Disclaimer: Draco Malfoy is all mine! All mine! Mine! Mine! and mine! So you cannot lay one finger on him, back away!... Okay I don't own it nor do I own Draco Malfoy sniffles

A/N: I am sooooooooo SORRY! It has taken me forever to post. I have been busy and for some reason everytime I tried to post it wouldn't allow me to.

Chapter 12

Hermione sat back down and gazed at the castle. She would have missed this place. She had been so delighted when she got her first letter. Her parents had been so proud. She wiped at her watery eyes as she noticed a figure coming toward her. As the figure came closer she saw a flash of white-blonde hair. She groaned, it was Draco Malfoy.

Why couldn't people just leave her alone? Leave her to her misery. No one seemed to care anyways; all they did was make the pain worse. Draco was a traitor, and all he ever did was pretend to feel sorry for her. He made her trust him and then he threw her away. He told Harry her secret. Then what did he do? He tried to make her understand that he was just angry and it slipped. Yeah right.

"Hermione", Draco shouted.

She got up and started to walk away. She quickened her pace as she heard him get closer and closer. Soon she was sprinting across the grounds. She ran to the forbidden forest hoping that he wouldn't follow. Yet as she raced through the trees, she could still hear Draco's calls. Every once in awhile she turned around to see if he was gaining on her. Her eyes were as wide as a frightened deer's, her robes snagged on the trees, and her face scratched from low tree branches. Tears flowed down mixing with blood, filling her mouth with a metallic, salty mixture.

Panting as she came to an empty clearing she dropped to the ground. Feeling dead leaves crumble underneath her, and hearing Draco get closer and closer.

Draco slowly approached her, and sat down beside her. Before she could protest he drew her into a hug.

"I am so sorry", he whispered in her ear, "I know you hurt, and I just hurt you even more."

He rubbed her back trying his best to comfort her. She was so broken inside. Her life and dreams had been crushed. He tilted her face up and looked into her brown eyes. She looked so beautiful to him. Even with her torn robes, her scratched up teary face and her hair messed up from running.

Taking his thumb he softly wiped away all the blood and tears off her face. Causing her to shiver at the touch. She didn't know why but she enjoyed the feel of him gently touching her cheeks. She loved to look into his silver eyes. She now saw things she had never seen in those eyes. She saw a history of pain and heartache.

He leaned in closer to her soon he was close enough to count her long eyelashes. 'She's so beautiful', was his last thought before their lips met.

At first she was too shocked to do anything, and then she began to kiss back. It was a kiss of heartache, a kiss of pain, and a kiss of hope. It was a beginning to a long healing process. A leap in their thousand mile journey.

He enjoyed the feel of her lips against his. The feeling of sharing each other's pain. They enjoyed every moment of it. Right to the end, where they both had to separate due to lack of air.

"I... I am so sorry, I didn't mean to do that", he stuttered.

He must not of felt anything was Hermione's first thought. She looked down in disappointment.

"Yeah, yeah that is okay", she mumbled.

"You ready to go back to Hogwarts?", he asked standing up, holding his hand out to help her up.

She nodded and they set off. Both lost in their own thoughts. Both disappointed because they both thought the other didn't feel anything. Wondering why they were the only ones who felt something and why the other didn't. They both thought it must have been a mistake. Not realizing that it wasn't a mistake, what they felt was real. They both had felt it, too.

They reached the Head Common Room and climbed up the stairs. Saying a goodnight to each other and going to their separate dorms. Wishing they could share another kiss. Wishing they could admit what they felt.

As Hermione snuggled into her bed she felt happy and sad at the same time. She felt like crying and laughing. She had kissed Draco Malfoy, but he hadn't felt anything. Or so she thought. And all she wanted to do was kiss him again. Feel his lips against hers. Feel him gently stroke her cheek. Wiping away her tears, her blood, and her pain.

As Draco pulled the covers up he felt happy and sad at the same time. He felt like sulking and smiling at the same time. He had kissed Hermione Granger, yet she hadn't felt anything. Or so he thought. And he wanted nothing more than to kiss her again. Feel her soft lips against his. Look deeply into her eyes again and wipe away her tears, her heartache, and her pain...

They went to bed that night tossing and turning. Their minds troubled about the kiss. Their thoughts filled with each other. Every time they closed their eyes all they could see was each other's faces. All they wanted was each other. After all they had been through didn't they deserve each other? Shouldn't they get something out of all pain they had endured? Shouldn't they be able to heal one another?