Chapter 23

Distraction and Creation

His heart nearly stopped as he heard her yell his name. He nearly knocked over the stool he had been resting on as he stood to run to her. Turning a corner she came into view as he approached their area of the room. She looked flush and her hair was windblown and just starting to settle down. She didn't seem to be physically hurt, but she looked upset.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Harry knows. He had Kreacher and Dobby follow you and they saw you here. Us occasionally."

A wave of relief washed over him. She was okay. "All right, so he knows I spend time here. Does he know anything else?"

"No, not that I know of." She plopped down onto her seat, immediately leaning forward. "I just can't believe him! After everything, how could he do this? I told him he could trust me."

Ever since the Quidditch match when Potter caught Draco sneaking away from the match, things between Potter and Hermione had been strained. Being the wonderful woman she was, she continuously defended him to her friend and urged Potter to let go of his mission of exposing Draco. For some reason, Potter just wouldn't let it go. Though Potter was right in his assumptions, it was still incredibly irritating - especially knowing Hermione was taking the brunt of the heat.

"So what did you tell him? I assume he questioned you about what we do in here."

"I told him that we like our privacy..." she said as a light blush dusted her face. His mind briefly flashed to the private moments they've shared lately. Kissing her was like nothing he had ever experienced. And he had his fair share of experience. "But then Harry started saying that I'm not with you all the time, so you had to be doing something behind my back. He asked me to tell him what the room became when we're together and to try to spy on you. I've never wanted to hit Harry more than in that moment. He needs to let this go," she huffed. "Regardless, we need to be careful, Draco."

"I will be," he reassured her. He watched her try to smooth down her hair as she sank back into her chair. She looked as tired as he. Time was pressing and he needed to get the cabinet fixed, so she had taken to doing his homework along with reviewing information he missed in classes and for assignments. In addition to that, she had her own work and was doing more and more research on Dark Magic. She said she wanted to feel prepared and that was the best way she knew how. Not for the first time, he realized how incredibly fortunate he was. He never could have hoped that things would actually work out for him like this - that she would ever care for him the way he did for her. But there she was, looking tired and upset on his behalf. Putting in all this effort and asking for nothing and return. Because she felt what he felt... or at least something close. No matter what else happened, he would always have these moments and the knowledge that at some point she shared his feelings.

Not wanting to see her sulk, he rose from his seat to retrieve something he had found while taking a break from the cabinet. He didn't respond when she called after him, but he knew he would return in moments so he didn't feel badly.

Coming back to their area, he placed the found object carefully on the table between their chairs. He dusted off his hands before turning to her and offering one to her.

Hermione smiled. "What are you doing?" she asked accepting his hand and standing.

"Potter's got you too worked up. I think we need to forget about him for a while."

"You do know I'm not easily distracted, right?" she reminded.

He pulled her closer to him and tilted her chin up to look at him. "We'll see," he whispered. With a wave of his wand the record player he had found started playing an upbeat song.

Her eyes lit up and she moved one hand to his shoulder as he placed one on her hip. Their free hands met and clasped together gently. They began to sway to the music. She giggled and he smiled down at her.

"You're quite graceful. I guess I should expect nothing less from a Malfoy, right?"

"Correct. It's one of our natural gifts - grace, charm, beauty." Hermione scoffed but didn't verbally disagree. "I won you over, didn't I?" he challenged.

"I suppose you did," she conceded.

The music slowed and the witch laid her head on his chest. Her eyes fluttered shut.

"How is this for a distraction?" he asked.

"It's working pretty well, actually," she admitted.

He hummed. "That's because we're not just using this as a distraction."

"No? Then what else are we using it for?"

"For creating new memories."

A/N: So this chapter was pretty brief, but I have plans for the next chapter and I just think we needed a little more buildup. New chapter coming by the end of the week since I've already started. And I have a friend who's been pushing me to write lately.

Thank you for reading! I love you!