The next morning, Hermione woke up before Draco did. She woke up to find herself laid out on top of him, and his arms wrapped around her. They were both naked and the feeling of skin against skin was pure bliss. It would've been much more comfortable and relaxing if she didn't need to pee so badly.
Sighing unhappily and muttering to herself about the early call of nature, Hermione slid off Draco and made her way to the loo.
As she made her way back into the bedroom, she found Draco tossing and turning in the bed, twisting the sheets around himself. Hermione hovered by the bathroom door, trying to figure out what was going on, until Draco started yelling out; then she sprinted over to him and attempted to soothe him from the bedside.
"Draco?"
"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"Draco, it's me! It's Hermione!"
"Granger?"
"Yes, it's me, Draco. Please, wake up!" Hermione pleaded, finding herself close to panic. Draco wasn't tossing as violently anymore, but he was still in danger of strangling himself with the bed sheets.
"Granger?" Draco murmured, finally going still. Hermione waited one minute and fell to her knees next to the bed, glad it was over. But then Draco sat up suddenly, his eyes wide open but unseeing, indicating that he was still dreaming. Eerily slowly, Draco turned and looked right into Hermione's eyes.
"RUN! GRANGER, RUN! BELLA WILL CATCH YOU! HERMIONE, JUST FUCKING RUN!" Draco screamed at the top of his lungs. All the air in Hermione's lungs came whooshing out in a rush as memories of being captured at Malfoy Manor came flooding back to her and her arm twinged painfully, more so than it had for a long time. Hermione fought for control over her emotions as she desperately tried to calm Draco.
"Draco, it's OK, we are both safe. Just wake up."
"No, Granger, you don't get it! You need to save yourself! Abandon Potter and Weasley, Bella will tear you apart! Granger…" Draco lowered his voice and crawled off the bed so that he was kneeling on the floor next to Hermione, looking right into her eyes, although his were still unseeing, lost in the dream.
"Hermione, please, run. I don't want you captured! If the Dark Lord captures you, you will die. Just run and hide, live with the muggles and stay safe. I can't turn you in, I just can't. Please, run. Stay alive." Draco pleaded. Hermione's mind was racing.
Is he dreaming that we are back in The War?
"Why are you trying to help me?" Hermione asked quietly, watching Draco's expressions closely.
"Because I can't live like this anymore!" Draco hissed.
"But why are you helping me? Why not other muggle borns? Why me?" Hermione insisted, beginning to wonder when he would wake up.
Draco was silent for a long time, staring into her eyes without seeing. Finally he bowed his head and whispered;
"Because the world would have no purpose without you."
Hermione froze in place. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't that. But Draco kept whispering, so quietly that Hermione was straining to hear the individual words.
"The Dark Lord can't win. I shouldn't have helped him. I'm a fool. But you, Granger, you're so strong and brave. Such a Gryffindor … the wizarding world needs more Gryffindor's like you and less Slytherin's like me. Please, Granger. Run. And survive." Draco seemed to freeze in time for five long seconds, and then began to slowly topple to the side. Hermione unfroze and lunged forward to catch him so he wouldn't hit his head on the bed frame.
"Bloody hell, Draco." Hermione muttered when she realized he was too heavy for her to lift him back onto the bed.
"Hmmm?" Draco groaned.
"Oh thank Merlin, you're awake!" Hermione sighed in relief and slowly let Draco go, making sure he really was awake this time and could support himself.
"What do you … Why are we on the floor, Hermione?" Draco looked around, confused.
"Because you were sleep talking and decided to join me here." Briefly Hermione explained to Draco what had happened. When she finished Draco pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't realize my nightmares were quite that bad." Draco spoke low, but apologetic.
"So you were aware you were having the nightmare?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Yeah, I was. I have nightmares almost every night, just some nights they are more vivid than others." Draco kept stroking Hermione's hair, and she began to wonder if he was doing it to soothe himself more than her.
"What are they about?" Hermione asked quietly, almost scared to ask. She felt Draco hesitate and was about to tell him not to worry about it, when he replied.
