Chapter 4: All Along

Hermione was assessing Malfoy from top to bottom. What was he doing here? She kept thinking the same question over and over again. He doesn't appear to be bodily injured. No bleeding or bruises. Which surprised her after a while since he went on to play Quidditch like Ginny, Wood and Viktor had after finishing school. Well, Viktor played professionally while still in school. Which wasn't really the point. She just felt so unnerved while the silence began to engulf them. This is all his fault, so why is he even here?

"Hermione," Draco spoke her name softly which startled her. This was not how the conversation was suppose to happen. She wanted to be in control of how this went about and not him. He started to pace around the room before continuing. "I was beginning to worry about you. The last time we saw each other things didn't end very well between us. I didn't want it to happen that way."

"Stop." He immediately closed his mouth and froze in place as his eyes met hers. Hermione began to tear up. "I will conduct this, not you. You're lucky I don't jinx you right here for just showing up without warning!" she was so furious with him. He nodded in response while he continued to hold their gaze.

"You had no right to show up here. I left to get away from you and them." She couldn't help the tears from escaping her eyes now. It was just too much for her to hold in. She hadn't really expressed herself to anyone after the events of her wedding day. Not even in private to herself. Instead she kept it all inside and threw herself into her work, which is how she managed to get to where she was that day. "How dare you."

"Now wait a minute Granger," he rushed up to her to take her hand as she reached for her wand at his outburst. He looked at her like she was a ravaging animal out to kill him. He slowly raised his hands to her as to show her that he meant no harm. "you and I both know that this way of going about things isn't fair to me." Hermione slowly placed her hand away from her pocket and to her side and Draco began to relax his arms.

"Yeah things between us have changed and things between the rest of us has changed, but you need to come back Hermione." He looked at her with saddened eyes and she could tell that he was dreading a no response. "We need you." Hermione just shook her head at his words.

"I can't come back. Not right now." Her head was spinning at the mess that was before her. She was always anxious when it came to studying and exams while growing up. Her relationships are what she was usually sure of, but now she wasn't sure of anything except for her new position. "Draco, I messed things up with Ron, Harry, Ginny…every one I cared about. I haven't been able to face what I did to them." She collapsed towards the floor as she began to sob.

"Hermione!" Draco wrapped her in his arms before she reached the floor. He began to stroke her hair as she cried even more. "Hey now. Shhhh. It will be alright." She buried her face into his chest as he continued to try and sooth her.

"Nooe…eit..www..on't.." she said between breaths. She managed to shake her head while still pressed against Malfoy's chest. Her sobbing continued while he rubbed her back lovingly.

"Yes it will. I won't let your life fall apart, because of what went on." He pulled her away from his chest to look at her. When she met his eyes he continued to speak. "You're beautiful and brilliant. Shit, they really miss you back in London. They all miss you. Even I miss you a tad bit." He smirked at her as her crying began to subside. Malfoy's smirk began to disappear while he watched as Hermione began to look at him with a furrowed brow.

"Why did you do it?" she had been wanting to ask him for the last six months, but had no desire to go back to London or send an owl and blow her cover to know the truth.

"I don't know." She looked at him completely perplexed. How in the world could he not know? He ruined her wedding day and yet here he was still holding onto her while at her most vulnerable. He didn't have a reason. She ruined everything for something that wasn't there.

"I'm so sorry that I kissed you on your wedding day. I don't know what came over me. You…you just looked so beautiful. Even now with tears remaining on your checks, a red nose and puffy eyes I find you to be beautiful." She couldn't believe what she was hearing in this moment. Malfoy was telling her that she was beautiful at her ugliest. The same Malfoy whom was extremely foul towards her all through out their Hogwarts career. But his eyes were telling her that he was speaking the truth. She learned Legitimacy and knew when others were lying to her and in this moment he had given her nothing but raw truth. "Why did you leave though? You could have still married Ron and been happy with life. You could have forgotten that the kiss had ever happened between us." He carefully watched her reaction as he asked.

"No Draco, I couldn't have. I can't be with Ronald." She sighed as she saw relief wash over him. "As soon as you kissed me I knew that I felt something for you. I couldn't marry him and have you immortalized within my wedding photos along with my small blossoming feelings for you. It wouldn't be fair towards Ronald or myself." Draco leaned his face towards hers and met her lips with his own.

Hermione pulled away after a few seconds of kissing Draco. She felt strange, but liberated in a sense. As if the huge weight of the past six months had been lifted off her shoulders. He was carefully waiting for her to react from their kissing. She shifted slightly and stood up from the floor.

"What are we doing?" Hermione finally asked him. She didn't care too much for not knowing what she was doing. This was one of those times that she wasn't sure of the situation.

"Dating." Draco said most assuredly as he stood up and grabbed onto Hermione's hands. "I want to be with you Granger. I always have wanted to be with you. Even at Hogwarts I thought you had a brilliant mind and were very beautiful. I was just so corrupted by my father and his Death Eater agenda that I couldn't see past it." He touched their foreheads and brought his nose to the tip of hers. "Please Hermione, be by my side."