Hermione was walking aimlessly around the castle.




Why did he have to do it? He knew he shouldn’t have. But he did it anyway. Hermione sighed. It isn’t that he did it. It isn’t his fault. I must have provoked him. Made him think it was okay. Even so, he did it. He knew it wasn’t right. He knewit. Though, it still isn’t his fault. It wasn’t an action done solely on his part. He may have started, but I helped it along. Then Draco walked in, and in that moment, my entire world was turned upside down.




Hermione didn’t notice where she was until she almost walked into the Black Lake. She sat down and began to figure out what she was going to do. I love Draco. Most people don’t realize it, but he really is a nice guy. Still... I feel wrong somehow being with him. Kissing him. Being held in his arms. Working on homework together. We go always go for midnight walks, with the help of Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, of course. It seems that after having been with Draco for a few months, Harry has seemed to soften up with him. Of course, they aren’t best friends, but did I honestly expect that? I mean they have hated each other since we were in first year. But they seem to have begun to take to each other very well. In fact, sometimes it seems like they are actually friends. They do seem to hang out with each other quite a bit. Ron, on the other hand, still despises Draco. Then again, there have always been family conflicts between the two of them. But Ron doesn’t make an effort to be friends with Draco. Hermione sighed. Back to the problem at hand. We work together on assignments. I even got him to try in Care of Magical Creatures, and now he can't stop talking about it! But, when I’m with Draco, it isn’t as natural and free flowing as when I am with Him. I love them both. I just can't decide who I love more. Draco is actually a nice guy if you get to know him. He is caring and compassionate. Also he only ever considered joining the leagues of the Death Eaters because his idiotic scum of a father brainwashed him as a child. Whenever I kiss Draco, I feel a nice wave of warmth and protection wash through my body. On the other hand, He would never join the Death Eaters, and He is a Gryffindor just like me. I feel just as safe, if not safer with him. Also that one kiss he gave me was filled with as much passion as all of Draco’s kisses put together. Not only that, but He has never called me a Mudblood, even though when Draco did it, it was to hide his true feelings from me. And there is something about him that Draco just doesn’t seem to have…




Come on, Hermione,"she told herself, You are never confused. You always know what to do. Hermione almost believed herself for a moment, until a voice in the back of her head said, You are never confused until emotions are involved. Once emotions come into the picture, your mind is as worthless as Draco’s hair is blonde, or as Harry’s eyes are green. Worthless. Completely and totally useless. Like now.




*************




Draco looked at Hermione for what seemed like must have been the first time. It was the Halloween Dance. Headmistress McGonagall decided that after Harry Potter had defeated Voldemort, a celebration was in order. Draco Malfoy had been cleared of all ties to the Death Eaters after they realized that he only joined the Death Eaters due to brainwashing by his father. So he got to return to Hogwarts. The celebration, of course, was the Dance. Draco was looking at his sworn enemy Hermione Granger. She is damn beautiful, Draco thought. A good dancer too. Draco watched as she got up to dance with Harry, as Hermione didn’t have a date and Harry’s date, Ginny, was dancing with Ron. She’s smart, too, Hermione is. And really nice. Snap out of it Malfoy, he told himself. She is a Mudblood. She isn’t one of us. Where is Pansy? Draco wondered as he scanned the Great Hall for his date. But no matter where his eyes went, they always sought out Hermione in the end. What’s wrong with me? Draco thought. He searched for Pansy for a few more minutes before he saw her at the punch table. Surely a round of snogging with Pansy will clear my head of Hermione. Draco strode over to Pansy , twirled her around, and pressed his lips onto hers. He waited for the familiar sense of warmth and happiness to fill his body. And he waited, and waited, until he finally realized nothing was coming. He broke apart from Pansy, and the first thing he saw was Hermione, still dancing with Harry. Draco finally realized what was going on. He was in love. With a Mudblood.




As the dance pulled to an end, everyone that was still in the Great Hall began to slowly file out. Draco made a point to catch up with Hermione. He saw Harry and Ginny turn onto the corridor ahead, hand in hand, clearly awaiting to be alone for a quick snog session before bed. He then saw Ron and Hermione not too far ahead of him. Draco quickly pulled out his wand and muttered, Expelliarmus. Ron’s wand suddenly flew away, in the opposite direction of Harry and Ginny. Draco then levitated Ron’s wand even further away.




