Setting: 6th year at Hogwarts, Draco (without the Dark Mark) is in the bathroom, stressed and upset. Someone other than Harry chances upon him. His mission (to kill Dumbledore is what will pull him into the Death Eater fold, he has to prove himself first, instead of already having the Mark). Hermione is greatly upset with Ron and Lavender dating and being very PDA about it (also having not made up at this point). Edit 2/18/2016 going through and editing this before working on the next chapter, never really had a beta for this story and this was my first ever fanfic so I'm sure it needs work!

Edit 2-24-16 -only changed marginal things, fixed errors, spiced up some sentences, etc. I'm not changing the core of the story AT ALL, just... it has been a few years since I wrote the beginning of this and wow, I sure have changed a lot. So I decided to update it just a bit =) feel free to re-read if you want, or just wait a bit for the new chapter =D

Hermione needed to find a quiet space to gather her wits after seeing Ron and Lavender kissing in the stairway. She wiped her eyes and suddenly thought of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Since Myrtle still occupied the bathroom she figured she'd have the place to herself. She hurried over and pushed her way in, glad to be away from prying eyes. As the door closed, she heard someone else sobbing, someone that wasn't Myrtle. Hermione slowly walked further into the bathroom, peeking around the corner to see someone leaning over the sink. She inadvertently sniffled loudly, startling the person at the sink, who raised his tear-streaked eyes to look into her own. It was none other than Malfoy staring back at her; she felt her jaw drop in shock, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Malfoy quickly reached up his sleeve and pulled out his wand, sparking Hermione to pull hers out defensively.

"What are you doing in here?" Draco demanded.

"This is a girl's bathroom if you haven't noticed, you're the one that doesn't belong in here," Hermione retorted through her tears.

Draco stared at her, unsure of what to do, he couldn't stand to have her see him like this, of all people to walk through that door, it had to be her. He slowly lowered his wand and pulled his sleeve across his eyes, "Go away Hermione, please" he said softly.

Hermione started to turn away, putting her wand back in her robes. She didn't need to deal with him right now, and if he didn't want conflict, all the better. She was about to grab the handle when she suddenly stopped, head turning back. "What did you say?"

"I said go away, don't focus too much on the 'please' part."

"No, I'm not concerned about the 'please' part," Hermione said, taking a few steps toward him, "You called me Hermione. You have never called me that, it's always been Granger, at your most polite."

Malfoy turned away from her, unsure of what to say to her, he wasn't ready for this, wasn't prepared to see her like this. He took a steadying breath. "Okay, I called you by your name, so what? I'm clearly not myself right now. You're upset by something too so let's both just go our separate ways and pretend this never happened, sound good?"

Hermione just looked at him, daring to take another step closer. This wasn't like Malfoy at all, to be so exposed, to not be making fun of her, or casting spells. She wasn't sure what to say, after all these years of seeing him as a self-centered, arrogant pure-blood, it was unexpected to see him so vulnerable.

"Draco…?"

Hearing her say his name like that, his heart skipped a beat, he held his breath. Slowly he turned to look into her eyes, heart beating faster.

"W-what?" his voice caught.

"What's wrong? Why are you upset, holed up in the girl's bathroom?"

"I can't tell you Hermione, it doesn't concern you and it wouldn't be fair of me to pull you into it," Draco said. As they stood there, he began taking in the details of her face, shocked that she even approached him in the first place.

"You can tell me Draco… for some reason, seeing you like this… it makes me want to help you," she blurted out suddenly, totally aware of how sunken in his cheeks were, showing just how much stress he'd been under the past few months. It wasn't like him to look so disheveled… Hermione bit her lip to stop it from trembling; just being this close to him made her heart flutter.

"There's so much going on in my life right now, everything feels like it's falling apart, my dad is in jail, which you know, there are… people harassing my family, and I've been tormented by something for going on six years now and I still have no idea what to do about it," Draco finally confessed in a rush.

