Ch. 27

Hermione woke up slowly, not opening her eyes as she stretched out her stiff joints. She instantly knew something was different; these sheets were much softer than her own sheets, and the room smelled...wonderful, but not like hers.

She also noticed that she was currently resting on something that was moving.

Lifting her head, she opened her eyes finally and saw that she was laying partially on Draco, with her arm around his stomach and his own around her back. She must have been laying on his chest, but did she fall asleep there?

"What are you worrying about this early in the morning?"

She jumped slightly at the quiet voice, looking up at him. His eyes were still closed but he was smiling slightly and he turned his head to face her, opening one eye.

She smiled slightly despite herself and said, "Just wondering how on earth I got into this position."

He chuckled. "You drank more than half of the Sleeping Draught and passed out almost immediately. I was going to put you in your room, but I don't know what your new password is and I wasn't about to leave you on the couch."

He was watching her carefully, gauging her reactions. He could feel the confusion start to fade away into a struggle between guilt and happiness, and now she was simply content. He couldn't help but feel excited at this, but he saw his mate drop her head to lay it on his chest again and he nearly burst with happiness.

Hermione sighed as she found the comfortable spot between his shoulder and chest, closing her eyes again. She didn't want to move away from him, finding that she was very comfortable with him. She and Ron had cuddled in their short relationship, but she was never fully comfortable with him. With Draco, she could forget the world and be happy.

She felt Draco's arm tighten around her slightly and she smiled. Yes, she was very comfortable with Draco.

Ginny sat nervously next to Blaise at the Slytherin table, trying to ignore the looks she was getting. She wasn't sure why she was still getting looks whenever she sat with Blaise, but it definitely bothered her.

"Don't worry about them," Blaise said quietly to her, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. "They're slow to allow people in."

"I know, but it would be nice if they wouldn't glare at me," Ginny said, putting her head down and focusing on her lunch. "Where do you think Draco and Hermione are? They've been missing all morning."

Blaise gave her a smirk and she smacked him after realizing what he was thinking. "Oh stop, that's not happening. She's not comfortable with that just yet."

"I'm kidding, Red," Blaise laughed. "I know she's not comfortable yet."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "How could you possibly know that?"

He simply took a drink of pumpkin juice, avoiding her eyes. Then he set his cup down and said, "I'm sure they're fine; maybe they're doing Head duties."

"Blaise Zabini, you better tell me right now how you know she's not comfortable."

Sighing, he turned to her and said, "Do you remember when Professor Rhodes said that Veelas have extended hearing?"

She nodded and then her eyes widened, her hand going to her mouth. "Oh god..."

He laughed as he watched her cheeks turn bright red, almost as red as her hair. "Red, you are simply adorable when you're flustered."

She punched him in the arm slightly, trying to hide her slight smile with a fake frown. "I cannot believe you hid that from me! All the conversations Hermione and I have had! Did you hear all of them?!"

He simply grinned and blocked another punch from her.

Hermione bolted upright suddenly after realizing she had drifted asleep again, looking around and panicking. "What time is it?!"

Draco groaned and tried to pull her back down, still somewhat asleep. "...Come back to sleep..."

"Draco, I think we've been asleep for most of the day!" She said, pushing him awake.

He sighed and groaned as he propped himself up onto one elbow, looking at her. "We'll just say that you were sick and I, as your Veela, wasn't just going to abandon you. And you can say that I got protective and didn't want you going anywhere."

She stared at him, her mouth dropping open slightly. "That's...that might actually work."

He grinned. "See, I'm smart too."

She couldn't hold back the smile that crept onto her face. "I never said you weren't. I just didn't think you would have already planned it out that quickly."

"See, unlike you," He rolled over onto his back and sat up slightly, leaning up against his headboard, "I don't need to do research and think for hours on what I'm going to do. Now, are you coming back or not?"

He held out an arm to signal that he wanted her to lay back on his chest and she smiled. "What if I don't want to?"

"Then you'd be lying," He shrugged. "You forget that I can feel your emotions."

She scowled at him and crossed her arms, sitting up fully. "That's not fair."

"It's fair for me," He smirked. "Please come here, it's very cold without you."

"You are so dramatic." Hermione crawled across the bed and then paused. "You're still shirtless though."

He rolled his eyes. "Very good observation."

She grabbed a pillow and smacked him over the head. "Go put a shirt on!"

"But Hermione," He pouted. "You didn't mind earlier!"

It was her turn to roll her eyes and she muttered something under her breath, causing him to laugh and say, "You can't try and convince me that it was because of the Sleeping Draught, sweetheart."

Her head tilted to the side and she looked at him. "Not super convinced on that one."

He simply smiled. "Would me putting a shirt on make you lay on me again?"

Smiling back at him, she closed the distance between them and found the crook in his shoulder, resting her head there and wrapping her arms around him. She felt his arm wrap around her back again, pulling her closer as his other arm rested on top on hers. She felt his chin lean against the top of her head and she couldn't help but smile.

"Do you think we should go check on them?" Ginny asked as they left the Great Hall.

Blaise looked down at her and then shrugged. "I think if it was anything serious, we would be aware of it."

Then he took her hand and squeezed it, smiling at her. "Hermione can take care of herself. You know she wouldn't hesitate to hex him if he tried anything."

"I know," Ginny said, smiling back at him. "It's just not like her to miss classes. You know how she is."

"Oh yes, if those study sessions in the library told me anything, yes." He laughed. "I seriously doubt anything is wrong though."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked.

"Well," He looked around, "For one, there isn't an angry Veela running around Hogwarts. You know we would have heard about it by now if there was."

She giggled. "True."

"And two," He went on, "Draco would make sure nothing happens to her. She's in very good hands if anything did happen, and even if she wasn't we both know she is fully capable of handling situations on her own."

Ginny sighed. "I know. It's just...after everything that's happened, it's hard to not think the worst."

Blaise felt her mood darken and he pulled her to the side and behind a column. He gently took her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Ginny, things are different now. Everything is going to be alright one way or another, I will make sure of it. I'll send a note to Draco to make sure, and then I'll send a note to you once he responds, okay?"

She looked at him for a few moments before nodding. He knew she was still nervous, but it subsided a bit as she smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Blaise."

He smiled and lowered his face to meet hers, giving her a quick kiss before taking her hand and pulling her back into the corridor. "Come on, let's get you to class."