DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters of Harry Potter. We all know that they belong to the wonderful, and fabulous J.K. ROWLING. For if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be writing this.
AS MUCH AS I NEED YOU
Hermione Granger sat in the library carefully going over what she read in her Arithmancy textbook. Scattered across the mahogany oak, were various books of sorts that the bookworm was sure were going to be on the NEWTs exams. She nodded her head, understanding the concept of the missing variables in the algebraic terms. She loved Arithmancy especially since it was almost the same as Mathematics, which was taught to her in her muggle school.
Taking a look at her watch, she frowned when she saw that it was 5:00 p.m. Dinner had already started; heaving a heavy sigh she packed all her belongings into her book bag. Once done she picked the bag up and slung it over her shoulder. She winced at the weight of the leather garment. Her heavy feet trudged towards the Heads Common Room. Sluggishly, she threw the bag onto one of the couches and hurriedly walked to the Great Hall.
Upon her arrival she scowled as her eyes landed onto the pair of mates, which were jovially laughing together. Oh, how fast time flew. Especially since the Golden Trio became the Golden Duo. A hurt look graced her face as she walked towards the ends of the table. The Head Girl took a seat next to a first year student who squeaked and moved slightly away from her.
Hermione was used to the actions she received by the Gryffindors. They had all turned their backs on her. Of course the only reason why they'd done this was because they'd find out that Harry and Ron were no longer on speaking terms with her. Well, more like when they found out that Harry had turned his back on her. It had all started last summer…
(- - -)
"I expect you hate me," he said quietly, his foot twitching slightly waiting for her response.
"No, I don't hate you."
His head instantly snapped towards her. He watched as her willowy figure hunched over, realising her words for the first time.
"You don't —"
"No, I don't," she raised her head. Her honey brown eyes shown with salty tears. "Its not your fault," she continued. "You were under orders." The girl hiccoughed, and stood up. Her hands rubbed her upper arms, trying to get warm. "I'm glad you didn't go through with it though, because if you did Merlin knows that I would Avada you at this very second."
The boy chuckled slightly in spite of the situation. "I'm glad that I didn't then," he answered softly.
His tender grey eyes shifted to the floor once he noticed that she was staring at him with those intense eyes. 'Stop staring at me,' he thought.
"Why?"
He looked at her questioningly. Why what? There were so many questions that could be asked with that word. Why had he betrayed his father? Why didn't he follow through with Voldemort's orders? Why did he suddenly change? Why had he turned soft? Even he couldn't answer half of the questions that ran through his head.
"Why what?" he asked, watching her stand next to the window. The suns rays shone down on her through the glass, making her features look even more enchanting.
"Why did you do it?" she asked. She let down her arms, and strode towards him slowly. "Why didn't you kill my parents like Voldemort asked?"
The male shook his head, and ran his hand through his sleek blond tresses. "Why is it important?"
"Because," she answered, "you saved them. At least you gave them a little more time to live."
He looked at her; he would've thought that she would hate him. Hate him with every fibre in her body, especially since he was sent to kill her parents. Yet, he hadn't. His father had, simply because he was enraged with his sons failed attempt.
"I don't know," he finally answered sighing. "They both looked so horror stricken. There I was, standing in the standard black robes. With that hideous silver mask, with slits for eyes, and nose holes for me to breathe. They were both begging me not to kill them. Your father… he was brave. He took out some muggle contraption, and it made such a huge deafening sound."
"I walked closer, and destroyed the muggle thing in his hand. I then looked at your mother. Merlin, did you know she looked a hell of a lot like you?" The girl smiled at his comment. "She was you, you in an older version. I than saw you, saw you standing in front of me. You were blubbering all incoherent things like she was. Than she said, 'Please, I want to live. I want to see my baby girl one more time, please just let me live.'
