Chapter 24 - Things Said and Unsaid

When Hermione did finally wake up, her first thought was to reach for her wand, as she realized belatedly that she hadn't set any wards or protective charms around the lakehouse before she and Harry had fallen asleep. It was a foolish mistake that she had never made before, and it would be just great if the one time she did was the time that it would end up costing them their lives.

However, as she blinked herself into awareness, she realized that the charms had already been set, and, noticing that Harry was no longer beside her, she concluded that he must have been responsible. Smiling, Hermione sat up and stretched. It was good to know that she could rely on Harry, and—

But wait, how had Harry accomplished it? After all, they only had one working wand between them, and Hermione knew that it was dangerous for a wizard to use just any wand in case it didn't respond to him. Had her wand worked well for Harry then? It would certainly be a relief if it did, since they would have to take turns using it regardless. For the few days that they were at the lakehouse, they wouldn't need to take on guard duty, so that helped, but it wouldn't hurt for Harry to practice with it. Once their strength was up, Hermione resolved to help Harry with it as best she could.

Distinctly, Hermione smelled toast, bacon, and eggs, which brought on a rumble from her stomach. Breakfast. How many hours had it been since she'd last eaten? From all her nervousness yesterday, she couldn't remember if she had even eaten a bite—it must be well over thirty-six hours by now.

Stifling a yawn as she padded through the back room and towards the front where she'd noticed before the kitchen was, Hermione planned on asking Harry about his injuries first thing. What she didn't plan on was what she would do if Draco was there...and cooking?!

Hermione blinked in surprise as she noticed both boys in the kitchen, Harry frying the eggs and bacon and Draco getting the butter for the toast. They were...working together? Oh. So, did that mean that they had spoken to each other already and resolved things between them?

Merlin, the first time she'd overslept since she was a child, and look at all she'd missed...

"Good morning," Harry greeted, as casual and as cheerful as ever, despite the near-death experience they'd just had. "Sleep well?"

"I...um...morning," Hermione said, nodding first to Harry and then lingering on Draco, who had yet to say anything. As he simply looked at her, Hermione suddenly became self-conscious and mentally cussed that she hadn't thought to check her hair in the mirror before getting up. Surely it looked a mess since she hadn't had a chance to brush it!

"We weren't expecting you, Draco," she said, sitting down on a bar stool near the kitchen island, trying to act just as casual even though already she felt her cheeks flushing in embarrassment despite the fact that there was no need for it. And there wasn't—or so she tried to convince herself.

Draco, for his part, was able to manage it much better than she could, though he had to almost pull himself away from continuing to look at her, and rather admire how she managed to make messy curls look that good. Sniffing, he turned back to the fridge, where he was currently looking for the butter and also some cream for the coffee he had brewing. "It is my house, Hermione. I have every right to be here."

Hearing his go-to sarcasm was refreshing, as it at least prompted the easy banter that they had gotten used to between them. Smirking, Hermione propped her chin on her hand. "The snakes, colours, and utter extravagance of everything makes that clear enough, Draco; what I meant was that we'd expected a patronus from you beforehand."

"I could say the same," Draco shot back, though his tone was gentle. Having found what he needed, he closed the fridge. "But then, there was no good time to reach me earlier on, so I'm glad you didn't."

"Were you with him earlier?" Harry asked, turning to Draco suddenly.

Draco nodded, looking grim. "As you'd expect, he's not happy, and that's putting it lightly. Let's just say that if I were you, I'd lay low for a couple of days, even if you have to take a break from your mission for a while."

Harry sighed, turning off the stove and dividing up the food. "You know we can't do that, Draco."—Hermione was pleased to note that they had gotten to addressing each other on a first name basis as well, a clear indication that they had already spoken earlier.—"But we were going to take it easy at least until after Christmas, so if we could stay here until then, we'd appreciate it."

"Door's always open, Harry," Draco said. Then, giving Hermione a rather intense regard, he said, "For both of you."

For a reason that she knew of but for the moment had to push out of her mind, Hermione blushed at that.

