A/N: Hey all again! I know I haven't done any oneshots in a long while, but I decided that I shall do one today. So, yeah, don't be mean, but please review to tell me what you think of it!
Disclaimer: I don't we anything other than the plot of this story. Hats off to J.K. Rowling for her lovely creations.
Secrets are best kept secrets
Draco Malfoy lazily opened one eye. He was in Hermione's room. Hermione herself was currently sleeping on him, her honey curls spilling over his naked torso. He smiled, fondly ruffling her hair. It was early in the morning and he could hear the mockingbirds singing outside. The room was still dark and Draco unengaged himself from Hermione's arms. He walked over to where his clothes lay in a mess with Hermione's and changed into them, the visions of the day before taking their time to play in his mind.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the last lesson of the day. Draco watched Hermione out of the corner of his eyes, not really paying any attention to Professor Flitwick assigning them homework. She was sitting straight, no doubt intently drinking in every word uttered by the small wizard. He watched as she bit her lip in concentration. So caught up was he that he did not pay attention to Professor Flitwick looking at him curiously.
"May I ask what you are staring so fixedly at, Mr. Malfoy?" he quipped in his high-pitched voice.
Draco came to with a start. His classmates were staring at him enough to burn a hole right through him. Draco recovered soon enough though. Running his hand through his hair casually, he said, "I was just busy trying to catch a pretty witch's eye. I'm sure you would be able to understand seeing that you have been trying since breakfast to catch Professor McGonagall's eye. Don't you agree, Hermione?"
Everyone laughed. Hermione jumped up lightly, then blushed and turned away quickly while Professor Flitwick turned red and tried to get the class back to pay attention. Draco smirked victoriously. Hermione was trying hard to seem unaffected, but Draco saw right through it. He smiled slyly as he imagined her thinking of him.
He did not know when he had started loving Hermione, if that was indeed what this was. All of a sudden, one day, he had just realized that Hermione was not just any other wizard, but a wizard he found so endearing. On the outside, he had never seemed to be able to get along with her. He had even hurled curses at her and hurt her physically and emotionally. However, despite all that, he seemed to have formed a form of attraction for her; an unexplainable, but irresistible liking for her. He could not stop thoughts of her from crashing down on him. All he knew that, he could not stand seeing her with any other guy. If this was what love was, then so be it-he would love her and he hoped that she would love him too.
As Professor Flitwick's speech came to an end, student filed out of class eagerly. Draco looked on as Hermione packed her bag at topspeed, trying to avoid eye contact with him, but stealing stealthy glances of him all the same. Why can't girls just admit they like a guy when they do? He asked himself. He stood from his seat and walked confidently pass her, making sure to deliberately brush his hand against the back of hers.
He licked his lips lightly as he watched Hermione's ears redden. He liked having that effect on her. without another word, Draco walked back to their shared common room.
It was late evening. Draco stood at the window, the darkness enveloping him. He watched the full moon beaming upon Hogwarts, it's milky glow lighting the forest. He would tell her tonight. There was no point in loving and not telling. Love was one of those things that should not be kept a secret. While untold a burden, it is probably the boon of one's existence when told and accepted. Draco did not fail to acknowledge that Hermione might refuse him. He hoped she would not, but if she did, he knew he would not be around to hear it. No, he would not die. Only cowards who did not know how to honor their loves will die. No, he will live far from civilization with just the memories of Hermione to keep him company till God took pity on him and called for him.
With these thought, Draco waited with a thumping heart for Hermione's arrival. And arrive she did; in a flurry of thunderstorms and a turmoil of cyclones she swept into the commonroom. Draco watched silently as she made a beeline for him after spotting him. Her eyes flashed angrily as she stood in front of him. "What were you thinking of?" she yelled.
"You." Draco replied calmly. "And I said it as it is."
Hermione raised her hand to slap Draco, but he caught her arm in midair. Turning to face her fully, he bent down. Hermione struggled against his grip, but he held her in place. "What are you going to do?" she asked fearfully.
Not answering, Draco bent down further till their noses touched. "Don't…" Hermione protested weakly, but Draco had sealed her lips with his. He kissed her passionately, all the pent up love for her escaping. He poured all his love into the kiss. Hermione struggled weakly, but Draco did not relent. "Don't…do this to me…" she mumbled and Draco broke the kiss for a moment.
His eyes traced her kiss-bruised lips and flustered cheeks hungrily. He waited for her to speak. "Draco, this is out of order. I am going to have to report this. I'm sorry." She said before turning to leave.
Draco caught her by the arm. Hermione spun around to face him. "Draco don't make this harder for yourself." She muttered though her eyes were not quite meeting his.
Draco observed her closely. She was tired and drained. "Am I?" he asked before swooping in on her again.
He let go of her arm this time and wrapped his arms around her petite waist. Hermione's soft moans filled his ear and he intensified the kiss. Hermione almost stopped struggling for a moment before her sense kicked in and she mustered all her strength and shoved Draco hard on his chest. Draco staggered. Their breathing was ragged. This time, Draco spoke. "Look, Hermione, it may look like I am forcing you into this, but ask yourself and you will know. Do you really not love me? Don't you want me?" he asked.
Tears started streaming down Hermione's eyes. "Don't mess with my head, Draco," she pleaded.
Draco did not reply. He did feel bad, but he knew Hermione loved him and if he needed to push her around a bit before she admitted it, then he would. "Think Hermione. are you sure you don't want this." He asked finally after a long wait.
Hermione did not reply. All of a sudden, she threw herself into Draco's arms and kissed him. "I love you, Draco. I just could not admit it to myself. I'm so sorry." She babbled tearily.
Draco broke the kiss. He clutched Hermione's face in his hands and kissed her wet cheeks. "I love you too, Hermione."
