A/N: Thank you for everyone who left a review, they absolutely made my day. I love hearing about what you all think about the story as well as the characterization. So all I can say is Review!Review!Review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
He had been in the Infirmary for 4 days. Each night, she slipped away to meet him. He would be awake to greet her, but no matter how hard he tried to stay awake, his recuperating body demanded sleep. She was actually thankful for it. He was getting more rest like this than if he was up in the dormitory.
After the first day, she collected his homework and assignments from his classes and brought it to him to keep him busy during the day. It gave her an excuse to see him twice, even if it was for a short while.
He was healing slowly. The wounds had closed, but the bandages remained. Pomfrey seemed concerned about infection, and considering how deep they had been, an infection now might lead to sepsis. He complained about them; that they itched and were uncomfortable, but he never once tried to remove them. He understood it was for the best.
She clutched his books to her chest as she walked down the halls. When she turned the corner to the Infirmary, she nearly dropped the books at the sight that greeted her. Draco was up and dressed, gathering his books and stray pieces of parchment into a neat stack. He looked up as she entered and grinned at her.
"She's letting you go?" She asked as she came to stand beside him.
He nodded. "With stipulations of course." He snorted. He tugged at the collar of his shirt revealing the bandages still on his chest. "I have to keep them on for two more days and then either come back here and have them removed or do it myself."
"Pomfrey takes the threat of infection seriously." She mused. He stiffened for a moment before taking out his wand and shrinking his pile so that it would fit in his pocket.
"She's just going off of past experience." He murmured before turning to face her.
She frowned. Unsure how to respond to that. He didn't elaborate before finally taking notice of the books in her arms. He grimaced. "More homework."
He didn't seem daunted by the stack of books in her hands, though she caught a hint of mild annoyance in the manner in which he took them from her hand and shrunk them down like before.
"Well you did miss four days."
He didn't say anything, but dipped his head in a slight nod.
She caught the flash in his eyes, gone quickly and hard to place.
Emboldened, she stepped closer and took his face into her hands. He let out a puff of air that warmed her fingers.
"What's the matter?"
He shook his head before bending and capturing her lips. He was slow, deliberate in every movement. She allowed herself to get lost in it for a moment.
She nearly laughed at the thought. She made it seem like she had a choice.
She was lost anyway.
They hadn't really discussed this shift in them, but this was certainly not their first repeat of the kiss they'd shared on his first night in the Infirmary. It had progressed to a few instances of wandering hands, but that was hesitant and rare. It hurt almost as much as it was breathtaking, because they hid a message in every touch, like each time was the last before the inevitable goodbye.
He broke the kiss too soon and shot her a tight smile before he led her rather quickly out of the Infirmary.
Her mouth tugged at the urgency he had to leave the Hospital Wing. He was probably afraid Pomfrey would change her mind and keep him for longer.
She indulged him and once they were a safe distance away from the Infirmary, he slowed their pace.
"I have to go to the Owlery. I've got some letters I need to send out. I can just meet you at the dorm later." He said.
She resisted the urge to worry her bottom lip. She really didn't want him out of her sight so soon. Though, she did have an excuse to follow him up there herself.
"I actually have letters that I've been meaning to send too."
He smirked, and she saw the mirth flare in his eyes before he nodded, and they continued to the staircase. He knew exactly why she suddenly thought now was the perfect time to send out her letters, when she'd forgotten to send them every day for the past week. The smirk faded, but the mirth remained. He certainly didn't object.
When they got to the Owlery, he split away toward his own owl as she headed to select a school owl.
She fished around her school bag before she withdrew her letters, one for each of her parents sealed and signed with her curvy script. A tawny school owl flew down to her and she reached out to it attaching her letters quickly. As soon as she had finished attaching them, it took off, soaring gracefully into the air. She sighed as she watched it become nothing more than a speck in the distance.
She hoped they'd at least enjoy them. She'd spent several hours in front of empty pieces of parchment, unsure exactly what to write. Everything that she wanted to confide in them was too frightening to even put to paper.
But she wanted to confide in them, but she was frightening at the direction her own mind went when it turned to her parents.
