If Only in My Dreams (Dramione)

Chapter 8: No Better Than Me

Draco sat at his desk in the library poring over several books on Dark Magic, trying to find more information about Horcruxes.

He rubbed his weary eyes, because, so far, he hadn't found much that was helpful.

He was also so tired he was having a hard time concentrating.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw that it was approaching eleven-thirty. He closed the book in front of him with a sigh and pushed his chair back from the desk.

Time for him to fix lunch anyway. Maybe he'd be able to focus better after he ate and had another cup of coffee.

As he made his way towards the kitchen, he had half a mind to only prepare enough food for himself. Since his cooking was apparently so far beneath Granger's standards, she should just fend for herself.

The thought cheered him slightly, but he still set to work assembling grilled cheese sandwiches for two and heated a can of tomato soup to go along with them. He also brewed another strong pot of coffee.

As Draco worked, he looked out the kitchen window and saw Hermione outside wrapped in a long cloak. She was very carefully walking the perimeter of the grounds. Every few paces she would walk into the barrier of the confinement charm, only to have it rudely shove her backward.

Draco chuckled to himself as he saw the haughty look on her face every time the spell pushed her away. He wondered how long it had taken her to realize that the barrier he used was not dangerous like he had implied. He had made sure to cast a blockade that would only push her back, not injure her.

On the outside of the barrier, he had been much more careful to use a spell that would hurt anyone who got too aggressive trying to enter.

It certainly was entertaining watching her stomp around in the snow and shake her fist at the invisible barricade. At one point she came at it so aggressively, it pushed her harder and caused her to fall onto her back in the snow. He laughed out loud.

Brightest witch of her age or not, Draco knew she would not find any way to get past the barrier he had set up. At least not without a wand.

That's why he hadn't been concerned about her going outside. However, to be safe, he had enacted a warning charm that would alert him if she ever left the confines of the grounds and entered the dark forest. It was as much for her safety as his own.

Draco flipped the sandwiches and glanced outside again. He was surprised to see that she seemed to have given up on the barrier for the time being, and had seated herself on the old bench that sat next to the large pine tree in the yard.

It had begun snowing lightly and Hermione lifted her face towards the sky. She reached her arms out in front of her and turned her palms up, a small smile spreading across her face.

Draco couldn't help but stare at her. She looked like she could be in her own personal snow globe, much like the ones his mother had put around the house at Christmastime when he was young.

Soft white flakes stuck to her rich brown curls and, every so often, her eyelids fluttered against the falling snow.

She looked beautiful. The thought struck him out of nowhere and disturbed him slightly, but he didn't look away. He wondered what it would feel like to brush the snowflakes out of her soft hair, or off her flushed cheeks.

He shook his head. What a ridiculous thought. It would feel like getting slapped in the face by a furious Granger if he ever dared try, recalling again, the time she had struck him in third year over that beastly hippogriff.

The smell of burning food brought him back to his senses, and he cursed as he saw one side of the grilled cheese sandwiches had been burned black. He flipped them over and then did a quick reversal spell on them with his wand.