The Truth Hurts

Ayden opened his front door, not turning on the light, and blindly made his way towards his room. He was exhausted. After he had dropped Hermione off, he drove straight to Dragon. (For those of you who don't remember...Dragon is the name of his store. Get it? Draco...dragon...anyways....back to the story) He'd spent all night taking inventory. But now that he was home, he was forced to think about the day's events. "I don't understand. Is this just some evil way of saying I should tell her?" Ayden asked, loosening his tie. He fell back onto his bed. "I just want to know," he said, drifting off to sleep. As he slept, his dreams were invaded with memories. One memory stood out above the rest.

~*~

Draco walked over to the door marked Hermione and knocked on it. "Granger?" After not hearing a reply, he opened the door. The sight before him brought a mischievous smile to his face. She was asleep, with her head under a pillow. He walked over to the bed. "Granger...," he said, poking her exposed arm. Her answer was a pillow thrown at his head. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"Malfoy...you are in my room. It should be me asking the questions," she said, muffled by everything on top of her head.

Draco flicked his wand and the covers and pillows were pulled off her.

Hermione, wearing only a tank top and flannel pants, sat up and glared at him.

"You know...you shouldn't do that. It doesn't add to your beauty," he said, moving out of the way of a flying pillow.

Hermione stretched and got out of bed. "I know we decided to become friends, but at...," she paused and looked at her clock. "But at 7:30 on a Sunday morning, the only thing I want to be friends with is the inside of my eyelids."

"But I was lonely."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Then go bother someone in Slytherin."

Draco sat on her bed. "Nobody will be up. I was always the first one up."

Hermione, realizing that she wasn't going back to bed, walked over to her dresser and pulled out low-ride jeans and a t-shirt. "And the only reason I said you could come into my room, was if there was an emergency," she said, walking into her bathroom.

"Don't you think being lonely is an emergency?" he asked, roaming around her room.

"Sometimes...and don't even think of going through my drawers!" she ordered through the bathroom door.

Draco paused. Sure enough, he was about to open a drawer. "Okay," he said, moving towards her closet.

"That goes for my closet, too!"

Draco sat down on her bed, defeated. "How does she do that?!" he asked himself, quietly.

"I have a ton of guy cousins," she said, walking out of the bathroom. "I've caught them, more than once, trying to get into my stuff. I guess I just have a sense of knowing when someone is going near my stuff." She walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of socks.

Draco watched her put them on. "So...are you doing anything today?" he asked.

"Well...it's Sunday, so Harry and Ron won't be up before noon." She paused, reaching for her sneakers. "Nope...I'm not doing anything for awhile."

Draco perked up. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

Hermione stood up. "Sure...it beats studying."

Draco put a mock expression of horror on his face. "The great Hermione Granger doesn't want to study?!"

Hermione's head snapped up. "You...you just called me Hermione!"

Draco smiled. "Well...that's your name, isn't it?"

Hermione smiled back. "Yes, Malfoy...yes it is." She turned to walk out the door, but was stopped by him.

"I do believe I have a name too, Hermione," he said.

Hermione smiled. "Yes, Draco...yes you do."

He grinned and offered her his arm.

She accepted it and the left the dorm. As they were walking, she said, "I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Draco laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, not worrying about any of the other students who might be up at that hour. "I think you're right."

~*~

Ayden opened his eyes. "Merlin, I had forgotten about that." They had made it a tradition to take a walk every Sunday. During one of these walks, he had asked her out. Ayden sat up. "I'm going to tell her," he said and stood up. He grabbed his keys and left.

~*~

Unbeknownst to him, a few pale-blonde hairs were starting to appear.