A/N: Happy 4th of July everyone! Stay safe ^^ As always, thanks for reading :) Enjoy~
"Hermione hurry up!" Ginny was always in such a rush. Hermione was almost done putting her clothes away and setting up her bed. She put the otter Draco had won her in front of the pillows. Perfect, she thought.
"Can we go now?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, let's go." She answered, annoyed. Nevertheless she let Ginny drag her all the way down the stairs and into the halls.
"Is it mean to say I hate first years? Because I hate first years." Hermione giggled, pushing her way through the confused crowds with Ginny at her side. "They're just young, they don't know any better." Hermione insisted. Ginny rolled her eyes. "It's irritating." Hermione laughed some more. Ginny grabbed her by the arm and weaved through the crowd, making their way to the dining hall.
"Finally I can breathe." She mumbled. "So tell me, how was your summer."
Hermione smiled. "It was fantastic."
"Yeah?" Ginny said, grabbing a roll of bread and sitting down. "What'd you do?"
"I met a boy."
Ginny's eyes grew wide. "Ooh, do tell."
"Once we get back upstairs. Too many ears here. How was your summer?" Ginny sighed. "Same old, same old. Ronald was impossible."
"Oy, that's not nice." Ron said, approaching the table with Harry at his side. Ginny rolled her eyes again. "It wouldn't kill you to shower you know. The stench was unbearable." "I shower!" Ron said, sitting across from them. "Yeah about once a week." Harry chimed in, shoving a spoonful of food into his mouth. The whole gang burst into rounds of giggles, Ron turning as red as his hair.
Just then the doors seemed to whip open as the Slytherins made their way into the hall. All heads seemed to turn to look at them. Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she saw Draco, standing front and center of the group, looking in her general direction, smiling. Her cheeks flushed.
"What do you think he's so happy about?" Harry muttered.
"Hmm?"
"Malfoy hardly ever smiles," Harry nodded in his direction, "Just look at him." Ginny shrugged. "Who knows." Hermione took some sips of pumpkin juice, hoping no one had caught her smiling along with Draco.
Exiting the dining hall during the first few days after arriving at Hogwarts could only be described as madness. It was almost as though it took everyone a solid week and a half to get into the rhythm of not running into absolutely every witch and wizard they happen to come across. It didn't help Hermione's claustrophobia, that was for sure.
When they returned to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione explained her summer to Ginny, as promised. But she remained as vague as humanly possible. "But what does he look like?" Ginny said excitedly. "Oh, you know. Tall. Very British." Hermione said, clearing her throat. "What color are his eyes?" Hermione's heart began to pound. His eyes were like a thunderstorm; deep and grey with the occasional flash of lightning. "Blue." She responded, trying to sound careless. "Oooh! I bet he's so handsome." Hermione scoffed, turning her head to the side and smiling. "He's alright, I guess." Ginny began to shake her hands all over. "Is he a muggle?"
"Um..."
Ginny gave a loud squeal that caused the other girls in the room to groan.
"He's a muggle isn't he? How exciting!"
Hermione pulled on Ginny's arm, trying to calm her down. "No," she said, "He's a wizard."
Ginny bit her lip, but still managed to grin widely. The look scared Hermione somewhat. "That's even more exciting!"
Hermione covered her face with her hand and shook her head. This was going to be a long night.
As the days passed on and on, Hermione couldn't help but feel that something was missing. No, she knew something was missing. And that something was Draco. Sure, they had glanced at each other now and again, but nothing ever much more than that. Well, except for one particularly crowded morning, when Hermione kept pushing and pushing through the crowd, but she was so short it was an exercise in futility. Until she felt a familiar hand wrap around her own, guiding her through the confused, tangled mess of first years. But he was gone just as soon as they had gotten through the crowd. Nevertheless, it was nice having that moment with him, no matter how small. It was like she could finally catch a contented breath.
Other than that moment, that one wondrous moment, they haddn't really gotten a chance to talk to each other. Their friends, houses and not to mention schoolwork were keeping them apart. Hermione couldn't help the yearning feeling whenever she passed by him in the hallway. There was something about his cologne that seemed extra sharp. She never missed it, and sometimes she found herself following the aroma through the halls. Charms was particularly difficult, as they only sat two seats away from each other. They exchanged glances as often as they could, but that was really all they could manage. Hermione was getting anxious. And it was starting to get pretty ridiculous. They were all practically adults; if a Slytherin wanted to be friends with a Gryffindor then what did it matter?
But they were more than just friends. At least, Hermione thought they were. Or they had been. Things had been so strange after their kiss. It was so sudden, and so close to the end of summer that they hadn't gotten a chance to meet after that. The beginning of school had kept her much busier than she had originally thought it would. So when she got to breakfast that one morning, she practically ripped one particular note in half trying to open it.
I miss you. Room of Requirement? After breakfast.
Her heart pumped hard and color filled her cheeks. "Don't tell me." Hermione jumped as Ginny sat down next to her.
