Hermione sat primly on the castle lawn, a small fire burning a foot above her head to shine a gentle light over her books without detracting from the sunset. Her eyes were fixed on the sun as it sank below the trees but her mouth kept moving dictating to her quill, her hands idly folding the corners of her Advanced Muggle Studies textbook. Although she did not hear his footsteps as he walked quietly down the gently rolling hill his touch on her upper arm didn't make her jump. She had been half expecting Draco to come. She plucked the quill from where it was quivering over her parchment before he could speak and it could scribble down his words too, ruining her essay. Carefully she placed the quill between the pages of her textbook and began to trace the edges of the cover, sliding glances at everything but him.

"You got out ok?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, still not looking at him as she waved her wand and the parchment rolled itself. Draco watched it too, crouched behind her, his hand still resting on her arm. "How did your father know I was there?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.

"Vol… You-Know-Who teaches his Death Eaters well." Draco's voice was taut with pain. He allowed himself to slip into a sitting position and Hermione turned to him, new and quite inexplicable concern quickly banishing her suspicion. "He's all cold logic now. He knew I wouldn't be there alone and that the silver tree is the safest place in the garden."

"Why?" asked Hermione, her lips folded as they always were in class.

Draco noticed her reflexive businesslike attitude and smirked kindly in amusement. "Silver is a sympathetic metal," Hermione nodded but opened her mouth to argue that it would obey any bond. It was as likely to be faithful to a father-son relationship as to a… whatever they were. Draco waved his hand. "That tree in particular would be especially sympathetic to us… a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. We're not so different from Salazar and Penelope. And I thought it would protect you."

Although Hermione was ready to object to an analogy that compared her to some girl that eloped with an evil Slytherin and got herself sucked into a pool for it, she quickly forgot it when she heard his last superior comment. It reminded her too much of Harry's overbearing, self sacrificing, controlling tendencies and Ron's possessive protectiveness. The last thing she needed was for her former enemy to forget that she was a competent witch. Haughtily she began to rise, snapping "I can look after myself, thank you very much."

"Hey." Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her back down into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Hermione stiffened initially, having been rudely reminded that Malfoy had been a right prat for the better part of Hogwarts. This Draco however, simply held her against him. "I didn't mean you couldn't cope. I just don't want anything to happen to you. Call me paranoid but any friend of Potter's needs all the protecting they can get." He brushed a wisp of her bushy hair away from her cheek making her smile as she relented, nodded, and leant into him. He grinned and kissed her ear making her giggle helplessly.

Hermione stroked the fingers of his right hand where they rested on her waist. When he nibbled her ear she quickly threw out words, any words, to stop herself from giggling foolishly. "So, how was your day?" was the best of her brain's effort.

"Better now." Draco answered and Hermione gave in to a laugh. He rolled her over so she lay on her back in the grass and leant over her, casually propped up on his arm. "You're beautiful, Hermione."

Hermione blushed. Even though Krum had proved to her that she wasn't completely unattractive and a few whistles on the streets had made her think that she might even be pretty, Draco's near-reverent tone made her melt. She reached up and grabbed his collar to pull him down to her mouth. She had discovered that she quite liked his kisses.

After what only felt like a few seconds but must have been several minutes a loud conversation reached their ears. Their mouths parted but Draco still lay over Hermione, one arm on either side of her body. He was so close that he heard her hiss "Ron!" and when she jumped in surprise, she bumped into his chest. He wrapped an arm around her to keep her there.

"And Harry Potter." He added as Harry's voice became audible. Draco looked down at her wistfully as he forced himself to say "I'll go" and to get up.

"Wait up!" He heard her voice behind him only a few seconds later and his heart jumped. He turned to her and she ran to him and took his hand. "I'll see the two of them tomorrow." She explained and was rewarded by a grin and a squeeze to her hand. Together, they walked quickly away from Ron and Harry, a flick of Hermione's wand banishing her quill and parchment to her dormitory room. Homework was the last thing on her mind tonight.

Unfortunately there were so many people out enjoying the last golden rays of summer that the two could find almost nowhere where they could be alone and unobserved. Finally they contented themselves with sitting under the willow and a bug repulsion dome. The willow shaded the couple from prying eyes and the chilly lake breeze deterred other students. Hermione, an hour later, lay curled in Draco's arms, oblivious to the cold and growing dark. They talked in soft voices as his hand stroked her neck gently, sending shivers down her spine.

