Lost Image | dramione

24 | the night time stroll

Hermione had not been sure how she'd wake up feeling the next morning. As it turned out, it felt pretty good, waking up next to someone who wasn't trying to run away immediately. In fact, Draco was still asleep, facing her with his arm buried under his pillow and his hair a mess.

Hermione had set an alarm spell to go off on weekdays for her apprenticeship, but by the pale light just beginning to peek in through her window she guessed it was still early.

She stayed still, wanting to bask in the warm, comfortable sleepy feeling for as long as possible.

Next to him.

How could she ever have found his face anything but beautiful? When sleeping, he wore no masks. He didn't hide behind snide remarks and twisted smirks- he looked peaceful, his eyelids fluttering lightly. If she could have seen him sleeping months ago, would she have changed her opinion of him quicker?

He opened his eyes halfway, taking in a deep sleepy breath as he adjusted his head on his pillow.

"Morning..." he muttered, his arm snaking out suddenly and grabbing her around her middle. She laughed as he pulled her against him into a spooning position, nuzzling her neck affectionately. He kissed her at the spot where her shoulder met her collar bone, and she hummed happily, settling back against his warm nude body.

"My alarm's going to go off soon..." she whispered, staring at her wand on her bedside table. She hadn't put it there- she could only assume a house elf had cleaned up their things while they were sleeping... which was not an altogether settling thought.

Draco kissed her skin again, breathing in deeply as he buried his face in her hair. "Ignore it."

"I have to go to my apprenticeship today... you do too, right?"

"Skip it- let's go out for breakfast."

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned around to face him again. "I'll meet you half way. Let's go to breakfast now, and still have time to get to work before our shifts."

He sighed heavily, but seemed to take her advice, rolling out of bed. He rubbed his neck as he stood and stretched, and even though she had spent the entire night with this man naked beside her, seeing him standing there made her blush. His body was slender, but there was a fine working of muscle that moved as he stretched, and a very pleasing line at his hip that seemed to draw her attention down over the flat plains of his abdomen to-

"Hermione? Are we going?"

She blinked. She hadn't moved to get out of bed yet. "Uh, yeah..." she managed, and after a moment's hesitation she flung the blanket boldly off herself, hurrying to her closet. She could feel Draco's eyes on her and she was sure she was red all over from embarrassment. He had seen plenty of her naked body last night... why did this make her feel nervous?

In an instant, he was behind her, his arms slipping under her own and encircling her body. "Or, we could skip breakfast...?"

She almost laughed, then she noticed that her open wardrobe door had a mirror in it. He was watching her from his vantage point at her shoulder, his eyes scanning appreciatively over every bit of her bare skin. "We'd be late..." she finally said, and Draco groaned.

"Alright, fine- I get the feeling I can't change your mind about being late, huh? I'm going to pop by my room to get some clothes. I'll meet you at the front gate in ten minutes," he said, grabbing his wand off the bedside table where it rested next to hers. He apparated, giving her a grin beforehand as he noticed her still staring at him. She couldn't help it! She had never exactly seen a naked man just walking around her bedroom before.