The Fallout by EveryThursday (reposted)

Seventeen

Day: 1400; Hour: 8

Lavender shakes her head and grimaces as the girl holds up a bottle of bright purple nail polish. Hermione can't, for anything, remember the girl's name, though she knows she was in the year below them. Ginny would probably know it, but she hasn't seen Ginny in months, so that doesn't help. She doesn't think Lavender knows her name either; by the way she keeps calling her 'dear'.

Unless her name is Dear. A nickname, perhaps -- Deridra, Sandeara, or maybe...

She leaves her mindless thoughts hanging as she realizes Lavender has moved on from her chitchat about robes and gardens, and has taken up something far more interesting. "Not like I can know for sure, but..."

"What about Moody again?"

Lavender clicks her tongue, and sends her a look to let her know she is not pleased she didn't have Hermione's full attention. "I said that I know something is happening. Something really big. Like... the final battle."

Possibly-Dear nods her head, and then frowns when Lavender shakes her own at yet another color.

"Why do you think so?"

"Moody has his office locked down. And Hermione, I mean locked down. The Sneakoscopes go off whenever anyone even thinks of entering his office. He has another room as well, that no one is allowed to go in without him, and the only people who have entered it is Ministry officials, and Aurors I've never seen. His office and that room are warded up so tight, that when Seamus tried to follow Moody inside his office, he was thrown all the way back into the wall."

"He's preparing something then."

"Exactly. Something absolutely top secret. And then I saw Ron and Harry at Grimmauld two days ago, and they went straight for that room, and stayed there until the moment they left. This is it, Hermione. I mean, really it."

Lavender continues twittering on; her voice thick in nerves, but Hermione doesn't hear her. She is too busy thinking of the implications, and what is coming at all of them.

Day: 1403; Hour: 18

His shoulder is soft and warm against her cheek, her nose pressed against his chest as she breathes him in. This has taken some getting used to, touching him after sex in a way that's almost cuddling but not quite. It still feels strange, as if he will push her away at any second, but he never has since he first asked her to stay the night, and she tries to relax. It took them awhile to get to this point, even after she began to stay. They used to lie on opposite sides, not touching, until they learned that just collapsing on top of one another and falling asleep was easier for tired bones.

She likes the change; because there is so much more fulfillment that comes with lying beside him after sex, rather than planning her escape. It makes this whole thing feel so much more normal, and she enjoys the warmth of his skin and lull of comfort.

"Draco?" she whispers.

"Hmm?" he hums, drowsy from their recent activities.

There is a knot in her stomach, because she doesn't want to ask nearly as much as she feels she has to. It has been something that has bothered her from the very beginning, and she is sick of telling herself the answer when she doesn't really know it. She is unsure of what his reaction will be, but she'll ride it out just as she does all of his bad moods. She has to know, and she doesn't know how he will respond or what she will do, but she needs for him to tell her.

"Do you sleep with anyone else?"

His breathing pauses for just a second, and she moves with his movements as he lifts the arm not around her ribs and shifts. "Lola."