Chapter 24

A slight shuffling of feet along the hard wooden floor downstairs had Draco slowly rousing from his sleep. Blearily opening his eyes taking in his surroundings the most prominent being the fact his left arm was being used as a pillow by the owner of the mass of curly hair facing and burrowing into his pit and chest. Content to simply fall back into the land of the rather marvellous dream he had been having he closed his eyes breathing deeply into the mass of hair he found in front of him.

That is when he heard it, more frequent shuffles, as someone entered the floor level he was on, before a harsh thud indicating they may have stumbled, before they began ascending the stairs the creaking of the stair floorboards getting further and further away.

Deciding to investigate he extricated himself from Hermione's form covering her form in the duvet to slow down the cold protrusions from attacking her limbs in his absence. Sliding out of the room into the hallway he stealthily making his way up the stairs. Knowing both his Father's and his own studies were locked by powerful magic he made his way into the library.

The first thing he noticed was that the room was chilled to the core, the hearth on the back wall having not been enchanted to illuminate and warm the tombs of books. Moving along the rows of books to the central aisle he noticed a figure bent over near the hearth seemingly examining it for a means to start the roaring flames. Swirling his wand Draco suddenly started the fire, causing the figure to shriek in surprise and Draco to be able to see their face as they looked confusedly towards him.

The wide eyes of Rose Weasley looked back at him, looking so much like her mother in that moment, Draco walked closer to her, before realising and pausing where he was.

"I didn't mean to disturb you Mister Malfoy"

He shook his head, "You didn't, I wasn't asleep" he lied smoothly deciding to step closer to the warmth the fire was emitting, "Any particular reason you are here?"

"I couldn't sleep" the girl admitted, staring into the flames.

"Something on your mind?" Rose simply shook her head, "I know your lying- as I've said before you and your mother share the inability to lie sometimes." She shrugged her shoulders. "You don't have to tell me, but I'll listen trust me" he left his sentence to hang in the air. And it didn't take long for Rose to bite, though admittedly for Draco she had much more control over her questioning nature than her mother did.

"Everything's going to change isn't it" she finally relented, looking towards the blond briefly before turning back around. "I mean, everything already started to."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean by that?"

The young Weasley sighed, "I've not spoken properly to my mum for days! She doesn't have time for me anymore"

"She has got a lot on her plate at the moment" Draco offered, leaning against the couch in front of the fire.

"I know she has, but I just want her to know that I'm here for her- she's trying to be strong but I know she's breaking inside!"

Draco was silent for a moment, simply watching the young girl, before something finally dawned on him, "Just like you are?" Without being able to see her face, Draco summarised that she was wiping away stray tears from her face, from the way she pulled her forearm harshly across her face. "Your mother loves you, you know. She's just really trying to get things settled as soon as possible so there are not as many interruptions for you later."

"I just want her with me, if I'm being honest Mister Malfoy"

"Come with me then" he held out his hand signalling for Rose to follow him, before walking out of the library down the stairs and being stood outside the room Hermione was occupying.

"She's probably asleep"

Draco opened the door stepping through into the large room, "That she is, but I'm sure it'd be lovely for her to wake and find you here" he smiled a rare smile pushing Rose in the direction of the large bed. When the young Witch settled onto the bedspread Hermione sleepily turned, murmuring a quiet 'Malfoy?' under her breath, before passing back into the realm of her unconscious state once again.

Rose settled on top of the duvet, and Draco summoned a blanket, with a warming charm settled over it, and covered up the young Weasley, watching as it took all of three seconds for her to join her mother in the sleeping land. A smirk twitched at the side of his mouth as he observed the mother and daughter, before he vacated the room, to retire to his own room for the remainder of the night.

A/N: I know, short chapter, well very short chapter, this popped into my head, and I thought it was a lovely addition, to what I'm not sure. But I hope you all like it!
Ta- tarrrr for now. And thanks again, especially to those that review.

Scorpio219 -x-