A/N: Hello all! I managed to get an update out before I moved (Suffice to say, this fic has been an excellent procrastination tool against packing boxes.)
Thank you to all my wonderful reviews, you guys are great! Once again, there's no M-rated material in this chapter. But there is a little bit of fluffiness in there :)
One more thing before I let you read: Anyone listen to Molotov Jukebox? I've been listening to them as I've been writing this chapter. For those of you not familiar with the bad CHECK THEM OUT! They are my new obsession at the moment, and you should all recognise their leading lady, the wonderful Natalia Tena. ;)
Anyways, I'll let you read in peace, hope you enjoy!
xBx
~ Chapter 25: Valentines Distractions ~
A snowy January steadily passed into a dreary February, and the seventh year workload continued to increase. Hermione was finding it frustratingly difficult to come to grips with wandless magic, and while she was disappointed in herself for not mastering it quickly, like she did with everything else, it was a comfort to know that no one else in the class was mastering it either. Well, they weren't, until the most recent charms lesson, during which Draco had finally mastered a wandless locomotion charm, and had sent his inkwell across the desk, just as Professor Flitwick passed: he was commended for being he first to channel his magic wandlessly, but he was also berated for covering the tiny professor in emerald ink.
After their 'talk', at the end of their first week back, Hermione and Draco were no longer avoiding each other, though they were yet to define their relationship. Their friends were mystified, as the pair had obviously come to some form of understanding, but no one seemed to know just what that entailed. Both Hermione and Draco were reluctant to place a label on what they were to each other: during the evenings, when they were alone in their tower, they laughed and they talked, they enjoyed each other's company, and often spent the night together. Sometimes they would simply sit on the couch in silence, comfortably close to one another, both absorbed in their own reading, and just enjoying being close to someone. But in the back of both their minds was a reluctance to acknowledge their growing attachment to each other. Despite their best efforts, both were falling hard for the other, but they were both fully aware, that if Hermione's plans didn't come together, there was a strong possibility that she would be married to a Muggle in six months time.
It was the first week in February that Draco had mastered wandless magic; at the end of the day, after a hasty dinner, Hermione returned to the Head's Tower alone, to practice harder than she had before. Draco Malfoy was not going to beat her for long, she had to master it before next lesson.
"What are you doing?" Draco's voice broke through her concentration: she had been staring intently at her textbook, willing it to move, and hadn't heard him enter.
"How did you do it?" She said, finally looking up. She grinned a little when she took in his appearance. "Is it raining? You look a little wet."
Draco scowled: He had just come back from Quidditch training (one of the teams chasers had been in a bizarre potions accident and wouldn't be fit to play for another six weeks, Blaise had practically begged Draco to step up as a sub.) and he was drenched, his hair plastered to his forehead, droplets of water running down his nose and his robes were dripping a puddle around his feet; he looked as if he had been playing in the lake, not the sky.
"A little wet?" he repeated in a growl, and Hermione bit her lip hard, a small chuckle escaping. "I'll be lucky to dry out by August. I hate Blaise in this moment." Draco declared.
Hermione smiled sympathetically. "Go get changed into something dry, then come back and tell me how you did it."
"Did what?" He asked, without moving.
"Wandless magic." She said, returning her gaze to her textbook.
Draco grinned, "I knew that would get to you." He chuckled, before taking off upstairs to change.
Hermione went back to staring intently at her textbook, becoming increasingly aggravated when it remained perfectly stationary, as if the damn thing was stuck to the table with a permanent sticking charm. Suddenly she snapped, let out a scream of frustration and hurled the book across the room.
"That's cheating." Draco's scolded form behind her, "And no way to treat a book." He added.
Hermione sat back down at the large study table, her hands covering her face in frustration, "Why is this so hard!" She practically screamed through clenched teeth.
Draco sighed, and moved to stand behind placing his hands on her shoulders, he squeezed gently – he could feel the knots of tension hard under his hands.
"You're thinking about it too much," her told her gently, "you need to relax a bit more."
Hermione took a deep breath, "I'm too stressed to relax." She said in forced calm.
"I know you are," Draco muttered, as he massaged her shoulders. "Similar concepts apply to this as with Occlumency," he told her, "surely you practiced that?"
Hermione gave a derisive laugh, "I tried. But I never had someone teach me, so I'm not brilliant at that. I'm only slightly better than Harry, and he's bloody useless at it."
