Meet Me In The Broom Cupboard

Chapter Seven: Sixth Year, September

Things were different this year. Hermione could tell by the look on Draco's face that things had changed between them. Last year, as if to compensate for their secret meetings in the broom cupboard, Draco would taunt her, Harry, and Ron more than ever, especially after joining Umbridge's special "club". This year, he could barely look at them, let alone slip a note into her pocket about when they would first be getting together.

She guessed it was something to do with the incident on the train. Harry was so adamant that he was right about Draco being a Death Eater that he used the invisibility cloak to spy on him, which was a mistake and, although Hermione was angry at Draco for breaking Harry's nose, Harry had no right to spy on him like that.

After two weeks of hearing nothing from Draco she managed to slip a note between the pages of his Arithmancy textbook and tried not to show any emotion when he discretely set it on fire under the desk without reading it.

Hermione kept her feelings to herself and tried not to believe what Harry was suggesting about Draco being a Death Eater. In the back of her mind there was something that could not reconcile the boy from Fifth Year who always wanted to meet her in the broom cupboard, with a boy that has vowed himself to the Dark Lord, hater of Muggle borns like herself.

During their third week back at school, on her way back from a late night library session, Hermione saw Draco. He was alone and walking in the opposite direction to the Slytherin common room. Without thinking she cast a non-verbal silencing charm on her shoes and followed him all the way to the 7th floor.

When she saw him pace in front of a wall three times, she gasped and hurried across the corridor to follow him inside the Room of Requirement. She hid behind a precarious tower of books as soon as she was inside and wondered what she had been thinking in deciding to follow him in here. He was bound to be angry at her for invading his privacy, and angrier if he found her spying on him. So she straightened her uniform and stepped out from the books to walk into the room further in an effort to find him.

'Draco?' She calmly called out. She heard something fall to her right and followed the noise. His back was facing her when she rounded a stack of chairs. She said his name again, quieter this time, and watched his back straighten and his shoulders tense.

'Granger.' He said, a harsher tone than she was expecting. She also wasn't expecting him to use her surname when it was only the two of them.

'Malfoy.' She replied, crossing her arms and pulling her cardigan closer around her body to brush the chill of the air away.

He finally turned around to face her, an unreadable expression on his face.

'You followed me.' He said.

'I did.' She replied.

They were silent for a moment, staring each other down.

'You shouldn't be here, it isn't any of your business.' He said angrily, his fists clenched at his side.

'I'm not here to pry.' She admitted in a calming voice. 'I wanted to talk to you. Ask if you were okay?'

'Why?' He spat, stepping closer. 'That desperate for attention?'

'No.'

'If you're not here for a snog in the broom cupboard then you should go. I'm not in the mood for talking.' He drawled.

'Malfoy.' She said, exasperated at his biting tone.

'Granger.' He said through gritted teeth.

'Draco...' she whispered. 'Talk to me.'

She placed a hand on his arm, stroking him through his suit.

'I can't.'

'You can talk to me about anything. I just want to make sure you're okay.' Her hand moved up, over his shoulder, and cupped his cheek. He flinched at her touch, perhaps because of how cold her hand was, but after a few seconds he covered it with his own and leaned into her touch.

'Nothing is okay anymore.' He whispered. Hermione remained quiet, not wanting to upset him or anger him, in the hopes he would open up to her. He locked eyes with her and pulled her in for a kiss; a slow, meaningful kiss that set Hermione's heart racing and her stomach fluttering. She thought he was building up to something so she reached out and began to loosen his tie, but his hands gripped hers as he broke off the kiss.

'You should go.' He said gently. It wasn't harsh, and she wasn't particularly offended, but she wanted to stay and try to get him to talk. As if he knew that she was about to protest, he kissed her again.

'Hermione.' He whispered, breaking their kiss. She nodded and stepped away to leave. She opened her mouth to speak but turned and walked out of the Room of Requirement before words came out.

As she made her way back to the Gryffindor common room she played the kiss over and over again in her head. It was different to all of the ones from Fifth Year. Back then it was as if he couldn't get enough and ended their nights in the broom cupboard in anticipation of their next meeting. Tonight it was as if he was savouring the moment, like he knew it wasn't going to happen again. It was a goodbye kiss.