The thoughts of them were now always accompanied by worry. As Draco's dreams had worsened, her decision on what to do with her parents had fluctuated. At first, she'd thought that convincing them to go into hiding might be an option. Now, she shivered instinctively, she had come to the conclusion that she might not be able to protect them. The only option that remained was the one that she'd wanted to avoid at all costs.
She sighed.
It didn't matter what she wanted now. Their lives were more important than her worries.
Her eyes drifted, and she found she could no longer see Draco.
Frowning, she stepped away softly toward where Draco had gone. She paused, straining her ears until she caught the sound of voices.
Should she reveal herself or…
"Didn't realize you were out of the Infirmary Malfoy."
She stopped. The voice was unfamiliar, perhaps another Slytherin? If she waited, maybe Draco would find a way to end the conversation quickly.
"Just now actually, but I had business to attend to." Draco replied coldly.
She waited for footsteps, but instead heard feet shuffling.
"Yeah. Much work to do from what I hear."
Her breath caught in her throat. Did anyone else know? She chided herself after the thought arose. There were children of Death Eaters and pureblood supporters in Slytherin. It wasn't a stretch that vague word of Draco's task had spread within the circle.
"What do you want Nicholson?" Draco asked then, his voice hard, as the temperature in the Owlery seemed to drop to match his mood.
"By the Pits?" Nicholson asked.
Draco was silent.
"Yes. Yes. By the Snake." He said irritably after a moment.
She frowned at their oaths before she shrugged and dismissed it as a Slytherin practice.
"How do you stand it?"
Draco was silent.
"How do you stand her. How do you stand them?"
"Why the interrogation Nicholson? Think you could do a better job? Do you think you are worthy of all the glory too?"
If she hadn't learned to recognize it, she would have missed the edge of sarcasm in the way the words fell from him.
She heard Draco let out a hallow laugh when Nicholson didn't respond.
"Oh I get it. Well let me give you a lesson on it." He said, once his laughter had died.
Her eyes widened, and she moved slowly forward to hear them better.
"Take out your wand." Draco ordered.
She heard Nicholson rummage around for a moment and then silence again.
"Kill my owl."
Her breath caught, and she resisted the urge to shout out in protest.
What was he doing?
"Are you barmy?" Nicholson exclaimed.
"Can't you do it?" Draco said, his voice was flat, "After all it's just an animal, not worth much. In fact, there's so many of them we're nearly overrun."
Nicholson said nothing, but she was raging at Draco's callous manner.
Wait.
She took a breath as her eyes widened in understanding.
Clever. Clever. Sneaky Slytherin.
"It's just an owl Nicholson. In fact, the whole wizarding world could adopt a few choice spells as a whole, and then they'd be obsolete."
Still Nicholson was silent.
She heard one of them let out a breath.
Somehow she thought it was Draco.
"That's how it is Nicholson." He said, this time his voice a tad softer.
"By the snake Malfoy." Nicholson finally spoke.
"By the snake." Draco echoed. She heard shuffling and then slow footsteps that stopped at what she visualized as the edge of the Owlery that led back into the castle. "If you need anything Nicholson, you know where to find me."
She heard Nicholson grunt in agreement before he spoke again. "Can you kill the owl Malfoy?"
She must be imagining it, but she thought she caught a hint of sympathy in his tone.
Draco let out a breath. "That seems to be the question of the hour."
At that Nicholson must have turned to leave, because she heard footsteps resume and echo for a moment before disappearing altogether.
"Granger?" Draco called out, and she hesitantly stepped forward.
She stopped before him, and met his gaze.
"Is that how you turn them all off the idea of joining?" she tried, but she couldn't help the disapproval that laced her voice.
His jaw hardened. "No, but if that's what it takes to convince the stubborn ones…" he trailed off.
She cut him off as she took his hand in hers. She may not agree with his methods, but it produced results. Anything. Anything to tip the scales had to be done. She was slowly beginning to realize it.
"Can you kill the owl Draco?" She whispered, nearly echoing the question that had just been voiced.
He looked up quickly before immediately blinking and looking away.
"No."
The tremble in his voice shocked her. He'd never once shown her that hint of vulnerability in anything. What with his brave face and set shoulders, she could forget that this entire situation was actually suffocating them both.