What happened next, unfolded slowly as if in a daze. The couple's lips crashed against each other. They hungrily devoured each other. Surely, their tongues were at war. Draco's hands sneaked their way up Hermione's blouse. Hermione moaned as his fingers made contact with her bare flesh Enticed by her moan, Draco's hands left her back and carried her such that she had to wrap her legs around his body to keep her balance.
Somehow, in the course of it, they ended up in Hermione's room. Draco's hands reached for Hermione's buttons. His fingers worked on them, easily pulling them off. Not wanting to outdone, Hermione fiddled with Draco's buttons. The pair kissed with clothes discarded in a flurry of excitement as teenage hormones kicked in at a time when man and woman became whole. They shared their secret knowledge and the rest is history.
Draco smiled to himself as he finished reviving the events of the night before. He turned around and saw Hermione still blissfully asleep. He smiled; she had no idea what she did to him even while she was asleep. He walked over to her and knelt over the bed to wake her up. "Wake up, Hermione."
Hermione stirred. Her eye flickered open. Draco bent down to kiss her forehead. "Goodmorning." He said, cheerily.
Whichever Draco had been expecting Hermione to react it definitely was not this. Hermione's eyes welled up and she grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom. Bewildered, Draco chased after her and cornered her in the bathroom. "What's wrong?' he asked her.
Hermione would not reply. She tried to force Draco out, but he would not budge. "Go out, Draco!" she whispered.
Draco held her by her wrists. "Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?" he asked.
Hermione shook her head. She wiped at her eyes, causing ugly stretch marks to form on her cheeks. "It's just this…We should not have done it…It's wrong…" she said through sobs.
Draco smiled. "This is what you were worried about! Calm down!"
Hermione shook her head. "No, it's not that."
"Then?"
"We…we ca-can't see…We can't see each other anymore, Draco." Hermione said it in a rush. Even as she said it, she knew she was going to regret saying it, but she had to.
Draco's heart lurched. He arched his eyebrow. "Why?"
Hermione took a calm steadying breath. "Look, Draco, I was just stressed and tired. I did not think clearly. We both rushed into this. Can you imagine what might happen if we continue this. This just would not work out."
Draco took her face in his hands. "Hermione, you are lying to yourself once again. You can't always put others before yourself."
Hermione shook her head. She could not meet Draco's eyes as she pushed further. "No, Draco. If we carry on, it would only hurt the both of us."
Draco's face showed pain and Hermione wished she could stop causing him grieve. She wished she could just tell him that she had been kidding and that they could remain together, but she knew that would only hurt him more eventually. She steeled herself, but she could not stop the fat teardrops rolling down her cheeks as she continued, "Draco, you have to leave me. Do not fool yourself. You can't marry me. Your dad would kill you."
"What if I don't care?" Draco asked harshly.
"Draco, I do. I want you alive."
"I'd rather die than leave you."
"I'd rather watch you safe from afar then let you die because I was too near." Hermione replied steadily.
"So, this is it?" Draco asked. His voice and his eyes were pleading. He himself looked broken now. "Hermione, please…don't do this to me…"
Hermione could not bear to look at him. "I'm sorry, Draco. You don't know how much it hurts me to tell you this."
"Don't leave me, Hermione." Draco said. He collapsed to the floor of the bathroom. He sat down, stoned. There were no tears in his eyes, but his eyes alone showed desperation.
It scared Hermione and before she knew it, she hugged Draco once again. She kissed him all over the face. "I love you, Draco. I love you, but I have to do what is right."
Draco nodded numbly.
The morning dawned bright and early in the Weasley's household. Hermione Weasley was rushing around the house. She walked over to where her husband, Ronald Weasley was sleeping under the covers. She wrenched it off him. "Wake up, Ron!"
Ron rubbed his eyes and woke up, his eyes focusing on his sweet wife slowly. "Why so early?" he muttered.
"The Malfoys are coming over, remember?"Hermione asked, bustling around the kitchen. Even as she said the name 'Malfoy', Hermione's heart skipped a beat.
The doorbell rang and again, Hermione felt that weird sensation at the pit of her stomach. Ignoring it, she went to get the door. "That must be them at the door. Hurry up and shower, Ron!" she hollered for Ron's sake.
She heard a muffled okay, mione as she walked to the door. Drying her hands on her apron, she held the handle and pulled it open.
There, Draco Malfoy stood in all grandeur. His expression was no different from Hermione's. A brief smile was exchanged before he offered his hand for her to shake. Momentarily stunned by an unexplainable force, Hermione recovered to shake it. "Goodmorning, Hermione Weasley."
The two felt a pang at the mention of Hermione Weasley. Hermione thought bitterly how she would have preferred it to be Hermione Malfoy. "Come in!" she said with a smile. "Where is your charming wife?"
"I'm here!" the voice was that of a vivacious blonde with deep crystal blue eyes and a petite frame.
Hermione watched with jealousy as she wrapped her arms around Draco's waist and kissed his cheek "Introduce me, Draco!" she whispered in his ear and it sent tingles down Hermione's spine.
"Yes of course. Hermione, this is Alice Malfoy. Alice, this is Hermione Weasley." He introduced and the women smiled at each other.
Ten minutes later, the two couples were seated. Hermione and Draco exchanged awkward smiles and brief glances without reason. Hermione was so busy looking at Draco that she did not realize Ron was speaking to her. Ron touched her cheek and the two immediately broke eye contact. "What is mione? What are you distracted about?"
"Nothing." Hermione replied immediately.
She turned back to Draco and smiled before offering Alice some more pudding. Secrets are best kept secret.
A/N: Doing this fic just reminded me of how long I have not written oneshots! I seem to be losing my touch! I shall get working on that soon! Don't worry! In the meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this! R&R!