Last Night

The crowd was loud, the music was blaring. It was the beginning of their seventh year, their last year, the war had ended, the battle was done, Voldemort was gone, Slytherins and the other houses got along. Everything seemed perfect. The moon was out, the Lake was still. There was barely a breeze amongst the many camp fires that were set up along the Black Lake's edge. Seventh years from every house sat amongst each other, school robes forgotten back up in the dormitories. Pansy sat next to Ginny, talking about the Quidditch try outs coming up. Ron and Harry sat with Blaise Zabini and Marcus Dawlish, talking to them about their own Quidditch conversation.

Draco had just gotten up from Pansy's side, heading back to the Slytherin common room to get his Potions book. He really needed to pay attention in Slughorn's class, and he was tired of Pansy looking at him and going 'Right Draco?' every five seconds. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before he exited the common room and headed up the stairs from the dungeons to the library, which at first glance, seemed completely empty. Draco wandered along the aisle's, scanning the titles of the nearest potions books. He grabbed two of them, stuffed them under his arm, and started around the corner to the small area where the study tables were set up.

Draco stopped dead when his eyes landed on the back of a bushy haired Gryffindor, who was bend over what appeared to be already homework. Draco glanced around the library, noting that it was indeed empty besides the furiously writing Gryffindor, who hadn't seemed to notice him enter. Draco bit his lip and slowly started towards the table, his heart racing. He couldn't very well just sit down.. could he? She, with the help of Potter and Weasley, had saved him more than once during the war, but whose to say that changes anything?

Draco stopped by the table and cleared his throat, causing Granger to throw up her head, her eyes widening when they landed on him. "Uh... Taken?" asked stupidly, pointing towards the seat a crossed from her with his hand that was full of books. She bit her lip, hesitating, glancing around the library as though someone would save her though there was no one there. She sighed and waved a dismissive hand at the sea before going back to work. Whether that meant she consented or not, Draco sat himself down, opened his book, and set to work.

For the next hour, all he could hear was the sound of quills scratching on parchment. Finally Draco set his quill down and flexed his fingers, rubbing them slightly. His eyes traveled towards the brown haired girl sitting a crossed from him. He used to shudder at the thought of being left alone with her, but now it didn't seem so bad. He figured it was because she wasn't hexing him or punching him in the nose. He took a breath to speak, but before he could Granger spoke up.

"Why aren't you down at the party?" Draco scowled. Way to steal the words from my mouth! He glanced around the deserted library and when he looked back at Granger, she was looking up at him, her quill frozen for the time being, positioned over her paper. Draco shrugged.

"Too loud, I needed to work." Granger said nothing and went back to her paper. Draco knew the cold shoulder when he got it, Pansy had given it to him enough times. More silence stretched on, but Draco couldn't pick up his quill again, it just seemed like too much effort to even try. He combed a hand through his hair and glanced around the area before he looked back at Granger and finally asked, "Why aren't you down at the party?"

Granger scowled down at her paper and muttered quietly, "That's none of your business." Draco's anger spiked. "You made me tell you, now you tell me." He countered, pushing his chair back on its two legs. Granger scowled deeper and glanced up from her paper.

"I didn't feel like, happy?" Draco stared at her as she went back to work, scribbling even more furiously, before he let his chair fall down onto all fours and said, "Bull-" Granger looked up, her eyes wide. She looked half amused, and half repulsed by his choice of words. She slowly set her quill down and asked, "What did you just say?"

Draco smirked. "You heard me... I said bull-." Granger glared and said, "And what makes you think I'm lying." Draco thought about this for a moment and then shrugged. This seemed to infuriate Granger even further, causing Draco to smirk. "Well, you should get the facts down before you start assuming things Malfoy." Draco's smirk was gone. "You and your little friends should have done that too." And awkward silence filled the library and Granger paused in her work again. She bit her lip and slowly looked up before she said, "I'm sorry."

Draco snorted and said, "Yea, well, you guys just-... Wait..." He eyebrows pulled together. "What did you just say?" Granger rolled her brown eyes and set her quill down, rubbing her own hand. "You heard me.. I said sorry."

Draco only stared at her, watching her closely in the dim lighting of the library. He could hear the music blaring from the lake, but it was muffled by the large windows. He nodded slowly and said, "Yea... Well... Me too." Granger watched him closely before she said, looking back at her paper, "You should be going back to the party." Draco scowled, glancing at his own paper and realizing he had long since finished it. He picked it up and stuffed it away before he reached for Granger's and yanked hers away as well.

"Hey!" She yelled, her quill falling from her hand as she reached for it. "Give that back, Malfoy! Don't be a child!" Draco smirked. "I LIKE being a child." He said, stuffing her potion's essay, which was considerably longer than his, out of sight. Granger glared; if looks could kill. "YOU should be going back to the party." Draco mimicked, getting up and throwing his bag over his shoulder. Granger leaped to her feet, her chair falling backwards. "Give it back, Malfoy!" She snapped at him, reaching for his bag. He swung it away from her, glaring. "No." He said furiously, though he thought he did sound somewhat like a child.

Granger felt around in her pocket and scowled deeper. She didn't have a wand. Draco thought with a smirk. Hell, neither did he, but she didn't know that. "You can have this back tomorrow Granger." Draco said, walking away.

He didn't even see it coming. One moment he was walking, the next he was tumbling to the ground, his bag flying from his grip and landing with a thud somewhere else. Something heavy landed on him and he groaned, turning quickly around on his back to fight off whatever Granger had sent at him. Except, he couldn't very well fight Granger, she was a girl! She sat up and glared down at him, her hair hanging down almost in his face, before she said, "Nice try Malfoy."

She reached over his head somewhere out of his line of sight, no doubt trying to grab his bag. With his Seeker reflexes, he quickly pushed her off and rolled over on top of her, kicking his bag out of reach and smirking down at her. "Nice try Granger."

Granger glowered up at him, trying to push him off, but males were bigger then girls. "Get off me Malfoy!" Draco smirked, finding this highly amusing. "No thanks, Granger." The war had done nothing to make him any more mature. "Malfoy!" Granger yelled in anger, trying without any success to throw him off. He sat there, smirking down at her, amusement flickering in his gray eyes.

Finally she lay still, panting slightly and glaring up at him. Before Draco could think of why he had done it, what had made him do it, and why he had the slightest clue as to why it would be a good idea, he leaned down and his lips caught hers.

The Present

Draco felt like vomiting. His stomach hurt and his head spun all morning as he dressed with the other Slytherin boys and headed down to breakfast. The worst part was when Pansy grabbed his hand in the Great Hall and asked where he had disappeared to during the party. He barely got out that he had gone to the library before he felt like gagging. He couldn't believe he had done what he had. He had kissed Granger! After he had called her a mudblood, after he had watched her get tortured at his house, after everything, and he had kissed her!

Of course, he had run away right after, and it was only this morning that he found her essay still stuffed away inside his bag. He felt dread all over him. Any minute now she was going to come and get it back, any minute now she could easily tell his friends, his GIRLFRIEND, that he had kissed her. But why would she? Right?

Draco swallowed the hard lump in his throat before the bell rang, signaling Potions. He wished Potions would never come. He took as long as he dared to get his bag up and walk towards the dungeons, Pansy clutching his hand and Blaise on his right as they walked. They entered the Potion's room, almost the very first ones. Draco heart was hammering wildly in his chest as the three Slytherin's approached the walls and Draco set his book bag down, sitting beside Blaise, Pansy on his other side, who immediately started talking to the Ravenclaw girl that was there before them. Draco groaned and put his head down. He had a headache and his stomach felt as if he was going to upchuck at any moment.