Chapter Eleven

"OI! GET UP, YOU LAZY BASTARD!" Draco and I jerked awake at the loud yell, looking around frantically.

"Blaise! What the hell are you doing?" Draco asked groggily, falling back down on the bed and throwing an arm over his eyes.

"I should ask you that, I think." Blaise said, mirth filling his voice.

"Oh, they're just sleeping. They're fully clothes and everything. Pity." Another voice cut in.

Ginny stepped in through the portrait hole with a grin on her face, "Ron's pissed, 'Mione. Good job."

I groaned, "What do you want Ginny?"

"Well, I figured you'd need some support today. It may be Sunday, but you've still got to go to meals." She shrugged, "I ran into Blaise in the corridor and he was thinking the same thing, but he was more concerned for Malfoy."

"So, you guys just barged in here, woke us up, to tell us that we need bodyguards?" Draco groaned

"Yep, pretty much!" Blaise said with a cheeky smile on his face, "I mean, I know you come off all mean and stuff, but you're really just a big wuss."

Draco sat up and threw an indignant look at Blaise, "I am not a wuss! I can take you!"

"Boys." I sighed, "It's too early to argue."

"Get up, Mione! Get up, get up, get up! Time to face the day!" Ginny sang as she bounced over to where Blaise was standing.

Blaise looked down at her with a peculiar look on his face and I glanced questioningly at Draco. He leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Blaise has a thing for redheads."

"Oh.. Ginny has a thing for Italian boys." I whispered back

Draco laughed loudly and swung his legs off the bed, "Well, this'll be fun, then. Come on. Up, love. We'll have to face them eventually." He offered his hand to me and I took it and allowed him to pull me off the bed.

We both disappeared into our bedrooms to get dressed. I could hear Ginny and Blaise talking as I threw on a pair on muggle jeans and a green sweater with a pair of black flats. If I had to face the whole school today, I was going to be comfy while I did it. I exited my room and saw that Draco had, apparently, had the same idea. He was dressed in a pair of muggle jeans with a tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscles famously.

"Hey, stop undressing him with your eyes!" Ginny yelled, causing me to blush and duck my head as I walked over to join them by the door. Draco walked over and entwined his fingers with mine and led me out of the portrait hole. Ginny and Blaise walked in front of us as we made our way down to breakfast.

"I can't do this. I can't." I whispered frantically as I pulled myself to a stop in the Entrance Hall.

"Yes, you can. I'm right here." Draco whispered in my ear. He draped an arm across my shoulders and pulled me closer to him before walking into the Great Hall. We slowly made our way over to where Ginny and Blaise were sitting at the Slytherin table. All talk in the hall ceased as we were noticed. I fought to keep my head up. I had to stay strong. I had to.

"Oi! Mind your own business!" Ginny yelled at the gawking students.

Slowly, people began to talk again, but it was obvious what they were talking about from the glances that Draco and I were getting.

"Bloody nosy students." Blaise muttered.

"Take a deep breath." Draco whispered in my ear.

I glanced at him and saw a wary look on his face. I followed his gaze and saw Harry and Ron slowly making their way over to us. I took the deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Hey, boys." I said quietly as the reached the table.

"Why, may I ask, are you sitting over here?" Ron ground out.

"Because you gits won't accept Malfoy at the Gryffindor table." Ginny answered for me.

"And you think the Slytherins accept you and Hermione?" Harry asked incredulously

"No. I know they don't accept us. The difference is that we have these two boys who will stand up for us and protect us." Ginny said, "I wish I could say the same would be true of you two, but I just don't think it would."

"Harry, Ron, you're welcome to join us if you can accept the choices that Ginny and I have made." I said softly.

"Choices that.. that.. what choice has Ginny made?!" Ron stuttered

I threw a grin at Ginny as her face grew red, "Why don't you ask her?"

"Mione, I'm going to kill you. I haven't even fully decided anything yet!" she ground out.

"Oh, you have. You're just not willing to admit it yet. I know you, Gin. You've already made up your mind."

"I'm confused." Blaise cut in.

"Yeah, me too, mate." Draco said as he looked between me and Ginny, "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later." I said cheekily as Ginny tried to kick me under the table.

Harry and Ron looked baffled, but didn't say anything. They slowly sat down beside us. I beamed at them, "Thank you."

"We're only doing it because of you, Mione. We still hate the oaf." Harry said

"I am not an oaf!" Draco said indignantly

"Coulda fooled me." Blaise mumbled.

Ginny giggled as Draco flung a piece of bacon at Blaise.

I watched the interaction with a smile on my face.

Maybe this won't be so bad.

"Sweet mother of Merlin, this school is full of demons! Demons I tell you!" Draco yelled as he slammed the portrait shut behind him. He sagged against the wall for a moment before making his way over to one of large chairs and sinking into it.

"Have a rough day?" I asked sweetly

"Didn't you?" he answered incredulously

"No, actually. Ginny is really very terrifying when she wants to be. She's an excellent bodyguard. Hardly anyone got past her." I said smugly

Draco groaned and let his head drop into his hands, "Bloody Zabini. He wants to stop and talk to everyone he sees. I swear he's a bloody woman some days."

I giggled as I walked up behind him and gently started to work the knots out of his shoulders. I felt his muscles begin to relax under my ministrations. He sighed in satisfaction as the last of the tension left his broad shoulders, "Merlin, where did you learn to do that?"

"I lived with Harry and Ron for six years, remember? They would always be all tensed up after Quidditch and they wouldn't focus on homework unless they relaxed." I felt, more than saw, Draco roll his eyes.

