Draco was wandering the halls of the castle in the middle of the night. It was forbidden, but he didn’t really care. Rules were made to be broken. He liked the castle better at night, anyways. No one to bother him, no Crabbe and Goyle to foolishly follow him around, no first years gawking at the fact he was an upper-class man. Not only were the corridors deserted, but they were cold, too. Just the way he liked it. Besides, he couldn't sleep. Draco replayed a scene in his head from earlier that day in Potions, when Hermione had raised her hand and given the answer to one of Snape’s monotonous questions, only to have Snape dock 20 points from Gryffindor solely because the words were exactly what the textbook said. Well that, and the fact that she was an insufferable know-it-all, which Snape (and the whole Slytherin student body for that matter) saw very clearly.
Mentally kicking himself, Draco sighed. He had to stop thinking those things, although they weren’t dating, there was definitely something going on between them. As to that, he didn’t know what. But, Draco kind of preferred it that way. Something secret; that’s not to say he didn’t have other secrets in his life, but him being a death-eater-to-be wasn’t exactly a secret. Potter suspected it, so naturally, all the Gryffindors suspected it. Stupid Potter.
He walked along, dragging his hand on the wall, coming to a window overlooking the grounds. The moon shone in the window casting a ray of light on the floor. He approached the window and put his long-fingered hands on either side of it, gazing out, a figure catching his eye. Speak of the devil. He knew in an instant that it was Granger. Itching to see her - which, until very recently, was quite unusual, if not non-existent, for him - Draco jogged all the way to the main entrance of Hogwarts, slowing to a walk as he passed the front doors and out onto the grass, still wet with the earlier rain.
Walking slowly towards her, he watched her. Hermione was gazing around the area, searching for something. When he reached her, Draco grabbed her hand, her skin soft on his. She looked down at their intertwined fingers, then at him, and finally at the dark, star strewn sky; the moon illuminating the grounds of the school. Hermione started to walk away from Draco, stopping when she could step no further without breaking the connection between their hands. She smiled playfully, snickering, and took a small step back; their hands falling limp.
She was teasing him. He smiled back ruefully. She turned her back on him and started to walk away. He sighed and followed her slowly, putting his hands in his pockets. She found a clump of clovers, and sank to the ground to look for the lucky four-leafed one. Draco leaned on a tree some twenty feet away, watching her with his arms folded and wondering how she could just ignore the wet ground. He, himself, could never do that.
She dug through the patch, her brow furrowed in concentration. Every now and then her face would light up, thinking she had found one, only to be let down. Draco smiled every time this happened. He continued to study her - god, she was beautiful. Shaking his head of his silly thoughts, he pushed off the tree and strode towards her, taking his time. She heard him approaching but did not look up.
“They’re so hard to see in the moonlight,” he murmured. “You’d probably have better luck during the day,” Draco crouched down next to her.
She reached for his hand, averting her eyes. She flipped his palm face up and slipped something into his open hand. He closed his fist over the object automatically, feeling something soft.
Hermione looked up at him, finally meeting his gaze. “You’re wrong,” she said simply, before kissing him gently on the lips and getting up. As she walked away, he unfolded his fingers and smiled.
A four-leaf clover lay in his palm.
A/N - I hope you guys like it and it wasn't too awful [; Thank you to everyone for all the R/R's. It means so much to me, and it inspires me to write. I love feedback! Let me know what you think and if you have any ways to help me improve my writing, let me know ASAP. - Brenna (:
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