A/N: I'm glad so many of you like my portrayal of Blaise Zabini. He's so great. Some of you also think he and Hermione should get together, sorry, but I don't think that will happen. Ron, Seamus and Draco are enough for one girl! Especially little virgin Hermione! Well, on with the story!

Chap. 14 'I Never Wanted to Let Go.'

Draco knocked on Hermione's door softly. He could hear music playing in her room. Soft music, calming. Then he heard Hermione turn down her music.

'Yes?' She asked quietly.

'Hermione...it's me Draco. Can I come in?' He asked hesitantly.

There was no instant answer.

Draco looked back at Blaise hopelessly.

Blaise rolled his eyes and walked up to the door.

'Oh! Bloody hell Granger!' Blaise called, 'Please let the desperate boy in!'

'Come in.' Hermione responded quietly.

Blaise nodded his head in pride and winked at Draco.

'Your welcome!' Blaise drawled.

Draco rolled his eyes and opened the door.

'Leave now.' Draco said before going in.

When Draco stepped in to her room he could barely see. Hermione had only candles lit for light. Soft music was nearly mute, but still audible. She was sitting on her bed cross-legged, an empty bowl next to her.

'Hello.' He said.

'Hello.' She replied.

'Can we talk now?' He asked.

'I s'pose.' Hermione sighed. 'Can't really kick you out now can I?'

'Please don't.' He begged.

Hermione nodded.

'Why are you acting like this Malfoy?' Hermione asked nervously.

'I don't know. It's how I feel.'

'Why do you feel like this?' She asked him, finally looking up at him. 'You never acted like this before. You aren't even the same person. I don't understand you.'

'I don't understand me either.'

'Please, Malfoy, please tell me what's going on.'

'Draco.'

'What?'

'Call me Draco, Hermione.'

'I don't know if I want to.' She sighed. 'I don't know why you're calling me Hermione either.'

'I like the sound. I want to fix what I did earlier. I was cruel. I've been cruel as long as I've known you and I am sorry.'

'Why? Why are you sorry now?'

'I realized how wrong it was of me.' He said. 'I guess you could say I'm finally realizing I don't have to be my father.'

Draco was still standing near the door. He wanted to tell her how he felt but he wasn't sure how. He wasn't even sure what those feelings were.

'I want to believe you.' Hermione sighed. 'I want to believe that you are a different person. I want to believe you are that guy from Hogsmeade that was nice to me...but I can't.'

Draco walked up to the bed.

'Why can't you believe me, Hermione?' Draco asked. 'I want to tell you why I got so upset when we rode up to Hogwarts.'

'I don't want to talk about that.'

'I need to tell you.' Draco said.

Hermione nodded.

'That night in the furnace room...something happened. I know you don't want to think it did, but something did happen...to me at least. Hermione, I have never stopped before.' He said cautiously.

'You mean when I asked you to stop?'

'Yes. I wanted to go further with you, you must have known that...but you didn't want to and I was okay with that. I've never been asked to stop, and I stopped. I know it doesn't sound like much, but if you knew me you'd know that was a pretty big deal.'

Hermione nodded.

'No, I know. I thought about it later. I appreciate that you stopped when I asked. I felt that you respected me...' Hermione said.

'I do respect you.'

There were a few seconds of silence between them, then Hermione spoke again.

'If you respect me, Draco...then why were you so cruel to me outside Hogwarts.'

'Hermione...right when you said what happened in the furnace room was nothing, I was about to say that it did mean something to me.'

'You were?' Hermione asked in confusion.

'Yes. And then you told me it was a mistake and to forget about it...I lost my temper. I was about to let my guard down for you, and then you go and crush it. I had to bring my ego back up, so I said those things to you to try and make me feel better. I knew they were wrong and I knew this as I said them...that's because of you. If you were anyone else I was saying things like that to, I wouldn't care as much...but not with you, Hermione. It was different with you. I felt guilty. I felt ashamed of what I had done to you. I realized...I realized...' Draco stammered. 'I realized I didn't hate you anymore.'

