Need [ dramione ]

Chapter 19

12 December 1998 - 6 Days Before the New Moon

"We have to stop meeting like this, Malfoy."

He hasn't spoken to Granger in almost a week. It's strange, to see her in class each day, to see her in his dreams, but to not hear her voice... she won't even speak in the dreams. It's just all business, all him bending her over a library table or him taking her against the stacks and burying his face in her hair, or her pushing him down and riding him out in the forest...

And yet, no words. Not a single one. He doesn't like it.

And then, he hears her voice.

He looks up, amazed to see her standing there. She looks... good. Healthy. Yes, some of her is fading as the moon grows darker each night, but she looks so human, her skin glowing, her hair bouncing... he can tell that she's a bit weaker than she was a week ago, but she looks good. She looks like Granger. She looks... functioning.

She looks better than she had the last time they spoke.

He decides to just go with it, rather than pointing out the obvious.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Draco leans back in his seat, slouching down slightly as he looks her up and down. It's also a nice treat to see her wearing something so... different. He can't exactly place his finger on it, but it's not... it's not Muggle at all, but it's also not school attire. She's wearing trousers, yes, but they're loose, like how his mother wears them while around the house and when she was 'working'. The blouse is different as well.

She looks as though she put effort in, although he can't figure out why.

"In libraries where students go to study? Or... over books? Or... late at night when no one else is around?" His brows raise as he speaks, and he smirks as he waits for her response.

"All of the above," she says, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

For an instant, for a brief moment, they're simply two Hogwarts students. He's a powerful wizard from a good family with more wealth than imaginable, and she's a beautiful young witch, blossoming and coming into her own. It's easy, to grin at her, to gesture to the seat across from him, to invite her to sit with him.

She shakes her head no.

"Come with me?" she asks, sounding... hopeful.

He doesn't know why, but his heart starts to race.

"Of course," he answers easily, completely forgetting everything else but her.

He doesn't even bother to ask about or think about where they're going as she leads him out of the library, two steps ahead. She walks fast, particularly for someone so much shorter than him, but the way she walks, it's powerful, like she's on her way to murder a king or a God. She demands attention and respect with her walk - it's so different from in class, where she tries to hide.

This Granger, late at night, with no one around but him... her presence is commanding.

If this Granger had come to him in sixth year and demanded he switch sides, he would have done it without thought.

He... weak puppy that he is... follows along behind her, until they reach the steps.

They head upwards, higher and higher, until he realizes exactly where it is they're heading. The Astronomy Tower. He knows he already offered to go there with her, and he goes regularly for class, but something about going up there with her - they reach the base of the tower, and he stops her, grabs her hand.