Chapter 7

Although I found it sickening to admit, there was no way I could have stopped myself from seeing him. I found myself becoming absorbed in his world – I needed to see him, talk to him, touch him… Even without him nearby I ended up picturing him, every single blonde hair on his head. Everything he said to me lingered in my mind and refused to leave… I found that whenever I was alone, my thoughts would always wander slowly back to him… Every time. What I was feeling felt like a strange mixture of joy, guilt, and desperation. Joy because he made me feel alive – those few moments we got to spend together were my happiest moments. He took my mind away from the misfortune of my past, as well as my fear for the future… Guilt because my best friend was in love with him and had no idea about what was now going on between us… and desperation because there was no way I could imagine our relationship working out – we were natural born enemies… How on earth would we be able to continue like this?

We were careful – we planned where we would meet beforehand, we didn't go to the same classroom more than once, and we never ever talked to each other in public. At first I was paranoid that both Ron and Hermione were going to notice me disappearing, but if they did they never asked. I used this to my advantage by meeting with him more and more frequently. It was a couple of days before the Christmas holidays in the dead of night – Draco would soon be gone, and this was probably the last chance I would get to see him. I was sitting on a desk waiting for him to arrive – he was late despite his usual brilliant timing. I began to doubt whether he was going to arrive at all. After half an hour of waiting I scooped up the invisibility cloak in my arms and with a disappointed sigh made my way to the door. Of course I was wrong.

Draco came rushing in yet he still managed to maintain his sophisticated grace. He smiled at me, a smile rid of the spite and sarcasm it was used to containing, and his cheeks flushed a gentle pink despite their usual pallor. His hair which was usually swept to one side was sticking up in all different directions, making him look slightly dishevelled but nevertheless beautiful. I momentarily wondered how someone so hot could be interested in someone like me, but my thoughts stopped as he started to talk,

"Hi, you're still here? I thought you'd be gone," he started.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked feeling confused; he was the one that had arranged this meeting in the first place.

"No, of course not," he said shaking his head, "I got caught up in something… I must be really late, I didn't think you'd still be here waiting," he smiled running a hand through his hair.

"What happened?"

"Your Christmas present," he smiled, "I didn't think it would be finished but I managed it in the end… I wanted you to be the first to read it," he said, pulling the book into view from behind his back. "It's not very good… I need to change some things, it's sort of depressing, and it's all handwritten but…" he mumbled self-consciously.

"Are you serious?" I asked, momentarily stunned, "for me?"

He laughed, "Who else would I be talking to? I hope you like it… If you don't, pretend you do."

"I had no idea you were anywhere near finishing!"

"Well, it still needs a lot of work but…" he started and bit his lip. He then walked towards me… So close I could feel his breath on my cheek, "Shall we?" he asked. I felt no need to respond, and simply started to unbutton his shirt, my fingers fumbling clumsily as he kissed my neck.

He stopped. I stopped. We both turned.

"How dare you?" Hermione shrieked, her voice echoing around the room, "Ron did tell me, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt… Then you started wandering off at night and assumed that neither of us would notice? Who do you take me for? A fool?"

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't help…" but she interrupted again,

"No. I confided in you, I told you everything and you just took that and threw it back in my face… You lied to me!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"I tried to tell you, but I just…"

"You just what?" she snapped, her tone disbelieving. "They say you're oh so brave – the chosen one, but they're all wrong. You're a coward Harry. I can't believe I trusted you."

At this point Draco turned to face Hermione, his expression strained, "Don't blame him, it's not his fault."

"As far as I'm concerned you're both as bad as each other," she yelled and swiftly exited.

The silence was deafening. The world as I knew it had been shattered to pieces, and my options were limited. Whatever route I decided to take would inevitably hurt somebody – somebody I cared about. I collapsed on to a chair and shook my throbbing head,

"I can't believe I didn't stop this before it was too late… I don't know what to do…" I mumbled my head in my hands. Draco didn't say anything and continued to stare into the distance. Neither of us had noticed the book had disappeared without a trace.

There you go :) hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please drop a review (I instantly love anybody who reviews *virtual hug to reviewers*) In fact – if you hated it drop a review, constructive criticism could be helpful!