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As the end of his seventh year approached, Draco was fairly pleased with his school experience. He’d made a few good friends, earned excellent grades and somehow managed to convince Hermione Granger, one of the most beautiful girls in the school, to be his girlfriend. As May ended and June began, he knew exactly how he wanted to celebrate his eighteenth birthday — spending the night in the Room of Requirement.
Both Theo and Blaise had spent the night there with different girls and had reported that the experience had been nothing short of, well,, magical. The room apparently tailored itself to each couple’s needs and wants, providing a customized experience that students were unlikely to get anywhere else. The privacy was also unprecedented, with no one else being able to access the room while it was in use.
Draco hadn’t spent the night in the room yet for two reasons — one, he’d only gotten a girlfriend at the beginning of the current term, and two, spending the night in the Room of Requirement by himself seemed kind of pathetic. But now he had a girlfriend, one who he hoped would be amenable to joining for the night of his birthday.
A week or so beforehand, he found her in the library, like always. She was sitting at her usual table near the back, her head bent over an enormous textbook while her quill scratched rapidly across the parchment. No doubt she was knee-deep in N.E.W.T. preparations. Hopefully he could distract her for a few minutes.
Her wild, curly hair was thrown in a haphazard bun on the top of her head and he took the opportunity to lean down and kiss her cheek in greeting.
“Hi, gorgeous.”
“Hi,” she barely glanced away from the text she was scanning. He wasn’t offended, though. It was normal for her to get so wrapped up in studying that the rest of the world would cease to exist.
“Can I convince you to take a break for a minute?” He slid into the chair next to her and ran one of his hands up and down her arm.
“I suppose,” she set down her quill and turned to face him fully. “What’s going on?”
“ I figured out what I want to do for my birthday,”
Her amber eyes lit up at the news. About a month ago she’d told him they could do whatever he wanted for his birthday and he’d been trying to make up his mind ever since.
“Well, you know the Room of Requirement right?” At her nod, he continued. “I decided I want to spend the night there…with you.”
“O-okay. That sounds great.” Her cheeks flushed and he watched a smile spread across her face.
***
Soon enough, the night of June fifth arrived. As planned, Draco and Hermione met outside the Room of Requirement at nine o’clock. As he saw her come down the hall, he couldn’t help smiling widely. His smile faltered a bit, however, when she drew close enough that he could see the frustrated expression on her face.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Harry and Ron were just being really judgmental about my coming here. It’s like they think they have to protect me or something. Which is ridiculous considering we’ve been dating since September.”
Draco rolled his eyes and suppressed a sneer. Even though he got along alright with Hermione’s two friends, he couldn’t stand when they treated her like she couldn’t take care of herself.
“But enough about them. Tonight is about you — us. Let’s go in.”
He nodded and began to pace back and forth in front of the specific patch of wall Blaise and Theo had indicated. While he paced, he repeated the same sentence in his head.
I need a place to spend a romantic night with Hermione.
Sure enough, a door appeared in the wall after his third pass. He grasped the brass knob and turned it, gesturing for Hermione to follow him inside.
As he closed the door behind them, her gasp drew his attention. He turned to see a room with bookcases on one wall and a fireplace crackling merrily across from them. The real focal point of the room, though, was the bed. It was large enough for at least two people and covered in a luxurious-looking blue duvet. A small table on one side of the bed held a vase of red roses and the room was lit throughout by candles.
“Draco, it’s beautiful.”
She turned to him, smiling. The candlelight brought out the gold in her hair and eyes, making her look angelic. Words were failing him, so he simply pulled her close and kissed her. As she began kissing him back, he knew that bringing her here had definitely been the right decision.
It was hard to determine who moved first, but soon they were lying together on the bed wrapped in each other’s arms. Draco moved one of his hands from Hermione’s waist to caress her cheek.
“This is nice,” she murmured, leaning into his hand.
He nodded in agreement, smiling. He’d snuck her into his dorm room sometimes and him into hers but they both had roommates and silencing spells only did so much. Having total privacy like this was much better.
It also made it easier to bring up another idea he’d had recently.
“So there was something I wanted to talk to you about.” His nerves suddenly redoubled but he forced himself to keep looking at her.
“What is it?”
“When term ends, what do you think about moving in together?”
Her eyes went wide. He supposed the question had come out of nowhere, but then again, they had discussed their plans for after school a little bit. He knew that she was planning to study for a Mastery in Transfiguration and he and Theo were discussing opening a potions shop in Wizarding London. There was certainly no reason they couldn’t live together while working towards their individual goals.
“I, um, wow. I hadn’t even considered —. Ginny and I had talked about getting a place but if we’re being honest I’d rather live with you. And with studying for my Mastery it will be easier to live in a Wizarding community than at home. I just don’t know how my parents will react.”
Draco saw no issues there. He’d met her parents, Helen and Richard, last summer and they’d absolutely adored him.
“Don’t forget, your parents love me. And even if they don’t approve, we’re adults now. I turned eighteen today and you turned eighteen last September.”
Hermione fell quiet a moment, clearly deep in thought. “Fine, but I have two conditions.”
“Which are?”
“We need to at least discuss this with my parents beforehand. I wouldn’t feel right just dropping by for dinner and announcing we’d moved in together.”
Not a problem. He was more than confident her parents would come to accept the arrangement, maybe even like it.
“And two, I want to pay some bills.” Draco opened his mouth to protest but she kept going. “I know, I know you have access to more money than we could spend in ten lifetimes. But I don’t feel right moving in with you and not paying for something.”
“Alright,” he conceded. Hermione was easily the most stubborn witch he’d ever encountered and after two years together he knew fighting with her over this would be a losing battle. It was easiest to agree, even if he didn’t like it. “So it’s settled then?”
“It’s settled. We’re moving in together!”
The two smiled widely at each other, basking in the joy of the moment. Then, seemingly overcome with happiness, Hermione leaned up and kissed him. He kissed her back, only breaking for air when he’d rolled her onto her back and settled on top of her.
“Just think,” he said as he dotted kisses down her neck.. “Soon we’ll be able to do this every night.”
He shivered as her nails lightly scratched his scalp.
“I can’t wait.” Her sentence ended on a gasp as Draco lightly bit the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
“Not just that…there’s all sorts of things we’ll be able to do whenever we want.” Hermione’s legs rose to lock around his waist and he knew she caught his meaning.
“It’s going to be wonderful.” She murmured, before pulling him up from her neck so they could kiss again. His arms slid around her, holding tightly, and he let himself get lost in her.
***
The next morning, they woke up facing each other and smiled. He wrapped her up in his arms again as she cuddled closer. Theo and Blaise had been right — spending the night in the Room of Requirement was, indeed, magical.