'Just because I let you snog me...because I was a challenge...because no one else had before?'

'It was at first...but not when it happened. I felt something with you that I never felt before. I felt true want, need...not lust or desire. I've never felt that with any girl I've been with.'

'Not one?'

'Not one. I was your first, but in a way you were mine, too.'

Hermione moved over on the bed, making room for Draco to sit.

'Draco, this is coming out of no where. I don't know what you want me to tell you.'

'I need you to forgive me. I need to know you won't cry anymore because of what I did.'

Hermione nodded.

'I forgive you...I won't cry.'

'Is that why you were sick earlier?' He asked.

Hermione nodded.

'Did that night in the furnace mean anything to you.'

'Yes. Meant more than anything to me.' She thought.

Hermione did not want to tell Draco. What if he was just doing this so he could hurt her again?

'What happened to Pansy, Draco?' Hermione suddenly asked.

'What?' He asked nervously.

'Pansy...I heard you guys...when we got back from Hogsmeade.' She said quietly.

'I—I-' He stuttered.

'If what happened between us meant so much to you then why did you go and screw Pansy as soon as we got back?' Hermione asked with hurt in her voice.

'I tried to get my mind off of you. All I could think about was you, and then I thought about how I meant nothing to you. I'm Draco Malfoy...I am an ass with a huge ego, I had to make my self feel like a man again after you denied me.'

'When I was in the bathroom, and then came out to see you...you had been crying. Weren't you?'

Draco looked away from Hermione.

'I'm sorry Draco. I don't know why you were...but that's why I couldn't talk to you then...I could never picture you crying and I didn't want to have to.'

'Oh. I hurt Pansy.' He stated.

'On purpose?' Hermione asked in a frightened tone.

'No no, and please don't think I did because I didn't mean to. I was too rough, because I was angry. That's why I was crying. You once thought I was abusive, and because of my father I got offended and said I never was...but then I accidentally hurt Pansy and it reminded me of him. I didn't want to be like my father. I didn't want you to be right about how I was like my father. I just got too emotional.'

'Draco...I think I've cried ten times in the past few days...it's okay for you to cry once a year...if that.' She smiled.

'Finally a smile.' He thought.

'I don't want you to think I hurt her on purpose.'

'I don't.'

'I don't want you to think I'd ever hurt you again...in anyway.'

Hermione was silent and stared at him. She looked into his eyes.

'How can you promise that?'

'I can't. I can try though, sometime I've never done.'

'What are you asking of me, Draco?'

'Do you think we could ever...'

'Get together?' She asked.

He nodded.

'You, Draco Malfoy, want to be with me? A muggle born?'

'No. I, Draco Malfoy, want to be with you, Hermione Granger.'

'Draco...this is crazy!' Hermione cried. 'This isn't supposed to happen! We aren't supposed to want to be together!'

'So you do want to be with me?' He asked hopefully.

'Draco, when I said that night meant nothing to me I said that only so you wouldn't say it first. I loved that night, even if I made you stop. I loved being held by you...I just thought you were holding me because you were bored and your hormones took over.'

'That was some of it, but when I held you I never wanted to let go.' He said softly.

Hermione began to cry.

'I'm sorry, Hermione. What did I do?'

'Not you...' She sobbed. 'I-I-I am going with Seamus...'

'What?'

'Seamus Finnagin asked me out...today and I said yes...I was horrible! I am a horrible person...I only said yes to get my mind off of you...'

'You-re—you're going out with someone?'

'What do I do?' She asked.

'Do you like him?'

'He's my friend...I can't break up with him...he just asked me out! It would kill him if he found out if I was going out with you!'

'So...you don't want to go out.' Draco sighed.

Hermione got off the bed and walked to the edge where Draco was sitting.

'I do. I care for you...I don't know why but I do...so much.'

Draco took her hands.

'I have to go talk to someone about all this.'

'What? Who are you going to tell?' Draco asked worriedly.

'I promise I'll talk to you tonight...please wait up for me.'

'Who are you going to talk to?' Draco asked.

'Harry.'