Time's Up!

by WickedlyAwesomeMe

Draco Malfoy killed Hermione Granger. But surprisingly, she was given a chance to prove that she still has to live. And so, she went back into the year 1990 to change a boy's cold heart... for 3 weeks only! Dramione! R and R!

15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Not mine. Not yours. Only JK Rowling's.

A/N: Oh yes, I'm back. And of course, I'm very, very glad. So, here's the Part II of What Really Should Have Happened. And surprisingly, this is incredibly long. 34 pages and 22,206 words in Microsoft Word. I still couldn't believe it! This is so far the longest chapter I ever made in my whole life. And actually, I have no idea if this long chapter will bore you (since it's really, really long) or make you happy.

By the way, I'm sorry if you spotted some grammatical errors and misspelled words. I'm seriously sleepy right now. Just bear with it, okay?

Anyway, just read and review. Enjoy!

---

What Really Should Have Happened: Part II

Year Five:

Hermione stretched her arms above her head as she released a rather large yawn. She didn't care now if she was being quite unladylike. Everybody was asleep now, anyway. She was just tired and her body was protesting already because of exhaustion. Now that she was done doing her Prefects duties, she was yearning for the feeling of her comfy bed, soft comforter, and her warm pillows. Thinking about those things made her yawn again.

Once she was nearing the portrait of the Fat Lady, a form materialized just beside the portrait. The brunette pulled out her wand and pointed it at the rule-breaker. She shook her head she slowly approached the student. 'Oh honestly, doesn't he want to go to sleep on top of his comfy bed?' she asked herself as she softly whispered 'lumos' to lit her wand.

The brunette then pointed her lit wand towards the rule-breaker and then, immediately recognizing him, a soft sigh was emitted from Hermione's mouth. "Draco, what are you doing here?" the brunette asked and watched as the blond slowly looked at her. A wide smile then was seen on his face once his eyes gazed on the Gryffindor Prefect.

"Finally," he told her. "I thought your Prefect Duties won't end anymore."

"You're a Prefect, too, Draco Malfoy," the brunette scolded him sternly. "You're supposed to be a good example to your fellow schoolmates."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yak, yak, yak, blah, blah, blah," the blond said, rolling his eyes. "I really dislike Professor Dumbledore now since he made you a Prefect. All that comes out from your mouth is – 'You're a Prefect. You're supposed to be a good example to your fellow schoolmates' (Hermione slightly laughed here since he perfectly imitated her). Don't you know that it pisses me off already?"

The Gryffindor brunette just shook her head slowly approached. She then sat down just beside him. "You didn't answer my question, Draco," the brunette said. "What are you doing here?"

Draco placed his chin on top of his arms while Hermione brought her knees closer to her chest. She also placed her chin on top of her right knee as she stared at the blond, waiting for him to answer her question. "I was locked out from the Slytherin Common Room," he answered her nonchalantly, swatting a nearby annoying fly.

"Locked?!" the brunette shrieked, eyes widening because of shock.

The blond placed one finger against his lips and slightly glared at the brunette. "Shhh…" he said as his gaze landed on the dozing Fat Lady. "You might wake her up."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "You were locked out from the Slytherin Common Room?" the brunette said, now in a low whisper. Disbelief was still evident in her voice.

Draco released a soft sigh. "Let's just say that some of them thought it was funny and played a prank on me," he said. "Since Umbridge practically announced to everyone this morning that the Slytherin House can do anything they want, they thought of playing a prank on me, knowing that the won't be punished. Seriously, I hate that fat, old woman. She should burn in hell!"

"A prank?"

"For heaven's sake, woman! Do I - ."

"Shhh…" the brunette said this time, mimicking Draco's action of placing one lip against her lips.

"For heaven's sake, woman. Do I have to repeat everything that I'm saying?" the blond asked, this time in a soft whisper.

Hermione frowned. "But… but locked you out of the Slytherin Common Room?" she asked. "That's too much now, Draco." She paused as she allowed herself to release a soft sigh. Her eyes stared back at his silver ones. "Why don't you fight back, Draco?" she asked in a soft voice.

