Chapter Seven

Ice Cream and a Very Unexpected Kiss

Hermione almost had told Draco how she truly felt about him all these years. How much she truly liked him but always seemed to play it off. How much she was attracted to him. How she like his company but always seemed to be yelling at him.

A few weeks had passed since that little incident with Ginny. She was still acting so weird though. Like none of it ever happened.

The snow had begun to fall. Christmas was almost here. Hermione sat by herself in the Great Hall, having a midnight snack. She was doing a lot of thinking. About Draco.

Was he pretending to love her? Or was it true? What would Harry and Ron say when she finally told them she might love the enemy?

And about Ginny. Why was she acting so strange?

Hermione stopped thinking for a moment. She felt strange all of a sudden. Like she wasn't alone. Like someone was watching her.

"Well, I see we're having ice cream at twelve o'clock in the morning on this cold winter day, are we?" came a male voice from the doorway of the Great Hall.

Hermione couldn't see who it was but knew exactly who it was by the sound of his voice.

"Yeah. I know its weird with how cold it is outside and all…… but is helps me think." she said putting another spoon full in her mouth.

"I don't blame you. It helps me think too." Malfoy added walking over to the table and sitting on the bench across from her. "You got some ice cream on her nose." he laughed. Reaching over the table, he gently wiped her nose with her napkin.

She smiled as she gave a laugh. "Thank you." she said in a whisper as she looked down at her ice cream.

"You're welcome." he looked deep into her eyes. There was something there. Something that he couldn't really explain. Love? Real love? There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Draco looked down at his feet, thinking.

"She looks so….. Beautiful? I didn't just think that, did I? Not about Granger. After all this time spent with her….. I think I might actually be falling for her." He looked up at her. "She has changed a lot since I first met her. But do I really think she's beautiful? Do I really love her?

"Yes. Beautiful." he whispered but she didn't seem to have heard him. He shook his head, as if trying to shake away all his thought. As if trying to shake away what he just said.

Hermione grabbed for the chocolate syrup nervously. "Why am I so nervous all of a sudden?"

"This damn thing won't come out." she said aloud, squeezing the chocolate syrup bottle over her ice cream.

She pointed the tip of the bottle at Draco and pounded on the bottom of the bottle with the palm of her hand. Suddenly a whole bunch of chocolate came pouring out of the bottle, across the table and into Draco's face. He sat there practically frozen and paralyzed in time, eyes shut tight.

Hermione dropped the bottle on the table and clamped her hands over her face so that they were covering her open mouth and her nose.

"Oh…My…God. I am so sorry." she said trying to keep in her laughter. She lowered her hands slowly, revealing a smirk.

Draco didn't say anything. He just started to reach for the ice cream container.

Hermione's smile slowly faded as she saw him reaching for it.

"Oh, please, Draco. Mine was on accident. Yours isn't going to be." Hermione slowly got up. She then started to back away from the table.

Draco, please." she said again.

"What? I'm not going to do anything." he replied, giving her his evil I'm-up-to-something smirk.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not." he said still smirking as he wiped some of the chocolate off his face.

"Yes you----------------------are ." she finished as a big pile of ice cream hit her in the face. She stood there frozen, hands out almost touching her face. Her mouth open slightly and her eyes closed tight.

"Like oh my god. I am so sorry." he said in a really girly voice, mocking her but over exaggerating a lot.

"You….are…..so…….going…to…GET IT!" Hermione shouted, chasing him around the table with the ice cream. They both threw ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, caramel ect. at each other until they were both covered in food.

Every part of the room was just about covered in food too.

Hermione stopped running. Her hair was drenched in chocolate, vanilla ice cream, ect. She was out of breath and couldn't chase after him anymore.

Draco stopped too.

"Whats a matter?" he asked, walking over to her. "Are you ok?" he added putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Ahhh, yeah. Im fine. I'm just……I just have this weird feeling again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well before you got here." Hermione started, backing up a little, feeling nervous again. "I got this feeling. This weird feeling I was being watched."

Draco pulled Hermione closer. Hugging her tight. He rested his chin on her head.

She was shaking.

"Hermione, I love you." he said. But he wasn't lying this time. He really, truly meant it.

Hermione lifted her head off his chest a little.

"I…..I love you too." she said before she could stop herself. Hermione suddenly felt Draco's warm lips on her's. Draco could still feel her shaking, as their lips broke apart.

He kissed her again, touching her chin with his thumb and her neck with his four fingers.

"Miss Granger! Mr. Malfoy!" came a voice.

Hermione and Draco quickly broke apart.

"Professor!" Hermione said in shock as she backed away from Draco. Professor McGonagall had her mouth open in total shock. She was looking around the Great Hall in horror.

"What…. is GOING ON?!" McGonagall said furiously.

"W-we were just-------" Hermione stuttered.

"You both were JUST going to clean this mess up. Without magic." McGonagall cut in. "Oh and twenty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin. I'll also see you in detention as well." she said turning on her heal and left.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other, wondering why she didn't start lecturing. They then glanced around the room.

"Well we better get started." Hermione said.

0000000

Hermione sat alone in the library, reading when someone approached her.

"H-hi, Hermione." Harry said nervously, looking anywhere but her face. Hermione looked up to see whom it was but quickly glanced back down at her book as she caught sight of Harry.

"Hi, Harry." she said, pretending to read, trying not to sound so scared. Harry sat down next to her.

"Hermione, I know it's hard for both of us." he put his hand on her leg, just above her knee.

She looked down at his hand then at him. "But weather you what to believe it or not…I've always loved you just a little bit more then friends should." he continued.

"And if you want to remain friends and nothing more…then that's ok too." he paused again, only for a second. "But no matter what happens…even if you never love me the way I love you…my feels for you will never change."

He gently kissed her lips, holding her chin with his hand.

Draco who came out from one of the aisles caught sight of Harry and Hermione kissing. He froze in place a few feet in back of Hermione, his mouth hanging open.

Tears started to form in Draco's eyes. (A/N: awww) One single tear rolled down his cheek and fell to the floor. (A/N: yet again….. AWWWWWW!!!)