A/N: I just finished writing the chapter and my laptop went freaking psycho crazy and the whole thing got deleted! So now I am typing this again -_-
So here is a small 'previously on Achilles Heel':
· Draco fell asleep reading Percy Jackson and didn't visit her yesterday
· Hermione skipped dinner and lunch as she was ill
· Draco didn't visit her at an odd hour to not seem too concerned for her
· Ron and Harry go to fetch Draco at breakfast time from the Great Hall
· Ron is looking for a fight
Onwards then!
Chapter 15: Safety
"Malfoy!" Ron yelled loudly as he and Harry made their way over to the Slytherin.
"You don't have to yell, Weasley, I can hear just fine." Draco spoke with more calm in his voice then he felt. He was, in truth, worried about Hermione Granger. Pansy pulled out her wand and Blaise silently moved a couple of inches away from Draco in case.
"You bastard! How could you do that to Hermione?" Ron sneered.
"Ron-" Harry interjected trying to get Ron to pay attention to the room full of students whose ears were strained onto their conversation.
"No Harry, this scum has to pay for something for once in his life!" Ron snapped taking out his wand.
"Well you can try and make me Weasley, but fair warning my wand work isn't too shabby." Draco replied miffed at the red head.
"Got training at Death Eater camp, did you, ferret?" Ron snapped. Draco didn't know which insult to sneer at more: Death Eater or ferret.
He narrowed his eyes at Ron, "Fuck off."
"You aren't making me go away with that! Can't you see that Hermione is dying because of you?" Ron went on not noticing the series of shocked gasps going through the Great Hall. "I am going to make you go to her even if I have to stun you!"
"Enough!" Draco snapped waving his wand and silencing Ron. He turned to Harry and spoke, "Why is your…" He sneered as he searched for a word to describe them, "Friend such a bumbling buffoon." He looked around to see the students staring at the three in shock.
Ron stood furiously nudging Harry in the ribs for a counter spell to the silencing charm. As Harry raised his wand arm, Draco spoke again.
"Don't you dare Potter, or that idiot will waste even more time." Draco drawled standing up and starting to walk out of the Great Hall. Harry and Ron watched him leaving as Ron poked Harry and gestured to his wand.
"Potter I suggest you follow me if you want me to get to her." He called then stopped and turned before adding, "And I'm not going to go unless Weasel stays silent." He folded his arms firmly.
Harry looked back at the bulging vein on the forehead of Ron, then back at the figure of Draco who had already started walking away. "Sorry Ron, it's for Hermione." He spoke before heading after Draco's retreating figure. Ron let out a growl before running after the pair.
The Great Hall's doors closed to utter silence. And then the whispers started, turning into loud conversations. Hermione's name echoed through, and Draco was mentioned just as much. During the war the name of the powerful witch had come to be close to many people's hearts, while Draco Malfoy as the son of two Death Eaters wasn't really much adored. The Great Hall's energy began to rise to almost a dangerous level; the famous Gryffindor girl who had helped save them all was going to die because of a certain pureblood Slytherin. Amongst the commotion and loud emotion, Blaise and Pansy shared a look. They knew what was coming. They stood as one and ran out of the Great Hall.
Draco Malfoy was in trouble.
The walk back to the Head's common room was nothing if not awkward for the strange trio of boys. Draco led the other two, his fingers still clutching his wand in case the two Gryffindors suddenly wanted to attack him. Harry walked quietly, his mind on Hermione's exhausted groans of pain. He walked away from the fuming red head, whose knuckles were turning white from gripping his wand too hard. But Harry oddly didn't feel guilty about silencing the red head. The fighting had wasted precious time and bizarrely enough Malfoy had agreed to corporate so there was no need for the arguing.
Draco was feeling strange. His heart had begun to beat harder and harder as they closed the distance. He was well aware it was his fault Hermione was unwell right now. If he couldn't save her life, at least he could make her last days bearable. But he had left her, waiting for a mate that hadn't come.
When they reached the common room Draco turned and gave the two Gryffindors a look and gestured for them to say the password to open the door. The two boys exchanged looks realizing that they didn't know the password before Harry turned and spoke, "Just knock."
Draco let out an exasperated breath at the idiocy of the boys and knocked on the door. Within a minute Ginny swung the door open, worry and tension clear on her face, "Oh thank Merlin you're here!" She was addressing Draco.
