#delicate-cherry

for @slytherdornet‘s hogwarts challenge

As she climbed the narrow, winding stairs to the top of the astronomy tower Hermione found herself trying to pinpoint exactly when this had become her new normal. 

She’d known returning for her final year of school would be difficult and different. She figured the school work would seem small and inconsequential compared to what she’d done over the past few years, and anticipated how odd and off-kilter Hogwarts would be without Ron and Harry, but she’d never expected this. 

Even when she’d heard that he’d also be returning to school. Even when Mcgonagall announced that, for this year at least, the houses would be dissolved, as far the dormitories were concerned anyway. Even when she walked into what was once the Hufflepuff common room and saw him sitting alone in a corner, pretending to read a book in order to ignore everyone. 

No, it never crossed her mind that she’d be sneaking away in the middle of the night to meet Draco Malfoy on the astronomy tower. 

Maybe it started when it became clear that they were the only people not afraid to talk to the other. The smaller kids were too afraid of Malfoy, and the older ones too filled with animosity. With Hermione it was just that everyone was too nervous, too excited, too starstruck. This often left them alone, at either ends of the common room, of the dinner table, of the classroom. 

She shook her head, stopping halfway up to catch her breath, leaning on the stone wall of the stair well. If anything it started that night when she’d finally had enough. 

She was sitting in an armchair, curled up with a book, and there was a small group of kids next to her, whispering rather loudly about Malfoy and she couldn’t take it anymore. So she slammed her book shut, tucked it under her arm and marched across the room where Malfoy sat at one of the honeyed tables, his homework scattered out around him. He glared at her as she pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down. She gave him a curt nodded and opened her book. He didn’t say anything, just stared for a few more moments before returning to his work. 

She kept meaning to ask him, now that they were… well, whatever they were, what he’d been thinking that night, why he didn’t protest or say anything. She figured he was just as lonely as she’d been, but she was never quite sure. She looked up, craning her head around the spiral stairs, and smiled at the small glimmer of metal that caught her eye; the doorknob, she was almost there. 

Of course, she thought, continuing her climb, it could have just stopped there. They could have very easily just continued to do their homework at the same table, never uttering a word to each other, graduated, and never acknowledged it again. That would have been just fine with her. But then, it hadn’t happened that way. 

It was at dinner one night when he sat down just as she had the week before, silently, purposefully, even nodding at her just as she’d done to him. So she gave him the same courtesy of not asking questions and continued eating as though he wasn’t there. Thus they added silent mutual dinners to their routine. It wasn’t long before she made the move to include breakfast, or for him to add lunch. They seemed to be tossing and catching a quaffle, each letting the other make the next move, neither ever saying a thing. 

It still could have stopped there, if only she could have ignored that nagging itch for more. She remembered how nervous she’d been, standing outside of the classroom door. Up until that point it had almost been fun, their little back and forth, almost like a game of chicken. But this had the possibility to end it. Sure, she’d win, but it would end and she wasn’t sure if she wanted it to. 

The classroom was only half full, her being as early as she always was, and she spotted him at the back of the room in the last row. With her head high, as if it were any other day, she walked straight down the aisle and sat right next to him. He gave no sign that he’d even noticed and she tried not to smile. She hadn’t won, the game was still on. Her confidence shrank, however, when she began pulling out her things and slowly realized that she’d forgotten her quills. 

She hadn’t said a word, but he’d obviously seen her scrambling through her bag and noticed that, even after class had officially begun, she still didn’t have a quill out in front of her. The door shut as the professor walked in and she looked up, scornfully ready to pay extra close attention and hopefully remember everything only to see a white, peacock feather quill float gently onto her text book. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye but he was already taking notes, dutifully ignoring her and what he’d just done. 

That had to have been it, she thought, hand on the door, ready to push it open and greet the fresh night air. With that little gesture, he’d won. He’d won and the game ended, but not in the way she’d feared. 

It had been that gesture that gave her the assurance to finally say something that night at the homework table. “What did you get for question eight?” she’d asked, not looking up from her arithmancy book. He gave her the answer, not missing a beat, not looking up from his work either. 

