Chapter 11

AN- Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I got caught up in another story. I am glad that all of you liked that last chapter. It was very fluffy, but Draco is such a romantic guy. Unfortunately I see some trouble in the future….Mwhahahahahahahahahahahaha….on with the story…

The next day Hermione and Draco were in their common room studying. They had spent the rest of Saturday apart so no one would get suspicious, so they decided to spend the whole day together. Both Hermione and Draco wanted to do a little studying, so that is what they were doing. They were sitting acroos from each other and in front of the fire. 'Draco is so wonderful. I mean what other guy would think a good time would be spent studying with his…what is she to him?' Hermione wondered. 'He has definitely changed…for the better of coarse. I really love being with him. He is such a good friend…yes, that's what they were…friends… Merlin! I am doing it again. I keep getting lost in thoughts of Draco…I need to focus on my work!' she yelled at herself. 'But still, the kiss yesterday was so great! It was like nothing I have ever felt before…even with Ron, I never felt like this. He makes me weak in the knees…Not again!!!!!!'

'Merlin, she is so beautiful! And smart, and intelligent, and gentle, and caring, and…Merlin! I am doing it again. I have only written like two words. He just can't focus on anything but Hermione…Hermione, his…hmmm? She isn't his anything. What is she to him. Not nothing. It is definitely more than friends, but what more than friends and lees than dating? I can't take this anymore! I want her to be mine.' he thought as he made himself look up at her once again.

After a few minutes of studying her face, he got up and walked towards her. She looked up and smiled. "What's up, Draco?" she asked.

"Nothing." he replied. "Hermione, I want to ask you something…" his voice trailed off. 'Why is this so hard? I have done this hundreds of times before…but this is different…I really like her…' he thought. 'okay, you can do this…NOW!'

"What is it Draco?" she asked.

"Okay, would you mind being my girlfriend. Officially, I mean." he said.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yeah, I really am." he replied quietly.

"Oh, Draco. I would love to be your girlfriend!" she said as she moved her books away so she could stand up. She walked over to him.

He looked at her and smiled. "Okay, good…but we have to keep this secret, you know?" he said carefully, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Yes, I know. None of your friends would accept their 'pureblood king' having a muggle-born girlfriend." she teased. "They would commit you to St. Mungos."

"Ha ha ha, what about your Gryffindork friends. They would kill you if they ever found out that you were dating Harry Potter's archenemy! Especially Potty and Weasel." Draco joked.

"No, they wouldn't kill me, they would kill you!" Hermione retorted, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Your right they would try to kill me." he said, causing them both to laugh. "The great Harry Potter and his sidekick Weasel."

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking, laughing, and kissing. Then at 6:45 they finally decided to leave their room because they were hungry. So they went to dinner.

*****************************************************
"Where is Hermione? I haven't seen her all day." Ron said to Harry as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner.

"I dunno. I haven't seen her either. She didn't come to breakfast or lunch. She must be in the library." Harry replied.

Ron nodded and they continued to walk. Then he saw Hermione walk around the corner. "There she is!" he said as he started to run off towards her. Harry was close behind.

Suddenly Ron stopped dead in his tracks causing Harry to run into him. "Ron, why the bloody hell did you stop so…" his words trailed off when he saw the reason standing at the end of the hall. His facial expression matched the confused, shocked look on Ron's. They looked at Hermione standing at the end of the hall hand in hand with Draco Malfoy! She had apparently not noticed them, so they ducked into an empty classroom. They watched their best friend kiss their archenemy. Then they split and walked separate directions to the Great Hall.

"What the bloody hell was she doing?" Ron whispered.

"I have no idea! I still think I am seeing things." Harry replied.

"Ohhhh, I am going to kill that git!" Ron said. "He…he must have put some kind of love spell on her!" He began walking towards the door with his hands balled into fists. Before he got very far, a hand grabbed his arms. He turned around to look at Harry.

"No, we need to hear Hermione's side of the story first." he said. "Oh, and we aren't just going to go up to her. We are going to be subtle about the whole thing. If we told her we were just spying on her, she will never talk to us again."

"Fine, but when I find out what happened, then I am going to kill him!" Ron replied.

"Good, now let's go and I will do all of the talking!" Harry said. "I will see if I can find anything out. You just control your temper!"

Harry and Ron went to their usual spots and sat down. After a few minutes Harry said, "So Hermione, where have you been all day?"

