Ch 8

Authors note -

Just a little thank you to my readers for reading and reviewing this :) It means a lot and I love you all for it :D

The next hours and days were… different. Hermione and Draco both discovered how tiresome it was keeping personal matters secret.

"Hey, Hermione?" Ron called suddenly, cracking though Hermione's thoughts. The two were seated in one of the corners of the Gryffindor common room, reading and studying silently while they waited for Harry to return from detention. Unusually, Ron was the only one that actually read while Hermione pretended to read. Her mind was focused on more personal matters. Draco, to be exact.

"Hermione?" Ron repeated, completely breaking through Hermione's thoughts which were heavily clouded.

"What?" Hermione said, sounding a bit more curt then she planned.

"Will you help with this homework? I don't remember much of it." he asked, oblivious to Hermione's tone.

She glanced over his homework and shook her head.

"No. Look through your notes and books Ronald, or just pay attention in class. You need to, because you won't have me sitting next to you and telling you the answers once we start O.W.L.s" Hermione warned him and stood up from her chair. Ron, who was slightly annoyed but let the warning go, watched her suspiciously as she started picking up her own books and quills.

"Hermione?" Ron called once again when Hermione slid the chair back under the table.

"I'm going to bed, if that's what your wondering." she answered the question she thought was going to be asked. It was then Ron's turn to shake his head.

"No, I wasn't. I was wondering why you were late for Hagrid's class today, why you looked so flustered and why you've been quiet and broody all night. Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Hermione felt a sudden pang of guilt. She could just tell him the truth, but that would cause too much drama for her to handle and ruin any positive relationship she had with Draco. Then again, if she lied and Ron and Harry found out what really happened, that would cause even more drama and possibly ruin her friendship with both Harry and Ron.

Hermione remained calm and shrugged.

"Nothings wrong. I was late and flustered because I uh, thought I lost my wand. But I didn't!" she lied and put on a fake smile. Ron didn't look convinced.

"I'm going to bed, goodnight." Hermione told him before he could pursue the subject any further.

"Goodnight," Ron muttered and turned back to his book as Hermione turned and walked to the girls dormitories.

No other girls were in the room, so Hermione quickly changed into her pyjamas and sunk into her bed, her mind once again full of thoughts about Draco.

Hermione had no idea what to do. She yearned to be back behind those trees in Draco's arms, with their lips locked and her hands running through his hair. She had enjoyed it more then she could have believed. 'But I shouldn't have enjoyed it. It was wrong and you were right to push away.' Hermione reassured herself, even though she didn't believe one bit of it. A frustrating battle between what she believed was right, and what she wanted played through her head.

Sighing exhaustedly, Hermione hugged her pillow and closed her eyes. She could think of this later.

Or not.

There was a sudden tapping coming from one of the windows opposite of Hermione's bed. At first, she ignored it and tried to sleep, but gave up when the tapping became more impatient and louder. Grudgingly, Hermione sat up and peered over to the window and saw an eagle owl sitting on the outside window sill with a letter in it's beak. Curious, Hermione slid off her bed and stepped towards the window.

'Who's sending letters at this time of night?' she wondered as she pushed open the window. The owl hooted angrily and swooped inside, dropping the letter on top of Hermione's bushy hair and sat itself on a random bedpost.

"Who do you belong to? you don't look like a school owl," Hermione said and grabbed the letter off her head as the owl hooted blankly in reply. For a few seconds, she stared at the eagle owl, who stared in return. She was almost certain she had seen him somewhere, she just didn't know where.

Shrugging, Hermione walked back to her bed and inspected the letter. She had no idea who it was sent to, since it had no name written on it. i'It couldn't hurt to just have a little peek.' /i she thought as she sat comfortably on the side her bed. Slowly, she unfolded the piece of paper and read.

Forgive me yet?

-The resourceful, cunning and ambitious Slytherin, D.

A moving drawing of a snake swirled around the writing.

Hermione then knew who the letter was for, and who it was from. She couldn't help but smirk when she reread the little message. The answer however, was obviously no.

The owl, who Hermione suspected was Draco's, hooted again, as if he was telling her to reply to the letter. She would've done just that, if she knew what to write.

"I don't know what to write! go back outside, I'll think about it later." Hermione told the owl and pointed to the open window. The bird hooted grumpily and stayed in it's spot. Rolling her eyes, she quickly performed a spell on the note so it multiplied by two.

