Fascination|𝐴 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 (𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 3, 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 1)

Chapter Ten | Everything

Everything, by Michael Bublè

"Meet me here again tomorrow?"

   And she did, and the next day, and the next day, and the day after that. They had made it a daily routine to meet at that very spot, then walk to the library together. It was always before dawn, so that they would not be seen together. Very few students would spend their mornings in the library, and the ones who did would not dare repeat what they saw for fear Draco would curse them. Though Hermione knew he would never do this, she was glad they did not snitch on her and Draco. If their secret were to be revealed nobody would look at her the same. And the same went for Draco.

   They were not ashamed of their friendship but it was safer to keep it a secret, should the Dark Lord return. There were times when Hermione would question Draco about Voldemort. She knew he knew more than he was letting on, but that was the one topic he would not open up about. So Hermione did not press him. She knew the idea of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returning scared him. He was ashamed of his family's past alliances with the Dark Lord and their servitude to him. Even though Hermione made it clear that she did not blame him or his parents, though Hermione didn't particularly like Draco's father, Draco was still ashamed.

   So, each day when they reached the library they would sit down at their usual spot and pull out their books. Sometimes they would study, sometimes they would talk, sometimes they would just read silently, glad for one another's presence. At times she wondered what it was that started their friendship. Maybe it was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Maybe it had been her persistence or his loneliness. She wanted to know what had sparked their relationship, if that's what you could call it. Whatever it was she was glad for it. Their friendship was more important than anything to her. She enjoyed his company and he enjoyed hers, and that was all there was to it. That was all they needed.

   One day Hermione looked up at him and sighed. Malfoy looked up as well and studied her. "What is it, Granger?" He was back to calling her Granger. But, it wasn't out of spite or anger so she didn't mind so much anymore.

"I was just thinking. We've been friends for a couple of weeks now and we don't really know all that much about one another." Draco smirked and Hermione tilted her head. "What?"

"So we're friends, are we, Granger?"

Hermione growled in annoyance and smacked his arm. Then, standing slowly, she smiled and closed her book. "Well, I suppose if we aren't friends, then there's no reason for us to continue. Good day, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco cringed at the nickname and jumped up, grabbing her arm. "No, no! Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

   Hermione faked an over-exaggerated gasp. "Did the Draco Malfoy just apologize... to me?! The pureblood Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, apologizing to a Gryffindor muggleborn?!"

Draco moaned and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, stop! What were you saying before?" She smirked and he pointed a finger at her. "Don't push your luck, Granger."

Hermione smiled smugly. "Or what, Malfoy? You won't be my friend." She made a pouty face and Draco rolled his eyes.

"You really do have a Slytherin side, don't you Granger?"

   They continued to tease each other until the original conversation came back up. "So you were saying that we don't really know each other all that well. So what do you suggest we do?" Draco asked.

"Well, I thought we could play the favorite game."

"The favorite game?" He scrunched his nose then nodded. "Alright. How did we play?"