Draco's eyebrows narrowed at the comment, well aware that Ginny would never have uttered such an abnormal sentence if Hermione Granger wasn't truly unwell. His heart hammered in a strange, erratic way. He hadn't realized how much worried he actually was about the busy haired girl, and what irked him was that he knew exactly why he was feeling this way.
He knew a world where the passionate, overzealous, goody two shoes Hermione Granger wasn't bossing people around, was a dim world indeed.
He pushed past Ginny, barely hearing the exclamations behind him. For once, he didn't care if he looked to eager. That two Weasleys and Potter were watching him run upstairs towards their muggleborn friend to help her. He felt a pull in his gut, a strong unsettling need to see her well. He could feel her just up those stairs.
He threw the door open, not even noticing Madame Pomfrey swinging her head to look curiously at the blond in the doorway. His eyes were fixed on the small body curled up in the bed.
She seemed too tiny for the bed, her small frame surrounded by the pillows and blankets. Her hair, usually huge, was strangely limp, fanned across the bed. Her face was pale, frowning in pain. Her lips were parted as soft groans escaped them.
His heart constricted.
He turned to Madam Pomfrey and spoke in a strained voice, "I'll take it from here Madam." He didn't know exactly what he could do to help really but inexplicably he knew, even his presence would help.
Madam Pomfrey gave a small smile, "I'll be in the infirmary if she needs anything." It frustrated her as a nurse who took such pride in her work that she couldn't really help the war heroine as much as she would like. She gathered her things and stood up, the blond still standing at the entrance. She patted his shoulder as she walked out. "Take care, Mr. Malfoy." She could feel it was hitting him harder then he let on. She closed the door behind her.
She saw her three friends just reaching the top of the staircase and she led them away, waving their protests away.
Draco could hear Ron's loud yells of, "We can't leave her alone with him!" He ignored them and focused on the small Gryffindor lying in the bed.
He walked towards her slowly, feeling inadequate. How was someone like him supposed to save the Golden Girl?
He sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes on the limp hair surrounding her head. His hand reached out and he wrapped one curl around his finger. It felt dry and harsh. He was suddenly hit with the memory of them sitting on the floor of the common room holding each other. He could remember vividly the feel of the soft whisper of hair he had felt against his jaw as she hugged him. His hand withdrew, shaking slightly.
What had he done?
She eluded warmth and happiness. She was powerful and fierce. She embodied truth and goodness. She would have probably punched you-who-know in the nose too if she had the chance, that is if he had a nose.
And he had reduced her to the pale, dim figure, her light extinguished.
He reached out for her again, his hand curling around her small hand. His thumb brushed her skin softly, and she gave a sigh. His eyes flickered to her face looking for any signs. Her eyebrows were still narrowed.
His other hand reached her and a finger pressed to her forehead, lightly massaging till the wrinkles eased. His fingers, traitorously, continued and brushed a soft line down to her jaw, cupping her cheek. His thumb traced against her skin lightly.
He leaned in as he noticed a faint flush of color settle on her cheeks. His hands left her hand and face. They proceeded to wrap around her as he scrambled towards her. His hands lifted her and let her body melt into his. Her head leaned on his shoulder and one hand reached up in support. He gave a small smile as he felt the curls in his hand, now soft again.
He let his head fall against her shoulder, his face burying in her neck. He felt warm, this close to her. She smelled deliciously of cocoa butter, chocolaty and wonderful. He felt safe -truly, truly safe.
She gave a soft sigh and her hand gripped his shirt. He lifted his head to look at her face, seeing she was still asleep, barely. He slowly let her sink back into the bed, pulling away but stilled when she let out a small raspy whisper, "Draco."
He shook his head, frowning at the girl. He didn't know why, but he leaned in and lay down next to her. His arms wrapped around her, her back to his chest. Her body molded into his, and he sighed softly. He buried his face into her hair again and closed his eyes.
Blaise and Pansy got to the Head's common room just in time to see the trio leaving followed by Madam Pomfrey. She looked at the two, panting from running. The trio eyed them with suspicion.
"What do you two want?" Ron asked feeling greatly annoyed.
"Draco! Where is he?" Pansy spoke hurriedly.
"He's inside, Ms Parkinson." Madam Pomfrey answered.
"We need to talk to him." Blaise spoke urgently.
"I am sorry Mr Zabini, that's not possible for now. I am sure whatever it is can wait." The nurse answered.
"It's really important, ma'am. He might be in danger." Blaise added. Pansy nodded next to him. The trio exchanged glances.
