A/N: I AM SOOO SORRY FOR THE MEGA CLIFFY ON CHAPTER SIX! Please forgive me. I just had to, so to make it up, I finished chapter seven as soon as I could...it turns out it wasn't so soon huh?I am so sorry. But cliffs like that don't come often for me. So I apologize. I know you are all dying to read this chapter, so enough of me talking, here's the seventh chapter. Hope you all like it. (Smiles)


"Before you know who I am, please, tell me whenever I need to talk to someone, I can always turn to you," muttered Durza. He kept his eyes closed. He could feel her tremble, then he felt the mask slip off. After a moment, he heard the mask clatter to the ground.

Hermione took a step back and another, before she turned around and started to run. Durza opened his eyes just in time to see her take off and ran to catch up. He was catching up quickly. "Damn shoes," she muttered.

"She is not getting away that easily," muttered Durza. He chased her far from the dance; the hallways were empty. Everyone, including Filch and Mrs. Norris, were at the dance. Durza basically tackled Hermione to the ground, but that the last second, just as they were about to hit ground, he had turned so he would land on the tiled floor and she would be unharmed.

"What the…hell! Are you…stupid!" panted Hermione. They both were panting from the game of cat and mouse. Hermione struggled to get up, but he held her wrists tightly.

"You told me…you'd run," panted Durza in a whisper. He stared at her. "I'm not going to accept that, Mitsuko."

"You don't even know who I really am. I could be anyone. If I were Pansy Parkinson, would you still say you love me? Or Ginny Weasley? Or Hermione Granger? Or Luna Lovegood? Would you still be able to look me in the eyes and say 'I love you'?" hissed Hermione. She didn't really know why she was totally pissed off, except for the fact he had tackled her to the ground.

The guy who she currently sat on stared at her, lost for words. His grip on Hermione's wrists loosened. She took this opportunity to get up and start to walk away, but his voice stopped her. "What about you? You have feelings for me too. I could see it in your eyes."

Hermione turned around. "You're right, but you are also wrong!" She saw the confused look in his eyes. "I fell in love with Durza, not Draco Malfoy! I hated you! You shouldn't have come down to the lake that night!" All this built up emotion just came out at once and she couldn't stop it. "I hated you! And I know you hated me too! So why! Why did you go down to the lake that night?" Tears that had wanted to fall, started to fall. Her fists were clenched and she didn't look at him.

Draco stared at her. "Hermione?" Hermione took off the mask and brown hair replaced the pink and chocolate colored eyes replaced the purple. Her skin darkened some. She stared at the blonde haired boy. Draco closed his eyes. "That night, by the lake, I don't know why I did what I did."

"That's not good enough!" cried Hermione. "You have to have had a reason why you came. I would be so much better off if you didn't. Everyday I want to think about you! I finally ask 'why did he do that?' and all I get is a pathetic 'I don't know.'"

"You think you're the only one that's affected!" growled Draco, starting to get angry with her. "Do you think that I haven't been sitting by myself since, thinking about it? I've thought about it Hermione and I hoped-I wished-you were going through hell like I was! It's you that keeps popping in my head when I'm not thinking about anything! When I think about you, I want to change for the better!" His fists clenched and his eyes were tightly closed as he yelled at her. His face was flushed with anger "Because of that night, all I see when I look in the mirror is my father! The man who killed my mother and your parents is all I see anymore!" He calmed down some and fell to the floor. Hermione's knees gave out a few moments after and fell to the floor too. "So why?" He muttered loud enough for her to hear. Hermione looked up at him. "Why did you say the things that I needed to hear the most? Why did comfort me when it was plain to see that you needed it the most?"

Hermione closed her eyes and looked down. She couldn't tell that she didn't know why, especially after she had just yelled at him for giving her the same answer. Instead, she just dropped the questions that she herself couldn't answer. She took her shoes off and slowly got up. She turned around and started to walk away without a word. This was too much for her, emotionally. She needed to be by herself. She didn't head for the Gryffindor Common Room; instead she went to the Room of Requirement, making it so that no one could bother her.

Draco got up from the ground and walked to the dungeons. Now that they each knew about each other's mixed feelings, what now? 'I don't think I'm emotionally ready. She looked so hurt, but she sounded so angry.' Draco thought to himself. He grimaced and grabbed his shoulder. That was the first thing he landed on when he tackled Hermione to the ground. 'Tackling wasn't very smart. That's most likely one of the reasons she was angry.' He held his shoulder and headed for the hospital wing, then remembered everyone was having fun at the dance.

