Between Us - Dramione/Blinny

Ch. 22

Draco and Hermione were laughing as they slowly walked through Hogsmeade, reminiscing on their younger years at Hogwarts.

"Oh, you were such a prat back then," Hermione said, laughing slightly as she looked into one of the shop windows. "You deserved more than a punch to the face."

"I honestly wasn't expecting the punch," Draco said sheepishly. "And you broke my nose that day."

"What?" She whirled around in surprise, her eyes wide. "Did I really?"

He nodded as he laughed. "It's alright though; Madam Pomfrey healed it quickly and as you said, I deserved more than that."

"I still feel bad about it," Hermione said as they started walking again. "But it did feel really good."

"That's comforting," He muttered, causing her to laugh.

"Oh stop, I won't do it again," She said, smacking his arm lightly.

"She says as she smacks me," He laughed.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stuck her hand back into her pocket, laughing. They both quieted down and Hermione paused to look up at the snow falling from the sky. Even in the midst of the Hogsmeade crowd, she couldn't help feeling at peace then in the snowfall.

"Everything alright?"

She looked back down to see Draco giving her a worried look. She smiled and said, "Yes, sorry. I just like the snow; it's extremely peaceful."

"I don't know how peaceful it can be in the crowd," He said, looking around.

"You'd be surprised," She shrugged.

They started walking slowly through the small town again, and he asked, "Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

"I normally go to Tomes and Scrolls," Hermione said slowly, looking around. "But I don't want you to be bored."

"Do you forget that I enjoy reading too?" Draco laughed, nudging her towards the bookshop.

She laughed as well as he led them into the store and said, "I honestly did; I'm not used to having people who willingly suggest going into a bookshop with me."

"I can't imagine Potter and Weasley were much in the way of readers," Draco said in a much quieter voice after shutting the door behind them.

"No, they definitely weren't," Hermione answered.

She couldn't help but smile though as she and Draco both made their way through the bookshelves, happy to have someone who actually enjoyed reading as well. Ron and Harry would basically act like children when she brought them in the store and they'd always wander off, finding some way to cause trouble. Eventually she had to ban them from ever going in there with her again, but she got the feeling that they truly didn't mind that.

Draco would cast glanced towards her every now and then as she looked at the shelves, picking out a random book every so often and then putting it back. He didn't fail to notice the small smile she had on her face, or how quickly her eyes would flit across the page as she read.

He looked away then, begrudgingly reminding himself that she was still with Weasley.

"What kind of books do you normally read?" She asked quietly from behind him.

He shrugged, looking all over the shelf for one that interested him. "I'll read almost anything, honestly. I'm rather interested in potion theories though."

"That's an interesting genre," She said with a smile as she went around to the other side of the bookshelf.

He laughed slightly when all he saw was the top of her beanie on the other side of the shelf, and he leaned down slightly to see her face. "I particularly like potions, and reading about how one comes up with them."