Kissing Draco was wonderful. And sort of new, if that made any sense at all. They had kissed before, of course, in their passionate bursts. But she had never fully been able to indulge in his lips before. He was pretty good at it, she had to admit. She licked his bottom lip and she felt him shiver. She giggled into his mouth. He bit her lightly and wrapped his arms all the tighter around her, pulling her into his lap. She yelped.

"You're such a tease." He smirked at her.

"You say that like you're not," she murmured against him, stealing a quick glance at his eyes. He really was handsome. With those grey eyes and that sharp jawline and his blonde hair that was oh-so-fun to pull.

She really did love days like these. It was nice to slow down every once in a while. And when they were like this, she was better able to get a full sense of him. The way he always licked her lips before pushing past them and into her mouth. The way he'd suck on her tongue while holding her tightly, underscoring the fact that she was his. One of her favorite feelings was being pressed up against him, because it was with her chest against his and his arms wrapped around her back that she felt closest to him. Not to mention that it also provided temporary relief to the ache in her breasts.

It had been on a wonderful day such as this one when their relationship was about to face its first natural disaster. Hermione began to feel a certain soreness in her legs and lower back, and her face filled with dread.

She pulled away from him, trembling slightly. "W-What day is it?"

"Friday." He said easily, pulling her into another kiss.

"No, no," she pushed him away, "The date."

"Uh the third?"

"I have to go."

"What?"

She got up off of him, and headed for the door, but Draco slammed her up against it, holding her in place.

"The fuck you think you're doing?"

"I can't stay today," she said calmly, "I don't feel good."

He got a confused look on his face. "Are you sick?"

"No…not exactly."

He rolled his eyes. "Hermione if you're tired we can just sleep. Jesus."

"No, no, it's not that. I just…I think I should go to my own room, for tonight."

He raised an eyebrow before smirking. "You cheating on me, Granger?"

"Of course not!"

"Because you know," his voice dropped, and his lips got dangerously close to hers, "I'd never forgive you."

"God you're the worst." She rolled her eyes and opened the door, trying to get the hell out of the dungeons.

She inhaled deeply and grinded her teeth as she walked towards the Gryffindor common room. Of course she would get her period now, day of all days. And she could already feel the faint pang of cramps squeezing her lower stomach. She groaned. Tomorrow would be a long day. She'd need to have some tea ready. And she should take some of that nasty liquid Madame Pomfrey had given her last month. That would at least keep the cramps at bay while she slept.

Cringing, she climbed the steps as quickly as humanly possible, trying to get it done and over with. When she entered the common room, it was only to be greeted by a strung up Ginny.

"What are you doing here?"

Hermione blinked. "Well, it is the Gryffindor common room…I am still a Gryffindor."

Ginny shrugged pompously, "I just thought you'd be with him."

Hermione ignored her and made her way into her room. She didn't have the time or energy to try and deal with everyone's prejudice right now. All she wanted was her dose of medicine and tea. She rummaged through her things, finding the small bottle and shaking it, realizing she only had enough for one day. She sighed. She'd need to go see Pomfrey tomorrow for more. She put the bottle to her lips and drank, a cooling relief washing over her. She forgot all about her tea, and didn't even bother with her pajamas, as she flopped onto her bed and fell promptly to sleep.

When she awoke, it was to sharp pains. She groaned, holding her stomach, and quickly grabbed a towel so that she could shower. She'd need to see Pomfrey before breakfast. The pain was making her head hurt. She took a fast shower and put on some loose-fitting pants, tossing a sweater over her shoulders. She wanted to put her hair up, but couldn't find any hair ties. She rolled her eyes and sighed, making her way out of the common room. It was still pretty early, so luckily, she didn't run into anyone on the way out. Only, when she got to Pomfrey, it was only to discover that she had no more elixir left.

"But surely you can brew up some more?" Hermione begged.

"I'm sorry, we simply don't have the right herbs on hand."

Hermione stared at her incredulously. "But this is Hogwarts! Surely something-"

"Miss Granger. I'm afraid nothing can be done. If you wish there is some aspirin on that top shelf."

Hermione snatched the aspirin away, thanking Madame Pomfrey angrily and stormed out of the Hospital Wing. As she left, she ran into Draco.

"So you are sick."