Draco shook his head in disbelief. "Do you think I'm a coward, Hermione?" he asked, slightly enraged.

The Gryffindor brunette shrugged. "Well, you're not a Gryffindor," she pointed out.

The blond frowned. "Who said that only Gryffindors are the only brave souls here in the whole school?" the blond asked. "Of course I fight back, Hermione. I always do. If I didn't, it's as if I'm allowing them to ridicule or insult or make fun of me. I'm not a stupid person, Hermione. Who in their right minds will find pleasure from ridicules or insults?"

Hermione just stared at him, biting her bottom lip. What she felt right now was evident in her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, Hermione," the Slytherin said, almost growling.

The brunette sighed. "Did you…" she started in a soft voice. "Did you ever wish that you never befriended me… a filthy, lowly, little Mudblood, huh, Draco? Did you ever wish that you just grew up just like a typical Slytherin who thinks that he's 'holier than thou', or 'I'm the high and mighty. Fear me.' Did you ever wish, just briefly, that you never met me?"

Draco frowned. "Do you still consider yourself as a filthy and lowly Mudblood, Hermione?" he asked, the tone of his voice sounding disapproving. "How many times do I have to tell you that you are way higher than my other stupid housemates?"

Hermione lowered her eyes to the ground. "It still hurts, Draco," she said in a whisper. "I know… I know that I'm way higher than them. You always assured me and I'm glad you do. But" – she averted her eyes away from the ground towards the Slytherin blond – "but… I can't help but still get hurt. It strikes a nerve. It always does. And I think… It always will."

The blond released a huge, audible sigh. "All right, Hermione, you asked me if I ever wished that I never befriended you, right?" Hermione nodded and looked at her feet. "Okay, here's my answer. I never, as in ever, wished that I never befriended you." He inhaled deeply. "Honestly, I'm glad that I have sensible friends rather than my stupid housemates who only think that they're the greatest in the whole school when they can't just face the truth and accept that the house of Slytherin is the lowest of all, and I'm not proud I'm a Slytherin. You see, Hermione, everyday, I wake up always and thank Merlin because I have a friend like Harry who I always try to protect since annoying dark forces are attracted to him." Hermione released a soft giggle. "Everyday, I wake up always and thank Merlin because I have a friend like Ron even if he thinks he's the cleanest person in the whole wide world." Draco then made a face. "I promise I ignore his table manners. I promise I do. Even though I'm disgusted already. Do you know why?" Hermione shook her head. "It's because I want to spend my day with him." The brunette gave him a smile which he returned.

"I can't survive a day without those two blokes. They're like brothers to me already," he continued. "I can't bear not to talk to them for an hour. Hell, I can bear not to talk to them for a whole second!"

Hermione chuckled again and stared at her feet. Draco then looked at the brunette, his smile growing bigger. "And, of course, everyday, I wake up always and thank Merlin because I… I have a friend like you whose mere presence already completes my day."

The brunette slowly blushed scarlet and bit her bottom lip in embarrassment. Even though it was dark, Draco caught sight of the pink patches on both of the brunette's milk-white cheeks. And oddly, it made him quite satisfied, making him smirk slightly.

"So Hermione," the blond continued, "even if my housemates ridicule me forever because I'm mingling with Gryffindors… mingling with The-Boy-Who-Won't-Just-Die, mingling with the poor, stinking Weasley, and mingling with the filthy, lowly Mudblood who really is the greatest witch in the whole school" – he stared at Hermione and smile – "I won't care. And that's a promise. If the time comes and I have to choose between my reputation and my friends, you know what I will choose."

"Friends?" the Gryffindor asked, making circles on the cold, stone floor with the usage of her finger.

"No, silly. Of course I'll choose my reputation over my friends," the blond answered her sarcastically.

Hermione rolled her eyes and poked the right side of his temple.

"Ow! Why did you do that?" the blond asked, slightly glaring at the witch while he massaged his throbbing temple.