"I probably just bruised it," muttered Draco to himself. He continued his way to his common room. It was still early, so he would have time by himself; time that he really needed.

Once he got to his dorm room, he changed out of his tuxedo and into some pajamas. He got into bed and stared at the ceiling. Feelings and thoughts swam in his mind; thought he wouldn't have thought about last year. 'These feelings…I shouldn't have for her. I might only hurt her in the end.' This thought made him feel really downhearted. Could he easily ignore these feelings? Could he really push them to the back of his mind, just to see her safe? Will she be okay with that? His thoughts were interrupted by a girl's giggle. Draco looked over at his housemate and his date. He groaned. That boy was always bringing girls into their dorm. Draco got up, pulling on his bed robes and left the common room.

He slowly made his way to the Room of Requirement. There he could at least get some sleep without the sounds of his roommate and the girl. He walked around the room three times and went to open the door that had appeared. He wrapped his fingers around the handle and was going to open it, but someone from the inside seemed to be in a hurry, and pushed it open rather forcefully.

"Shit," Draco cursed. His wrist had bent the wrong way. He let go of the door and held his wrist, still cursing.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" cried the girl who had opened the door. Draco looked up from his wrist to glare, but he didn't. Hermione was standing in front of the door, still in her dress. "Malfoy? What are you doing?"

"I have a first name you know," muttered Draco, but habits were hard to break. "Why the hell did you bombard your way out of that room?" he wasn't angry with her. The pain in his wrist throbbed, making what he said meaner than he wanted. Seeing as she wasn't going to answer his question until he answered hers, he sighed and told her why he was not in his dorm.

"Well, you need this room more than me," said Hermione as she moved out of the way of the door. Draco, about to protest, was interrupted. "Really, I was just leaving." Hermione looked down at her dress. "Besides, I'm still dressed up, I need to change." Draco nodded and she left. He walked into the room and shut the door.

He made the room basically like the Slytherin dorm with only one bed. He got into it, pulling the covers up to his chest. 'I can't change over night…I might not even be able to completely change for a long time, but I will…little by little…I can make myself the kind of person who can hold his head up high and tell the world, "I love you!"' Draco rolled over and brought his knees to his chest. Just as his mind cleared, an image of the night by the lake came to mind.

Hermione smiled and moved closer to him. Draco pale cheeks turned a light pink that was very visible. Hermione leaned on his shoulder, a light pink tint to her cheeks too. She intertwined her fingers with his and closed her eyes.

Draco took a deep breath to calm his nerves and closed his eyes, leaning his head on hers. …

Draco's shoulders twitched. Could he really be the guy who isn't afraid of getting close? Was it possible for him to become the kind of person she fell in love with at the dance? Will it be hard? For him to become like he was tonight?

Draco's eyes grew wide. 'What if the guy she said she had mixed feelings for was me? It's a possibility.' Suddenly, his face screwed up in disgust. 'There's also the possibility that I could be Weasley or Potter. Ugh, I hope not.' Draco sighed. 'My life…the way I was brought up…if it wasn't for you…I wouldn't be questioning them! I hate you so much…but…if you hadn't…then I would be just like my father when I'm. So, my love for you overrides my hate…' Draco closed his eyes, trying to calm down before he broke down.

Draco opened his eyes to a bright light that burned his eyes because they hadn't adjusted yet. He rolled over, rubbing his eyes. "How the hell does sunlight get into the Slytherin Common Room?" he muttered and opened his eyes, looking around. "Oh yeah, I left there last night." He got up, stretching for a moment and opened them. His Slytherin uniform appeared next to him. He got dressed and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

As he expected as he walked into the Great Hall, it was back to normal. The four house tables were back in place, as well as the staff table. He sat down at the Slytherin Table, distancing himself from the other Slytherins. Then, he heard the all too familiar voices of the 'Golden Trio'. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He promised himself last night that he would push his feelings to the back of his mind. If they were just going to hurt her in the future, he wouldn't have them. His whole idea of change was just a fantasy. He couldn't make it a reality.

"Oh, look," sneered Draco, returning to who he used to be. "It's the 'Golden Trio'. Potty, Weasel, and the Bookworm." Draco smirked at the each stopped.

