Author's Note: Never-ending astonishment and respect goes to Start Trouble's Chemical, which inspired this itty-bitty one-shot. Love is a chemical straight from the genitals! Not really about much—just about the primitive meaning of the song and how that can correlate to everyday life and people's relationships. Doesn't mean that I've lost faith in Draco and Hermione's life. Just a look at a different perspective…

Convenience and Stuff

Funny how it all just fades away / To soul decay / From the things the world can say or can I say?

Hermione's sobs continued throughout the night. He had no idea because he'd only come into common room around 4:30 to change clothes, grab an essential energy boost of food, and stick his head in her room to ask what was wrong. Her gender-specific answer of "nothing" was enough to have him nodding and walking out of their dormitory before she could even look up a second time.

Resting her head on the pillow, she curled into a fetal position on the bed and kept staring at the door though she knew he wouldn't come in for an encore questioning about her day. She wanted him to, of course, even though the tears had stopped leaking from her traitorous eyes that usually revealed nothing of what she felt. But she knew he couldn't—even more so, she wouldn't ask it of him. She knew how busy he was with being team captain, course work, and his studies for midterms. She'd have been under similar stress had she not traded academic thoughts for emotional ones.

Heart aching, she just wished that he could be next to her, comforting her.

Everybody needs a little moment of truth / When they find the new / A new way to live with themselves / Nobody ever had a clue / Or know what to do / When they had a little feeling called love

Walking down the hall from the locker rooms, Draco couldn't help but feel that he was being pulled into forty thousand different directions, none of which helped him fulfill the role of a good boyfriend.

Though Hermione wasn't the most rational and levelheaded female in the lot when it came to emotion, he knew he should've said something or stayed through the 'nothing's wrong's until she confessed about what she was bawling. She didn't cry that easily.

Even with his guilt, he knew that he couldn't drop everything to be Hermione in a time of need. If she was dying, definitely. If she was bleeding or in danger, yes. But if she was having a dramatic episode courtesy of Wonder Boy and his Sidekick, no. Not today.

Dumping his equipment by the dorm's main entrance, he heaved a sigh of relief that he was within very close proximity of a bed that was his and sleep that was his to claim.

Glancing a look at her door, though, he couldn't help but cross the small distance over the plush communal carpet and peek his head in her room.

Walking by her bed, he saw that she'd fallen asleep dressed exactly as he'd seen her last. She hadn't changed into pajamas, nor had she brushed her teeth or showered, he guessed.

He closed his eyes, knowing that if Hermione Granger had sidestepped routine, something big must have rattled her. Guiltily, he brushed a kiss across her forehead and left for a second time, knowing that he should've been there the first.

But she needed sleep.

And nothing ever had to wait / If they came to hate / Cause you can hate anything before you even try to love it...

A month later, smirking deviously, he caught her waist with one hand and deftly rid her of the heavy load of books with the other, pulling her in for a kiss. She welcomed it with an open mouth and open heart, though her body was tense from the day's strenuous existence and from the thought that it wasn't over due to homework.

Feeling her uncomfortable and exhausted stance, he pulled back and grinned as he moved to deposit her books in her room.

"Come on, love," he said in a relaxed tone, leading her toward the couch in the common room. "You can relax now. We've both had a hellish couple of weeks, but tonight is specially designed to get rid of all that stress and residual hostility." Wiggling his eyebrows at the appropriate moments, he made Hermione giggle and gaze longingly at the candle lit dish setting on the low coffee table positioned in front of the fireplace.

She imagined that he asked the house elves to prepare a special meal and planned for them to sit cross-legged on the soft rug, leaning against the couch, chewing and poking fun at each other's friends and each other. And just being together.

"You planned a special dinner?" she asked sadly, swinging her legs over his lap and leaning her head against his shoulder.

Grinning down at her, he raised an eyebrow. "Don't you love me? Don't you want to show me how much you love me?"

