Serpent in the Lion's Den

12. Basium

Neither wizard moved all afternoon. Or night. Or morning. Both stayed sat on the floor letting the tears dry, with only a sheet of fabric separating the pair. Hermione calculated from the how high the sun sat that it was about one in the afternoon, meaning she had been sat on the ground for nearly 24 hours. She sighed and shifted on the floor, moving her aching limbs and brushing dried tears from her cheeks. She decided she was in no hurry to get going, the pair could set off later that evening and she leant back against the tent once more, only to be met by a cold, hard surface through the fabric.

"Merlin Granger" the cold surface repelled from her back quicker than anything as Draco, who Hermione now guessed she had accidentally leaned up against, stalked out the tent.

"Watch yourself next time mud... Granger, I'd just managed to fall asleep before you decided to mistake me for a bloody backrest" he raked through his platinum hair with both hands and yawned. Hermione's breath caught in her throat, despite the clear marks of dried tears that mirrored her own and the redness that outlined his pale grey eyes, he still looked handsome. His eyes reminded her of the prophecy orb they took from the ministry over a year ago, swirling strips of grey overlapped and combined with one another. Like a greyscale oil spill in the ocean.

"Seen something you like Granger?" Draco laughed in his usual, cruel tone; a laugh Hermione often had heard around Hogwarts. It had always reminded her of a dementor, it seemed to suck the joy from any room in which it occupied and she had always wondered whether Draco was capable of a hearty, warm laugh of pure joy.

She realised she'd been staring.

"Not in the slightest Malfoy" she took a deep breath and got up from the floor, noticing the leaves had been indented by her sitting there for so long. She clasped her hands to stop them shaking before she took a deep breath and gazed in the wizard's direction.

"But I wish to apologise for yesterday, I was angry and upset and I took that out on you, part of me wants to blame you but I know it's not possible to do so. I just-"

"Granger, you realised you haven't actually apologised yet" Draco's smirk normally made Hermione frustrated but for once a small smile tugged at her lips.

"Malfoy, I'm sorry" Hermione sighed. She wasn't used to being the first to apologise, even when she was in the wrong, but then again, she'd never had anyone around her who matched her stubbornness. Ron often gave her a run for her money when they were younger, but recently his had dwindled whilst hers grew.

"For the record Granger, I apologise as well"

"For what?" the witch asked, wondering if the answer she wished to hear would be the one she would.

"Aggravating you when you clearly weren't in the right mindset to deal with me."

It wasn't the answer she had hoped for, but it was once she could accept for now. She opened her mouth to speak as both wizards took a tentative sidestep towards, and slightly away from one another in a bid to relieve the uncomfortable situation. When the witch looked back up at the Slytherin she realised his change in position had made him step fully into the sun's rays that were splitting through the branches of the trees. The golden beams bathed his face, softening his features and lighting up his eyes. Hermione had always found the sullen blonde attractive despite his clear hatred and cruelness, but looking at him now made the witch realise that his personality had overthrown his looks slightly. Not even she could deny, he was beautiful.

Unable to form words, a first for Hermione Granger, she stuck out her hand in an attempt to accept his apology and he hers. His hand wrapped around hers, almost hiding her warm, petite hand in his large, cold one. They shook hands, up and down, up and down, up and down. By the end of the third up and down their hands were still bound together, a tension had built up around the pair and neither had lost eye contact with the other since their hands had first made contact.

Draco lost eye contact first as his dropped down to Hermione's lips and a ghost of a smile flickered across his own that made Hermione's cheeks flush a deep pink. She felt as though she needed to say something, but she didn't want to ruin the moment, or let it end.

"I think this is the part where we let go of one another's hand" she whispered, but made no effort to reduce her soft grip on his hand.

"Why haven't you then Granger?" Draco whispered back as he bent his arm whilst still holding Hermione's hand, pulling her closer towards him.

"Why haven't you?" the witch half-jokingly challenged, her voice raising an octave as Draco dropped her hand and caught hold of her waist instead, holding her in place, leaving her no choice but to rest her trembling hands against his chest.

She squeezed her eyes shut, ever since the fourth year when Voldemort returned Hermione has descended into an anxious, almost numb state when she was afraid. For years Ron and Harry had depended on her to be the logical one, planning for the inevitable war and that alone had stimulated her anxiety. Not to mention the prospect of her friends and family dying because of her blood and that she had decided to help a crying boy who'd lost his toad on the train all those years ago. She hated the shaking hands that were a side effect of years of Calming Draughts not working and often had to close off the rest of the world for a millisecond just to reduce the trembling. Whilst she opened her eyes Draco's other hand reached down and cupped her chin as he dipped his head down so they were millimetres apart.

"Because I didn't want to, did you?" his lips brushed against her ear before he pulled back to face her once again. Being in the same situation that had got them her in the first place Hermione simply shook her head. It turned out this was the only answer Draco had needed as his lips met hers and his hand trailed from her chin into her hair. He was gentler than Hermione had expected, though his arm belted her waist possessively to him meaning she might not have been able to pull away even if she had wanted to. Instead of pulling away, Hermione decided to pay homage to her Gryffindor courage and moved her hands away from Draco's chest and wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to her so she was no longer on tip toes. 

{Basium - Kiss in Latin}