Draco... I Love You

An Excuse

A month later, Halloween was upon them. The castle was excited for the upcoming holiday. Hermione wasn't sure what wizards did for this holiday, so she went to the one person she knew would know. She was in her dormitory at the time so she took a piece of parchment out of her bag and scribbled a note to him:

Meet me outside Gryffindor tower tonight after curfew. I need to ask you something.

She tied the note to Lydia's owl, Nightshade, and sent her out the window. Twenty minutes later, the owl returned with a package in its mouth and a note tied to its leg. Hermione giggled at how the owl looked. She picked up a cracker and took the package out of the poor owls mouth. She gave the bird the cracker and took the note off her leg.

I will only meet you if you promise that you wont ask about Lydia.

Hermione sighed and wrote him back:

I promise that I wont ask about Lydia if you don't ask to play 20 questions again. That game is awful.

She tied the note to the owl and sent her out the window for the last time that day. She came back five minutes later with a new note and another package. What is he giving me...? Hermione thought to herself. She took the note off the birds leg and the second package and put them both on her desk. She opened the first package. Inside was a green and silver bracelet. She put it on and admired it and smiled. She opened the second one and found a green and silver hair clip inside along with a note.

Keep your hair out of your face.

Hermione rolled her eyes and took the note that had been around the birds ankle from the desk.

I wont ask to play 20 questions again. I promise. Please wear that bracelet on Halloween. It will protect you from evil.

Hermione smiled at the note. He was really thoughtful sometimes. She spent the rest of the day doing homework and studying for an exam that was coming up in potions.

That night after Lydia went to bed and the rest of the castle was silent she got out of bed and went to the common room. She went to a painting on one of the walls and woke it up. The girl in the painting wasn't happy.

"Sorry to wake you, but can you go outside and tell me when a boy with blonde hair comes up to the portrait?" Hermione asked.

The little girl nodded and she went to one of the paintings outside.

"Hermione?" she heard behind her. She turned to find Harry and Ron with their wands raised at her. She put her hands up and backed away from them. Harry dropped his wand and Ron followed suit.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Harry asked quietly.

"I'm waiting for someone. Now, if you will excuse me..." Hermione tried to leave the room, but Harry stopped her.

"Who?" he asked, looking at her face. She was good at keeping secrets and telling lies. She looked him in the eye and said "I am waiting for a Ravenclaw to give me her potions notes. I forgot to write something down and I hate not having all the answers in front of me."

Ron looked at her and shook his head. "I told you Harry, she's a nutter. You know, Hermione, you don't need to be so perfect. Mud bloods aren't usually that high in the class ranks anyways."

Hermione recognized the slur thanks to Draco and had to keep herself from slapping the ginger. Instead, she just huffed and glared at him.

"I don't need to be questioned by the two of you. Don't you have your own lives to live? Go study. I'm sure you could use the extra time Ron." Hermione half shouted. She stormed out of the common room, knowing the girl in the painting hadn't returned yet.

As soon as she walked out, she ran into another student. They fell to the floor and there was a grunt. Hermione scrambled to get back up, frantically asking if the other student was okay. She helped him up. It was dark in the corridor and she couldn't tell who it was until they looked at her.

Draco smiled when he saw her. "Granger," the boy whispered.

"Malfoy," Hermione responded, nodding.

"So, what did you need to ask me?" he asked, shuffling his feet and wrapping his cloak around him tighter. It was still a little chilly.

"Right!" she exclaimed. Draco put a hand over her mouth and put a finger over his to tell her to be quieter. "Sorry... anyways, what do wizards do on Halloween?"

Draco thought for a second. "Well, what do muggles do?" he asked, looking around nervously.

"We go door to door asking people for sweets, we dress up as something we aren't, like zombies, fairies...witches..." she blushed. She had just dressed as a witch last year.

"In all honesty," Draco stated, looking at her weirdly, "We don't do any of that. We eat a lot of food, and wear things that will ward off evil," his eyes flickered to Hermione's wrist, and he smiled when he saw that she was wearing the bracelet.

"Oh okay! Thank you Draco!" she whisper-yelled, and waved goodbye to him. Leaving him standing in the large corridor, she walked back through the portrait hole. She assessed the common room to see if anyone was still in, but the two boys from earlier seemed to have gone to bed.

She quietly walked back to bed, thinking about the next time she would meet with Draco.

"I wonder what the excuse will be next time," she said to herself, drifting to sleep.

____________________

A/N I AM SORRY FOR HOW LONG IT IS TAKING ME TO UPDATE. I PROMISE I WILL DO BETTER

-Amy