A/N: Edit 2-24-16 -Changed things around a bit more than I thought. Just added more depth to the thoughts of Draco and Hermione, keeping the situation real. Obviously they are smart enough to remember the seriousness of the situation they are in. Before it just seemed so... casual of them to not focus so much on Draco's problems and such.

As she turned away, she had to remind herself to not run up to the common room with glee. She wondered what would happen next, if, no, when he'd ask her out. He did promise, and he was smiling as much as she was. She quickly went up the stairs, telling the Fat Lady the password, and then ran up to her dormitory. She flopped on her bed, pulling the curtains around her, squealing uncontrollably and not even caring if anyone was around to hear her. She couldn't stop thinking of that kiss, of how Draco's hands wrapped around her pulling her close. She couldn't describe how happy she felt when Draco stopped her from leaving, that moment was when he truly proved that he meant what he said. Because he wasn't willing to let her just walk away, Draco showed that he couldn't stand losing her. And she knew it was because he had to make sure she understood just how sincere he was. Wasn't that what all the men did in the movies, go after the girl before it was too late? Draco didn't even hesitate to stop her, and he was so gentle about it. All too soon Crookshanks jumped up onto the bed, meowing to let her know that it was dinner time, pulling her out of her daydream.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she sat up and made her way to the common room to meet up with Harry. She hoped that he didn't notice anything different with her, she definitely felt like she was floating compared to the past week. As she made her way to the portrait hole, she saw Harry waiting for her, relief flooding through her at not having to make small talk with Ron, or more specifically, listen to him and Lavender. "So I take it Ron has already left for dinner?"

"Yea, left just a minute ago, I figured I'd wait for you," Harry replied with a friendly shrug.

"Thanks, nothing like walking down by yourself," Hermione said.

Together they went down to the Dining Hall making small talk while Hermione tried to keep her stomach from fluttering, hoping to sneak peeks at Draco from the table. She figured she wouldn't draw suspicion by choosing to sit facing the Slytherin table since she normally sat facing that way. As the duo was almost to Dining Hall, they collided with someone in their path. Hermione saw Harry stumbling backwards as she felt herself losing her balance, but before she fell, a hand firmly grasped her wrist, steadying her. As she glanced up to see who had stopped her from falling over, she found herself staring into Draco's grey eyes. She blushed as he helped her find her feet again, offering him a small smile in thanks.

"You should be more careful, these stone floors are quite hard," Draco said with a smile, praying it didn't look like a smirk.

"Get your hands off of her Malfoy," Harry warned as he righted himself. The dark-haired boy took a threatening step forward.

"Easy there Potter, no need to get all riled up," he replied coolly, still holding onto Hermione's wrist. He let go after a moment, motioning Crabbe and Goyle into the Dining Hall.

Hermione felt Draco press a piece of parchment into her hand just before he let go; she held it firmly in her hand as she watched him make his way to the Slytherin table.

"You alright Hermione, he didn't try to hurt you?" Harry asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it, let's go eat dinner."

They made their way to their table and found some empty space among the Quidditch team. As they piled food on their plates, Harry quickly became absorbed with Quidditch talk, leaving Hermione to eat in peace. She glanced up and down the table, making sure no one was looking at her before she opened her hand to look at the parchment. She was slightly afraid to open it, preparing herself for bad news… but there was no sense in waiting, she took a deep breath and unfolded the note.

Hermione,
Meet me in the bathroom after dinner as soon as you can
and remember to smile,
-DM

And smile she did as she reread the note, once again thinking of the moment they shared earlier. She folded the note and put it in her pocket, glancing over at the Slytherin table and immediately finding Draco's grey eyes looking her way. Giving him a slight nod, she let him know she'd be there- of course she'd be there! Hermione somehow managed to make it through dinner, talking with the students next to her, waiting for dinner to be over.

