A/N: meh! This is my pathetic attempt at a good story, just kidding. )

Disclaimer: I OWN nothing. Except the plot. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

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It was the last day of seventh year, Voldemort had been defeated just the day before, and all was well. All was… perfect. For everything and everyone. Hermione Granger was Head Girl, which came as no surprise to anyone. But the biggest, but not so big, surprise was Draco Malfoy, Head Boy. The day, the very first day, that it was announced, Hermione's mouth flew open in surprise, his mouth curved into an all too familiar smirk. But now, it was the last day. And they sat opposite each other in their common room, not really sure what to say or what to do.

"Granger, you should really not stare, it's not polite." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. He smirked.
"Malfoy, you should really not smirk every too second, it's starting to make your face look distorted." She said, smirking. He stopped smirking and raised an eyebrow at her. She threw him a fake smile. "Are you ready?"
"Am I ready for what? Granger, what did I tell you about throwing questions our of your arse when I have no idea what you're talking about?"
"ARE YOU READY… to graduate… to get out of this place?"
"Bloody hell, yes… are you ready Granger?"
"I don't know. I guess, I mean…sure. Yeah. I am."
"You're rambling and I don't care to hear it."
"You're rude, Malfoy. Completely and utterly rude, plain and simple."
"Well, thank you."
"You're quite welcome." She said, nodding her head. It was like this more than often, they would talk, but they never decided they were actual friends. They had spent a year living together, going to meetings together, breathing the same air, arguing, agreeing (on very, very few things), and getting into trouble together. They did a lot of things together but they weren't…together.

That night, at the ball, the ball that Draco and Hermione spent months planning, she stood off to the side while he danced with Pansy Parkinson. Hermione and Ginny Weasley snickered at Parkinson's … provocative dancing. Hermione's dress was turquoise and knee length; it was strapless and glittered with rhinestones. Her hair was straight as opposed to the curls that normally adorned her head. Ginny Weasley's dress was silver and it glittered with rhinestones as well, it was long and flowing and touched the floor. Her hair was in a tight bun with a few small curls hanging loose. No doubt, they both looked beautiful. The pace of the music changed, and Malfoy detached himself from Parkinson, and walked slowly towards Hermione. She raised an eyebrow at him, questioning his motives. He finally reached her. "Well Granger, as you know, we are required to dance together at least once. So let's just get this over with." He said, holding out his hand for her to take. She pondered for a minute, let out an exasperated sigh and reluctantly took his hand; he pulled her onto the dance floor quickly. She put her arms around his neck; his hands found their way to her waist. They weren't close, but yet they were just mere inches from each other. They stared into each other eyes, not breaking contact once. "Granger…" he said, she was surprised by his voice, but nodded her head as if telling him to go on. "I'm going to kiss you." she shook her head a bit, and he nodded as if she couldn't do anything to stop him. He leaned in, his lips making contact with hers. She was slow to respond, but he was slow to advance. His tongue slid over her bottom lip, causing her to part her lips slowly. It was a fierce kiss, and finally she pushed him off, realizing what she had done. She ran from the Great Hall at an extremely fast pace. She burst through the doors and ran all the way back to her dormitory, and collapsed on her bed in tears. She didn't sleep that night, she couldn't find the exhaustion that had threatened to take over so many times that night. She was fully awake.

He never confronted her about it; she never bothered to try to get an answer. All questions went unanswered and many words were left unsaid. They both boarded the train separately and sat with their friends. None of his friends had seen what had happened. But Ginny had, and she needed answers. She pulled Hermione away from Harry and Ron, so that they were alone.
"What was that last night?" Ginny demanded.
"What was what Ginny?"
"That… thing. With Malfoy."
"I don't know and I'd really rather not talk about it." Hermione said, hoping Ginny would just drop it. Ginny nodded, bit her lip and then guided Hermione back into their compartment with Ron and Harry. Nothing else was ever said of it. But it wasn't like Hermione or Draco didn't think about it occasionally. It didn't go unforgotten, of course.

I hated these kinds of places. I always felt so…claustrophobic. There were always so many people and I hated it. But I needed jeans, and the only place I could find a good pair for a very low price was this…place. It was a small muggle department store, not too far from my flat. And why there had to be so many people here, I would never know. And I would never care. I held up a pair of jeans, examining them.

