"So you slept together."

Hermione groaned and hid her face into her hands. Leave it to Ginny to be so very blunt.

"It's quite romantic, don't you think so?" Luna hummed softly.

"Romantic? It took them getting stuck in America to finally admit they had heat!"

Hermione shot a look to the kitchen doorway.

"Ginny! Not so loud!"

The redhead just waved her hand in the air.

"Oh, don't worry. Harry and Ron took James out for a bit. There's no one home to hear that HERMIONE KISSED DRACO!"

At the last few words, she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted.

Luna giggled. Hermione simply rolled her eyes. She knew it would be this way when she told them, but she did not think she could hold it in much longer either.

It had been a week since they had left America and she was doing all she could not to go crazy with what had happened.

She wasn't avoiding him, per sé, but she did not go seeking him out either. She felt that she needed some time to...collect her thoughts on the matter.

And what better way to do so than to have your two female friends bash you about it?

She groaned again.

"Oh, come off it, Hermione."

Ginny turned towards the counter and waved her wand to the kettle. It filled itself with water and went to heat on the stove.

"It could have been worse," she said, turning back.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? How?"

Luna tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Well, the deer could have killed him - or both of you, really. Then you would have died without knowing his true feelings for you."

Ginny nodded towards the extraordinary witch with her eyebrows raised.

"See?" She swiped her hand through the air. "Would not have known a thing!"

A smile cracked over Hermione's lips. She could not help it. In all this bizarreness, she could still count on these two to bring out the positive, albeit crazy, in the situation.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Hermione sighed, thumping her forehead on the dining table. Tussles of bushy hair covered her face.

"I honestly have no idea," she grumbled.

"I find that talking helps," Luna suggested. Hermione missed her sudden hinting tone.

"Don't you think I've tried? I don't know what to say."

"Speak from your heart," Ginny suggested, her voice strained a bit.

Hermione scoffed.

"And tell him what exactly? 'Oh, hi, Draco. About America, I loved it. And possibly you. Could we snog again, possibly sometime soon?" She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I suppose so, but only because you asked so nicely."

It felt as though someone had cast Glacius down her spine.

Hermione jumped up at the drawling tone to find not only Draco in the kitchen doorway, but Harry and Ron also, holding little James by the hand.

She shot her friends a heated glare.

Ginny just smirked and Luna shrugged absently.

Harry, looking a bit put off, pulled James into the room and sat him at the table to remove the boy's coat.

"We met him in the park after leaving the ice cream parlor," he explained, not looking to anyone. "He looked like he was headed towards your flat, Hermione."

Ron shoved his way past Draco, roughly bumping his shoulder into the taller wizard.

"Yeah. Guess now we know why," he grumbled, plopping down at the table and snagging a biscuit from the platter to shove into his mouth. He glared at the blonde as he chewed.

Draco narrowed his eyes and sneered but straightened up slightly after a pointed look from Ginny.

He cleared his throat and began unwrapping his scarf as if invited in. Which, of course, he probably was, seeing as he now stood in

Harry Potter's kitchen.

"I wanted to speak to Hermione about our issues alone, but it seems to have become a global affair now."

"Wasn't it already?" Ron grumbled through mouthful of cookie.

Ginny popped him on the back of the shoulder, making him flinch.

Hermione did not know who she was more irritated with: the girls for not warning her, the guys for bringing him straight to her, or Draco himself for apparently marching up to her flat like some backwards lovestruck hero to demand his girl back.

She glared at all of them, landing lastly on the object of her true turmoil.

"And you thought what, exactly?" She marched over to him, ignoring the others, and poked him in the chest. "You assumed you could just waltz up to my flat, sweep me off my feet, and everything would be just fine?"

No put out in the least, he smirked and raised an eyebrow at her close proximity. "Figured it was worth a shot, yes."

Behind her, someone snorted. Whether it was Ron or Ginny, she did not know.

She huffed, cutting her eyes at him.

"Well, you are in for a rude awakening," she snarled. "If you think you can just pick me up and throw me over your shou-"

"Do you want me?"

She stopped short, all trace of anger wiped away by the sudden turn of events. She crossed her arms tightly around herself and looked about, trying to avoid his gaze.

"This really isn't the place to be discussing this," she said instead of replying.

He gave her a pointed look.

"I did not choose the location. Are you going to answer the question, Granger?"

Hermione bit her lip. Damn him.

She looked around again, hoping to stall while she thought.

To no surprise, her friends seemed very interested in watching her squirm.

Ginny gave her a vigorous nod. Luna just smiled. Harry, obviously uncomfortable with the whole thing, busied himself with James. He was not looking at them, but Hermione could see where his head was cocked to the side as if anticipating her answer. Ron just glared behind her.

Taking a calming breath, she turned back to him and met his cloudy silver eyes.

She blinked. So many emotions swirled in those eyes, so many that mirrored everything she felt inside.

Not thinking about where they were or who was watching, she raised up on her toes and kissed him.

Before anyone (including him) could respond, she snaked her hand down to grasp his and pulled away, yanking him down the hall and out the door. They apparated as soon as they were on the stoop, missing Ginny Potter's victory shriek.

Hours later, she curled into him as her bare legs glided across his silk sheets.

Despite the plunge, she still could not shake the uncertainty threatening to wash over them.

She drew lazy circles on his chest with a fingernail, her head tucked on his shoulder.

"Now what?"

Her voice broke the silence, sounding odd in the big cushiony room.

He tilted his head to look at her and cocked an eyebrow.

"Eager for more?"

She swatted at him, earning nothing but soft chuckles. Sitting up, she gazed down at him.

With the dark sheets as a backdrop, he seemed almost...celestial. His pale hair seemed to glow on the pillowcase. His chest was pale with faded pink scars spiderwebbed across. His eyes drank her in.

"Whatever we want," he answered, his grin wiped away for a more serious look.

Her sat up, positioning the pillow behind him, and pulled her into his arms. She cradled into him gladly.

"Hermione, this relationship can be whatever we wish it."

She wasn't so sure.

He squeezed tight as if sensing this.

"We will follow no one's expectations but our own."

He laid his head on top of her's, using the curls for an inviting pillow.

"And, given another absurd creature does not get in our way, our future will be whatever we make of it."

Feeling a bit more relaxed at his fluffy words, Hermione laid her head back and melted into him, drifting off as the night awaited them.

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.