Interlude: Eighth Year (гет)

Hermione is back at Hogwarts for her final year and she's feeling lonely and lost and finds comfort with the most unlikely person, Draco Malfoy. He's returned to school for mysterious reasons and his plot involves Hermione, which is why he specifically requested her as his Arithmancy partner. Draco is determined to get what he needs from her before she discovers his plot, or before he loses his nerve (again). The two of them end up finding a lot more in each other than they originally expected.
She dipped her head into his chest and felt his heart beat slowly against her forehead. "I just got used to thinking of you as my friend, now this?" she whispered, "Where did this come from?"
He wrapped his arms around her and replied into her hair, "I don't know. It's not real though, right?"
"I'm not sure what's real anymore, it all feels like a dream," she said softly.
"At least you said dream and not nightmare."