Hermione

Hermione smiled meekly at the people in front of her. Giving their last farewells, "Oh, Narcissa! This was a wonderful party! We must get together next Tuesday!" they stepped through the floo powder and disappeared from sight.

Hermione let out a huge sigh. "Oh, would you look at that!" Narcissa exclaimed. "It's almost 1:00! The house elves will clean up…I'm off to bed." Too drained to object to the house elves and their enslavement, Hermione gave one final nod to the happy Narcissa, and headed up to her room.

The soft bed that waited in her bedroom was the only thing that drove her up the stairs and down the hallway. Hermione stopped in the middle of the doorway, pausing slightly to take a weary look around her room. A small smile crept up to her face. Never had she seen a more welcoming sight. Hobbling slightly, she walked to and sank down into her bed, her feet dangling off the sheets.

"I don't think I can move another muscle." However, Hermione slowly bent over and untied her shoes, revealing her bare feet. She wiggled her toes in the white carpet, relishing in the feeling of freedom from those darn shoes.

Sudden images of Draco appeared in her thoughts, interrupting the feeling of serenity. Hermione sighed uncertainly. She was able to avoid him the whole evening, but surely he would come after her, especially when she runs out of excuses.

"I only need time to think," Hermione told herself. She lay back down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She could hardly believe that this morning, just a mere 17 hours earlier, she woke up from the most fabulous dream she has ever had. Her stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. Did the dream mean her subconscious was trying to tell her something?

Hermione got back up and began undressing. Was that why she allowed herself to be…kissed by Draco? And she did kiss him back. If she kissed him back…did that mean that she was…interested in him?

"But that's impossible!" Hermione told herself for the umpteenth time. She pulled off her dress.

Draco

Draco left his room and headed down the hall, a determined look on his face. "This time, I won't let her avoid me."

"HERMIONE! NO MORE EXCUSES! WE HAVE TO TALK!" And with that, Draco turned the doorknob and-

Hermione let out a piercing scream. "Draco! Get OUT!" Draco stood in horror. There, in the middle of the room, stood Hermione, only half dressed-"DRACO! GET OUT NOW! I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T I'LL CURSE YOU INTO OBLIVION-"

Draco quickly turned and slammed the door behind him, red in the face. He was no stranger to the female body…but he wasn't expecting to see Hermione in a black bra and underwear…her slender back turned to him… hair still up from the party…slipping her silky leg into a pair of shorts…Draco shook his head to block all the thoughts that kept popping in his head.

The door opened behind him. "What?" Hermione snapped.

Turning, Draco was relieved though, somewhat disappointed that she was dressed. A red face, whether from anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell, glared at him.

"Err, sorry. Forgot to knock." Draco mumbled.

"Well, what do you want?" She continued glowering at him. Draco couldn't help but feel that this was strangely familiar…

"To talk to you about earlier. Can I come in?" Draco asked, feeling a little of his confidence return. Hermione reluctantly stepped back and they both entered her room. She was wearing short shorts and a tank top. Her green dress was hanging on the closet handle.

Silence filled the room. Hermione was sitting on her bed, face still red, as he stood around awkwardly. Feeling slightly stupid, Draco hadn't figured out what exactly he was going to say. In fact, all he thought about was just getting her alone. Now that he did, he had no idea how to continue.

"So…about earlier…" he began. She avoided his eyes and stared at her hands. "I know I caught you by surprise…you really did look fantastic-and I guess that was my way of showing you-"

"Look, Draco, let's just forget about it ok?" Hermione interrupted, her head still down.

Draco stopped, stunned." What?" He demanded.

Hermione continued to avoid his gaze. "I…I just don't think we should be starting anything right now. I mean, I'm here on…on business"

"I said before, we don't need your help." Draco felt his insides turn to ice.

"Well, yes. And…I have other things on my mind…with N.E.W.Ts coming up...and Ron and Harry, and S.P.E.W…"

"FINE!" Draco barked, glaring at Hermione. She looked up guiltily.

"Draco, please don't be mad. I-I didn't realize that you were going to..to kiss me…"

"You're barking mad! You kissed me back! Or did you forget?" Draco's anger bubbled inside of him. HOW could Hermione do this?

"Please, Draco. I-I just don't want things to change between us. We were just becoming friends-"

"Whatever!" Draco stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"IDIOT!" He told himself for the millionth time. "What were you thinking? You scared her away! You acted stupid and you scared her away!" Draco angrily undressed and put on his night things. "Everyone knows that you always knock before going into a girl's room!"

More images of Hermione's perfect body, half dressed, slipped into his mind. Angry that he missed out on such a beautiful woman, angry at Hermione for coming up with lame excuses to 'stay friends', angry at that stunning dress for making him fall in the first place, but mostly angry at himself for thousands of reasons, Draco went to bed.

Author's note: Hello all again! I have finally updated! woohoo! At first, I'll be honest, I got into a bit of a rut with this chapter. I wrote about half of it and couldn't figure out how to continue. I have other chapters already planned in the future in mi head...it's just that this chapter here HAS to be here or else the rest of the chapters won't make sense. I know thousands of questions are going on in your head...such as 'why is draco so stupid'...'why did hermione suggest such a thing'...'does draco like hermione only becauase of that green dress...' will all be answered eventually in the future chapters.
I want you all to know that I love writing this story, and that i will NEVER just leave it and not continue it. I think my readers are wonderful and that you guys are AWESOME! Anyways, Firefly Phoenix is a WONDERFUL beta! THANKS SO MUCH! And stay tuned!