Hell Above

CHAPTER SEVEN

Draco woke up sick to his stomach. He supposed he drank a little more than he thought last night. Everything was kind of hazy. He rolled over in bed and saw that Hermione was still sleeping. The sight of her jogged his memory a little. He remembered what she had felt like in the bathroom stall before they had been caught. He laughed at the memory. He didn't expect her to be so wild. All she was wearing under the covers was her little lace underwear from the night before. Those he remembered pretty clearly.

He reached over, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her closer to him. She felt so good pressed up against him. It was as if they were two perfect puzzle pieces. Draco began to doze off again but he woke up to a tapping on Hermione's window. He went to the window to find his eagle owl holding a letter. He slid open the window seal and took the letter from it.

Draco,

Come home soon so we can further discuss the execution. We trust that you've gathered enough information by now.

Love, Narcissa

Draco crumpled up the parchment and tossed it into the waste bin. He couldn't risk Hermione seeing that and questioning him about it. He didn't know whether to write back or just show up in a couple of days. He needed to think of something quick. He hadn't really thought about the plan since he arrived at the shack. He sent the owl away and left the bedroom.

Draco wandered around the house checking out the rooms that he hadn't seen before. Across the hall from Hermione's bedroom was the bathroom. It was small and the three of them shared it. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while and the bathtub hadn't been drained. The sun crept through a small window exposing dust particles. It was dirty but still smelled like shampoo and rose petals. He guessed it was from a candle that lit. It was bewitched to never go out. He thought that was a very clever thing to do.

The next room was Ron's. He got queasy thinking about how close it was to Hermione's. He had to push the door open as there were piles of clothes blocking the doorway. His room was a disaster. He could hardly see the floor. His bed was in shambles and his window was broken. On his wall, pictures of his family were taped up. There was a picture of Charlie with a dragon and multiple of them all on Christmas. They all looked identical besides the new sweater that Molly had made them that year. On his bedside table was a picture of Fred and George. There had been a heart drawn in marker around Fred.

Draco thought about doing a spell to clean up the place but maybe that wasn't such a good idea. He probably would've gotten upset that he received a favor he didn't ask for. He turned around to leave and shut the door behind him. He then walked down the stairs. They creaked with every step he took. He always worried that he would take a wrong step and he would fall right through.

The door at the end of the stairs was Harry's. It was the cleanest out of all of theirs. He had the same Gryfindorr memorabilia that Hermione had on her walls. On his desk there was a scrapbook of his parents. Draco recognized Lily right away. His father always derided her for being a mudblood. The picture moved as they laughed and hugged Harry when he was a baby. Draco always felt kind of bad for him. Even if his parents were horrible, at least he had some.

He rummaged through the drawers of his desk and nightstand looking for anything that would help him with his task. He found nothing but empty pill bottles and baggies hidden away. He walked over to the window and looked at the beach where Hermione and him shared their first kiss. He found himself starting to really like her. His parents would kill them when they found out. Even worse, she would hate him when she found out about them and their plan.

He thought about her struggles with alcohol. He really did hate seeing her like that. He missed the old Hermione. The girl who would raise her hand to every question a teacher asked. The girl who was reading a new book everyday. The girl who was always in the library. He wanted to help her.