Be Mine

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Three cheers for ladyinthecloak (for she's a jolly good beta)!

Chapter Twenty-Three: Be Mine

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Hermione tugged on her woolly boots over her blue jeans and jumped around her room to hoist the trousers up over her hips, which were surprisingly rounder compared to a week ago. It was probably because of the vitamins she found on her bedside table every morning alongside a scrawled note in spiky writing:

Drink, or detention?

Well, she was avoiding him, so Drink it was. And now her jeans didn't slide neatly over her bum as they used to.

"Well, at least my arse looks good," she muttered at her reflection in the Head Girl's mirror.

Picking up her knitted hat and scarf (Valentine's colours, of course), she shoved them on accordingly and flipped her hair out over her coat, slamming her door as she hurried to the Great Hall in her fluffy winter coat.

Draco was waiting outside in the courtyard with Blaise and Theodore in traditional, casual wizard-wear, which always seemed much classier than sweatshirts or the jeans that she wore. They all had collared shirts that tucked neatly into their narrow-legged trousers, probably rolled up to their elbows under their coats. Draco wore his brown pea coat again, over a dark green button-down. But Theodore wore a traditional over-robe while Blaise had a sort of mixture of the two (probably designer), the both of them wearing crisp white shirts and black trousers. They were gesturing casually, probably in some debate (Draco liked debating, she'd noticed), and they hadn't a speck of holiday cheer on them.

Imagining Draco in pink had Hermione giggling, so she slowed her pace. She'd need to catch her breath not to look out-of-shape when she reached them. Blaise and Theo turned when they saw Draco's eyes linger on a point behind them, and Blaise smirked, saying, "So, this is why you were looking for Draco, last night!"

"Hello, boys!" Hermione greeted each of them. "How are you?"

"Waiting impatiently for some mystery woman of Malfoy's," Theodore said, and Draco elbowed him in the ribs.

"I asked Blaise and Theo if they wanted to ride along with us in the carriage," Draco muttered, blushing a bit.

Hermione didn't understand, but she answered him. "Oh? Alright!" she said, still a little breathy. And then she furrowed her eyebrows, tentatively saying, "Don't you two feel a little... awkward... going to Hogsmeade on Valentine's?"

Draco sniggered and the two boys looked away, as if they were hiding blushes themselves. Hermione was feeling a little more than ignored when she received no answer, but her attention was quickly diverted when the next carriage pulled up, beastly winged horses pulling it along. All four of them decided not to acknowledge the two equines, silently conceding that they would not dwell on their pasts and climbing into the coach without fuss.

It was seconds before Hermione followed Blaise into the carriage that Draco slipped his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "They don't talk about it much, but it is common knowledge throughout our House that they've been boffing like bunnies since fifth year." Chuckling at her wide-eyed reaction, Draco took her hand and guided her onto the stepladder with a much louder "Up you go!"

They chatted lightly all the way to Hogsmeade, but Hermione had to stifle several fits of giggles. She'd not even realized the implications of two boys strolling out of an empty classroom. Over the summer it had become so normal to see two men together. Diniz was quite the hunk, she had to admit.

I should write him when I get back, she thought as Draco and Theodore talked politics. Blaise just smiled serenely and glanced warily at Hermione every now and then.

Outside the frosted windows, thick, silvery flakes floated lazily along, landing where they pleased. They reminded Hermione of her excursion with the professor when she'd spied the snow that clung to his surprisingly long eyelashes. He'd been so taken aback when she'd cast a shielding charm...Hermione almost giggled, but then the awareness of their past struggle and what that implied crashed on her like an unexpected wave from a furious riptide. They were not on speaking terms, she supposed. Her heart gave a weak lub-dub and she shivered.

Not real.

What a cruel thing for her mind to bring that up on a day such as this.

She shivered again and found a warm arm draped around her shoulders, the side closest to Draco suddenly flush against him as he continued to banter with Theodore about the economic pros and cons of Goblin wrought coin... something like that, the last time she checked. She felt a little embarrassed being so close to his cheek...they were just friends, anyway.

But then she remembered her behaviour from last night. The way she'd wrapped around him like a scarf. Merlin, she was such an idiot. That sort of body language said volumes more than 'friend.'

So, she snuggled into him and kept warm until they pulled up to the snowy entrance to Hogsmeade, decked out with boughs of pink gauze and cherubs and such. Theo hopped out nimbly, followed by Blaise and then Draco, who turned to the door and opened it wider for her to step out.

"Hideous," Draco murmured after helping her out of the coach. Hermione laughed.

"Completely tacky, wouldn't you agree, Blaise?"

But Blaise and Theodore were already out of sight.

"They felt a little uncomfortable, if you couldn't tell."