"Pansies." He muttered.

I smiled and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I have an idea. It'll make this whole day seem worth it."

Draco snapped head around to look at me excitedly, "Yeah?"

"Yep! Know what it is?" I grinned

"I have a thought."

"Wanna know what it is?"

"Do tell, please." Draco said enthusiastically

"We're making cookies!"

"That's not what my thought was."

I chucked at the disappointment that was spreading over his features and reached around to grab his hand. Pulling Draco up and off the couch was a difficult feat, but soon I was dragging him along behind me and into the kitchen.

"How do you make cookies?" he asked sulkily

"What do you mean, "how do you make cookies?" Didn't you ever make them when you were a kid?" I asked incredulously

"No. I just asked a house elf for cookies and I got them." Draco shrugged.

I gaped at him, "Well, that is so inhumane! We will be using the oven."

Draco followed my pointing finger and put his hands up as he backed away, "I am not going anywhere near that death contraption. I don't know what it is, but I know it gets hot and it will burn me again."

"Again?" I asked

"A story for another day. The point is that I am not going near it." Draco said, a note of finality in his voice.

"Oh, yes, you are Mr. Malfoy. Don't worry. I'll be right here beside you the whole time. And the end result will be completely worth it. I promise."

Draco did not look reassured. I rolled my eyes and started pulling everything I would need out of the cabinets. I laid everything out on the table and proceeded to instruct Draco on what the process was.

"Now, dump the flour in the bowl and you're ready to mix it!" I said gleefully ten minutes later.

"Okay," Draco said uncertainly as he poured the measured flour into the mixing bowl and picked up the whisk to mix the batter. Draco began to stir it and I watched, amused, as his tongue poked out between his teeth when the mixture began to get thicker. The bowl began spinning and moving with his vigorous movements.

"Draco, be careful, the flour is still on the table!" I managed to say just as the bowl knocked the bag of flour into the floor at Draco's feet. A large white cloud of powder engulfed Draco. I flicked my wand and the flour cloud disappeared.

My hand flew to my mouth as I looked at Draco, trying to keep my laughter inside. He was staring at me, eyes wide with shock and flour covering his face, hair, and shirt, "So, there's a mirror just outside the kitchen door. You should go check yourself out real quick, love." I chuckled.

Draco stiffly walked out the door and I followed him, slowly.

"My hair." He said weakly, a look of horror on his features, "My hair. It's ruined."

"I tried to warn you.." I trailed off, "But, you didn't listen very well. Go take a shower. It'll come right out. I'll finish the cookies."

I laughed as Draco dragged his feet across the common room floor and disappeared into his room. Men, I thought, a bunch of sissies, the lot of them. I used my wand to clean up the remaining mess and then I finished mixing the cookie dough. I dropped spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet and stuck it in the oven. I then grabbed a book and sat down at the kitchen table to read until my timer went off.

I looked up when Draco wandered back into the kitchen ten minutes later, "Hey. Feel better?"

"Yes, actually." Draco said as he walked toward me, never breaking eye contact. He had a look in his eyes that made me evacuate my chair and move to the other side of the table.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked nervously as I kept backing away from him.

"Like, what?" he asked as he slowly stalked toward me, very predator like, taking in every move I made from my shifting eyes to my fidgeting fingers. I was pretty sure he could even see the butterflies that were taking over my stomach all of a sudden.

"Like you plan to – to eat me or something." I stuttered as my back hit the countertop.

"Maybe I do." He said quietly as he stopped just a space away from me. I could feel the heat coming off of his body, even though we weren't touching. The way he was staring at me intently caused my breath to hitch and I had to keep reminding myself that oxygen was essential to my life. I wanted to reach out and pull him closer to me, to make his body mold to mine, but I knew that if I initiated the contact, there would be no going back. So I clenched my shaking hands into fists and forced them to remain at my sides. Malfoy's lips quirked into a smirk as he noticed this action and he leaned down, his lips just a breath away from mine, "Maybe I want to take you out of this room and feast on you."

"I – I – I don't.. I don't think that's a very good.. a very good idea." I stuttered, trying to make my brain focus on something other than how close he was and how good he smelt.

"Are you sure about that, Granger? You're body says otherwise, I think." He murmured as he looked at my dilated pupils and took in my quick, shallow breathing. He started to move his head closer, his lips skimmed mine – and then there a shrill ring that sounded throughout the kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief as Malfoy jumped away from me, trying to find the source of the sudden alarm. I quickly slid over to the stove, glad to busy myself with another task.

"Cookies!" I declared, far too much glee evident in my voice if the look Draco gave me was anything to go by, "Sit! You have to try these! I can't believe you've never made cookies!" I was glad to babble on about anything that would continue to distract me from the look Draco was giving me. And the cookies did a fantastic job of clearing his intoxicating smell from my senses.

I placed a cookie in front of Draco and watched as he warily picked it up.

"It's warm." He stated, surprised.

"Well, yeah.. That's the best time to eat them." I said, surprised that he'd never had a cookie fresh from the oven.

He took a bite and I watched in satisfaction as his eyes closed and his lips turned up into a small smile, "Oh, Merllin. These are fantastic. Why did I never have these as a kid?"

I smiled as I watched the childlike happiness spread across Draco's face, "I'm glad you like them." I stood up and moved to the sink. I began to wash the dishes that I'd used and froze when I felt a warm body press against my back and large hands come to rest on my hips.

"We're not finished, Granger." He murmured in my ear, "I won't give up on you."

And then he was gone, the kitchen door swinging shut behind him.