Author's Note: Oooh...it's Saturday tomorrow--I can sleep in! Hehehehe...well, thank you all for your reviews, now here's the next chapter...btw, please bear with me as I am doing my best to put in some "action" between Draco and Hermione....

Disclaimer: Ya'll already know what this stands for

Summary: Draco & Hermione were suppose to start their 7th year at Hogwarts as a couple, but due to a misunderstanding the previous year that dream soon crumbled and now they are to start their 7th year picking up the pieces of their tattered lives...

Setting: 7th Year

~*~*~*~*~

IX. Ghost of You and Me

After two weeks of trying Hermione still came up empty-handed in her quest to find out exactly why Draco and Harry suddenly became bosom-buddies. She was soon getting tired and irritated. Even Ron doesn't know what their best friend was playing. She even came close to ripping Harry's face off because he seemed to associate himself with Draco than with her and Ron!

Deciding that a nice walk outside on this fine, albeit windy-chilly, evening would clear her mind, she grabbed her cloak and donned it over. No need to ask for Harry's Invisibility Cloak this time. There was still some light out. She rather enjoyed walking down by the lake at dusk. Watching the sun set and cast its bright orangey glow everywhere else...it was Saturday after all and she was done with her assignments and projects. No need to worry about finishing something up unlike Ron and Harry who were fretting over some Divinations assignment.

September gave way to October and in October signs of autumn could be seen. What once were bright, green lush surrounding the Hogwarts grounds were now covered in blazing orange and yellow. Leaves fell from branches and the light breeze carried those lifeless leaves floating about everywhere and anywhere. It was a magical experience to witness. Hermione walked a bit farther towards the lake and sat down on a large boulder facing west where she would have a nice view of the sun setting.

She must have been sitting in peace for a good ten minutes when she heard a rustling sound from behind her followed by a familiar voice asking: "Seems like we often find each other this way."

She looked over her shoulder and saw Draco lounging against one of the trees nearby. He had his shoulder propped against the sturdy trunk and his blond head leaning against it too. His arms were crossed firmly over his chest and his gray eyes looking at her with such tenderness Hermione couldn't believe he'd glance in his eyes once again.

"I needed to think." she replied and looked away again.

Draco pushed himself away from the tree and walked the space between them, stopping right beside her. He unfolded his arms and slipped his hands in his trouser pockets.

"The library isn't quiet enough for you?" he asked, his gaze fixed across the horizon where the sun was slowly making its descent to make way to the moon and stars.

"It is, but I didn't feel like doing some thinking there. Quite a few people walking back and forth searching for something, and I needed a place where I could have complete peace and quiet." she shrugged.

Draco looked down at her, his eyes fixed on the top of her head. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, looking down on the grass beneath him before he pulled his robe and sat down.

Hermione frowned and looked down at him, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because." he gave a careless shrug.

She raised an eyebrow, "Because is not an answer, Draco Malfoy."

"So?" he looked up at her, their gazes locking.

"It's not like you'd care what I'm thinking about."

"Try me." he challenged.

"I'd rather not."

Draco frowned at her. "C'mon Mione, you know I'm a good listener." he cajoled.

"Are you really?" she questioned, "I mean, you're not just being nice to me because it's what your father told you to do? You're not just friends with Harry because your father is manipulating you? You want to win my trust again just so you could sit back and watch me fall apart again? Why should I pour my heart, my thoughts, when I don't even know if I could trust you anymore?"

"You can trust me, Mione." he insisted, "Trust me when I tell you that I am not being manipulated by my father nor am I plotting to cause you another heart ache by befriending you. Believe me when I tell you that our night last Christmas Eve happened not because it was what my father told me to do in that blasted letter you read. Believe me when I tell you that everything I told you that night was true and is still true!"

"Even you loving me?" she snorted.

"Yes." he answered truthfully, his gray eyes pleading with her dark ones to believe him.

"You're lying." she muttered and pushed herself off the rock. She made her way back to the castle by going through the trees instead of taking the route she took earlier, but before she could even disappear she felt a hand clamp around her arm, stopping her.

"Hermione, wait." Draco called, turning her around to face him.

"Let me go, Draco." she started wriggling her arm from his grip, but he was holding on to her tightly. The more she fought him, the tighter he gripped her arm. "Draco..."

"We need to talk, Mione. I owe you an explanation and you need to find out the truth." he told her.

"What truth? The truth that you're a scheming, manipulative bastard who doesn't have a damn single backbone in his body?! God, all those things you said to me about hating your father and not letting him run your life for you...hell, Draco, you were a damn fine good actor because hey, you got me to sleep with you for feeling so damn sorry for your puny arse over what you have to go through with your father!"

"I was telling you the truth, Hermione! That night everything you heard, everything I told you, were the truth." he insisted.

"And what about that letter from your father?"

"It meant nothing! So what if he suggested that I bed you then leave you? I didn't want to use you like that, Mione." his grip on her arm loosened, allowing Hermione to step away from him. "I care for you too much to use you like the way Lucius suggested I do."

