Changes of the Heart

When they reached the fourth floor Draco turned to the left and kept walking until he reached the door at the very end of the hall.

Hermione noticed that, unlike every door they passed previously, this door was different. It was missing a number and a doorknob, and it seemed to shimmer with magic. Then she snorted to herself. Of course there would be magic involved. A wizard did live there after all.

Draco pulled his wand from where it had been resting in the inner pocket of his jacket and tapped the door three times, muttering something under his breath.

The door swung open and Draco hurried her inside the room. After they were both inside he turned back to the door and again tapped it three times, saying something that she could not understand.

Hermione took a chance to survey her surroundings. The living room was done in a deep green. A black leather couch sat in the middle of the room with green and sliver pillows added tastefully. The coffee table and the end table and the lamps were silver with patterns of serpents etched into the metal.

There were even paintings on the walls which Hermione recognized to be Picasso and a few Van Gogh placed strategically around the room. But the thing that immediately captured her attention was the wall on the far side of the room, which was nothing but floor to ceiling bookshelves.

Draco turned around to find Hermione staring in awe at his collection of books, fingering them delicately. He couldn't help but smile at her.

"You do know it's rude to stare, don't you?" Hermione asked without turning around. She had been able to feel his eyes on her for at least five minutes.

"Yes, but I couldn't resist." Hermione turned and lifted an eyebrow at him. "You just look so adorable, like a small child on Christmas morning.

Hermione sent a glare in his direction but her stomach made a very loud sound and she looked at him expectantly. "Didn't you say something about food?"

Draco nodded, yet again taking her hand in his and leading her into the kitchen, which was also done in green, black, and silver.

"Ever the faithful Slytherin, aren't you." Hermione commented as she took in the decor.

"Obviously not. If I was then you wouldn't be here." Draco made his way over to the refrigerator. 'And I wouldn't be having a good time'

He opened it and started pulling out food. By the time he was done the counter was littered with food of all kinds, all heated or cooled to the appropriate temperature.

Hermione looked on as the refrigerator produced all of this. "You enchanted it."

"Duh, Granger. I would have starved if I hadn't." he said, rolling his eyes and pulling the last item out of the fridge.

"But its illegal to enchant muggle artifacts." she stated.

"Only if you get caught." he smirked at her, then waved his want and all the food that had been residing on the counter disappeared.

Without another word he walked past her and went into the living room. Hermione shrugged her shoulders and followed him. It wasn't like she cared if he got in trouble.

When she reentered the living room Hermione gasped. The furniture that had been centered in the middle of the room had all been pushed back and replaced with a blanket that was covered with their food. Candles were spread around the room and gave off a soft glow. The whole set up was so romantic that it was hard for her to accept that it was Malfoy who came up with it. But he had been full of many surprises that night.

"I thought you were hungry?" Draco asked from his place already seated on the blanket.

"I am."

"Then why are you just standing there?" Hermione gave a slight shrug of her shoulders and sat down on the other end of the blanket, but she found the task a rather difficult one because of the skirt she wore. Finally, she settled for lying on her stomach as she ate. Draco chuckled, but he kept it under his breath. They ate their meal mostly in silence. Every once in a while they would say something and the other would laugh and agree.

After they were finished Draco raised his wand and cleared off the blanket. He then wriggled to where he was lying lengthwise on the blanket and sighed smiling to himself, utterly content. Hermione laughed at Draco and went to lay on her back beside him, carefully making sure her skirt didn't ride up as she did so

"You've changed." Hermione blurted suddenly in an almost accusing tone. He raised an eyebrow. "Not in a bad way but its different." When he raised the other eyebrow she added, "I like it."

"Well, I can finally be myself."

"What do you mean?"

"Since my father is in Azkaban I don't have to worry about anybody telling him about my behavior. Before my father was captured it was dangerous to show who I really was. The fact that I wanted to be a decent person was something my father hated and loathed about me. He would kill me if he knew that I was here with you now and liking it." Hermione nodded, taking in what he was saying.

"I never really hated muggles or muggleborn but that was what my father expected, and what Lucious wants Lucious gets." Draco couldn't believe he had just told her that. Never had he been so comfortable with someone that he felt he could just tell them the truth about his life. But she was different. Somehow he knew that she would understand.