"To make you realize that there are more important things rather than your stupid reputation, Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, beaming widely. "To make you realize that your bloody reputation is not the most important thing in the whole wide world but some other things like your friends."

"I was just joking, Granger," Draco grumbled. "Did you ever hear of the word 'joke'?"

"Hahaha, I'm laughing so hard," the brunette said monotonously, making Draco chuckle.

"Did I make you better now?" he asked.

Hermione's smile grew. "Absolutely," she answered. "So, where are you going to sleep?"

Draco shrugged. "I dunno… here?" he said in uncertainty. "I really don't know, Hermione, so don't ask me. Maybe I'll just sleep here beside the Fat Lady. It's weird but I feel quite safer here than in my own dormitory." He then shook his head. "I swear, the Fat Lady is really in love with me, Hermione."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Why is it that guys always think that girls are in love with them?" Hermione asked. "It's making me quite irritated already, you know."

The blond chuckled again. "That's what makes us 'boys', Hermione," he answered.

Hermione laughed, too. "Good point," she said.

"Now, go to your bed and take some goodnight rest," Draco said. "I know that you're already tired after your Prefect Duties."

When the blond said the words 'bed' and 'goodnight rest', the brunette's body reminded her how tired she was. Suddenly, the visions of comfy bed, warm comforter, and soft pillow flashed into Hermione's eyes, not failing to make her release a longing sigh. But as her eyes stared back at Draco… poor, poor, Draco who had to sleep beside the Fat Lady on the cold, stone wall, those visions didn't seem to be appealing anymore. She chose between bed and him and you see, he won.

The Gryffindor brunette released a sigh followed by a yawn and leaned her head against the wall. "I'm going to sleep here, too," she whispered, eyes drifting shut. "I feel safe here, you know."

Draco looked at her with one, blond eyebrow quirked up. "And why is that?" he asked. All he received from the brunette was a soft snore.

The blond chuckled and shook his head. "That was fast," he said as the brunette slightly stirred on her sleep.

"Homework," she murmured, followed by a sigh.

Draco chuckled again. He couldn't believe that even in her sleep, all Hermione thought of was her studies and bloody homework. He grinned when the brunette said another incoherent word. He knew he was the only person in the whole school that knew Hermione Granger talked in her sleep. And that made him quite proud since even Harry and Ron didn't know that simple fact about her.

The Slytherin looked everywhere – up, down, left, and right. He had to make sure that no one was around… no one was watching since he planned to do something he shouldn't do. Seeing no student or any other intruder, Draco faced the brunette. As a new school-year began, his feelings grew for this brunette. He didn't know how but every time he sees her, the first thought that came into his mind was that he was in love with this girl and she was his.

The blond then leaned down closer to Hermione until his lips touched hers. He knew the kiss should be brief since there was a big possibility that the brunette would suddenly wake up and see him doing this sinful act. He didn't want to receive another punch from this girl. She seriously punches like a man.

Draco sighed against her lips before pulling away. He stared forlornly at her two, tempting, red lips and frowned. That made him wanting to kiss her again.

He leaned closer again, but this time, with all of his will-power, he didn't kiss the brunette. Instead, he leaned his forehead against hers and released another soft sigh. "Hermione," he started, rubbing affectionately his thumb against her cheek. "Can I keep you?" All right, all right, he was not being original since he heard that line from a movie he and Hermione watched in her house last summer. But he couldn't help but ask it to her. Ever since he heard that question uttered by that funny-looking ghost (which Hermione thought was quite adorably cute), he yearned in asking it to the brunette herself and to hear what her answer would be. Since the brunette was dead to the world and probably skipping in dreamland, the blond had a chance to ask her, though, he knew he wouldn't receive an answer. But quite oddly, it felt rather nice asking that question to her.

Draco kissed her forehead goodnight sweetly. Draco pulled away from her and leaned his back against the wall. He gently pulled Hermione's head until it was on his shoulder. He wrapped his left arm around her petite waist, pulling her closer to him as possible. This sweet moment would be broken once her eyes were opened that was why Draco had to savor this moment.