“Ron! Meet me in the Common Room once you have your wand!� Hermione called to the now running Ron. That was exactly what Draco had wanted. He strode closer to Hermione, but not too close that she would notice him yet. He waited until he was right behind her. He tapped her on the back and then squatted down on the floor, where she would have to deliberately look down to see him. Hermione twirled around, and began to look for the person who drew her attention. Draco quickly sprang up, so that his face was almost touching Hermione’s, and in one swift motion, he grasped Hermione’s neck and began to passionately kiss her. He could tell that Hermione was taken by surprise. She was half fighting Draco off and half kissing him back. After a few moments, she stopped fighting back as she sank into the kiss. It was one of the most phenomenal kisses that either of them had ever experienced. When they finally broke apart, Draco gazed into Hermione’s chocolate brown eyes.




“Wow. That kiss was phenomenal. I never imagined you kissing me. I mean, don’t take this personally; because I may just fancy you now, I hated you until about mid way through that kiss. I thought you hated me,� Hermione said.




“I thought I hated you, too. But at that Halloween Dance, you looked extraordinary. You are such a good dancer, too. I realized that all of the good things about you outweigh the fact that you are a Mudbl--- sorry, Muggle born witch,� Draco replied, staring at Hermione.




“At first, I was shocked. I mean, why would you kiss me? I hated you and you hated me. That’s obviously changed now that we are technically boyfriend and girlfriend… I mean, only if you want us to be,� Hermione said, worried. A quick and meaningful nod from Draco told Hermione that she should continue talking and that they were going out. “Once I got over my immediate shock, I was so angry. I mean, I figured that this was some sort of dare, or even if you did fancy me, I thought it was quite rude to walk up to someone and snog them in the middle of the hall. Soon after that though, I realized that it didn’t matter how rude it was, because it felt so right. Being held in your arms, having our lips connected, just felt so right and so good. But now, I have to go to bed. It’s late, and I will need time to get ready for bed.� With that, Hermione gave Draco one long kiss.




Draco slowly made his way back to the Slytherin Common Room. He entered through the portrait and headed right up the boys dormitories. He took off his dress robes and got ready for bed. The last thing he heard before he fell asleep was the sound of Pansy weeping so loud that it could be heard all the way from the girls’ dormitories.









*************









Hermione sighed again. She stood up. She was on her way back up to the castle when she saw her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy. He was walking towards her. When they reached each other, she was about to give him a kiss, when he pulled away.




“Hermione, we need to talk.� Draco’s voice was grave. Hermione had a feeling she knew what was coming, and she was right. “Hermione, I love you, but walking in on that really scared me.�




“Draco, he kissed me. I was totally taken off guard,� Hermione tried to explain.




“It didn’t look that way when I walked in. It looked like you were really wrapped up with him.�




“DRACO! He took me off guard. I didn’t have time to think. I’m just sitting in an empty classroom, trying to work in peace because the Common Room was too distracting, and he walks in and begins to snog me! I was caught off guard and didn’t have time to think,� Hermione said, exasperated and annoyed.




“Even if you didn’t have time to think, you were kissing him for a while before I came in and stopped you.�




“Oh yeah, and how would you know?� Hermione asked.







“Hermione! Your bloody pants were unzipped!� Draco shouted.




�Draco. Do NOT provoke me. It is taking everything that I have to keep myself from slapping you across the face. Draco Malfoy, I told you, I was caught off guard. I did not have time to think. I had no rational thought in my mind. When someone kisses me, it seems like you are kissing me. In my mind, I thought it was you, AND what were you doing looking at my pants? We said we were going to take it slowly!�




Draco just sighed as he decided to refrain from physical violence and fight in the form of words and magic. “Oh,� Draco said, “Now you are comparing my kissing skills to Ron’s! You are saying that you thought his kissing was mine! That means you must have thoroughly enjoyed the kiss from him! You hurt me emotionally. Now, I will hurt you, by magic. Petrificus Totalus.� Hermione quickly blocked the spell, and was clearly agitated.




“You know what? If you can't trust me enough that when I say I love you, you don’t believe me, then maybe I just don’t love you anymore,� Hermione said hotly.




“Apparently, you fancy Ron anyways. It isn’t like you are just leaving me; you have that blood-traitor to fall back on,� Draco spat.




