"I'll go ahead," Malfoy said. "Just to make sure no one else is around."
Hermione waited outside the entrance to the faculty tower. She'd never been inside before. She'd gone to the faculty break room once or twice to ask a professor something, but never the faculty tower. It was off-limits to students, so of course she'd never been there. She didn't think even Harry had been there in his nighttime wanderings with the Invisibility Cloak.
Malfoy popped his head out from behind the door. "The coast is clear," he said. Hermione followed him inside. They went up several flights of stairs until they reached the second to the top floor and the first doorway beside the stairs.
Malfoy opened the door for Hermione, letting her enter first, and then followed her inside. It was a small living space, with worn furniture. Yet it was far from shabby.
Malfoy had tastefully decorated the room to make it appear inviting and elegant. Hermione noted that an adjoining, open door led to a small bedroom with a made bed. It was very clean and organized. Unlike Ron's room at the Burrow, Hermione thought, unbidden. Malfoy clearly liked to have things tidy and in order.
Looking at his bedroom and space, Hermione suddenly felt nervous. She hadn't thought about the fact that she'd be in such a private, intimate setting with him. It dawned on her that that was what he might have meant when he said he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.
"Would you like to sit?" Malfoy asked, gesturing towards the loveseat by the fire. Hermione walked across the room and sat down. "Tea?" Malfoy asked.
"Please," Hermione said, thinking that having something to hold in her hands would make her feel better. It was cozy by the fire, the castle was drafty and cold this time of year.
Malfoy flicked his wand and a tea set appeared, with small cakes and scones. He poured them both tea and then sat in the armchair against the wall and next to the loveseat.
"It's not much," he said. "But it does the job. I split my time between here and Hogsmeade."
"It's nice what you've done with the place," Hermione said.
"Thank you," Malfoy said. "You should have seen it before. They gave me the worst room. After all, here I'm a lowly assistant coming from a family of dark wizards, so I understand why."
"Is that why you got that other place?" Hermione asked, curious.
"No," Malfoy said. "I got that place to get away from my family and have some space. Before I got the job here. Hogsmeade is the only all-wizarding village in Britain, so it seemed like the best option to me. I moved there during the summer and spent my time wandering around aimlessly, puzzling over life. That's eventually how I got on good terms with Rosmerta. Anyway, one day, I ran into Slughorn and we talked for hours at the Hog's Head. He reminisced with about my grandfather and ended up offering me a job." Malfoy laughed. "I'm not sure he quite had the authority to do so, but it seems like he worked something out with McGonagall. It doesn't pay much, but it's nice to have some kind of occupation. Some small purpose to work towards while I figure things out."
Hermione smiled. "That makes sense," she said. "It's good to have a purpose. What does your family think?"
"I have no idea," Malfoy said. "I'm sure they disapprove of me working. In our family, we don't 'work' in the way most people do. We manipulate different forces to our advantage. I took my inheritance and I've been living off of that."
"It must be some inheritance to be able to afford a place in Hogsmeade," Hermione commented.
"I suppose it's not the most financially sound decision to have that place," Malfoy agreed. "But it's the first place I ever had to myself and I find it hard to let go. Besides, it's nice to be able to leave the castle and go there. Usually, I spend at least the weekends there, but I stayed here last night rather than go home from the party. Now that I'm working, I use most of my salary here to keep it. And given that all my meals are provided for, I just save what's left."
"Well, it's your money," she said, still thinking it a bit odd that he paid for a second place to live when he already had a free place to live.
"Yes," he said, with a note of pride. "It is my money. It feels surprisingly good to have earned the money."
Hermione nodded. She could understand that. As dentists, her parents weren't wealthy to the level of the Malfoys, but they were comfortable. She never had the worries that Ron and Ginny had around money.
But now, she had to be careful. She'd taken the money her parents had set aside for her before sending them away to Australia. Hermione had carefully rationed what she had left and felt like she could live on her own still. She figured she'd have enough until she could get a job of her own.
Of course, she'd been counting on going back to live at the Burrow after finishing Hogwarts. With things with Ron being what they are right now, that was no longer an option. Perhaps she could stay at Harry's place when she graduated. Oh, she'd have to think about that later though.
Hermione held her tea in her hands, enjoying the warmth. "It is nice in here," she said again.
"You said that already," Malfoy said, smiling a little. "Thank you. Did you sleep well last night?"
Truthfully, Hermione had not. After they had finished dancing, Hermione had panicked a little at letting Malfoy hold her close as long as he had. She told him that she was exhausted and left before he could say goodbye. She had been the opposite of tired, however. Her mind had been racing after the dance with Malfoy. Why had it felt so nice? So safe to be in his arms? It should have been the opposite of safe.
She shook her head. "I could hardly sleep," she admitted, looking into her tea.
