Draco could have melted into the ground. Hermione was in his arms, holding onto him as though he was her only lifesaver in a sea of sharks. She looked up with those deep brown eyes and whispered her new nickname for him in a voice so soft he almost had to strain to hear her. Shivers ran down his spine. It tore him apart inside to see her red and tear-streaked face looking devastated, the sparkle in her eyes replaced by bloodshot veins. He was still in a slight shock; he had been on a walk after dinner when he heard arguing in the hospital wing and saw Hermione fall to her knees in an abandoned corner. Before he realized what he was doing he was on the ground pulling her into his arms and comforting her. He was even more surprised to see that he had succeeded in pacifying Hermione. He held her gaze, her lips only inches away from his. If he would only close the gap seperating them, he could finally taste what he'd been dreaming about every night.

He started to move in slowly, but then backed away before he got too close. Hermione was obviously heartbroken, and to take advantage of the current situation would be wrong.

"Are you ok, Hermione?" Neither one would break eye contact. She nodded at him, and he stood, helping her to her feet. He picked up her belongings which were strewn all over the floor and passed them to her.

"Can you make it to your dorm ok? Or would you like me to come with you?" Hermione grasped his arm.

"I- I think I'll be ok. Thank you...so much, Silver." Her hand slid down his arm to his hand, which she squeezed before turning around and walking to her common room. Draco stared after her before finally leaving, feeling the ghost of her hand and wishing he had the real thing.

Neither one noticed Harry standing in the doorway of the hospital wing, his brow furrowed.

Hermione went for the next few days without talking to either Harry or Ron. Harry was trying to sort out what he had seen. Clearly Hermione wasn't romantically involved with Draco; they would have done much more than embrace in the hallway. He hadn't tried to take advantage of her, and Harry hated to admit that he had to respect that. However, Draco's emotions had been written all over his face. He'd seen the signs in so many of his schoolmates before. Harry didn't think that Draco was even capable of loving, and that he was pulling some sort of trick, but the look in his eye told Harry all he needed to know: Draco was falling in love with Hermione.

What really made Harry's head spin was the look in Hermione's eyes. It mirrored the affection found in Draco's. Harry was sure he had it all wrong, that Hermione was just upset about Ron breaking up with her and that was what he had seen. Unfortunatly, he couldn't shake the feeling that if Ron didn't apologize quickly, he could lose Hermione to the worst possible person: Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy posed the risk of breaking apart Hogwarts' best couple, which he had nearly managed once before. No, Harry wouldn't allow that.

As such, Harry was the first to offer the olive branch of friendship back to Hermione. He did say a rather nasty thing to her and the guilt was eating away at him. The dynamic of the friendship could never really be the same, but she accepted his apology all the same. Ron refused to speak to Hermione, still half certain that she was screwing around with Public Enemy Number One.

Hermione was ecstatic when the next Wednesday finally rolled around, eager to have someone else to talk to besides Harry. Sure she could talk to the Gryffindor girls (the boys all declared silent treatment on her for the betrayal of their brother) but the girls were incredibly shallow. The most Hermione could ever get out of them was a conversation about the hottest professor in the school's history. The only intelligent girl was Ginny Weasley, who wasn't "allowed" to speak to Hermione.

She entered the Transguration room and smiled genuinely at Draco.

"Thank you again for the other night."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" She was silent for a while, the smile gone, and Draco worried that he'd asked the wrong question.

"Ah, that. Well Harry and Ron were talking negatively about you and I couldn't stand it. So I stood up for you, letting your nickname slip. I was forced into telling them about our lessons, and as usual, Ron got jealous. Harry felt betrayed this time as well and as such felt the need to say something rather mean to me. That's about the time you found me. I really needed that. You were my savior."

Draco turned a deep pink. "It was no big deal; I just don't like seeing you upset. You didn't have to stick up for me, you know."

She rested her hand on his arm again and sparks ran through his body. "I appreciate that. And yes, I do want to stick up for you. So what do you want to work on tonight?"

And with that, the lesson began.

Back in the common room, Harry was trying to talk some sense into Ron.

"Ron, damnit, she is not with Malfoy and you know it."

"Do I?"

"Where is the logic in all of this? Hermione doesn't need money, her parents have got enough and she does just fine without it. Besides, we both know she's not high maintenance like the other girls who flounce around here."

Ron sighed. "I know. I just... you know me, Harry, I get jealous. And she has been lying."

"Well, I suggest you apologize to her pretty soon. What if you lose her for good this time?"

"She always comes back, you know that."

"What if she doesn't this time Ron?"

"Why wouldn't she?"

Harry decided against telling Ron about Draco's feelings. "I don't know Ron, maybe because you've been a complete jerk to her?"

"Do I sense sarcasm Harry?"

"Do you have any sense at all, Ron?"

"Fine. I'll apologize. I don't see why I should, she's the one who's been keeping secrets from us. But I do like having her as a girlfriend, so I might as well, right? And the ball is on Saturday- can't be seen alone."

"Good. Apologize as soon as she gets back."

The portrait hole opened a few minutes later and Hermione grudgingly walked in. The lesson had been so much fun, she had forgotten what awaited her in the common room: silent boys and ditzy girls. This was Hermione's idea of what hell was probably like. Being with Draco was like her small piece of heaven. As she was putting down her bag, Ron walked over.

"Hermione, I'd like to speak with you about the other night."

She turned around. "I'm listening."

He flashed the I'm-a-winner grin. "I overreacted the other night. I know you couldn't ever have feelings for Malfoy besides disgust. You were just trying to protect me and my image and your future as Head Girl from being destroyed by Malfoy's big mouth. I guess what I'm trying to say, Hermione, is that I forgive you."

The funny thing was, Hermione didn't remember apologizing for anything. She stared at him in silence.

"So, you and I are still together and you can still be my date for the ball."

"Ok, that's great, Ron." She smiled weakly. Everyone in the common room grinned, happy to see the cutest couple back together again.

Hermione felt chained somehow. Being with Draco had made her feel alive again, like she was human. She couldn't help but steal glances at Draco and soak in his image. He made her heart jump and her breath catch in her throat when he cast his grey eyes at her. Now when he smirked at her, it was no longer filled with malice but instead exuded sexiness. There were girls who would have committed an Unforgivable Curse just to be the recipient of that look accompanied by that smirk.

She looked at Ron. Ron had grown into his awkward features, but was almost average looking. He was about the same height as Charlie was now, and considerably stronger than he had been. There were girls at Hogwarts who also lusted after Ron, some because of Harry and other because his red hair and freckles were "soooo cute!" He still looked like he had when he was 13 and he hadn't matured much emotionally either. Hermione knew that he needed her. She could change him, if she stayed with him long enough he would mature and be a wonderful boyfriend. Besides, she wanted to stay with him.

Didn't she?

Hermione convinced herself that her feelings for Draco were merely lust and that her feelings for Ron were the real thing. She curled up with Ron on the couch and listened to Harry and Ron talk about Quidditch, smiling and nodding like the perfect girlfriend would.