Mixed Blood

Chapter 27

A few days later....

Draco's POV

It's been days since the incident with Theo. Madam Pomfrey sent him to St. Mungo's. Apparently, some idiot messed with a memory charm, putting Theo in the middle of it. Just wait till I get my hands on that little prick.

Since it's only been a few days, the hospital won't let us into the ward. They insincerely promised that he'd be as good as new, but if that were true, I wouldn't have passed that oaf of a teacher, Lockhart, in the hall.

Astoria's been emotionally detached from the rest of us after what happened to Theo. Maybe she can't handle someone else close to her being taken away, maybe not. After all, her boyfriend was stripped of all memory of her (not on purpose of course), which I can imagine is heart-wrenching.

As for Granger, she's been freaking out. I've been doing all I can to calm her nerves, but she just can't seem to get it off her mind. I suppose I can't blame her, Theo is one of her closest friends too.

Unfortunately for us, we can't afford to skip our classes, so day after day we've been given loads of work and tests to prepare for. I could swear to you that Ginny even had an anxiety attack before presenting a project worth 25% of our grade. I know, girls like her don't strike you as having anxiety, but I accepted this year that people surprise you.

Right now I was walking to class with Blaise, feeling nostalgic as Theo's place in our trio was empty. Pansy, Ginny, and Granger trudged behind us as we walked to Potions. Like I said, Astoria was detached, even from class. As if it couldn't get any better, today's class was something of a block period, forcing us to stay in the same classroom for an hour and a half.

Our Potions partners were the same as they were when we were assigned the Parenting Project, so I was with Granger, fortunately. As we entered the cold dungeon, we sat beside each other and read the chalkboard.

Turn to page 417 in your textbooks.
Copy ingredients and procedure for brewing Amortentia.
Brew your own Amortentia with your partner, due by the end of class.

"Amortentia," I stated blatantly, reading the instructions. "That's vile."

Hermione's POV

"Professor," I said, raising my hand eagerly after reading the chalkboard. "Didn't we already learn about Amortentia in sixth year?"

"Yes, Miss Granger," Slughorn replied with impatience. "However I believe that there is no harm in a review." I nodded.

I opened the textbook in the middle of me and Malfoy and begin to copy the materials and procedure, Malfoy following suit. After about twenty minutes, we were both ready to begin the potion.

We put the ingredients in the potion and let it sit for a while. Soon, it begin to give off a sensational aroma. However, it had altered for me since sixth year.

Slughorn noticed that everyone was beginning to look curiously at their potions so he went around the tables asking everyone what they smelled. Personally, I think he loves his job a little too much.

When he got to our table, he asked Malfoy first. "Erm....Well there's vanilla perfume...I suppose a hint of cinnamon....and evergreen." Slughorn grinned as Malfoy turned his head away sheepishly.

"And you, Miss Granger?" Slughorn asked, turning to me.

I inhaled the sharp scents of the potions and said, "Mint, strong mint that is....there's also black coffee, strong as well....and...." I smiled. "....fresh parchment."

"Very good," Slughorn replied, walking to the next table.

"Parchment? I could've sworn that's what you said two years ago," Malfoy asked in confusion.

I smiled again. "Some things never change."

"Say, why exactly are you so infatuated with cinnamon and vanilla perfume?" I asked Malfoy with curiosity.

He looked sideways at me. "Isn't it obvious? I was thinking of you."

I was taken aback. Never have I heard Draco Malfoy confess his feelings. Well, maybe once or twice, but never like this. Never with such certainty.

I couldn't help but kiss him with passion. I knew in that moment, that no one could ever amount to Malfoy. No one could amount to Draco.

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Draco's POV

After class, Blaise, Pansy, Ginny, Hermione, and I dropped by the Great Hall and picked up some picnic-worthy food. We then proceeded to go outside and sit on the edge of the evergreen forest surrounding the lake. Minutes later, Seamus and Dean joined us as well.

As cliché as it may sound, we laid out a long grey blanket and sat on it, spreading the food among ourselves. We had a variety of burgers and sandwiches, along with drinks of all sorts. The seven of us were sitting and laying in all sorts of positions, laughing and talking as if it we'd always been best mates.

When night fell after a few hours, the couples began to branch off and Ginny went to find Lovegood since Potter wasn't currently at Hogwarts. Blaise and Pansy were still in the awkward stages of their relationship, so they sat at the picnic site, continuing to eat and converse. Dean and Seamus excused themselves as they decided to settle for the warmth of Gryffindor Tower. As for Hermione and I, we went deeper into the forest and found a nice peaceful clearing. I summoned another blanket and laid it out, allowing us to lay down comfortably together.

At first, we sat in silence, gazing up at the stars. I glanced at Hermione a couple dozen times, taking in the way her cheeks flushed and her rich brown eyes, full of depth and livelihood.

"Draco," she said, after a few minutes passed. It was the first time she spoke my name in a long time. "I am so glad we started over."

I took her hand without looking and squeezed it tightly, replying to her nonverbally. She squeezed back and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her smile beautifully.

"Hermione." This time it was my turn to speak her name. I was hoping what I was about to say would sound as good out loud as it did in my head. "You smell strongly of vanilla perfume and cinnamon."

Next, I heard the sound of something I hadn't heard in days. I heard her laugh.

A/N So this chapter was a little more lovey dovey than usual, but I think those two poor kids deserved it, don't you? We finally see Dramione using proper names, so I'll call that character development. Sorry it took me so long to update, but I sincerely hope this was a satisfying chapter.