Taking only a moment to comprehend his words, she sat up abruptly, and turned her back towards him as she buttoned up her shirt, her back rigid.

Finally, he watched as she picked up the cloak and marched quickly to the door, cloak clenched tightly in her hands.

***

She was furious. Absolutely livid. Both because he had stopped, and also because at this moment she had to sneak stealthily back to the dorm, instead of being able to stomp down the halls to announce her presence and at the same time vent her anger.

She knew that whatever Draco had wanted, could never have been anything good. If he had wanted to her to come back to him, it was definitely not just a simple request. There had to be an ulterior motive. And yet she had come. It didn't take her by surprise at all when she had found out exactly what it was he had wanted. Her foot came down particularly hard against the stone floors, echoing down the corridor as she tried to stomp out the scene that had began to replay itself in her mind. Why did he stop? She hadn't expected that.

Up until that moment, today had undoubtedly been one of the most tiring days of her life; her heart battling furiously with her mind the entire day. Until finally, something had to give, and she had plucked up the courage to meet him again. At this, she felt the burning fury in her heart begin to grow. She swallowed hard, trying to wash away the bitter aftertaste in her mouth; it had taken up all her strength, to finally muster the courage to come back... and he rejected her? Was she not good enough?

She couldn't understand why he had stopped. She knew at first he had been toying with her, but somewhere along the way… Something seemed to have changed. Why did he stop then? Was he only pretending? Throughout the entire scene, he hardly said a word to her, but all those things that she had seen in her eyes... weren't those real? Was the entire thing an act? Was it all just to hurt her?

***

By now Hermione had made it make to the dorm, managing not to wake up anybody, or scream in frustration. Then, as if she had not already suffered enough torture, when she went to the washroom to wash up before sleeping, she suddenly thought of the way that he had kissed her, so fiercely and passionately, almost hungrily; and that scene played over and over again in her mind, until she felt herself sink to the ground and give in to the hurt and confusion that had fueled her anger, on the long walk back to the Gryffindor Dormitories.

For a long time she sat on the floor, tears running down her face, her sobs echoing throughout the entire dormitory.

***

While she finally been able to pull herself off the floor, she had continued to cry, even while brushing her teeth. By the time she lay on her been thinking, her throat had begin to feel hoarse from crying, and her face had long since dried, because she had cried until there were no more tears left to cry.

***

After she left, he let the mask fall and crumble to pieces. He sat slumped on the sofa, his hair disheveled, and a hand digging into his face.It wasn't like tonight was the first time he had such liaisons. It's just that he usually chose Pansy, or the likes of her to fulfill his needs.

The only reason he had chosen Granger tonight was that he felt the growing need to distract himself from the pain he felt, the incessant burdens and demons that tormented his mind relentlessly. What better way was there to cure pain, than inflict pain on someone else.

He let his hands fall from his face, as he stared into the darkness. This was the last thing he would have expected to happen. Where had he gone wrong? Granger would have been the perfect victim. So why did he feel this way? There was no absolutely no logical reason he should be feeling this way, and yet the feeling was undeniable. How could he have fallen for Granger? A mudblood-- wait a minute ... did he just say Granger? Fallen for Granger!?

He felt his heart sink as he realized what just happened. He knew that he had just let the one thing that he swore would never happen...happen. Not only had he fallen in love, he had just fallen for the one girl he could never hope to win, the one that he would NEVER imagine trying to anyway. There would be hell to pay for this later, he was sure of it. This wasn't supposed to happen! He didn't have time to deal with another burden, not now.

He hung his head as he felt the despair begin to set in. Oh yes, there'd be hell to pay alright... and it's starting now. He felt himself beginning to regret stopping. Now he actually wanted her to come back. For an entirely different reason.

As sure as he was that she would come tonight, he was sure she wasn't ever going to come back. From now on, life was going to be very difficult. He was accustomed to feeling pain, and inflicting pain and fear on others. But love? This he had never tried before, not to mention that he never thought that he would ever be rejected or snubbed by anyone else. (Since he was pretty sure she wouldn't come back).Thinking about this, he was beginning to dread the next day more and more. How was he going to face Granger tomorrow? Was he supposed to..Continue insulting her? Pretend like it never happened?

Usually, after the night was over, both parties would pretend like it never happened. Being discreet was important; it wasn't very becoming of a Slytherin, much less a Malfoy, to have rumors flying about all over the place. Of course, he knew that he was devastatingly handsome, and much sought after, but as of yet, there had been no incriminating evidence to start a rumor with. Then again... this was different, wasn't it? It was Granger this time, and she was much smarter then any of the other nitwits he had ever slept with, even counting the few Ravenclaws he had slept with.

He slumped back on the sofa and screwed his eyes shut as a thousand new questions assaulted his mind. He didn't need this. THIS was the last thing he needed to deal with right now.