A/N: Hello to all my reviewers!! It's really late right now (2 am in da morning to be exact) but your reviews while I was offline were great and it's inspiring me to write more! I'm glad you all like the story and after this is finished I may start a new one. An idea is already brewing in my head….o yes! haha

Disclaimer: Must I repeat this over and over?

Chapter 7: Realizations

You are such an idiot, Draco. Seriously……Hermione Granger…the mudblood…how could this be? Draco was pacing back and forth in his room muttering to himself again. He was doing that a lot lately.

Hermione Hermione Hermione…JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH ME???

"Draco?"

"WHAT??"

"Ooh a bit grouchy tonight, aren't we?" Draco sighed.

"What do you want Flint?"

"The guys and I are about to go and sneak off to the Hog's Head for a couple of firewhiskeys. Coming?"

"No I don't really feel like it." Draco replied letting out an exasperated sigh and sitting on the foot of his bed.

"Not feeling like it? Gee, this must be serious!" Marcus Flint chuckled horribly.

"Get out of my room Flint!" Flint laughed once again before leaving. It was a couple of seconds before Draco started talking to himself again.

"Why does she make me feel like this…?"

### "I can't believe Malfoy bought you all this stuff! They're absolutely wicked!" Ginny exclaimed, holding up a silky blue tank top to herself in front of a mirror.

"Me too…I mean, I didn't know Malfoy could be so…so…"

"Sweet? Romantic? Incredibly dashing?" Ginny asked falling on Hermione's bed, exaggerating a love-sick face. Hermione shook her head.

"So…whipped." Ginny and Hermione laughed together. Though Hermione had to fake hers a bit. On their date last night, Malfoy was strangely quiet during the carriage ride home. She also caught him stealing glances at her from time to time.

"'Mione? Hermione?"

"Huh? I mean…yes?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah…yeah…why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know…you just seemed kind of…out of it today."

"How?"

"Well, Harry and Ron told me that you did nothing but zone out every class period. Harry even said you looked like you were-….like you were…-"

"Like I was what?"

"Daydreaming." Hermione didn't say anything back. She in fact was daydreaming…about a certain bleached blond Slytherin.

I can't like him…He's Malfoy…The Great Bouncing Ferret. Besides…what would the guys think? What would Ron think…?

"HER-MI-O-NE! What is wrong with you?"

"I think I like Malfoy!" She said as if it were a reflex. Then gasped at what she had just stated.

Ginny's mouth fell open as her eyes were wide with shock. There was a silence that seemed to last forever.

"Gin? Ginny?" Hermione called out to her best friend; though she could barely talk since she was in shock as well.

"Y-you…you like…MALFOY? DRACO MALFOY?"

"Well…wow I guess I do." She replied quietly, more to herself. Aw crap…

"I knew it from the start!" Ginny jumped on Hermione's bed next to her. "What are you going to do about it? Are you going to tell him? What about Ron? I know you two were broken up and all but what are you going to say?"

"Ginny! Please, I mean…I've just realized something that's enough to land me in therapy in the future!"

"Well I know one thing for sure…you've got to tell Ferret face."

### "Goddamn…why? Why me? And why Granger? Of all people? I 'd rather be in love with Parkinson…" Draco was still talking to himself. As if on cue, someone started knocking on his door in a very annoying beat.

"Draaaaacooooo!" Pansy Parkinson called from behind his door in that awful screechy voice of hers.

"Ugh…I take it back." Draco mumbled, burying his face in his hands. Pansy opened his door.

"Hello loser!" Draco felt as if he was just punched in the stomach, for he had just registered what he just said………in love? I'm…I'm in love with Hermione?

"I said 'Hello loser!' God, what is up with you?" Pansy asked while examining some ancient bowl on his side table.

"Parkinson, I'd rather be alone right now." Draco said as calm as possible.

"Now when have I ever left you alone when you asked me to?"

"Parkinson…" he warned.

"I heard you went on another date with that Mudblood again…" Draco flinched as he heard what Pansy had called her. Unfortunately, Pansy noticed. She carefully put down the bowl.

"What? Don't like me calling your girlfriend a…'Mudblood'? She emphasized the last word enough to make Draco's blood boil slowly. What's happening to me??? He stood up abruptly and started pacing again.

Pansy scoffed. "The Great Slytherin Prince, obsessed over some Gryffindor! You disgust me…" Pansy said, her voice uncharacteristically dripping with venom and arms crossed.

"Then leave. You'll be doing us both a favor."

"So that's it? We're over?"

"We never begun, Parkinson." Pansy's eyes were filling with tears, but she didn't dare sob in front of Draco. She walked over to him.

"Look at you. You're in love with her aren't you? You don't love me anymore." This time her voice was breaking.

"I never loved you Parkinson. Get that through your thick skull!" Draco walked away from her, determined to sort out his thoughts.

"Draco…-."

"Get out."

"If you never loved me then why did you tell me you did?"

"It's called acting, now out!!" Pansy was breathing so fast you might've thought she was having a heart-attack.

"So…that's how it is? You love that-that filthy little mudblood???" This set Draco off.

"DON'T CALL HER THAT!" There was silence except for Pansy's whimpers.

"You know what Draco…you can just……burn in hell!" She ran out of his room, finally.

Draco was frozen in his place, trying to register what had just happened. He yelled at Pansy for calling Hermione a Mudblood, something he's been doing for almost six years. Now, all of a sudden, he was defending her?

