Hi guys! Here's a short chapter on the aftermath of the kiss. Be ready... ;)

The kiss. His lips on hers and his soft grey eyes that had pierced right through Hermione and straight into her heart.

It was all that Hermione could think about as she slowly finished up the Eton mess. Their noses had bumped into each other when they had kissed and now hers was still a little pink. She rubbed it absent-mindedly. But amidst the never-ending replaying of the kiss, Hermione's subconscious gnawed at her mind. Was it an act for everyone to see… or was this real? His gaze had been so pure and soft when he had held her eyes, his mouth had tilted up into a genuine smile — she could differentiate Draco Malfoy's expressions easily now, from their seven years together — when she turned around, and his cheeks had flushed pale pink when he saw her.

This… couldn't just have been an act… could it?

Hermione stood up abruptly, startling Ginny.

"Where are you going?" Called the redhead as Hermione walked briskly away from the table.

"To find Draco," Hermione threw over her shoulder. She had seen him leave with his Slytherin cronies soon after he had kissed her. She had to talk to him — one on one — to figure this hell of a mess out. I live to untangle academic webs, not relationship webs, Hermione thought, her mind buzzing, but I guess this is one hurdle I cannot avoid.

"Oooh,"there was a grin in Ginny's voice, "So fast after just now? You're definitely smitten, my girl."

Hermione ignored her. She was not smitten with him — the tormentor of her teenage years— at all, was she?

She reached the double doors and pushed, letting herself out from the noise of the Great Hall and into the silent and well lit corridors outside. Draco was nowhere to be seen. He must have went up to their dorms, she thought, perfect for a private conversation.

However, as she neared the stairwell that led up to the dorms, she heard the unmistakable sneer of the person she was finding. It was coming from a classroom nearby and when she had located that, Hermione creeped toward it. Why was she eavesdropping on conversations now? Hermione berated herself silently, but the voices coming from within sounded very unfriendly and she felt it was best if she stayed in the dark and observed. She would wait for Draco to come out and ask nothing of it. But no matter how hard she clamped her ears shut, she could still hear the conversation, with Draco's sharp voice cutting through the darkness and the dust.

"Seriously," Draco sneered, "You think I like Granger? She's a filthy muggle-born and just a tool I use to get Parkinson off. Could you imagine me, the Malfoy heir, considering her as something more than what she's supposed to be?"

Hermione froze, clamping a hand to her mouth. She could not believe what she had just heard. Was this the same Draco Malfoy that had been so protective and caring just a few hours before?

"Well," came another voice, equally haughty, "We've seen how you look at her. Admit it, Malfoy, you've been seeing her."

"Look," Draco sounded bored, "Believe what you want, Nott. I'm glad to see you're not letting your education get in the way of your ignorance. Granger is just but a piece of dirt — a piece of dirt on the underside of my shoe — and she will stay that way. I am still my father's blood and will uphold our Pureblood values."

Now tears were streaming down her face silently as Hermione slid down the banister she had been hiding behind. She sat there, her back hunched and her face buried in her robe sleeves. Her legs felt wobbly and she crashed down when she tried to stand up. Why was she crying? Hermione wondered. She should have expected something like this; how stupid of her to have believed that Malfoy would actually change.

The conversation had dwindled down within the classroom, and the swish of heavy robes with loud footsteps could be heard as the door was pushed roughly open. Hermione squashed herself into the darkest shadows behind the banister and watched with puffy eyes as the group of Slytherins sweep swiftly by. A lone pair of footsteps, no doubt Malfoy's, could also be heard trudging up the dark stairwell leading up to the Head's dorms.

The one-on-one talk she had been anticipating seemed pointless now. It seemed more like a joke. She had just heard what Malfoy had to say about her, and he would definitely be more truthful with his friends than with her.

The duo act, really, was just an act, she realized. Just a stupid, little act, to get back at Ron… with even more heartbreak on the way. And she couldn't blame it on Malfoy, really. It was her fault and entirely her fault that she let herself get carried away.

Hermione tried to stand again, but slipped on the long robes she had been wearing. She emitted a small scream as she went tumbling down again. Great, now she had a sore leg to go with her sore face, Hermione grumbled as she successfully hoisted herself up. The footsteps up the stairwell had stopped suddenly and Hermione's breath hitched. He had heard.

"Who's there?" Malfoy's voice echoed a little around the small, narrow, circular stairway.

Hermione made no sound, gathered her things up, and walked away down the corridor, opposite from the stairwell. There was nothing she wanted to say to him, and nothing that could be said. She guessed they would have been better off as strangers from the start, anyway.

Again, I would love to write more but am also having a lot on my hands at the moment. So it would be great if you guys could smack that like and follow button *wink* *wink*. Will update ASAP!