A/N: Hi everyone! I'm finally back after one year and a few months. This time, I will not disappear again for I have completed this story! YIPPEEE. CLAP FOR MEEE! After 3 years of writing I finally completed writing this story, phew! There'll be two more chapters:)

Truthfully, who thought I abandoned the story? XD that's okay! I'm sorry for being late but I really kept my promise! So forgive me? XD I hope you guys will like this chapter !(actually, the whole story to be exact XD) oh well, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter? Nope, not mine !

Chapter 21: Feelings of Love

Hermione tossed and turned about in her bed, yawning and stretching once in a while. She was only able to sleep at around 3 or 4 in the morning and it was definitely not enough.

Hermione yawned again, her eyebrows creasing. Yesterday night, though she had told Draco she was tired and wanted to sleep, as soon as she entered her room, she had been hopping around, feeling too excited to even fall asleep. Different images of Draco Malfoy filled her mind. H heart thumped against her ribcage and she blushed and grinned for what seemed like forever until her mouth hurt. Despite the pain, Hermione found it difficult to wipe off that grin of hers. That moment just seemed almost magical ... Draco's confession coming just like a storm ... and she was totally wrapped up in it. It was breathtakingly miraculous that they were mutually in love. It was something that seemed impossible but Draco made it possible.

When she had finally settled down and snuggled into her bed, she stared at the ceiling of her room, reflecting and reminiscing all the wonderful times they spent together. She smiled gently as she thought of the times they laughed, talked, joked around. The time when Draco help her get back together and lastly, the time when she was tortured. She shivered at the memory. Though some memories were bad, they were still precious memories of the journey between her and Draco. Only then she realised, that they had overcame many obstacles and came so far.

Draco, too, had felt extremely overwhelmed. He hadn't expected himself to confess to Hermione ... It was like a spur of the moment. He felt that he just had to clarify the misunderstanding as soon as possible. He didn't like the fact that Hermione hated him. And he didn't wanted her to feel bad ... But he was glad it sort of went smoothly. She didn't snap at him or glare at him like she would have done before. Her expression had changed a 180 degrees. After confessing, it felt as if a huge boulder was lifted off his chest. He felt he could breathe freely again. Those days that seemed suffocating to him because Hermione did not notice him was as though it was nonexistent the very moment he told her his true feelings. Now, she finally knows his feelings and he will work hard to make her fall head over heels in love with him. Draco smirked at his determination. Love was so strange ... A year ago, he would be determined to make her life difficult and would never, ever, try to make her fall in love with him.

"Feelings do change, huh," he muttered to himself, smiling, before closing his eyes for the night.

Draco was grinning ear to ear, almost looking foolish, in his sleep, occasionally sleep talking. He was having a really beautiful dream of him and his Hermione walking hand in hand, having a stroll around the lake at dusk. The sunset was just so breathtaking and the mood was just so romantic. Golden and red colored light reflecting off the surface of the lake, shining on the trees that surrounded them. Occasionally, a warm and light breeze would blow, sending some ripples on the river and blowing a few strands of Hermione's hair onto her face. Draco brushed his hand slightly on her face to push back her hair, startling Hermione. She looked up at him warmly and smiled. He smiled back at her, thinking how long it had been since he last saw her smile, and what's more, her smile was directed at him. Not anyone else, but him ... Slowly, he leaned forwards and planted a kiss on her forehead. Hermione giggled, wrapping her hands around his waist and closed her eyes. Every single thing felt so right. It was perfectly perfect. He, too, closed his eyes, relishing the moment...

"Urgh," Hermione groaned as soon as she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was tangled up so badly and she had a severe case of dark eye circles. She sighed tiredly. After daydreaming for a while and a few more sighs, Hermione reluctantly dragged herself to the shower. In a few minutes, Hermione felt clean and pleased ... but nonetheless, still tired. Trudging her way out of the bathroom, she thought to herself, 'today is going to be a horrible day...-'

'Or maybe not.' She thought as soon as she saw Draco walking towards the bathroom.

Instantly, yesterday's confession scene flashed before her eyes and Hermione lit up a little.

"Hey," she greeted shyly. It was just the same old Draco, just the same old day but everything seemed different now. Her world seemed ... brighter and more colorful now. Even Draco seemed ... sexier and manlier today ... She blushed a little at the thought.

"Hey," he returned her greeting, brushing his platinum blond hair slightly ... almost awkwardly.

His gesture caught her eye almost immediately. She had started taking note of every single detail she could see. The way he brushed his hair when he was feeling awkward, the way his muscles would flex as he does that, the way his hair fluttered at the slightest wind ...

Then it hit her. "Ah, sorry, you need the washroom right," Hermione muttered, a little flustered, as she moved out of the way.