While it was her who’d first stepped foot into conversations, her who’d opened the door, she was still surprised when he sat down to breakfast a few mornings later and commented on the eggs. 

“These are much too overcooked,” he’d said, poking them with his fork. 

She nodded, swallowing her toast. “I agree, I prefer mine poached.” He pointed at her with his fork, a small motion of agreement, and that was that.

The next month was filled mostly with long bouts of silence, but every now and again they’d pepper in a few homework questions, or small arbitrary comments. It wasn’t until she was making her Head Girl rounds one night and found him sneaking into the astronomy tower that they had an actual conversation. 

“Malfoy?” 

He’d stopped, a hand on the doorknob, and she saw his shoulders rise and fall with a sigh. “Granger,” he greeted, turning to face her. 

“It’s half past eleven, what are you doing?” 

“Sneaking a out a baby dragon?”

She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. He’d rendered her speechless. And then, to top it off, he smiled. It wasn’t a big, wide grin that took up half his face, but something small and teasing, that pulled more to one side. 

“Did you just make a joke?” she finally managed.

He shrugged. “It’s been known to happen.”

She eyed him, watching as he moved away from the door and walked by her. “Guess I’ll head back, then.” 

With her hand still on that same handle, she smiled. That had to have been it, truly, that moment when she’d first seen that sliver of something more in him. That sliver had to be what convinced her to wait up the next night, tucked away in a dark corner, reading and waiting for him to sneak out again, like she knew he would. 

“I know you’re following me,” he said once they reached the tower.

She sighed and stepped out from the shadows. “What are you doing?” she asked and he shrugged.

“I can’t sleep.” 

“And the astronomy tower helps you sleep?”

“Not at all,” he said, opening the door and stepping through. His long legs took him up the steps two by two, and she struggled to keep up. When she reached the top he’d left the door open, and the wind whipped at her face and hair as she stepped through. She saw him on the other side, leaning against the short stone wall, looking up. She walked over and stood next to him, and for a long time neither one of them spoke. 

“Why do you come up here, then?” she finally asked. 

He didn’t respond. He didn’t say anything to her about it the next morning, never spoke a word the next handful of times they both ended up out there. It had been over a month and she still didn’t know. 

Maybe this would be the time, she thought, stepping through the door and seeing him laying on the stone, one hand behind his head, ankles crossed. She smiled and walked over, taking a spot next to him, laying down closer than she ever thought she’d be to Draco Malfoy. Their shoulders were pressed against one another, and the back of their hands rested together and they laid like that for a long time. 

“Look,” he finally said, his voice low. She looked up and saw a star, or a meteor in all likelihood, streaking across the sky. 

“Make a wish,” she said, nudging him gently with her shoulder. Then she took a breath and a chance, and linked her forefinger with his. The next few seconds were strained as her brain raced with all the scenarios off how he’d react, and his whole body seemed tense as well. But then he seemed to relaxed and fully intertwined their fingers. 

“I don’t have to.”

things you said at 1 am - mini fic prompts

Hermione’s hand barely fit into the hollow at the base of a tree several miles away from camp. Harry and Ron were sleeping soundly, both of the boys chilled and recovering, but without the influence of the blasted locket the three of them might manage sleep. Her teeth chattered as a gust of wind brushed underneath her jumper. The night was cold enough to make her feel like she also had jumped into a frozen lake, but she had to make the rendezvous.

Harry had described a doe-like Patronus while babbling in his sleep before she left which was all the confirmation she needed that Professor Snape had assisted him. What Harry didn’t know she knew wouldn’t hurt him. It hadn’t yet. 

A feeling she couldn’t shake made her check the rendezvous for information or assistance, whatever the Professor was able to leave. This time her fingers curled around the cold chain of something heavy. Wary of lockets and necklaces after the past months, she pulled it out of the snow and leaves slowly. The crunching of snow behind her made her pull it the rest of the way quickly so she could drop it in her pocket before spinning around.

“You shouldn’t be out here.”

She glared at Draco, dressed in thick warm wool robes with only his pale and pointed face showing, envious and angry of how comfortable he seemed in below freezing weather late at night. “Neither should you. The Professor already was here, what do you want?”

