Hermione sat in the chair, patiently watching Draco. He was agitated for some reason. She reached for his hand and started rubbing little circles into it. It was something she was used to seeing her dad do to her mum when she was upset. "Draco, tell me what's bothering you." She pleaded quietly.
He whirled around to face her. "You are! You bloody Gryffindor!" Madam Pomfrey scurried in and sushed him which he ignored with an icy glare.
"I know that's not true. You have been agitated and upset since the school year began." Draco stopped and stared at her. How the bloody hell had she picked up on his mood? She was more observant than he have her credit.
He yanked his hand out of hers. "I'm gonna take a nap." He snapped at her.
Hermione watched as he ripped the covers off the bed then curled up underneath them. He glared when he saw her watched him. With an icy glare, he rolled onto his side so that his back was to her.
She sat and watched him sleep. His angry huffing slowly turned into light, heavy breathing. Hermaine let out her breath and slowly relaxed into her seat. It was weird, she could still feel the effects of the potion but they didn't seem as strong. She picked up her backpack from the floor and dug out a book to read.
Reading proved to be much harder than she thought it would have been. Her eyes kept flickering to the sleeping form of Draco. He looked so different when he slept, much more vulnerable.
. . . .
Hermione woke to find herself covered in a blanket. Did madam Pomfrey put it on her?
"Good, you're finally awake." Hermione looked up to find Draco sitting up in bed. A book was opened in front of him and papers were scattered all over. "You can help me with my homework." Hermione wanted to snap at him, tell him that she wouldn't help him but found that the words wouldn't come. "I'm not too sure about this last question. Would you mind looking it over for me?" He continued on, oblivious to her thoughts.
She found herself getting up out of the chair and walking toward him. "Can I sit?" She gestured to an empty spot across from him. He nodded and waved his hand for her to go ahead. She climbed up then took the assignment paper out of his hand. Surprisingly, everything was right. "You did this yourself?" She had a hard time believing that he didn't have one of his cronies do his work for him.
"Of course I did." His lips pulled down in a frown. "You question my abilities?"
"I just never seen you do your own work, that's all." Why was she even questioning him?
A bright smile lit up his features. "Good, the potion must be wearing off, and nine hours before it was supposed to. You must have brewed a faulty batch." She ignored his words as she continued to stare at him.
"Why do you still look so sad. It even shows when you smile." She spoken the thoughts outloud.
His grey eyes turned dark and he looked away from her. He wrung his fingers together in a painful way. Hermione put her hands on top of his to stop him from hurting himself. "I am aware enough to know that we are enemies, but that still doesn't stop me from caring. Even without influence of a love potion. I know that something has been eating at you, if you ever need to talk, I'm here."
Draco's head snapped up. His grey eyes shined with unshead tears and uncertainty. "Maybe another time Granger." His voice was low and ruff, sending shivers down her spine.
"Another time then," She agreed.
. . . .
A week had passed since the effects of the potion had worn off. A week had passed since she was freed from Malfoy. So why was it that for the entire week, her mind kept wandering toward the grey-eyed, foul-mouthed Slytherin.
She walked down the empty corridors while everyone else was still having dinner. She had left her friends earlier than normal because she wanted some alone time to think. She was on her way back to the Gryffindor common room when a familiar scent greeted her, speariment and old parchment. As soon as she recalled where she had known where that smell was from, Malfoy turned the corner.
When Malfoy saw her, he slowed down. "Granger. Not under the influence of a love potion are we?"
She couldn't help the smile that came to her lips. She shook her head, watching as his eyes followed her brown curls. "Not this week. Why were you not at dinner?"
Malfoy cocked one white eyebrow. "Friendly, are we now?"
"Just showing concern for a fellow student." She huffed then started to leave. As she was passing Malfoy, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "What do you want?" She tried to growl but it came out as a genuine question instead.
"You need to stop being nice to me. I'm not worth your concern." His words sent ice to her heart. She looked at Malfoy and for the first time she saw that he looked like a broken shell of who he used to be.
She placed a hand over his. "Draco, is everything alright?" She didn't even realized that she used his first name.
His eyes snapped toward hers. Hope flickered in their depths, making his eyes sparkle like silver. "You need to stop being nice to me. I might get the wrong idea." Hermione cocked her head in confusion. How could he get the wrong idea from her concern? She was just worried about another student, but thrn again, Draco wasn't like the other students.
She had found out that he was actually pretty smart when he tried. He was also caring. She had found out that Draco was the one who had put the blanket over her when she went to thank madam Pomfrey. She had also found out that he was hurting on the inside.
"How can you get the wrong idea?" She finally asked.
He shook his head. "Granger," he sighed. He brought up his free hand, the one that wasn't holding her hand, and placed it underneath her chin. Her heart started pounding in nervous, excitement(?) when he leaned closer. "You really know nothing about boys." His breath fanned her face. She found herself staring at his lips, suddenly hungry to know what they tasted like. When in the world did she start falling for Malfoy?
Draco sighed in exasperation and pulled away from her. She saw the wanting in his eyes. When did Malfoy fall for her? That was it, she knew it like she knew the answer for a test. Standing up on her tiptoes, she leaned into him. Before she could think better of it, she kissed him. His thin lips were surprisingly soft and tasted of spearmint. Instead of pulling away, he kissed her back. It may have been because of an accident that she had fallen in love with him but this week she didn't have that excuse. Somewhere along the way, she had genuinely fallen for him.
Draco pulled her closer to him. His tongue flicked across her lower lip. Somewhere along the way, he had fallen for her.