Aw crap…

### Draco and Hermione avoided each other for the longest time. It was almost two weeks since their date and people were starting to talk. Not because they weren't the talking, because both seemed very uncharacteristic. Hermione's grades were actually dropping and Draco could be seen brooding alone during any free time. Crabbe and Goyle were not following him everywhere as usual, for they were afraid of his temper. Pansy had told them what had happened.

Harry and Hermione were in the library researching for an essay Snape had assigned. Harry couldn't figure out what was wrong with his friend, but he sure as hell was going to find out.

"Hermione I want to know what's up." Hermione looked up from the textbook she had been staring at for the past hour.

"What?"

"What's wrong with you? You haven't been acting like yourself. Ever since you're date with Malfoy." I can't tell him now…it's too soon. I haven't even told Draco yet.

"I've just been really tired lately."

"I have never known you to miss an assignment or not study for a test. It's like you don't even care anymore!"
"Harry, whatever is going on in my life…"

"-should concern me and Ron. We should know if something is bothering you."

"Why?" Hermione's temper was starting to rise.

"Because we care about you. Now what's bothering you??" Hermione didn't feel like giving a very long explanation, so while packing her bags, she absent-mindedly gave the answer that triggered Harry's anger .

"It's Malfoy."

### It was 12 o'clock in the afternoon on a Saturday. The Slytherin quidditch team was having practice, though Draco was merely standing in his quidditch robes watching them play. He was just completely drained of energy.

Harry and Ron walked down the halls in a rage. What did Malfoy do to her? I'll kill him…then bring him back to life and kill him again!! Ron thought.

"There he his…" Harry grumbled.

Ron followed Harry's eye line and saw Draco. Before Harry could stop him, Ron stormed towards him.

"MALFOY!" Draco turned around and met the end of Ron's fist.

Ouch. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR??" said Draco clutching his now bloody nose.

"What did you do to Hermione??" Ron asked fuming. There was a blinding pain in his fist now that he was trying to ignore.

"What? I didn't do anything Weasel king!" Draco was still caught by surprise by Ron's atypical behavior.

"Then why has she been avoiding you for the past two weeks?"

"Answer the question Malfoy! Or you'll get a black eye to match that broken nose." Harry said.

"I told you Potter, I haven't done anything to Hermione!" Draco was still clasping his nose. Harry and Ron were silent. The rest of the quidditch team were watching from their brooms, amused.

"What did you call her?"

"Hermione. That is her name isn't it?" he replied annoyed.

"What are you playing at Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Nothing. Listen, I'm going to Madam Pomfrey. I don't need to listen to your crap right now." He pushed between them and disappeared. Ron then clutched the hand he punched Malfoy with.

"This is my fault…I shouldn't have…I was so stu-"

"-stupid yes I know. That's the lowest thing you've ever done. And to your girlfriend too! Two dates with Malfoy is just plain torture-"

"Shut up I get the point. Though I don't think those two dates were torture to either of them…"

### Draco walked out of the hospital wing without a scratch. He was getting angry at himself already for falling in love with Hermione, but almost getting knocked out by a Weasley…that just further pissed him off. He was going to give Hermione a piece of his mind.

Hermione had a tough time concentrating on the book she was reading in her room. Why is he avoiding me? Well I can't talk since I'm avoiding him as well…but what's his excuse?

Disturbingly loud knocking awoke her from her thoughts. It startled her quite a bit and it took some time for her to breathe regularly again. The loud knocking continued.

"Coming!!" She yelled angrily.

She opened the door to find a rather agitated Draco Malfoy with fire in his eyes on the other side.

"You didn't have to sick your boyfriends on me Granger." He snarled going in her room uninvited.

"Come on in..." She said flatly. Then she came to a realization. First contact we've had in days…She closed the door behind her."What do you mean?"

"I mean the bloody Weasel King almost broke my nose on the quidditch field earlier! What the hell did you tell him??"

"NOTHING!"

"Well what'd you tell your precious Potter then? He seemed equally pissed."

"What? I didn't-" She stopped abruptly coming to a realization. Damn it.

"You didn't what?" Draco pressed.

"I- wait. This isn't any of your business! Why should I tell you?"

"Well when people punch me, I tend to be curious as to what I've done for them to mar my perfect face!"

"You know what? You may be good-looking, but you seriously need to deflate your head a bit." Hermione said walking past him and putting her book on the shelf. Did I just compliment him?

Draco felt the unfamiliar tingling sensation in his stomach once again. He couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Granger…we need to talk." This was the most serious she has ever heard him. Without turning around, she replied.

"About?"

"About…about us." Draco stared at her back, wishing she would just face him.

"Us? Since when was there ever an 'us'?" Hermione asked, pretending she was talking to the shelf in front of her. There was no way in hell she was admitting to Draco that she was starting to have feelings for him. The teasing and taunting could scar her for life!

"Can you turn around?"

"I like my position right now, thank you very much."

"Hermione…." The way he said her name in that pleading tone made her turn around slowly and, to her surprise, saw Draco inches away from her face. She softly gasped in shock.

"Draco…what exactly are you doing?" Hermione asked with a slight shiver in her voice.

"Something I've been wanting to do since our first date…" Her breathing became rapid as she watched what Draco was about to do………

A/N: DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN!!! Hahahahaha oh sometimes I'm just plain evil….is it so wrong that I like that feeling? Haha just kidding. I know this chapter was a bit short but I've been getting a lot of homework (and school barely started!!) but I'll try to put up chapter 8 as soon as possible. Now lemme see if I could stress this enough….REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and we'll see just how soon I could get the next chapter up!!!!!!