chapter14
 (all hail now the pain of being honest)

Having thought about Draco and Ron for two days straight, Hermione had given herself a migraine and decided to take it out on everything. Everybody thought it was just due to the up-coming task, but Ginny had a feeling there was something more to it.

"Hermione are you alright?" Ginny sat down next to her, who was gazing into the fire place. Hermione had been starring off again, thrifting through the thoughts of Draco and Ron. She was about to tell Ginny to sod off, when she caught the look she was getting. It was a look that Hermione had seen Mrs. Weasley give Fred and George countless times.

"Ginny I'm fine, really," she lied, Ginny didn't say anything she just continued to stare at Hermione knowing she was hiding something.

Hermione so wished she could tell her, she considered Ginny her bestfriend besides the boys. She decided looking into her concerned friends face that she would tell her the truth, well most of it anyway. Glancing around, Hermione saw that they were one of only a few in the common room. Most were still out at dinner. Leaning forward Hermione gestured for Ginny to do the same, "Draco wants to be serious."

Ginny looked at Hermione sharply analyzing her face, then shifted back in her chair. "I thought you two were already serious."

Hermione could hear more to the question then what had been said. Here was her chance to come out and tell her, "Yeah, but it's different, it's not the same as you and Harry."

Ginny smiled to herself before answering. "You're happy?"

Hermione wasn't sure if this was a question or a statement, she answered anyway. "Yes, but..."

"Then it's exactly like Harry and me, he makes me so happy," Ginny interrupted.

Hermione thought best to answer, when Ginny spoke again. "Hermione I haven't seen you this happy in such a long time, sometimes you're practically glowing and do you know when you glow?"

Hermione stared at the red-head dumb-founded, she glowed? When did she glow?

"When you were in his arms that first weekend at Hogsmeade, when you guys hold hands, when he enters a room, when he smiles...for merlins sake all the boy has to do is breath and you light up." Ginny was smiling for ear to ear.

"I do not," Hermione said a little unsure of herself, did she really?

"And you know what's better?" Ginny asked. "He does the exact same thing with you, Hermione you know how I feel about Draco, but by the that boy looks at you he would do anything for you."

Ginny shuffled forward in her chair again and took Hermione's hands in her own. "So what's wrong?"

Hermione looked up to her friend's face and realised she was right, there was nothing wrong, Draco was there now, while Ron was off playing with his princess.

"Thanks Gin," Hermione stood and headed out of the common room.

Walking to the dungeons Hermione thought of all the things she would say, but when she was suddenly standing in front of the Slytherin common room her mind went blank. It took her ten minutes to remember the password Draco had said last time she had been there. She was nervous, biting her bottom lip Hermione brushed down her skirt and flipped her hair and stepped through the portrait hole. No one looked up, though there weren't many students around. Hermione then realised she didn't know where Draco's room was. Feeling stupid, she scanned the room and noticed a brown haired fourth year heading towards her.

She looked Hermione straight in the eye. "First stairs to your right, fourth door on the left." Then she continued out of the dungeon.

Confused Hermione followed the directions and sighed in relief when she opened the door to find a blonde haired Slytherin sprawled across a queen sized bed with a leather bound journal being scribbled in. The bed took up most of the room, it was no surprise that Draco had a room all to himself. Hermione scoffed to herself the rich do get everything.

Hearing Hermione grey eyes looked up, she could have sworn she'd seen them smile, but his face remained that unreadable mask. Shuffling her feet awkwardly, she watched as he finished writing, placed the journal in his top draw and crawl off the bed leaving the fur rug he had been wrapped in on the bed.

Of course he was only dressed in a pair of black slacks, Hermione blinked. They were probably worth more than everything she was wearing, she mentally added. Her eyes drifted over his chest, marveling. How could he be so casual about being partially naked in front of her? She thought. Did he know the effect it had on her? Probably...Definitely.

Draco just stood there leaning against his four poster bed letting her soak in his naked chest. He watched her wring her hands and bite her bottom lip. She was nervous. Did she know the effect on him and how much he wanted to be the one biting that bottom lip? Probably not...Definitely not.

Draco was brought back to the room when Hermione finally spoke, "I didn't know you kept a journal?"

"Yes, well there's a lot you don't know about me." Draco took three quick strides and he had her trapped up against the door though he refrained from touching her, they were so close that when she breathed he could feel it against his chest.

"What are you doing here Hermione?" Draco whispered breathing on her cheek, he mentally laughed when her breathing hitched.