"That explains why you were always so cruel, especially in crowded areas." Hermione said, and then her face showed another confused look. "Why weren't you nice when nobody was around?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I get that you had to act a certain way in front of people, but why didn't it change when it was just you, when none of the other Slytherins were watching?"

Taking a deep breath he tried to explain his past actions to her. "At first, I was never alone. There was always someone lurking that would have betrayed me. After second year I'd already created such a nasty image of myself that I do believe people would have gone into shock had I been anything less than horrible to them. It just became easier to always be dreadful. But I'm not denying that I did have fun some of the time."

"I guess I see your point. Not about the having fun torturing people, of course, but the rest of it makes quite a lot of sense. Anyway, I'm glad you're different now."

Draco laughed softly. "I'm not the only one who has changed."

Hermione looked like she was about to argue but he cut her off. "I mean, look at you. The piercings and pink hair and the miniskirt and the boots. Now, I'm not complaining but its a far leap from the conservative bookworm that was at Hogwarts. And its not just your physical appearance either. Tonight I watched you dance sandwiched in-between two mostly naked people and you were enjoying it."

"I haven't changed all that much, besides my looks." Draco gave her a skeptical look.

"I haven't." Hermione insisted. "I just haven't had much of an opportunity to act the way I did at the club. Plus, like you, I have a reputation also. If Harry and Ron had ever seen me like that they would have died on the spot."

Draco understood. It was hard to go against what people thought of you, even if it was the total opposite of who you were on the inside. And now that he thought about it, she wasn't all that different. Less bookish but she had always shown a fiery spirit no matter what she was involved in. But then he remembered something she's said. "How is Weasel doing? I thought you to were all lovey-dovey."

"Don't call him that!" Hermione snapped, but then her face gained a sad expression. "I wouldn't know what Ron is up to, honestly. We broke up after we got out for holiday. We weren't even on the train twenty minutes before the fight broke out."

"I'm sorry." he said, surprised that he actually meant it. She really seemed broken up about it.

"Don't be. We just weren't good for each other. I mean, I love Ron with all my heart, but I'm not in love with him. I never will be. He feels the same way about me, he just hasn't realized it yet. That's why I haven't heard from him. He's refusing to speak to me. And Harry is sticking by him!" Hermione pounded her fist against the floor, caught momentarily in the anger that had washed over her.

"They always were idiots." Draco mumbled under his breath, but Hermione heard and she nodded forlornly in agreement.

After a moment a she slapped what seemed to be a sincere smile on her face. "But Ginny still writes. Although she is being very careful not to mention anything to do with Ron and she tries to leave Harry out as much as she can. But that's proving rather difficult." Hermione said brightly.

Draco raised an eyebrow, silently urging her to continue. Hermione hesitated a moment, but she continued. " Harry proposed to Ginny last week. So almost everything she writes about now has something to do with the wedding. After the way Harry and Ron have been acting I wonder if I'm even invited."

Once again her face held a mixture of anger and complete misery and it was almost too much for Draco to take. How could they be so stupid? Hermione was the best thing Weasel had going for him. Just because she didn't want to date him he was giving her the silent treatment.

Then he gave it some thought. If he had been dating her and she'd suddenly decided she didn't want to be anything more than friends would he be able to accept that? Staring at the amazing woman next to him, her beautiful features highlighted by the millions of candles surrounding them, Draco shook his head. No, he wouldn't be able to accept that at all.

They stayed quite, lying on the floor, both wrapped in their own thoughts, for hours. Both understanding that they didn't need to speak for them to be comfortable around each other. And both were greatly shocked to realize that the people that had always been considered the enemy were the ones who they seemed to be most comfortable with.

Hermione's yawn jolted Draco out of his deep thoughts. When he raised up on his elbows to look at her she was already asleep. Gently, he lifted her off the floor and carried her to his bedroom. He laid her down on the soft bed and she moved just a little in her sleep, her silky hair falling across her face.

Draco brushed the strands back and stared at her for a few seconds in the pale moonlight that shown through window. Without a second thought he kissed her forehead and then retreated back in to the living room.

After rearranging the furniture to its original position, Draco tried to sleep. But sleep would not come, for all he could think about was how soft her skin felt against his lips and how he shouldn't be feeling that way.