This fanfic is dedicated to Fox McCoy and Awks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter

Chapter 6

Why'd you run away? Because it is Malfoy! Malfoy, you can't just forgive him! But he cares for you, you slept next to him all night. He kissed you, Hermione! What am I kidding myself? He doesn't care for you, he is just using you! But for what?

Hermione asked herself questions all the way to the Great Hall. When she finally entered the giant room for what appeared to be lunch instead of breakfast, Hermione over heard some fourth year Slytherins talking excitedly. "Did you seem Pansy this morning? She is so upset!"

"No, I didn't! What happened?"

"Apparently Draco was supposed to meet her last night for Christmas Eve, he never showed. He has been spending his entire holiday with someone else."

"Does she have any idea who it is?"

"Nope, but she is such a mess. She says whenever he comes back to the dorms from being with her he can't help but keep smiling. Can I help you with something?" The two girls noticed Hermione inching closer to them, trying to overhear their conversation.

"Oh, no, sorry." She turned around and ran out of the Great Hall. I need to find Malfoy, she thought, and couldn't help but smile at what she just heard.

* * * *

Walking around the castle aimlessly, Malfoy was preoccupied with his thoughts of Hermione. I shouldn't have kissed her. She has no feelings for me. I shouldn't even be having feelings for her! Bloody hell, what have I done? I have driven her away; she'll never talk to me. Why did I think that was a good idea? Why do I care so much?

"Malfoy! Hey, Malfoy!" He turned around to see who was yelling his name. When he saw that it was Hermione, his stomach lurched. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Where have you been?"

"Y-you have?" Malfoy smiled at her hopefully.

"Well, yeah. I think we really need to talk." Just as she said this, she heard Pansy's screeching voice making its way around the corner.

"Where could he be? He just didn't show up last night!" She looked over at Malfoy, who looked slightly nauseous at the thought of Pansy, and then looked around at where she was. Down the hall is the room of requirement, I am almost positive! She grabbed Malfoy's hand, who looked more than pleased to be holding Hermione's hand again, and she started to run in the opposite direction of Pansy. Turning a corner, Hermione took a few more steps, and paused very slightly, apparently thinking hard, before opening the door of a room closet. She closed the door quietly and quickly behind her.

"We won't be interrupted in here."

"Where the hell are we?" Malfoy looked around the room in awe of Hermione's secret hiding spot. She stumbled upon the same room from the day before. "How come you've got your own bloody common room?"

"Its not a common room, and its not mine. It's the room of requirement. It turns into whatever you need it to be. And right now, I need a place where we can talk."

Making himself at home and sliding in to the green velvet chair, he smirked at Hermione. "So this is where you go and hide out. Clever." It was silent between them for a few moments. Hermione didn't know where to start, or what to even say to him; Malfoy didn't know what to expect from her, and was slightly nervous. "What did you need to talk about." He finally broke the silence. Hermione looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Last night, the past few days, the last six years!" Hermione sat down in a chair opposite Malfoy. She looked up directly into his eyes. "You are going to have to explain a few things to me."

"Like what?"

"Like what? What do you think? Am I supposed to believe you've done a complete 180 in the past week and a half? You hate me one minute, and then kiss me the next! That is what I need explained." Hermione was fuming. She was angry at Malfoy for kissing her, she was angry that she liked it, she was angry she ran away from him this morning.

"It was the mistletoe!" he said defensively. "It's tradition to kiss the person you are under the mistletoe with!" A small smirk began to form across his face, but was shot down immediately when he looked over at her.

Hermione was glaring at him, and he could tell she was in no mood for his sarcasm. "I don't know," he began. "I don't know what happened. I hated the idea of spending my holiday with you, and the next thing I know, I am getting nervous to meet you every morning, praying that I don't come off as too much of an idiot. I can't sleep at night thinking about you, and don't think I haven't tired to. I spend all my time thinking up distractions, anything to keep my mind off of you. And that's I why I started drawing. But all that did was make it worse. Whatever I did, I always ended up drawing you. I have countless numbers of crumpled up parchment up in my room with half drawn portraits of you. I would never let myself finish them That is why I was so mad when you saw it. No one was supposed to see them, they weren't even supposed to exist." He paused. He was too scared to look up at Hermione, so he focused on stilling his hands that were slightly trembling. "Everything that I told you last night, about being sorry for what I have done to you, I meant every word. And I know, I sound ridiculous. It has only been one week, but I have never felt the same way about anything else before, ever." He paused again before saying, "you're scaring the crap out of me, Granger!"

Hermione stood there in speechless at what Malfoy just said to her. She couldn't process any of her thoughts, and just kept repeated what he said in her head over and over again. You're scaring the crap out of me, Granger! "Scaring you? I'm scaring you? I'm not the one changing my mind every five minutes! I'm sorry if I am scaring you Malfoy. You hate me, then like me, then call me mudblood, then kiss me!" Hermione was screaming at Malfoy, who looked utterly shocked at the amount of anger coming from such a small girl, and at the fact she just said mudblood aloud to him. "Maybe I should just go! I wouldn't want to keep scaring you!" Hermione stormed out of the room, once again leaving Malfoy alone with only his thoughts.

"Hermione! It's not like that! Get back here!" But she was already gone, she ran down the hall, down two flights of stairs, and then all the way to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"B-bottleca-cap" Hermione breathed the password to the Fat Lady through her tears. All she wanted to do was collapse in to her bed and sleep, and dream of nothing, not of the previous night, not of the kiss, and especially not of Malfoy.

"My goodness, dear! What happened to you, Hermione?" The Fat Lady asked while swinging open for Hermione. She didn't answer and just kept running through the common room, and then up to the girls' dormitories. What did happen? Malfoy just admitted he had feelings for you, and you completely just told him off, and ran away. You just ruined any chances you had with him. I don't want chances with him! He is Draco Malfoy. Malfoy, Lucius's son, heir to the Malfoy Mannor and fortune, a pureblood, destined to be a death eater, muggle hater! Why do I care? Then it hit her like a ton of bricks... because you have feelings for him too.