"I wanted to talk," she finally got out, why was he having this effect on her, her body, her senses? His smell was a drug. It was the close proximity she told herself and the fact that he was half naked didn't help.

"You've been ignoring me for two days and now you want to talk?" he replied leaning in, Hermione thought he was going to kiss her but he stopped merely a breath above her lips.

Hermione closed her eyes to avoid his penetrating gaze, it was true that she had ignored him but she had also ignored Ron. She wanted to think without any influences distracting her. "I needed time to think."

When he didn't answer she opened her eyes and met grey orbs staring. "About?" he whispered while moving to smell her hair, still not touching her.

"You, Ron...us?" Hermione mumbled, clutching her fists to her sides.

Draco hummed into her ear, and then gently blew. A shiver ran up Hermione spine. "What have you concluded?"

Before Hermione could answer, Draco had shifted his weight, placing both hands on the door on either side of her face and was leaning over her again, yet still avoiding contact.

"That I am willing to admit that...that...that." Draco started gently leaning his weight against her his scent of oak and fresh air filled her senses, she snapped back when he encouraged her to continues. "That I may..."

"May?" he interrupted leaning in more.

"That I do," she corrected, "like you."

"Hmmm, really," he whispered against her neck.

"Ye..ye-yes." Her breath hitched in her throat as Draco started kissing her neck.

Hermione didn't know how but her hands had found their way to Draco's hair and were playing through it. It wasn't until a moan escaped her lips did Draco's hands move from beside her face and were around her waist and his mouth found hers. He pushed so hard against her lips, she thought they would bruise, then he started biting on her bottom lip. She opened her lips to him and let him fill her mouth. She had no words to describe it. They had kissed before but it had always been for show, except for that night in the prefect's bathroom. Draco never had this hunger, this passion in his kisses before. Hermione knew that if she didn't stop him now, she never would. Moving her hands she worked them down to his exposed chest and gently pushed, breaking their kiss.

When he opened his eyes, Draco looked worried and there was something else Hermione had never seen; fear. He was worried he'd done something wrong, scared he'd ruin it. She didn't want to hurt his feelings and was about to say that he did nothing wrong when she noticed she still had her hands on his chest. Looking him over, her hands started gliding over his fit stomach then back, only brushing her finger tips across the bridge of his chest and over his shoulders.

Hermione nearly became lost in him again, when she saw Draco's eyes darken over with pure lust. Glancing around the room for something to distract her, her eyes landed on a silver picture frame of a lady. She had pale skin so clear Hermione doubted if she had ever had a single blemish. Silver grey hair was wrapped up in a loose bun, curls feel strategically around her face. She was breath-taking, Hermione only wondered how stunning she had of been thirty years before that photo had been taken.

Hermione locked eyes with the eyes in the photo, their face was smiling so brightly, but her eyes were hiding a deeper sadness. Hermione would have almost said regret. She didn't understand why, until she took in the whole photo. The lady was sitting in a leather arm chair cradling a small baby wrapped in a blue blanket, he couldn't have been more than two weeks old, but the silver blonde hair was undeniable Draco's. The thing that confused Hermione the most was why the lady was sad, and why the photo wasn't moving; it was a Muggle photo.

The seventeen year old Draco watched Hermione stare off into nothing. He had only realised she was not with him when her hands had stopped and remained rested on his chest, not that he minded but when he had looked at her, her eyes had been glazed over in thought. This was a bad sign; she was already rethinking their relationship, great.

Draco's shift of weight beneath her hands brought Hermione out of her daze. She realized she didn't know who that woman was and she didn't know why, now looking around the entire room; her photo was the only personal object that Draco owned. She didn't know him as well as she thought she did, and until she did they would go no further, Hermione told herself.

"Draco?"

"Hmm"

"I think we should stop."

He took a step back, Hermione's hands slipped from his naked skin, "Why?" Hurt flashed across his eyes and then his mask was placed up. Hermione grabbed for his hands.

"Because you do that, you mask your true feelings and I don't know why?" Draco made to pull away again, but Hermione gripped tighter.

"Draco I want to get to know you first and I want you to get to know me as well."

"I don't understand." Draco pulled his hands free and walked over to the bed. "You know me..."

"You even said I don't know everything about you, I want to get to know you, the real you, the one that hides behind those eyes," Hermione interrupted taking a step closer.

"What do you want to know?" Draco leaned back on his elbows, smirking.

God, the only way he knew how to deal with anything was to result to sex Hermione thought. Hermione closed the gap between them, Draco's smirk widened but instead of going to him she flopped down on the bed next to him. Hermione rolled over onto her stomach, and perched herself on her elbows. "Well, I don't actually know that much about you, besides that you're Draco Malfoy!"