Breakfast was otherwise a quiet affair, as no one had anything particularly pleasant or relevant to say. Even if the three of them—if Draco also decided to stay—were going to be living there together for a few days, it was still going to be a very grim Christmas indeed. In the outside world, things were still as bad as ever, and now that Voldemort was back, were bound to get worse. There were many things that had to be discussed, plans to be made, next steps to consider...

But, Hermione reflected as she offered to do the dishes since the boys had already cooked breakfast, for at least two or three days, it'll have to wait. None of us is in fit condition to do any good at the moment.

For, even though she hadn't commented on it yet, she did see the withdrawn yet haunted look in Draco's eyes, much as he'd tried to hide it, and she had noticed how he'd barely touched his small serving of breakfast. Keeping whatever it was under the surface would do him no good though, so sooner or later, she would ask him about it.

Probably when Harry was out of sight though, since she didn't think that the boys had grown quite that close yet for Draco to be comfortable discussing personal things like that.

Afterwards, Draco showed Hermione and Harry to their rooms upstairs, then indicated his own room just across the hall. They all agreed that it was better to stay close to each other in case of an attack—however unlikely—and so that they'd be able to come to one another's aid.

"I've put up all the protective charms I can think of, but if you think you should add more, go ahead," Draco said, in the process surprising Hermione as she learned that he was responsible for the added protection. But then...why should she be surprised? Draco had already proved himself capable of thinking of these things over and over again as she recently met with him. Especially after how much effort and research he had put into getting that sheath...she had to get used to this new side of him.

No matter how distracting it was to her in certain ways...

Once upstairs, it quickly became apparent that Harry was still very much tired. Hermione wasn't surprised, seeing as the tea she had given him the night before tended to work sporadically, effective for up to twenty-four hours by encouraging an uninterrupted six hours of deep sleep. Harry had only gone through one cycle, which meant that the second one was due. It was an advanced brew that she had attempted only once before, after passing her O.W.L.s, and one that she wouldn't have given Harry if they'd been out in the woods with no protection; however, now that she could use it, she knew that it would help in healing him both physically and mentally that much quicker. She would have taken some herself, except that at least one of them had to be awake and alert, so it might as well be her. Maybe now that Draco was here, she could rely on him and maybe take some anyway?

Except that...because Draco was here, Hermione didn't want to sleep at all. No doubt she was still tired, and her body was telling her as much, but she didn't want to sleep. More than anything, now that he was finally here, she had a lot that she wanted to hear from him and say to him.

With hardly a backward glance, Harry excused himself and then, for all intents and purposes, left them alone.

Draco gestured to Hermione's room, silently asking if she wanted to go and rest up as well, but Hermione shook her head and instead gestured that they go down the stairs. Understanding, Draco led the way until they were back in the room from before, where he wasted no time in lighting the fireplace yet again. Without a word exchanged between them, Draco poured apple cider for both of them and left it on the table, taking a seat on the couch.

As soon as Hermione did so as well, she was caught entirely by surprise when Draco's arms suddenly came around her in a hug. She gasped but didn't stiffen at his touch, instead relaxing into it and hugging him in return. As soon as her hands reached his back, Draco only pulled her closer, squeezing Hermione so tightly that for a moment it almost hurt. It was only a second later that Hermione sensed Draco shivering under her touch.

"Draco?" she whispered, hardly daring to say more.

"You could have been killed," he said, his voice shaky. It was the most unhinged she had heard him be all morning, confirming that his calmness from before had indeed been a facade, most likely because Harry had been around; now, she felt like he was being entirely honest, holding nothing back.

She swallowed, not wanting to guess what might have been the cause of that. Worry for her was well and good and she was of course secretly thrilled at it, but...above that, she worried over what he may have gone through once Voldemort called all the death eaters to his presence.

"Draco, I'm fine, I'm here," she said, keeping her voice low and comforting. She would have pulled away to look at him and let him see that for himself, except Draco was still holding onto her too tightly to let go. In the end, Hermione settled for moving her hands along his upper back in slow, soothing movements, hoping to communicate through touch that she was really alright and that, somehow or other, she would help him to be alright if he needed her to.