Draco didn't eat much- he was too excited at the thought of meeting with Hermione again. It felt like forever since they parted this afternoon. He couldn't believe his luck at running into her outside the Great Hall. After he went back to the dormitory that afternoon, he realized that he wasn't sure how to approach her, whether he should just walk up to her and start a conversation, or if that would cause more problems for her. Potter and Weasel were quick to tense up around him so it wasn't going to be easy to build a bridge, but the Weasel seemed to be quite preoccupied lately so hopefully that would work in his favor. Draco knew he'd try whatever he could just to talk to her again, even if that meant facing her friends.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dumbledore bid them a good night and the students started filing out to go back to their dorms. As Draco stood and made his way out of the Hall, he motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to head back to the dormitory without him. After they were out of sight he quickly strode down the hallway and made his way to Myrtle's bathroom. He knocked three times and waited for Myrtle to appear; he stood off in the shadows, making sure no one saw him there. After just a moment Myrtle stuck her head through the door and smiled at him before ducking back in. Draco knew it was all clear and walked into the bathroom.

"Back again so soon Draco? Oh but don't you look much happier than before, does that mean you won't see me as often now?" Myrtle asked, pouting.

Draco's smile faded, he looked over at Myrtle, knowing what she meant, "I'm trying to not think about that right now. You know what kind of stress I'm under."

"And that's why I'm here to help you! You need someone to talk to right? I'll always be here, we can talk about anything."

"I'm meeting someone here and I need you to keep it secret okay, like all of our other talks. Do you promise?"

"I care for you Draco, but I know that it would never work between us, so I guess I'll have to keep quiet, just promise to visit every now and again." Myrtle sighed, of course he'd rather be with Little-Miss-Living instead of her. She couldn't blame him though, she was a ghost after all.

"I will, being able to talk about everything helps- you've been a great friend though all of this. I'm still under a lot of pressure to complete my task… It's not like my problems have suddenly disappeared," he mumbled glumly. "But, I do have a new reason to be happy- hopefully she can pull me out of my funk," he added on, smiling again at the thought of Hermione.

Myrtle gave him a smile and disappeared into her stall; she was glad that he found someone, someone alive, that could make him smile. Honest she was.

Draco leaned against the sinks, wondering what he'd tell Hermione when she got here. He didn't have long to think though because Hermione came into the bathroom just a few moments later. Now, as long as his confidence didn't fail him!

"Fancy seeing you here again so soon," Hermione joked.

Draco chuckled, "It feels good to smile again, it's been a long time."

"I agree, I've spent most of this year so far pretty stressed out," she agreed as she stepped closer to him.

Before he registered what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around Hermione, pulling her in close. He felt her reach into his robes and wrap her arms around him. It felt good to hold her close to him; it already felt so natural to have her in his arms.

"So, I asked you to meet me here because I remembered there was a Hogsmeade trip coming up this weekend, and I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me- we can do whatever you'd like," Draco asked as he started to rub Hermione's back.

"I think a trip out of this school would be amazing! You move fast, I only mentioned a real date earlier this afternoon." Hermione closed her eyes, spending the day with Draco at Hogsmeade, so soon after discovering that her crush wasn't one-sided? Things were just falling into place so fast and her head was spinning.

"I'll admit it was pure luck that I ran into you at dinner, I'm glad I decided to write that note when I did. I was going to keep it on me until I could pass it to you, and that just happened to be tonight."

"Speaking of chance meetings, why did you want to meet here," she asked as she leaned back to look into Draco's eyes.

"Well, I thought about what I should do, and I figured that grandstanding wouldn't make things easy, considering my reputation with you Gryffindors, especially with Potter and Weasley. I didn't want to cause any strife, so I figured I'd ask you here, where we can discuss everything privately."

"Well I'm glad that you thought about the consequences before just coming over to our table at dinner. That would have only caused a huge scene and I doubt we would've even gotten the chance to talk to each other. I do want to get to know the sensitive side of you, the one I connected with earlier, but I know if people found out, the chances of us getting to know each other goes down. I know many of your friends don't like me, Pansy would be jealous I'm sure."