"Can I keep you?" he whispered again, kissing the top of her head.

"Hmm…" Hermione murmured.

The Slytherin blond released a huge yawn. "I hope that was a yes," he murmured before he drifted into dreamland.

---

"THIS IS BLOODY STUPID!" Hermione shrieked as her back mad contact with the wall in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic after she was hit by a curse. The brunette blindly pointed her wand anywhere, not really seeing her attacker since all she could see were stars, and shouted the first spell that came into her mind but unfortunately, she was hit by another spell. Hermione shrieked and shouted another curse word and forced herself to stand up.

The Gryffindor brunette then pointed her wand at her attacker, now clearer seeing him, and shouted a spell. The Death Eater, in the other hand, shouted a curse that had hit Hermione, resulting in an injured ankle.

Hermione collapsed on the floor and cursed herself for having a bad luck on this day. Footsteps were heard approaching her, making the brunette alarmed. She snapped her head up and pointed her wand at the upcoming attacker, but actually, that attacker was none other than Harry Potter. The brunette watched as The-Boy-Who-Lived scrambled towards her and knelt beside her, a worried look plastered on his face.

"Are you all right, Hermione? Are you hurt?" he asked frantically, searching her body for any signs of injury. "Oh Merlin," he groaned as he spotted her injured ankle. "What happened?"

"I'm fine, Harry, really," she said, prying Harry's hands away from her. "Ouch!" she exclaimed when Harry purposely poked her swollen ankle. "That had hurt, Harry Potter!"

"See, you're not all right," he said, glaring at the brunette.

Hermione sighed. "Harry, what are you still doing here?" she asked him. "You're supposed to be finding Sirius now… saving him! Don't mind me. This thing is just a silly scratch. Saving Sirius is more important than this, Harry." The brunette released a huge sigh and closed her eyes. "I hate saying this, Harry, but if you didn't stand up right now and find Sirius, something might happen to him. Or worse, he might" – she gulped – "die."

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed.

"What, I'm telling the truth!" she replied indignantly. The brunette sighed again and placed both of her hands on the Gryffindor's shoulders. "Listen to me, Harry. This had happened before, remember? Ron was injured on our first year and you were torn between staying and protecting the Sorcerer's Stone. Again, I want you to go. Draco was right, Harry. You are the only one who could have saved the Sorcerer's Stone. And you are the only one who can face Voldemort and save Sirius."

Harry sighed.

"What?" the brunette asked, thinking she had said something wrong.

"You said his name!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione made a small smile. "Well, Harry, if I know that someday I will face Lord Voldemort, then I have to say his name as bravely as I can. Remember, fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," she quoted.

Harry grinned. Suddenly, he looked up and spotted the mass of blond hair. "DRACO, OVER HERE!" he exclaimed. Hermione also looked at where Harry was looking and indeed, their best friend was running towards them.

"Harry, are you all right?" he asked, slightly feeling panicky. "Are you hurt?" He then looked at the Gryffindor brunette. "Is Hermione all right? Are you hurt or what?" Draco then spotted Hermione's swollen ankle and groaned. "No, don't answer my last question. I obviously figured it out already."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm really all right, people. I won't die easily because of this stupid swollen ankle," she grumbled.

Draco's eyes then landed on Harry. "What are you still doing here, Potter? You're supposed to be saving Sirius right now!" he exclaimed.

"That's what I'd told him," Hermione said, looking at Harry pointedly.

The blond then stood up and looked at The-Boy-Who-Lived. "All right, Harry, get up," he ordered. "I'll come with you. You face Voldemort while I save Sirius. Is my plan quite all right?"

"No," Harry said.

Draco frowned. "What, do you want me to face Voldemort and you'll save Sirius?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, Draco, stay with Hermione," he answered him. "Neville will come with me." The dark-haired young men's eyes then gazed on the only standing Gryffindor in the room.

