Dramione One-Shots

The Start of Something

He wandered through the corridors of Hogwarts, making his nightly rounds. Of course, it wasn't his night; it was supposed to be Granger's turn, but she hadn't shown up. He scowled at the thought of being stuck with rounds but reluctantly continued.

Thankfully, there hadn't been any students out as he continued to walk around, but for some reason his thoughts kept wandering to why Granger never showed up for her rounds. It was very much unlike her; she always jumped at practically any opportunity given to her.

He chastised himself. Why was he even thinking about her right now? It wasn't like they were close. They were civil for the sake of getting along, but they were definitely nowhere near being friends.

His last stop to inspect was the library, where Madam Pince was just finishing up. She looked up when he entered, giving him a slight scowl.

"It's past curfew, Mister Malfoy," She announced, as if he didn't already know.

He bit his tongue and simply nodded. "I'm simply doing rounds and checking for any students out of bed."

She pursed her lips but then sighed, nodding towards one of the back tables. "There's one, she fell asleep hours ago. Poor thing has been studying all evening."

Draco knew exactly who she was referring to, sighing and looking up at the ceiling in frustration. Madam Pince didn't seem to notice though, as she continued. "If you could go wake her, I'd be very grateful. I still have some duties to attend to before going to bed, and in the past she has not been easy to wake up."

Before he could protest, she walked away towards the bookshelves with stacks of books following her. He sighed and grumbled quietly as he made his way back towards the back of the library where she had pointed towards.

Sure enough, Hermione was slumped over the table with her head in her arms, a quill dropping in her closed hand. There weren't any books on the table, but there were a few stacks of parchment around her which he assumed was her homework. 

"Always have to do all the work, Granger," He muttered as he approached the table. He gently shook her shoulder and said, "Wake up, Granger!"

She simply groaned and shifted slightly, rolling her head to the side and showing her face. He immediately froze when he noticed the mascara stains on her cheeks, remembering a few nights ago when he thought he had heard her crying in her room. Of course, he had ignored it then, thinking it was nothing. But now that he could actually see it, it was different.

Sighing, he grabbed her stack of homework and organized it, gently putting it in her open book bag before capping her inkwell and quill. Those went in afterward and he shouldered the bag before turning back to her.

"Hermione," He said softly, shaking her shoulder again. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

This time she stirred and sat up, rubbing her cheek slightly as she looked around. She finally realized who it was that was standing next to her and frantically checked her watch with a gasp.

"Merlin, I overslept!" She exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "I have to go do rounds!"

He fought the urge to laugh and held up a hand to quiet her down. "It's alright, I've done them already."

She blinked at him a few times before her shoulders relaxed. "You've done them already. Why?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean, why? You didn't show up, who else was going to do them?"

He couldn't help but look at the running mascara on her cheeks again, a pang of sadness running through him. She shook her head, catching his attention as she said, "You're right, I'm sorry."

He simply nodded and gestured towards the doors, walking her out of the library. It took her a few moments to realize that he had her bag, and by then she was confused.

"Did you put my homework away?" She asked curiously.

"It's all in here, don't worry," He answered, patting her bag.

She watched him for a few moments before looking forward again. "You didn't have to do that. I could've gotten it."

"You were tired," He said quietly. "It's alright."

They continued making their way through the castle towards the fifth floor where their shared common room was. As Head Boy and Girl, they made an agreement that if they were both going to use the common room, they would have to be civil towards one another. So far, the arrangement worked, and Hermione was happy that he was no longer insulting her.

Something caught her off guard though, and she looked at him again. "Did you call me 'Hermione'?"

He shrugged. "You weren't waking up to me calling you 'Granger', so I thought I'd try it."

She tried to stifle a yawn, but he noticed and asked, "Why are you working yourself to exhaustion? Don't you have a guaranteed job at the Ministry after graduation?"

"Yes, but I don't want to just coast through the rest of my studies," She said. "I can't take my education for granted."

"I'm surprised there's still things for you to learn," He teased slightly, smiling at her.

She stared at him before smiling in response. "There's always more to learn in life."

He stopped walking suddenly and sighed, pulling a piece of cloth out from one of his pockets. "Here, wait a second."

She watched him curiously as he wet the handkerchief with his wand before gently reaching out to grab her face. She pulled back at this, staring wide-eyed at him.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, slowly reaching for her wand.

His expression didn't change as he said, "I'm cleaning your face. You have mascara running down it."

She continued to stare at him as he gently put his hand on the crook of her neck and tilted her head up, gently wiping her face off. They stood there in silence for a few moments as he did this, and Hermione could feel her face grow hotter by the second with embarrassment. 

He finally pulled away and she looked down immediately in an attempt to hide her face and mumbled a thank you before walking off. He shook his head, stuffing the handkerchief back into his pocket and following her without saying a word.

They finally reached their common room and she opened the portrait, stepping over the wall and reaching a hand out to him for her bag. He slid the bag off his shoulder and handed it to her without a word. He gave her a nod and she nodded in return before turning away towards her room.

She stopped just outside the door and turned around, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Um..."

He looked up at her from the couch.

They held each other's gaze for a few moments before she was finally able to say quietly, "Thank you, Draco."

He smiled. "You're welcome, Hermione."

She smiled in return and turned away, smiling wider as she disappeared into her room.

A/N: I really like this one, might incorporate it into a story later haha. By the way, ignore my horrible chapter names, I'm simply trying to make it a short comment about the chapter so that people can go back and find it later on. Enjoy everyone! <3