Hermione's eye twitched. Harry and Ron took a step away from her, amused. They smirked at Draco as Hermione turned around. She slammed her books on the table, causing the whole hall to turn at the loud sound. McGonagall and Snape made a move to get up, but Dumbledore shook his head at him. "I've just about had enough of you Malfoy!" hissed Hermione. Draco stared at her. This wasn't what he had expected. He expected her to run out of the Great Hall crying. Instead, she picked up his bowl of porridge, her eyes seemed to blaze with anger, and turned it over on his head.

Draco stood up, a look of shock and disgust upon his face. He whipped the porridge out of his eyes and glared daggers at Hermione. The whole halls seemed to hold their breaths. He didn't know that Hermione made the same promise: to push her feelings away. Click. Flash. Click. Flash. Click. Flash. Click. Flash. Draco turned his attention to the clicking and flashing. Colin Creevey, the 6th year Gryffindor who loved his camera to death, was taking pictures of the whole incident. Draco growled at him and the boy ran. He glared back at Hermione. Every good feeling he though about her disappeared and locked itself in the back of his mind.

Hermione glared back at him. Everything that had happened between them vanished. It meant nothing to either one of them, not right now. Ron and Harry glanced at each other then to Hermione then to Draco. Their battle auras seemed to grind at each other, trying to force the other back. Harry grabbed Hermione's shoulders and steered her away from Draco while Ron grabbed her books, almost falling over with the weight.

"Argh! He pisses me off!" growled Hermione once they got to the Gryffindor Table. She sat down and Ron and Harry sat on either side of her. Ron looked over his shoulder to see Draco glaring at them and then leave the Great Hall.

"Still, it looked like you two were about to kill each other," Ginny told her, then she grinned. "Oh! I can't wait until Colin gets those pictures develop! They will be great!" The whole table laughed. Hermione stopped laughing and looked over her shoulder, a thoughtful gaze in her eyes.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice drifted to her ears. She turned to look at him. "I thought we lost you." Hermione giggled, shaking her head.


Draco was fuming as he marched to the Slytherin bathrooms. 'How dare she!' thought Draco. "That wasn't supposed to happen!" he muttered. He locked the bathroom door and walked past the huge tub and sat down on a bench. He took off his shoes and socks, then stripped down, throwing his clothes in the corner. He got into one of the shower stales and messed with the hot and cold taps until he got it the way he wanted. He let the water pour down, washing most of his breakfast out of his hair. He washed up, making sure every bit of porridge was off of him.

He got out, dried off, and wrapped the towel around his waist. He sighed and leaned against the wall. Pushing his feelings aside was one thing, but returning to the way he used to be was another. He realized there was nothing he could do to the fact that he was going to grow up like his father. He went back to his dorm and got dressed.

He walked back to the Great Hall. Since Winter Break wasn't over, most of the students still sat with their friends. Hermione was one of those students. He grabbed someone's abandoned bowl of porridge and walked over to the group of Gryffindors. By the time anyone noticed he had a bowl in his hand, it was already on Hermione's head like a hat. Porridge dripped from her face and hair. Harry and Ron moved away from her without getting any on them. Hermione glared at Draco, who glared back, daring one of them to do something, but neither did.

"Snape, McGonagall, please retrieve you're students and send them to my office," muttered Dumbledore. "Let Miss Granger take a shower first." Snape and McGonagall nodded. They got up and told their students that Dumbledore wanted to speak with them privately. Hermione went to the Gryffindor girls' bathroom and took a shower. Draco followed Snape and McGonagall to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore shooed Snape and McGonagall out of his office as Draco walked around, inspecting the many shiny objects Dumbledore had.

Hermione walked into the office just as Draco felt like he looked at every object that was in sight for the tenth time. Two chairs appeared in front of the desk and Dumbledore motioned for them to sit. They sat, waiting for Dumbledore to say something. He studied them for a moment-a long moment it seemed before getting up and walking toward a cupboard. He picked up a bowl and brought it to his desk, setting it down gently. "I want to show you two something. Come here," Dumbledore said as his hand motioned them.

"That's a Pensieve!" muttered Hermione as she walked around the desk. She looked at Dumbledore, confused. "Why do you want us? We couldn't be of any use."

