Context: Hermione was in her 6th year and is becoming slightly stressed out by her examinations. Her mind is cluttered and there is one thing that is particularly bothering her. That is the existence of a certain blonde haired pureblood...
Hermione was sick to death of her thoughts being so clustered and crammed. She needed a break from everything. The one thing that was making the whole ordeal that bit more stressful for Hermione is the fact that she just couldn't stop thinking about Draco Malfoy. If Ron knew how much he was on her mind, he would most likely turn his back. It was highly unusual that Hermione had a huge crush on the person who hated her very existence, who shamed her time and time again by branding her "mudblood". Truth be told, she was slightly ashamed of herself. Trust her to fall for the one person who wasn't worth the time of day... She sighed and carried herself out of the main doors and into the school grounds, her feet naturally taking the pathway to the black lake. She needed solstice, peace.
She finally reached the lake, stretched out in the June sun and sighed. It felt like the world was on her shoulders. Harry had become increasingly stressed too, and Ron wasn't helping with the whole Lavender Brown situation. It was utterly barbaric the way they displayed their affection in public. Hermione took off her jumper, rolled up her sleeves and rested against the giant oak situated on the lake side. She was just finding peace when approaching footsteps warned her of company. She sighed again, opened her eyes and froze. It was none other than Draco, standing there and smirking.
Hermione immediately sat up.
"D..Draco..." she stammered. "What brings you here? L..Last time I checked, you absolutely loathed me?" She added in utter confusion.
"Valid point, I'm here to ask you to help me with my potions work." He said, dropping his bag down and sitting a distance away. Hermione's heart was in her stomach. She was dumbstruck.
"Why should I help you Draco?" She said. Saying his name gave Hermione a thrill.
"Okay, lets not ignore the elephant in the room Granger. I am trying to improve my relations with certain students. Lets just say, alliances on the other side could come in handy" He smirked.
"The other side, what do you mean-" Hermione started but Draco interrupted.
"Don't worry about that. Forget it, if you won't help then..." He made a start to walk away but Hermione grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.
"Stay." She said. "I will help."
Draco stared at her fist clutching his wrist, and sat back down; making no effort to shake her off. Cheeks glowing red in embarrassment, she quickly withdrew her hand and stared into her lap.
"Okay mudblood, I'm going to be straight with you" Draco said. Hermione's heart sunk.
"I refuse to help if you will call me mudblood every time you address me..." Hermione said in disappointment.
"Okay, sorry." Draco said. "But seriously, I want to be frank with you. I have a question. Quite a simple one... I don't really need your help with potions. Slughorn may be teaching but Snape can still slip me extra credit if needs be. I want to ask, why do I keep catching you staring Miss Granger." Draco finished, sly smile sneaking onto his face. Hermione blushed furiously.
"I don't understand..." Hermione started, but Draco shushed her and moved closer.
"I think you do understand Granger. You understand perfectly..." He said, voice turning husky.
"What-" Hermione began, but the space between the two closed and she was silenced by Draco's lips on hers. She was in shock, and didn't quite know how to react. All to soon, Draco broke away, unsure look in his eyes.
"I shouldn't have done that" Draco said, his previous actions sinking in. He got up again but was stopped. Hermione pulled him back down and put her remaining energy into kissing Draco. His hand moved into her hair and they were lost in a moment of bliss. After some time, they pulled away, breathless.
"This won't work Hermione" Draco said, sadly. He looked around wildly in case somebody saw, but the surrounding area was abandoned.
"It could. I don't understand..." Hermione repeated.
"I must admit, I am jealous of your intelligence. It's rather hard admitting this aloud. If anyone knew, I would lose everything. You see, I hated you at first. But in our third year, something changed. I started to fall in love with the mudblood. Everything you did, mesmerised me. It sounds crazy, you won't believe me. But I just need you to know. I think I love you, Hermione..." Draco gushed. Hermione didn't know quite what to say. She just sat there, looking at Draco, the boy who seemed galaxies away not minutes ago.
"I don't know what to do... Harry and Ron would accuse me of working with the enemy. I must admit, I feel something, a bond. But I don't know what to do... I need time!" Hermione cried. Without further ado, she grabbed her bag and darted from the lake, from Draco. Her mind was reeling but she was gleeful!
"What just happened!" Hermione exclaimed to herself, walking through the main doors and back up to the dormitory.
Draco watched Hermione run back up to the castle and smiled to himself. She had left her jumper behind. He picked it up and folded it, knowing it was another excuse to see her again. He smiled to himself but felt bad... She was a nice girl, pretty. He didn't mean to lead her on, but it had to be done. It was all a part of his crucial plans. However, as much as he convinced himself it was for the best, he couldn't help but get pangs of sorrow when he thought about what he was doing... Was he developing real feelings for her? What would his father say!