Don't Ever Forget

XLIII.

When my eyes fluttered open, the sun was barely peeking through the window shades. My hand automatically reached out to where Draco had lied that night but, as he had promised, it was just empty space. It was hard to ignore the disappointment of not finding a peaceful, sleeping Draco beside me. 

I rolled over and buried my face in his pillow, inhaling deeply. To my delight, it still smelled like him and it both comforted and energized me. I could look forward to seeing him again later today, maybe. 

I got out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. No use in dressing up for a whole day wasted inside. I went through the rest of my morning routine, brushing my teeth and hair, thinking of the tune Draco hummed as I fell asleep. When I finished, all I needed was a cup of coffee to start my day. 

I walked out to the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks. Hermione was sitting at the kitchen table and across from her sat Draco, gracefully sipping from a coffee mug. They both looked up at me, Hermione looked slightly uncomfortable but Draco smiled sweetly.

"Good morning," he greets me. I struggle to reply, suddenly feeling super-aware of how ordinary I must look. Me, wearing sweats and with barely-done hair, compared to him, neatly combed hair and his proper suit for work. 

"Morning," I say smiling and turn to give Hermione a panicked look. She just shrugs in response. I walk past them to the kitchen where the coffee pot is and start pouring myself a cup. Draco follows me from the dining table and walks up behind me, bending down slightly to kiss my neck. 

"How did you sleep?" he asks, teasing. I roll my eyes. 

"As if you don't know," I reply, turning to face him. He places his hand on the counter on the side of me and bends slightly so we are eye-to-eye.

"Shhh, she doesn't know that," he whispers, nodding his head towards Hermione, who's still sitting at the table. I giggle and turn back around to grab my coffee cup. 

"I thought you would have been at the Ministry by now," I say, leaning against the counter and taking a sip of my coffee. He raises an eyebrow at me. 

"Are you not happy to see me?" he asks, feigning a hurt expression. I can't help but let a smile spread over my lips and I lean forward to give him a quick kiss. I can taste the coffee on his mouth. 

"Of course I am, I'm just pleasantly surprised," I say and he chuckles. 

"I just wanted to see you before I had to go to the Ministry. I thought you'd be up earlier but Granger was nice enough to let me stay until you woke up," he glances over at Hermione and I notice she's still busy with her coffee, pretending to pay no attention to us. 

"Sorry I kept you waiting," I say, taking another sip of my coffee and watching as Draco stared at my mouth as I brought the cup to my lips, "Will you come back again?" 

"I would like to but only if you promise to give me a little bit more time before you fall asleep," he says and I blush from embarrassment. I had been very sleepy last night and we had hardly talked. 

"You caught me off guard last time," I defend myself and he chuckles again. He looks down at his watch and sighs. 

"I should get going now, so I'm not too late," he says and straightens. I quickly wrap my arms around his waist and lie my head on his chest. He kisses the top of my head. 

"Keep the bed warm," he whispers in my ear before stepping back and disapparating. I take a moment to capture my breath before sitting back at the table with Hermione. I smile to myself before taking another drink of coffee and Hermione finally looks over to me.