Summary: "You could have been something. You could have been someone. But you blew it."-When Hermione Granger finds Draco Malfoy crying in the girls' bathroom, she decides to find out what's wrong. With only the girl who he despises willing to help him, things are going to change. DM/HG. Compliant up to Order of the Phoenix

Mature content and themes, explicit language.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Any character you may or may not recognize belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 18: Crystals and Emeralds

It had happened again.

For a third fucking time.

They'd both tried to avoid it to the best of their abilities, but it had just happened. Neither of them could control what they were doing once their lips had connected.

He wondered...what would he have done if she hadn't pushed him away? Would he have stopped?

Not that time.

He needed it. He craved it. Last night, if Granger hadn't pushed him away, he would've gone all the way. He needed a release, a finish.

Every time they kissed, it left him feeling unsatisfied. It made him desire something more. Their kisses left him with an empty feeling in his stomach, and made him want to pull his hair out. He should've wanted to push her as far away from him as possible, but he didn't. He really didn't. Not when she was so damn intoxicating.

She'd read the letter…

It was supposed to be only for him. It was only for his eyes. But she had seen it.

He clutched the letter in his hand, as he reread the words for the tenth time, using his fingertips to trace the letters.

He needed to get back to work.

These past few days, he hadn't gotten much done, and he needed to get himself back on track. He needed to complete his task. He had to.

Finally pulling himself out of bed, he moved to get ready for his day, wanting to head to the Room of Requirement as soon as possible.

She had only gotten three hours of sleep that night. The only thing on her mind was what had happened last night. Again.

She couldn't even comprehend what they were doing. What she was doing. Thank Merlin she had enough self control to pull away in time, or else even she didn't know what they would end up doing.

It confused her beyond limits. And she didn't like it. She didn't know what was going on. She had no control of the situation.

Looking up at the clock, she noticed that it was nearly time for breakfast, so she quickly did up her tie and headed downstairs to the common room, where she found Ginny already waiting for her.

"Good morning." she said with a grin.

"Good morning. You seem awfully cheerful today...what happened?"

The smile Ginny proceeded to give her had been even wider than the first. It seemed as though she'd been waiting to tell Hermione whatever she was about to tell her for a while.

"Harry asked me to the Ball last night."

Smiling to her friend, she pulled her into a quick hug, before she retracted to respond.

"Finally. I was wondering when he'd ask, he'd been talking to me about it the other day." she replied, genuinely happy seeing her friend so cheerful.

Ginny's smile had suddenly disappeared, and she began to look nervous, shuffling her feet and playing with her fingers.

"Hermione...I was about to ask, has anyone asked you?"

"Not yet."

"I just want to let you know...Ron might ask you."

"I was expecting him to." she said, with a sigh.

"Well...will you say yes?"

"I have no problem going with him as friends, but if anyone else asks me first, I won't be waiting for Ron to ask this time."

Nodding to her friend, Ginny quickly brought the conversation back to herself and Harry, and hoped that her brother would finally ask Hermione, before anyone else did.

"Who are you taking to the Ball?"

"I don't know, haven't asked anyone."

"Well, I asked Daphne last night, I can set you up with her younger sister if you wish."

"Astoria?"

"Yeah. She's okay, you'll like her, Draco."

"I...okay."

"So you're cool with going with Astoria?"

"Yeah."

She'd just finished Ancient Runes, and was on her way to the Gryffindor common room. She had an essay to complete, and she wanted to get started on it right away. On her way, she made a detour to the library to pick up some books for her research.

She strolled through the grand shelves, as she browsed the library for the books she needed. She ran her fingers along the spines, feeling the textures of the different books, taking in their beauty.

She felt as though she'd walked too far, and began to retract, and started walking backwards, looking for a book on Germanic Runes. Bumping into something behind her, she jumped up, and immediately turned around to see what she had bumped into.

"Oh," she said, sighing, "it's you."

"Who'd you think I was?"

"I don't know...perhaps don't go creeping up on people next time." she replied with a smile.

He laughed back, leaning against a shelf. He looked a bit nervous, and was shuffling his feet.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I came here to ask you...will you go to the Hallowe'en Ball with me? Just as friends." he quickly clarified, with a hopeful expression on his face.

She paused her movement, and took a moment to contemplate her answer. She looked up at him, still standing in his spot, waiting.