“I’m making sure you’re safe. Is that too much to ask?”

Thank you so much!!

Harry pulled away from trembling lips, lashes fluttering to see grey eyes sharpened by grief. “Hey,” he whispered, “Don’t listen to them.”

Draco glanced at him, exhaling and then looking off to the side. “It’s pointless.”

“No,” Harry said, “It’s only pointless if you give up–”

“How would you know!” Draco stood up from the bed, “How could you ever understand what that feels like? How can you ever even begin to imagine what the hell it’s like to have this bloody snake on my arm!”

Harry let the Slytherin yell, fighting the urge to yell back. “You’re right,” he said, “I don’t know. But I will support you.”

Draco scoffed, shaking his head. “All those people. They’re right.”

Harry stood up to meet him, taking his hands, “I agree, they are. There’s nothing you can say that can fix what you did. But it’s not about what you did in the past, Draco. It’s about what you’re doing now. About what you will do.”

Draco pulled his hands away, “Please, spare me the hero talk. It’s rich coming from you, you know that Potter?”

Harry frowned, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The blonde gave a dry chuckle, “Mr. Freaking Chosen One. Never done a single thing wrong in all his life. Wouldn’t be blamed for a damn thing even if he did—”

“Are we back at that now?” Harry tilted his head, “It’s fine that you’re in a pissy mood but there’s no need to take it out on me—”

“I’m not taking it out on you,” Draco said calmly, “What gave you that idea?”

“Seriously? You think sarcasm is the best choice right now?”

“Do you think patronizing me is the best way to comfort me?”

Harry opened up his hands, making a face, “In what way was I patronizing?”

“There it is,” Draco pointed, “The I can do no wrong face. Because you’re Harry freaking Potter, isn’t that right? I swear it pisses me off more now than it did at Hogwarts—”

“What are you talking about? Literally, what are you talking about? Just because we ran into some closed-minded individuals—”

“Because I was one of those people before Potter!” He yelled, pointing to his own chest, “I know how hard it is to change! And those people,” he pointed away in a general direction, “They’re never going to change their opinion about me. There are so many people that will dutifully cringe whenever they hear the name Draco Malfoy.” He licked his lips, taking in a sharp inhale, “So don’t come in here, trying to give me sympathy and fake reassurances that you don’t even know how to properly give.”

It was now Harry’s turn to scoff, as he shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Fine. Do whatever you want then. I’ll sleep in the living room tonight.”

Draco clicked his tongue, “So dramatic. This is nothing near our usual fights.”

“Well seeing as I don’t know how to properly comfort you,” Harry said, tossing the covers to the side and picking up his pillow, “I don’t see the point. And I’m not sure when you started caring about what other people think.” He looked up at Draco, his lips a thin line, “Goodnight.”

Draco watched with contempt, shoving his hands in his own pockets, pouting out his bottom lip as Harry headed towards the door. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” He snapped.

So I am a little confused with the first part of this question… When you say “blew up” do you mean: Getting angry? Having a bunch of people respond to me? Or actually blow up, like in an explosion? In reference to the second part of this, you are absolutely 110% correct, it is a horrible thing to be told. My personal Tumblr has only 140 followers (I say only because if you are referring to “blowing up” in that sense, most of my followers haven’t even seen that post. How do I know? Most of them are my family members. I know, kindddd of embarrassing. But I love them xx 💋) I didn’t ask anyone to come to my aid and back me up, they are all just lovely people who felt that was what they needed to do. I thank each and every one of them. I have been blessed with many fierce Gryffindor’s and Slytherin’s in my life, *cough* @mrbenzedrine89 @gryff-in-the-game @harrypotterandthegobletofwine @ariel-riddle @delicate-cherry and of course my sister @salazars *cough* (Also Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws 💙💛) All of which backed me up on their own accord. Finally your third part of this question, “Whatever happened to standing up for yourself?” This probably confuses me the most. Do you feel I did not adequately stand up for myself because I did not yell and scream at the anon? That I didn’t cuss at them or try to make them feel sorry for me? I don’t know dude… I think I did pretty A-Okay for my first time, but like I told the other anon; you are more than welcome to come off anonymous and we can talk about it. Maybe you could give me some pointers for next time? 