Draco relaxed a bit at her touch, easing up on his grip as well, but still he didn't let go. "When I was summoned last night, I thought for sure that I'd see you and Potter there, hurt or dead," he confessed. "It was only for a minute, but I can't put into words what that felt like. Even to picture it made me sick. I..." And here his words caught in his throat, and he shook slightly one more time before finally pulling away. He looked over Hermione's face, lingering on her eyes, which even now looked at him with worry, as though what he had gone through was possibly worse than being attacked by Nagini and surviving by the skin of his teeth.

"I felt that I'd failed you," he whispered, his face grim. His eyes were full of torment, the pain enough to make Hermione feel like crying. As it was, she had to swallow a lump in her throat before answering.

"Draco, because of you we—"

"Don't!" he hissed, abruptly letting go of her altogether and looking away. "My warning did no damn good! It was foolhardy of me to think that just changing the date would help in keeping you safe from him. What was I thinking?! I should have gone to meet you there at the hollow, at the very least, once you sent me a patronus telling me that you were going! I knew and I should have done something!"

Hermione was shocked at how much responsibility he was attributing to himself. Not only was it untrue, but Draco adding that misplaced guilt on top of everything else he already had to put up with was just...

"Draco? Listen to me," she urged, gently reaching for his hand and keeping it locked in hers once he tried to pull away. He still wouldn't look at her, but at least he could hear what she was going to say.

"Nothing you could have done would have made a difference. One way or another, Harry and I would have had to go to the hollow to check for horcruxes. Now we know that there aren't any there. But more than that, no matter what we decided, You-Know-Who was watching for Harry's decision. He wasn't going to leave anything to chance and he sensed the change from Harry's mind. He had this in hand and no warning would have been enough to counter his plans. You didn't know that they had changed, did you?" Draco shook his head. "Then there's nothing you could have done to help, to stop things.

"Right now, it's just good that Harry and I managed to get out of there alive." She breathed a sigh of relief, deciding not to relive the moment of just how close a call it had been. "In the end, that's what matters. It's over, Draco, and both Harry and I are safe now. Please, look at me."

Draco hesitated only for a moment, but then finally brought his gaze back to her. It was clear by his expression that he wasn't fully ready to believe her words, especially in the parts regarding him, but he wanted to. More than anything right now, he wanted to move past what had happened, move past anything to do with the Dark Lord, move past just...everything in the outside world that he hated.

Swallowing a lump in his own throat, he tentatively reached out and brought his hand to the side of her head, entangling his fingers in her curls. "And you're sure you're alright?" he asked, all seriousness.

Hermione smiled, leaning into his touch. "Yes. Now that we're safe and I'm here with you, I am."

That last part had slipped out unintentionally, but Hermione wasn't sorry. Even as she saw the look of surprise in Draco's eyes, she wasn't sorry. There were...certain things that she felt to be true every moment that passed between them, and they were things that, sooner or later, she would have to admit to. She had no idea what Draco thought or even if he was thinking or feeling anything along the same lines that she was, but...in these moments between them, when he looked at her like that, she was greatly encouraged.

As for how Draco did feel, he couldn't help but be pulled in when Hermione looked at him like that and leaned into his touch with all the trust and closeness that he craved for and yet had never been brought up to expect—much less from her. The fact that he suddenly felt such a possessiveness over these moments was something new to him as well, but it was nothing compared to the inward pleasure and desire for more. Just what that "more" entailed, Draco didn't think on, as he wasn't sure of how much he could permit himself even so; but, if he could permit himself what he wanted, then he'd take everything.

It was hard not to tip over the edge when he felt himself drawn this close to Hermione—closer than he had ever felt to anyone else and yet still nowhere near close enough.

"And you?" He was brought back down to Earth for a moment at Hermione's question. "Are you alright?"

In many ways, he really wasn't. The nightmares of last night were still behind him, along with the guilt of abandoning his mother, the dread of returning, the repulse at everything that his family—that he—stood for; and yet, at the same time, none of those things felt like they mattered just at this moment, so Draco found himself answering, "Yes. Now that you're here, yes."

It was nothing more than an equal response to what she had already said, and yet Hermione felt it as a deep and warming sensation that went beyond mere words. That Draco meant them brought a heightened awareness to everything between them, so much so that Hermione permitted herself a bit of boldness that, for some reason or other, Draco Malfoy himself hadn't expressed until now. Hermione could only hope that it wasn't because of a lack of interest.