"That got me. I put down my wand, and told them they should hide. I owled Dumbledore, though the owl got intercepted. That was when my father showed up. He looked completely enraged. I had never seen him like that. He Avada'd them on the spot; he took no pity on them. No, he just killed them. I apparated in time to avoid the curse. I went straight to Dumbledore. Well, here I am now aren't I? I can't go back to the Manor. My mother is probably in danger from my father…"
He stopped, he couldn't continue any longer. He held in a sob, not wanting to look weak in front of her.
"Well, the rest of the Slytherins are either fatherless, Death Eaters, or Spies for Dumbledore. Slytherins are only help themselves, so they go for the winning side. So you would guess which side they're on right? Dumbledore's. I doubt any of their fathers or mothers who are Death Eaters of Voldemort can escape Voldemort now."
"D--"
"You don't need to express your pity for me, thanks."
The girl shook her head, suddenly smiling up at him. From her standing position in front of him, she could see his eyes shining with unspent tears. "I wasn't going to do that," she said.
Shocked eyes met hers; he frowned and stood up to face her.
"Then what were you going to do?"
"What could I do? Or say even? I can't tell you that everything is going to be fine, because its not. I can't tell you sorry because your father is horrible, since you already know that. I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for giving my parents some hope at least. Merlin, I'm forever in your debt."
He grabbed her by her shoulders. She felt a jolt run through her body, and she unexpectedly enjoyed the feeling. Suddenly everything in the room became rapid blurs, as the hands on her shoulders shook her vigorously.
"Are you out of your mind woman?" he growled at her. "Forever in my debt? I couldn't save your parents! I stood there, stood there like a blundering idiot! Watching my father kill them! And you say thank you?" he cried incredulously.
The girl shrugged, and nodded her head. Abruptly she embraced him in a hug. The boy stood there, shocked to the core. He had never been hugged. Only his mother hugged him, but … this was different. Slowly, he slid his arms around her tiny waist. He closed his eyes in bliss, loving the way she felt against him. She pulled her head away from the crook of his neck, to look at him.
She stared at his surprisingly cool grey eyes. Her gaze travelled from: his eyes, to his nose, to his lips. She had to keep from biting her own, as she noticed the arch in his upper lip, and the part from his full bottom lip and his upper one. Unable to control herself any longer, she went on tiptoe, and kissed him soundly on the lips.
He stood there in astonishment, incapable to comprehend what was happening. Finally getting a grip of himself before she pulled away, he kissed her back. His lips were moving with hers. He slid his tongue against her bottom lip. She hesitatingly separated her lips. She gasped inaudibly as she felt something warm slip into her mouth.
His ears met a groan of pleasure as he flicked his tongue on one of her teeth. They didn't pay heed to the noise that was slowly approaching them.
"Malfoy? Hermione?"
The two jumped apart to see two furious faces of Harry and Ron.
(- - -)
Well that was the last time Harry and Ron decided to talk to her. After catching she and Draco snogging. 'Since when did he become Draco?' She shook her head, and continued poking at her pasta.
The two didn't talk to each other after what had transpired. Though this had immensely pleased Ron and Harry, they still felt angry towards her. What more did they want from her? She had avoided Draco's feeble attempts to contact her. She ignored his looks that he had sent her. She ignored his comments whenever she came into the Common Room. She ignored the ache in her heart whenever she heard the sounds of sex coming from the other bedroom.
She disregarded her feelings for him. The two people, whom she had considered her best mates, had turned their backs on her. While she turned her back on the one thing that brought her happiness in the middle of her pain. Unable to concentrate on eating any longer, she slammed her fork onto the wood and left the Great Hall. She missed the concerned look that Harry and Ron shot each other. As well as the curious look that Draco had on his face as she left.
- - -
Draco looked up hearing a faint noise come from the Gryffindor Table. His sensitive ears had picked up the sound of Hermione Granger; slamming her fork onto the oak wood. He frowned as she instantly left the Great Hall in a hurry. He glanced at her plate to see that she had barely eaten. He repressed a sigh, not even bothering to get up from his place.
He knew the girl would ignore him if he decided to follow her. There was no point in following someone who would shun you.
Then what is the point of loving someone if they reject your love?
