"Come on, Ron! We're going to be late!" Ron slapped his hand away then promptly fell out of bed.
"What was that for!"
Harry shook his head at his friend. "Come on, already."
After Ron changed into his robes, the two of them ran out of their room. They ran all the way to class and were still late.
"Hermione's still missing," hissed Ron once they found their seats.
"I know. I can see," replied Harry.
"She's going to kill us. She hates to miss class."
Malfoy, who was unfortunately sitting behind them, took that time to comment. "What. Did the mudblood not have enough nerve to show up today?"
Ron's face turned the same shade of red as his hair. Harry put his hand on his shoulder, hoping Ron would take the hint. "Don't," whispered Harry for emphasis.
Ron turned to face him. "Why don't you just use the you know what to find her already."
Harry shook his head. "I promised Dumbledore that I wouldn't. Not yet."
Harry saw Malfoy's hand sky rocket into the air. "Does Gryffindor lose points since Granger couldn't bother to show up?"
The professor peered at Malfoy. "Put your hand down. And no. Miss Granger is helping professor Dumbledore with a task. She is excused from lessons today."
"Lucky," Ron muttered under his breath.
Harry shook his head. Hermione definitely was not lucky. He wondered what his friend was up to.
. . . .
Draco tucked away some food from his dinner. "I'm leaving." He announced to his roommates. They nodded, already knowing where he was off to.
Draco hurried out of the dining hall and headed for the Slytherin common room. He was able to get in a few jabs at Weasel and Potter earlier but was unable to concentrate during classes. He was worried about leaving Bookworm, especially after the previous night's events.
The common room was unsurprisingly empty. He rushed down to his room and opened the door. Bookworm peered at him from where she was curled up on his bed. Yes, he finally decided she was a girl. Bookworm reminded him too much of her namesake to not be a girl.
The little dragon leapt up from her spot and met him. He was glad to see she had settled down. When he had first awoke this morning, it was to find an antsy dragon pacing the room. None of the boys could figure out what was wrong with her and decided to leave out of her cage. It seemed to have helped.
"I brought you something." Instead of laying the food down, he tried to hand feed her. The dragon looked at him for a while before gingerly taking the food out of his hand with a snort. She reminded him so much of Granger. He wondered what the task was that Dumbledore had her on? Dumbledore. The thought of the professor instantly turned his mood sour. This was not a year he was looking forward to finishing.
. . . . .
After classes, Malfoy returned to the room with a bag of mixed fruit. He set it in front of her. "The others will be late. Bloody idiots found themselves in detention." After that, Malfoy disappeared into the bathroom.
Hermione turned her attention to her food. She was glad to have finally calmed down.
When she had awakened earlier that day to find herself still a dragon. . .she panicked. She woke the others with the tapping of her claws as she paced back-and-forth. She did not like to miss class.
The bathroom door creaked opened and out stepped Malfoy, wearing nothing but a towel. Hermione knew she should have politely looked away but found herself unable to do so.
Malfoy was just as pale as she figured he would be. The only thing she hadn't figured was him being built.
Hermione figured he would have had a flat stomach from all the flying that he did but no, instead, she found the beginnings of a six pack. She should had known from yesterday. When Malfoy had held her in a tight embrace, he had felt pretty solid. The kind of solid that came with muscle.
Malfoy rubbed at his hair with another towel, flexing his arm muscles. She was surprised to see him dry off the muggle way. Hermione had to admit that he looked good.
Something black caught her eye. On his left arm was the Dark Mark. Hermione's little dragon eyes widened in fear. How could she have forgotten that the boy in front of her was a Death Eater?
Malfoy must have felt her staring because he turned toward her with a smirk. "Like what you-" his words abruptly died when he saw what she was looking at. He muttered to himself before quickly getting dressed, hiding the Dark Mark from her.
Even though she could no longer see the mark, she continued to stare, following it whenever he moved. Malfoy sighed before sitting heavily down on the bed. "It's the Dark Mark." His voice was bitter. "The bloody thing is nothing but trouble." His words confused her. She thought that was what he wanted. That he wanted to be a Death Eater just like his father and aunt. The bitterness of his words and the expression that he wore pulled at her heartstrings. It was the same feeling she had the day before.
She crawled on all fours, her underbelly dragging across the silk, green comforter until she reached his arm. Unable to use her words, she used her snout and rubbed it against his hand. He laughed at her gesture before picking her up. "Thank you, Bookworm." The way he said her temporary name had her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. He rolled over onto his side and curled up around her. Before Hermione had time to react, he placed a small, quick kiss on her snout.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock. Surprised by his actions and more by the fact that she didn't want to hurl. A Slytherin had just kissed her and not just any Slytherin!
With her heart beating fast and her scales feeling warm, she fell asleep.
. . .
Theo opened the door to their room. He paused before he crossed the threshold.
Draco was already curled up in bed, asleep. Spilling out from under him was a mass of brown hair.
Theo closed the door without entering. "Why did you do that?" asked Goyle.
Theo busted into a wide grin. "Looks like we're sleeping in the common room tonight boys," he said. Blaise's eyes twinkled with a knowing light while Crabbe and Goyle looked confused.
It was about time Draco found himself a girl. Maybe she could help him out and comfort him during these troubling times. He brought a finger to his chin as he tried to remember where he had seen that hair before.
. . . . .
Draco snuggled closer to the person beside him. His fingers curled into the shirt his companion was wearing. Companion?
Draco's eyes shot open. Sprawled across his pillow were locks of brown curls. The girl they belonged to was snuggled up against his chest, her lips close to his neck. He pushed away from her and fell out of the bed. Looking around, he found that they were the only ones in the room.
He quickly jumped to his feet before looking back at the sleeping girl. Anger, embarrassment, and something else flushed through him when he realized who it was. "Bookworm," he growled.
The sleeping girl stirred, her large brown eyes opening slowly. She blinked a few times before jolting up. Instead of screaming or running away, she looked down at her arms, flexing her fingers. "I'm me again!" She broke into a huge grin. Her eyes flicked up to his, that smile of hers flickering before fading into a grimace. "I'm me again," groaned Granger.
"Yeah, now how the bloody hell did you get into my room!"
Granger tilted her head, trying to avoid looking at him. She must have given up because she finally looked him in the eyes. "I'm Bookworm."
"No shit," replied Draco.
Granger's look turned flustered to annoyed in seconds. "No. Bookworm the dragon," she sighed in annoyed exasperation, covering her face with her hands. She rubbed her hands down her eyes and cheeks before looking back at him. "There was a curse. One in which you broke." She stood up from the bed. "Thank you." Without another word, she left the room.
Draco was still standing in the same spot after she left. His Bookworm, his little dragon, was that bookworm? What the bloody hell had she seen when she was with him? Did Dumbledore know about this? Was the old coot the one who made this happen?
"Shit!" Draco screamed.