Chapter 12
The next morning, Hermione woke up spooned into Draco's chest. The rise and fall of his chest must have been what had woken her up. She thought she might feel really awkward when she woke up, or regret her decision of kissing him. But her feelings were quiet the contrary. She was, however, uneasy. She didn't know what Draco would be like when he woke up. She hoped and prayed to Merlin that he wasn't regreting anything.
She slowly turned in his arms, so as to be able to face him. What she saw made her heart feel light in her chest. He was smiling in his sleep. His arms tightened just slightly around her body, while he whispered a faint "Hermione." She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her own face then. She continued watching him for a while longer.
After about five minutes, his eyelashes fluttered and his breathing sped up a little, indicating that he was waking. Hermione thought "this is it!" He opened his eyes and when he found himself looking straight into her eyes, he marked this morning up as one of his top five mornings.
"Hi," he said smiling.
"Good morning," she whispered back.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked.
"How could I not?" she returned. He laughed softly, pulling her even closer to him.
"Draco?"
"Hermione?" he teased. She gave him a gentle slap in the chest.
"Do you...em..I...Do you regret anything about..." she trailed off unable to complete her sentence. Draco pulled back only slightly, to be able to look at her face. He didn't bother answering, just gently lowered his lips to hers.
This time, their kiss was soft, filled with promises of future kisses. After a short kiss, Draco pulled away. He didn't want to get too carried away when everything was so new.
Hermione started laughing. Shaking her head slightly she said; "Ok. Ok. I get it. You don't regret anything."
"Damn right I don't," he whispered back fiercly hugging her.
It had been two weeks since that morning, Hermione and Draco had become virtually inseparable. They spent most of the day together, in close proximity.
Lucy and Blaise were the ones most happy about this situation. They frequently went out together, the four of them. Just last night, they had all gone out for a meal and ended up in Hermione and Draco's room talking the night away.
Since that night, Hermione had not asked to sleep in his bed again. There hadn't been any need as there had been no terrors to provide comfort for. But every night, they slept facing each other. The last thing that they both see, being the other one's peaceful and happy face.
Draco had received a letter from his parents that morning. They informed him that they would be going to stay at their relatives for a fortnight. One week of these two weeks fell into their university's Christmas break.
With this being the last week of term, all the students had to study for their end of term exams. This cut into Draco and Hermione's alone time, but at least they shared the same room so they got to see each other.
Draco proved to be a great distraction for Hermione though. She often caught him staring at her.
"What?" she'd say.
"Nothing," he'd reply smiling and averting his eyes.
"Stop staring," she'd say smiling also.
"I can't help it," he'd always answer.
Their exam week passed quickly. Hermione got straight A's for all of them while Draco received much better grades than he had expected. While they were packing for their return home for the holidays, Draco came up behind Hermione and wrapped his arms around her thin waist. She beamed as he rested his chin on her shoulder. She could sense that there was something he wanted to say, so she turned around in his arms, which he momentarily loosened, and gave him a small peck on his lips.
"Spit it out," she said in a joking manner. When he blushed and laughed, she knew that she wasn't wrong.
"I wanted to ask you something," he said shyly. She waited for him to speak, giving him a soft smile to encourage him. "My parents aren't going to be home this week and I was thinking, would you like to come around one day? I could cook for you and we could just spend the day together. What do you say?"
"I would absolutely love that," she exclaimed. Secretly she had been dreading these holidays as they wouldn't be able to see each other. Now, Draco's invitation sounded like her idea of heaven.
He laughed, relieved. He didn't know it, but his feelings with Hermione about the holidays were exactly the same.
When Hermione returned home, after having said goodbye to Draco, she felt happy at being in her childhood home. She hadn't realised how much she had missed her parents.
"Oh my darling!" Her mother exclaimed quickly rushing forward to hug her.
"Let the girl breath dear," her father said smiling, only to snatch her up in to a cuddle as soon as her mother released her.
They spent the rest of the day catching up. Her mother had cooked enough for a football team. All of Hermione's favorites. When Hermione told her parents about her new relationship with Draco, she didn't miss the glance that passed between the two.
"But honey, isn't that the boy that use to call you names at Hogwarts?" her father asked cautiously.
"He is dad, but he's changed so much. He's not the same spoilt brat that he used to be. The war changed him just as much as it's changed me."
At these words, her mother smiled softly at her husband, placing her hand over his on the table. Her husband visibly relaxed at the touch of her hand.
