Ch. 15

Once back in the castle he brought her trunk to her room and dropped his trunk off as well. She went inside her apartment and lit her candle and relaxed on the couch with a cup of tea, waiting for Draco to join her. After a little while she heard a knock on her door and she got up to answer. Draco still hadn't changed from his muggle clothes.

Hermione smiled and let him in. "You're still wearing your muggle clothes?" she teased.

He knew she liked them and wanted her to see him before he changed.

"You like the candle I made for you?" he could see that she'd already burnt half the candle in just a few days.

"You didn't mention that you made it." She said as she put the candle out, wanting to save it as long as possible.

"You didn't need to put it out," he said as he slowly grabbed her hand, feeling the need to be close to her.

She didn't say anything but let him take her hand and closed her eyes as Draco took a step closer to her. She put her other hand on his chest and laid her head on his shoulder. She felt her body relax for the first time in weeks as tension ebbed away. She took a deep breath and took in his smell and noticed she liked the feel of the soft cotton shirt on his chest.

"I only want to use it when you're not here." She began.

Then she asked "Do you use an evergreen scent? Something about you smells like light evergreen all the time and I can smell it when I light the candle. It's like you're here even when you're not. What did you put in this?"

He debated if he should tell her and he lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes. She willingly moved her head slowly upwards and had a longing in her eyes.

"I made this candle for you with the amortentia potion." He studied her features as understanding dawned on her face. "It doesn't mimic the effect of the potion, but the steam of the potion is released as it burns." He whispered, his heart was elated and it caused him to be honest with her. He had gotten the proof that he needed to know how she felt about him.

"So this means…that…" she wasn't ready to drop the "L" word with him. She hadn't even admitted to herself that it was possible she loved him. As she thought about all the emotions and feelings she had surrounding him and it started to make sense. He still had his fingers holding up her chin and he was searching her eyes.

"Yep," he answered.

She was silent as he lowered his hand and she rested her head back down on his shoulder. She felt a mixture of sadness and relief. It was nice that she could finally admit this to herself, but why did she have to find this out in front of Draco. Why did he even give her the candle if he knew it was possible she had feelings for him? He wasn't likely to want to have something more meaningful than a friendship with her, and the thought tore at her heart. She didn't know where they would go from here.

Draco wasn't sure what Hermione was thinking, but she didn't seem happy. He wondered if he had made his feelings clear to her. "If it makes any difference," he hesitated, trying to find the words in his happy state, "I've been sleeping better because I smell your lavender tea and your vanilla perfume." He wondered how she would take this news, but it felt like the right time to tell her.

Her head lifted up and she looked at Draco, locking eyes with him. Her eyes brimmed with tears like she was going to cry, not believing what he was saying. Was he playing a joke on her?

He put his hand on her face and started into her eyes that were worried. He hated to see any pain or worry on her face and his heart pounded in his chest. He held her face in his hand as he leaned in and tilted his head slightly; he lightly separated his lips and with a loving desire he gently pressed his lips against hers. He closed his eyes and they held the kiss for a moment when he broke it and gazed into her eyes again.

Hermione was left with no doubt that Draco had feelings for her and she felt a spark ignite her heart as she realized she wanted his lips back on hers. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back, with more passion than he showed her. After a minute, he picked her up and carried her off to the bed, laid her down and laid next to her while kissing her a few more times.

"Hermione, this means that, technically, we are involved now." He quipped.

She answered in between kisses, "you haven't asked me out yet."

He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes again, "Hermione, I think…I'm in love with you," he whispered. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat. "With all the terrible things that I've done, would you ever want to be my girl friend?"

"You used the 'L' word…" she pointed out when speech returned to her.

He didn't reply but just nodded and blushed. He had known that he loved her since brewing the potion weeks ago and had time to get used to the idea. Draco seemed resolute about his feelings.

"Yes, I'd love to be your girlfriend" she whispered back as she kissed him. His heart felt light and he grabbed her tighter and felt his hand in her hair, holding the back of her head while he pressed her lips down onto his.

After a few minutes she laid down beside him again and he started lightly kissing her jaw line and down her neck and he worked his way back to her lips again. His passion was starting to take over and hers too. The time over break when they didn't see one another made them build up intense feelings that neither of them had expressed before.

Hermione reached behind him to pull his shirt up and off his chest. She was looking at the muscles she had seen so many months ago when Draco was in a towel and that she could feel every time he held her. He loved the look in her eyes as she took his body in. She was gripping his arm band on his arm and accidentally started to pull it down when Draco froze.

He always kept his dark mark covered up, and although her moving the band off and partially exposing the mark was an accident, it ruined the moment for him. He also thought they were moving too far too fast.

He pulled Hermione up and fixed his arm band.

"Oops," she saw why he had stopped.

"It's okay, I just like to keep it covered." He explained, embarrassed.

She began kissing his neck and moved down to his chest again when he called her name and tried to get her attention.

"Hmmm" she answered, not stopping.

"Hey, as much as I don't want you to stop, we need to." She stopped kissing him and gave him a sad face.

"I know, it's just…we're moving kind of fast. I'm to blame for most of it, but I have some traditional views about…you know…" and then he whispered "being physical."

Hermione started laughing a little. She never thought she would ever hear Draco Malfoy say that to her. "Okay Draco," she smiled at him as she plopped back down on the bed. He laid right next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

They knew they had lessons the next day but it was still hard for either of them to sleep. Both wanted to keep the moment of passion going and the way they thought of one another made it difficult to sleep.