A/N: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books belongs to J.K. Rowling. The song "Iris" is by the "Goo Goo Dolls." Enjoy the story, and please review!

~*~*~*~*~
~And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I've ever been
And I don't want to go home right now~

~*~*~*~*~

"And now, I present to you, the seventh year class of Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry!" the headmaster bellowed to the crowd before them.

Well, it's finally here, Draco Malfoy thought to himself. Our last day at
Hogwarts.

"I ask for our Head Boy and Girl to come forth."

Draco promptly stood up and headed over to where the headmaster was
standing. From the corner of his eye he spotted a certain bushy haired
girl stand beside him.

Hermione.

A strange sensation came over him as he took in her perfect complexion, her
warm brown eyes, her (now) perfect set of teeth. . .

He slowly started to reach his hand over to hers as the company before them
applauded. She was so close. . . only a few more inches. . .

They were dismissed back to their seats.

Draco sighed, quickly bringing his hand to his side. He hurried back to
his seat between his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

The headmaster gave a few more announcements, calling the other professors
up to present their speeches. After what seemed like hours, he finally
announced, "And now, for the final time, I say goodbye to the wonderful seventh year class of Hogwarts. As your headmaster, I am proud of all of your accomplishments. You have come a long way from your first year, and
all I have to say is that you will be greatly missed." He paused, and Draco swore he saw a tear roll down the old wizard's cheek. "Have a great
summer, all, and sadly, I'm afraid I can't say that I'll be seeing you again the next school year. I wish for all of you to lead a happy life. I
hope we meet again."

With that, Dumbledore headed back to his seat, reaching into his robe to
pull out a handkerchief.

The seventh year class erupted into cheers, everyone tossing their pointed
wizard and witches hats into the air. Everyone except Draco.

~*~*~*~*~
~And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
and sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight~
~*~*~*~*~

He stared at the tearstained cheeks of the Head Girl as she embraced Potter
and Weasley. He watched as she let go, wiping the tears from her face.
Then he saw her mouthing something, then laugh.

Oh how he wished to hear that laugh again.

Suddenly, he took a deep breath and stood up.

It's now or never, he thought.

He slowly, but persistently, headed over to where she was standing.

"Don't ruin our last day for us, Malfoy," the redheaded boy sneered when he arrived. "Just wait a couple of hours and you'll never have to set your
eyes on any of us ever again."

Draco's heart jumped as the Weasley's words echoed through his mind. '. .
.you'll never have to set your eyes on any of us. . . ever again. . .'

He set his gaze upon Hermione, only to be greeted with a frown. His heart
sank. That wasn't what he wanted.

Come on, Draco, he thought to himself. Just say the words. . .

"Granger, I need to speak with you," he said finally, in a surprisingly
gentle tone.

"Wha-?" she replied, her eyes widening. "What is it?"

Draco glanced at Potter and Weasley, both of whom gave him unfriendly
glares.

"In private."

"But-"

Shaking, he reached for her shoulder.

~*~*~*~*~
~And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am~
~*~*~*~*~

He stood there, frozen, with his hand on her shoulder. Oh how he wanted to
just reach down and touch her soft lips just now. . .

"Are you feeling alright, Malfoy?" Ron asked, as he peered over at the two,
his sneer replaced with a look of shock.

"Come with me," Draco spoke to Hermione, ignoring Ron's comment.

He pulled her over a few yards away and made sure they were out of earshot.

He looked over at the crowd and spotted his father, the famous death eater, glaring at him. He squeezed his eyes shut. He was as good as dead when he got home. A pureblood was NEVER to be associated with a muggle-born under any circumstance, he had once told him.

"What'd you want, Malfoy?" Hermione asked impatiently, glancing back at her friends. "Hurry up, Ron and Harry are waiting for me."

"G-Granger I. . . well, what I wanted to say was. . ." I love you. I've loved you from the start. From the first day of their first year when I met you on the train, from the day I called you mudblood, the day you slapped me. . . till now. I just hope you know that all those times I called you 'mudblood' and other fowl names what I really meant was. . . I love you. ". . . I'm sorry."

~*~*~*~*~
~And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive~
~*~*~*~*~

Her eyes widened and she raised an eyebrow. "What'd you say?"

"I'm sorry," Draco repeated. He sighed. That wasn't what he meant to say.

"Oh. . . oh well, that's alright, I suppose. . ." she replied, tucking a
strand of her brown hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry too."

To his surprise, she smiled. "This is probably the last day we'll ever see
eachother. . . so. . . truce?" She stuck out a hand.

With an unsteady hand, he reached for hers. He wrapped his large palm over her small one, and the two of them stood there, hand in hand. He felt as if he had died and gone to heaven. Here he was. . . his skin touching her own. He wished this moment would never end. "T-Truce. . ." he repeated.

There was an awkward silence before Hermione pulled away. "Well. . . well
I guess that's it. Hope you lead a good life, Malfoy. . . Goodbye."

She slowly turned around to head back to her friends.

Draco's heart stopped. One second he was holding her hand. . . and now
here she was walking away.

He won't let her walk away forever.

He rushed after her, and grabbed her shoulder.

She let out a small gasp.

"Malfoy, I said I was sorry-"

Before he knew what he was doing, he whirled her around and wrapped her in a tight embrace. He ran his pale hand through her brown hair and the next moment, his lips brushed past hers. As he pulled back he blurted, "I love you, Granger. I've loved you from the start. . . I'm sorry I called you mudblood and for how I've treated you the past seven years. . . I just hope
that maybe you feel the same-"

Slap!

Draco's hand flew to his stinging cheek as Hermione shoved him away. Right
in front of Potter and Weasley.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Ron roared as he charged after him. He heard the shrieks
of the people around him as the redheaded boy leapt for him.

But Draco didn't move or attempt to fight back. As he felt Weasley's fist
against his cheek, he didn't feel a thing. All he felt was the overwhelming sensation that he had lost a part of himself. He stared in shock as Hermione ran over to Potter, who embraced her in a comforting hug.

"I HATE YOU, MALFOY!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

After a few moments, he realized what Weasley was doing to him. He shoved him to the floor. He brushed himself off, glaring at the three. "Can't even take a simple joke, eh, Granger? Not so bright after all are you. . .
thinking what I said was true. . ." he scoffed, then turned away.

He headed away from them and pushed through the throng of people. "Outta
my way, I'm a Malfoy," he mumbled as he received countless disapproving stares. He rushed out of the common room and out of the main gates. When he was finally outside, he ran. Ran past the main grounds, past the lake.
. . he didn't know how long he had been running for, but eventually his
legs gave in and he dropped to the floor.

It was then he realized he realized he had tears streaming down his face.

Her words echoed loudly in his head. I HATE YOU, MALFOY!

"S-She hate's me. . ." He brought his hands to his face.

"Hermione. . ." he sobbed as he pounded on the ground with his fist.
"HERMIONE!!"

It was the first time he had ever said her first name.

~*~*~*~*~
~And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am~
~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the story. . . please remember to review!