"They're about my Death Eater days. It switches between the days where I was scared the most, and days where one of the Dark Lords victims were tortured and I had the chance to step in and save them. In my nightmares usually I try to prevent the person getting captured in the first place." Draco's voice faltered and he hugged Hermione tightly, burying his face into her shoulder.
Hermione wriggled closer to him and hugged him back, wondering if anything she wanted to say would actually help. With a small jerk of surprise, Hermione realized that she had grown much more than she realized since leaving Hogwarts; if this had happened at school, she would've tried talking about everything and anything in an attempt to soothe the upset person. Now she understood that sometimes silence helped more than words.
The two lost track of how long they stayed there on the floor hugging each other, and they would've stayed there together longer if it weren't for the large barn owl that landed on Hermione's windowsill and started tapping on the glass with its beak.
Slowly Hermione pulled herself away from Draco and made her way over to the window. She was surprised to find that the sun was only just rising; it felt like mid-morning to her. Sighing quietly to herself, she opened her window to let the owl swoop in, except that it didn't, it stayed on the windowsill and stuck its leg out for her. As quickly as she could, Hermione untied the rolled up piece of parchment and as soon as the parchment was clear of the owls' leg, it gave a quiet hoot and flew away. Curiously Hermione unrolled the parchment and scanned the letter.
Draco watched as Hermione read her letter and suddenly paled to an unhealthy pallor.
"Hermione? What is it?" Draco asked, but Hermione didn't seem to hear him, she was staring at the letter in silent horror.
"Hermione?" Draco raised his voice and stood up to stand in front of her, but she still didn't notice him. Gently Draco placed his hands on Hermione's hips and his forehead on hers, gazing right into her eyes, and waited.
Draco counted five minutes in his head before Hermione took a deep breath and tore her eyes away from the letter.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Draco asked quietly. Hermione's scared brown eyes stared into Draco's own worried, grey ones. Silently Hermione handed the letter into Draco's hand. He looked at Hermione briefly in confusion before reading the letter.
Hi Hermione.
As you know I've been looking into why you can't get pregnant. At the start of the week I tried narrowing down my choices in sperm and I received positive results.
It is possible to get you pregnant!
It is strange, because you are Muggle born. But the only sperm that I have found to be compatible with your eggs is the sperm from a pureblood. Someone with absolutely no muggle blood in their DNA.
The sperm still must have a higher than average count, but it must be purely pureblood. Mr Weasley would've been compatible if he'd had a higher sperm count.
Please, Hermione, if you find yourself having intercourse with a pureblood wizard; take precautions until you know his sperm count!
That's all for now. If you wish for me to run more tests for you, you need to go through my Supervisor, as he needs me on duty.
It's been an honour helping you, Hermione.
Hope to see you soon.
Mediwitch Emma.
Draco felt as though his whole world had frozen. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the parchment; he stood staring at the words "sperm from a pureblood".
Hermione watched as Draco froze just as she had. She felt her fear grow within her strongly as she realised that the now very real possibility of her becoming pregnant might make Draco want to leave her.
"Draco?" She heard herself whisper. Slowly Draco looked up and his wide eyes met hers.
"If you want to leave now, I'd understand completely." Hermione's voice broke and she bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from crying, yet the tears still slid down her cheeks. She closed her eyes so that she didn't have to watch him leave her there all alone, and so that he wouldn't see the pain in her eyes.
But then she felt his arms wrap around her in a gentle hug, his lips kissing the top of her head.
"Hermione, I won't leave you all alone. That wouldn't do either of us any good you silly witch." Draco murmured into her hair. At that Hermione burst into relieved sobs and cried into his chest. Draco let her cry until she had no more tears to shed, then stepped back and tilted her head up with one of his long fingers.
"Hermione, I promise, I will not leave you. We will just need to take more precautions from now on, okay? If you'd like, I can brew a contraceptive potion for you?"
"Okay. You don't need to do that, I can do it myself." Hermione smiled weakly. Suddenly she was completely exhausted, and Draco could see that. Gently he picked her up and placed her back in the bed, tucking her in like a child.
"Get some rest, and recover, my Gryffindor Princess."
"Will you read to me, to help me sleep?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Of course. Which book do you want me to read to you?"