Draco chuckled, and took a seat next to Hermione so he could look at her. "You need to try and clear your mind – I know that will be hard for you, you're always thinking about ten things at once." He smirked, and Hermione glared at him. Draco continued without interruption, "Don't focus so much on the task you're trying to accomplish, instead, try and turn your focus inwards. Feel the magic coursing through you. Remember your first trip to Ollivanders." He told her suddenly, inspiration hitting him, "Think of the first time you held your wand. What did you feel?"
Hermione thought back, "It felt warm." She said slowly, trying to remember, "I felt a tingling warmth spreading from the wand, into my fingers, spreading through me."
Draco nodded, "That was the magic in your veins that you felt, and it wasn't spreading form the wand into you. It was the other way around. You need to feel that feeling again – Here," He pushed another book towards her.
"Don't focus on a particular spell, try instead to rely on instinct. And don't ball your fists up, that will block your power." He told her. "Focus your energy inside yourself, close your eyes if that helps," he suggested. "When you feel the magic, then you can try to channel it."
Hermione nodded, took a breath and closed her eyes. She focused on her pulse, the beat of her heart, and the more she focused the more she was aware of her blood pumping around her body. She flexed her fingers, hands hovering over the table, stopping herself from clenching her fists. She opened her eyes to look at the book in front of her; her first instinct was to read it. And just as she the thought flitted across her mind, the cover flipped open with a thump.
Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she looked up at Draco, "Did I do that?" she asked, and Draco grinned,
"You did that," He nodded.
Hermione let out an excited laugh, jumped from her seat gave Draco a quick but fierce kiss on the lips. "Thank you!" She said.
"Your welcome." Draco said amused, "Congratulations, you can do wandless magic. Can you stop stressing about it now?"
"I don't know. how easy will it be to do a second time?" She asked and Draco gave an exasperated sigh.
"Only the tiniest bit more easier than the first time." He admitted ruefully – she was never going to stop stressing about it.
"Well that sucks." Hermione said disappointed, "But I've done it once, so I can do it again."
"Don't do it now though, you'll exhaust yourself, and you have other work to do." Draco reminded her. "Any further with your business plans?"
Hermione nodded, "I have most of the costs tallied up. The only cost I don't have is pricing for premises – which is kind of important really, but I have no idea about current commercial property prices." She said, "But, I've written to Beth asking for her help: she's studying property development, and she's using this as a sort of study assignment I think. It helps us both out; she's going to search for properties based on the specifications I owled her. I can't do anything else until she gets back to me." Hermione finished with a sigh.
"How long will you have to wait?" Draco asked.
Hermione shrugged, "How long is a piece of string?" She retorted, "She'll get back to me when she finds something suitable. When she does, I'll know the price range I'll need to be dealing with. Once I know that, I'll know how much money I need to find."
"So," Draco grinned, "You've done all your homework, and nothing else to do…" He trailed off, suggestively.
Hermione quirked an eyebrow, then smirked, "You're right. I can have a relaxing evening. I think I'll take a long hot bath."
She stood up, and Draco made to follow, "That sounds like so much fun," he grinned.
Hermione turned, "I said I. Not we." She smiled, "You've been playing Quidditch all evening, you have homework to do."
Draco scowled, "You are a mean woman, Granger." He accused, but he couldn't deny the alarming amount of work piling up, thanks to Blaise making him train for hours at a time, days on end.
Hermione grinned, and sauntered off up her stairs, calling back over her shoulder: "I wouldn't be me if I wasn't. You know you wouldn't want me any other way." She said, before disappearing to her room.
Draco sat back down at the study table with a sigh, pulling his books toward. Damn the woman, she was right. She was always right.
###
Constant practise sessions paid off for the Slytherin team at the weekend, in their match against Ravenclaw. While the Ravens were strong competitors, the Slytherins were matching them goal for goal, thanks mainly to Draco who appeared to me a much better chaser than he had been a seeker.
Hermione cheered and clapped for every goal that was scored, from both teams, though her cheers were a little louder whenever Draco was the one to score. After his fifth goal, Ginny pointed it out.
"You're very open about your support for a certain person." Ginny said quietly, so only Hermione would hear.
"Not more so than you," Hermione countered, "I'm cheering for both teams. You're the one openly supporting Slytherin."
"My boyfriend is the team captain, it's expected of me." Ginny smirked, "What's your excuse?" She challenged. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but no words came and Ginny laughed. "I thought you guys had talked," Ginny said, slightly exasperated.