"Don't mind it," Draco said nonchalantly yet a little jokingly before smirking at her,

Quickly, Hermione dashed into her room, the tips of her ears red. In the past, that smirk of his would throw Hermione into a fit of rage but now, it seemed warmer, like it contained a little ... affection ...

'Is it weird to think like this?' She thought to herself, trying to calm down and keep from blushing.

Hermione held her reddened face in her hands, smiling innocently like a little girl. She had never known being in love could change her that much. She hadn't expected this change. She had only thought that being in love was simply just ... being in love. Everything should stay the same. However, what was ordinary and almost boring world now looked as if it's more fascinating and full of life, so much so that it energizes her. Everything was more sparkly, and that goes for herself as well.

Hermione dressed hurriedly, wanting to be down at Great Hall to share all the things that happened with Ginny. She couldn't wait to share her joy with someone else. She was sure that Ginny would be very, very interested.

Quickly, Hermione grabbed her wand and her bag and sped down the corridor, towards the Great Hall.

Draco was smirking to himself in front of the bathroom mirror. He had just seen Hermione's ears turn red and dash hurriedly to her room. This shy side of Hermione, was what he found so adorable. And it made him happy that he is probably the only one who has seen that side of her. In the past, he had never known this side of Hermione. She had always been headstrong and had never, ever, run away from him, blushing. She looked like a deer in the headlights at that moment. He grinned to himself. Today, was going to be a good day.

"Mornin' guys," Hermione chirped cheerfully as she sat down on the bench beside Ginny.

"What's up? Someone's feeling happy today," Ginny grinned, "something great happened?" Smirking, the red head nudged Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione nodded, quickly grabbing some food to stuff into her mouth to hide her smile.

"... With Malfoy?"

At this, Ron scoffed, "Even though you were so mad at him yesterday. Hermione, you're just too gullible. You really think he changed? You can't just forgive him that easily! I still don't get what you like about him! He is a cunning, sly, Slytherin, you can't just trust him no matter what he say -"

Ginny shot a glare at him.

"What! You -"

"Hey hey hey," Harry interrupted, calming Ron. "Take a sip," and Harry pushed the goblet towards Ron.

Feeling annoyed, Ron grabbed his goblet and gulped down a mouthful of pumpkin juice a little too quickly that he started coughing and choking. Harry patted his back, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Ew! Ron!" Ginny exclaimed as she wiped away some of the pumpkin juice that escaped from her brother's mouth during his coughing fit.

Hermione debated whether to tell them or not. In the end, she decided to just tell Ginny first. After all, Harry and Ron are still unable to accept the fact that she likes Draco ...

"Oh, it's nothing really. I just had a great sleep yesterday. Made me feel really refreshed for today." She lied smoothly.

"That's nice to hear," Harry commented. Hermione smiled in agreement.

Ginny turned to her, and Hermione stared back at her.

"Um ... Yes, Ginny?"

Ginny noticed that in contrast to Hermione's slightly weary look behind her smiles, she was literally giving off a sparkling, shining vibe.

The red-head giggled slightly, 'Did she think I wouldn't notice anything?' She mouthed, "I know something happened. Share it with me?"

"That sounds like an order."

"Well yes it is," Ginny answered with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Hermione winked. She was going to tell Ginny after all. "Later, at the Gryffindor common room."

Ginny gestured an 'okay' sign, squealing in delight and anticipation. What drama would unfold now?

Ron shot them a suspicious glare but did not say anything.

"Class, have you completed the five foot long essay I assigned? Hand it in now," Professor McGonagall ordered.

Somewhere in the room, Hermione heard Ron curse softly. She sighed in exasperation. She had tried to persuade Ron to complete his essay since the day it was given yet Ron had turned a deaf ear to her advice. She sighed, 'how long is Ron going to stay like this?' She could only hope that this would be the last time Ron would procrastinate but seeing as Ron will always be Ron, that hope seemed highly impossible ... Hermione shook her head in disappointment.

"Ronald Weasley, detention with me. Today." the Professor announced angrily, "10 points from Gryffindor."

Complaints from the Gryffindors and sniggers from the Slytherins filled the room. Hermione turned behind and glared towards the immature Slytherins, only to meet the eyes of Draco Malfoy. He was ... smiling dreamily ...? When he noticed her staring at him, he winked at her. At once, Hermione's face flushed and she looked to the front.

Draco chuckled. He realised that he love seeing her reactions. Could that be the real reason why he had always bullied her in the first place? Picking fights with her also entertained him as she always had intelligent comebacks. She was the only girl ever who dared to stand against him, and sometimes, it lead to some horrible consequences such as her punching him. He winced at the recollection. That punch really hurt. He remembered that he had very much wanted to complain to his father but he knew that if he did, his father would say he was a disgrace to his family and as a man for no Malfoy man ever gets punched by a lowly, Mudblood girl. He shuddered. Just then, his reverie got interrupted by the Professor's voice.