"But you slept with me like what your father told you to do." she told him accusingly.

"I made love to you because it's what I wanted to do not because it was what Lucius told me to do." he corrected her.

"Yeah, like a Malfoy knows how to love indeed." she spat at him. "You said it so yourself, Draco, a Malfoy doesn't know the meaning of the word love let alone know how to love someone."

"But I love you, Hermione Granger." he told her softly, his gray eyes soft and mirroring his feelings.

Hermione gasped when she saw pain crossing his usually stormy gray eyes. Could he be actually telling her the truth this time? Oh God, please don't make me fall for his charms once again. I can't stand another heartbreak...she silently prayed.

"You don't even know what love is, Draco Malfoy. How could you possibly tell me you love me when no Malfoy knows how?"

"This Malfoy knows how." he insisted.

"And hurt the girl in the process?"

"I never meant to hurt you, Mione."

"But you did. You used me like you would use anything or anybody that meant nothing to you. You came, you took, and you conquered then what? I was left devastated." she bit her bottom lip as she felt something lodged between her throat. She didn't want to cry in front of him. It was the last thing she wanted him to see: her vulnerability.

"Mione--" he reached out to touch her, but Hermione stepped back and shoved his hands away.

"Don't touch me, Draco. Don't even come near me. Every time you do I only end up in tears and I am just recovering now from shedding bucket-loads of tears after what happened. Let's just go through the rest of the school year not talking to each other." she suggested.

"I can't. You've become a big part of my life that I can't settle for just looking at you, watching you from afar and not be able to touch, to hold, to feel, to talk to you." with each word he uttered he took a step towards her which Hermione countered by stepping back until her back flattened against a tree which worked to Draco's advantage who closed the small gap between them. "I need you, Hermione." he whispered hoarsely before swooping his head down and captured her slightly parted mouth for a much needed, much awaited, much yearned for kiss that he has been deprived off since that morning she walked out on him...

~*~

Hermione was in shock the moment she felt Draco's lips on hers. She didn't want him to kiss her. Kissing Draco only left her yearning for more, and she knew after this kiss she would want him more than she already does. She mustn't let him kiss her, but her body doesn't seem to want to listen to her. Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer and she pressed her body against his, snuggling between him until she cradled his hard arousal against hers.

Draco deepened the kiss as soon as he received a response from her. His arms around her waist tightened, hauling her closer to him still and rubbed her against him. They both moaned in the sheer ecstasy, their tongues entwined, their breathing laboured. Dusk was soon surrounding them, the setting sun has reached its final destination. They were blanketed in the dark, but neither cared. They continued kissing each other, savouring, tasting, feeling one another.

Draco couldn't help himself anymore and let his hands unfasten the front closing of Hermione's robe, pushing it aside as he fumbled with her shirt tucked inside her skirt. He untucked the garment from its confinement and let his hand cop a feel of her flesh. He felt--and heard--Hermione moan in pleasure when his hand found one perfect globe and cupped it in his hand, gently squeezing and kneading it until her nipple perked into full attention.

He tore his mouth from hers and started to trail kisses down her throat, his other hand letting go of her waist to finish unbuttoning her blouse. He pulled away from her and parted the white fabric, revealing a sexy, lace bra that hardly concealed her breasts. Moving his head down he captured one mouth-watering breast in his mouth over the fabric of her bra, suckling on it until Hermione's breathing laboured and she was moaning in ecstasy. He stopped playing with one breast and turned to the other, giving it the same treatment he gave the other before he fumbled with the back clasp closure of her bra. He pushed the garment out of the way and took her breast in his mouth, his tongue drawing circle over one nipple then he turned to do the same with the other.

Hermione knew she would lose her mind with what Draco was doing, but it felt so damn right what he was doing and she didn't want him to stop. She still want him no matter how much he hurt her.

~*~

Draco was lost in the drug that was Hermione. Having her in his arms like this, kissing her senseless and tasting her body was enough to drive him insane. To hell with Lucius and his damn plans! If ever there was one woman in this world he wanted to be married to, it was this woman he was ravishing with his mouth and hands that would surely make a perfect Mrs. Draco Malfoy.

She responded to him like no other has ever responded to him before.

Moving one hand downward, he grabbed hold of the hem of her skirt and hiked it up, exposing her creamy thighs and the matching undergarment to her seductive bra. His hand cupped the warmth of her body, hearing her sharp intake of breath as he caressed her there. Moving his mouth upward, he started nipping on her neck, her jaw, then he captured her mouth once again.

"I want you, Hermione." he breathed against her mouth, his hand driving her crazy with what he was doing to her.

"I...I want you too, Draco." she managed to reply with a hitch heard in her voice.

Draco slowly pulled away from her, his hand's caresses stopping as he gazed at her, their eyes locked. His seeking some truth in her answer, and finding that the truth of her answer lay in her eyes.

"Hermione..." he gritted through his teeth before taking her mouth once again.

