Chapter 10

Hermione hadn't slept that night. Not that she hadn't tried. Oh merlin how she'd tried! But when ever she closed her eyes, all she saw was Malfoy. It was starting to piss her off. She needed to talk to him. No wait, now that she had her diary back, she could just write in it. She looked on her dresser and groaned. They hadn't switched. This sucked! It really did. But she could read it. yup, she could read it. He would read hers. She wasn't stupid. If he hadn't before, he would now, because he knew she was reading his. (does that make sense to you guys?) NO! She wouldn't do it! It was four in the morning. She would go to the astronomy tower. And think. He wouldn't be there. And fresh air would do her a lot of good. Especially when it was cold. She got up and walked to her favorite tower, in a too small spaghetti strap shirt and long flannel pants. She sat down on the stone ledge, and looked down first. It was weird, but all she had to do was give herself a little push, and she'd be gone. Free, in a sense. She wouldn't think about Draco anymore. That was always nice.

'I couldn't do it though.' She thought sadly to herself. She hated to admit it, but she was a coward. She wished she wasn't. After all, what if, in the final battle betweent Voldie and Harry, she ran away from death?

"Hermione! What are you doing!" She jumped. This was a bad move, because seconds later, she felt herself turning upside down, and wind rushing around her. She'd fallen.

'Damn Malfoy! He's become the death of me.' This registered in her mind.

"HOLY HELL! I'm GONNA DIE!" She yelled in horror. Then she realized that, even though the astronomy tower was really high, she would have hit the ground by now.

"Are you alright! Have you stopped yet!" She heard the blissful voice of Draco right behind her. And looked down. She was upside down, suspended 10 feet from the ground.

"Holy Merlin, Holy Merlin, Holy Merlin…" she repeated softly. She'd almost died. As if on que, Draco decided to start shouting.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU DOING! IS YOUR LIFE THAT FUCKING MISRABLE SO YOU HAVE TO JUMP FROM THE ASTRONAMY TOWER! ARE YOU INSANE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! BLOODY HELL!" the blood was rushing to her head, and it was starting to get uncomfortable.

"WELL IF YOU HADN'T SNUCK UP ON ME LIKE THAT, I WOULDN'T HAVE FALLEN! YES, I FELL, BECAUSE OF YOU. THAT WAS NO ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, THAT WAS AN ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE! YOU STUPID FUCKER! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME! I SWEAR TO THE HOLY FORCES OF EARTH, WHEN I'M RIGHT-SIDE UP, I'LL KICK YOU ASS!" he looked shocked.

"oh…" He muttered finally.

"oh? OH! WHAT THE HELL? YOU ALMOST KILL ME, AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS 'OH'!"

"WELL I SAVED YOU DIDN'T I!"

"GOOD THING TOO! IF YOU HADN'T, I WOULD HAVE MURDERED YOU AS A-!" She was cut off as his lips crushed into hers. It was the most painful, most horrifyingly sweet kiss she had ever had the pleasure of witnessing. It took her by surprise, and at first she didn't do anything. Then realization hit her. He was kissing her. It was kind of hard to do when she was upside down, but nonetheless, he was KISSING her. So she did the first thing that popped into her mind: She kissed him back. With just as much force. It was the best thing in the world, and it ended all too soon.

Finally, after what felt like several minutes, he pulled back. They were both breathless,Draco's (and probably hers as well) were brused,andherface was now comepletly red. Most of it was because of being upside down for so long. Breathing deeply, he finally let her go and said:

"oh…erm…right…uh…" this was the first time she'd ever heard him stutter. It was a nice feeling of accomplishment.

"Right...yeah…that was…unexpected?" He nodded mutely. It was several more minutes later, after a very uncomfortable silence, when he finally spoke.

"You're a good kisser." He told her. She smirked.

"Your not too bad yourself." He just smirked back and they both walked back into the castle in silence. Thinking of things. Many things. Eachother, the kiss. What it meant. How they would act tomorrow when Harry or Ron said something stupid to Draco. Whatever happened. It would be difficult.

Tea-and-cake-or-death: If it's not long enough, I'm sorry. Really, I am.