"Quiet," Professor McGonagall ordered and at once, all was silent. "Now class, turn to page 475. We're going to ..."

Hermione had started reading the page and taking down notes to calm herself down until she was rudely interrupted. By none other than Lavender.

"Hey, what's up with you and Malfoy?"

"What? Sorry, could you repeat?" Hermione asked, still writing her notes zealously, unable to stop her concentration.

Lavender rolled her eyes slightly in annoyance. "I said, what's with you and Malfoy?"

At this, Hermione stopped writing, contemplated for a while and answered, "nothing much. And please concentrate on listening to class, Lavender. You do not want Professor to deduct points from Gryffindor again, do you?"

"Nothing much? Are you sure?"

"Yes, now please stop talking."

"But I noticed that you and Malfoy are unusually happy today."

"Unusually?"

"Well, mostly Malfoy. Can't seem to wipe that grin off his face."

"Really? And how do you know that his grinning is related to me? There isn't anything particularly interesting that you have -or need - to know." Hermione said flatly. Lavender can be a pretty nice girl but Hermione just could not stand that gossipy nature of hers. She does not know the limits and probes too much that it can be too annoying ... Besides, Hermione doesn't trust Lavender as much as she trusts the rest of her friends. If she ever did tell her, news would spread like a wildfire and she is sure that Malfoy wouldn't like that. Maybe he would even start hating her? She shook her head to get rid of the sad thought.

"I was just concerned," Lavender muttered, a little hurt.

"Lavender Brown! What did I just say?" Professor McGonagall called out of the blue.

"Er ... Er ... I ... Sorry, Professor."

"30 points from Gryffindor." She huffed.

"Again?" The Gryffindors in class complained, eyeing Ron and Lavender.

They sheepishly mouthed an apology and avoided eye contact with their fellow Gryffindor mates.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Told you so," she whispered.

Lavender just glared, not daring to speak.

After Dinner, Hermione and Ginny huddled on the couch of the Gryffindor's common room and Hermione started telling what happened after she returned to the room yesterday.

"Oh my god. Hermione, you did not just reject him."

"What? No I did not. I just said I will think about it."

"But what is there to think about, 'Mione? You love him, he loves you! There you have it! Just go out already!" Ginny exclaimed, a little exasperated.

"There's so many things to consider about! His family, my family, you, Harry, Ron ..."

"Hermione. That's so like you. You don't actually have to think so much, just go for it! Heck, fight for it! This is your own life. Even though one day, maybe, just maybe, things don't work out with Malfoy, at least you fought for this love and left many good memories."

"Wow Ginny ..." Hermione muttered in surprise.

"That sounds like an insult," Ginny huffed and crossed her arms, looking straight at Hermione.

"Okay okay ..." Hermione giggled.

"So ... How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"Hermione, you can be so dense when it comes to love. I meant, how does it feel to be mutually in love?"

"Ooh... You're so straightforward and curious Ginny."

"That's because I haven't experienced love yet. This all seems so fun. I wish I can experience love soon..." She sighed.

Hermione smiled, "You will. As for your question ... I'm not sure how to describe it ... It's like when I did not know our love was mutual, everyday felt depressing, wondering what his feelings for me were ... Wondering if he thinks about me ... Wondering if he cares about me ... But after his confession yesterday, just those words, it made my worries fly away, as it wasn't even there in the first place ... Now, the world seemed more alive ... And worth anticipating, I guess ... I heard that love is like a bittersweet chocolate and it really is ..."

/IN BLAISE'S ROOM/

"Drake, I never knew you would confess. You, Draco Malfoy, confessing to a girl? Man, this is the first! It was always girls confessing to you, not the other way round! F

or your confession, did you prepare anything? Like flowers?"

Draco blushed a little at the recollection of his confession yesterday. "Blaise ... -"

"Did Draco Malfoy just blush?" Blaise exclaimed teasingly, "The almighty, usually cold and poker face Draco Malfoy just -"

"Hey!"

"This is all so new to me! Even as your childhood friend, I never seen you like this before!"

Draco clicked his tongue.

"My, Draco is all grown up already," Blaise said dramatically, even pretending to wipe away his tears.

"Blaise. Enough. And no, I didn't prepare anything. I didn't even know I or planned to tell her my feelings so quickly. It's like my mouth just moved on its own. I ... I just confessed before thinking."

Blaise looked at Draco suspiciously.

"What are you looking at," Draco, who was sitting on Blaise's bed, stood up and grabbed Blaise into a headlock.

"Ow ow ow, okay okay, I will stop teasing you now," Blaise laughed.

