I Learned Your Pulse

Hermione's head rested comfortably in the crook of Draco's shoulder, and she stared unappetizingly at her breakfast, today's bland oatmeal in seemingly contrast to the turmoil raging in her stomach. People had already began to clear out of the Great Hall to get seats for the task. They wouldn't be able to see what was in the forest, or going on, rather, but they'd see them all go in and they'd see who - if anyone - came out. Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Luna and Hannah had all gone to get seats first thing, Harry and Ron embracing her tightly and the others giving her reassuring smiles and pats on the back. She could tell Ginny had wanted to do more, but even her reassuring smile looked more to herself than Hermione. The red-head was too worried to beproperly worried - Hermione knew that somehow it made sense, but she wasn't sure how. The hall was mostly empty, and McGonagall had, at one point, grasped her wineglass so tightly it'd shattered and spilled. David was trying to seem nonchalant about everything, but even his brow would furrow with concern occassionally as he looked at his own breakfast. Draco was trying to put on a brave face. He'd rolled his food over and over again, sometimes taking bites so she'd see and eat, but other times just looking at it like she did. His skin had increased dramatically in warmth over the night, because the whole time, they'd been in each other's arms.

Hermione had her eyes closed, shut tightly, wrinkled in concentration as she tried to count sheep and sleep; coutning sheep was supposed to be a boring activity, but her heart was hammering so she couldn't focus on any one thing and when she tried, she succeeded - the sheep were all different. Some were overly-fluffy, some were thin-wooled and they came in the normal sheep colors, the majority of them being white; she thought of them jumping over a white picket fense, with a grassy green hill expanding into the distance and meeting with a sapphire-colored sky. The deatail was so sharp, she tried to make it sharper still, and fought off other thoughts as she focused, focused, focused. One, two, three...

She had reached three hundred and seventy-two when the door to the dormitory creaked open slightly. Immediately, her eyes flew open and she reached for her wand, her fingers curling around the familiar wood. She sat up and pointed the wand directly at the door, which revealed - Draco.

She lowered her wand at once, the girls in the dorm besides her still sleeping soudly, their snores and tosses in their beds oddly calming.

He had undoubtedly seen her reaction, and smiled gravelly. "Come," he whispered - she never heard it, per say, but she saw him mouth it and felt the air around him tense. She'd become so adept at the little things about him, noticing even when he exhaled the slightest bit, that now, she could sense every breath he took by the basic and rhythmic thud-thud, thud-thud of the star she wore around her neck. She nodded once, and carefully and slowly, so as not to awake her dorm mates, she stepped out of bed, her feet shocked by the cold floor. She took quiet and light steps across the ground, not failing to notice how Draco looked over her quickly, clad in a scanty night-gown, and then discarded it, choosing to admire her eyes instead - how does one not love a man who ignores your body and loves you?

He grabbed her hand and their temperatures, now hardly different, mixed. Her heart fluttered, as was normal when he touched her at all, and the star wobbled in its beats.

He then took her from the dorm, turning them knob and closing the door silently. He led her away from the dormitory and out of the common room entirely. She was suspicious, but trusted him completely, so she did not ask where they were going as they plodded along silently, hoping ot to attract the attentions of any ghost browsing over the area.

He led her to the door of the broom cupboard where she'd hid after hearing Ron and Lavender break up and smiled at her, now anxious and nervous at the same time. She loved it when his eyes lit up like that. His free hand turned the knob, and pulled the door open quietly, so quietly you'd have heard a pin drop. Hermione stifled her gasp with her hand, biting dow on her palm to keep from exclaiming.