"Hey." She murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. He dropped his head and buried it in her hair, taking slow breaths that tickled her collar bone.
He pulled away after a few minutes, wiping quickly at his face before he cleared his throat.
"Who'd you write to?" he asked.
She took the hint. He didn't want to talk now. It really wasn't in her to push him to it.
"My parents." She murmured.
He straightened before drawing her up in his arms. His chin rested on the top of her head, and she couldn't help but snuggle closer into the warmth of his body.
"Are they safe?" he asked lowly.
She nodded. "I…I'm going to make sure they stay safe."
His arms tightened.
I'm sorry.
She tightened her own grasp in response.
Not your fault.
She pulled her head away to meet his eyes. She caught the storm that always seemed to rage in the background of them, but there was something else at the forefront that caught her breath. Something that made the confession so much easier to say.
"I think I need to obliviate them."
She heard his breath hitch, but his face was grim, and the answer to the question she hadn't voiced but largely implied was obvious.
He agreed with her.
"It would keep them safe. Safer than hiding them away would." He finally said.
She nodded, dropping her head to rest at his chest.
"I know. Christ I know, but." Her lip trembled, "What if something happens to them or…or to me, and they don't ever remember having me at all?"
"Hermione…"
She sobbed and tightened her hold around him.
Was this what it felt like? To mourn something you haven't yet lost, but were in danger of losing every day?
How does anyone survive it?
How has Draco survived it for months?
He murmured reassurances in her ear as he let her sob against his chest. When the tears subsided, she pulled away, and he wordlessly wiped the tears away from her cheeks before cradling her face in his hands.
"But you'd rather them be alive somewhere wouldn't you?" he said.
She nodded in response.
"You'll get them back after it's all over."
"Is that a fact?" she murmured.
He shot her a half smile. "Give me the night, and I let you know in the morning."
She let out a soft laugh before her eyes caught the wet spot on his shirt.
"Oh Merlin. Your shirt. The bandages. Are you ok?" she attempted to pull away, but his arms stayed firm around her.
"I'm fine. Can't feel a thing." He said. The lie was obvious if the tightness of his jaw and the sharp intake of breath were anything to go by, but she chose not to fight it. If he didn't want to pull away, she definitely didn't. She may have gotten her one good cry in, but she was afraid that the moment his arms fell away, she'd collapse.
"Honestly, feels nice to not be the one falling apart for once."
She cracked a smile, and he granted her one in return.
"You want to go back to the dorm now?" he murmured. She nodded, and he dropped one arm away as the other went down to lace his fingers through hers.
"Come on I know shortcut." He tugged at her arm.
She followed blindly down the corridor and through a portrait and minutes they were approaching the Head's Tower.
She blinked up at him, and he smirked in response, completely smug.
"I wonder how long you've been waiting to flaunt that discovery. Makes you look half way competent." She teased.
He laughed then, dispelling a week's worth of tension. She grinned at the sight, letting her eyes roam over his face like this. She started at his eyes, blonde strands carelessly falling into them, down his nose, lingering at his lips and the dimple in his right cheek that so rarely made an appearance.
She grinned up at him as the laughter died down, and they slipped wordlessly into the dorm.
As soon as they stepped into the Common Room, she noticed him slump forward in exhaustion. He let out breath before they both fell to the couch, their hands still entwined.
"We should probably go to bed." She murmured. He leaned his head back to rest on the cushion. "Too tired." He muttered, his eyes closing, and she was inclined to agree with him. Soon, she found her own eyes closing as she was lulled to sleep by the sounds of his light breaths.
She'd never been more relaxed. Every muscle was unwound and the warmth around her was incredibly intoxicating. She sighed in contentment, while keeping her eyes firmly closed. She didn't want to wake yet.
Draco shifted around her.
The alarm bells went off in her head as his shifting grew into tremors. Her lids flickered open, and she pulled away to look up at his face. It was pinched tight and his lips moved in silent muttering. He suddenly turned and pulled abruptly away from her.
"Draco." She shook him. He groaned in response. She shook him harder and was relieved when he opened his eyes.
He let out a puff of air before rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Bad dream." She murmured taking a hand and rubbing in between his shoulder blades. He nodded meekly before relaxing under her touch. She glanced up at the clock in the room and blinked in surprise.
