extraordinary enough to make her fingers itch from want of touching.
"I should bloody well hope so, given that this is Professor Snape's personal quarters," Draco muttered.
Hermione looked over her shoulder at him. He was seated in an armchair beside the fireplace, one leg draped over the other, fingers drumming on the leather arm rest. He looked at home. Hermione could easily imagine him having sat through many a Snape-sermon, seated where he was now, giving her an and-now-what-are-you- going-to-say, kind of look.
It was odd being in Slytherin House, let alone in what was undisputedly, its heart.
School Captains were allowed anywhere, of course, but there had never been a need for her to visit the Slytherin Common Room or beyond, because Blaise naturally saw to most of the duties within his own House. Harry had of course been in Snape' s quarters on quite a few occasions for Occlumency lessons, but he never went into much detail apart from complaining about said lessons.
Snape's living space were sparsely but pleasantly furnished. There looked to be three rooms. The main entrance from the Slytherin corridors opened into the sitting area and office. The adjoining rooms, separated by double doors on either end of the central room probably opened into sleeping quarters and Snape's private laboratory.
It was all very male, Hermione decided, and scholarly. That was expected.
There were mahogany bookcases laid into two of the stone walls, overloaded and practically groaning. The other furniture was also mahogany, except for a beautiful, claw-footed, rosewood and mother of pearl desk, which was kept relatively clutter-free. It didn't really match the rest of the furniture, but its placement and good condition attested to the esteem in which its owner held it.
She took a seat in a green damask armchair, opposite from Draco, and yawned. It was easy to forget how little sleep they had managed to squeeze in, over the past week.
"So how on earth does Snape know about our Fida Mia problem?"
Draco shrugged. He was definitely irritated by the fact. "How does he know most things? He just does. I'll find out, though."
Hermione noticed that he was looked a little peaked. He was resting his forehead on his palm. Granted, he was already as white a baby's bottom, but at the moment there was also a greyish cast to his complexion. Given that she had recently seen all there was to see of his skin, she thought she could spot the difference with some authority.
"Malfoy, are you feeling alright?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "My head's still killing me," he admitted and then managed to force out a lascivious expression from underneath his fingers. "I'm drained, is what I am."
Hermione did not approve of his leering under such serious circumstances. Only Malfoy could maintain his usual crudeness with kidnapped Aurors, Dark Marks flying over their heads and whatnot about to happen.
"Oh, stop that. Your godfather is going to walk through that door any second now."
"Ah yes, the look on your face when you found out." He sounded thoughtful. "I thought half the school at least had a clue by now."
"There's a lot I don't know about you with your clothes on," she said, quite primly.
He laughed, leaned back in his chair and regarded her with a fond expression. It could have been because he was tired and thus, too weary to be smarmy, but his gaze was genuinely warm. "Don't put too fine a point to your wit-"
There were footsteps approaching. Hermione glanced at the door. "Someone' s coming."
"For fear it should get blunted," he added, waggling his eyebrows.
The door opened without even the tiniest creak - something that was practically unheard of in Hogwarts Castle when it came to doors - and Snape strode into the room. He barely looked at them before saying, "Be seated."
They were already seated. "As we were, then," Draco quipped.
"Your amusement is in bad taste, Mr. Malfoy."
"Sorry."
"Professor, has there been any word on Nymphadora Tonks or the other missing Auror?" Hermione asked. She felt wretched for not asking sooner.
"If there was, Miss Granger, I hardly think you' d be entitled to that information," came the cool reply.
Hermione immediately bristled. What nonsense! She was as much an Order member as he was!
Ah, but then Draco was not. Snape had remembered this fact, even if she hadn' t. Hermione suddenly realised that she still had quite a few secrets from Draco (who was in the process of looking at her oddly). She rubbed her nose and turned her attention