The Forest

Draco watched her run, a smug smirk on his face. 'Yea, filthy mudblood running awayfrom her superiors exactly the way it should be around here! Ha-ha!' Draco cheered to himself, but then quieter 'Hermione… what have I done?' 'What? Am I crazy? She's a mudblood; we should curse her here and now! She doesn't belong in the school with the purebloods!' He growled to himself. 'But I like her, I know I do! I can't pretend when I'm inside my head!' He seemed to be two different people in the same head. "Filthy mudblood, I can't believe that someone like that would possibly think that she had a chance with a pureblood like me. Ha, almost laughable and completely ridiculous." Draco said to the other Slytherins that came together behind him. They had been planning this whole thing since Pansy started the, thought to be, false rumor. At first they were just going to scare Hermione and put curses on her, but then she said that she did like him and plans changed.

"Ha! And to think she came here by herself. She thinks she's so brilliant. Stupid little prat." Pansy said she placed her arm on Draco's shoulder. He resisted the urge to cringe away. He didn't particularly like Pansy but she was exactly the sort that his father wanted him to end up with so he grinned and bared it. He'd do anything for his father, absolutely anything.

"Yes, stupid mudblood. I'm famished; let's go back to the common room. I think Mother sent me some candies earlier today." Draco said, although through in his self-obsessed blue eyes there was a startling hint of sadness. 'I should go after her. She could get hu- Shut up! I do NOT like that filthy mudblood!' He yelled at his self. 'I wonder if this is normal that I'm talking to myself….' He shook his head sending his pale blonde hair into his eyes.

"What's wrong Draco?" Pansy asked she placed her arm on his forearm. He fought the urge to jerk away and pour rubbing alcohol on his self.

"Nothing, just a little bit tired Pansy." He patted her hand and walked a little faster so that he wouldn't have to be so close to her.

The Slytherins returned to the common room, some broke off to tell other Slytherins that weren't there about Hermione Granger's love confession. Pansy stayed glued to Draco's side while a few laughed and ate chocolates together. But Draco kept thinking back to Hermione and how she ran straight into the Forbidden Forest. 'She knows that there are nasty things in there like werewolves. Why would she run in there?' He jiggled his foot a few times thinking, 'Maybe I should go find her… No, no, absolutely not! I have an image to uphold. And that image doesn't have anything to do with any stupid mudbloods. It's her own fault if she gets eaten by something nasty.' He frowned a little bit and then thought, 'But what if she does get eaten by something? I'd feel terrible, because it would be my fault… damn it…' He glared at the table.

"I just remember that I have to go pick up something from Snape, I'll be back soon." He said to no one in particular. Pansy jumped up.

"I'll go with you. You'd probably like the company." She smiled a hopeful smile. Draco tried to smile back but he knew it came out as more of a pained sneer.

"No, no. This will just take a second, really. Stay here, enjoy the sweets." Draco tried, if she went with him he couldn't go look for Hermione and he'd have to find an excuse to why he wasn't going to see Snape.

"Alright then…" Pansy said defeated. She sat down with a look that most puppies had when they didn't get the treat that they wanted. Draco really didn't like her.

"Right, bye now" He walked quickly out of the common room in case Pansy had any other ideas of going with him. He decided to take some twists and turns just in case. Draco felt positively paranoid; he walked out of the castle. It was almost two so he knew that he had plenty of time to get back to the castle before dark.

Draco started at the edge of the forest that Hermione went into, but something stopped him. He heard two familiar voices yelling 'Hermione.' over and over again. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were searching for Hermione.

"Of course, she brought them along. She never goes any where without them. Damn," He hissed to himself. "I'll just avoid them, or follow them. The second I find out that Hermione is safe, I'll leave." Draco took a big breath of air and stepped into the forest.

The Forbidden Forest had always frightened him, ever since he had to go into it for detention. But now he was willingly going to the Forest to find a girl that he wasn't even supposed to like. "Brilliant Draco, absolutely brilliant. I'm going to get eaten, I know I will. Something big, nasty, and hairy is going to jump out and I'm going to be eaten. What a cruel world, someone as young and beautiful as I am is going to be eaten. Damned Hermione, making me get eaten." He continued to talk to himself, because he was so nervous.

The two parties of searchers continued to look for Hermione, it seemed like hours but a half hour had already passed when Draco found her. She was sitting on a log clutching her book, crying. It broke his heart to see what he had done; usually he didn't see how his action hurt other people. He stayed in the shadows trying to find the nerve to get her attention.

Hermione started talking to herself. "How could I have been so stupid? Of course Malfoy would never like me, I'm so stupid." She sobbed, she clung to the book. "Stupid Hermione, so stupid to fall into that trap, and it was so obvious! He's a self-absorbed jerk; of course he'd pull something like that. Of course…" Fresh tears rolled down her face, she cried quietly to herself.

Draco cleared his throat, Hermione jerked around. Her jaw dropped, "What do you want? Didn't you cause enough pain! Get away from me! Leave!" She grabbed sticks and threw them at him. Whatever was within her grasp she threw at him, Hermione even picked up a rock and lugged it at him. "You stupid, idiot, tart, loser, asshole, jerk, filthy, mean, and loathsome person!" She was getting tired; she started mumbling and then fell down still trying to throw things. She still held onto her book clutching it tighter and tighter. Hermione started sobbing again; Draco took a chance and took a few steps closer.

"Hermione… I'm… I didn't mean… What I mean to say is…" Draco tried, but the words wouldn't come out. Hermione glared up at him, she didn't understand why he was here.

"What do you want Malfoy? Haven't you done enough?" She slouched as she sat in the dirt.

"Hermione, I never meant to hurt you. Well I mean, I did but then I didn't. I mean, no, wait… Ugh! I don't know what I mean!" He knelt down next to her, she scooted away from him.

"Go away Malfoy, you don't have any business here." She growled at him, and threw a stick in frustration. It hit him square in the chest, he blinked in surprise.

"Alright, I guess I deserve that." Draco said, "But, Hermione I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He tried to sit closer to her, but she scooted away again. He raised an eyebrow and tightened his lip.

"You're sorry… You didn't mean to hurt me… And how many of your Slytherin friends are hiding in the bushes this time? 10? 20? Sorry, Malfoy, but I'm not falling for it again. So go jump off a tower or something, I'll even do the spell to get you up there." Hermione slouched down more, and played in the dirt. She drew little stars and swirls; she waited for Draco to leave so that she could leave too. They sat for a few more minutes, "Are you leaving yet?"

Draco shook his head. "Nope, not until you say that you forgive me." He stared straight into Hermione's eyes.

"Seriously?" She stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes, seriously." Draco sat closer to her. She still stared at him, mouth agape.

"No, you've done something terribly mean and cruel for no reason. So, go away now." Hermione stood, but Draco stood and pulled her back down to the ground. She stared at him, "Why did you just do that?"

"Because you haven't said that you forgive me yet. Say and you can leave." He gave her a side glance and a smug smirk.

There was a rustling in the bushes, Harry and Ron came out into the clearing. Draco was on his feet and out of sight within seconds. He hid behind a tree and listened.

"Hermione! We were so worried! Why'd you run off like that?" Harry yelled.

"Draco was here, he talked to me. He wanted me to forgive him." Hermione said she tried looking around the two.

"Malfoy was here? Is he still around? I'm going to kill him!" Ron snarled he started walking towards the trees.

"Ron, don't. He left, leave him be. Let's get out of here, it's getting dark." She pulled the two towards the edge of the forest. 'Draco why did you do this?'