Oh yeah, he Draco Malfoy, had fallen in love. He didn't think that it was possible, yet it had happened. He didn't know how, but he knew when he had fallen for her. It was when she had kissed him back at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. 'Stupid Mudblood,' he thought as he popped a piece of steak into his mouth. He chewed the piece of meat in his mouth thinking about her. Yet, since when had he even stopped thinking of her?
The image of Hermione's face was just drilled into his mind. At first he thought it was just lust. He could've dealt with that, yet it somehow felt stronger. Realising that it wasn't lust he figured it was just a crush, and that it would dissipate in a few weeks. All right so it didn't turn out as a crush any longer, it turned out to be infatuation. He scratched that out, in the third month since their encounter he realised that it wasn't infatuation it was love.
Merlin, how he hated that word. It was her fault. Her fault that he felt this way! Stabbing his fork and knife into his half eaten steak he got up from his position from the Slytherin House Table, and left. He left the Great Hall, and walked towards the Heads Common Room. He didn't notice two specific figures leave a few seconds after him.
- - -
Hermione picked up her heavy book bag and placed it near her desk in the common room. Sighing, she sat at the desk. Folding her arms across the desk, and laying her head in the little space between her body and her arms, she thought about her life. She thought about what had happened so far, and what was yet to come. The future, wow that was a scaring thing. Not knowing what was to happen next. She could die within the next few seconds with all of it being totally unexpected. Knocking on her wooden desk softly, she laughed at how superstitious she was.
She heard the entrance of the common room open and close. Hermione knew that it was Draco who had entered. There was no need for her to turn around to see if she was right. Hermione felt her hands start to shake as she heard him come closer towards her. Her hands gripped onto the sleeves of her school robes; hoping it could keep her steady.
"Hermione," she heard him call out to her.
She closed her eyes willing him to go away. He didn't, she would have heard his footsteps shift.
Draco wanted her to look at him. Just to feel, or to be acknowledged by her honey brown eyes. The very intense ones, which had made him weak at the knees during their last encounter. The eyes that had lured him into telling his tale of how he refused to kill her parents.
(- - -)
Draco slammed open the door to the house. He saw two figures rushing towards him; looking awestruck to find him there. He stood there, his black robes billowing in the motionless wind.
"W-what do you want?" a man with curly brown hair questioned.
"You dead."
He watched as the man pulled out some sort of muggle contraption, which he knew nothing about. He stood still in the awkward silence; watching the stout man pull on a trigger. He moved quickly, as a little piece of metal appeared out of the hole of the device.
"Clever," Draco said watching the horrified look of the muggles in front of him. "Not clever enough." The Slytherin pointed his wand at the appliance. "Evaporta!"
The man watched aghast as his little device; disappeared in front of his eyes. Draco then turned on the woman, whom was blubbering incoherent things.
"Any last words?" Draco questioned with an unseen smirk placed upon his lips.
"Please," the woman snivelled. "Let me live, I need to see her. I need to see Hermione before I die. I need to see my baby girl before I die! Let me see her one last time!"
Draco's eyes widened at the sudden mention of the little Mudblood. Draco lowered his wand and said in a quiet voice, "Quick! You better hide while I call for reinforcements to get you out of here."
The muggles didn't know what he had meant, but he said a quick locking charm. "I'm not going to harm you, I'm going to take you to your daughter."
(- - -)
Draco moved closer towards the girl. He watched as her grip on her school robes tightened. His heart felt like it was to break any moment. Seeing her scared of him was the worse thing to see. Watching the girl you love with every fibre in your being look so scared of you. His hand reached out for her. Hermione turned around to see Draco with his hand stretching out towards her.
Draco cowered and pulled his hand back automatically. Merlin, she was staring at him again. Those eyes … DAMN IT! He didn't falter at her gaze though, even if he felt like his knees turn into jelly. He closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again this time, with the same kind of intensity.
Hermione felt herself crumble at his steely gaze. His eyes were so unbelievably beautiful. How could someone so beautiful, be so cruel at the same time?
"Don't look at me that way," she whispered.