She smiled a half-smile at his incessant innuendos, but answered him seriously, "You have no idea. But—"

"But? Love, you must have missed the memo. This evening is a strict 'but'-free zone." His brows furrowed. "Well, with one 't.' Now, butt with two 't's…"

Smiling, she tried again. "However," her smile dwindled, "I have so much to do tonight, Drake. A project that was assigned weeks ago but I just couldn't get on it because of the Ravenclaw Fire incident, and before I knew it's due tomorrow and I haven't started."

His high hopes and smile dropped as he looked into her eyes for confirmation that she couldn't have dinner. He could see that the stress she was under made her more miserable than it did him at the moment, but he couldn't help but feel like he was punched in the gut. Something so great that he looked forward to pulled out from right under him.

"Well… ah, well, okay," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully as he began making plans to call off the house elves and clean up the dishware. "You do that and I'm just going to take care of this—"

"Drake, I'm sorry," she breathed honestly, stopping him as he moved to stand up. "I would so much rather spend the evening with you than with books."

"Well, with you I never know," he joked weakly before pressing his lips against her briefly and releasing her from his embrace.

She just stood up and went to her room, and he went and cleaned up the plates and table settings. He didn't even see her in the morning the next day because she'd been holed up in her bedroom all night and most likely never went to sleep, habitually going to breakfast early after an all-nighter.

She'd left him a note about how sorry she was that she couldn't enjoy the dinner that he'd planned, and he smiled. He smiled at the thought and at her words, but the feeling that he was punched in the gut had only lessened slightly.

Love is a chemical straight from your genitals / Never is spiritual, never unconditional / Love is a chemical, nature is radical / Never is spiritual, it's never medical...

The next week, he strolled down the hall on his way to tutor a student. As a tutor, he found himself hoping that he'd at least taught the kid somewhat of the subject because there was definitely no good lessons he could've learned from Draco about punctuality.

Few kids passing in that part of the wing, his mouth curved into a surprised smile when he saw Hermione speed-walking in his direction. She had her head down, looking at some sort of paper in her hand, when he slowed down and grasped her by the elbow lightly in welcome.

Her head snapped up and almost instantly she smiled back at him, genuinely glad to be in his presence during the hectic day.

"Drake," she turned to him and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "I'd love to stay and do more of this but my debate club starts in…" she glanced down at her watch, "six minutes ago. I really have to go. Good luck with that guy in tutoring."

Ready to speed off, Draco tightened his grasp on her elbow and, glancing in both directions, pulled them into the book storage beside the stairs.

"Draco, I'm president, I can't just—"

Her words were muffled as his lips got in the way. As they worked quickly and deftly against hers, Draco pressed her against the wall and rested his hands low on the sides of her hips, squeezing them lightly.

His hands quickly became fidgety and found sanctuary beneath the hem of her shirt, caressing her stomach, straying upward toward her bra and toward an even more forbidden place down below.

Quickly realizing that he wouldn't have control over his motor skills soon, he pulled away, breathing and put distance between the two of them.

"You better… you better go to you meeting. I can't do this halfway."

It's all the explanation he gave and as he opened his mouth to provide a more in-depth verse of chivalry, she shoved him against the opposite wall and pulled off her own shirt before plundering his mouth with hers.

Smiling against his girlfriend's lips, his fingers went beneath the clasp of her bra and his feebly functioning mind managed to recall why he adored this girl so, just as her hands strayed to parts of his body that quickly stopped any thought process from continuing.

Pressing scorching kisses to the side of her neck and receiving a breathy rating of how much she liked them, he felt her pull down his zipper and slip her hands into his back pockets, pulling down his pants.

Leaning back, he smiled into the dark of the book storage closet and quickly dismissed all the tension of previous weeks and frustration at not spending time with his girlfriend. Their seemingly chemical attraction made up for that just fine.

And everything you've ever known today / It's all the world can give you / Don't believe in love or hate / It's only a chemical