"Ginny-"
"No, stop talking. I've given you long enough. What is this all about?"Hermione bit her lip, trying not to smile. "We're…more than just friends." She said. Ginny squealed and squeezed her arm. "Oh my gosh I'm so happy for you! But who is he? What about summer boy? Come on, tell me everything."
"Shh! Someone will hear you. I can't tell you everything. Please try to understand. We don't want anyone knowing. But we hung out a lot this summer. And, well, things are going well. I think. I haven't been able to see much of him since school has started." Ginny glanced over at the note and squealed. "Is that him then, the summer boy? The one you were telling me about. Summer and Note boy are the same person?" Hermione couldn't help the smile that formed across her cheeks as she nodded. "Your boy is at Hogwarts? What are you waiting for?" Ginny shook her, "Get your butt over there!" Hermione chugged her pumpkin juice and headed for the door, Ginny giving her a supportive wave on the way out.
As the door appeared before her she got an excited rush to open it. She tried to calm herself but her arm wouldn't stop shaking. Draco was standing before her, looking quite dashing in his best button down shirt and dress slacks. He was standing in front of a table. "Hi," she said nervously, "Gosh you look really nice," she looked down at her own attire, "I just threw this on, I didn't think, I could go change."
"No don't!" He practically lunged out to her. "I mean. No. Just. Stay. Jeez. I feel like I haven't seen you in years." Her cheeks flushed. He cleared his throat. "You look great. You could wear anything and look great." He ran his hand through his hair. He only seemed to do that when he was nervous, she thought. Hermione could feel herself going red. She folded her hands neatly in front of her. They were about two feet away from each other, and neither made any sign of moving closer. "How was move in?" she said. Draco ran a hand through his hair again. "Good, good. Uh you know, guys don't really care much when it comes to unpacking." Hermione nodded. "Right, right." Silence hung in the air. Hermione bit her lip. "I missed you too." She blurted.
Draco seemed to sigh with relief. "Do you think we should tell people?" he said. She moved closer towards him. "What would we tell them?" He wrapped his arms around her waist, more comfortable now. She rested her arms on his shoulders. "We could say a number of things I suppose." He pecked her lips quickly, where she didn't get to enjoy it at all. "We could say we've fallen madly in love, plan to move to the countryside and have twenty-two children together." Hermione burst out laughing. "I don't think that will end well. For anyone involved." Draco nodded, his face very serious. "We'll have to scratch that then." He told her, flashing a smirk. She laughed some more. "Definitely."
She couldn't stand him smiling at her, it made her cheeks burn. She looked at the ground. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm so nervous." He held her tighter, so that their torsos were touching. "Maybe you could try looking at me Granger," he said, his mouth right by her ear. She shook her head, eyes closed, burying her face in his chest. "No that makes it worse." Her voice was muffled. He brought her chin up, but her eyes were still closed. Draco chuckled. "I can work with that," he said, before brushing his lips against hers. Hermione shivered. They hadn't kissed since that last day of summer. And that had just been one kiss. They hadn't officially kissed. Hermione's mind was buzzing and her body was tingling. He tasted good, and it was something she couldn't get enough of. They broke away, slightly gasping for air. Hermione giggled. "God I feel thirteen again." Draco raised an eyebrow. "And just who were you kissing like that at such a young age Ms. Granger?" "Oh stop," she nudged him, unable to contain her smile.
She intertwined her fingers with his. "I don't think we should tell anyone yet," she said, looking at their hands, "I like this. Just us." Draco nodded. "I like it too." He said. "Even if it means sitting through hours of torture in Charms." Hermione giggled. "I'm glad I'm not the only one. You should stop wearing that cologne, you know." Draco lifted his eyebrows. "Do you not like it?" She shook her head fiercely. "Quite the opposite. It makes it so much more difficult to concentrate." Draco gave a wicked grin, "Perhaps I'll have to spray on just a tad bit more then." She rolled her eyes at him, playfully pushing against his chest.
They snuck out of the Room of Requirement, hands still tied.
"Hermione?"
Hermione's heart froze. Draco's first thought was to apparate, but that simply wasn't possible within Hogwarts.
"Ginny." She breathed, her mouth completely dry. "Ginny, please, I promise I'll explain everything. Just don't-"
"Freak out? I swear, Hermione. This totally calls for freaking out. Look at you two!" She motioned to the both of them. Hermione and Draco looked each other up and down, and quickly dropped hands.
"Look Weasley-" Ginny put her hand up. "No, you look, Malfoy. I won't do anything rash. But someone needs to explain."
"He's the one with the letters." Hermione voiced.
"You told her about that?" Hermione shushed him. Ginny's eyes grew wide. Then she gave an overly-dramatic sigh. "That much is apparent. Fine Granger. It's clear you don't want anyone to know. I can't really blame you," she shot Malfoy a distrustful look, "so I won't say anything. But only because I love you." Hermione jumped over to give her a hug.
"But let's get one thing straight," she said, pulling away, "everything I do is for you, not for the ferret."
"Fair enough redhead." Malfoy chimed in.
Ginny smiled, "That the best you can do, Malfoy? Don't tell me you've gone soft."
Draco grinned. "Not a chance, Weasley."