Signum Vitalis (a dramione story)

In which Hermione returns to school

When Hermione entered the classroom the next semester, she remembered being paired with the alpha-lambda group the first day of the previous semester. She smiled a little fondly as she realized she had missed them all over the hols. Standing at the entrance of the classroom, she scanned the seats for her group. On the far side of the room she spied a bright blonde and extremely recognizable cut of hair. It made her heart beat a little faster as she remembered New Year's. Shifting her book bag a little, she resolutely marched to the front of the classroom, around the chairs, and towards him.

He had chosen a row towards the middle of the room and had saved the spot on the very edge of the row with his bag. He had had both feet propped up on the seat in front of him but sat up when he saw her. He pulled his book bag out of the chair and gestured towards it with a small smile.

Hermione returned the smile shyly and sunk down next to him. Neither said anything as she started pulling books and scrolls out of her bag. As she fitfully arranged everything on her desk, she bit her lip and tried to think of a way to start the conversation. It had been an awkward parting the night before, knowing he wanted to kiss her and not quite being able to explain to him why she didn't want that yet. Next to her, Draco shifted and their hands brushed, sending electricity crackling up her arm. She shivered and glanced up at him. He was already looking down at her and their gazes held for a moment. He was beautiful. The hard lines of his face softened by the gentle curve of his fringe and lips. His eyebrow raised ever so slightly before he started to smirk. Hermione took a fast breath in before looking away, heat rising in her neck. Was he teasing her?

"What do you think about the new potions class?" Draco asked.

She looked up to see him watching the classroom as it slowly filled up. "We're actually going to brew experimental potions with an Arithmancy grid. I tried it a little with Snape before but we didn't get very far. Just imagine the possibilities once we can actually create potion recipes." He glanced over at her, eyes alight.

Hermione smiled, glad he could mention Snape without gloom and caught up in Draco's enthusiasm. "It certainly will be fascinating," she agreed. She always loved learning, but she did not have the fire for this topic like Draco seemed to have.

He paused and frowned. "Will you have trouble... working with potions?"

Hermione shrugged and looked down. She hadn't thought about it. "I should be able to survive one class, shouldn't I?" she said as much to him as herself.

He reached over and squeezed her shoulder with a hand. She smiled, fighting an impulse to dive into his arms. Because she had always been around her dad or Harry she had always had someone who could give her a hug when she was feeling down or overwhelmed. It had felt so good to be held by Draco New Year's Eve. It had had the comfort of her father's hug with just a little spark of something else. She wanted to ignore all of the reasonable voices in her head and just...

"You'll do fine," he told her.

Her eyes shut briefly at his voice and then she smiled weakly. "Thanks, Draco."

He leaned forward, hand still on her shoulder. "Hermione..."

Her breath caught and held as she waited for him to finish his sentence.

"Well, aren't you two looking close."

Draco's eyes trailed up to the speaker behind her and his mouth shut into a thin line.

Hermione glanced back to see Shandra standing over them, a hand on her hip and her red-stained lips quirked.

Draco sighed and leaned back. "What an astute observation so early in the morning," he all but growled.