"Draco, where are we going?" She sounds exasperated. Good.

"You'll love it I promise. Just shush and we'll be there in a second!" He said it seriously, but he was grinning like a maniac while he did, luckily she was behind him, so she couldn't see the excitement and anticipation. Didn't need to ruin it by giving away just how much he wanted her to love this.

They were walking through the forbidden forest, something that Hermione Granger would never do normally, if it weren't for her incredibly stubborn boyfriend pulling her along, a pale hand on her wrist. It was humid and dark, two things that Hermione didn't like very much at all, and they were walking at a brisk pace. This may be something a relatively graceful Draco could handle, but bookworm Hermione had never been taught graceful. So there was a lot of stumbling on this spontaneous trip into the forest.

At least, it was spontaneous to Hermione Granger. To Draco Malfoy, it was an adventure he'd been planning for weeks. It had taken him much longer than he liked. He hadn't planned on it, but this was there last night before the end of term. Then they'd be going back to being Muggle-born Granger and Pureblood Malfoy. And he couldn't give it all up just yet, not for an entire summer. So he planned this.

"I'm going to turn around," Hermione piped in, interrupting the peaceful silence of the forest. "If you don't bloody hell tell me where we're-" And then they broke through the trees.

It was a small clearing Draco had discovered in third year. It was small, hardly any room at all, but it was enough. Enough for the small, clumsily put together tent to rest in while it waited for its master and mistress. "Draco, what?" Hermione asked, stopping at the edge of the clearing. Draco didn't look down; he couldn't stand to see the disappointment on her face. Suddenly, he was second-guessing everything he'd planned. A tent? Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of their age, would not be impressed by a tent. What was he doing?

He felt her drop his hand and move forward, though slowly. He couldn't see her face, and in her silence he wondered what she could be thinking. Silly Draco, he is so naïve to plan this. Oh Draco, what were you thinking? Did you really think that I would enjoy sitting out her in the hot, wet grass?

"It…It's a tent," he said stupidly, standing awkwardly where she'd left him. "I put it together so we could, you know, sit and chat." He winced at his words; he was just making this worse.

"Put it together. You mean…?"

"Yeah, without magic," he replied sheepishly. He stared at the grass, memorizing its every blade.

"Draco, you-" he looked up, surprised at the sudden fierocity in her voice, only to find a pair of arms wrapping themselves around his neck, a pair legs clinging to his waist, and a pair of lips smashing into his own.

He felt the whole world bubble up inside him and rupture, spilling every happy emotion anyone anywhere in the world has ever felt. He kissed her back with just as much passion, all the while wondering why the heck she was willing to put up with him. A god damned tent.

Just when his lungs were about to burst, she pulled away, but just enough so that they could breathe. She pressed her forehead to his, grinning and turning her head. Then she closed her eyes, resting in his arms. He felt her warmth seep into him, filling him.

"Draco, you are an insufferable idiot," she told him, not opening her eyes. He smiled, sensing her next words. "But I love you."

He smiled and nuzzled her cheek with his nose, forcing a giggle from her. "I love you too."

She opened her eyes, those beautiful, bright green eyes. Then she slid to the ground, still keeping her arms around his. "Without magic," she muttered, rolling her eyes. He rolled his in response and turned her, keeping his arms around her waist. They walked slowly, each admiring the tent and all its simplicity. It wasn't a real tent, just one made out of a Hogwarts bed sheet, held up by a wire that hung between two trees. Two more sheets were sewn to each side, one open to reveal piles of blankets and fluffy pillows, along with a lantern and two red boxes.

Draco ducked his head and stepped inside, settling in. He grabbed Hermione's open hand and pulled her into his lap, kissing her hair and pulling it back from her face, just like he always did. "Open it," he told her softly, nodding at one of the boxes." He could almost feel her raised eyebrows as she grabbed it and pulled off the top. Inside was a box of chocolates, but not the expensive ones that never taste good. This was a box of Honeydukes chocolates, and all of Hermione's favorites. She shook her head back and forth silently then leaned against him. She rested her head on his shoulder, turning her face to look at him. She didn't say anything, just smiled. He smiled back, kissing her forehead.

She turned to the next box. It was shorter, but thicker. When opened, this one contained a beautiful emerald green diary with a silver trim. A pattern of golden leaves were printed across the cover, shining in the golden light of the lantern. "What-"

"I know those probably aren't your favorite colors," he said quietly, "but this is a hand-me-down. I found it in the manor's attic a few years back, along with a matching one." She opened her mouth to speak, but he put a smooth finger over it. "It's enchanted. You write something in it, and it appears in the other diary. I figured this way we could have some way of communicating without having to worry about my father intercepting our owls-" He was cut off by passionate lips. This kiss was short but firm, a silent thank you.

