Chapter VII – Next Day - Part One

Hermione awoke to a room filled with a fresh, dim light which told her that it was just after dawn. She found herself intertwined with Draco on the daybed. It seemed that sometime in the night the duvet had been discarded since they now lay uncovered and quite naked. Draco had wrapped his arms securely around Hermione's waist and she was lying with her head against his chest. It occurred to her then that this was how she wanted to wake up every day, lying with him in this intimate embrace. She slowly shifted, and found that one of her hands was resting just above his heart. The idea that she had fallen asleep with one hand over Draco's heart made her feel content in a way that she had never really felt before. And, these feelings which she was experiencing now were entirety her own now since the perfume's affects had worn off.

Hermione began absentmindedly tracing shapes into Draco's chest. Images from the previous night began flitting through her mind; Draco kissing her thoroughly in a hidden passageway, Draco apologizing to her, drowning in the depths of his grey eyes… then Hermione remembered the thing which had been the highlight, the thing which had made her heart soar: 'It's always been you, Hermione… always, know that.' That memory of Draco softly whispering those words into her ear sent shivers of happiness down her spine. Smiling, she moved her head so that she could see his face. He was peaceful in sleep; the brooding, defensive guise he usually wore was absent. Hermione shifted her body so that she was lying diagonally across him. Ever so lightly, she traced the contours of his face. As she reached the bottom of his chin, she felt his arms tighten around her waist and she knew that she had roused him. A slow smile crept onto his face and he said sleepily,

'That's two for two Granger— definitely the best night's sleep I've had in a long time.'

Hermione glowered at him.

'So I'm Granger now? What happened with calling me Hermione?'

'Well, Hermione, some habits are hard to break, but I could work on it with some persuasion.'

She scowled again, and Draco chuckled.

'You know, I really like it when you give me that look for some reason.'

"Stop being so cheeky and give me a kiss.'

Draco laughed again and leaned forward to capture her mouth. He pulled Hermione up to have better access to her mouth as she wound her hands through his hair. As they kissed, millions thoughts and emotions ran through her though she couldn't articulate any of them. All she could do was kiss Draco back and hope he got the gist of what he was making her feel. Their kiss was a culmination of the past night's events; she kissed Draco not wanting it to end. However it did and afterwards Hermione settled her face next to Draco's and brushed her nose against his cheek.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes; Hermione gently brushing her nose against his face as Draco softly traced patterns on her lower back. Neither of them wanted to be the first one to move, but seeing as Hermione really did not want to meet the gossip queens, Lavender and Parvati looking properly disheveled at a questionable hour, she did decided that she would be the one to move first.

'Draco… we should probably get going…you know, awkward questions and all.'

He made a noise which seemed as though he agreed with her. Hermione scooted off the bed and rooted around for her clothes, then decided to ask the room for a fresh pair. She found her bra and underwear and then pulled on a clean blouse and skirt, then stuffed the dirty pair in her bag. She quickly ran a hand through her hair, which was just a mess. The room mirrored her thoughts and a comb appeared on the table along with a bottle of the hair potion she usually used. It took a minute to tame her hair in the long mirror which had been magicked into existence above the fireplace. All Draco had done was roll over on the daybed and pull up a sheet over him. He looked as though he was majorly sulking and she wasn't sure what she should do. Hermione stood there for a brief moment than decided to summon her Gryffindor courage and tell him what she was feeling. She dropped her bag on one of the armchairs by the fire and climbed up on the daybed, next to him and whispered into his hair,

'Draco, you know I really like you, right?'

A moment passed then Draco rolled over and propped himself up on his elbows. He was grinning now.

'Well, I had my suspicions…'

Hermione huffed and said, 'Draco Malfoy, you are impossible!'

He replied in a mock affronted tone,

'What, me? Never.'

Hermione made to shove him, but he caught her before she could and pulled her close and told her,

'I meant what I said last night, Hermione. I really like you too.'

All she could get out was a 'well, good' before Draco had begun kissing her again. While they kissed she could feel him smiling, which in turn made her smile. Merlin, she thought, this wizard can kiss! They stayed like that for awhile, neither remembering that it would be soon breakfast time and the castle would be once more active. It was only until she heard a bird chirping from somewhere outside the window did she remember, and pulled away from the Slytherin.

'Draco! It's now—she checked the clock—six thirty!'

She leapt off the bed and began throwing his clothes at him.

'I don't know about you, but I really don't want to be skinned alive by Filch.'

She knelt down and retrieved his shirt which had meandered under the chair of all places then threw it to him.

With a sigh, he began putting on the clothes which Hermione had thrown to him and searched around for the ones she hadn't gotten too. Now, at the prospect of parting, Hermione was getting anxious; they had not discussed anything besides the short term. For something to do, Hermione pulled out the Mauraders Map, and it seemed, surprisingly enough, that the castle was actually completely still, except for the Bloody Baron who seemed to be slowly circulating the dungeons. Hermione was in game plan mode—she calculated the easiest and fastest way to get back to their respective common rooms and double checked that all the teachers' dots were stationary.

Hermione nervously began babbling, '…okay, so Filch isn't prowling around any of the corridors, so we should be fine. Now, just remember—'

Draco actually walked up to her and put his finger on her lips to quite her.

'You really do worry too much. I've done my fair share of wandering these corridors after hours and look—' he held up one of his thumbs, 'I still have my thumbs; Filch hasn't gotten a chance to forcibly remove them from my body.'

She attempted to scowl at him though it was hard since his finger was still there, so she settled on a disapproving glare. Draco chuckled and took her hand, leading her towards the door.

They made it down the seventh floor corridor and Hermione looked over her shoulder to see the door of the Room disappearing into blank wall once more. Draco led her away from the room, through empty corridors in silence. He slowed at the end of a corridor and Hermione realized that this was the point where they would separate; he would head down the stairs to the dungeons and she along the corridor to Gryffindor Tower. Draco looked swiftly down the corridor, then expertly pulled Hermione close and gave her a hot, scorching kiss which left her quite breathless.

'See you later… Granger.'

She scowled, for the third time that morning and replied, 'Arse' under her breath and she heard him chuckle as he made his way down to the dungeons. Hermione stood there for a moment before heading towards the Gryffindor common room. Before long, she found herself standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

'And where have you been?' The fat lady asked her with a knowing glint in her eye.

Hermione straightened her skirt and tried to look as prim as possible and just said the password. When she stepped into the common room she saw to her relief that it was empty. Hermione quickly and quietly made her way up the winding staircase to her dormitory and silently got into bed. It seemed that the other sixth year girls had yet to get up; it was Sunday morning after all. She quickly undressed and pulled on her night clothes, then buried herself under the covers. Though she had just woken up she decided that a good couple of hours of sleep would do just fine. If she closed her eyes and pretended, she could be back in the Room of Requirement with Draco. The dormitory was quiet apart from the odd rustle of bed sheets and the sound of the wind whipping around the tower. She soon fell into a sleepy drowse, wondering what on earth she had gotten herself into, and why she didn't mind so much.

Part two coming soon! Please review!