"If you say he's changed and you're sure that he won't hurt you, than all we can do is hope to one day meet this young man of yours," her mother said with a small giggle.
"He has changed so much," Hermione said with a far off expression. Her mother and father smiled at each other. The look of...dare I say it? Love on their daughter's face, was heart warming. All they hoped for was that this lad did not hurt their daughter like Ronald Weasley had. They would never say it to Hermione, but they were glad that the two had split up so early in the relationship, before any rings were exchanged. Ron was perfectly nice, but he was never the one for their daughter. She needed someone that could challenge her brain, and well, that person was, in their opinion, not Ron.
The next day, Hermione got ready with excitement. She was to floo to Draco's house for their promised day together. He had owled her yesterday, as soon as he had settled back in, to his house. Her parents hadn't minded, as they could clearly see her happiness and excitement.
She pulled the skirt of her navy summer dress down a little, adjusting the straps too. She had piled her hair up in a bun on top of her head and had only done a small amount of make up. Finally happy with her reflection in the mirror, saying goodbye to her parents, she flooed to Draco. When she landed, she was a little disappointed to not find him waiting for her in the living room. She looked around at the not too small not too large room, impressed with the simpleness of it. She didn't really know what to expect but something that looked so...homey and lived in was not what she had been expecting.
Just then she heard a small hiss followed by; "Oh shit!" Laughing, she followed the sound. He was standing infront of the stove, with just a pair of shorts on. He was trying to fry some onions judging from the smell. She walked up to him from behind and hugged him tight. He jumped.
"You scared the shit out of me Mi," he said laughing and turning around. He was so happy to see her laughing face that he couldn't contain himself. He grabbed her face and kissed her so passionately that she gasped in his mouth and grabbed his shoulders just to be able to stay upright. They broke apart after a long while.
"Hi," she breathed, completely breathless.
"Hi," he said still holding onto her.
"What were you trying to cook?" she asked.
"Well...I don't really know," he confessed sheepishly. Hermione thought he was very cute at that moment. She couldn't stop herself from rising on her toes and giving him a soft kiss on the lips.
"Why don't you let me make something," she said.
"I wanted to cook you something nice, but do you mind?"
"Absolutely not."
Hermione quickly started preparing spaghetti bolognaise. While Draco sat on the counter watching her and taking note of all that she was doing. She had never looked more attractive to him. He just wanted to grab her and kiss her and never let go.
They sat at the kitchen table chatting easily while eating the feast that Hermione had made. Afterwards, they sat in the living room curled up in each other's arms. Hermione felt a fire searing her wherever Draco's hands rested. Before she could prevent herself, she turned in Draco's arms, half lying on him and started kissing him fiercly. Draco held no qualms when it came to Hermione. He kissed her back his hands resting on her hips. She opened her mouth, breathing in his scent and taste. She was intoxicated. He pulled away from her lips and trailed kisses down her jaw, and left opened mouth kisses on her neck. She felt goosebumps erupt all over her body. She clutched his shirt in her fists trying to get as close to him as possible. He moved back up her neck and found his way back to her lips and kissed her with so much passion that he was literaly scared that they might both burst into flames from the intensity of it.
But this couldn't last. He suspected that she was a virgin. It didn't feel right doing the deed this early in their relationship. He gently pulled back and just because he couldn't completely stop all contact, gave her a peck on her lips before whispering;
"Mi, you have no idea how much I want you right now, but we can't."
Hermione froze for a minute. She didn't understand his reasoning for stopping. Partly offended and partly disappointed she looked at him.
"Why not?" she asked softly.
"Because I don't want to do anything that you'll, later on, regret." When she went to object however, he stopped her just by the simple act of kissing the words right out of her mouth. "Trust me on this Mi. Please," he said.
She looked at his face, especially his eyes and saw the earnesty in them. She was starting to trust him. She was a virgin nevertheless. He was right. This was not the time to get carried away.
"Can I still lay in your arms," she asked shyly. He didn't bother answering. Just gathered her tightly in his arms. They sat that way for hours. Just talking, every now and then kissing, and talking some more. It was the best date that either of them had ever had.
Hey everyone! Chapter 12 is up! I can't tell you all how overwhelmed I am with all your positive comments. You guys are just making me want to write like maaad! Thank you to everyone that has reviewed and added me or Till It's Gone on their alert/favorite lists..I would loove to hear what you all thought of this chapter and I am completely open to all your suggestions too..Anyway..Let me know what you all think! Happy reading!