Hermione sat at her table on top of the astrology tower, her eyes scanning the skies. It was a cloudless Friday night, the dark sky decorated with billions of stars, scattered across the sky individually and in clumps. A cool breeze made its way across through the air, sending a chill up Hermione's spine.

As she continued to take quick gazes from the sky to her charts and sketched the heavens, he watched her intently from his own table nearer to the back of the rooftop. Silent, graceful, his steel grey eyes followed her everywhere they possibly could. Wherever she went, he was always watching, but when confronted, Draco Malfoy always replied with an insulting remark about her bloodline.

As students began to gather their things, Draco was snapped from his daydream and yanked back into reality. He hastily shoved his tools and charts into his bag and headed back to the common room. Draco glanced at his watch. It was well past twelve thirty. His eyes itched with tired, but he had to finish that Potions paper. Then again, Snape favored him, so he could always do it tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. Right now, he was exhausted.

Draco spoke the password wearily and entered the common room, plopping down on one of the black leather sofas. He let the strap of the bag slip from his hands and onto the floor as he closed his eyes and breathed silently. Draco rolled into a deep sleep, one from which he did not wish to awaken.



Malfoy opened his clear grey eyes the next morning, squinting around for a second. He sat up, there was no one around, and there was no sound, no movement. Furrowing his brow, he stood up and went to change.



Hermione awoke most unpleasantly, to the sound of an owl repeatedly slamming itself into the window. She grumbled as she rolled out of bed and opened the window, letting the scruffy-looking owl inside. She untied the blue letter from its leg, and it immediately took off after Hermione had removed the rolled up parchment. Curious, she opened it. As she did so, the fragrance of fresh flowers emerged from it and filled the air around her. Also, two blue butterflies fluttered from the unrolled parchment and vanished into thin air.

She wondered who it was from, but put it in her drawer and got dressed in khakis and a baby blue sweater and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast with the rest of the Gryffindors. She wondered why no one had woken her up. On the rare occasion that she did sleep late, Ginny or one of the other girls usually woke her up.

No use thinking about it, now that I'm already up. Hermione thought as she descended the staircase that led to the Great Hall. As she walked through the huge open double doors, she immediately spotted Harry and Ron over at the Gryffindor table. She smiled and set off to join them.

"Morning, Hermione," Harry said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Harry, Ron." Hermione said, also with a tone of cheer in her voice.

Ron said nothing, only kept his head down on the table.

"What's wrong with Ron?" Hermione asked, lowering her voice and leaning over to Harry.

"Got himself in a fight with Malfoy," Harry answered darkly. "He looks terrible."

"Ronald, let me see your face." Hermione demanded politely.

Ron looked up, one eyes swollen shut, the other a black eye, and his left cheek was all red. "What?" he said grimly at Hermione's stares.

"Never mind," Hermione said huffily. "You're always getting yourself into some kind of trouble. And if it's not you, Ron, it's Harry."

"Hey, can I ask where this came from?" Harry said, his temper beginning to slowly rise. "A minute ago you were all happy and cheery, and now you're criticizing us?"

"I said forget it!" Hermione said rather loudly, causing heads, including Draco's, to turn.

She looked down and stood, then walked quickly from the Great Hall. Harry and Ron both exchanged 'I-think-I-missed-something' looks. They both stood and followed her out. All the students went back to their chatter, a perfect time for Draco to slip out. He casually stood and strode out of the Great Hall, then bolted up the stairs.

Hermione walked as fast as she could to avoid Harry and Ron, because she knew that they were following her. Where there were two hallways, one leading to the Gryffindor common room and the other leading to the Slytherin common room, Hermione immediately went left, towards the Slytherin common room.

She ran as fast as she could after that. Somehow she knew the password to the Slytherin common room, spoke it, and jumped inside, hoping to find a safe place to hide. She ran up to the boy's dormitory and sat near one of the beds, pulling her knees up and resting her chin upon them.

She heard footsteps approaching. She didn't want to be seen, but she didn't really care. A few minutes later, she spotted Draco Malfoy's slim figure ascend from the staircase.

Oh, why did it have to be him? WHY HIM?! Her mind screamed.

Draco soon found Hermione scrunched up in a ball. He looked puzzled, and oddly enough, he also looked worried. Hermione pondered about his expression, but said nothing. He dropped to his knees, the expression on his face showing nothing less than worry.

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

Hermione said nothing, but looked away to avoid his cold eyes. She dared to turn and look at him, only to see his eyes weren't cold and depthless as they usually were. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't want Malfoy to see her in such a vulnerable state.

Draco allowed himself to draw closer to Hermione's delicate figure. His heart was pounding out of his chest. Hermione looked frozen with shock. Draco put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her nearer to him, and she drew closer to him with no protest. Their lips met graciously. The sensation of this kiss overwhelmed Draco. A comforting warmth shot through his entire body, giving him a good feeling.

Hermione continued to kiss Malfoy, going with everything.

What the hell am I doing? I hate Malfoy...Don't I? Hermione thought.

To her slight surprise, Malfoy was the one who broke the kiss. His eyes softened as they gazed into her own clear blue eyes. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Not that cocky smirk or a nasty sneer, but a normal smile. Hermione returned the smile and pulling him into a hug.

Draco, taken by surprise, hugged her back. The feeling of a real hug was even better than the kiss they'd just shared. He felt so relaxed, so loose. It was such a comforting feeling, knowing someone you care about cares for you, too. Hermione ran her slender fingers through his soft bleach-blonde hair. He once again broke the temporary bond, then sat against the wall next to her.

"Well, I suppose my secret's exposed now," Draco laughed. "Not that it matters. Only you know, and that's what matters."

Hermione nodded, smiling. She never would've thought Malfoy had a soft side. It was rarely seen, but it still existed.

"Yeah, I guess the same goes for me." She said, looking at Malfoy. "But, would've thought? Me and you. Certainly not me. Boy, life sure is full of surprises, huh?"

Draco laughed a little and said "Yeah, it sure is." and hugged Hermione once again, never wanting to let the warmth of her body escape from his arms.