Draco returned to his seat on the bed and laid down, feeling tired.

There was a few seconds of silence until Blaise spoke again.

"So how did Hermione reply?" He emphasised her name, unable to control himself from teasing Draco. Now, how would Draco Malfoy react?

At this, Draco jumped out of the bed once again. "Don't say her first name so affectionately," the platinum blonde haired male said jealously, "only I can call her Hermione."

"Wow, even you can get jealous."

Draco glared and stamped his foot on Blaise's foot, grinning in satisfaction.

Blaise yelped in surprise and in pain. "Ow ow ow, what did you do that for? Keep your temper in check, dude!"

He rolled his eyes. "That's what you get for not listening."

"Fine fine, my fault. So how did Granger reply?" He asked as he slowly massaged his injured foot.

"She said she wasn't ready ... But I can tell that she likes me," Draco said proudly.

"Is that so? No wonder you were unusually happy today."

"Unusually?" He asked, offended.

"Well yeah, Draco Malfoy rarely smile or grin throughout the whole day."

Draco narrowed his eyebrows. He himself knew that he rarely smiled but Blaise saying it out loud just irked him.

"Ok ok!" Blaise surrendered, putting both his hands up in the air. He did not want his another foot to be stepped upon as well. "Then do your best, Drake. I will be rooting for you." He grinned.

"Of course! A Malfoy always does his best and will always, attain his goal and, his girl." Draco announced.

Blaise was stunned. He never knew Draco was this straightforward and brave when it comes to love. Then, he sniggered a little. "Yes, yes, Draco Malfoy."

Draco frowned, "are you patronizing me?"

He laughed. "You could tell?"

Draco gave a sarcastic smile in return. "Whatever. I'm going, see you."

As Draco left, Blaise shouted after him, "You can always find me, your mother, whenever you feel down. I will feel lonely if Drakie forgets about me - oof!"

Draco had levitated the pillow on the bed and threw it towards Blaise, silencing him.

"I don't remember having a mother like you," he smirked before leaving the room.

Blaise chuckled. He sincerely hoped that everything would go smoothly between the two of them. They were like a pair of star-crossed lovers.

"I wonder what will be in store for them ..."

Things have been going smoothly between Draco and Hermione since then. They never quarreled anymore once again. Lately, they are having a relationship that is more than friends, but a just little less than being lovers. Everyone in Hogwarts could clearly see their interest towards each other but no one knew why they haven't got together. They all came to the conclusion that their statuses and family do not match do not match. Some even betted on the outcome of their relationship, much to the couple's annoyance.

On some occasions, they acted as if they are really lovers, being extremely sweet to each other.

For example, on Valentines day, Hermione gave him homemade chocolates while trying to act nonchalant.

"Can I have a moment with you?" She had said as she pulled him into a corridor.

"Here, I accidentally made too much chocolate. So if you don't mind, you can take it." Hermione said while handing the chocolates to him.

Draco was absolutely stunned when he heard her say that. He was hoping that she would give him but had not really expected it. He had just stared at her, wide eyed, in surprise.

Hermione, feeling strangely awkward, shook the chocolate in her hands slightly, trying to gesture him to take it.

Draco continued to just stare at her.

Just then, a few students walked pass them and witnessed the scene.

'Shit' Hermione cursed in her head and looked away, trying to hide her face.

The students walked away, whispering to themselves.

"Are you going to take it or not?" Hermione huffed in annoyance, feeling so embarrassed she was seen. She really should have gave it in their common room but she was just too anxious to give it right away.

As Hermione was about to keep it, Draco reached for it, surprising Hermione.

"Thanks for this little gift. Sorry I blanked out a little - I hadn't expected it," Draco smiled.

However, a few days later, rumors of her giving Draco chocolates spread and she was harassed a few times by some Slytherin students but she held her head high and was protected by Draco every time. Soon, rumors stopped spreading and she suspected Draco had done something but he never admitted either.

Exactly one month later, on 14th March, White Day, Draco reciprocated by giving Hermione a bouquet of flowers. He had done it openly, confidently striding towards her with a bouquet in his hands.

Everyone was staring at them but he could care less about that. Nothing was more important than the woman before him.

"Um.. Thanks ..." Hermione had muttered in embarrassment.

Draco smirked at Hermione as she left first, unable to handle the awkwardness.

Till today, her flowers are in a vase, sitting by the window sill.

A/N: so how was it? Did I manage to meet your expectations? If I didn't, I apologise. It has been quite long since I wrote so I could have gotten rusty ... I'm sure the next few chapters will be better! Especially the last. *wink wink* I would really love to hear your reviews so please review! Reviews and the promise was what motivated me to finish this story!

Thank you and see you again!^^