"We did," Hermione answered, as half the crowd erupted in cheers as Ravenclaw scored yet another goal. "And we know where we stand. We're good." She added with a small smirk as she remembered the 'good' of last night.
Ginny gave a low, chuckle, "I bet you are," she said suggestively, with the kind of look Blaise would have given. Hermione laughed, elbowing Ginny in the side.
"Shut up," Hermione told the redhead, half-heartedly, and Ginny giggled more. "I'm happy, let's just leave it at that." Hermione finished.
"You are now. But wait until Ron finds out. I think he's totally in denial about your friendship as it is, so he didn't really pick up on the vibe at New Years." Ginny said, "He knows you and he will never get together, but still. I don't think he'll like seeing you with Malfoy." she warned.
Hermione shrugged, "I have bigger problems right now, I'll deal with Ron later." She said, before cheering as Draco scored a goal. The cheers and boos around the stadium quickly turned into a collective intake of breath, as a bludger bowled into Draco's abdomen, almost knocking him from his broom.
He looked winded, and in considerable pain, but he waved off the suggestion for a time-out, and continued playing. The match was over quickly after that; the score stood at seventy-sixty to Ravenclaw, when the Slytherin seeker snatched the snitch.
As the crowd dispersed, Hermione and Ginny made their way to the Head's Tower. As they sat down in front of the fire, mugs of tea in hand, Hermione asked suddenly, "Why is the symbol of Ravenclaw an eagle?"
Ginny looked at her strangely, "What?" She asked,
"Ravenclaw's badge, why is it an Eagle?" Hermione repeated, ignoring Ginny's strange look.
"I don't know, what else would you use?" She asked, wondering what the hell was going on in Hermione's mind.
Hermione looked at Ginny as if the answer was obvious, "I don't know," Hermione said, voice dripping in sarcasm, "A Raven?"
"Huh," Ginny said thoughtfully, "That would make more sense." She conceded, "In that case then, why is Gryffindor represented as a lion? Why not a Griffon?"
"Touche," Hermione conceded, "When you think of it, only the Slytherin snake really matches. But I suppose Hufflepuff, is the hardest. I mean what creature has Huffle or puff in it?" Hermione voiced.
Ginny thought for a moment, "There's Pygmy Puffs." She suggested.
Hermione snorted, spurting tea everywhere, and fell about laughing. Ginny joined in almost immediately, with the most unladylike snort, just as Draco and Blaise entered the room.
"What's the joke?" Blaise asked, looking at the pair who were on the verge of tears.
"Pygmy Puffs." Hermione managed to speak as she laughed, clutching her side.
"For Hufflepuff." Ginny tried to explained, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Are you drunk?" Draco asked, taking a seat and wincing in pain.
The laughter slowly died from Hermione, as she frowned, "I didn't think you'd be back so soon. I would have thought you would be celebrating with your team. Or visiting the hospital wing to get checked out." She said pointedly.
"I'm fine, just bruised." Draco said.
"You were hit with a bludger. You were lucky to even stay on your broom-" Draco shifted in his seat and winced again, a hiss of pain escaping him despite his best efforts. "You've probably got broken ribs." Hermione insisted.
Draco nodded, "Probably," he admitted, "But I can heal them myself." He said stubbornly, and Hermione knew there was no use in arguing with him when he got that look in his eye, so she picked up a book and remained resolutely silent until Ginny and Blaise left.
Once the portrait hole closed, Hermione closed her book and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, Draco stopped her.
"Save it." He snapped, "It's superficial, I can handle it. I don't need to be subjected to Pomfrey's mollycoddling when I've suffered far worse in the past."
Hermione snapped her mouth shut, and chewed her cheek, not sure what to say in response to that statement.
###
When Monday rolled around, Hermione was feeling better than she had in a long time. She wasn't sure why as there was still some level of uncertainty with regards to her being able to call off her engagement (she had received a note from Beth to say she had received the letter, and that she would gather as much information as possible, but Hermione was yet to receive the information.). but regardless of all this, there was a high level of optimism which Hermione hadn't experienced in a while.
Of course, this wasn't meant to last, and at lunchtime Hermione's happy little bubble was burst by quite possibly the most irritating prefect meeting she had conducted. They had gone over procedure for Saturday, which would be the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, and just when she thought she could call an end, a Hufflepuff spoke up.