"Hermione?" Draco propped himself up on an elbow, watching his own fingers trace designs on the school jumper that covered her flat stomach.

"Yes?"

"Did you hate me?" She pulled her head up only to find his eyes conspicuously diverted away from her own. After a moment of avoidance, Hermione sat up fully and grabbed his hand from her belly. Reluctantly he sat up straight and sighed. "Two years ago, did you hate me?"

"You were an annoying little prick." Hermione was blunter than she needed to be, a little offended that he was ruining what she was already calling the most magical moment of her life with a past that she was quite successfully avoiding.

"I know. I didn't mean to be." Draco looked down and silence fell over the two. Hermione looked at him, seeming so sad and impulsively wrapped her arms around him. He leant into her and seemed almost ready to cry.

"What happened a year ago doesn't matter, Draco. We were different then."

"It does matter." He sat up and grabbed her wrists. "It really matters, Hermione." His eyes burned into her and she began to wonder about his motivations. It took only a few moments for the brightest mind to grace Hogwarts in fifty years to begin a Socratic investigation.

"This isn't about our feelings, is it? There's something else."

"Just answer the question." His voice was curt and his eyes relentless. Part of Hermione quailed in the face of so much anger and darkness but the other half was only made more determined to help him overcome this cold… Slytherin part of himself.

'Its Voldemort, isn't it?" Draco looked furious that she could read him so easily and his grip on her wrists tightened until it was painful. "Draco, that hurts!" Hermione cried, trying to pull away.

"Hermione." His eyes bored into hers. "I need you to answer the question. In fifth year, who did you love? How did you feel about me?"

"He knows." Hermione stopped struggling, too intrigued at the information she was quickly absorbing from such an intimate connection with a boy she both hated and loved. "But does he know my mind or my heart?"

"Mind." Draco's hold loosens. He felt slightly ashamed at having temporarily forgotten that she was not simply some stupid Slytherin girl, but rather an equal, someone who could be trusted and who could help. "Mind," he repeated, "he doesn't believe in heart."

"My mind would never let me love a Slytherin." Hermione declared. "I mean… It wouldn't. Then. Now…" She fumbled over the words as she saw more hurt, this time without anger, build behind his gray eyes. "Besides, you were practically my archenemy!"

"Who did your mind love?"

Hermione attempted to push this question away. "Oh, it doesn't matter... I don't really remember."

"Hermione. You know that who ever that person is, we need to watch them." She shook your head, unwilling to accept this invasion, even more unwilling to add to the pain in his voice. "Hermione, if they get in You-Know-Who's way then you are in danger. I don't want to pry, I just want you to be safe."

"I liked... well, I liked Ron, a lot." Hermione peered at him cautiously, half afraid of his reaction.

"I guessed." The boy confessed flatly.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He looked up at Hermione, his face sincere and sweet. "Hermione, you have every right to like anyone you want to. I'm just so... thrilled that you... like me." His voice was husky and she immediately understand his hesitation, she knew he was going to say love. His eyes called to her, appealing, begging her to tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't. Not yet, not while he was still a Slytherin albeit a very cute and kind one who she was starting to like a lot and the thought of whom could make her heart beat wildly. Instead she smiled apologetically and took his face in her hands to kiss him again. Draco took the kiss as a fairly satisfactory substitute for a declaration of love and kissed her down to the moss that covered the ground, levering himself on his elbows so he could kiss her from above. He teased her, kissing her deeply and pulling away so fast that she had to gasp at the change from his warm, soft mouth to the chilly air.

Soon the two were so cold that even the heat of teenage passion couldn't keep them under the willow. Draco let Hermione sit up and kissed her neck as she grabbed her cape, hands lightly massaging her shoulders. "You go first. I'll walk back in about five minutes so no one sees us together" he breathed into her neck and turned her around to face him.

"OK." Hermione couldn't stop herself from smiling as they kissed good-bye, for one minute... two...
He pushed her away gently, reluctantly. "Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Draco." She pulled back the willow curtain and walked away, looking back more than once. He watched her leave him.

WOW… I was totally amazed by all the reviews I got! Thank you so much guys… I don't want to be a spaz and write a bunch since the story's what you're here for but it is much much MUCH appreciated!