Anyways thank you for your input! One more time though, just for fun ya know? 

1. I did not blow up for real, I promise. I am definitely 100% in tact. Though my hand does have an ungodly cramp from typing. 💀 I know, First World Problems. Thank you for the concern though!

2. I love all of my followers, regardless if they have been here from the beginning or from this unfortunate situation. Anyone who came to my aid, follower or not, THANK YOU. You made my night. Not because you came to back me up, but because you saw something you thought was wrong and jumped in to help. You all are too lovely xx 💋 

3. I know my responses weren’t the best ever but I am pretty happy with them. I was able to convey what I wanted to without getting nasty. I also hope that the other anon realizes that words do hurt. And to be weary of what they say as they don’t know how someone will react. 

In conclusion, Thank you anon for your input ❤️ If you have any other questions or just want to chat you should definitely check out the messaging feature so we can talk one on one instead of letting everyone else see our convo, huh? 😉💚

HI! Sorry this took me so long. It went through three drafts, and naturally it all clicked for me when I was trying to go to bed last night lol. I hope you like it, and thank you for all of your lovely reviews of The Killing Curse <3 

Nightmares

Ship: DramioneSong: Something Just Like This; The Chainsmokers & ColdplayWords: 534Rating: T

Draco Malfoy jolted awake after a shrill scream rang out around him. His heart hammered loudly in his chest as his eyes opened wide and quickly surveyed his surroundings like only a person who’s lived in constant fear for their life could. He tried to slow his breathing as he reassured himself of his place in a large bed — a bed he shared with Hermione Granger, who was currently glistening from the moonlight bathing her sweaty skin. She was beautiful even in the throes of a terrifying nightmare. Draco maneuvered around the bed, avoiding her thrashing limbs and trying to block out the sounds of her horror. He wasted no time in assuming the safest position for them both before attempting to wake her. Finally, after he’d straddled her hips, slid his knees behind hers, interlocked their ankles and grabbed her wrists, securing them above her head, Draco spoke loud and gentle. “Hermione.”She stirred beneath him, whimpering. “Hermione wake up.”“Wha —” For a minute she froze beneath him, her eyes popping open and bouncing around frantically. Her breathing was erratic, and her body began to shake. “It’s okay, Hermione. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.”“Draco,” her voice came out broken and sad, and tears forged a quick path down her cheeks as she stared up at him. The moon was his backlight, and he looked like an angel come to rescue her. She melted beneath him, and as her breathing calmed, he gently untangled their bodies and fell to the bed beside her. Once he’d relieved her of his weight, he faced her. With a small smile, she turned so her back was to him, and he wrapped his broad arms around here like a cage, pulling her flush against him. Hermione felt safe here. His skin against her own was like balm to her quaking nerves, and from the comfort of his arms she was able to shed her nightmare like dry skin. Her hands reached out and grasped the arm he had draped atop her stomach. She brought it closer to her face, her palm sliding down the column of his bicep and into the inky black depths of his Dark Mark. She felt his sharp intake of breath against her ear as her fingertips brushed over the marred skin. He still looked at the tattoo as a symbol of his weakness and cowardice. She looked upon it tenderly, with empathy filling her heart until it felt like it could implode from the weight of his pain. “I wish I was a better man for you,” he confessed under the cover of darkness, when he didn’t have to look into her warm brown eyes filled with love and acceptance. Hermione only smiled and placed that smile against the mark that once stood for ridding the world of her kind. She kissed his skin, and though his stomach churned, he felt warmth rolling across the hills and valleys of his body, from the mark outward. It almost felt like magic as the heat wrapped itself around his nerves and calmed them. And it was a kind of magic — love, and it said more than words ever could.

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: draco is super intelligent okay let’s be realworst quality: he is easily influenced by those around himship them with: harry, astoria, and hermionebrotp them with: PANSY, blaise, ginny, and ronneeds to stay away from: voldemortmisc. thoughts: i’m really happy he got some redemption in the cursed child like him and scorpius were the only good parts about that crap play lol

Oh, I haven’t read much fics of her with Theo in it. Can anyone suggest any?

Edit: Thanks!