"In what way?" Draco asked silently. He wished that she would just stand up from that damned chair. He blinked profusely, when she had gotten up. The fates must be on his side. Though she didn't go towards him, nope, she quickly tried to go to her dormitory.
Snapping back into his senses, Draco promptly snatched her wrist. He watched as a shiver travelled down her back at the sudden contact of skin. Thankful that there was no desk between the walls that she was close to, he shoved her against it.
"Don't you dare walk away from me," he whispered into her ear.
Hermione felt something bubble within her chest, but instantly pushed that emotion away. She tried to jerk her hand away from his grasp, but it only made him hold onto her tighter. Making her gasp at the sudden sensation.
"Look at me Hermione," Draco commanded staring down at her face. His grip loosened slightly, but not enough for her to escape.
Hermione didn't pay any heed to his command. She just kept looking at the ground. This made Draco even more frustrated. He bent her arm behind her back; making her twist and scream in agony. Her burning eyes dared to look at him; her eyes were flashing with rage as she watched his cool façade.
"Let me go," Hermione cried in frustration as she watched him shake his head. "You bastard!"
"Thanks, but I know who my father is," he replied.
Draco grabbed her other hand, which was holding onto the hem of her skirt. He squeezed her wrist, and lifted it so that her arm was straight and above her head. He opened her hand, and then he enveloped his fingers around her outer palm. He felt some sort of bubble of emotion, as she did the same with him.
"I hate you."
Draco chuckled to himself looking at his feet. "You don't," he said suddenly. Hermione's eyes widened at his sudden declaration.
"What do you mean, 'I don't?'" she growled. "How the hell would you know?"
Draco pressed his body against hers to keep her from struggling. "I do," he answered, "I just do."
Hermione felt her knees go weak, as he nuzzled his nose in her hair. Biting her lip so that she wouldn't utter a sound, she struggled again.
"Your struggling is fruitless, my beautiful Mudblood."
"Sod off."
The mood suddenly changed as Draco looked at her again. She looked defiant, all of a sudden. He pulled her from the wall a bit, before slamming her against it again. Her head lulled to the side before it straightened to look at him. Draco swore he could see hurt somewhere in her eyes, before it flashed with fury.
"Why?" he questioned silently.
"Why what?" she shot back, her voice soft not filled with anger.
'Don't look at me like that,' she thought to herself. 'Don't look at me with that hurt expression. Don't, Draco…'
"Why did you suddenly stop talking to me? Why did you start ignoring me? Why?"
Hermione shook her head, as the Slytherin fired a ton of questions at her. She couldn't answer those questions.
"I--" she cut herself off before starting again. "Draco, I ju--" Hermione stopped talking. She couldn't explain herself to him. She couldn't even put what had happened into words, so how was she supposed to explain what had happened?
"I'll tell you what happened." Draco watched as she turned shocked eyes to look at him. "You were scared," he declared. "You didn't want Potter and Weasley to leave you. They did, even after what had happened in July. They blamed you for turning against them. They blamed you because you turned to their enemy instead of turning to them."
Hermione blinked back tears, he was getting the best of her. She couldn't allow that to happen. She couldn't allow herself to look weak in front of him.
"You were scared to lose everything else in your life." Draco's voice turned soft. "Yet, you failed to notice that you lost everything," Draco continued his little rant, "When you lost me. You knew Hermione. You knew that you did lose everything."
The girl looked at him, as if he had gone completely insane.
"Don't look at me like that," Draco's pleading voice reached her ears.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Draco," Hermione finally replied. "Please, let me go."
Draco shook his head rebelliously; his eyes were filled with rage. "No. I will not let you go, never."
"I'd advise you to let me go," said Hermione her voice trembling.
"Why?" Draco asked.
"Because."
"You don't get it do you?" Draco said, his voice rising with every single word. "You don't get the fact, that I actually care about you!"
Hermione's mouth had gone dry she blinked rapidly. Her ears were ringing, not believing what she had just heard.
"Bloody hell!" Draco felt himself shaking. He squeezed her hand, remembering their position.