Hermione sighed. "Will you tell them I don't care? I have several homosexual friends. I've seen men snog in front of me, for Heaven's sake...not that I want to, mind, but..."

Draco clamped a hand over her mouth before she could gather momentum on her 'I-love-poufs' tangent, as he would later term it...the many times she would try to convince Theo and Blaise that it was alright to be in love with someone of the same sex, blah, blah, blah. He released her as soon as she stopped making muffled protests under his palm.

Smirking, he dropped his hand and offered an arm, instead. "If I could even talk to them about it," he began as they moved under the entrance, "I would tell them. You'd have better luck talking to Blaise than I. They're weird about who they choose to confide in... I'm not one of those chosen." Draco frowned slightly as the two strolled between bustling shoppers, lovebirds, and rowdy students.

"Well, aren't you three the closest friends in your form?" Hermione asked. It seemed apparent, given that his two former cronies were dead. Most of the other Slytherins hadn't bothered to come back for a 'victory lap.' One seventh year, no matter how inadequate, was enough for them. Their tarnished names could be left in peace without the ruthless scrutiny of hundreds of classmates.

"Yes, but we're anything but bosom buddies. They and their families do not associate with Death Eaters."

Hermione growled. "That's ridiculous! You're not a Death Eater."

His answer was nothing but a raised eyebrow.

They walked in silence for a while until they reached the opposite end of the cosy little village, near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The Shrieking Shack and all its dreadful glory creaked and swayed in the light flurry five hundred paces away. "Tell me about your summer, Hermione."

The question surprised her, but she did what she was told. She recounted everything. About Peniche and the before and after. The hours spent making friends from different places and learning conversational Portuguese and brewing potions she'd never dreamed of. Draco 'ooh'ed and 'ah'ed interestedly through all of that, and she discovered that he was quite a traveller...a true xenophile and an expert on the swankest spots on the Continent. But what he really wanted to see was Asia or South America or even Oceania. And then Hermione told him how she wanted badly to visit Greece and Morocco and Argentina and the United States...particularly New Mexico, which Draco thought was hilariously odd.

The two found a nice comfortable tree stump to sit on, eventually.

They'd already covered her break up with Ron, barely even skimming the surface this time, which she was grateful for, and chatted about how she'd completely neglected all of her school requirements for the coming year. They'd laughed about that.

"Hermione Granger? Hogwarts' princess?" he'd asked dramatically, his jaw wide open in a comical impression.

"Hermione Granger who?" she'd replied. And then she'd asked him about what he'd done with himself over the summer.

Which was what brought her here to stare at him, dumbstruck as he made patterns in the snow with a well-made boot.

He'd begun, casually. "Stared at the walls, mostly."

"Come now, Malfoys are always up to something!"

He'd snorted a little self-deprecatingly. "I spent my lovely summer in Azkaban, with most of the Dark Lord's remaining followers."

Enter 'dumbstruck stare' followed by 'patterns in the snow.' Awkward beat.

"Draco?" Hermione's voice almost cracked. She didn't really know what to say.

"As I've said before, I had a lot of time to think. Walls are pretty uninteresting in general, but Azkaban's are hard to look at without imagining what's caked on them."

"But I thought you were pardoned!" she squeaked. "You never took the Mark in the first place! How could they just throw you in there by association! It's an outrage!" She stood and began pacing, muttering under her breath about unfairness and such.

"You're forgetting who you are talking about. The Ministry didn't need any reasons. Anyway, I've had attempted murder on my record since my seventeenth birthday. Intent is almost as bad as the real thing in the Ministry's eyes, Hermione."

"You'd never have tried if he didn't threaten your family," she said miserably.

"So what, Hermione?"

"So what?" she spluttered. "Draco, no matter who your family is, you were never a Death Eater. That's exactly like blood prejudice...declaring someone guilty by association."

"Nevertheless, I had a nice two-month stay. Can't change the fact that I vacationed with Dementors for the summer," he said matter-of-factly. "I got out with minimal consequences," he offered. "I'm on probation like Professor Snape..." Hermione's ears perked up a little. "That's why I have extra duties. Professor Vector is my supervisor."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Your Potter friend manages to still be a prat while simultaneously acting the selfless Boy-Who-Lived-Again."

She hadn't even realized. "Yes, he has an uncanny ability for that." Hermione plunked down next to him and began tracing runes in the snow along with him. "I can't believe he didn't tell us."

"Potter is much more guarded than he used to be. There is some information that he wouldn't even tell his friends anymore."

Hermione bristled. "Draco, I don't think you understand..."

"I asked him not to, Hermione. It was a deal between the two of us and didn't concern you. Do you understand?"

