Inside Your Mind

into my arms

Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

February 25th 2000

A familiar nightmare, which he frustratingly expected to have stopped occurring by now, roused Draco from a fitful sleep and he was only half surprised to find the left side of the bed empty. Though there was a ball of purring fur curled up on his feet. He knew Hermione had been next to him recently, her lingering warmth clung to the sheets, and he wondered where she had got to. There was no light on in the bathroom but her wand was on the bedside table so she couldn't have gone far.

He sat up and looked to where they had flung their clothing earlier, noticing that his button up shirt was missing along with her knickers. Wandlessly, he summoned a pair of pyjama bottoms from one of his drawers and slipped out from between the bedsheets. Crookshanks let out an unimpressed meow that went ignored. Before leaving the bedroom he stuck his wand into his waistband, just in case.

After his parents trial, Draco had helped them in restoring and redecorating Malfoy Manor - much to his disappointment as he really did want to burn the place to the ground - and he often stayed with them at the weekends. Last night had been the first night that Hermione had stayed with him.

She was hesitant, they both were, but she had spent some time with his parents over the past two months and was beginning to warm to them. Mostly Narcissa, who was much easier to get along with, but even Lucius had refrained from turning his nose up, or sneering, or of being generally unwelcoming to Hermione. If she was honest, she didn't find it too difficult to be around them. They owed her a lot and they acknowledged that by being civil with her and Hermione thought that, if only for Draco's sake, she could learn to do the same by putting the past behind them.

All in all, the Malfoy's had surprised Hermione in many ways by proving to her that they were capable of change.

Despite this, Draco's palms were still slightly sweaty as he made his way through the Manor hallways in search of Hermione. He could have been looking for hours had he not seen the faint orange light coming from the direction of the kitchens.

He let a small smile cross his face, leaning his body against the frame of the open door, as he watched her as she ate from a bowl of raspberries. She was dressed in his shirt, as he'd anticipated, and was sitting on the kitchen counter looking right at home. Had he stayed in his Pureblood upbringing mindset he would have shuddered at the sight of his girl sat so casually on a place where food was prepared. Seeing Hermione with her bare legs swinging, hair messy and untamed - the blonde was starting grow out and, though Draco couldn't decide if he preferred it a few shades lighter before, he now couldn't wait for it to be back to its natural chocolate brown -, dressed in only his shirt, having a late night snack on the kitchen counter as she read a book from the Manor library, however, was enough to send his stomach fluttering.

Hermione looked right at home and it was all Draco had ever hoped for.

'Raspberry?' She asked, pulling him from his thoughts, a smile on her face as she held her finger out to him. A slightly squished raspberry stuck to the end of her index finger and was staining it with dark pink juice.

'How long have you known I was here?' Draco asked as he stepped into the kitchen and took her hand. The smile was still present in his eyes as he took her finger into his mouth and ate the offered fruit.

'I heard you coming down the stairs.' Hermione admitted with a smile.

'Are you okay?' He asked as he placed his hands on her bare thighs. She automatically wrapped her legs around his waist so that he could stand between them.