"I get it, you don't want to return empty handed. Well, jokes on you mister grumpy owl. Go on, shoo!" Hermione commanded and gave one of the two letters to the owl. Annoyed, the owl dramatically stretched out his wings and flew straight out of the window.

Not bothering to close the window, Hermione lay back down in her bed and watched the drawing of the snake wiggle around her copy of the letter for a few minutes. 'He wants me…' Hermione thought with a small smile on her face.

Shaking her head, Hermione turned over and hid the letter under her pillow case as her smile slightly dropped. 'What am I going to do?' she asked herself, and not for the first time. Yawning, she pushed the thought out of her head and closed her eyes, wishing for a peaceful sleep.

"How come you skipped class yesterday?" Pansy asked Draco the next day while they sat in the Great Hall. She had warmed back up to him over the last few days, and was almost back to normal.

Draco glanced up from his untouched food and put on his customary smirk.

"Just wasn't in the mood to be told what to do by an oaf." he lied and stabbed his knife into his breakfast.

"You should have stayed! you could have told Umbridge what you really think of the oaf, she was asking every student," Pansy told him then looked down longingly at Draco's food.

"I'm sure you did a good job of that anyway. Have it." he said and pushed the plate of food towards her. Pansy immediately lost all interest in the conversation and snatched the plate away. Draco didn't mind, because he was also losing interest and gaining it over at the Gryffindor table.

He watched Hermione as she sat down opposite of her two friends, so that she was facing in Draco's direction. He could tell that she was avoiding to look anywhere but her plate, and that their kiss must have made Hermione's sleep troubling. Even from where he was sitting, he could see light shadows below her eyes and her hair was bushier than normal. Draco loved her hair like that.

Hermione must have felt his eyes resting on her, because she suddenly looked up from her plate and caught Draco watching her. He didn't avert his eyes like he normally would have done. Instead, he continued to smirk. Hermione blushed and dropped her gaze back to her plate before anyone could see who she was looking at.

Unfortunately, Pansy followed Draco's line of sight and snorted in disgust.

"You should have seen that Mudblood yesterday," Pansy said and leaned into Draco's shoulder. The hair on the back of his neck prickled up in anger when he heard Pansy call Hermione 'Mudblood'.

"She was dazed and hardly knew what she was doing. It was quite funny, really." Pansy told him with a delighted smile. Draco balled up his fists and clenched his teeth. Pansy stared at him curiously.

"I wonder why she was acting like that though, it was definitely unusual behaviour for the stupid Mudblood." she said absently and violently stabbed her food. Draco could feel the anger rising inside of him, and tried to hide it, but failed.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Pansy asked with a tone of suspicion in her voice, then snickered.

"Ah, wait I know. You're annoyed because you didn't get to see the Mudblood mess up!" she said with a hint of sarcasm that made Draco jump up from his chair. She was testing him, he knew it. Pansy hadn't believed Draco's lies as much as he thought she did.

Draco suddenly felt prying eyes stare at him. The Slytherin students nearby gave him weird looks, but said nothing, except for Pansy.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" she asked, not kindly. Draco fought the urge to let out a snide remark and murmured something about not feeling well. He could tell Pansy was having trouble believing him, so giving her no chance to speak, he quickly strode away.

Hermione had no idea what Pansy had said to make Draco look so angry, and she didn't want to know.

The bushy haired Gryffindor's eyes followed Draco as he walked towards the giant doors. Her eyes were locked onto the platinum blonde hair, which was once again neatly combed. One thing she was certain about, was that she definitely preferred his hair ruffled.

When he disappeared, Hermione slowly drew her attention back to the two boys in front of her. They both stared curiously right back at her.

"What were you looking at?" Harry asked and turned his head to the direction Hermione was previously looking at. She was suddenly glad that Draco was no where in sight.

"Nothing." Hermione muttered quietly.

Harry gave Ron a confused and questioning look, and Ron shrugged.

"Don't ask me. She's been acting weird since yesterday." He told him and started to devour his own food. Hermione frowned and also gave Ron a confused look.

"I acted weird? what do you mean?"

"Well, you paid no attention in class yesterday, and you've hardly spoken." Ron explained as he shoved a spoonful of cereal down his throat. Hermione turned to Harry and gave him a questioning look. He nodded in agreement.

'Act normal, Hermione.' she told herself.

