Chapter One

Hermione's POV

This always happens.

And every time it does, I want to rip his beautiful face off.

He goes out with a girl, breaks my heart, breaks up with her, gives me a small hope, then asks out someone else again, starting over the cycle.

"Hermione", he whined, "help me find something to wear on this thing."

And every time he has a date, he insists on me picking out his clothing. This time was no different.

We walked out of his dormitory and into the Gryffindor common room. I sulked privately behind him.

And there was Pavarti. With her sleek, dark hair and immaculate looks, anyone could see why he preferred her to me.

"Wish me luck, Herms." He walked over to her and took her arm. She giggled and clung onto him. I watched sadly as they left for Hogsmeade.

"Luck, Harry", I said back to him.

Later

An hour after everyone had left, I started walking to Hogsmeade. Sure, it took thirty minutes to get there on foot. So what? It wasn't like I had a date or anything.

I had liked Harry, my best friend for almost seven years along with Ron, since fifth year. I haven't a clue what triggered this, but it had happened without specific reason.

It was now November of seventh year, and here, two years and twenty- seven dates later, I had finally felt that I had enough. I had waited around for him to notice me as more then just a friend for long enough, and frankly, I was sick of the never- ending cycle: his search for the perfect girl.

Honestly, what was so great about perfect? Perfect isn't that great. It's boring.

Harry was a great guy. No one could argue with that. No girls, no guys, no anyone. He was brave, sweet, really good- looking; the whole nine yards.

But now I wasn't as willing to wait as I was a year ago. I was becoming more impatient and even caught myself staring at a few bums lately.

I had gotten a few offers for dates, but I had always turned them down, all to make Harry see that maybe I wasn't interested in them at all. Just him.

Well, perhaps the next time I get an offer, I'll surprise everyone by accepting. I wasn't terribly picky anymore. I just wanted a date.

I pondered these thoughts as I walked the dirt road, once in a while glancing at the gray sky. That is, until a voice interrupted my state.

"Hermione! Wait up!" I turned around at the sound and smiled.

"Hey, Draco."

Malfoy, Draco Malfoy had, surprisingly, become one of my closest friends. It shocks me to this very day.

After his father got sent to Azkaban in fifth year, he had somehow turned a new leaf. At first, we were all very suspicious of his intentions, but one day, he did something that proved that he was genuine. But I won't get into that right now.

Anyways, he was the only one who knew of my secret infatuation. I didn't tell Ron, for fear of him telling Harry, Ginny, for fear that she would spill to Ron, or anyone else, for fear of becoming the new school subject of ridicule.

But I could tell Draco. And he sympathized with me. He was so understanding, and consoled me as if he experienced my situation personally.

"What's a pretty lady like yourself doing all alone?" He teased me.

I shook my head. He was always trying to make feel better like this. He was so sweet. I told him the thoughts I had just moments ago. He listened carefully, just like I knew he would.

We walked together for the rest of the road, talking and laughing together. When we had finally reached Hogsmeade, he cleared his throat.

"Well, Hermione", he cleared his throat again and looked away. I raised and eyebrow at his obvious anxiousness.

He saw my slight gesture and quickly composed himself. "Well, I think you need practice for a date first. How about letting me escort you to dinner tonight, around seven?"

That had surprised me. To say the least. But nevertheless, I was pleased.

"Hmm." I tried to picture him as a date. It wasn't really hard, since he was nice enough and good- looking enough. "You're on. Seven o' clock. Don't be late."

With that said, I skipped off to tell Ginny and the rest of the girls.

Hog's Head

"Are you serious! Oh my God, when and where and what are you going to wear!" I was now sitting in the Hog's Head, sipping a butterbeer with Ginny across from me.

"Tonight, dinner at I have no idea, and help me!"

Gryffindor Girl's Dormitory

After Ginny had primped me for two hours, curling my hair, putting on makeup, and giving me a elegant outfit, I took it all off.

"Ginny! This isn't the ball! This is dinner!" She rolled her eyes at me and paced around my room.

"Merlin, why couldn't he have at least told you where you were going?" she asked herself more then me exasperatedly.

I looked out my window. I did a double take.

"Ginny, look! It's Draco! And he's wearing…"

In a fury of last- minute dressing, I got into a white turtleneck and some very tight jeans that belonged to Ginny and her very small ass.

I hurriedly brushed my hair once more when I heard a knock at my door. I didn't know why I was so nervous. He was just Draco. And it wasn't as if this was a real date; it was a practice date. I think. He was very vague about it.

Anyhow, I rushed to the door, brushed off some invisible dust, took a breath, and opened the door as casually as possible.

There Draco stood, wearing an outfit I gave him last year for Christmas, a black long sleeved shirt and faded baggy jeans. I expected something completely different when I saw him through my window, seeing how he was raised so formally, but there he was, in casual wear and a picnic basket.

He looked surprised to see me in my attire as well, and said so. "I thought since I forgot to tell you where we were going, you'd be dressed more formally."

A blush crept onto my face. "Well, I guess I got lucky, didn't I? Well, let's head out." I grabbed his arm and pulled him hurriedly away.

Hogwarts Lake

We had settled down onto the hill overlooking Hogwarts Lake. Sometimes, when you're used to something, you forget how beautiful it really is. I was struck again at the natural majesty of Hogwarts.

Draco set up our picnic, and I looked up at him. I was starting to get nervous. The setting was very romantic, and I was suddenly aware of his angular face, deep gray eyes, loose blonde hair, and all- together hotness. I bit my lip.

I also remembered how he was always so sweet, sympathetic, funny, and how I loved being around him.

The sun had already set, and the moon and stars were clearly visible. My palms were beginning to switch gear from slightly moist to almost sweaty.

I looked back at him and caught him staring at me. I stared back. We kept staring. Merlin, he was hot.

What was happening here? For over a year, I had felt nothing more then friendship for this guy sitting across from me, and now, in this moment, I wanted nothing more then to reach over and touch his face and trace every curve .

Damn. I had it bad.

I cleared my throat. We both jolted out of our dream- like states and shifted uncomfortably.

"So", I began weakly. "What do you want to talk about?"

I know what I didn't want to talk about. I didn't want to talk about how I was developing an infatuation with one of my best friends when I still had a lingering infatuation for the other.

The thing is, though, at this stage, I could stop liking him if I wanted to. I wasn't in deep enough to be out of control as I was with Harry for a long time. But I was sick of waiting for Harry. And this was right in front of me. He was right in front of me. He was so close, close enough to…

I leaned in toward him and felt his soft lips pressing against mine. It was a long time since I had kissed someone, and I had almost forgotten how good it tasted.

We broke apart and looked at each other shyly. Usually, this kind of silence would be awkward, but this was a comfortable silence.

He opened his mouth to speak. I tensed up and felt sure that I was awaiting a rejection that would impair our friendship forever.

For at that moment, our friendship had changed forever already.