put up the ingredients and instructions for Pepper Up Potion, which can also be found in your books on page 238. You have two hours. Begin" Professor Slughorn beamed at them.
Hermione began to gather ingredients as Draco lit a fire underneath their shared cauldron. They began to chop, squeeze, shred and dice silently. Hermione didn't know what to say. The lesson passed slowly, their only interaction was to ask each other to pass ingredients.
The pairings seemed to be working well, no explosions from cauldron's, Hermione and Draco were almost finished with their brew when they heard Pansy's shrill voice screaming "You stupid little twit, you didn't stir enough times! It's four turns counter-clockwise for Merlin's sake!"
Hermione struggled to stifle her laugh as Pansy and Lavender began bickering. She looked up to find Draco shaking with laughter. "I think those two are going to make Potions very entertaining" he said after he caught his breath.
"Draco what is this all about tonight?" Hermione couldn't stand the tension anymore.
Draco's practiced smirk adorned his face "Oh I think you can wait" he said and turned back to their shared cauldron.
Hermione got even more nervous after seeing his smirk. What if he was going to do something bad to her?
Professor Slughorn came and inspected their work after Draco had indicated that they were done. "I say...this is perfect. I think I have made a very good decision putting the two of you together" he stopped when Lavender's voice rose above the din, shouting at Pansy.
Draco disappeared rather quickly after they were excused from the lesson. Hermione went to her room and tried to concentrate on her homework for a little while before her Head Girl duties began but she really struggled.
She could not stop replaying the entire lesson in her head; how her arm tingled every time it brushed with his, how his face lit up as he laughed at Pansy and Lavender and how even his smirk sent a thrill through her. It was no longer the smirk of the bigot death eater who found fault in everything he saw. It was almost happy.
After some more brooding Neville knocked to tell Hermione it was time for their rounds to start.
They split off in separate directions, to check their allocated corridors for any misbehaviour and to make sure the prefects were managing.
After handing out detention to a Slytherin first year she caught throwing Dungbombs and getting an okay from her allotted Prefects Hermione went to dinner.
He wasn't in the hall and it disturbed her. If she could have seen him there with his friends she would have been more confident that he wasn't up to something but not seeing him there just gave cause for concern.
"If you're looking for Malfoy, he already ate and left" Ginny said from behind her. She looked angry.
"Ginny I really do appreciate your concern, but please, just allow me to make my own choice on this one. I seemed to manage to make choices for three people last year and survive" Hermione reminded her younger friend.
"Fine" Ginny huffed and turned to her meal.
Considering she hadn't touched her breakfast or lunch that day, Hermione found herself to be rather hungry and thoroughly enjoyed her dinner, even partaking in a desert before leaving the hall and going back up to her room.
She decided to change out of her school uniform and into some comfortable clothing. She put on a blue summer skirt and white strap-top, covered with a thin white blouse; she wanted to enjoy the last of the warm weather if she could. She finished the look off with some white ballet slippers.
She put on some mascara and clear lip-gloss and took a look at her reflection in the mirror.
"Oh hell, what am I doing? Am I actually trying to look nice for him?" she said to her reflection.
She looked at her little bedside clock and saw it was 8:50pm. She had ten minutes to get up to the Astronomy Tower. She grabbed her cloak just in case it was chilly up there and ran out of her room before she could change her mind about going.
She didn't see Neville on her way through the common room and was relieved; she really didn't want to have to explain where she was going. She walked quickly through the long draftee corridors and ran up the spiral stairs leading to the tower.
She took a deep breath before opening the door that lead to the final set of stairs and hoping that she didn't look flushed from her quick pace went up the stairs.
She saw him immediately, his back to her with his pale hands on the railing, looking out over the grounds. He was all in black as usual, although he didn't have his usual severe suit jacket on, just trousers and a shirt, both obviously tailored.
He was tall, she knew that anyway but now that she had the opportunity to really look she saw he was tall, with a strong frame and muscular arms. His hair had much less gel in and seemed to skim across his face and end just at the bottom of his neck.
Oh yes, Hermione was definitely in trouble, because she really fancied the man standing across from her.
She cleared her throat to get his attention and smiled when he turned. "Good evening Draco".
Draco looked Hermione over and gulped. She looked edible. Considering her petite frame and height, the skirt made her legs look like they went on forever. Her shirt fit her perfectly, showing her slim waistline and perfectly rounded breasts, not too big or too small.
'Oh Merlin' he thought to himself.
"Good evening Hermione. I'm glad you came" he said and held out a hand for her to take.
She hesitated but after a moment accepted and placed her hand in his. He lifted her hand and placed a light kiss on it before gently pulling her to the railing.
"I just thought maybe we should talk about yesterday" he said.
"Yes, I agree"
"I think I have a confession to make" he said as his thumb ran circles on her hand.
"Oh?"
"Yes, well since I pulled you out from under that pile of bricks I haven't been able to stop thinking about you" Draco said quickly, not looking at her. He wasn't sure he could keep his Malfoy mask in place if he saw the look of disgust he was sure she would be wearing.
Hermione smiled straight away, she was unsure during the whole walk up to the tower but seeing him, hearing the uncertainty in his voice, she was sure he was being truthful and had to hold herself back from doing a little dance on the spot.
"When you ran into me, literally, the night that idiot Weasel cheated on you, I was so happy to be able to help you and I left as quickly as I did because I couldn't hold back and I was sure that you would not want me to do the things I wanted to do" he paused for a moment and looked at Hermione from the corner of his eye, "but yesterday you kissed back"
"Yes, I did" Hermione was startled by what he had just admitted but in a good way.
"Draco, I think I feel the same" she whispered.
Draco's tell-tale smirk made its appearance and he gripped Hermione's hand and pulled her closer.
He leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on Hermione's lips. He felt her sigh against his lips and lost control. He grabbed her and pulled her flush against his body, pressing his tongue against her lips until she opened them and allowed him entrance.
They kissed until the need for oxygen became too great and they pulled apart. Draco however would not let her go and held her close.
"Meet me tomorrow, here, same time? Please." he managed to keep the sound of begging from his voice, but he was more than willing to beg if he had to.
He hadn't been able to get the feel of her out of his mind since she had landed on top of him when the bricks almost fell on her and now that he knew he could touch her without getting punched in the face he was very reluctant to let go.
Hermione nodded and pecked his lips before pulling away and running back down the stairs. She had to get back to her room before Neville noticed she was missing; after all it would not do at all for the Head Girl to be out after curfew.
AN: So I hope he said what you wanted him to say. I mean honestly there was no way I was going to have him using her, I just can't write Draco that way. Now, what on earth are friends going to say? And his for that matter? Watch this space.