She jumped. "Oh, Draco!"

He snatched the pills away from her and examined them. "Headache?" he asked.

She took the bottle back. "Sort of."

His eyes narrowed. "You have to tell me what's wrong, Granger."

"Nothing's wrong!" she opened the bottle and popped an aspirin into her mouth.

"You a drug addict?"

She scoffed.

"Well what is it then?"

"Nothing."

"Fine, so you'll stay with me tonight?"

"Um, maybe not tonight…"

"Granger the fuck is going on?"

"Can you just leave me alone!" she snapped sharply, her voice echoing in the empty halls.

"Well damn. Bitch mode activate."

Hermione knew he was just being his usual self. And that in his own weird way he was concerned. But did he really have to call her a bitch? It was day one and she had cramps and there was no medicine and her emotions were all over the place and she was just really hungry…

"Are you crying?"

"No." she crossed her arms, looking away from him.

"Your eyes are watery."

"So?"

He blinked. "Hey, Bambi. Come on, what is it?"

"I'monmyperiodok." She said quickly, not looking up at him.

"Oh…" his voice dragged off, as though he were coming into realization. "Oh! Um…right…shit…ok then."

He quickly left without saying much else and Hermione felt her heart tumble. Did it freak him out that much? Surely he'd had to have come across the issue before. Although he didn't have any sisters or anything…

Was he planning on just avoiding her all week? Hermione groaned, feeling another sharp pang in her lower stomach. She was hungry and yet she felt like throwing up.

Why have the gods forsaken me?

She had her breakfast, but really just pecked at it, and tried to get through her classes as smoothly as possible.

How much aspirin is too much aspirin?

When she got to Charms, Draco wasn't there. For a while, she thought that maybe he was just running late. But as the bells rang to signal the end of class, she was met with new frustration. Was he going to through this much to avoid her? That was overkill, even for him. It wasn't that serious, she didn't turn into a complete monster or anything. She was just irritable because of the pain. That was perfectly reasonable wasn't it?

She sighed as she finally got out of her last class. Her legs would give soon. They felt so horribly sore. But at least the cramps had died down a bit. She'd forgotten how strong they could be. It'd been quite a long time since she'd gone through the month without Pomfrey's medicine. Lost in thought, she wasn't fully focused on her surroundings and she was bumped into rather brusquely. She staggered awkwardly, running sideways into a wall. At least she didn't fall down.

"Ow, fuck." She rubbed her arm, groaning, wishing for today to be over already.

"Bambi!"

She turned around, wanting to see him but at the same time not.

"Where've you been?" she tried to sound disinterested.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Um, out. Here." He offered up his palm, which held a small corked bottle. Hermione's first thought was that it looked like the drink me liquid from Alice in Wonderland.

"What is it?"

He shook it at her, so she took it in her own hands. "It's sort of a cure-all. Malfoy family secret."

Looking at the small bottle in her hands, Hermione felt the tears prick the back of her eyes. He could be so damn sweet sometimes. She tried to get a hold of her emotions. "Oh. Thank you. You didn't have to do that."

He shrugged. "You were acting weird, and that made me feel weird…so," he struggled for a bit, "So it's not really for you…more just for my peace of mind…"

She smiled. "Well, thank you anyway."

It was a weird sort of thing. Hermione wouldn't be able to describe it accurately. She cared about Draco. Draco cared about her. But when it came to voicing it out loud…

Well that wasn't always necessary, right? Actions do speak louder than words after all. She took a sip of the cure-all, and relief instantly washed over her. She sighed contentedly. "Wow. That's amazing."

"Well, I mean, we are Malfoys."

She scoffed, shaking her head, "How could I ever forget?"

"So, you'll be normal now?"

She made a face, "I wasn't acting that weird."

"Kind of...does it hurt that bad?"

"Kind of..." she echoed his words.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Right. Well. Get better. Or whatever."

He walked away from her, and Hermione couldn't help the happy feeling that was bubbling up inside her. They were on a bumpy road, there was no denying that. But she was looking forward to when they'd reach the smooth pavement.

A/N: Hey guys, just gotta say you're all so awesome for all the follows and favorites ^^ Hope you enjoyed the update!

kgkgirl11: It wouldn't let me reply to you, but I just had to say that your comment really made me laugh! Quite clever hehe~