"We missed dinner." He commented following her line of sight. She stood, but was surprised when Draco's arms reached around her hips and pulled her close, keeping his head buried in her stomach. "Just a minute." He said softly against her shirt, "Stay like this for a minute."
She bit her lip and dropped her arms to rest around his head as he took short calming breaths with his head still against her middle. When he was finally calmed, he pulled away. "Ok?" She murmured. He nodded in response with a small half smile on his lips that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"What was it?" she asked before she could stop herself.
His face hardened as he sat back into the couch, eyes focused on anywhere but her.
She'd already broke the dam, might as well face the flood.
She threw her caution away and plowed onward, acting on instinct.
"Was I in it?"
His shoulders stiffened, and really that was more of an answer than if he'd actually spoken. She bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn't push. What good would it do to know? Paths changed, the future was still fluid. Each decision could alter the path, and her mind went to the stories she often read where the characters acted in desperation, resulting in them falling into the trap of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"Let's just forget it then." She continued, adopting a false cheery demeanor as she walked off into the kitchen in search of something to eat.
She didn't look back, but wasn't the least bit surprised when he joined her a moment later, still guarded but slightly more at ease.
There were plates in the icebox, and a quick touch revealed heating charms on them. Probably from the elves.
They ate in silence, until pounding at the door snapped them both to attention.
Draco stood in one fluid motion and was off to answer before she could even speak. It was a bit funny, the pampered prince answering doors and what not. Seemed domestic.
She got to her feet and peered down the steps to the entrance. The door was swung open with Draco leaning on the side, arms crossed as he scowled at the group right outside their dorm.
Pansy was holding bottles in her hand as Theo and Draco seemed to be arguing. Blaise was standing off to the side, but his head snapped toward her as she began to come down the steps.
What's going on? She mouthed.
Blaise smirked but shook his head.
"I really don't think a couple of shots of firewhiskey is going to cut it." Draco argued.
"Mate, you used to know how to have fun. Just let go for tonight." Theo shot back.
"What's going on?" She joined in beside Draco at the entrance.
"Heard Draco was out of the Infirmary, and we thought we'd come over and have some fun. Brighten the mood and all" At this Theo pointedly looked at Draco as Pansy held the firewhiskey bottles higher from behind and waved them around, as though to entice him. The look Theo shot gave her the impression that he knew exactly why the mood needed to be brightened. Had Nicholson recounted their meeting to others in their House?
She shook her head to dispel the thought and found herself focused on studying each of the three Slytherins at her door.
She frowned at the alcohol, wondering how on earth the three had even managed to sneak them into the castle, let alone walk to their dorm with it out in the open.
"We're not talking about a repeat of old Common Room nights." Blaise said, speaking for the first time.
"Or Monte Carlo." Theo quipped up then.
Draco shot him a look, with a slight flush in his cheeks.
Amused, she wondered if she should ask what exactly had happened at Monte Carlo.
Draco turned from the three to her slowly. "I don't know if it's such a good idea."
She shook her head, slightly torn. On the one hand, the Head Girl in her wanted to confiscate the firewhiskey and send the three Slytherins on their way. On the other, she paused to study Draco, they could probably both use a bit of unwinding.
"I don't see why not. As long as we're not throwing a free for all in the dorm." She said.
The look on each of the Slytherin's faces was practically priceless.
Pansy was staring at her as though she'd miraculously grown a second head. Theo was gaping like a fish. Draco, for once, was stunned in shock.
Good. He always seems too confident in his assumptions. He could use some shaking up.
Blaise; however, was the only one seemingly unaffected. He shot her a smirk before pushing passed everyone and bounding up the steps to the Common Room.
"Well come on then. If Theo's offering his drinks, I, for one, am taking advantage." He called over his shoulder.
Theo blinked for a moment before a victorious grin spread across his face as they all filed into their dorm room.
"You have no idea what you just agreed to." Draco mumbled walking up the steps behind her.
"It could be fun." She said shrugging her shoulders. She was willing to roll with it, if it meant a momentary break from the stressful and somber atmosphere they were constantly stuck in.