"He's perfectly safe inside the Head's common room. I don't want you disturbing him. Maybe you can come later." Madam Pomfrey said firmly. She walked away from the students. She knew she might have been harsh but she felt strongly that Draco and Hermione both needed to be left alone.
Pansy looked furiously at Ron, "It's your fault, you loud mouthed idiot!" If something happened to her childhood friend, she was going to skin the red head alive.
"My fault?" Ron asked, slightly surprised.
"Yes you dunderhead! You went and spewed trash in front of everyone in the Great Hall. Now everyone thinks Draco did something and that their precious heroine is dying because of him!" Pansy snapped. Even Blaise looked peeved, and it wasn't like him to get angry often.
"So what? It's true!" Ron yelled.
Pansy gave a frustrated groan, "Is he always this thick?" She spoke addressing Ginny and Harry. Ginny almost nodded in agreement.
"Hey!" Ron spoke offended.
"What do you think will happen to your precious muggleborn if something happens to Draco, you twat." Pansy spoke viciously, swinging around and stomping off.
"How dare she-" Ron spoke furiously but Blaise cut him off.
"If anyone touches even a hair on his head, I'll be coming for you Weasley." Blaise drawled quietly. His eyes were serious, never leaving the red headed boy's eyes. Ron could see no ounce of humor in the Slytherin's eyes. There was silence for a few moments before Blaise turned to Ginny and gave a lazy smile. He winked flirtatiously before turning around and following Pansy out.
Ron and Harry turned to look at Ginny bewildered who just smirked and turned around to leave.
Hermione's eyes fluttered open. She immediately felt the heated body flush against her back. She could hear his heart beating softly, his breathing steady. She could feel his arms wrapped around her, strong and tightly. His breathe brushed against the back of her neck and she shivered slightly, and not out of cold.
She felt better than she had in ages. Her heart felt at peace, contented. She couldn't believe this was all because of Draco Malfoy. However, she had felt the worse she had ever in ages because of him too. But she couldn't find any anger at him now, knowing within her heart it took a certain forgoing of pride on his part to be here now. She did want answers though.
She turned around slowly to find his eyes closed. His arm still rested on her waist and she smiled at his sleeping face. Draco Malfoy had never looked so unguarded, his hair tussled. At her movement however he was starting to wake up.
The first thing he saw was the small smile on her face, her eyes filled with sleep but bright. Her hair fell around her face, on the pillow, on her shoulder, in her eyes, against her cheek: everywhere like they were meant to.
"Hi." She spoke. He blinked, very conscious of his arm on her waist.
"Hi." He said not breaking eye contact even though he really wanted to. Malfoys were never the first ones to look away. He could see how there were small flecks of gold in her warm brown eyes.
"Why didn't you come yesterday?" She asked. His eyes widened but then softened. She was almost so frank, he almost chuckled. He decided to be honest.
"I was reading and I fell asleep." He replied briefly. She thought about that statement while chewing her bottom lip as she often did when in thought. Draco's eyes flitted to her lips briefly before hurriedly moving back to her eyes.
"What were you reading?" She asked.
'Typical' He thought. Of course Hermione Granger would be most curious about the reading material than anything else. He smiled.
Hermione decided that he looked handsome when he smiled, not smirked, but smiled.
"That Percy Jackson novel you gave me." He replied, unconsciously brushing his thumb against her waist.
"Did you like it?" She asked, inhaling softly as she felt his thumb against the skin of her waist where her shirt had hiked up.
"He merged myths of the old into modern times really well." He replied. He had actually really loved the book, chuckling almost every two minutes at a witty comment by the author. "I am almost done with it."
"I'll give you the second one." She spoke.
Draco was about to answer when the growl of Hermione's stomach broke through the silence. She blushed and he caught himself staring at how the blush spread to the freckles on her nose.
"When did you last eat, Granger?" He asked.
"I…" She thought about it, "I had tea at Hagrid's."
"That was yesterday." Draco stating, withdrawing from her.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, strangely the bed was left cold and empty without him.
"I am just going to get us some lunch." Draco spoke reassuring her. He slipped his feet into his shoes and walked out. He paused at the door and spoke, "I will be right back."
She knew he meant it and he would be right back.
However, fate was a twisted thing.
A/N: Hey! It felt good to end here. Longest chapter yet! Almost 3000 words!
I hope this scene doesn't feel OOC. Just thought it was possible because they were both feeling vulnerable.
Lots of action coming up in the next chapter!
Ciao for now, Alex.