"I paid no attention? really? me? Merlin you two are blind." Hermione said with her casual unimpressed tone. Ron shrugged again and Harry smirked, but none of them argued. With relief, Hermione turned back to her food, and thoughts of Draco came flooding into her mind just like they had done the day before.

'This is NOT acting normal.'

Draco and Hermione didn't see each other again until the next day, to their disappointment that they hid from everyone.

Hermione was walking with her two friends peacefully through a hall when she felt a sharp and sudden pain hit her arm.

"Ow! watch it!" Hermione shouted and turned to face the person who had just walked right into her. The anger instantly drained out of her when she saw the blonde Slytherin smirking at her.

"My apologies, Miss Granger." Draco said sarcastically and bowed just to confuse Harry and Ron. To his amusement, the two boys gaped, while Hermione blushed and averted her eyes elsewhere.

"Did you- what?" Ron blurted as Harry glared suspiciously at Draco.

"Apologise? why yes, I did, Weasel-Bee." Draco said bluntly and gave Ron a patronising smile .

"Well… watch where you're going, you blind git." Ron spat, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron couldn't let Draco walk away without an insult spat at his face. Draco furrowed his brow and tilted his head to the side.

"I'm a Seeker, Weasley. I cannot be blind, or did you forget with that tiny brain of yours?" Draco said in a patronising tone.

Ron went red, Harry glared and Hermione stayed quiet. She didn't want to get involved.

"Shut up Malfoy. It's not like you can catch the Snitch anyway, so who knows, maybe you're the one that's blind." Harry said calmly and pulled at Ron's arm to drag him away. Draco went red, and his face turned into an expression of angry embarrassment.

"Standing up for your girlfriend, Potter?" Draco hissed, and Harry lazily let go of Ron's arm. Ron charged at Draco like a bull. Until his arm was grabbed again, this time by Hermione.

"Bloody Hell Hermione! It's like you're trying to help the git." Ron shouted and tried to break free of Hermione's grip. She hugged his arm tighter, and Draco snickered.

"You don't want to injure your other hand, do you Weasley?" he hissed and gave Hermione a wink that made her blush before spinning on his heel.

When he appeared to move away from sight, Hermione let go of Ron's arm and the two boys turned to her.

"Why did you hold me back?!" asked Ron.

"Did he wink at you?" asked Harry.

'Crap,' thought Hermione.

"I-I don't know…" Hermione murmured and avoided the two boy's suspicious eyes. Suddenly, Ron turned to Harry as he just realised what he had said.

"Malfoy winked at her?" he questioned and scowled.

"I think s-"

"Oh for goodness sake, Harry, don't be ridiculous! Honestly, do you really think he would do that? maybe you're the blind one." she lied dramatically and shook her head to show disapproval. Harry put his hands up as if to surrender, and Ron turned back to Hermione with a large scowl imprinted on his face.

"Why did you hold me back? I almost had him, and he deserves all the pain he gets!" Ron said, annoyed and angry at Hermione who frowned.

"That's a bit harsh…" she muttered quietly to herself and both Ron and Harry's eyes widened. Hermione's stomach somersaulted when she realised she spoke out loud.

"Harsh? Hermione, he frequently calls you 'Mudblood', and not to mention he's a complete git, prick and bully. That isn't harsh." Harry said angrily, while Ron narrowed his eyes curiously at Hermione. 'Good job, Hermione. That's one way to make them suspicious.' she rushed to think of her reply.

"Well, yes that's true… But it doesn't mean he deserves ALL the pain he gets…" Hermione trailed off, then hurried to continue when Ron and Harry exchanged confused glances.

"What I mean is that he wouldn't deserve death or any extreme pain, despite being a 'bully'" she said, speaking softly on the last few words.

There was a sudden slow clapping. Hermione glanced over Harry and Ron, and they turned their heads to the sound of the clapping. The two boys scowled and Hermione felt a sharp flush of embarrassment fly over her. Draco hadn't left at all, just walked a few steps away so he was hidden from view.

"Why, thank you Granger. It's nice to know someone doesn't completely loathe me because i'm better than them." he said sarcastically and gave Ron and Harry an accusing glare.

"Shut up, Dra-Malfoy." Hermione said bluntly. She knew he was just doing it to playfully annoy her, but he was doing it too clumsily. He could easily reveal their relationship (Whatever it is at the moment) and their kiss, if he wasn't too careful.