"You haven't said anything about Friday." She pointed out.
Hermione looked at her blankly, "There's nothing happening Friday." She stated bluntly.
"But, it's Valentines Day." The Hufflepuff declared, sounding hurt the Hermione didn't realise that.
"Your point is?" Hermione asked, not liking where this was going.
"Well, we should do something." The Hufflepuff said, and to Hermione's dismay, every other girl in the room nodded enthusiastically.
Hermione looked to the ceiling, "Why Gods? Why?" She said quietly, before taking a calming breath and looking back at the prefects, "Seriously?" She asked, and when every girl nodded, she gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine, let me hear it."
Immediately the girl began to gush about anything and everything stereotypically associated with Valentines Day – everything from pink roses to live cupids. After about the twentieth time the word 'pink' had been spoken, Hermione held her hand up to stop the flow.
"Okay," Hermione said, after Draco had let out a groan beside her: it seemed it was too much for him also. "I think we've heard enough. You need to reign it in." She stated bluntly, "Firstly, way too much pink. We are not subjecting everyone to that amount of pink. And we are not doing anything that will interrupt lessons, any valentine's delivery you want to accomplish happens in the Great Hall only, at meal times. The only decorations will be in the Great Hall also, and not everything is going to be pink. I can get on board with the roses on the tables, but they will be the house colours, and white." Hermione said, before looking as if she was about to vomit on the next words she was about to say, "We can maybe change the colour of the candles to pink," she struggled out. "But I have no guarantee that McGonagall will allow this." Hermione warned.
"Oh, she won't disagree." Luna spoke up for the first time, in her dreamy voice, and everyone looked at her questioningly. "Don't you remember what she said, in the Hospital wing the night Dumbledore died?" She said directly to Hermione, "She said it to Lupin and Tonks, about Dumbledore being happy to think there was a little more love in this world. If we do it in Dumbledore's memory, she'll never say no."
"Fine," Hermione conceded with a groan: trust Luna to remember that, "I'll bring this to the headmistress later today, and I will get back to you tomorrow. But you guys are planning it." She told them, "I want nothing to do with it."
"Don't you like Valentine's Day?" A Gryffindor asked her.
"I hate it." Hermione answered shortly, "Meeting adjured." And with that, the prefects made their way out. As ever, Hermione and Draco were the last to leave.
"You really hate Valentine's Day?" Draco asked her.
"Yes," Hermione said, "Don't tell me you love it?" She smirked.
"Not at all, it's a ridiculous holiday. But I think you are the first girl I've come across who hate's it. Why?" He asked.
"It's the least romantic day of year." Hermione said simply.
"Not what I've heard." Draco commented dryly, and Hermione laughed. She turned in the corridor to lean against the wall as she tried to explain.
"For me, real romance is spontaneous, and thoughtful. The worst thing someone could do for me, is give me a large bouquet of red roses on Valentine's Day: it's a complete cliché. A spectacular bouquet is only made up of mediocre roses – no time or effort goes into picking them. But a single rose of a certain colour shows thought, and that's important. But these gestures on Valentine's Day fall flat, because at the end of the day, you're not doing it because you want to, you're doing because it's Valentine's Day and tradition dictates you have to. Turn up on my doorstep with a single rose on…July 23rd," Hermione threw out at random, "and it's far more romantic in my eyes."
"What's significant about July 23rd?" Draco frowned.
"Fuck all." Hermione declared bluntly, and Draco couldn't help but be a little taken aback at the language, "And that's the point: There is absolutely no reason for the gesture, which makes it romantic, because it's spontaneous. It's an act done of love, not duty." Hermione finished, pushing herself from the wall and continuing down the corridor. Draco followed her, but they made the rest of their way in silence.
As predicted by Luna, McGonagall gave her consent, though Hermione thought she detected a little reluctance and was sure it was only the too-jubilant exclamations coming from Professor Dumbledore's portrait that finally swung her decision. By the time Friday came around, Hermione felt close to indulging in some newfound homicidal tendencies: too many girls were giggling, and when she reached the great hall there were far too many rose petals on each table for her liking.
"Happy Valentine's Day," Parvati gushed as Hermione took her seat, making Hermione scowl.
"Happy is not the word for me. Enjoy it, just don't inflict it on me." She requested, helping herself to some toast.
"Hermione's not big on Valentine's Day," Ginny explained to their friends, just as the Owls swooped in with the morning post. "Though," she added, when a handful landed in front of Hermione, "someone doesn't appear to have received that message."
