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Chapter Nine – What Did You Feel?

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Draco reached the common room and stretched out on the couch. He pulled off his black robe, and hte sweater that covered the white shirt he had under it. It was very warm here.

What he had told Blaise about doing his homework was a lie. He didn't have any. Well, he did; every single teacher assigned the students to read the textbooks they had bought for the class, but this wasn't due until two weeks into school. He had loads of time...

Draco couldn't wait until he could be alone with Hermione so he could talk to her. Every two minutes, he would check his watch. Time seemed to be going to slow. And to think that he was waiting for someone he despised for six years...

Time went by very slow, but after what seemed like an eternity, the common room door opened. Hermione Granger walked in. She was looking at the floor, but when she looked up, adn noticed Draco, she stopped in her tracks. Draco didn't move either.

She was the first to speak.

"Hello, Draco..." She mumbled feebly.

It took Draco a while to say something, "Hello, Hermione... Would you like to sit down?" Draco said, patting the empty space on the sofa he was sitting on.

"I'd love to." She said happily. Draco didn't know how the two had become so polite and nice to each other, just over a kiss. She walked over to him, and he brought down his legs to make room. She sat down and inched a bit closer to Draco, even though it still looked like they were forced by a teacher to sit together, and they didn't like the idea at all.

"So..." Draco started, but didn't finish. Hermione didn't say anything either.

After what seemed like an hour, Draco said, "What happened today?"

"I don't really know..." Hermione said, staring at her feet.

"Why did you kiss me back?" Draco asked. That was the question that was burning in him. If she hated him so, why did she kiss him back.

"Because I felt I needed you..." She replied, looking into his eyes.

"What did you feel?" Draco asked, trying hard not to break eye contact.

"Do you want to know everything?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." He answered truthfully.

"I dunno, I feel really weird talking to you..." She said, glancing away at the wall for a second.

Draco grabbed her hand and rubbed the top of it with his thumb, "Hermione, I'm not going to hurt you..."

"I know, it's just..." She sighed, "I've hated you for so long, and now..."

"We've grown up, Hermione, we're through that. Now tell me, what did you feel?"

She looked into Draco's eyes unertainly, "Well, at my table, Harry and Ron were telling me that we were faking it in front of everyone. That really we were going out, but not letting any one see because they said that i that /i would look horrible."

"Blaise said that, too..." Draco said, understanding that the whole school really did think it was an act.

"Blaise?" She asked not knowing who he meant.

"Zabini."

"Oh. Yeah, well, I got mad at them, and I was going to leave, but you got up from your table, too. Then, when we were together at the front of the hall, I felt like slapping you, but I also felt like kissing you, too. But I wouldn't have done it, because I thought you really did hate me and would laugh at me when I kissed you. But then you grabbed me and kissed me. I felt really angry. I felt like running away. It was like I never wanted anything to do with you..."

"But you kissed me back."

"I felt like I had to, it just felt right."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows. Wow, love was a really complicated game. She didn't want to kiss him but deep inside she did, but he kissed her first, but she didn't want to be kissed, but then she felt like she had to kiss him back, so she did. That made no sense at all. Or was it even love? Was it just lust?

"What is it?" Draco asked her, still holding her hand.

"What's what?"

"What happened? What was it?"

"I don't know, I just don't know..." She said, and looked back down at her feet.

For the second time that day, Draco felt an urge. He felt like he needed her really bad. He grabbed her other hand and pulled her closer to him. And, what did he do? He kissed her. Again. And she kissed back. Again.

It was a powerful kiss. It felt like something was stirring. Like a dragon was breathing fire. Like butterflies were eating out their insides. Like they had no insides.

This time Draco broke away, and said, "What did you feel?"

"I don't know! I want to say I felt love, but I don't want it to be lust!" She cried, not letting go of Draco's grip on her hands.

"But Hermione, you wouldn't give in to lust, you're..." He paused to think, "You're Hermione Granger!"

"I know! But, it's just..." Hermione sighed, "complicated. I feel like I don't want to love you. Like my mind doesn't want to admit it."

"But why Hermione?"

"Because I don't know if I can trust you!"

"You can! You can trust me with all your heart!"

"Part of me believes what you say, but the other part, just, doesn't want to..."

"Well, then I think you should make it! I can't bear not looking at you! You're so... beautiful!" Draco had said what he had wanted to say the entire day.

"The other part thinks you're lying when you say that..." Hermione sad, sadly. Draco looked away, but Hermione stared very deeply into his eyes. He felt as though hers were ripping his apart. He knew she was staring into his eyes. And she wouldn't look away.

"Hermione?" Draco asked, still not looking at her.

"Yes?" She said, still penetrating into his eyes.

"Can I ask you something?"

She nodded slowly.

As he asked this question, he looked right back at her, "Why do you keep staring into my eyes?"

She smiled, "I'm not staring into them, I'm staring at them."

"Why?"

"They're blue." She answered simply, not breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, they've always been blue..." He answered slowly, not understanding.

"No, they haven't. They've always been gray. Like dark rain clouds. Now it seems that the clouds have moved on, to reveal the pure blue sky..." She said, slowly.

Draco closed his eyes and rubbed them with his hand and rested his forehead on the palm of his hand, without opening his eyes. Had his eyes really been gray?

"I'm sorry..." She said softly.

"No, it's okay, sorry, I just..." Draco opened his eyes and looked to his left and observed the wall. Was that really the reason why she had been staring at his eyes? They were blue now? He envisioned Hermione's honey brown eyes. They matched her hair. He didn't really like brown eyes, but somehow, Hermione's looked beautiful...

Draco kept thinking, as he felt a hand reach for the back of his head. The hand carefully turned his head to face Hermione. She pushed his head toward her and leaned in. Hermione kissed him. And it was quite different from the times he kissed her first. Her tongue asked for permission, and he opened his mouth. Their tongues danced, and the pairs breathing became heavier. Draco now reached for the back of her head with one hand, and placed the other at her hip. He felt Hermione's fingers play with his hair. He felt her hot breath against his cheek. He breathed in her scent. He took in her taste. He felt her hair and her waist. Everything seemed perfect.

She broke away. A slight smile appeared on her face, though it was very slight.

"Did you feel anything?" Draco asked her quietly.

"Yes." She answered softly.

"What was it?" He asked, already craving for her scent.

She slowly closed her eyes, and moved closer to Draco. She moved her head and breathed softly into his ear, "Love."