Dumbledore smiled. "For this, I need both of you. I know, I shouldn't interfere with the affairs of my students-" Hermione and Draco glanced at each other. "-but, I think I need to. Also, before I show you what I want to, don't get angry. It was pure accident." He looked at them. "Hermione, if you be a dear and go first?" Hermione nodded and plunged her head into the bowl and landed on snow outside Hogwarts. Draco and Dumbledore came soon after her feet hit the ground.

"Where-? Oh," Draco's eyes grew wide as he followed Dumbledore, who was following another, transparent, Dumbledore. Draco was confused for a moment before he remembered was a Pensieve was.

"You were here?" asked Hermione softly. She immediately turned red. Draco turned his head, smiling. She didn't know someone had been watching.

"I was taking a walk, enjoying the December weather," replied Dumbledore. They stood in front of the past Hermione who was on the ground. "I want you two to really look at yourselves. Sit right next to them if you have to. The protection spell won't harm you, so don't worry."

"I am not in the mood Malfoy," Hermione said a few minutes after Draco sat down next to her protection spell. "Go away."

"I know how you feel," said Draco, ignoring Hermione's command.

"How can you possibly know how I feel?" snapped Hermione. "You have no idea!"

"How do you know that?" Draco asked calmly. He looked at her glaring brown eyes with his silver calm eyes. "My mother was murdered." He sighed. "She was murdered by a death-eater…my father…" Draco closed his eyes, refusing the tears that wanted to fall so badly.

Hermione stared at him. "I…I'm sorry…I didn't know…" she muttered. She let her shield fall and made a new one to include Draco. "My parents were…murdered by two death-eaters…Lucius Malfoy…and Bellatrix Lestrange." She wasn't looking at anymore; instead, she fell back onto the grass and stared at the sky.

The conversation went on and the present Draco and Hermione were right next to the past ones. They studied each other. Both of their past selves were more relaxed with each other than they were now. Hermione watched as her past self moved next to the past Draco. She glanced at the present Draco. He had teased her about the shyness when he had sat here, pink. Hermione closed her eyes. If only they could be this content, always, but they couldn't. they were born to hate each other. That was already proven. A warm hand grabbed hers; the same warmth she felt at the dance. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hand, then up at Draco's eyes. Her own was full of sadness. She looked away and pulled her hand out of his.

Smiling warmly, Dumbledore placed a hand on their shoulders and were pulled back to the present, back to Dumbledore's office. "You may leave, that is all I wanted to show you." The teens nodded and headed for the door, but Dumbledore's voice stopped them. "Remember, friendships blossom in the most unusual places." They stared at him for a second before leaving.

"Hermione! Wait!" yelled Draco. Hermione started to run the very moment the stone Griffin let them out of the stairway. She ignored his requests.

'Don't,' she thought. 'Don't say it. I don't care, tell me a lie, just don't say it.' Tears started to fall from her eyes. 'I hate you! I always have! One or two nights can't change that!'

"Do not make me tackle you or jinx you!" yelled Draco. He reached for his wand and watched her do the same. "Don't run! Stop running!"

"Leave me alone Malfoy!" cried Hermione. She turned the corner and disappeared through a hidden passage under a picture. She ran down the narrow hallway and stopped to see if he was following, but he wasn't. She slid down the wall and cried. 'I hate this! I hate you! I wish Dumbledore hadn't brought us back to that night! I finally set aside my feelings…now…now I have to fight them back again without anyone getting worried!'

Draco walked to the Slytherin Common Room, slightly angry and more depressed. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his shoulders sagged, and his eyes downcast. 'This never even crossed my mind. I never dreamed that I'd have these feelings for you, of all people. And the strangest thing…the weirdest this is that I don't wish to stop having these feelings. Even when you run, I'll keep chasing, because I'm a stubborn bastard.' He chuckled and his anger disappeared and replace with happiness.


A/N: So? How did you all like it? I love this. I think it's my 2nd favorite chapter (first being the 6th chapter.) I also changed the name and summary. Go read the summary if you haven't noticed that it changed! Hehehehe…umm…I also made a new rule when I type my stories: No chapter shall be 5 pages on word or less, unless it's a short one-shot. If it does turn out to be less than 5 pages, I have to make it longer. This chapter is 8 pages, so I'm okay with this one. But before they went into the Pensieve, it was only 4 and a half, so I had to add some more, then this popped into my head…umm…well, I have nothing else to say…

So, this is Kiwi-san
Over and Out!