Hermione looked at the owls in front of her, that had just delivered a ridiculously flashy and expensive looking bouquet of roses. "Who are you looking for?" She asked, pulling the letter from one of the bird's legs.
She felt her blood start to boil when she saw it was addressed to her. Tearing open the envelope, she read a small note from her mother explaining that the roses were from Richard: he had called by yesterday and asked for them to be sent on.
Hermione took a calming breath, before pulling out a card from the ridiculous arrangement.
For my favourite girl,
I miss you and I can't wait to see you again.
Forever yours, Richard.
Hermione didn't think she was capable of reaching new levels of ire, but the moment she red the card a whole new level of wrath seemed to open up to her. 'My favourite girl' she read again: he didn't even personalise the damn card with her name, and she distinctly remembered Richard having two favourite girls.
Suddenly the card in her hand exploded in a ball of flame. Hermione dropped the card onto her plate, where it curled up into itself until it was a small pile of ash.
"Woah," Ginny said, giving Hermione a wary look, "You just did wandless magic. Scary, wandless magic. Who sent the roses?" She asked,
"Doesn't matter, I think I'll burn them too." Hermione said.
"But they're so beautiful," Parvati said.
Hermione scoffed, "Here you are then," She said pulling out a single rose from the bunch, "Happy Valentine's Day: Have a mediocre rose." she said dryly, and Parvati looked confused while Ginny sniggered.
She stood from the table, "Help yourself to the flowers." She said before stalking out the hall, her appetite entirely gone.
Over at the Slytherin table, Draco had watched the entire scene. Only moment's before the post had arrived, Blaise had been giving him a rundown of his plans for a night up the Astronomy tower with Weaselette. When he had started to get into too much detail, Draco interrupted him.
"Blaise, I'm trying to eat breakfast, I don't want to know." He told his friend.
"Fine," Blaise conceded, "Have you got anything planned for a certain Gryffindor?" He asked the blonde slyly.
"Not a thing" Draco smirked.
Blaise frowned, "I thought you two were…" her trailed off, not really knowing what they were, but knowing they were something.
"She hates Valentine's Day." Draco shared, "And I agree with her. We will be doing absolutely nothing romantic."
Blaise looked at his friend shrewdly, "So you're going to show your love for her, by ignoring the romance of Valentine's Day?" He clarified.
"And thus give her the best Valentine's Day to remember." Draco nodded.
"You're going to be romantic by not being romantic." Blaise said.
"Precisely." Draco grinned, "It's alright. You can tell me I'm a genius."
Blaise snorted, as the owls entered the hall. He nudged Draco in the ribs, and pointed over to the Gryffindor table, "Looks like someone else is after her." he said with a grin.
"Well, they obviously don't know her: that is a terrible way to start, he's only going to piss her off." Draco smirked. "Told you so." He added a moment later when the Gryffindors around Hermione all gave a yelp of shock as the card in Hermione's hand burst into flame. Not long after, Hermione left the Great Hall, and Draco was quick to follow suit, swiping a couple of roses from the Hufflepuff table as he went by, remembering something his mother had said over the holidays. He caught up to her at the top of marble staircase.
"That was some impressive wandless magic." He commended her, causing her to stop and turn. He frowned when he saw her face: he was expecting to see anger still resonating in her features, but something else was there instead, something he couldn't quite place.
"I was angry, I let my temper get the better of me. That wasn't wandless magic, that was losing control." She admitted. "The roses were from Richard." She said, answering Draco's next question before he even asked it. "The card was directed to his favourite girl." These words came out through gritted teeth, and Draco understood immediately.
"He has two of those, if I remember correctly." Draco scowled. Hermione gave him a rueful smile.
"Exactly. Something tells me he ordered two of the same arrangements, with the same message – no awkward questions if they get mixed up." She said, before sighing loudly.
"Here," Draco said, as they continued toward Aritmancy, pulling out the two roses. Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"What the hell?" She asked, not even finishing the question.
Draco shrugged, "Don't ask how I know this; just blame my Mother and her new obsession. But apparently a yellow and white rose given together are supposed to have something to do with happiness – don't read too much into this, by the way, I stole them from the Hufflepuff table." He told her, and Hermione gave a small chuckle.
"That's so un-romantic," Hermione told him as she took the roses, and Draco grinned.