Shifting closer to him until her body was pressed up against the side of his, she reached up with her own hand and placed it over where his rested, still tangled in her curls. "I missed you," she confessed, a bit breathless but sure in her words. "It feels like it's been a long time, even though I know it hasn't been. I just...I know things haven't been easy for either of us, but I would have liked to see you before as well."

Inhaling deeply, Draco took courage from her words, spurring on his own confession as well. "The feeling's mutual. If I could have, believe me, I would have come to see you sooner. Just now, all of us are being watched, and my family is—"

"You don't have to say it, Draco," Hermione cut in, her brows furrowed. "I know how it must be. I only meant that...it only makes me happier to see you now." And also more aware of just how much she had missed him, now that he was finally face-to-face with her again. He seemed to have regressed to how he had been before—pale and tired-looking, and most definitely holding in more than was good for him—but otherwise he was still her Draco. Er...that is...the Draco she had come to know in recent months, as opposed to how he had been before.

Her Draco. The thought was far more enticing than it should be.

"You're about the only thing I have to be happy about nowadays."

Spoken in a low voice, but just as sure, Draco's words sent a fluttering deep in the pit of Hermione's stomach. At the same time, she found that she ached for him because he really didn't have more to be happy about, but...

"Well, I'm glad about that," she said, leaning closer. It might be considered by...well, everyone as far too close to be strictly friendly, but Hermione didn't notice or care. Draco was barely two inches away from her and if she...or if he...

Looking at her with renewed intensity, Draco moved his hand until it cupped her cheek, his thumb accidentally brushing over her lower lip. He hitched a breath almost at the same moment as Hermione, but made no move to do anything more. Instead, he simply gazed at her, taking in every detail of her face as though committing it to memory. He had imagined all this, in his moments alone, but nowhere near doing her justice. He realized then that he couldn't look at her enough, could never have enough to imagine this same amount of warmth, this rightness that took him to a good place and kept him content.

Closing his eyes, Draco pressed his forehead to hers and simply breathed her in, willing that she would fill his senses and keep him there, in that distant place. He could be happy there for a long time, he felt it, and he wanted it more than he could remember wanting anything else. It was a yearning that went beyond just caring for himself; he wanted it with her.

If she felt the same, then...

Then there was no need to hesitate and Draco didn't plan on doing so.

"Hermione..." he breathed.

Before another word was spoken between them, Draco leaned forward and closed the gap. Neither of them could so much as take a breath before his lips were on hers, gently prodding to see if she would respond. And oh, did she. With a vigor that came from being denied this for too long after having felt the spark of it the last time they'd met, Hermione released all the tension, frustration, and utter longing that she had held within her for the past three weeks. Leaning forward eagerly, she responded to Draco's lips in kind, pressing and caressing with a deep feeling all her own.

The torrent of emotion was hard to deny once she did that. Losing all sense of time and of himself, Draco reached both arms around Hermione and clasped her to him, one hand on the back of her neck to deepen the kiss. He probed his tongue over her lips hesitantly at first, but when she opened to him he plunged forward with confidence. The moan in Hermione's throat at his caress brought on one of his own, reverberating through him and only encouraging a desire for more. More of her lips, her tongue, more of everything Hermione was giving him and what she could give. Merlin...so much more...

For once, Hermione let herself get completely swept away as well, reaching for Draco and clutching at the fabric of his shirt as he deepened the kiss. She had never kissed anyone like this, never felt as though her body was both tingling and melting at once. It felt so good, so right. And the more Draco did, the deeper he went, the more she responded and the more she desired. Hermione was entirely aware of him and where he was, where his hands were and where she wanted them to be. He held her fiercely, and yet at the same time he was being so gentle keeping himself—keeping both of them restrained from losing themselves entirely.

But Hermione wanted to. What would happen if—

Then, all too soon, they had to pull back from one another to breathe. Draco broke the contact first, panting lightly, his eyes still closed as he focused on how she had felt against him, how she tasted, and how he wasn't about to relinquish either of those pleasures just yet. Before he could kiss her again though, Hermione placed her hands on his chest, holding him back. At first, Draco felt a rush of panic and hurt that maybe he had gone too far and really ruined things, but then Hermione spoke.