"Hogwarts: A History. It's in my library across the hall…" Hermione trailed off as Draco nodded and strode out of the room confidently, completely naked. Quietly Hermione waited for him to return and either put some clothes on or ask where in her library he could find the book, but she was pleasantly surprised when he returned with the book in hand.
"I'm surprised you found it. Most people don't understand how I organise my books." Hermione smiled. Draco looked down at the book and gave Hermione a very small, but very goofy grin.
"I do know the Dewey Decimal System off by heart. But the main bookcase does have a sign 'Hermione's Favourites' engraved into the wood along the top shelf. That narrowed down my search by a long shot." Draco said as he sat down on the bed next to Hermione.
"Oh." Hermione yawned as she snuggled in next to Draco and made herself comfortable. Once she was settled, Draco began reading.
Hermione was pleased to find that Draco had a light, flowing reading voice; she wouldn't have to teach him to read aloud like she had to teach Ron. She found herself drifting off before Draco had finished the second page.
Even after she was long asleep, Draco continued on reading to himself. He was shocked that Hermione didn't have the latest version of Hogwarts: A History, she had the same version that everyone had while they were still at Hogwarts. The newest version had excerpts from her own book; surely she would've bought it?
Hermione slept through most of the day. Around lunch time Draco found himself getting hungry, but Hermione didn't seem to be waking up just yet. Slowly Draco eased himself off the bed and began to get dressed. As he was pulling on his shirt he heard a light knock on the door. Confidently he strode over to the door and opened it a crack to find Weasel on the other side.
"Do you need something?" Draco asked, a little too coldly. Damn habits take forever to grow out of.
"I was just checking on Hermione. Is she there?" Weasel demanded, too loudly. Draco lifted one finger to his lips before opening the door enough for Weasel to see that she was sleeping in her bed.
Ron looked past the slightly taller blonde and kept his gaze locked on Hermione long enough for him to see her breathing, before he nodded and made to turn away, when a long fingered hand landed lightly on his shoulder. He froze in place and turned his head, hand ready to make a grab for his wand, making eye contact with Malfoy.
"If you don't mind, Weasley, could you lead me to the kitchen?" Malfoy sounded far more civil than Ron was used to, and his surprise must've shown on his face, as Malfoy chuckled at his expression.
"I promise I won't hex you, Weasley, my wand is next to Hermione's bed and it will stay there until I leave to make my way back to my own house." Draco said sincerely. Ron took a deep breath and nodded before muttering;
"Sure, right this way."
Draco walked out into the hallway and closed the door gently before following Weasley downstairs to the kitchen. Once they were there Weasley turned to Draco and pointed at the small table and chairs.
"Sit down, I'll cook." Ron said, obviously working hard to be polite, but still sounding cold.
Bemused, Draco sat down and watched as Weasley busied himself in the kitchen.
"I didn't realise you could cook, Weasley, I thought you'd be one to leave it to the women." Draco stated, watching Weasley carefully in case he said something offensive. Hermione had already told him that she was teaching Weasley to cook, but he felt he had to make an effort with her friends, to make her life a little easier. He was quietly pleased when Weasley replied, rather sourly, but he was talking none the less.
"I did at first. But when Hermione and I broke up, we decided that she would teach me how to cook so that I could do it more often, as part of my rent. It is her house after all."
"And you enjoy it?" Draco asked, genuinely curious. Weasley paused, and Draco wondered if he was ignoring him, until he replied in surprise.
"Yeah. I do enjoy it. Especially when I cook for the girls and they both like the food I cooked." Ron replied, smiling as he remember the night when he'd cooked lasagne for the girls the night Hermione had gone chasing after Malfoy. Hermione didn't know it, but Ron had refused Luna's help that night for the first time, insisting that he wanted to try and make it by himself; he'd been fiercely proud of himself when both girls had enjoyed the food.
Draco remained silent after that while Weasley cooked, not sure what else he could talk about.
"You're not going to leave her again, are you?" Ron demanded out of the blue.
"Of course I won't. I couldn't do that again to either of us." Draco replied smoothly.
"Good. Because if you do, I will hex you into the next life if you set foot near her again." Ron growled.
"Good." Draco said simply, leaving Ron speechless.
Just as Ron was serving up a few minutes later – sausages, eggs, tomato, bacon and toast – Hermione came sprinting downstairs in a short red dress, panic written across her face.