"Draco let me go!" Hermione cried, tears suddenly poured from her eyes.
Draco felt his heart break slightly seeing as he was the one who made her cry. Using his hand that was wrapped around hers, he brought both down, and wiped the tears.
"Don't cry," he whispered.
Hermione flinched at his touch, which caused him to look taken aback. He let go of her, and stepped away. She flinched at his touch…
He looked at his hands, a look of horror plastered on his face. 'She was scared of me,' his thoughts ran blindly through his head. 'She's scared of my touch…'
"D-Draco?" Hermione called, looking at the boy concerned.
Draco looked up at her his eyes looking pained. He watched as she approached him cautiously. He held his hands out preventing her from coming closer.
"Don't come closer," he said. "You're scared… scared of my touch."
"No, Draco…"
His eyes brightened somewhat. 'She wasn't?' Was he just over reacting?
He straightened up slightly.
"You caused me pain."
Hermione's eyes widened in astonishment. The interaction between them was becoming stranger and stranger with each passing second.
"Excuse me?"
Draco shook his head, and sat on the nearest couch. Hermione sat next to him, suddenly intrigued with what the boy had to say.
"Its your fault, its all your bloody fault!" he said.
"Draco, what's my fault?" questioned Hermione, confused with the boy's rants.
Draco rubbed his hands over his black dress pants. He turned his head to the side, to look at her. The cause of his pain, the cause of the swell in his chest. He closed his eyes momentarily, before opening them once more. Draco looked into those passionate eyes, which he had first fallen in love with.
"Ever since I saw you so strong in Grimmauld, I couldn't help but feel respect for you. Well, you could say that the respect didn't stop there. After you kissed me-" Draco breathed deeply, "It seemed so real. At first, I thought it was just lust. Lust, I could deal with…"
"Then it turned into some sort of a crush. I figured, 'Heck, I could deal with this.'" Draco ran a hand through his silver, blond tresses. "Then, it turned into some sort of obsession. Once we were back at Hogwarts I stalked you."
Hermione felt an uneasy feeling at his last sentence. He stalked her?
"I stalked you because I knew you needed to be safe. Since Potter and Weasley had deserted you after what had transpired between us, I couldn't trust anyone to see that you would be kept safe. So I took it upon myself. I stalked you, made sure you got to classes safe." Draco sighed and leaned back into the couch. He lulled his head backwards, and ran his palms down his face.
"I figured something out. After I had to stop stalking you, making sure you were okay since I got into a lot of detentions. I saw myself; falling. Falling into a huge, black hole.
"The image of your face was completely drilled into my mind. I could tell anyone off the bat how you looked like. From your bushy hair, to your fair complexion, to your slightly pointed nose, and to your full pink lips. I thought I was going insane. I thought, that the only way to get rid of you was to take it out on other people. By people I meant girls. I took girls to my bed, you know, had fun with them. When it came time to actually getting down to business, I couldn't. I would just send them out of my room.
"I couldn't even enjoy spending time with my mates anymore because of you! Merlin, I just kept falling into this huge hole. I kept digging, and digging, and digging. I found myself thinking about our last encounter back in the summer. I thought about it a lot. And I figured something out."
Hermione inhaled deeply, not wanting to know what it was he had figured out. Yet, there was something about the whole entire situation, which made her want to know.
"You taught me there was more to life, than bitterness and lies. You taught me, how to live again."
The feeling of being stunned coursed through Hermione's entire being. She taught him how to live again? How? Was that even possible?
"Then, it was snatched away from me, just like that." Draco snapped his fingers; showing her how fast she had taken away his only happiness, his only reason for living.
Draco stood up, suddenly outraged. He couldn't look at her any longer.
"How dare you!" Draco cried spinning around to face her shocked expression. "How dare you, walk into my life showing me that I could live again!" He pointed his finger accusingly at her. "That's not even possible now. I don't think I could live again, and that's all your fault."