Hermione frowned at him, furrowing her brows as she wondered about her new friend. He was much more... something... than she'd originally thought. "I suppose so."

Draco suddenly stood and spun around to offer his hand to her. "Galloping gargoyles! What a lovely topic of conversation to pick up on Valentine's, wouldn't you agree, Miss Granger?"

"Indeed, Mister Malfoy." She laughed as he hoisted her up and offered his arm again.

"I think ice-cream is in order. Nothing like a scoop of Chocolate Vanilla Swirl to get your spirits up." They headed into town again, continuing to chat as if this were a regular occurrence to see the two of them, arm-in-arm, together.

"Ice-cream? But we're in the middle of February, Draco!"

"You forget that nothing in the Wizarding world is conventional, and that there's a little something called a Warming Charm." He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye. "You seem to be forgetting that a lot lately."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I will have ice-cream whether it's eighty or twenty degrees outside. Join me?"

The fact that he still finds little things to be happy about after what he's been through... she couldn't finish the thought. "Oh, alright," Hermione sighed dramatically.

They found the stand at the top of the hill outside of the candy store and Draco ordered a cone of his favourite. Hermione declined, but agreed to sit, stand, or slouch with him while he finished it. She was glad she could find a friend who still could be a kid when he wanted to, despite what he'd been through... despite what they all had been through; he was a rarity. A treasure.

The old Hermione would have laughed if someone told her she'd find a friend...something special...in Draco Malfoy.

But, of course, this wasn't the old Hermione. 'Old Hermione' was long gone.

'New Hermione' was fun. And unpredictable. And could make friends with whomever she wanted, thank you very much. She liked this new Hermione.

"Professor Snape's staring at us," Draco muttered after they'd gone to lean against the side of The Three Broomsticks.

Hermione was startled out of her reverie and looked across the snowy pathway to see the professor sitting on a stone bench, glaring at the both of them over today's Daily Prophet, his long fingers crinkling the sides as he clenched his knuckles. With a sudden need to rebel, Hermione glared back.

"He hates Valentine's. Especially public displays of affection. Lovely how he got stuck with chaperoning, again." Draco sniggered under his breath and then took another lick. "You're sure you don't want some?"

"What? Oh. I suppose I wouldn't mind a bit. Is it good?"

"'Is it good?' Of course it's good! Try a lick." He held it out to her.

Still in a rather involved staring contest with the Potions master himself, Hermione leaned over and took a long, distracted lick, savouring the creamy flavour. Snape's eyes darkened considerably and he stood, stalking off immediately. Draco sucked in a breath beside her and began speaking. She didn't notice, though. Her stomach had sprouted a colony of butterflies, it seemed.

"...lin, Hermione, you'd think you were trying to seduce him. You were practically having your way with my ice cream!" Draco chuckled a bit nervously, but kept it light.

Hermione flicked her eyes to Draco's noticing his blush. She smiled mischievously. "Sorry. It was good!"

"Apparently," he laughed and nudged her with his elbow. He appeared to ponder asking a question, but instead continued devouring his ice-cream.

"How would you feel about eating lunch with Harry and Ginny?" she asked after a while.

"Do you mind being seen with me?" He looked down at her, his eyes belying his worry.

"No. I've been following you around all week, Draco. I've gotten past caring about what others think. It got annoying. I was tired of caring about pitying comments about my undesirable, infertile person."

"Hermione, you're not undesirable."

"Thanks, Draco," she laughed. "I'm glad you don't think I'm terribly repulsive."

"No, you're really quite beautiful, Hermione."

Hermione was quite taken aback. They both stared at one another for a ridiculously long pause, and then looked away. Draco tossed the rest of his cone into a nearby bin, stuffing his hands in his pockets and grinding his teeth.

He probably thinks that went over badly. Hermione turned to him and put a tentative hand on his forearm. "Thanks, Draco."

He looked at her, then apparently giving up on whatever anger that had been bubbling under the surface, he took her hand and led her into the pub.

The shocked faces of Harry and Ginny would be a source of many laughs for the next couple of months. As the Slytherin held out Hermione's chair for her and sat between her and Neville's date, Hannah Abbott (apparently, Harry and Gin hadn't anticipated that Neville would have asked someone as well and were feeling rather sheepish about it), Draco greeted the Hufflepuff and then glanced around at the other three Gryffindors as if this wasn't completely bizarre. Eventually, everyone settled into casual conversation, and Hermione didn't even realize until they'd gotten up to leave that she hadn't let go of Draco's hand for the entire luncheon.

A/N: Uh oh! Well, that should explain a whole lot about Draco's behaviour...and why I haven't labelled it as OOC. Because, let's face it, this whole story is somewhat out of character, and I'm okay with that. ;-)