Little Secrets

Chapter 12

Draco could tell Hermione was excited to tell her friends about what she'd discovered in her research.  The morning after the grand discovery, he'd watched as discreetly as possible as she tried to explain it to Ginny without squealing in delight.  He'd been distracted by an owl a second later and had unfortunately read through his father's letter while Hermione finished talking to Ginny.  When he'd looked back up, they were getting up to leave the Great Hall.

He was honestly surprised word didn't spread about the spell Hermione had found.  Maybe Ginny was the only person other than him that Hermione had told, but the lack of rumours still amazed him.  Whatever the DA was, clearly Hermione cared more about it than telling more people about her success.  Draco felt lucky being the first person to know, but he figured being her roommate and recently appointed boyfriend had its perks.

By the time Friday night rolled around and he still hadn't heard rumours of her research, he had decided Hermione Granger was nothing if not impressive.  She'd been too excited to keep quiet the first night, but somehow no one other than Ginny knew.

"—ever write back?"  Hermione asked.  Draco looked up at her, having completely missed the first half of her question.  "Did your mother ever write back?"  she repeated.

Draco frowned as he shook his head.  He'd only received a letter from his father that week.  However, he hadn't scanned the parchment for a hidden note from her, so he summoned the letter he'd been tempted to burn and ran his wand over it.  Sure, enough his mother had written a short note in invisible ink.

Draco,

I believe a meeting with Miss Granger personally would be best to explain.  Perhaps Sunday at noon in your dormitory?

Much love,

Mother

"She did, actually,"  Draco said.

He didn't hand the parchment over to Hermione as he didn't particularly want her reading what his father had sent.  It had been a rather long, nasty letter ending by telling him Aunt Bella and he would be using the Floo Saturday afternoon so he'd better make sure their dorm was empty.  Unfortunately, the words used had not been so kind to Hermione.

"She's coming here again?"  Hermione asked, looking more excited by the idea than Draco would have thought.

He smiled and nodded, already imagining the list of things she'd want to clean and get done by then.  As if sensing his thoughts, she started murmuring to herself about how she'd need to get most things done Saturday morning.  Draco figured this meant she'd be out for the afternoon, but he still asked.  He needed to be certain.

"Yes, I'll be out with Ginny right after lunch,"  she said, turning her attention back to her homework.

Now that he was certain she'd be gone while his father and Bellatrix were visiting, he could relax a little more.  Of course, he wasn't above asking her to be gone for several hours, but he'd rather not raise suspicion.  Even with Severus as Headmaster, inviting Death Eaters into Hogwarts via Floo would not go over well.

They worked in comfortable silence for the evening, moving from schoolwork at the table to reading and chatting quietly in the sitting room.  With Hermione's legs thrown over his and listening to her talk animatedly about a non-fiction book she'd read recently, he could almost believe they weren't about to start a war.

He was so focused on savouring the moment, he wasn't listening to what she was saying.  Instead, he memorised the way her hands waved in the air as she spoke and the warmth from her legs.  He found himself smiling stupidly whenever he snapped out of a daze and every so often, his eyes would find her lips.  It was one such moment of watching her lips when he realised she'd yawned for the second time in a single sentence and decided they should probably head to bed.

"But I'm still reading,"  Hermione protested when he brought the idea up.  He rolled his eyes and took the finished book from her hands to set on the couch away from her.

"It's well past midnight,"  he told her, glancing at the clock.

She huffed, letting him know she wasn't tired but he was free to go to bed whenever.  He didn't argue; instead, he wordlessly hoisted her into his arms and stood from the couch.  She yelped in surprise, her arms darting up to wrap around his neck.

"Draco, I want to read,"  she protested.

He wasn't having it though and carried her all the way up the stairs before pausing.  She was trying to negotiate being able to read a little while longer, but Draco was now having his own dilemma.  While he wanted her to stay in his room again like she had several nights before, he didn't want her to feel awkward.

"I'll make you a deal,"  he said, interrupting what had to be her third negotiation attempt.  She stopped talking and looked at him with interest.  "If you stay in my room, I'll let you read for another hour."

Hermione practically glowed at the idea before nodding excitedly.  Draco wasn't sure if she was more excited about reading or staying in his room, but he figured not asking was the best idea.  As soon as he let her down, she raced back down the stairs to grab her book then into her room to get dressed into her pyjamas.  Draco wandered into his own room, leaving the door cracked as he grabbed his own pyjamas and moved to change in the bathroom.  He may have enough courage to ask Hermione to stay the night with him, but he doubted either of them would recover quickly if she walked in on him changing.

By the time he walked out of the bathroom ready for bed, Hermione was already tucked into his bed with a book propped open in her lap.  The lamp was on and she looked so engrossed in her reading already, Draco wondered if she'd notice him climbing into the bed beside her.

She did, and as he laid with his head by her thigh, one of her hands dropped down to gently comb through his hair.  The feeling of her fingers threading through his hair made his eyes flutter and warmth blossom in his chest.  Without thinking, he rolled onto his stomach and threw one arm over her waist.

"Only an hour, 'Mione,"  he muttered, only half aware of what he was saying.  There was a pause in the combing through his hair, but a second later a soft kiss was being pressed to his cheek and he smiled.

"Alright,"  she promised, resuming what she'd been doing before and sending him asleep within a few minutes.

It was really quite a shame when, no more than three hours later, Draco was forced awake by a nightmare.  He shot upright, gasping for air as he tried not to remember the images that had been thrust before him.  Memories from summer had blurred together with his fears to create the ultimate nightmare and suddenly he couldn't breathe.

"You're okay,"  a soft voice said.

Small arms wrapped around his waist and Draco jumped before recognising both the voice and the body hugging him.  It took a while before he could breathe normally and he didn't jump at nearly every shadow in his room, but when he was finally able to think straight, he turned to wrap Hermione in the tightest hug she'd ever received.

She didn't protest and if he was crushing her, he wouldn't have known.  Instead, he focused on her warm skin against his and the little puffs of air that hit his chest whenever she breathed.  She wasn't dead and every time her body moved to breathe, he was reminded of that.  Her skin wasn't cold and lifeless, but warm and very, very soft under his touch.  It was much easier to remind himself it had only been a dream when she was there hugging him just as tightly as he hugged her.

"Are you alright?"  she murmured, slowly pushing him to lie back down.  He grabbed at her desperately, pulling her to his chest and wrapping his arms around her securely.

"Nightmare,"  he replied, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She hummed and hugged him, letting him curl up into her side.  Her arms moved to around his shoulders and she hugged him protectively.  Like she had before he fell asleep, she combed her fingers through his hair soothingly.

"I'm right here, Draco,"  she promised.

He knew she was encouraging him to fall back asleep, but he knew it would be a while.  Even with her breathing and hugging him, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly until he'd cleared the nightmare from his mind and could think about the various aspects of it without bringing it to memory.  As he expected, she fell asleep before him, but with her warm body pressed against his, he found he fell asleep quicker than he usually did and wondered if it wouldn't be worthwhile to ask her to stay every night.