A/N: Hey, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 3: Against her friends

Hermione snuck back into the common and was relieved to find it empty. She quietly went up the stairs to her room and soon slipped into her warm, soft bed. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She had actually seen a human side of Malfoy and it surprised her how sincere he had actually been. But what surprised her the most is how he said that Harry didn't deserve her and how she deserved much better. Her mind ran through the conversation so many times that she didn't notice when she had finally gotten to sleep.

Morning came all too soon. As Hermione woke up, all of the memories of the past night flooded back into her mind and she couldn't help but think about how Malfoy was handling his mother's death. She dressed and hesitated before going downstairs. She didn't want to see any of her friends. She didn't want to talk to anyone and she knew that they would want to discuss what had happened last night.

She slowly walked down the stairs into the common room and peered around; relieved that she didn't see anyone, she walked out of the common room and went down to breakfast. She might have to eat by herself for a while but it beats seeing Harry or Ginny. She knew Ron would want to talk too, but she just wanted to be alone for a while.

Entering the Great Hall, she spotted where Harry, Ron, and Ginny were sitting. Avoiding them, she went to sit at the other end of the table. Her eyes strayed over to the Slytherin table and she noticed that Malfoy was also eating by himself at the end of his table. As soon as she spotted him, they locked eyes. Malfoy still looked saddened and somber about his mother's death. He looked distraught; he looked almost as if he hadn't slept in days. Feeling uncomfortable, Hermione looked away first. As she ate she looked down at her plate not wanting to lock eyes with anyone else. She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes again, but fought to keep them back, until she could no longer. Hermione got up and walked briskly to the door of the Great Hall, then out. What Hermione didn't notice was that Malfoy left soon after she did.

Harry, Ginny, and Ron noticed Hermione leave but decided to leave her alone and not to follow her until they felt that she had calmed down. Although they weren't sure how long that would take, they still decided to respect her wish to be alone.

Hermione rapidly walked to the only place she felt safe anymore, the library. The rows and rows of books were comforting to her in a way. They could never hurt her or disappoint her. They would never backstab her by sleeping with her boyfriend. She felt as though the books were her only friends now. She walked deep into the many rows of books and sat down on the floor leaning against a bookcase. Her head in her hands, she began to cry again. She didn't even try to hold it back, she let it flow out, knowing that she would feel better afterwards.

Suddenly she heard footsteps approach her. Looking up she came face to face with Malfoy.

"Thought I would find you here."

She didn't reply. Instead she put her head back in her hands and looked at the floor.

"I just wanted to see if you were ok. I mean I saw you leave the Great Hall and you didn't look too good."

"Malfoy, I don't really want to talk right now." She managed to choke out.

"Yes you do. I know you do. I meant everything I said last night and I wouldn't take anything back. It's true. He really doesn't deserve you."

"Malfoy, please stop."

"Granger, listen, I know what your going through and I'm probably the only one too."

Hermione just stared up at Malfoy, unable to say anything. For the first time in his life, Draco realized how beautiful Hermione was. Even with tears streaked down her wet face, she looked stunning.

He sat down beside her and whispered in her ear, "Potter doesn't deserve you and you know it."

Hermione turned to look at him and he inched closer towards her. They were soon so close that he could see all of the freckles on her petit nose. Malfoy leaned in further and soon his lips touched hers. Hermione gasped as she felt their lips touch, but she never broke apart. She soon wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as he held her hips, pulling her closer. He was the first to pull apart and when he did, Hermione's eyes were still closed. Opening them she looked straight into Malfoy's eyes, which was consumed with concern. Suddenly realizing what just happened, she tried to get up off the library floor, but Malfoy pulled her back down.

"Granger, please."

"Malfoy, that shouldn't have happened. That was wrong. That was very wrong."

"I think I want to be with you. I've never felt this way about a girl before, not even when I was dating Pansy. I just want to stay by your side forever."

"Malfoy I don't know if I will ever be comfortable with this. What will Harry and Ron say about this."

"They don't have to know."

"I don't know, Malfoy. I'm just not that comfortable with this."

"I thought you weren't involved with them anymore."

"I still want to reconcile even though I probably won't go back to dating Harry, after what he did to me and all."

"Just think about it, Hermione." It was the first time he had called her by her first name and that was what caused her to decide that what she wanted didn't have to go along with Harry or Ron's wishes. As far as she was concerned, they probably didn't want to be friends with her anymore. She decided to do something that she never thought she would have done.

"Ok Malfoy… Draco" she corrected. "I'll think about it." She turned to leave but he pulled her back and smashed his lips to hers kissing her fiercely. Parting their kiss, she bid him goodbye and left the library smiling, the first smile she had in what felt like a long time.

A/N: Hey everyone. I'd like to thank all of those people that have reviewed. I hope you enjoyed this next installment of Destructive Love. Umm… if you like this story, you might like my other one. It's a bit darker and angsty but it will eventually turn into a love story between Hermione and Draco… a very dark love story. It's called Hermione's Desperation and look for it in the angst/romance section… if you don't like dark fics then I wouldn't recommend that one to you... but then again its up to you.