For a few seconds, Draco fell silent and studied Hermione's face, his eyes constantly traveling to her lips.

"If it means I get to stop communication with you three, then gladly." he drawled and walked back in the direction he originally came from, discreetly bumping into Hermione's shoulder again. His pale hand quickly brushed over her's, and she felt something soft drop into her palm. Not knowing what it was, she gripped the object tightly without giving Draco a second glance.

"That git." Harry said under his breath and continued walking, with Ron trailing behind. Hermione stayed glued to the ground, unsure is she should look at the object now or later.

"Coming, 'Mione?" Ron called. Hermione stepped towards him, then stopped.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Don't worry, I'll catch up!" she told the two boys and turned in the opposite direction.

Soon enough, Hermione found the nearest girl's bathroom and entered. No one was in sight, but for precautions, she still locked herself in a toilet stall.

Her fist had gone white because of how tight she squeezed it. Anxious and excited, Hermione leaned against the door and opened her hand, revealing a crumpled peace of paper. Curiously, she hastily unfolded and was quite disappointed, but also amused.

It appeared to be the same letter Hermione duplicated. 'Merlin, he's persistent.' she thought with a small smile and flipped the paper. Her smile broadened.

Draco had sketched a portrait of a moving lion. It roared but made no sound, and looked exactly like a lion. Except for one small detail. It's mane was dark brown and bushy, unlike an actual lion's mane.

Still smiling, Hermione hid the letter inside one of her pockets and quickly glanced at her watch. Realised she had lingered too long for someone who was only going to the toilet, she cautiously stepped out of the stall and ran out of the bathroom.

The next morning, Hermione woke up in pain. Her forehead throbbed as she unwillingly sat up from her bed. All the other girls were fast asleep when she peered out the half closed window. She just missed sunrise. Exhausted, she rolled off her bed and changed into her robes. She could hardly move without feeling like her brain was hitting the inside of her skull.

As soon as she was dressed, Hermione left the dormitories and common room and slowly strode to the Hospital Wing. She saw Filch, who gave her a cruel glare when she walked past him, but no one else to her relief.

Eventually, she arrived at the Hospital Wing. She could hear Madam Pomfrey scolding a student about manners as soon as she entered the large and narrow room.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione called quietly. Madam Pomfrey came storming out from behind the curtains that hid one of the hospital beds, with an unhappy expression embedded into her face.

"Oh, what's happened now- ? ah, Miss Granger! Is it time for the bandages and stitched to be removed? A little early, I must say." Madam Pomfrey asked kindly and yawned, whatever anger she had just experienced disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Hermione frowned and shook her head, causing more pain to erupt around her forehead.

"No, Madam Pomfrey. I woke up this morning and my head was throbbing. I was hoping you could help it." Hermione explained and tried to look around the curtains for the student. Madam Pomfrey's face lit up.

"I think I have something that can help. Wait here, I'll be ten minutes." She told Hermione and scurried into a room separate from the Hospital Wing.

"It's quiet stupid that she won't use proper magic, isn't it?" came a familiar voice from behind the curtains. Before she knew it, Hermione found herself walking towards the voice and pulling the curtains apart.

Draco Malfoy sat in his Quidditch uniform, with his right arm wrapped in a grey cast.

"Actual magic would heal your head better." he continued with a smug smile.

"What happened to your arm?" Hermione asked and ignored his comment and walked up to the side of the bed. He shrugged it off.

"Quidditch practice. Bludger hit my arm." he explained plainly. Awkward silence followed.

Slowly, Draco reached to the table beside the bed and picked up his wand.

"Come here," he said calmly, and Hermione felt a wave of uncertainty float over her.

"Why?" she asked cautiously and scuffled her feet a few centimetres away.

"If you want that bandage to stay on your head forever, just say so. Otherwise, come here. I don't bite."

"That's a lie," Hermione muttered under her breath, but did what he said anyway and sat on the space left beside Draco. He couldn't try anything in this state… could he?

Draco cupped Hermione's chin with his uninjured hand and pulled her face towards him. She shivered at his touch. His hand's were deliciously warm and soft on her skin.

With his injured hand, he slowly and carefully raised the wand and pointed it to her forehead.

"Stay still," Draco ordered and Hermione did exactly that.