The two men stared at her in mild amusement as she stumbled to a sudden stop and glanced from Draco to Ron to confusion.
"Ron? Draco?" She asked slowly. "What's going on?"
"I went up to check on you, when Malfoy was opened the door. He said he was hungry so I cooked for him. I made enough for you, too, if you want some?" Ron spoke before Draco could open his mouth, so Draco just nodded in agreement, his eyes fixed on Hermione's bare legs.
"Oh. Sure, I'll have some, thank you, Ron." Hermione said, sounding perplexed.
The three of them ate together in a peaceful silence until their plates were clear and the food was all eaten. Hermione was the first to break the silence.
"So you two managed to stay down here, together, and not hex each other into oblivion?" she asked. The two men nodded in response, both a little surprised themselves.
"I actually left my wand upstairs as a show of good faith." Draco said, watching as Hermione's eyes grew even wider.
"I wouldn't hurt him unless you asked me to, Hermione." Ron said gently.
"I doubt I will, Ron, but thanks." Hermione rolled her eyes. "So does that mean you two are going to start calling each other by your first names?" Hermione asked hopefully, wondering if it was too big of a step for the two.
Ron felt himself stiffen at Hermione's suggestion, and was pleased to notice that Malfoy did the same. The two men eyed each other across the table silently, both wanting Hermione happy but not ready to become friends.
Then Malfoy took a deep breath, and Ron hoped that Malfoy would be the one to tell Hermione the bad news, when Malfoy stood up and walked over to stand next to Ron, holding his pale hand out.
"Draco." Was all he said. Ron stared up at the blonde with a straight face. Finally he, too, heaved a deep sigh a stood up to shake Malfoy's hand.
"Ronald. Call me Ron." The two shared a strong but brief handshake then immediately sat back down in their own chairs.
"Oh, thank you boys!" Hermione exclaimed, a huge smile stretching across her face as she jumped up from her seat, gave a surprised Ron a hug, then sat on Draco's lap, hugging him and kissing his cheek.
"You don't know how much that means to me!" She exclaimed, cuddling into Draco's chest happily. Ron smiled at Hermione and pulled out his wand to magic to dishes into the sink so they could start cleaning themselves.
"So, Hermione. Does this mean that Mal- Draco. Is going to be around tomorrow for Christmas Day?" Ron asked conversationally. Draco tilted his head to look down at Hermione, she was biting her lip and obviously mulling it over.
"I'd like to meet everyone, Hermione." Draco said softly.
"If you'd like to be there, then I'd love to have you around. As long as you're not expected at Malfoy Manor?" Hermione said.
"No. I will spend Boxing Day with my family, but not Christmas Day. They'll understand." Draco shrugged.
"Alright, if you're sure?"
"I'm sure. And if you ask me that again I will assume you don't really want me here and I will spend tomorrow with my parents." Draco teased, lightly kissing the top of Hermione's head, making her giggle.
"I'll let Luna know that we're cooking for another person then." Ron said, almost to himself. "But Hermione, should we give Harry and the others some warning before they get here?" Ron asked.
"No. They can find out when they get here." Hermione said, surprising both men.
"But, Hermione-"
"No." Hermione cut off Draco. "They will find out when they get here, and they will deal with it. End of story." At that Hermione stood up and waltzed back upstairs, leaving the two men at the table.
"I'd go follow her, Malfoy. Try and convince her to give Ginny warning, at least."
"Which one is Ginny?" Draco asked, realising with a sudden jolt that he didn't know any of the Weasley's first names.
"My little sister. She married Harry."
"Oh, yeah. Right."
"Don't worry, Malfoy. We'll re-introduce you tomorrow. For now, go chase your girlfriend."
"Thanks, Weasley." Draco said and rose to follow Hermione.
"Oh, and Malfoy?" Ron said. Draco turned to look at Ron.
"Are we only going to call each other by our first names when Hermione's around?"
"Of course, Weasley." Draco gave Weasley his best Hogwarts day smirk before turning around.
As Draco turned his back on Ron, both men smiled to themselves. They were far from being friends yet, but they were no longer the enemies they had been at school.