He dropped his hand, and turned away from her. Realising that he just poured out his whole heart to her. Hermione chewed on her bottom lip before standing up. She made a move to go to her dormitory.
Draco turned around at that exact moment, and pulled on her wrist spinning her around to face him. Her arm was again against her back. His arm draped around her waist.
"Tell me," he whispered in a pleading voice. "Tell me that you need me," he growled, "just as much as I need you."
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. 'I do need you,' she thought. She couldn't admit that, she still needed to get back into Harry and Ron's good graces. By getting together with Draco, it would be the total opposite of what they wanted.
"I love you," Draco suddenly confessed. "Tell me that you love me too."
Draco didn't know what had possessed him to say that. Somewhere, deep down there, he had a feeling that she wouldn't reject him. He knew that she cared about him, and there was no way he was going to leave this room without Hermione confessing to him as well.
Hermione shook her head, and jerked away from him. "Don't flatter yourself Draco," she said in a cold voice that she didn't know she could muster. "Get your head out of the clouds and stop dreaming. I could never love you."
Hermione ran into the recesses of her dormitory. She flung herself onto her bed and cried herself to sleep.
- - -
Harry and Ron took the Extendable Ears out from their ears. They both looked at each other. It was their fault that they caused both Malfoy and Hermione unhappiness. The two sullenly walked back to the Gryffindor Tower.
"We…did that to them mate," Ron said finally once he was in his bed.
Harry sighed into his pillow. "We're such arses."
"I think…we should talk to 'Mione tomorrow," Ron said suddenly.
Harry sat up in his bed to face Ron. "I think we should."
- - -
Draco sat on the couch in the Heads Common Room. Not taking his eyes off of the staircases, hoping that Hermione would come down. He sighed and downed his fourth fire whiskey.
"S'pid filthy Mudblood," Draco slurred. He opened up another bottle of fire whiskey, and downed that in a matter of seconds.
"Ninety-nine bottles of whiskey on the wall," Draco gave a high-pitched laugh, "ninety-nine bottles of whiskey! Take one down, I'll smash it over Potter's head, ninety-seven bottles of whiskey on the wall!" Draco howled with laughter.
Wait, was that ninety-seven, or ninety-eight? Draco ticked off his fingers, counting to make sure. Nope! It was ninety-seven, he wasn't going insane.
Draco popped open his thirteenth bottle of fire whiskey. If there was one thing a Malfoy could do, it was control over his liquor. Downing that he felt a little queasy. He ran to the bathroom, and left it open upon finding his target. He puked into the toilet; the nauseating smell reached the tip of his nose.
"Woo! Draco buddy, you sure do know how to make it smell!"
Draco reached for his wand, and cast a sober charm on himself. He rinsed his mouth, before finally realising what he had done. He looked at the mirror; feeling disgusted with himself. He punched it watching with immense satisfaction as he started bleeding. He punched it again even more glass was in his skin. He fixed the mirror with his wand, and punched it again.
Draco's hands were covered in blood. He conjured an enormous mirror, and started laughing menacingly. He destroyed it within a matter of seconds. He didn't wait to see it crack and break. He swiftly turned around, but he was stopped. He felt a huge piece of glass hit the back of his head. He felt his head groping for the piece of glass and took it out.
Draco could feel his warm blood trickle down his back. Frowning he turned around. His eyes widened. He shielded himself from the mirror as it toppled on top of him. He landed on the rest of the glass that was scattered across the room.
"Hermione…"
- - -
Hermione woke up the next morning stiff to the bone. She groaned, getting dressed for the day. Walking out of her room, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw glass pieces adorning the bathroom. She rushed into the bathroom, and felt her breath get caught in her throat as she spotted a pale hand from under the enormous mirror.
"Please, Draco don't be under that thing," whispered Hermione. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The mirror lifted, and Hermione smashed it against the wall. Destroying the fragments of glass before it landed on the floor. Hermione sobbed when she saw that it was Draco under the mirror. He was bleeding plentifully, and his hands were stained with dried blood.