He shook his head, but summoned a set of glasses for the drinks without protest.
They were about to settle in when another knock sounded at the door. Hermione glanced at the three. "You didn't tell anyone else to come up did you?" Hermione asked. At the shake of their heads, she walked down the steps and eased the door open.
"Gin" she blinked at the redhead standing before her.
"Hey Hermione." Ginny smiled, "I just came to check on you. You missed dinner."
She was about to speak, but Ginny plowed on.
"I had to talk Ron and Harry out of coming up themselves after I remembered that I'd heard Malfoy was released today, and I figured that…"
"Ginny." She hissed, suddenly recognizing the gleam in Ginny's eyes as well as how loud they were currently speaking. Her eyes shot up the steps in the direction of the Common Room, wondering if they'd heard anything.
Ginny blinked before pushing passed Hermione to crane her neck up to the inside of the dorm.
"What, is he listening?" Ginny said, clearly unabashed with obvious glee on her face.
She felt her cheeks flame.
"Gin." She took a deep breath to calm herself, before dropping her voice low, "He and some of his friends are sitting in our Common Room."
Ginny's eyes widened in understanding, before they filled with confusion. "Wait, why?"
She explained the scene that had just unfolded, and by the time they were done that dangerous gleam was back in Ginny's eyes.
"Drinking with Slytherins, how scandalous. Hermione Jean Granger, I am surprised at you." She declared before pushing passed her to head up to the Common Room.
"Ginny." She hissed quickly following the redhead, catching her by the arm right before they reached the top of the steps. "What are you doing?"
Ginny shot her a look. "If you think I'm missing this, you are insane."
At that Ginny pulled away from her grasp and walked confidently into the Common Room.
She stifled a groan, hoping against all odds that war wouldn't break out right in the middle of the Common Room. She shook her head.
That drink might be a Godsend at this point.
"Welcome back." Draco drawled as the two Gryffindors lingered in front of the Slytherins. Drinks had already been poured, and the addition of a sixth glass caught her by surprise. Draco shot her a look, and his eyes drifted to Ginny.
"I'm not sure what I should call you. Weasley just reminds me of your brother." He finally said.
"My name is Ginny." She shot back.
A smirk spread on Draco's face. "And are you going to call me Draco or just Malfoy?"
"Fair point." Ginny said with a slow smile as Theo burst into laughter and downed a shot.
"This is going to be fun." He snickered.
She vetoed the idea of truth or dare. No way was she inviting that kind of trouble to her dorm room. They were already a volatile bunch, no matter what unspoken temporary truce had settled between them, or at least between Pansy, Ginny, and herself.
In the end, they all agreed to Never have I ever.
They cycled through safe questions. Never have I ever been in the Hufflepuff's Common Room, so on and so on.
Things got heated on Theo's next turn when he belted out, "Never have I ever kissed anyone here."
She tried to resist taking the shot, but something compelled her, and she soon had her drink in her hand and the whiskey sliding down her throat. She looked up and watched as Pansy took her shot with a thin smile on her lips. Draco next. Then, to her everlasting surprise, Theo and Blaise both took shots.
"Wait, you've all kissed Pansy!" Ginny exclaimed.
She had to cringe at her friend's outburst, but in truth, she was just as curious.
Pansy straightened and flipped her hair back, and with a Cheshire grin spoke. "No. I've never kissed Theo in my life."
Ginny met her gaze, and they both frowned as they watched Theo and Blaise both holding back laughter. Her eyes then drifted toward Draco, who looked both furious and horrified, if the slight blush at his cheeks was anything to go by.
"It was spin the bottle." He bit out, "It doesn't count."
At that the three Slytherins broke out in a fit of laughter.
"But Draco it was such a good kiss." Theo snickered.
"You should feel honored mate. Everyone wanted a piece of you that evening. 'Best Bloody Kisser there' if I remember right." Blaise quipped in between fits of laughter.
Hermione bit her tongue to keep from joining in as she alternated between looking at the Slytherins and Draco.
Ginny; however, was not so thoughtful, because she immediately joined in clutching her side and gasping for breath.
"Theo." Draco snapped, "You remember that hex I gave you afterwards."
Theo immediately quieted.