"Good," he said, "Maybe they can help take you to your happy place, as you try and survive the day." Hermione gave another small chuckle, and Draco continued, "And if that doesn't work," he said, conjuring a poppy as a sudden inspiration hit him.
"A poppy?" Hermione asked, confused and taking the flower from him.
Draco nodded, a small grin forming, "It's a special type: produces extra concentrated amounts of opium. All you need to do is sniff it."
Hermione laughed out loud this time, genuine mirth replacing the discontented hurt and anger that had been there before. "Thank you," she said, "I think these will come in useful, by dinner time. I look forward to going to my opium induced happy place." Hermione said as the made it to their classroom.
Her first lessons weren't too bad: neither Professor Vector nor McGonagall showed any indication that it was Valentine's Day, and for that Hermione was grateful. Though she wasn't happy when she got to Transfiguration and Ginny insisted on putting the poppy in her hair (Hermione had refused point blank about the roses, but Ginny wasn't going to give in without some form of compromise.) and when she made it to potions, her day took a bit of a downturn.
She took her seat at the same bench as Draco, as had become her custom since the start of term, and began unpacking her books, cauldron and ingredients.
"Since today is Valentine's Day," Professor Slughorn announced, as the class settled around him, "I thought we'd have a little fun with it."
Hermione stifled her groan but she pulled out the poppy of her hair and gave it a sniff. She heard Draco chuckle beside here, and she looked at him with a small smile, "I may need a new poppy sooner than I thought." She whispered.
Draco didn't retort, as Professor Slughorn continued, "I want you to work in pairs and brew me something suitable: something that embodies the essence of the day." He clapped his hands together, "Come on then, get to work."
Hermione scowled as she leafed through her textbook, "This is ridiculous," she mumbled, as she turned the pages. A grin suddenly formed on her face as she reached a particular potion, she pushed the book under Draco's nose.
He looked at the potion and frowned, "It's not exactly the embodiment of Valentine's Day." He pointed out, repeating the professor's words.
Hermione continued to grin slyly, "It perfectly embodies my idea of the day." She said, "My idea may not be the general consensus, but Slughorn never specified." She said.
"You would have made a good Slytherin." Draco told her with a grin, "I'll get the ingredients, you set up the cauldron." He said, and the pair set to work.
By the end of the double lesson, Hermione and Draco were happy with their perfect brew, and sat smiling smugly as Professor Slughorn made his way around the class, making comment on the others' concoctions. As ever, he saved Draco and Hermione to last.
"And what do my star students have for me?" He asked, looking far too happy as he peered into the depths of the cauldron. Hermione and Draco's smile widened in sync as the professor's smile was replaced with a frown.
"I'm confused," he said, "We're supposed to be brewing something appropriate for Valentine's Day. This is the Draught of Living Death, am I correct?" He asked, and Blaise let out a small snigger from the table behind.
"Yes," Hermione agreed, keeping her smile in place and trying desperately not to laugh, she could see Draco out of the corner of her eye doing the same. "This potion will allow be to sleep until this awful day is done, and I won't have to suffer the ridiculousness exhibited by almost everyone in the castle." Hermione declared, this time Blaise laughed loudly, and a few others sniggered at her explanation. Draco let out a very undignified snort in an attempt to control his burst of laughter.
"Right," Professor Slughorn said still looking confused before turning away with a shake of his head, "Excellent lesson, everyone. Flask your concoctions, label them, and put them on my desk. When you are tidied you may leave."
Lunch time was barely liveable; Valentine's Day cards were being hand delivered by the very same cupids that Lockheart had inflicted upon the school in his year here – but Hermione had been adamant that they could only deliver in the hall, during meal times. Hermione didn't make it through the entire lunch sitting; instead she wrapped some finger food in a napkin and sought refuge in the tower. By the end of the day, Hermione was over it: she didn't even bother to go to the Great Hall for dinner, but went straight to the tower and made a start on her homework.