Hermione fumbled with the front opening of his trousers, pushing it aside the same time Draco pushed her undergarment away and sheathed himself in her moist crevice.

"Welcome home..." Hermione breathed against the side of his head as he slowly started the matching crescendo of their movements. He plunged and plunged deep into her, making her bulk against him as he deepened his penetration.

Hermione clutched him harder, pulled him closer to her as her legs went up on their own accord and wrapped like steel-vises around his waist, moving along with him and feeling him fill her up to the brim. Soon they were both riding in sheer blissfulness that was ecstasy. With one final thrust Draco poured his seed into her and within moments Hermione followed suit, each calling out each other's names.

Collapsing against her, his face buried between her shoulder, he felt Hermione's legs loosen its tight grip around his waist until finally they were back on the ground. They were still connected to each other and that was how he wanted them to remain until...oh, until the end of time if possible. Being with Hermione was everything he could ever ask for; nothing more, nothing less.

Once their breathing turned back to normal, Draco slowly pulled himself from her, but he didn't let her go entirely. Meeting her gaze, he held it for the longest time then let it travel to take in the beauty that was hers after he just made love to her.

"Hermione, I love--" but he didn't get to finish what he was about to say for Hermione put her index finger against his lips to stop him from continuing on.

"Please don't spoil the moment by saying something stupid." she asked softly, her dark brown eyes pleading with him.

Draco wanted to disobey her. Dammit, he love her and she doesn't want to believe him? How would he be able to get it into her head that he really loves her?!

"It's getting late, Draco. Let's go back inside." she made a movement to pull away from him which Draco did.

He disentangled himself from her, straightened his trouser and robe before turning to help Hermione look presentable before they made their way back to the castle. He stepped back and waited until she was all finished then fell into step beside her as they both went back to the castle to join the others for dinner.

"Are you really friends with Harry, Draco?" she asked just as they were nearing the doors to the Entrance Hall.

Draco stopped walking and looked at her, "Why'd you ask?"

Hermione stopped too and met his gaze, "Because I want to be sure that you're not just using him like the way you used me." she shrugged.

"I never ever used you, Hermione. And Potter's a really nice bloke. Too bad it took me seven years to realize what a good friend he could be." he shrugged.

His answer seemed to be enough for Hermione and earned him an earnest smile from her. She stepped up to him and surprised him with a light peck on the lips before she moved away. "I'll see you at dinner." she then turned and headed back towards the doors to the Entrance Hall.

Draco stayed back and watched her back walk away from him. His heart both bursting with happiness and breaking from pain at the same time.

"I love you, Hermione Granger." he whispered to her back before she disappeared back inside the castle. Although she didn't want to hear him say it, he would say it anyway because it was the truth.

~*~*~*~*~

to be continued...

A/N: For those of you who wanted to see some "action" happening...uh...it took me a while but here it is! *lol* Hope ya'll enjoyed it. As I was typing this chapter up I didn't even know it will be headed towards them getting it on once again, but they did and there ya go!

Lilie Blaze: *blushes* Well, thank you-- I think :-/ -- for saying I write good sex scenes. Uhm...I dunno if in this chapter you find that scene a good one! *lol*

Quistis88: Uhm...I think Harry and Draco getting along pretty well is good. I mean, it's high time this two become friends! They both ain't that bad, right? And kewl, you're a Canadian too! From whereabouts? I'm in Alberta.

Demon Wolf: Please don't hunt me down and maim me! Here's the next chapter and I just watched Anna and the King today...hehehe, Tom Felton's really hot there! *grins*

CindyLea: don't be rejoicing too much yet because I dunno how or even if she'll get preggy!

Angela: thanks for the advice, and I think she'll stop prodding into the truth behind Draco and Harry's sudden alliance...

maxzoid: hey, no prob. I mean, I thought you wouldn't update soon, but you did and now I'm waiting for you to update again! hehehe

Queen Li: Hmm...Hermione knows Draco loves her, but her pride is too stubborn to want to believe him! *lol* And I do hope you get over your writer's block soon. But then again with my other stories it takes me like MONTHS before I could even get over it! *lol*

Draco's one and only: oh sweetie, I think in this chapter they did more than just talk and kiss *wink, wink* and oh yeah, I like Tom Felton himself! and his character ain't that bad. Draco's one HP character I'm starting to like a lot! *lol* of course it helped a lot that every time I type up this fic I imagine Tom Felton as Draco! hehehehe

Loki: uhm...is this another filler chapter?! *lol* you wanted action and I sorta put in some action here...hehehe

Hannah4Daniel: SHSGOL is a responsible dude, and even if he knocked Hermione up, he'll still be his responsible self and marry her! hehehehe

mattpenn: Yep, I want this fic to move faster too. Hmm...maybe it'll be over in the next couple or so chapters...hehehe

Slytherin's Angel: I know what you mean about leaving your mark most of the time...thanks for liking the fic and enjoy this one--I hope *smiles*