"Episkey!" he whispered, and Hermione could instantly feel the pain from her head drain away, and she was pretty sure her invisible stitches disappeared too.

"Thanks," she murmured and Draco reluctantly dropped his hand from her cheek. The awkward silence returned.

Hermione couldn't handle the suspense.

"Did you mean it?" she asked suddenly, her tone determined and stern. She didn't need to explain for Draco to understand.

"What do you think?" he countered slyly and stared amusingly at Hermione. 'Yes,' she thought, but couldn't say it.

"I honestly don't know," Hermione lied timidly. Draco smirked and wrapped his uninjured arm around the small of her back.

"Well, you'll have to find out, won't you?" he teased and pulled her closer.

His lips lightly brushed her's, before she absently wrapped her arms around his neck. Her hands ruffled through his blonde locks as his gently raked her back, their lips and tongues entwined.

They kissed for a few more seconds until Draco playfully nipped at her bottom lip, causing Hermione to quietly moan in shock and pull back a few centimetres. 'Remember Hermione, this is wrong!' she reminded herself with her hands still wrapped around Draco.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, actually sounding worried for once. Hermione shook her head and bit her lip nervously as angry tears welled up in her eyes.

"Draco, this isn't right - !" she stopped talking when Draco gave her a spiteful glare.

"You know what I hate about you?" he asked venomously, making Hermione's heart jolt.

"What?"

"Your stupid morals. Stop thinking about what is right or what your idiot friends think, and start thinking about what you want." he said sternly, but not unkindly

Hermione furrowed her brow, then let out a heavy sigh. He was right. Despite how much she hated him, how rude and cruel he had been to her in the past few years, he was right. She leaned towards him again, but didn't kiss him like he was hoping. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him, carefully avoiding his injured arm.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Draco asked but didn't protest. He was comfortable where he was.

"You're right," she answered and lowered her hands down to his hips. Smiling proudly to himself, Draco entwined his hand within Hermione's hair and whispered into her ear,

"Of coarse I am."

They stayed like that for about a minute until Hermione finally pulled away.

"No one can know." she said. She had given up on fighting, completely.

"My lips are sealed." Draco told her and smiled. A real smile, not one of the many fake ones he frequently puts on.

Hermione nodded nervously in approval and bit her lip. Draco's smile fell and transformed into a frown.

"Hermione, if you're uncertain about this, don't do it. I don't want to do this if you don't feel the same way." he said, sounding disappointed. Hermione blushed and shook her head.

"I'm not uncertain! I do feel the same way…" her voice trailed off, and Draco's face slightly lit up.

"it's just going to be hard…" she continued. Draco nodded in agreement then pulled Hermione back towards him.

"It won't be if we're careful. Promise you that." he said and brushed a thick curly strand of hair that fell over Hermione's eyes. He could see that she was fighting tears. For what reason, he was unsure.

"You did mean it." she said and grinned like a little girl. It wasn't a question.

"Yep. Do you forgive me?" Draco said mischievously, even though he already knew the answer. Hermione smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Not yet."

"I'll just have to try harder then."

Draco leaned in and gave her a short bittersweet kiss, before suddenly breaking apart. They both heard quick footsteps, and Hermione jumped off the side of the bed. She was standing awkwardly by his side when Madam Pomfrey came into view.

"There you are, Miss Granger - Why are you here? this is a private bed! there are curtains!" she pointed out furiously, then noticed Draco with his wand lying next to him.

"Mister Malfoy! I told you, no wands! the potion I gave you will work much better! Miss Granger, I have some potions for you, by the way."

Draco snickered and nudged Hermione towards the curtains with his free hand.

"Go on Granger, you heard her." he said, returning to his old self.

"Unlike you, Malfoy." she retorted and walked out to the centre of the room. Draco laughed.

"Just drink this before dinner tonight, and you won't have to worry about any more pain." Madam Pomfrey explained and handed Hermione a tiny flask filled with blue liquid. The matron quickly inspected Hermione's forehead, and pursed her lips. Hermione was glad the bandage was still on, else Madam Pomfrey would've known Draco healed her.

"You should be able to take out the stitches and bandages by tomorrow. Anything else?" Hermione shook her head and thanked the Matron before running out of the Hospital Wing.

Her mind was racing, and her heart thumping. Just a week ago, she hated Draco Malfoy. Just a week ago, he hated Hermione Granger.

Now they were together.