"I can deal with them, although I'm sure you could hold your own, I won't let them do anything to you."

"That would be a surprise to all of them- you standing up for me. Things will be just as hard on my end though, there's no way Harry or Ron would accept this, no one in Gryffindor would," Hermione said as she looked down. This… this wasn't going to be easy…

"Hey now, what did I tell you about smiling? If we are going to put in the effort, it will be worth it, the rest will come," Draco assured her. He really couldn't say for sure which group of friends would have the uglier reaction.

Hermione smiled and rested her head against Draco's chest, sighing. She wanted to believe him, but there was so much to consider, could anything between them actually work?

"What's on your mind? I heard that sigh."

"Do you really think it will work? Between us, with you being Draco, and me being Hermione?" she whispered.

"I'm sure it won't be easy, but a lot has been going on with me this past year, I've realized so many things, about myself and about my family, and our so-called 'friends,' "Draco responded, resting his cheek on Hermione's hair. "I'm not the same kid that gave a horrible first impression our first year, the kid who gloated about the chamber of secrets our second year. And I'm definitely trying not to be the kid that you punched our third year." God, Draco remembered that day vividly! The anger he'd seen in her eyes! He had thought for sure that her glare alone would set him on fire. She sure could pack a punch too. Honestly, he knew he was a prat and damn he was proud of her that day.

Hermione laughed at that memory, hugging Draco even tighter. Draco laughed with her, enjoying the moment before he gently pulled back from their embrace, cupping Hermione's chin.

"I can't apologize enough for the prat I've been in the past, but I can promise that I'm not the same person. When you walked in here earlier, you caught me at a very vulnerable moment. I was horrified that you were seeing me like that and on instinct I pulled my wand. But then I saw you were upset and in that moment I realized that I didn't want to treat you with hostility, not anymore. I didn't want to cause you any more grief or lie to you... In that moment, I realized I was tired of hiding, I was going to show you the true feelings I have for you, regardless of the consequences. Although I must say, with you here in my arms, I don't think it turned out too bad."

Hermione smiled in agreement, raising her hand to cover his, and turning to kiss his palm. She closed her eyes in bliss, happy to forget about everything for just a few more minutes. Maybe now she could understand why Ron was so openly affectionate with Lavender… when you were with someone that made you happy… you couldn't hold it in.

Draco looked down at her, seeing relaxation come over her features. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, leaning down and kissing her forehead. He pulled her close again, embracing her, afraid to let go of her and find out this has all been a dream. Could things really go right in his life for once?

"That reminds me, earlier you said that you wanted to tell me about your feelings before it was too late, what did you mean?"

Draco took a deep breath, thinking about how much to say, "Now, I promised myself I wouldn't lie to you, but I'm not sure… I don't think… The less you know the better this time. You know my family has been close with… The Dark Lord, and there is a lot of pressure on me since Dad is in jail- I'm the head of house now. But I don't want you to worry about that okay? I don't want to put you at risk, you get enough of that just being friends with Potter. Hell, just talking to you is probably very dangerous, but at the same time, you have the right to know the truth of the situation." The blond sighed and furrowed his brow. How could he be straightforward with her when he needed to keep his mission a secret? "I can't pretend that the danger doesn't exist. I… I can't give you details but the truth is, I'm a threat to your wellbeing. Do you still want to continue getting to know me, considering I have a perilous secret?"

Hermione paused, thinking about what he just said. Of course she had known about the Malfoy's history, but she had been trying to lie to herself about Draco's involvement in his family's affairs. Despite all of that, she knew she wouldn't fight her feelings for him anymore- she had seen danger before and she wasn't going to run now. Draco was willing to fight the odds and so was she! She was friends with Harry Potter after all, there was nothing that Draco could be involved in that was more dangerous than what they'd already been through. She gave him a reassuring squeeze, "Did you want to meet at The Three Broomsticks at noon this weekend, or maybe somewhere else?" Hermione asked, showing Draco she was still willing to try, that she wasn't scared. "That place might be a little crowded with students, we might not want to be seen together there."