Hermione quickly drew her wand and shouted, “ Densaugeo .� As Draco’s teeth rapidly grew, Hermione gave a sort of laugh and said, “Now you know how it feels. You did that to me in fourth year.�




Draco, who found it difficult to speak with his front teeth so long, said something that sounded like, “Hermione, I don’t want to fight you.�




Hermione sighed and figured that Draco deserved to at least have his teeth fixed. “I only took off the spell on your teeth so, if it’s possible, you could give me a good reason for me to forgive you,� she said. Hermione knew that Draco was keeping all his anger bottled up inside of him, and was trying to talk himself into being calm.




�I won't do anything to harm you, just let me talk. I know that you expect me to call you a name and leave then and there. Usually I would, but I love you too much to hurt you anymore than I have. Please don’t run. I need to talk to you. I am sorry for being so annoying about this whole Ron ordeal. It was just me being jealous. I understand that you were caught off guard. I don’t want to fight you. You might not love me anymore, but I still love you. Hermione… do you forgive me? I am really sorry. Please, I agree to forgive and forget.� This seemed to be sufficient for Hermione, because she, instead of saying anything, walked over to Draco and gave him the most passionate kiss she had ever given him. She began to walk away, feeling her answer was satisfactory. On the way back, she blew Draco a kiss. Draco didn’t notice the blown kiss, because he was still dazed form the kiss Hermione had given him prior.




*************




Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco were sitting in the Room of Requirement. Harry and Ron were looking at a Quidditch Magazine, while Draco and Hermione were talking.




“Hermione, I am telling you, Care of Magical Creatures is so much fun. You really should talk to McGonagall about maybe switching in,� Draco exclaimed.




“Draco, sometimes I regret the day I had you switch into Care of Magical Creatures for the second term of the year,� Hermione said. It was February and there was snow carpeting the ground outside.




“Hey, do you guys want to go outside for a snowball fight?� Harry suggested. Hermione and Draco quickly nodded, but Ron was unsure of what to do, since he did not want to go with Draco. Reluctantly, he put the Quidditch magazine down as he, Harry, and Hermione all went to the Gryffindor Common Room to get into more suitable clothes. Draco headed to the Slytherin Common Room. Harry had not been too keen on spending the day with Draco, but they were beginning to grow on each other.




They all met up outside ten minutes later. Apparently, Harry and Draco had thought of the same idea, as the three boys each had there brooms. Ron had brought his as a result of Harry’s suggesting it. Draco noticed the look of disappointment on Hermione's face as she realized she was the only one without a broom.




“Here Hermione, you can ride on my broom,� Draco offered.




“Oh, Draco, that’s so thoughtful of you, but then you wouldn’t have a broom, and that wouldn’t be fair.�




Draco looked utterly confused. “Who said I wouldn’t have a broom?�




“If I have your broom, what will you ride on? Do you have two brooms?� Hermione asked.




Realization flooded onto Draco’s face. “Hermione, I said you could ride my broom. I never said I wasn’t going to. I don’t mean we are going to share, if you catch my drift.� Hermione looked confused for a moment, before walking over to Draco and kissing him passionately.




For the next hour and a half, the four of them had an aerial snowball, only touching ground to collect snow. They walked into the castle at five o’clock, soaked. They all showered and got ready for dinner. On the way down, Harry and Ron were talking.




“You know, Ron, Draco is growing on me a little bit. I mean, we aren’t exactly best friends, but he isn’t that bad of a guy if you get to know him,� Harry said.




“Are you mental? He is practically unzipping Hermione's jeans. If I were going out with her, I would respect Hermione more.�




“What if you were wrapped up in a kiss with her, or anybody else? Don’t take this the wrong way, Ron, but I feel the same way Draco does when I am with Ginny. I mean, I never have, of course,� Harry added upon seeing the shocked looked on Ron’s face. “Besides, why are you thinking about being Hermione's boyfriend?�




Ron’s face quickly turned as red as his hair as he muttered something incoherently.




“What was that, Ron? I can't hear you.�




“No reason.� That was all Ron said to Harry the rest of the way to the Great Hall, as Ron realized that Harry had figured out his biggest secret.




*************




“Okay, Ron, you know the plan, if you hear me loudly give the password to the Fat Lady, it means Hermione is coming. The password, remember, is ‘Bouquet’. Until you hear me say bouquet, don’t do anything except wait. Get it? Got it? Good,� Ginny said as she walked away through the portrait hole, her red hair flowing behind her.