"Draco, I...that was...Merlin, I'm glad you did that!"

Opening his eyes at last in relief, Draco gazed at Hermione as she looked back at him, the passion in her eyes mirroring his own. It had come across both of them all of a sudden it seemed, and yet...he had already been building up to this in his mind, whether he realized it or not. Hermione's eager response was proof enough that she had done the same. Despite what was as good as a confession from her, Draco found that he really couldn't say anything just then—he was far too overwhelmed.

He wanted this. He had wanted this for a while now. Having it at last felt almost unreal, never mind that it never would have crossed his mind in the past to have this happen with Hermione; but now that it had, he only wanted to take it further. In a way, Draco was almost afraid of his own desires.

"Draco?" As Hermione bit her bottom lip, looking uncharacteristically nervous, Draco's eyes were drawn there, down to her enticing mouth. "Is something wrong? Was it not good—oh!"

Cutting her off with another kiss, slipping his tongue into her mouth without preamble this time, Draco picked off where they had left off, his hands going down to Hermione's hips and dragging her against him in quite another way than before. Hermione gave no resistance, instead reaching one of her hands up to his hair and running her fingers through it as she returned the kiss, mimicking each of his strokes with her own. His moan of pleasure sent shivers down her spine, and then almost without her realizing it she pulled him closer until she was lying back and he was on top of her.

Draco enjoyed the position of dominance, though he never would have thought that he had a preference for it before. Actually, come to think of it, he wouldn't have minded for Hermione to be on top of him either—and especially with her breasts pressing against his chest like that...no, he wouldn't have minded it at all.

This time, it was Hermione who pulled back, her curls in disarray as she stared up at Draco. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were wet, the expression on her face one that no one had ever seen from Hermione Granger before. Altogether, it was more than enough to excite Draco further.

Just before he kissed her a third time though, her eyes already closed and her chin tilted up in welcome, Draco stopped as he realized how dangerous this was. Not to either of them directly, but considering who he was and how everyone he knew and associated with would like nothing more than to—

"Draco?"

Sitting up, Draco breathed deeply to calm himself down, even while hating himself and practically everything else for reminding him of the way things were. Having Hermione in his arms was intoxicating, enough to make him forget and lose himself even for a moment; the realization of that only made it worse when he considered how much everything else in his life was against him taking things further.

Never before had Draco felt as if everything and everyone was against him more than now.

"Draco? What's wrong? Tell me!" Hermione's own fire had died down just as quickly as his upon seeing the look on his face, a look that made it clear enough that whatever was wrong had nothing to do with her; no, this was something else, something that affected Draco all the more.

Sighing, he decided to answer her, all the while wishing that it hadn't even occurred to him and so he wouldn't have to bring it up. Sooner or later, it might have been a problem they had to address, but why now, after they'd just barely kissed for the first time and as good as admitted that they had feelings for one another?!

Because that's what it was: Draco Malfoy had feelings for Hermione Granger and found himself liking her more than his father or anyone else would say was healthy for him. Draco could just hear his aunt Bellatrix taunting "mudblood" in his ear, and flinched away from the thought.

"Apart from how I'm feeling about this, it's all wrong," he said, his voice low but composed. To hear it said in such a matter-of-fact tone didn't sit well with Hermione, but the dull look in his eyes was even worse than how resigned he sounded. Was he...is that all that it would amount to then? A kiss and then a goodbye?

He's had to put up with much more than you have, Hermione, she thought, trying to steer herself away from feeling hurt before there was a need. You may have faced down Nagini, but what he's had to do is probably worse. You haven't pressed to hear about it, though maybe you should have. Maybe then Draco wouldn't have to pull back like this and you could have gone further...

As it was though, maybe it was better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later, because that was also what she'd had to tell him: that despite feeling the way she did, it really didn't matter what their past and their backgrounds were. If it didn't matter to her, then maybe it shouldn't matter to Draco; although, looking back, perhaps it was a lot to ask if he wasn't accustomed to the idea.

What Draco had done in kissing her was impulse; what Hermione was doing now was all within reason and certainty.