"Ummmm. Well, I was in my room studying. You know the N.E.W.T.'s are coming up soon." she replied easily.

"You have been studying all day? That seems a little extreme, even for you." he said.

"Well, not all day. I slept in pretty late because I was with the two of you all last night. Then I had to finish details on the dance with Malfoy. It took most of the day, so I just decided to stay up there and get a head start on studying." she said a bit uneasily.

"Oh, okay. I was just wondering." he replied as he began shoveling food into his mouth.

"So, Ron, you are being awfully quiet. What's up?" Hermione said, changing the subject.

"N-nothing," he replied and continued to eat. A couple minutes later he got up and walked out of the Great Hall."

"Harry, what's wrong with Ron?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. Hermione, can I talk to you alone somewhere?" He asked.

"Sure, I guess. Where do you want to meet."

"Ummmm, Astronomy tower at nine o'clock tonight. For now, I have to go find Ron." he said as he got up and ran after Ron.

'That was weird' she though as she continued to eat. When she finished eating she got up and went back to her room.

*****************************************************

At 8:50, Hermione left to meet Harry. When she arrived he was already there waiting for her.

"Hey Harry." she said as she walked up to him.

"Hi." he replied. He paused for a few minutes before continued. "We saw you today," was all he said as he watched her face for some type of a reaction. All he got was a confused look from her delicate, beautiful face.

"What?" she asked.

"With Draco. We saw you holding his hand and kissing him." he said, not looking into her eyes.

"Oh."

"Yeah, we hid so you wouldn't see us." he said before the anger he had bottled up inside of him exploded out of his mouth. "What in the bloody hell were you doing?! You kissed Draco Malfoy! I guess that story Ron told me was true. You are sleeping with MALFOY!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled.

She suddenly began crying. His words were tearing into her. He had never been so cruel.

"Don't you remember all of those awful things he has done to you for the past six years? He calls you MUDBLOOD!" he yelled as loud as he could. This caused her to cry even harder. She then fell to her knees at the harsh words.

When Harry saw this, he immediately stopped yelling and froze. "I am sorry." she said before rolling up into a fetal position. She curled up into the smallest form she could manage and cried. After a few minutes Harry could hear her mumbling.

He leaned down to hear what she was saying. He has to get down really close to even hear anything over her sobs. All he could hear was, "sorry, sorry, sorry…." She mumbled that one word over and over again. He was suddenly overcome with guilt. He sat next to her on the floor and wrapped his arms carefully around her shoulders. "Shhhh. No, I am the one who is sorry. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that…it's just, he's…well, he's like my worst enemy. Please stop crying." he pleaded with her as he geld her tightly in his arms. He slowly began rubbing her back in small comforting circles.

After a few minutes of this, Hermione's tears subsided and they sat there quietly for a few minutes. Harry finally pulled back and lifted her chin so he could meet her eyes.

He studied her sad expression and her tear-streaked face. "Will you…Can you tell me about it?" he asked.

"Ummmm. Well, it all started on our first day. We left to go to breakfast and got lost. After an hour of being lost, I got upset and started to cry. Then he kissed me. That's when I started to see him as maybe more than just a Malfoy. Then we got in a fight, but soon…well, we became friends. We knew we were going to have to work together, so we needed to be able to get along anyway. Then, when Ron broke up with me he comforted and held me. He even took me to dinner and the most beautiful garden. That was at Hogsmeade yesterday. Then, today he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes." she explained. "He treats me really good and I really like him."

He considered this words and nodded. Hermione was smart if she thought he was a good guy then he probably was. "I don't have to like it, but if you like him that much, I won't stand in your way. I guess it's okay, but you have to promise me to be very careful." he said. When she nodded he continued. "Ron is not going to like this at all. It will take a lot of convincing to get him to accept this. He still loves you."

"Thanks Harry. I really appreciate your support." she said, hugging him tightly.

"I just have one question. That one night…did you really sleep with Malfoy?" he asked, looking directly into her eyes.

"Yes, I did. But not like you think. All we did was sleep." she replied.

"Good." he said as he hugged her one more time.

*****************************************************

"Draco!" Hermione yelled when she got back into her common room at 11 o'clock. "Draco, where are you?" she asked. When she got no answer, she ran up to his room. There he was, sound asleep. He was hidden under the blankets. She crawled onto the bed next to him and whispered in his ears, "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight to you to, Drakie." said a feminine voice as a hand reached around and pulled Hemione closer, grabbing her butt at the same time.