Ron went and sat down on the couch in the Common Room and waited. He just imagined all of Hermione's possible reactions when she walks through the portrait hole. He didn’t have to wonder for long, because soon after, Ron heard Ginny outside. He heard her ask about Hermione's date with Draco. He knew she would say the password any moment, so he drew his wand and muttered, “Orchideous.� A bouquet of flowers sprang out from his wand.




He took his position the couch, and waited. He heard Ginny say the password.




“Oh, my date with Draco was great. Thank you for asking. I mean, I know we had that argument a few weeks ago, but he seems to really have come around. I still don’t believe your prat of a brother would kiss me like that. Either ways, I need to go get showered. I’m really tired, and I nice shower will wake me up.




Ron knew he had to act now. He pointed his wand at the bouquet sitting in his lap and said, “Wingardium Leviosa.� The flowers began to float the way that Ron moved his wand. He pointed his wand upwards and sent the flowers flowing towards Hermione.




“Oh, Ginny, look, I got flowers! They are probably from Draco, he’s so sweet!� Hermione exclaimed.




Ron sighed. He quickly cast a spell that began to draw out letters in the air.




Hermione, these flowers are not from Draco. But I love you all the same. –Ron.




When Hermione read this, she shrieked, “Ronald Bilius Weasley, get your arse over here this instant!"




Ron came out from behind the couch. “Yes, ‘Mione?� Hermione just stared at him in shock. She was seeing him in a way she had never seen him before. He looked really good looking. His eyes were warm and comforting. She suddenly relived the kiss with him in her mind. She then relived every kiss she had ever had with Draco. Even combined, every kiss she had ever experienced with Draco didn’t amount to the passion in Ron’s kiss. "And I just made my decision to stay with Draco," Hermione thought. Hermione quickly changed from upset to excited as she was unable to contain herself. She ran forward and began kissing Ron with a vigorous passion. Somewhere in the background, she heard a shriek of delight coming from Ginny. Hermione kept kissing Ron for as long as she could until the human need for oxygen won her over. Once she and Ron had broken apart, she looked at Ron. He stood there, grinning from ear to ear. “So,� Ron asked eagerly, “did I win your heart?�




Hermione grinned at him, and the same way she had done earlier with Draco, she chose to not answer and to passionately kiss him again.




*************




“Draco… I’m sorry. I really am. I had a great time with you the last few months, but I’m sorry,� Hermione finished explaining to Draco about her decision to break up.




“I knew it! You just dumped me and left for Ron! Didn’t you say only a few hours ago that you loved me? And that the kiss with Ron meant nothing? You dirty rotten WHORE! Yeah, you heard me, you whore! You just had a little fling with me until you had Ron! Is that all our relationship was to you? A FLING?� Draco yelled in an angry rage.




“No, Draco. It’s just, I realized, there is nothing between us anymore. Before I looked at you and saw my perfect boyfriend, but now I see you as someone who could never be more than a fellow student at Hogwarts.� Hermione explained exasperatedly. Draco grabbed Hermione’s face and began passionately kissing her.




“Don’t you feel anything?� Draco asked once they broke apart.




“No, I'm sorry. I don’t,� Hermione responded.




“Oi. Malfoy! Why were just kissing my girlfriend?� Ron asked as he walked over to where Hermione and Draco were arguing. Ron wrapped his arm around Hermione’s waist. Before even waiting for a response, he pulled out his wand. Pointing it at Draco, he said, “Stupefy,� and Draco fell on the spot.




“RON! We are in the Great Hall! You can't just go around stu—“Hermione began, before she was cut off by Ron’s lips grasping hers. Once they separated, they walked back to the Gryffindor table, hand in hand. Ginny smiled to herself, knowing she played a role in Ron and Hermione getting together. Once Ron and Hermione sat down, they began to snog each other senseless.




Draco woke up at this point. He saw Hermione kissing Ron. Dirty rotten whore. I can't believe she would break up with me! In the week before Valentine’s Day, at that. I had such extravagant plans. Dinner in that room that Harry held that group called Dumbledore’s Army in. There were going to be flowers. And dim lights. I was going to propose to her, and Ron had to go and ruin it all. Draco sighed, realizing that Hermione was lost to him, and that he would be lucky for them to ever be friends.