"If it's not about your feelings, Draco, then I can guess where it is from," she began, taking his hand and once again holding on tightly when he otherwise would have pulled away. "But you can't expect for me to accept that."

Draco exhaled. "Hermione, it's more than—"

"I'm already well aware of the situation, Draco," she cut in, before he could get started in on one of the many reasons why, from everything that had happened since they met, this was by far the most mental. "It is me you're talking to, after all.

"For the moment, let's put aside those other considerations. What I'm interested in now is what you're thinking, what you're feeling." She set her own mouth in a grim line and forced herself to say the words, surprised at herself for being afraid of what the answer might be. "I want to know what you feel towards me, if anything. If you tell me that it's all a mistake for you personally, then that I'll accept and I won't press the issue." Then, looking into his eyes directly, "But if it's anything less than that and doesn't have to do with just you and you alone, then I won't walk away from this. I have my own feelings, Draco, and it's not something I can give up on, no more than I could give up my love of reading or curiosity for magic. I..."

Taking a deep breath, she said the words directly: "I care for you, Draco. A lot. I find myself missing you more and more and that kiss just now was...exactly what I wanted and what I've been wanting from you since the last time we met here. Or maybe even before that, though I didn't realize it." Attempting a small smile, she finished by saying, "I wouldn't risk my life for just anyone like I did for you, just so you know."

A kiss was one thing, but Hermione's words were another. Draco hadn't realized that he needed to hear the words directly, but it turned out he had; hearing them now caused another shift to come over him entirely, this one completely welcome.

It was difficult, but he forced his mind to cooperate, forced himself to put the images of his family, his background, and everything about his life to the side. They had no place in this discussion, and that was what Hermione was saying. True, from a practical point of view they should, but...

Nothing about this situation is practical or makes any sense if you look at it that way, Draco, he chastised himself. And you don't know a bloody good thing when you've got it if you're ready to walk away after hearing that. Speak up, you idiot, and don't hurt yourself worse than you have to!

In the end, if he could really make himself believe that all that counted here were his own feelings, his choice, then maybe he could accept everything Hermione was saying and really take a chance with it. Merlin knew he wanted to. And she had literally just put everything before him of herself and what she felt for him—what he'd never imagined that she or anyone could feel for him. She knew what he was; she had seen his dark mark. Worse yet, she had endured years of belittlement and bullying from him, and yet still managed to forgive him, offer him her friendship and her comfort, and now even develop feelings for him. This said a lot of things about Hermione Granger, perhaps by some that she was mental, but to Draco...it made her all the better as a person—perhaps even too good for him.

But Draco Malfoy was never one to suffer for a lack of ego, having been raised on too much pride to do so. Thus, even while he acknowledged to himself that Hermione was superior to him in more ways than one and that he didn't deserve her, he didn't suffer from the conscience of letting that stop him. Whether he did or didn't wouldn't matter; she had confessed her feelings for him and he was going to take her at her word.

And, hopefully, be able to give in return as much as he could take...

"I want you, Hermione." It didn't come out quite in the same tender way as she had put it, but Draco had no other accurate way of expressing it. Hermione blinked in surprise, but waited to let him finish. "Better to say that I need you. Before, I'll admit that it was selfish on my part, wanting so much to rely on you once you offered what I wanted. Support, comfort, and an escape from what I am, a chance to show that who I am that has nothing to do with how my life's been so far."

Pausing, he took a moment to look deep into her eyes, searching for any doubts now before he, finally, revealed all of himself as well. Finding none, he went on.

"The more I met with you though, the more I wanted, until I felt like nothing was enough. Our talks via patronus were far from satisfying for me, and that confused me considering what I thought I should feel for you before we met this fall. Then, when I did meet with you, each time I felt as though there was something else I wanted, something more that we never quite got to, and it left me wondering which of us was holding back and what I could do to get past that. I was willing to try anything, use any excuse to get closer. In part, that's why I offered you my help so willingly, especially in saying that I wanted nothing in return. I knew you weren't the type to take any deals personally, so I needed a new way to ensure your friendship, once you'd offered it.

"But then...it was a surprise to me to find that I actually did want to help you for a reason beyond furthering my own purposes. That scared me almost more than how I was already responding to everything you said, every way in which I was opening up without realizing it or even finding any difficulty in it. Those were things I'd never felt before, and to connect them to you was the strangest thing of all, given how everything in our lives should have been against that.

