Who Knew?

The Shower

I felt the warmth of his arm first.

I opened my eyes slightly to see the same four poster bed I had sat myself on the previous night. Its owner still fast asleep right next to me. Draco lay square on his back, one arm draped over his torso and the other left dangling in my direction.

We had both fallen asleep on top of the covers.

I slowly slide myself off of his bed and head into the joint bathroom. The walls were a light grey color with silver accented trim along the edges.

I decided to freshen up with a shower. He had different shampoos and conditioners instead of the 2 in 1's men usually had. I didn't wash my hair though, but I used his apple body wash.

It smelled so good. I couldn't imagine a more intoxicating smell.

I put on a folded up towel that I found in the cupboard above the toilet and gather up my discarded clothes to put them back on. Then I hear a knock on the door.

"Y-yes?" I stammer nervously.

"I have some clothes for you."

I open the door a sliver and look him in the eye, towel still tightly wrapped around my body. He hands me a large plain black t-shirt and a pair of light grey sweatpants.

"Thank you." I say quickly before clicking the door shut as fast as I possibly could.

I change into the new clothes I was given and examine myself in the mirror. I am very comfortable in them. They smell like apples with an earthy undertone. The shirt wasn't all that small on me either, since I am reasonably tall compared to most other girls, yet Draco still remained several inches taller.

I exited the bathroom with my clothes from the previous night folded neatly into a pile that I placed on the top of his dresser.

"Sleep well?"

I whip my head around to face Draco looking towards me. He is scratching the back of his head, and his hair is more unkept than usual. He feels more human.

"Yes, I slept fine, better than I have in a few days." I admit nonchalantly. He gives me a half smile and turns his gaze towards the bathroom.

"And how was the shower?"

I giggle.

"Refreshing. Nothing better than a shower in a Slytherin bathroom."

He chuckled now and sighed, giving me a look for me to say something else.

"Are you ready for the upcoming exams?"

"Yikes." My mind slaps itself. "Is that all I've got to say?"

"I believe so," he replied. "I don't know if I'm all that ready, not as ready as you must be. But I don't think I'll put as many hours into my studying until I collapse."

I give a breathy laugh. Then a sadness washes over me.

"I have to be ready, my parents are already disappointed in my performance."

He gives me a confused look. "Disappointed? How could they be disappointed in you?"

I sigh, and begin my explanation. "When I got my letter for first year, my parents were so proud. They told me about their days as Hogwarts students. Both of them Ravenclaws. And both of them top of their classes."

Draco had now sat up straight, listening intently. I appreciated that.

"But.. I was then sorted into Gryffindor, disappointing them at first, but then they said they had come to terms with it. But I knew they really hadn't. And now I had to be top of our class. I've worked so hard all of these years to be the top, but Hermione has always been there with me, occasionally surpassing me."

"You've worked very hard." Draco assures. "I've seen your test scores when they're posted."

I give him an appreciatory half smile.

"How could they be disappointed in you after all of the amazing things you've done?"

Another wave of sadness crashes into me.

"They said that I had failed to meet their expectations."

His expression grew as solid as stone. A seriousness creeping over his demeanor.

"I had tried so hard to be where they wanted me to be, and they couldn't see that." I began to tear up a little bit.

"You're not a failure."

I sniff and look up at him. My head had drooped down to stare at the ground. I didn't want him to see me cry.

"You are one of the smartest, most capable people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. And if they can't see that.. and I can, then they're not worth the trouble of pleasing."

He then stood and came over towards me next to the dresser. He wrapped his arms around me.

He hugged me.

I broke right there. I began to cry into his shoulder and he hugged me tighter, reassuring me that I was not a failure.

After awhile, I began to calm down. And we both sat on the edge of his bed, like we had the previous night. His arm holding me in for a side hug as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"You know," he began softly. "I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you, I'm really proud of you too."

"How come?"

"You've shown so much care and compassion, that I never excepted to come from you. You're the greatest friend I could've hoped for."

"So.. I guess we're friends." He whispered.

"I guess so."