The Marriage Decree

Chapter 85: I Guess It'll Be a Nice Surprise

Hermione awakes at two in the morning, a thin sheen of sweat covering her body. She takes a deep, uneven breath as she lifts the heavy winter quilt off her body, the warmth of their bed becoming too much for her. She ensures Draco is still covered before slowly standing up as not to becoming lightheaded with her not having eaten much in the past twenty-four hours. Taking small steps, holding onto the bed as she makes her way around and into the bathroom where she washes her face, the back of her neck and her arms with a damp flannel, throwing it in the washing basket once she's cooled herself down. She really needs a shower but she doesn't trust herself to stand long enough so she heads downstairs to make herself breakfast. Hopefully, she'll be able to finish eating before her next dose of potion in twenty minutes.

She's just placed her empty plate on the coffee table when Draco shouts her name from upstairs. She'd forgotten to turn his alarms off on his wand. She'd been hoping he would be able to get at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep ready for work without having to get up every two hours to take care of it.

"Here." She calls back, resting her head against the back of the couch.

"Are you alright?" He asks, bursting through the living room door, wearing only his pyjama trousers, he must have thrown his shirt off during the night.

"I think my fever's broken. I'll be fine. I need to eat something." She explains.

Draco sighs in relief, lowering himself onto the couch beside her, throwing his head back on the couch and turning to face her with a soft, sleepy smile. "Only three more doses, then you'll be fine."

"You don't have to wait up with me, Draco. You should go to bed, try to get some sleep." She tells him.

He shakes his head as he stands up after checking the clock. "I've gone longer without sleep, Hermione. I'll survive." He says as he walks into the kitchen to prepare her potion.

"So, have I, Draco." She mutters. "But it's been a while since we've had to." She adds louder for him to hear.

"Thankfully," He mutters as he enters the living room. "You never had to try sleeping in the same house as the Dark Lord." He shudders, trying to pass it off with a half-chuckle as he passes Hermione the cup.

She takes it in one hand, catching Draco's with her other and pulling him down beside her. "You're right, I don't know what you went through during that time. I thought camping and hiding from the snatchers for that long was bad enough but at least I had Harry and Ron, well, Harry." She says, the memories coming back to her as she sips her potion. "The Horcrux made us so angry. Ron had been wearing it for too long. We hadn't noticed. He got so angry and left. He tried to come back the next day but we were long gone. It took him a while to get back to us." She explains, reading the inquisitive look on Draco's face.

"How could he just leave you?" He shakes his head angrily.

"The Horcrux did things to us all. We don't blame each other for what happened during that time." She smiles, finishing her potion, placing the cup on the coffee table.

"Bed?" Draco asks, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah, for another hour and a half." She sighs. "I hate being ill. Muggle remedies are a lot simpler. I think we should try them first next time."

Draco laughs, offering her his hand so he can pull her up off the couch, kissing the top of her head before leading the way upstairs towards their bedroom.

"No offence, Draco, but I can't cuddle with you right now. I'm hot enough as I am." She sighs, lying spread out on her back.

Draco stops in his attempt to pull her closer. "No offence taken." He retrieves his hand, tucking it under his pillow. "Try to sleep, if you're insistent on going to work in five hours."