Draco let out the breath he had been holding, relieved. He knew it wasn't fair, that he had dodged the question but he couldn't risk telling her about his mission. There was no way in hell that he was going to let her come into this relationship blind though, he respected her more than that. Hermione was at least aware of the danger now, and Draco would do his best to protect her from it. "We can go anywhere you want, if you think you can handle being there, we can go, I won't let anything happen to you. But if you just want to walk around and talk that's fine with me too."

"Walking around sounds good, we can meet up at The Three Broomsticks and go from there, if we walk around we shouldn't be bothered as much."

Draco nodded his head, running his hands through her hair, moving it back from her ear. He softly kissed the top of her ear, running his lips downward and then gently nibbled on the lobe. He smiled when Hermione gave a small gasp and ran her hands down his shoulders. Continuing down the side of her neck, he kissed his way down to her collarbone, slowly pulling away to look at her face.

"You've given me goose bumps Draco," Hermione whispered breathlessly as she looked into his eyes.

"I love hearing you say my name like that, your voice is mesmerizing," Draco told her, as he stared deep into her eyes, captivated.

Hermione, feeling bold, brought her arms up around Draco's neck, pulling him down for a kiss. As their lips met, she found his lower lip, and softly bit down on it. As she released his lip, she felt Draco's tongue brush across her top lip, she caressed his tongue with her own, pulling him closer. The kiss deepened, both of them exploring each other, not wanting to break apart. Hermione gently pulled on his lower lip and began sucking on it softly. Draco moaned and grasped her hips, pushing her up against a closed stall, his thumbs reaching just under her shirt rubbing her bare sides.

"Your skin is so soft… never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be here, with you," Draco murmured as he rested his forehead against hers.

"You mean you don't sneak into girl's bathrooms often? Or at least not with girls like me?"

"Well if by girls like you, you mean brilliant, brave, and stunning then of course not. But I also haven't made a habit of sneaking into girl's bathrooms either. It's not like there are a lot of girls in here for me to spy on, you have nothing to worry about."

Her breath caught in her throat, surprised by his complements, "Do you mean that?"

"There are so many words that come to mind when I think of you, all these years I've been looking at you from far away, wanting to be by your side, wanting to be the one to make you smile, hold your hand, be your shoulder to cry on. But I was afraid… although now I've finally got my chance to show you how I feel. So every day, I'll find words to describe my feelings and thoughts of you; you are beautiful, and of course you're brilliant, everyone here knows that. And you are compassionate, anyone else wouldn't have given me a chance to explain myself."

Draco stared into Hermione's eyes, saw how his words affected her, noticed the tears welling up in her eyes; he brushed his lips against her forehead once more before pulling her to his chest.

"I told you, I'm here for you now. All those words are true and heartfelt; I'll never lie to you and I'll never miss another moment to cherish the beautiful person you are."

"I believe you, I truly do. This is just all so new to me, it still feels unreal. We'll see how real it feels on our date. See you at breakfast?" Hermione asked.

"Well of course, I never miss breakfast, never miss a chance to see you."

Hermione smiled into his chest, breathing in his scent, "We really need to go, but I don't want to leave."

"I know Hermione, but there is plenty of time for us to get close. Now isn't the time for us to get into trouble and get privileges revoked," he reminded her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the stall. Hermione leaned on his arm as they took the few steps towards the door, she had never felt this way with Viktor. Her heart was a little heavy, knowing that Draco was in some kind of trouble though… hopefully he'd trust her someday soon, enough to tell her more. But she wasn't going to push, that would ruin the moment.

As Draco opened the door for her, she reluctantly let go off his hand and stepped out into the hall. She turned and smiled, blowing him a kiss before making her way to Gryffindor tower. Draco felt his heart melt when she blew him a kiss, this felt better than he ever could have imagined. As he left the bathroom with a smile on his face, he realized he was going to have to get a grip on his emotions before walking into the common room; he didn't need Crabbe and Goyle questioning him right now.