Chapter 12

Malfoy was walking the corridors,"What the blooming hell is wrong with me?"

"What was that son?" A portrait of a slumbering man lifted his head mumbling.

"What? Oh nothing, sorry to disturb you Count Durke." He moved along quietly.'There you go Malfoy, air you dirty laundry out to the portraits. They'll have all the portraits gossiping.'

He needed to get out into some fresh air and clear his mind. He walked upstairs to the balcony terrace of the west tower."Why did you get so angry? You should be glad she didn't want the damn thing, you could have taken it back to the vault!" He yelled at himself."It has been in the family's posession for years now."

He thought back to the moment in the bedroom. How happy Hermione's face was when she first gazed at the crystal and he put it on her. Her skin was so soft and warm to his touch."Damn it Malfoy, stop it man!"He tried to think of something else.'Realy all she does is annoy me, contradicting me all the time and acting like a know-it-all.Why would I care about the Mudbloods happiness?'He thought and ran his fingers through his hair.If he hated her so much why is it he still wanted to pull her into his arms and take her to his bed? He paced back and forth on the balcony not sure what to do anymore. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks and he staggered sideways. "Am I in love with her?" He shook his head and slammed his fist on the balcony railing."NO that's purposterous! A Malfoy in love with a MUDBLOOD?"

He couldn't shake the realization of the matter. He tried to go over the events in his head. The encounter in the common room that led to his bedroom had invigorated him. The payback he recieved from her for what he had done had made a fire in him. He had wanted to throw her against the wall and lay passionate kisses all over her pretty face.'Well until she pointed that wand in my face' he thought and smirked.

He leaned against the railing looking at the moon, it was almost full. He sighed thinking about that night and how his heart almost broke in two when she tried to give back his gift. He couldn't deny it to himself any longer. "I'm in love with a muggle named Hermione Granger."

Back in the dorm...

Hermione was sitting at her vanity watching herself in the mirror. The crystal back around her neck she touched it. She could feel power radiating from it. The stone felt warm against her skin like a small fire.

She was thinking of Draco and his actions that evening. How she saw the change in his eyes when she opened the box. They weren't cold or angry, if she had been correct they had actually twinkled with glee at her response to the gift.

Then they snapped back to the usual Malfoy eyes, all ice, when she tried to give the crystal back to him. She had seen the pain in his face when she said she couldn't accept it. She felt terrible now.

He had let down his guard and tried to be nice to her and she blew it. Her old rival had tried to make a peace offering of sorts and she screwed up the only chance she had to finally make him friendly towards her.

Hermione looked down at her hands,'I slapped him with these hands and he still tried.' She felt ashamed for her behavior. She stood up fast knocking her chair over,"I must apologize." She walked through the bathroom hoping to find him in his room. She looked in finding he was not. She went down to the common room and found to no avail that he wasn't there either.

She heard the front portrait open and footsteps on the stairs. "Where were you? I've been looking for you!" Draco walked in with a face full of surprise."Huh? Oh I took a walk." He walked further in and stood across from her in front of the fire.

"Oh," She said fidgeting and wringing her hands together.

Staring into the fire,"What did you want?"He didn't look up.

She took a step closer,"I...I...oh..I wanted to apologize."She said in a rush."I mean for the other night when I slapped you, it was wrong of me and I should have never done it."

"Is that all?" He still didn't look up. She stepped even closer to him, almost directly behind him. "I also wanted to apologize for tonight." He turned around and looked in to her brown luscious eyes."It wasn't right of me to give back a gift and to yell at you like that. I'm sorry Draco."

He saw the sincereity in her eyes. His head told him to make some cheeky remark but his heart betrayed him and made him do otherwise.

"No, I'm the one who should apologize Granger, I had no right getting upset at you. If you don't want the crystal I understand." Hermione had let out a sigh of relief. She had been holding her breath hoping she hadn't made a mistake.

"No the crystal is really beautiful,"She lifted the chain from under her shirt."See I'm wearing it even, and I've already decided on a spell to try it out on the full moon this Sunday."

The words full moon and spell grabbed his attention.'Well at least that will keep her busy while I do mine.' He nodded," Good I'm glad you like it, now if you'll excuse me I will retire." He tried to turn away and she grabbed his arm pulling him back.

Draco's breath caught as she embraced him."Thank you Draco." With that she sprinted to her room. He let the breath out."I can't do this." He began to think of all the horrible things that his father would bestow upon him and her if caught like that."I have to stop, I can't have him harming her." He went to his room to try and sleep knowing he wouldn't have control of his dreams.