"This is perfect," Hermione told him after a few minutes of serene silence. "And I love these colors," she added, pulling playfully at his Slytherin robes. "They remind me of you."

He kissed her forehead again, pulling her tight against him in an effort to get her as close to him as possible. He wanted her to be with him, be right here, in his arms, every day. It was unbearable, thinking of tomorrow. He couldn't stand the thought of watching that bushy hair disappear into the crowd of platform 9 ¾. He couldn't stand the thought of standing in the prefects' compartment, brushing tears from her cheeks and holding her as tight as he possibly could as the train pulls to a stop. Their last stop.

"Draco, what about-"

"Don't," he interrupted, burying his face in her hair. "Let's not talk about tomorrow or any day after that. Let's just focus on today. Right now." She nodded.

They sat in silence for a moment, their hands intertwined. Draco studied their hands together. His large hands were covering her petite ones, warming them and keeping them safe. Her arms lay over his as their hands rested on her stomach. He could feel the slow rise and fall of her body as she breathed quietly. He felt her bushy hair on his cheek, her head on his shoulder. It was a perfect moment.

Suddenly, she turned in his arms, knocking him to the ground. She pinned his arms down, crouching over him. In the shadowy light he saw tears sparkling in her eyes. It instantly brought tears to his.

"What's going to happen?" She demanded, her voice breaking several times. "Tomorrow, when we part. What'll become of this?"

He closed his eyes, blinking away the tears. "I don't know."

Surprisingly, he felt hot lips press to his. He didn't expect that reaction at all.

"What do you know, Draco?" She asked, resting her body on his and her head on his chest.

"I know I can't live without you anymore," he declares softly, truth ringing in every word. He wouldn't have thought it possible, but he'd fallen completely, irrevocably, in love with Hermione Granger.

"Your parents," she reminds me just as softly. I open my eyes.

"Hermione, there will always be people trying to stop this." I lift her face so that I can see her eyes. "My parents, Potter, Weasel."

"They're my friends, they wouldn't-"

"We're enemies, Hermione. Of course they would. They'll be revolted when they find out." He stops her from interrupting again. "But I don't care. I might have cared once, but this- this isn't going to stop just because Daddy says so. I won't let it. We may come from opposite houses, opposite backgrounds, but you aren't a mud-blood or a Gryffindor to me anymore. You're just Hermione."

He felt a tear fall onto his chest. "And you're just Draco."

"If we let what people say rule this, rule us, this will never work."

"I'm scared."

He sighed, pulling her closer. "I am too."

Then she pulls away, searching his face. "Run away with me?"

He sits up, shocked. "What?"

"Run away with me," she repeats, tears flowing down her face.

"But, your career- you want to be an auror! You have such big dreams, Hermione. How can any of that happen if we're running away?"

She shakes her head, grabbing his hand. "I don't care about all that. I want it to be you and me, that's it. The wars over, we've played our part. Who says we ever have to come back?"

"Hermione, you're talking crazy."

"I'm talking love. You know what'll happen to us. People will talk, try and break us up. Eventually, we'll resent each other for the disapproval that everyone shows us. It will all be over!"

He takes both of her hands in his. "Hermione, listen. You've been obsessed with being the best witch you can possibly be ever since I've known you. How can you give up everything you've ever wanted just for this?"

"Because I know this is it. I know that this where I want to be. I want to be with you, forever." She touches his cheek, sending goose bumps across his skin.

"No," he says, pushing himself to his knees and pulling her up with him. "Hermione, we can't do that. We can't run away. If we did, we'd resent each other for having to run away. We can't run from who we are."

He looks down, pulling out a small blue box. "Please, Hermione. Stay with me. Marry me. We can make this work. I promise. I'll never give up trying." He takes her hand, whispering, "marry me."

She stares at him for a long moment. Then she tackles him. "I suppose. But only if you promise to build me this tent in our backyard."

Draco's responding grin is huge. He loves the way her voice sounds when she says our backyard. "Anything," he tells her. "Anything, just stay with me."

She rolls her eyes playfully, watching him push the ring onto her finger. "Are you really doubting me so soon? Like it is even possible that I could even consider leaving you. I need you too much."

He pulls her face to his. "That's what I like to hear."

…

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