Relentless - A Dramione FanFic

No Way Out (So Just Enjoy It)

Ron exited quickly, saying he needed time to clear his head.  Astronomy wouldn't start for another three hours, leaving Hermione the dilemma of finding a way to kill a lot of time. Her school bag sat next to her on the floor.  She was relieved she hadn't been at the cottage long enough to set it down. There was no telling when Ron would head back there, and she didn't want to risk running into him again that night, so going back was not an option.  Neither was the library as he would have to pass through it at one point or another.  Dinner was still being served, but only for another half hour.  The time it would take her to get to the Great Hall would only leave her about ten minutes to eat, and even there, she still ran the risk of bumping into him.  The one thing she was certain of was that he wouldn't be returning to the room she was currently occupying anytime soon.  It wasn't what she would have chosen, but at least it was quiet, and would provide a good opportunity to go over the Astronomy notes Draco had delivered to her the previous night.  She took a seat at the back table, Draco's table, the thought brought a smile to her lips, and pulled out his handwritten notes.

She was impressed with their legibility.  Ron and Harry's handwriting was atrocious, so much so in fact, that in their third year, she had had to invent a deciphering spell just to read it.  It even earned thirty points for Gryffindor when she shared it with all the professors.  The other thing that impressed her was their detail.  She wouldn't have been surprised if he had written every single word Professor Sinistra had said.  The effort he put into making sure she didn't fall behind touched her.  She knew, had it been up to Ron or Harry to bring her notes, she would have certainly been just as well off trying to fill in the blanks in the next lesson.  It wouldn't have been that they didn't try.  They simply lacked the part of their brains that is able to take good notes.

Draco was surprising Hermione on a daily basis it seemed.  She was glad he was different and did enjoy getting to know him, but she couldn't help but feel like there was something she was missing. She knew with absolute certainty that the current Draco was the real Draco.  She had always known there was good buried deep inside him, that the cruel persona was just an act.  She could see it on his face when he thought no one was looking.  His so-called friends probably would have seen it too if they'd cared enough to, but it was obvious to Hermione that they were nothing but vultures staying close to him, hoping to grab a scrap or two of influence from his family's reputation.  There were so many times she had wanted to go to him, to reach out, but each time she was close to having built up the nerve, he would due something nasty to her or her friends, and she steeled herself to keep her distance.  But this year was different.  The longing for something just out of reach was still there in his eyes, but he was softer, approachable, likeable.  The hardened shell was gone, leaving only the man Hermione had so often hoped was hiding inside.  

She finished reviewing the notes in just over an hour.  It was past curfew, so everyone would be in their dorms, leaving the corridors vacant.  It had been too long since she'd simply wandered the empty castle, and she decided the movement would do her good.  She slung her bag over her shoulder and left the dungeons, unsure where she would end up, knowing only that she needed to end her walk at the Astronomy Tower and avoid any where close to the library.

She found herself on the fifth floor, staring a door she'd walked past nearly every day of her school life, but never had the chance to open... the door to the prefects' bathroom.  From the moment she read about them in Hogwarts: A History, she had dreamed of becoming a prefect.  Circumstances beyond her control kept that dream from becoming a reality, but that didn't mean she couldn't pretend, now did it?  Her heart began thumping rapidly as she stepped forward, hoping the password hadn't changed since Harry had used the tub to solve the riddle of the egg in their fourth year.  

"Pine Fresh" she whispered hesitantly.  Much to her surprise and delight, the door silently swung open.

When she stepped inside, it was just as she'd always imagined it.  True to it's password, it most certainly did smell pine fresh, but also had notes of strawberries, crisp linen and lavender.  For a moment, she simply closed her eyes and breathed them all in.  The bath was in the center of the room, underneath a brilliant, stained-glass skylight.  Fading bubbles were floating on top of the water.  Hermione dipper her hand in.  It was room temperature.  That would never do.  She pulled the plug and waited for the water to drain, before turning the taps on full blast.  The hotter, the better, in her opinion.  When the tub was refilled, she looked around for a private place to change.  Although she was alone, she didn't feel quite right undressing out in the open.  There were two hallways at the rear of room.  She correctly assumed they were the entrances to the respective boys and girls changing rooms.  She grabbed a towel off the rack, and proceeded to round the corner out of sight as the main door once again silently opened, leaving her oblivious to the fact she now had company.