"I…"

"It's okay, I understand. If you're waiting for-"

"No, no. I'll...I'll go with you, Seamus."

He'd just left the Room of Requirement, and once again, had accomplished nothing. Every time he felt that he got a lead, he ended up even more confused than he was to begin. It was almost November, and he had accomplished nothing.

Yet there he was, forced to make an appearance at a silly Ball in two days, once again, wasting his precious time.

He entered the Great Hall, and immediately found Blaise seated on the Slytherin table. He made his way through the crowd, and finally found his friend.

"Oh, you're finally here." he exclaimed. "She said yes."

"Who?"

"Astoria. She agreed to go to the Ball with you."

"Oh."

He really couldn't care less. Going with Astoria meant nothing to him. It was just a formality. He needed a date, and he had one. The last time he'd personally asked a girl to a function had been in Fourth Year, during the Yule Ball, when he'd asked Pansy. Since then, Blaise had always arranged his dates for him.

The Yule Ball had seemed so recent, yet so long ago. Times were different then…

He hadn't been back.

Draco allowed his eyes to wander over to the Gryffindor table, where he immediately found Granger. She was laughing about something insignificant with Potter and his girlfriend, grabbing the bench to keep herself from falling. She looked so...happy. Like she didn't have a problem in the world.

He wondered if she'd been as bothered by what had happened between them as he did. He wondered if it kept her awake at night too. Laughing with her friends, she seemed to be in her own world, one full of only happiness, not the terrible one they lived in.

He saw Weasley join them, and although she'd said they were only friends, he clenched his jaw. He didn't want Granger, but he'd kissed her three times. She was his.

Suddenly, her smile had disappeared, and had been replaced by indifference. She'd said something which made Weasley visibly upset, as he took a seat beside his sister, with an expression of shock and disappointment.

What had she said?

He looked to Potter and the other Weasley, and they too had expressions of shock. They were all suddenly silent, looking down at their plates, pushing around their food.

Whatever she had said, he didn't have time to dwell on it. He had to get back to the Room of Requirement.

"Ginny stop! You shouldn't be making vulgar jokes about our professors-"

"But he really is-"

"Don't say it again!"

"Okay, okay." she said, grinning, with her hands up.

Just as Hermione was about to speak, she felt a hand on her back.

"Hey guys."

She turned around to see her other best friend, greeting them with a smile.

"Ron. Come, sit."

"I will. But, before that...I want to ask you something, Hermione."

Fuck.

Here it comes…

"Will you come to the Hallowe'en Ball with me?"

There it was. She had almost been anticipating it, but then again, she'd been anticipating it in Fourth Year too.

If it had been earlier in the year, she perhaps would've said no to Seamus, and waited for Ron. Now...she realized that she shouldn't have to wait. Waiting for Ron would get her nowhere. It only left her feeling hurt.

She turned to look as Harry and Ginny for support, but they seemed to be pretending to be busy, giving her privacy with Ronald.

Finally, gaining the energy to speak, she turned back to her friend.

"I'm sorry, Ron. Someone already asked me."

"What? Who?"

"Seamus."

"You're going with Seamus?"

"Yes, I am."

"Why?"

"He asked me first."

"You could've...never mind."

With that, he took a seat beside Ginny, not turning to glance at her the entire duration of dinner.

"So...you're really going with Seamus?"

"Yes, I am."

"You know, you could've waited for-"

"And that's the problem, Harry! I could've waited. I've been waiting my entire life. I thought I loved him. Since Third Year, I've never wanted anything more than to be with him! I waited in Fourth Year, I waited in Fifth Year, and I even waited in this year, but nothing has happened! For the first time, I've decided to move on with my life, not wait for the boy who has continuously disappointed me for years, don't you dare tell me to wait, Harry James Potter-"

"Okay, okay." he said, with his hands up in surrender. "I understand. But...do you like Seamus?"

"We're only going as friends. I don't like him like that."

"But he does."

"What?"

"It's so obvious, Hermione. The way he acts around you. He likes you."

"Maybe you're just over analyzing the-"

"I'm not. All I'm saying is...be careful. You might not see him that way, but he does. Just stay safe at the Ball. And if he does anything out of line-"

"I'll let you know." she said with a smile. "You know I will."

Smiling at his best friend, he pulled her into a hug, hoping that in the end, everything would end up okay.

Tuesday had gone by as quickly as it came.