"Well I'm not much better, I've had things thrown in my face all year and I'm beyond stressed with all of this nonsense," Hermione shared, exasperated, her voice starting to crack. She knew she had no reason to be so mad at Ron for his new relationship but… just seeing him and Lavender kissing all the time, it hurt. It made the fact that she was agonizingly single that much more obvious!

Draco heard her voice crack as she dropped her gaze. He wanted to reach up and stroke her cheek but held his hand by his side. He had no right to touch her, he knew that.

"Hermione, I-I can't stand to see you like this, don't cry," he pleaded.

"Why does it matter to you? You've never cared before," Hermione said, turning her head away.

"I-I've always cared Hermione, I've always felt… something for you, something I couldn't quite explain. When I first saw you at Hogwarts, I was intrigued by you- you were so smart, knowing all these things about Hogwarts that I never cared to know. But then I found out that you had Muggle parents and my stomach dropped. Being Muggle-born meant you probably wouldn't be sorted into Slytherin like I was… and of course you got sorted into Gryffindor of all Houses, our rivals. With all the hostilities that were ingrained in me, I never got the chance to meet you on good terms. Of course, everyone else in Slytherin learned you were Muggle-born pretty quickly, many of them jealous of how smart you were, so I felt trapped- I couldn't just come up and say hi to you. I wanted to so badly… but every time I saw you, I froze, unsure of what to say… and Crabbe and Goyle were always there so I couldn't say anything that they'd tell my father," Draco explained, pausing a moment, looking ashamed. His reasons sounded so pathetic, now that he'd finally voiced them aloud. She was probably going to laugh in his face, tell him how stupid he was…

Hermione's jaw dropped, surprised at this confession. This was the farthest thing she had expected, she didn't even really believe he meant it. She couldn't let herself believe he meant it- this was a trick! Somehow… he'd found out about her secret crush on him. Hermione hadn't told a soul, fearing the added ridicule but she must have slipped up somewhere. And now he was trying to con her into admitting her feelings, that… that had to be what was happening here. Hermione didn't stop to think about the fact that Draco had no way of knowing that she'd seek refuge in the bathroom.

"I… I said all these horrible things to you over the years, such horrible things. Each time I wanted to curse myself, here I was, trying to plan some way to meet you privately but every time I opened my mouth I said all the wrong things- I kept digging myself deeper into a hole! I made you hate me with my words and actions. I have no one to blame but myself," he finished, his voice catching, tears building in his eyes. He was still afraid to look at her, to see the hate in her eyes even now.

Hermione shook her head slightly, unwilling to believe what she was hearing. The anguish on his face seemed so real, so heart wrenching. She felt her face growing red at his confession, at hearing those words spoken to her. She knew she should hate Draco- she had always pretended to dislike him, but she could never bring herself to truly feel that way. She had always been drawn to him, he seemed so self-assured, positive of his place in this world, something that she lacked in herself. She knew his arrogant ways were the result of his upbringing and couldn't fault him for it, hoping deep down that he'd realize the world was more than black and white one day. His words were chipping away are her walls, her hardened shell of protection she'd built against him. Could she risk believing him?

Draco slowly raised his eyes back to Hermione's, studying her face, trying to read her thoughts. "Hermione, I know you probably think I'm lying, and I don't blame you, but please, give me a chance to show you that I'm not the person you think I am. Give me a chance to show you that I care for you, that I can fight the bigotry that my father instilled in me. This past year has changed a lot of things for me, and one of them is realizing that life is too uncertain to keep your feelings locked away inside," begged Draco, tears falling from his eyes. It was now or never, he knew this would be his only chance to tell her the truth. He just prayed she'd believe him.

