Yes, this is a short chappie! But worry not. I'm still going through and editing some of the silliness that got this thing so many reviews to begin with, but making it slightly more plausible to deal with. Please hit the little button at the bottom an tell me how I'm doing this time around. Toodles! - M.


Her head was aching. She'd apparated outside of Hogwarts, and was standing there in the cold – staring at the ancient castle she'd called home for seven years. She'd laughed there, cried there, and apparently – unknowingly – she'd been loved there. Slowly she walked up the path, past Hagrid's hut and into the courtyard just outside of the Great Hall.

Never in her life had Hermione been so confused. She'd thought that she was crazy when she went home and had thoughts of Ronald Weasley steadily streaming through her head – unable to tell what she really thought of him. She slowed her pace, not willing to let everything seep in....just yet. There were still too many questions and most of them remained, at this point, unanswered.

"Flubberpus."

She walked into the common room, right past Neville and Luna - who were sitting there snogging on the couch - and into her bedroom. She leaned gratefully against her bedroom door as it shut behind her.

"Colloportus."

The door clicked shut as it was locked magically.

"Silencio."

She waited a few seconds for the spell to take effect, then looked around the room cautiously.

"Malfoy? Malfoy, are you here?"

Draco smiled as he mischievously pulled the cloak from over his head. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, and had been waiting patiently for dinner to come. It was almost seven o'clock. He frowned slightly, the realization hitting him that she was home early. Something had gone wrong for Hermione to have been back so soon. She hadn't even lasted one day at the Weasel's home.

"What's wrong Granger? You had a bad time; it's written all over your face."

Hermione fought the urge to run over to him and cry in his warm embrace. A memory was stuck in the back of her mind. It was just there, at the edge of her mind, and had been fighting all evening to come to the forefront.

"Draco, I have to ask you something. I would appreciate it if you could tell me the truth, please."

His face became markedly more serious as he wondered what in the world could have bothered the young witch so much that she would assume he would automatically lie to her outright. Okay, that was stupid. You've spent the last six years lying to her. Why would now be any different? He managed to make his head nod as he thought about it.

"Good. Now, tell me why you kissed me, a year ago, on the Hogwarts' Express?"

Malfoy blinked. He actually felt a slight blush creep up his cheeks as he remember that day. He had shown extreme bias toward muggle-borns back then – a practice he'd since done away with. Truth be told, he was now embarrassed at his past actions. "Well, I...."

"The truth, Malfoy; out with it!" she snapped, showing her impatience.

He looked down, and when he raised his eyes again, there were tears sparkling in them. Hermione never thought she would see the cold, unaffected Draco Malfoy cry. "Because you looked like an angel, Granger. You were fast asleep and you looked just like an angel. I don't know why I did it. I had come into the compartment with the full intention of hexing you. Your two faithful bodyguards were wandering around the train without you, but when I saw you, I just could not. Truth be told, at the time I thought that someone had put me under some kind of spell. Perhaps the Impervius....."

"Oh." She thought about it for a few moments, the silence between them stretching. It certainly explained his initial reaction when she had woken up. Then his subsequent when he realized exactly what it was he had done, and to whom. But even now Hermione recognized that was the day that something had changed in Malfoy. "Draco, that day....your feelings toward me changed, didn't they? You didn't hate me anymore." Hermione sat down quietly on the end of the bed. She began fiddling with the edge of her bed curtains, waiting to see what he would tell her next. Malfoy inched down the bed to be closer to her, taking one hand in his and looking her directly in the eyes.

"I don't know if I ever hated you, Granger. I think I was just projecting everything that I had been taught. Well, that's not exactly true. I know...it sounds stupid. But I was angry that the great Harry Potter didn't even want to try to be friends with me. I guess that anger was carried out on how I was treating you, too." She was nodding...still not saying anything. Draco wasn't used to Hermione Granger being quiet. In fact, it worried him. "Granger, what happened at the Weasley house?"

"Draco, do you have feelings for me?"

He was taken aback at her question, but he knew that he should just risk it and be truthful. "Yes, I suppose that I might."

Exasperated, she turned and raised her voice a little. "You might? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I am most definitely, excruciatingly, in love with you," he replied.

"Great. Just great." Hermione began to talk then. Non-stop, practically. Everything she had been thinking about began to bubble to the surface and tumble out all at once. She didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or just kick something. "Yes, that's just icing on the cake. First I go and break Ronald's heart only to find out that Harry's in love with me! Then I run away, talk to someone who I think is just a friend and it turns out HE is in love with me, too? And now... the great Draco Malfoy, former king of the Slytherins, is in love with me, too! Great. This just couldn't get any better, could it? Let's take the already difficult life of Hermione Granger one step further and have the entire Hogwarts' Alumni fall for her, shall we? Or, no...no...I've got one even better. Let's see if we can't get Voldemort in on the act!" Hermione threw herself back on the bed and yelled in exasperation.

Draco stood there for a moment before he burst out laughing. Not just laughing, but doubled-over, tear-jerker laughing. He couldn't get enough breath in for a few moments to even begin to make a comment.

"Stop it, Malfoy! This is not funny!" she said, glaring at him.

"I'm…I'm…. S-Sorry…Hermione…but…. It's…it's…. It's about…as comical…as

it could get…." he replied in-between breaths.

"Oh piss off!" Angrily, she began pulling things out of her closet to take a bath and get ready for bed. She wasn't interested in food, or drink, or anything else save bathing and bed. She just hoped that when she woke in the morning, her mind would be a little clearer for her to attempt to function.

Malfoy sat there and put the cloak over his head again. He knew that any moment the house elf would arrive with his dinner. He was still hungry, and he knew better than to try and comfort Hermione one b it – if only for the fear that she might turn around and hex him into oblivion.