Malfoy shifted, moving over to sit beside her. He took her hand. "I couldn't either," he said. Hermione looked up. With the light of the fire flickering on his face, she could see the shadows under his eyes. The play of the light on his handsome features mesmerized her. She couldn't look away.
"Holding you like that," he said softly. "It felt so…right. I've never felt like that before."
"Me neither," she whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from his.
He twined his fingers between hers, holding her hand tightly. "Do you mean that?" he said. "I was surprised when you didn't pull away, but I couldn't allow myself to think…"
"Like you said," Hermione continued speaking softly. "It felt…right. I couldn't pull myself away." Even now she couldn't pull away her hand from his.
"Until the music stopped," he said. "It's as if a spell was broken."
"My mind raced in," she said. "Telling me all of the reasons why that was a bad idea."
"What does your heart tell you?" he asked. "The heart always knows the truth, even when our minds try to tell us otherwise."
Hermione thought that was a rather wise and profound statement coming from someone like Draco Malfoy. "Where did you learn that?" Hermione asked, diverted.
"It's something I heard my Aunt Andromeda say when I was young," he said. "Before she was blasted from the family tree. For some reason, it always stuck with me."
"Poor Andromeda," Hermione said. "She lost both her husband, daughter, and son-in-law during the war. But at least she has her grandson."
"Yeah, it's awful," said Malfoy. "I've thought about contacting her, but I don't know how she'd receive me. I don't remember a lot about her except that I liked her. She used to play with me. My other relatives didn't give me the time of day until I was older. They're of the mindset that children should be seen and not heard."
"I think she'd love that," Hermione said earnestly. "Who better to understand your family than her? I imagine she was raised the same way as you, more or less."
"Maybe you're right," he said. "Perhaps I'll send her an owl."
"I think that's a good idea," Hermione said, looking down at their still intwined hands. Again, she felt that sense of rightness. That feeling came from a place deep within her. But her mind gave her a million reasons why this wasn't right.
As if he read her mind, he said. "So, what does your heart tell you?" He squeezed her hand, as if in demand.
She looked into his eyes, "My heart tells me that this is right."
He nodded. "It is right. I hope that you can one day trust me." He looked down, then, at their hands. "And hopefully one day return my feelings in some measure."
Unable to stop herself, Hermione touched his cheek where the fire reflected so brightly. "I've already started to," she said, the words escaping her lips before her mind could stop them.
The look of hope and love on his face took her breath away. Again, she was struck by the utter transformation of him.
No, he was still Malfoy. An overall prat to the majority of people. Spoiled and entitled. But he was learning to look at the world differently. He was realizing that the way he was taught was not always right.
Their faces grew closer. Hermione realized she had reached a moment of decision. Where she could turn back and retreat, go the safe route. Or dive headfirst into the unknown. Where she might get deeply hurt.
However, imagining herself going back didn't feel like an option. Not one that she felt like she could pursue and feel like she was living her life to its fullest.
A recklessness took her over. Hermione rubbed his cheek with her thumb. He put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her to him. His lips met hers with a gentle intensity. She closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss. She moved closer to him, so that her legs were pressed against his. She wrapped her other arm across his shoulders.
After a few breathless moments, he pulled away to look at her. She opened her eyes to gaze into his. "I…didn't plan to do that," he said. "I couldn't stop myself."
"I don't want you to," she breathed and kissed him. The kiss deepened, growing more urgent and fierce. His tongue entered her mouth and searched it. She met his tongue with hers. He pulled it into his mouth and sucked on it. Oh, no one had done that to her before. It melted her to her core. She moaned against him, leaning on him.
He pulled her tight against his chest, holding her close. Hermione's hand fell from his face to his chest, feeling his firm muscled chest. When had he gotten muscled? She wondered. Had he always been like that and she hadn't noticed? She ran her fingers against the fabric of his robes, feeling the muscle underneath.
He gently grabbed her hand and pulled his head back. "Now, now, Granger," he said, a bit of that old tone in his voice. "We mustn't get too ahead of ourselves." He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed the top of her hand and then her palm. Then kissed her gently on the lips. "Don't get me wrong, I love feeling your touch. But I want to do things right by you. We can't rush this."
Hermione's face flushed and she felt embarrassed. "Okay," she said, looking down, her voice coming out small.
"Hey," he said, putting his hand under her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Listen to me. You didn't do anything wrong. I loved that. Too much. I need for us to do this right. I don't want to rush into anything. I want your mind to agree with your heart."
Hermione's chest warmed at his words. Even though some part of her had felt hurt that he'd stopped her, this showed her that he really valued her. He didn't want to rush sex and have her feel trapped into something with him.
"You're right," she said. "Let's take our time."
"Come here," he said and pulled her into his lap. For a long time, he held her across his chest, cradling her to him. She rested her head against his shoulder. That same sense of rightness from the night before came over her.
The warmth of his body and the fire made her feel utterly relaxed and safe.
Hermione's eyes closed and, in Draco Malfoy's arms, she fell asleep.