Hermione remained silent, unsure of what to say, of how to feel. She felt her heart beating erratically from being this close to him, her cheeks still flushed from the confession. Before she could think of anything to say, Draco dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Hermione, you are the smartest person I know, you are so loyal and brave, standing by your friends' side through everything. For years now, I wanted to be the one by your side, sharing your battles, smiling at you, knowing that together we survived the year. But it never came to be, and I at least need to tell you all of this before it's too late for me. I'm sorry, so very sorry, for everything I've said and done to you in the past. Please, if you won't give me a chance, at least try to forgive me, even a little."

"Draco, please stand up, I-I-" stammered Hermione, at a loss for words.

Draco slowly stood up, looking into her face, seeing the indecision in her eyes. He took a small step forward, now only a foot away from her. Hermione was looking up at him, staring into his eyes. She brought a hand to her lips, not trusting herself to say the right thing. Draco could see her hesitation, so instead of waiting for her to speak, he asked a simple question.

"Do you think, you could ever give me a chance to show you the new me?"

Hermione knew in her heart what she wanted to say but her brain screamed no, what would Harry say? She closed her eyes and looked deep into herself, hoping to find the right words. She opened her eyes, not thinking of what to say but trusting her feelings to guide her.

"I- I won't say no, but I can't fully commit to yes either… I think," Hermione paused, taking a deep breath. She saw Draco's eyes widen just a bit, unsure whether or not her next statement was going to be good. "I think if I were to make any decision, it would first require that you ask me on a date, a real date, not a chance meeting in a bathroom." Hermione offered a soft smile, eyes downcast, unable to look him in the eye. Now it came down to him and what he would do.

Draco couldn't believe what he'd just heard, she hadn't quite agreed to forgiving him, or giving him a chance, but at least telling him he had an opportunity to try. Hermione turned slowly and started to walk away. Draco felt his heart drop, watching her walk away like this- he didn't want it to end on that note. He started after her, reaching out for her.

Hermione felt his hand close softy around her wrist, gently turning her back towards him. She felt her eyes gaze upward of their own accord, searching out his grey eyes. She felt his free hand come up and stroke her cheek and her knees started trembling. Draco lowered his head, meeting her lips with his in a soft kiss. His hand moved from her cheek to the back of her neck, gently cupping her head; his other hand released her wrist and wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. Hermione lost herself in the kiss, her arms wrapping around his back, grabbing hold of his shoulders. Draco gently backed her up against the door, letting go of her head, pressing his palm against the door. Their kiss deepened, both of them forgetting their past and wanting the now. Draco pressed his hips into Hermione's, silently telling her how much he wanted her. Hermione gasped, surprised by Draco's actions and he took that moment to gently brush his tongue against her lower lip. She met his tongue with hers, pulling him closer, running her hand through his hair, moaning softly, arching her back.

Hermione flicked her eyes open and quickly shifted her weight, turning them both, Draco now pressed against the door. She gently bit his lower lip and pulled away from the kiss, shocked at her own boldness; she was feeling much better.

Draco opened his eyes, shocked at how that small nibble sent tingles down his spine. He looked to her face and saw her biting her lip, and he couldn't believe how adorable she was. He looked at her lips, wanting to taste them again, wanting to hold her tight, to feel her heart beating as fast as his. He smiled at her, hoping she'd smile back. And she did, dropping her gaze, feeling embarrassed but she couldn't stop smiling at what they'd just done. Hermione leaned into Draco, her head tilting up, finding his ear. "Draco, don't forget, a real date and soon," she whispered softly.

Draco rubbed his cheek against her hair, breathing in deep, savoring the smell of her. He felt her kiss his neck and start to pull away; he leaned against the door to stop her from leaving. He reached out, lifting her chin with his fingers, softly kissing her lips one last time.

"I promise Hermione, it will be soon. Now no more crying, your face is too beautiful to show anything but happiness. Smile, I'm here for you now, whenever you need me."

Draco stepped away from the door, allowing her to leave. He held the door slightly ajar, watching her leave. She quickly glanced back, wanting to make sure he was still there, that it was all real. Draco was there, watching her go, a smile on his face, matching the smile on hers.