It felt as though time had ticked on the clock at double the speed now, as her childhood slowly slipped past her hands. As she became an adult.

She hadn't spoken to Ron the entire day. He was avoiding her. Just when they'd sorted out their problems…

Why did life have to be so complicated? Why couldn't she go back to when her, Harry, and Ron had been closer than ever, always together. This year she'd felt as though a part of her was missing. And just when she'd got it back, she had lost it again.

She was ready to crash in her bed, wanting to get an entire night's rest before waking up the next day. She needed sleep.

Just as she was pulling back the curtain of her four poster bed, Ginny came crashing through the door.

"Hermione! I completely forgot! Have you decided what you're wearing to the Ball tomorrow?"

"Not yet, Ginny. I'll just decide tomorrow-"

"Absolutely not! You need to find something to wear. Show me what you have."

"Does it have to be tonight? I'm quite knackered-"

"Of course! It'll only take fifteen minutes."

Sighing in defeat, she finally gave in, using her wand, she summoned all her dresses from her trunk, and laid them out in front of Ginny.

"I was thinking I would just wear my dress from the Yule Ball."

"You looked gorgeous in that. You could wear it but...why don't you wear this." she said. picking out an emerald green dress from under all the others.

She held it up to take a better look at it, and her eyes immediately popped.

"Hermione! This is beautiful! Where did you get it?"

"It was a birthday present from my dad this year."

"You have to wear it! Just wait here, I'll be right back." she said excitedly, jumping up to leave the room.

"Ginny!"

"Just wait!"

Hermione picked up the dress, and ran her fingers through the silk material. She paused to admire the crystal belt, at the waistline, shining as bright as the moon. She held the dress in her hands, as she remembered the day it had been given to her.

"Hermione! Come down, I have something for you!"

She raced downstairs, as soon as she had heard her father's voice. She was leaving in two days, and wanted to spend as much time with them as possible, before she left.

"Hermione!"

"Coming!"

As she walked into the sitting room, she found her dad seated on the sofa, evidently hiding something behind his back, with a foolish grin on his face.

He'd always been terrible at giving surprises.

"Come here, sweetheart."

She went and took a seat right beside her dad, with a grin of her own. She waited for this moment every year, when her father would call her over, clearly waiting to surprise her with something, always failing to keep the surprise a secret.

"We know you're going away in a couple of days, so we wanted to give you your birthday present early."

He pulled out a black gift bag, with Tres Chic written on it in an elegant font.

She took the bag, and pulled out an elegant green dress. It was beautiful.

"It's gorgeous Dad, I love it." she said, pulling him into a hug.

She felt a tear slip down her father's cheek, as he began to speak softly.

"When you're gone, we miss you terribly dear. You're our sunshine, our little gum drop. It's so hard to be away from you for so long. We're so proud of you, Hermione. We love you."

She allowed a tear to roll down her cheek, as she went over the memories attached to the dress she held. She missed her parents. It was hard staying apart from them for so long.

"I'm back!"

Quickly brushing away her tears, she turned back to Ginny.

"I saw your dress, and I thought, I have something that would look fabulous with it."

She slowly pulled a small red box from behind her back, and opened it up, to reveal two crystal studded earrings.

"They're beautiful, Gin!"

"They're my mother's. They had belonged to my great grandmother before that. It's the only piece of jewelry that I have."

"You don't have to-"

"Don't give me that bullshit. I want you to wear them."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm fucking sure. Please Hermione, wear them. They'll look amazing on you."

Taking a moment to admire the earrings, she finally found her voice.

"Okay, but only if you wear my necklace."

"Of course I will!"

"Then deal." she said, smiling.

She pulled Ginny into a hug, with the biggest grin on her face.

She was so grateful to have such great friends.

a/n: chapter 18! Wow, it hasn't even been a month, and I've written more than 30k words! I'm surprising MYSELF at the pace I'm writing this. All thanks to the continued support from you guys.

I know, this chapter didn't have much of Draco, but I hope this chapter allowed everyone to connect to Hermione more deeply, and get a perspective of what she has to go through, being a muggle born witch. But I promise, the next chapter will definitely have more Draco in it.

I just want to say thank you to all the people here from Facebook, I've suddenly been getting a lot more views after I joined those groups.

Lastly, review! They literally make my day. I get so excited when I get a notification for a new review.

Stay safe and healthy,

Sydney.