A/N: In this chapter you will find out what happens to Draco and don't worry, there's no suspense at the end of this chapter. Read and review.

Chapter Eleven

The Hospital Wing

"Hermione, are you crying?" Harry asked Hermione as she came into the Gryffindor common room.

"No." she said trying to hide her emotion and tears.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Harry asked as Hermione took a seat next to Harry on the couch. Ron was sitting in the armchair Hermione usually sat at.

"Oh, right." Hermione said trying to calm her shaky voice down.

"Well, I was saying yesterday," Hermione started, "was that everyone been acting really strange. Like when you kissed me, Harry."

"You kissed Hermione?" Ron chimed in. "But I thought you like my sister?"

"I do like Ginny and I didn't kiss Hermione." Harry told Ron.

"What? That makes no sense, Harry." Ron replied with a confused look on his face.

"Well that's where it gets weird, Ron," Hermione added getting up. She started to pace back and fourth in front of Harry and Ron. She bit her lower lip, trying to think.

"Someone kissed me that day." Hermione said, thinking out loud. "But it wasn't Harry. So how could that be?" she asked more to herself then Harry and Ron. "It has to be all a plan. A plan to get me and Dra---" Hermione's voice trailed off.

Harry and Ron raised an eyebrow to her.

"What did you just say?" Harry and Ron said in union.

"Ahh…nothing…you see… what I m-meant was…ummm…nothing." Hermione stammered.

"Were you just going to say that 'It had to be all a plan to get you and Draco apart?" Harry asked getting up.

"And where did you get that very expensive ring, Hermione?" Ron bombarded her, getting up as well.

"N-no. I wasn't g-going to say that. A-and I found the r-ring." Hermione stuttered.

She was afraid of telling them the truth. She knew they would get mad because she had fallen in love with the enemy.

"Hermione, we know when your lying." Harry stated. "We won't get mad. I promise."

"Okay fine. You want to know the truth? Fine. It's all true. I love Draco," Hermione stood her ground, "and he loves me. He asked me to be his girlfriend and he bought me this fourteen-karat diamond ring to prove it," she raised her hand to show them.

"WHAT!" Ron shouted. "You actually believe that git? Hermione, open up your eyes. He is playing you. He can't be trusted." Ron continued to shout at Hermione.

"RON!" Hermione screamed to shut him up. "I'm seven-teen years old. I can take care of myself and I can make my own decisions without someone telling my what to do or how to do it. So just back off." she didn't meant to come off so mean.

"Well, I'm telling you now, you are making the wrong decision, Hermione. He's an arrogant little prat who can't be trusted. He's only using you. Your only going to get yourself hurt."

"WOULD YOU GUYS STOP. THIS IS RIDICULOUS." Harry shouted at both of them.

"NO. SHE'S THE ONE BEING RIDICULOUS." Ron shouted as Hermione shouted, "NO, HE'S THE ONE BEING RIDICLOUS."

They both began to shout and scream even more and louder at each other. Harry gave a sigh.

"Hermione, listen to yourself. Your defending a man who has been tormenting you and ruining your life since we first came here."

"You don't even know him, Ron. No one knows him like I know him. So how can you just sit there and just judge him like that?" Hermione screamed back. "Okay, so he may come off as a prat sometimes but I know deep down inside there's something more to him then that. He's not all cold inside. Deep down inside he's a loving caring person. And sure, he may have his share of problems just like the rest of us, and sure that maybe why he's such a jerk sometimes, but he's trying to over come his problems and his coldness toward people." she took a short pause, "Maybe if you would stop ridiculing him all the time, you could see that and if you can't, then I guess the only prat here is you." With that, Hermione turned on her heal and left, slamming the portal hold shut behind her.

Two seconds after Hermione left, Ginny came in. "Can you believe her, Harry? She has some nerve talking to me like that." Ginny over heard. "If she doesn't want me around and if she doesn't want to listen, well fine. Maybe next time I won't be around for her to not listen to." he crossed his arms in anger.

"Ron, I think your taking this a bit to far." Harry said, sitting back down.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked plopping down on the couch next to Harry.

"Draco asked Hermione out and even bought her a ring." Ron said angrily as he sat back down in the armchair.

"Oh, I know." Ginny answered.