"Think how much worse it would be now that I can properly cast it." Draco said through clenched teeth.
Theo visibly paled, while Pansy and Blaise continued to laugh silently.
Ginny reached over and whispered in her ear. "This is hysterical." Hermione's lips quirked up into a smile. She couldn't agree more.
With the tension officially broken, the game seemed to take on a more hilarious and unbound edge.
The Slytherins had surprised her. They seemed to joke and poke fun at each other with ease. It also seemed to be an unspoken agreement to rile Draco up as much as possible.
"Never have I ever had such an abnormal obsession with a person that it led to my parents questioning my sexuality." Pansy had said in between giggles.
Draco had seethed and threatened to throw them all out. He probably would have, if she hadn't stepped in.
"Ok. Ok." Ginny gasped after her fit of laughter had abated, "My turn."
Ginny held her head to the side as she thought. After a moment, she straightened with a smirk that put all the Slytherins to shame.
"Never have I ever faked a serious injury or illness." She said before taking her own shot.
They waited and after a moment Theo took a shot, with a sheepish expression on his face.
"What'd you fake Theo?" Ginny asked.
Pansy snickered. "You mean what did he blow out of proportion."
Theo shot her an irritated look before turning back to Ginny. "Food poisoning."
Pansy's snickers grew louder as both Blaise and Draco cracked grins.
"Is that all it was?" Pansy gasped, "You seemed convinced you were dying. You even asked Draco to draft a will!"
At that Blaise and Draco broke and laughter filled the Common Room again, as Theo attempted, in vain, to defend himself.
Hermione grinned before a thought popped into her head. She turned to Draco. "Wait. How come you didn't take a shot? What about the hippogriff in third year?"
The Slytherins quieted.
Draco pulled at his collar after a moment. "I wasn't faking it. That beast did attack me."
"But you wore that sling for months." Ginny quipped.
Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat before straightening. "The wounds wouldn't close. Kept getting infected." He finally said.
Hermione stilled.
Was that why Pomfrey had insisted he keep the bandages on for his most recent injury?
The tension that had been dispelled earlier was now thick again, as Draco seemed to withdraw into himself.
It was saved from completely becoming awkward, when Blaise immediately took his turn in order to drift attention away from the blond.
They played a few more rounds, and by the time the firewhiskey ran out, they were back to laughing and joking around. Ginny had left, whispering that maybe not all Slytherins were bad, while Pansy, Theo, and Blaise seemed likely to admit the same about Gryffindors. Though, they didn't exactly say so in as many words.
When everyone finally left to head to their own dorms, she remained with Draco out on the couch in their Common Room. The firewhiskey bottles and glasses had all been vanished, so that the only evidence that the evening had even occurred was the slight buzzing in her ears.
"Well it wasn't all bad." Draco mused, as he rose from his seat. "I mean who would have thought the goody two shoes of Gryffindor had lied to a teacher."
Hermione smiled slightly as she rose as well, and they both slowly headed down the hall.
"Sometimes the rules need to be bent to get the results you want."
Draco nodded, the smile still on his face.
"I suppose so." He said with just a hint of melancholy in his voice.
She licked her lips as they lingered in front of the door to his bedroom. He let out a breath before leaning down and planting his lips on top of hers. Her knees weakened and her arms wrapped around his neck as though she was in danger of toppling to the floor at any moment.
"Thank you," He breathed an inch from her mouth, "for making it fun."
"Wasn't all me." She whispered.
He chuckled lowly before pulling away and opening his door.
"Draco."
He half turned.
Maybe she shouldn't ask, but the firewhiskey had taken away most of her apprehensions.
"What does 'By the Snake' mean?"
She'd been turning it over and over in her head since Nicholson had said it. Why did it seem to carry such weight?
He cocked his head to the side.
"It's a vow we started in the Common Room." He pursed his lips, "By the Snake Pit."
She nodded. Thinking he wasn't going to elaborate, she turned to head to her own bedroom when his voice stopped her.
"We swear it to let the other know that what we're saying is genuine."
With that he opened his door and disappeared into his room, leaving her to wonder if he was trying to explain something she wasn't meant to understand.
It wouldn't be the first time.
She opened her bedroom door and slipped in.
Or the last.