"When you came after me at the Black Lake though...that was when I knew that I could throw all those doubts to hell and never look back on them. I couldn't believe that you came, and yet I didn't want to go back beyond that moment. It was...the first time that I completely trusted you, and everything after that only confirmed it further.

"If all of these things that I'm saying now aren't enough in letting you know how I feel, then I don't know what is. In the end though, what I'm left with is this: I want you and I need you, Hermione. And if it were up to me and me alone, I wouldn't let you go." As long as she didn't push him away or anything, but Draco wasn't about to mention that and risk putting the idea in her head. After all, neither of their confessions counted as commitment, he didn't think, but he was definitely angling in that direction. All of what he had said was the truth, but at the same time he was also aware that he had revealed so much partly to prod Hermione into further giving up more of herself in turn, further feeling the need to stay by him. It was his dependency on her comfort before that had kept her close; now, a different sort might bring her closer.

Hermione, of course, was no idiot and recognized all of this quite well. The only thing she regretted was that Draco felt he had to say things this way and act this way because he assumed that simply letting his feelings speak for themselves without ulterior motives wasn't enough to keep her close; however, this wasn't something she could make him understand now or convince him of otherwise just yet. They were both still new to this, their Gryffindor and Slytherin natures approaching the same matter quite differently; as long as they both reached the same result and wanted the same thing though, what did it matter if they viewed the path in different ways?

"Then we both want the same thing, Draco," Hermione said at last, after taking a few moments to reflect and meanwhile leaving Draco in suspense as to what her response would be to that admittedly intense confession. "And because that is the case, can you think of any good reason, just between us, why we shouldn't act on it and...try?" Not specifying just what that entailed, she left it very much open to interpretation—for both of them.

"No," Draco found himself replying, far more easily than he would have thought. "No, there's no reason why we shouldn't."

"So then...shall we?" Hermione gave a small smile.

Draco wasn't used to smiling, so he didn't return it; instead, the look he gave her communicated the other things on his mind. Putting to mind only how they felt...suddenly there was no need to hold back. Hermione cared for him and he cared for her; they both wanted to start a relationship and pursue it to see where it would lead them.

Damn all else. Draco set it far from his mind. Not now, not while she was here before him, looking so hopeful, so vulnerable, so...perfect.

He would stake all he had on it, right at that moment.

"Yes," he breathed.

And Merlin knew he meant it.

A/N: You may all exhale that breath of anticipation you've been holding onto, because we've finally reached first base! Whew!

Okay, so, just some notes on some of the contents of this chapter, in case anyone happens to wonder about this later. So, in Draco's "confession" and explanation of how he felt, part of it stemmed from the fact that I realized that while I was bringing about tons of Draco's vulnerabilities to light until now, I think it's unfair to have those make up all of his character, or even just the majority. After all, J.K. Rowling played up a lot of his Slytherin nature in the books and so far I've only been showing brief snippets of that here and there in this story, instead focusing on the side of Draco as a tormented and misunderstood soul. Well, now that his burdens of that are being lightened and helped by Hermione's closeness, I figured that it was the perfect time to bring to light that other side of him that would have really been beneath the surface all along—namely, the Slytherin side that's constantly considering what his own advantage would be in every interaction, and how to further that to more gain. So, this is just a note to explain that I'm not trying to change the nature of any of Draco's interactions with Hermione thus far and in the future, but rather just expose that he's very much a two-sided character until he gets further into his relationship with Hermione, so we have to accept both sides of that. Many words can be used to describe Draco Malfoy, but let's just say that fully "selfless" is not one of them. Ahem, yet. We'll see what amount of fluff I'll cook up in the future to include there, m'kay?

Anyway, long note aside, please do follow, favourite, and especially REVIEW! This was a big chapter, I feel, and I'd really like to hear everyone's opinions of things now that we're finally moving into some romantic territory!

ALSO, just as an important note to readers, after this I'll be going on vacation until the 11th of July, so there won't be any more chapters posted until the 13th of July at the earliest. I guess we can consider this a temporary hiatus, then? Patience, friends, patience!