Chapter Three: False Hope

Hermione returned to the fire, and the shelter, placing her wet t-shirt over the roof of the shelter to get it dry. She pulled the straps of her tank top up, and went in search of fallen dates, cocoanuts and various other fruits that she recognized as eatable. Her labors were rewarding, and by the time Draco came back; she had collected enough for them to eat for a few meals, she guessed two or three days at the least.

Over their breakfast they decided that they would spell out HELP in giant letters in the sand of the island and keep their fire going constantly as a signal fire for any air craft that would be flying over head.

Once that was complete they gathered more fruit and tried to devise a way to catch some fish for some extra protein. After that they were back to the conversation of such discomfort for Hermione. "There're a lot of guys from Slytherin that would die to be with you, except the fact that you scare the shit out of them. You always have to be so bloody brilliant, and rather stuck up too. Hell, if you didn't always know everything I'd date you." Draco accidentally blurted out, not immediately realizing what he was saying.

"What? Have you gone completely mental?" Hermione choked. "I can't believe that you just told me that…"

"Oy! Neither can I…"Draco whispered. "But it's true. You're not a bad person, in fact you're rather nice and you are very pretty, of course I'm sure that you probably know that already…"

"No, no one's ever mentioned it." Hermione remarked. "Apparently, it seems no one wants me to know." She lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Sad, not even Potter and Weasley, that's strange? Some friends they are…" Draco commented throwing some more wood on their fire.

"No, they don't bother…why should they? Harry has Ginny, and well Ron is well…Ron."

"Well at least you have them to worry about you getting home safely. No one even knows that I'm missing." He muttered.

"Aren't you curious to know if I'm attracted to you?" Hermione asked curiously, looking deeply into Draco's steel blue eyes.

"Not particularly. That would give me a sense of false hope; I'd think that if we got out of this alive that I'd possibly have a chance with you. And I think that you and I both know that will never happen." He stood up and walked back toward the pond.

Hermione reluctantly followed him, and for some reason found herself grabbing his hand. He stopped dead in his tracks and gave her an almost dumbfounded look. Then she really couldn't stop herself from kissing him, deeply, passionately, it couldn't have been a more perfect moment in her mind. 'What in Merlin's name am I doing?' she thought, 'Does this mean that I have feelings for Malfoy…Draco.'

Draco pulled her close, holding her gently in his strong arms. "So much for mortal enemies to the end then…'He breathed heavily kissing her again, backing up slowly into the water of the pond.

"Should we be doing this…do you think that we are letting ourselves go to far to fast…?"

"…Only if you do…"

"No, not yet…" She whispered pulling his shirt off of him and running her hands all over his muscle hardened body.

He tugged at her tank top as well, peeling it over her head and then picking her up and setting her on a rock along the edge of the pond. She wrenched at his belt until she loosened it from the buckle. "Wait…we shouldn't do this…" He announced, changing his mind quickly, he turned around with his back to her. "I…I want to, you have no idea how much I want to, but I …want it to mean something…to be real…not just something that happened while we were stranded on an island together…"

"You're right of course." Hermione said, smoothing down her hair, and wading back to the shore for her tank top, quickly putting it back on. 'As usual, stopped before I even get close to getting lucky enough to get close to someone. Even if it is Malfoy.' She thought tears welling up in her eyes.

"Wait, Her, Hermione…I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I didn't mean it like that at all!" Draco shouted after her as she ran away the sound of her sobbing filling the air. 'Blast it all to hell. God, why did you have to open your big fucking mouth you nasty git! Now she thinks that it wasn't real…wait was it the real feelings though…? It had to be…I know that it was…but why her…?' he cursed himself silently, as he chased after her not bothering to put his shirt back on. He found her in the shelter, her eyes were slightly red from wiping the tears away.

" 'Just leave me be, I don't need your help to get out of here.' That's all I have to say to him. It's that simple…" She kept telling herself, not knowing that he was standing right behind her. "What's come over me? Why can't I stop thinking about him, think about his kisses, his perfect body…" She continued.

He backed off to the side of the shelter so it would be harder for her to see him if she looked out of the shelter. He wanted to hear more of what she had to say about him.

"This is never going to last. He won't…He doesn't want me. How could he…he's a pureblood and I'm not…" She cried. "Why do I care so much, he's just a boy?"

"Why shouldn't you care?" Draco called walking up to the entrance of the shelter again as if he had only heard the last thing she said. "And who is just a boy?"

"No…no one." She whimpered as she turned around.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. What I meant was, that I want it to happen only if we care enough for each other. I don't want physical lust and then have things go back to the way they were before this, because of tales of the flesh." He sighed explaining his thoughts to her as he sat down next to her.

"And this is supposed to make me feel better? It's like you said before, false hope, it would never work out." She mumbled.

"Why, because of your dense friends…are you afraid that they would cast you away? True friends wouldn't." Draco snapped irritated with her stubbornness.

"And what of your Father? Do you think he would welcome me with open arms? Bloody hell, not two days ago you wouldn't have even dreamt of having this conversation with me!" She screamed.

"Seeing as my father's dead, he won't really be a problem."

Hermione was shocked by what he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"Don't be. I most certainly am not." He interrupted her apology. "I'm just not who everyone thinks that I am anymore Hermione."

"I…I know that you aren't. But why are you showing it to me…why not the world?"

"I have a family tradition to uphold, and I had my father's ruthless reputation. No excuse now I suppose, but it was a good one then. Now I have this Dumbledore murder on my hands, and I still have to hold my head high enough to return to Hogwarts. But since I've been here with you, everything's going to have to change I believe. It's amazing what a little isolation can do to someone." He chuckled. "Besides, I think that I want to take a chance on trying to get to know you better, since my perspective has drastically changed." He took her hand in his. "That is of course, if you allow me to do so."

"We shall see." She commented snatching her hand away from him.

The day was now coming to a close as it seemed twilight was approaching the island. The two of them felt that their pile of fire wood had diminished a lot, and they walked around their camp gathering more. After that they visited their fish traps, which to their delight they found full.

Draco was glad that they had been able to get fish, because he was all ready tired of the bitter after taste of the dates and he hated cocoanuts.

They gutted the fish and then Draco took it upon him self to properly fillet them with the knife that he had brought along for the commercial fishing trip that had left him stranded on this island in the first place. Then they soaked them in the sea to absorb some salt for taste and roasted them over the fire.