Hermione turned to the door, her wand pointed to the student emergency handle. She destroyed it, and watched as the whole room started ringing and flashing a deep red. Hermione dropped her wand and ran to Draco. She lifted him so that he was on her lap. She rocked back and forth; he was against her chest as she started sobbing.
"Draco, I'm sorry," she cried. "I love you."
"Wake up!" Hermione cried.
Hermione sobbed into his chest, as he didn't do what she had asked.
"Miss Granger, I suggest you get off Mister. Malfoy."
Hermione turned to look at the door. There stood the whole staff with each teacher looking gravely around the bathroom.
- - -
Hermione stood up as she heard footsteps approaching. She was disappointed though when she saw that it was only Harry and Ron.
"Oh, it's only you two," she said glumly as she sat back down.
Harry and Ron awkwardly sat next to her. Hermione shifted away from them, not wanting to be with them at the moment. It was their fault that she couldn't allow herself to be with Draco. They expected so much of her and when she fell short of what was expected, they would cut her loose. Not this time. Not anymore.
"'Mione, please l--"
"Shut up," muttered Hermione under her breath. She stood up, but turned around when Harry had grabbed her wrist.
"Listen, Hermione we're sorry."
"Too late now." Hermione left them there standing awestruck.
Hermione went back though; she scrutinized them with her piercing gaze.
"Its your fault," she accused. "Its your fault that I couldn't be happy. If I lose myone chance at being happy," Hermione paused thinking. "I'll never forgive you."
"Ahem."
Hermione turned around to face Madam Promfrey. She breathed in a sigh of relief.
"Is Draco alright?" she asked worriedly.
Madam Promfrey looked very grave but nodded.
"He suffered from alcohol intoxication, and a mild concussion," Promfrey said. "He's alive though, if you hadn't called in when you did, he would've died. A few more hours in that bathroom and Mister Malfoy would be dead."
Hermione felt a huge weight lift off of her shoulders. "Can I see him?"
Promfrey nodded her head. "I suppose you could, he's asleep though. I'd advise you not to disturb him."
Hermione ran to Draco's facility, which was curtained off. Her heart pounded within her chest. She smiled when she saw the angelic look he had on his face. Hermione took a seat on the chair next to his bed. Taking his hand, she started rubbing her thumb against his soft skin.
"I'm sorry," she whispered her eyes brimming with tears. "I never knew how much you meant to me," she inhaled, "until I saw you under that mirror. You gave me such a fright. I thought that I'd lost you."
She looked at him seeing that he hadn't woken up.
"I'm sorry that I took away your one chance to actually live. Yet, I had an obsession with you too, I guess." She chuckled to herself. "You were the only happiness that I had when my parents died. After we stopped talking… my happiness slowly left me too."
"I denied that I ever felt anything for you. I denied that I cared for you," Hermione continued, unaware of the Extendable Ears that were lurking behind the curtains.
"I wanted to make Harry and Ron happy and accept me again. They didn't after I ignored you. So I fell into a hole too. I surrounded myself with my books and the likes. Yet, I still wasn't happy." Hermione shook her head.
"Last night, when you professed your love to me. I felt happy again. That little feeling in my chest that I hadn't felt in such a long time, swelled inside of me."
"Draco, I love you."
Hermione looked at his face (since she had been staring at his hand the whole entire time), her eyes widened in surprise to find him awake.
"I never knew it'd take a disaster for you to finally realise that you loved me," Draco smirked. "And as for your: I love you," he scoffed and lifted his hand to finger her cheek. "I love you too."
This just made Hermione burst. She threw herself on him and started sobbing.
"Draco, I'm so sorry."
Draco shook his head, and wiped her tears.
He lowered her face to his, and kissed her on the lips He nibbled on her bottom lip, enjoying the moan that had just escaped from her. He lifted her waist so that she was on top of him. His hand was now on the small of his back, as he pushed her up so that he could suckle on her neck.
He ignored the footsteps. His hand cupped her bottom. Hermione let out a gasp of surprise. She settled over him, her hair curtaining his face.
"I love you," they said simultaneously.
END STORY