She was halfway through her first essay when Draco came back, and joined her silently at the table, starting on his own homework. Hermione allowed herself a small smile: She hadn't lifted her head from her work, she didn't need to, they had reached that stage where they were comfortable simply being in each other's presence. Hermione let her thoughts wander as she continued to write, and she pondered just how comfortable she actually was around him. She could sit in silence with him, knowing he wouldn't be offended if she didn't speak to him for hours. She could walk around in her baggy sweatpants and a strap-top, without feeling self conscious that she might look a mess. He also seemed comfortable around her; she noticed he never played his piano in front of anyone, yet he had no problems with her sitting in his room as he played – he had even allowed her to play a few times as well. And he certainly wasn't bothered about being properly dressed around her – a few times he had simply wondered in and out of her room wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Hermione chewed her lip, remembering the vision, a small smile gracing her lips, completely unaware that Draco was watching her out of the corner of his eye. Hermione thought of the last time she had decided to walk around the tower in nothing but a towel: it transpired Draco had a serious lack of self control these days, as Hermione didn't end up wearing the towel for long. But she couldn't deny that what had followed had been incredibly good fun.
Hermione shook her head, trying to clear the inappropriate thoughts and concentrate on her homework. After another hour, Hermione sighed and put down her quill, looking at her watch. It was nearing six-thirty, and she was getting hungry. As if to emphasise this revelation, her stomach chose that moment to give a particularly loud growl.
Draco looked up and chuckled, "Someone sounds hungry." He said, and Hermione made a discontented face.
"You heard that?" She asked.
Draco nodded, "Dinner will be over now, but you might still catch dessert." He told her.
Hermione shook her head, "Not a chance in hell. I can't take another minute in that hall today." She said sounding disgruntled.
Draco smirked, "I figured as much." He said, tossing down his quill, and pushing himself from the table, "Go get changed into something comfy, I'll go down to the kitchens, see what I can get you."
Hermione shook her head, "You don't have to-" she started but Draco interrupted.
"It's fine. I'm bloody starving as well, and I don't much fancy the Great Hall either." He assured her, before disappearing out of the tower before Hermione could even begin to think of objecting. Hermione looked back at her homework, and shrugged. There really was very little left for her to do, so she decided to do what Draco had suggested, and went upstairs to change into a comfy pair of sweats, and a soft hoody.
When she came back down, Draco had just returned cradling a basket full of delicious leftovers. He put them down on the rug in front of the fire and Hermione wasted no time in joining him there, rolling up the sleeves of her jumper and tucking into the food.
After a few moments of silence Draco spoke with a frown, "That looks far too big for you," he commented.
Hermione grinned, hearing the question underneath his words, "It's Harry's," she told him. Draco frowned even more.
"Why are you wearing Potter's clothes?" He asked, not managing to keep a hint of Jealousy from colouring his tone.
Hermione laughed, "I started wearing it last year, when we were on the run." She explained, "During the winter months it got quite cold in the tent, I used to wear this over one of my own sweatshirts, and then I just never gave it back." She admitted with a laugh.
"Hmm," was Draco's only response, not trusting himself completely to speak. For some reason, the idea of her wearing another man's clothes did not sit well with him.
They continued to eat in silence, until eventually Hermione let out a long sigh.
"What's wrong?" Asked Draco.
"I should finish my essay," Hermione said half heartedly, and Draco could tell this was only half of what was bothering her.
"What's really wrong?" He said, and Hermione gave him a sheepish grin.
"I'm still waiting for a response from Beth. I'm getting worried, I'm running out of time." Hermione admitted.
Draco nodded slowly, and then stood up, grabbed Hermione's hand to pull her up with him before dragging her to the couch. He sat them both down, so that she was leaning into him, his hand draped around her shoulders. He grabbed her book from the coffee table and put it in her hand.
"Beth will get back to you soon. And you are not running out of time." He told her calmly, "I have faith that you will figure this out. You've been too good a person in the past to warrant a miserable future. I'm not one for divination, but prophecies exist, and I have to believe fate plays some part in out lives." Draco said. "So," he said briskly, "Don't stress about it right now. No doubt Beth will get back to you next week, so enjoy this brief respite and just relax." He told her.
Hermione sighed, and adjusted herself into a comfier reclining position, still leaning into Draco, and opened her book. "Thank you," she said quietly, and in a surprisingly tender moment, Draco placed a kiss on the top of her head, before summoning a book of his own, and the pair spent the rest of the evening in perfect contentment.
A/N: So there you have it. Not a traditional take on Valentine's Day, I know. I confess, I have given Hermione my own personal views about Valantine's Day - I know lots of people love it, and that's great, but it's just not for me I'm afraid.
Also, Hermione and Ginny's conversation about the House sigils - I don't know where that came from, it just entered my head one day, and I found the idea really funny, perhaps too funny lol
As ever, please review, I love to hear your views :)
xBx