"My, my Granger. Didn't know you had such…fashion sense." It was a familiar drawl, and it was right in my ear. I turned around quickly, letting out an exasperated sigh. I was met with the sight of Draco Malfoy, not the person I wanted to see.

"Why are you here and what do you want?"

"Why am I here? Well I'm looking for you of course, and what do I want? Well Granger, that's a rhetorical question." He said, smirking. Oh how I just wanted to smack it off his face.

"How did you know I was here?"
"Oh, I spoke with your mother. She really is nice."

"WHAT!" I screamed, everyone around me stopped to look at me. I avoided eye contact with any of them.

"No need to draw attention to yourself Granger. Would you rather go somewhere more private?"

"No, I'd rather you left me alone."

"I went through all this trouble to find you, and now you think you can brush me off just like that. I really thought you'd know me a little bit better Miss Granger."

"Why did you want to find me? Why did you even bother?"

"Because I knew that you were questioning some things, as was I."

"What on earth would I be questioning?" he leaned close to my ear, and whispered.

"The kiss." I shivered when his hot breath met my ear.

"Nope, I have no questions. Can I go now?"

"No, because you know deep down inside that there is something that you have to ask, you know what you have something to say."

"The only thing I have to say to you is go away." He didn't respond, instead he took the jeans from my hands and took my hand and pulled me all the way out of the store. "What the… Malfoy, where on earth are you taking me?" He once again didn't respond. A large black limousine pulled up; he opened the door and pulled me inside with him. I stared at him, open-mouthed.

"Close your mouth unless you're not using it for something more useful." He said. I closed my mouth and sneered at him. "So, ask away."

"I have nothing to ask you."

"Fine, then I'll ask you something."

"Okay, go ahead."

"What did you feel when I kissed you?"

"Ugh, Malfoy I don't know, that was a long time ago."

"No, Granger. You do know."

"Okay…uh…I guess I felt a little shocked. I was overwhelmed. You caught me completely off guard." I said. he nodded. "Why? What did you feel?"

"Well I was the one who kissed you in the first place, I don't know what I felt. It was so weird, you being there, me being there, us…being…there."

"That didn't make sense."

"Maybe not to you, but to me it did."

"Malfoy, why me? Why did you kiss me?"

"I guess a year of living with you just really got to me. You were the only girl that could resist me for that long. It just got to me. It became hard to bear after a while."

"Way to be conceited."

"It's the absolute truth." He said, shrugging. "So what do you feel now, sitting here with me, staring at me. What do you feel."

"I don't know, I feel like I really shouldn't be here. But for some reason it feels like that feeling of.. I don't know…emptiness that I felt for the past year or so, is just…not there."
"Is that good?" he said, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"I don't know, I can't give you a straight forward answer without making a mistake."

"Who cares about making a mistake Granger, I sure as hell don't."

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious."

"No, Granger. I didn't make a mistake when I kissed you. I didn't make a mistake when I didn't try to confront you about it. I knew you needed time. I didn't make a single mistake with you. And I don't plan on making any."
"You speak as if something is going to happen here."

"You speak as if something's not going to."

"Because it's not."

"Dammit Hermione. Why are you so resisting? You're so blind to what is right there in front of you." The sudden use of my name got my attention.

"I'm not blind, Malfoy. I just can't do this."

"Give me one good reason beside the fact that Potter and Weasley will be on your case."

"I have too much work to do. I can't be distracted."

"That is the stupidest thing that I've ever heard escape your mouth."

"IT'S THE TRUTH."

"No, it's not the truth. You can't honestly sit there and tell me that you're too busy to be with someone."
"What makes you think I even want to be with you Malfoy?"

"I can see it in your eyes. I can tell." He said. I snorted.

"Really? You can see it in my eyes?" he nodded. It fell silent. We stared at each other, and it seemed as though the air was growing tense by the second, I didn't even notice our closeness until our lips connected, again. I pushed him away. "No."

"Stop, just…stop Granger. Just go with it." He cupped my chin and kissed me, again. This time, I didn't fight it. I figured it was better to just let the feelings remain while they still could. How much harm could it do?