Draco smiled at the way she emphasized his name as though he was important, but it wasn't the fact that he was important that made him smile, he already knew that, it was that she thought he was important. Draco was interrupted from his thought when Hermione spoke again.

"Hmmm," he mumbled, having not heard her.

"What's your favourite colour?"

Without hesitation Draco answered, "Green"

"Why do you wa..." Draco stopped when he saw Hermione frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hermione lied, placing her head in her hands and played with her tie.

"Hermione what's..."

"You didn't even blink," Hermione shrieked. "That's such a text book Slytherin answer."

"Green!" she scoffed, returning her attention back to her tie.

Draco just stared at her, he hadn't even thought about it, it just came out. Whenever someone asked he always said green. He was Slytherin. Now that he thought about it he didn't much like it that much, only that dark green in silk suited his skin, it made it look smooth and perfect.

What was his favourite colour?

This time again without thinking, an image popped into his head. It was a beautiful blue dress. He'd seen this dress before, Hermione had worn it to a fourth year formal thing, the Muggle Studies class had organised.

"Blue," Draco whispered.

Hermione looked up from her tie. "What?"

"My favourite colour is blue," Draco answered.

Hermione's face lit up, her skin was glowing. He had never seen her this happy before, not even with Potter and Weasley. All he did was answer a question. Women!

"Okay, what's your favourite meal?" Hermione asked now on her knees, practically bouncing from excitement.

Draco thought about this for awhile. " I think spaghetti."

"Really, I would of pegged you as a steak kind of guy," Hermione said, "Why spaghetti?"

"When I was nine my parents took me to Italy and we were out shopping and Mum, Dad and I were all starving and the only place we could fine was this little family owned pizza place. We looked over the menu and I didn't see anything I wanted, I felt like spaghetti, but it wasn't there. So I cracked it. My father asked if the chef could make it anyway, the waitress said no, so I cracked it so more. I had no idea that the whole time the owner's wife was watching me from behind the counter. In the end I ordered a pizza and sat there sulking. Fifteen minutes later the wife came out with a bowl of spaghetti and said "here you go love, wouldn't want this beautiful boy upset," in a thick Italian accent. It was the best spaghetti I have ever had." The whole time Draco had told his story Hermione had listened completely engulfed in what he was saying.

"What about you?" Draco shuffled back so he could see her face.

"H'uh," Hermione blinked, confused.

"What's your favourite colour and meal?" Draco asked

"Oh!" Hermione laid down on her stomach again, and held her head in her hands. "My favourite colour is…" She was about to say red, but stopped she had exploded at him for doing the exact same thing, looking up she met silver-grey eyes.

That's what her favourite colour was silver-grey.

"Purple, my favourite colour is purple and my favourite meal is probably…um honestly McDonald's." Hermione laughed trying to hide her face, if only Harry had heard her say that.

"McDonald's?" Draco frowned. "What's that?"

"It's a Muggle thing." Hermione didn't think he would want to hear anything on her Muggle life, so she didn't elaborate.

"Yeah and?" Draco waited for her to continue, he smiled to himself at her surprised face.

"And…um it's an American franchise, take away restaurant…erm what I mean is you go in and order your meal and leave with it. You can eat it there if you want but mostly people leave," Hermione explained.

"So you don't sit down to eat." Draco sounded disgusted but Hermione only laughed.

"You can at home, most people go through the drive thru in their cars." Hermione was still laughing.

"What can you buy from there?"

Hermione stopped laughing., "You can get hamburgers, French fries and soda, and other stuff. My family practically lived on it when we went to America for a holiday. If they had it in London I'd probably be the size of a bus."

Draco frowned at that.

"What?"

"I don't think I like this McDonald's," he grumbled.

"Why?"

Draco then mumbled something Hermione couldn't hear. "What?"

This time he only mumbled it a little bit louder, but she still couldn't get any understanding out of it. "What?" she repeated.

"I LIKE YOUR BODY THE WAY IT IS!" Draco shouted.

"Oh," Hermione gasped, but seeing Draco's embarrassment at being so honest with his true feelings, thought quick to fix it. "Lucky that place is all the way in Italy, cause I like your body exactly as it is." Hermione's eyes drifted over his chest, "and too much pasta would just ruin it."

"Well aren't you just lucky." Draco smirked regaining his arrogant composure. Hermione didn't mind he had at least been honest with her, he like her body. She giggled to herself. They continued passing questions between them until they fell asleep deep into the night