"WHAT!? YOU KNEW?" Ron got even angrier.

"Yeah, Hermione told me yesterday."

"She told you herself? And she didn't tell me?" Ron said still angry.

"Yeah, Ron." Ginny looked at him speciously. "It's really not that big of a deal, you know. And I don't really blame her for not telling you. I mean look at the way your behaving," she added.

"She's right. Ron, you were way to hard on Mione." Harry got up and started to head up the stairs to go to the boy's dormitory.

"I can't believe you two. Our best friend has fallen in love with the enemy and you guys don't even see anything wrong or suspicious about that?"

"Of course it's suspicious, Ron. But we can't just get mad at her or disown her just because she likes someone we don't. Hermione's right. She's seven-teen years old and we can't make every decision for her, Ron." Harry said, stopping in the middle of the stairs. "As much as I don't like Draco and as much as I don't trust him, Hermione seems to really like him. So all I can do is just be happy for her and be there for her when she needs someone there and you should too." he continued to walk up the stairs when he finished.

"Harry's right." Ginny said getting up. She walked over to the stairs and stopped.

"There's no use in being mad at her. Your not going to stop her from loving Draco no matter how hard you try." Ginny then vanished up the stairs leaving Ron standing in the middle of the common room all alone.

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Hermione was so mad at Ron. "He can't tell me who I can and can't date or who I can and can't love." Hermione thought, getting mad at Ron's words that buzzed around her head.

She was on her way to see Draco in the hospital wing. She had to see him, to make sure he was alright. Regardless of what anyone said Hermione was always going to love Draco and nothing could ever change that.

No matter what happened.

As Hermione approached the hospital wing, she realized she was trembling all over. She hadn't seen Draco since the Quidditch match because Madam Pomfrey refused to have anyone come visit him until now.

All these thoughts started to run around in Hermione's head all at once.

"What if he's not okay? What if he's in there… dying? What if this is the last time I ever see him again? Hermione, stop. Why are you thinking like that? This is ridiculous. He'll be just fine. I'm sure of it."

Hermione could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she entered the hospital wing. To her it felt cold in there like death filled the air.

"Please be alright." Hermione prayed. Suddenly she heard a moaning sound. A moan of pain. Pansy was sitting in the corner, Hermione saw.

"Pansy, are you okay?" she asked not really knowing why she had.

"Yeah, Granger. I'm fine." Pansy replied coldly. "It's just my back. It's been acting up ever since…" her voice trailed off.

"Yes." Hermione said, waiting for her to go on.

"ummmm….nothing." Hermione gave Pansy a weird look and proceeded over to Draco. As she got closer to Draco, she could see that he was awake. She gave a sigh of relieve.

"Hey." Hermione spoke softly as she took a seat in the chair next to Draco's bed.

"Hey." he answered softly as he tried to sit up a little.

"Are you okay?" she asked, taking Draco's hand.

"I've been better." Draco looked up at her.

He could see that she was holding back tears. "How long can I go without telling her that I played her in the beginning but now I really love her?"

"You took a nasty fall yesterday," she said looking down at her feet as she spoke.

She held on to his hand still.

"Yeah." he answered. "Madam Pomfrey says I'm luck to be alive." Hermione looked up at him at those words.

"She said I was this close to hitting my head the wrong way." he raised his pointer and thumb so they barely touched. "If I would of hit my head the wrong way, I would have died, Hermione. I was so close to dying."

Hermione couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

She was happy Draco was alright but just the thought that he could have died up there, just the thought that she may have never saw him again, made her sad and frightened inside.

"I could have lost you forever." she sobbed, her head in his hand.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." Draco said, trying to comfort her. "But it seems like that's all I've been making you do." he thought.

"It's not you, Draco." Hermione sobbed lifting her head from his hand. "I was just so scared yesterday. I was scared that I had lost you for good. I dunno what I would have done if I had lost you, Draco."

"Its okay, Hermione." he said taking her hand. "I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

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A/N: I'm sorry to say that this story is coming to its end very fast. It's not too much longer before everything is explained. I'm sure most of you know who is behind everything by now but I thought you should be reminded to 'Expect the unexpected.' That's all I'm saying. I don't want to give anything away. You'll just have to read the very last chapter when it comes.