𝑀𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑒

𝒯𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓎-𝓉𝓌𝑜

Three days after the incident and Hermione was on a load of medication, both by Mama Helen and the healer of Hogwarts who attended her and Draco after they had come back, Draco has also taken it upon himself to make sure that she was taking her medication

"I didn't save you just so that you could die from infection" was his favourite excuse

"I mean he does have a point" Ron stated the three of them were sitting in the great hall, Harry and Ron were playing wizards chess while Hermione complained

"You're not helping" Hermione whined, she had paperwork in front of her regarding the incident plus she had her assignments from her classes

"He does have a point Mione, you always forget to take your medications, when Dolohov cursed you I had to physically force the potions down your throat" Harry added

"Yes well, Malfoy is ten times worse than you, he will hover, he won't say anything, he'll just stand there, and he'll give me that annoying look that pisses me off" Hermione spat

"Everything apparently pisses you off" Ron laughed

"Come on...Damn it Ron!" Harry exclaimed, Ron won the round again

Hermione chuckled, there was a shadow over her and she groaned before looking up

"Have you taken the medication?"

"It tastes so bad, do I need to take it?" She whined, Hermione heard Harry and Ron laughing silently beside her

"Yes Granger" Draco said, he summoned the potion and put it in front of her, he didn't say anything else, he just waited

Hermione groaned and grabbed the vial, taking a deep breath she swallowed it in one gulp, gagging and trying to make sure she doesn't hurl the potion

Draco was about to walk away when Ron spoke up

"Recond a round?" Ron asked "considering that you're taking care of Hermione, she's a nightmare when it comes to medication and all that" He chuckled

Hermione kicked him under the table and Ron glared at her, she was glad their friendship was able to recover after their very awkward 'relationship'

Draco hesitated, he still felt off being civil with the golden trio, especially Ronald Weasley, but after a moment he slowly nodded and took the seat where the golden boy had been

They fixed the board and began playing

Hermione watched with a bored expression while Harry watched with intensity, she wondered why he never put this much attention to his schoolwork, she felt people whispering and pointing at the group, especially at Draco, she had half a mind to tell them to sod off but knew it would only ignite more rumours

Hermione didn't hate Draco Malfoy anymore, she greatly despised him when he got annoying but she didn't hate him anymore, probably because he saved her life, she came to this conclusion last night while she played chess with him all night

"And...checkmate"

"WHAT?!" Ron and Harry exclaimed, Draco looked at Hermione with a victory smirk, she rolled her eyes but a smile tugged to her lips

"H-How?! I-I..." Ron trailed off

"Ron has been unbeatable for years" Hermione told Draco

"Another round, now" Ron ordered, a look of determination on his face while he fixed the board

Draco shrugged and turned back to the board

They played several more rounds and each time Draco beat Ron, they were joined by Luna Lovegood, what surprised Hermione was when she wrapped her arms around Harry's waist and when Harry kissed her cheek

"H-How long?" Hermione gawked, pointing to the two of them

"A few weeks, Luna and I have been feeding the thestrals and one thing led to another" Harry blushed, Luna smiled dreamily while Hermione comprehended this

"I-I'm happy for you Harry" she whispered, Harry smiled brightly and turned back to the game, Ron was about to win when Draco made an unexpected move and won the game

"Checkmate" he smirked

Ron turned as red as his hair and glared at the board, Hermione knew he was analyzing the move that Draco had just made

"Stare any harder and you'll pop a vein" Ginny joked, she, Blaise, and Theo joined the unmatched group

"Oh, he fooled you into playing chess with him?" Theo asked, Ron's head snapped up to the wizard

"You don't know, Draco is unbeatable in chess" Blaise added

Ron turned to Hermione who was looking away sheepishly

"You knew" he accused

"I-I...sort of?" She answered

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Come off it Ron, you had fun didn't you?" Hermione asked him, Ron reluctantly nodded and turned back to a smirking Draco Malfoy

"Another round?" Draco asked

"Game on"

They fixed their board and another game took place, Blaise, Theo and Harry talked about Quidditch, Ginny gave her input when needed, but she mostly gossiped with Luna and Hermione

"So you and Malfoy have gotten cozy" Ginny smirked

"What?" Hermione coughed

"Staying up late with one another, playing chess, going horseback riding together, and spending every waking hour in the studio, just make sure you're using protection" Ginny smirked

"You have got that completely wrong, he and I are just...friends I guess"

"The glances you send one another tell a different story" Luna said, twirling a strand of hair

Hermione glanced towards Draco who was staring intensely at the board, his eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes focused on the pieces, he licked his lips before making a move, Hermione blushed and turned back to her friends

"You're wrong, we're just friends"

"Then why are you as red as your tie?" Luna asked innocently, this only caused Hermione's cheeks to heat up even more

"It's hot on here" Hermione said as she fanned herself, she wasn't lying, suddenly the great hall felt really hot, she would have to tell the headmistress to check the warming spells

"Checkmate"

Ron groaned, Hermione turned back and Draco was looking at her, once they made eye contact a smile broke out on her face while she gave him a small nod, Draco nodded back before turning back to Ron

She turned back to Ginny and Luna who were looking at her

"we're just friends"

"Sure, and I'm a Slytherin" Ginny smirked

"You're impossible"

Hermione turned back to Draco and her cheeks heated up again

They were just friends...

Right?