"Are you deranged, Harry?!" Draco exclaimed in a low whisper. "All right, it's not that I don't like Longbottom but… it's Longbottom we're talking about here!"

A small smirk appeared on Harry's face as he leaned slightly closer to Draco. "Hermione needs you more than I do," he told him. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed the suspicious look of the Gryffindor brunette herself.

"Granger's a big girl now, Potter," the blond said while frowning. "She can take care of herself. She's quite tough, you know."

"Whatever, Draco Malfoy," Harry said. "I insist. You stay here and look after Hermione."

"No, I insist, Harry Potter," Draco said. "I'll come with you."

"What are you whispering about there?" Hermione asked, suddenly butting in.

Draco and Harry looked at Hermione at the same time. "Nothing," they said unison before looking at each other again.

The Gryffindor sighed. "Look here, Draco, I know your secret," Harry told him. "Your deepest darkest secret and it consists of that girl over there."

The blond frowned and slightly colored. "I… I don't know what you are talking about, Harry," he grumbled.

"I'm not dense, Draco. I know what you truly feel," The-Boy-Who-Lived said.

"I still don't know what you are talking about," the blond said, pouting as he crossed his arms.

Harry sighed again and shook his head. "I repeat, Malfoy. I am not dense. I know what you truly feel for Hermione," he said. This time, Draco's jaw dropped open and his eyes enlarged. "There's no point in denying anymore, Draco. I know" – he poked his chest where his heart was – "what your heart feels." Harry leaned closer with impish smile on his face. "And don't worry, Draco Malfoy, I think both of you will be perfect for each other." The bespectacled student then looked at Neville. "OI, NEVILLE! COME WITH ME!" And with that, both Harry and Neville disappeared, leaving Draco, Hermione and some unconscious Death Eaters alone.

"Draco," Hermione started, "are you still breathing?"

The blond then walked towards Hermione, trying to compose himself. "Can you stand, Hermione?" he asked, ignoring her previous question.

Hermione frowned. "What do you think?" she asked.

Draco sighed and held both of her shoulders. He pulled her up effortlessly and supported her. "I'll help you, then," he said.

"Thank you," she answered back. "Now, come on, let's find Ron and the others."

The blond just nodded his head.

Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you red?"

All the blond did was to turn redder.

---

"I knew it," Draco said as he finally arrived in their bench. He released a long sigh as the brunette snapped her head up. The blond pressed his lip into a thin line as he saw the tears streaming down the Gryffindor's face. Hermione quickly averted her head away from the blond. She now was staring at her lap, hands crumpled into fists. She was biting her bottom lip, trying her hardest not to sob out loud. As secretly as she could, she wiped her tears. But, too late; Draco had already noticed them.

Draco knew that the brunette would come to their meeting place after Harry's fit when he discovered from Nearly-Headless Nick that Sirius couldn't become a ghost in Hogwarts like them. And of course, Hermione got worried. Draco was worried of Harry, too, but he knew that Hermione was more worried. She tends to get more worried than the others to the point that she would cry on their behalf.

The Slytherin blond then sat down closely to the crying brunette and released another sigh. "It's fine, Hermione. Please stop crying now," he comforted in a soft voice. "Everything's all right now."

Hermione released a soft sob. "No, Draco, everything's not fine. Everything's not all right anymore." She paused as she wiped her face again. "It's not fair anymore. It's not fair. Poor Harry… poor, poor Harry."

"Stay strong," he whispered. "You're a Gryffindor."

The brunette shook her head vigorously. "I can't always stay strong. I'm a Gryffindor, yes I know that, but I also have limits, Draco. I can't always stay strong especially if it involves the people that I love the most."

"Harry will get over it soon," he continued.

"Why did Sirius leave him, Draco?" she wailed. "Please tell me why! Why is it that all of the people that Harry loves leave him."

"Hermione…"

"If only…" she continued, gasping for air. Because of her tears, she seriously had a difficulty of breathing. "If only Harry was born as a normal person, Draco. Then… then maybe Sirius will still be alive, visiting him unexpectedly to see if his favorite godson is all right. God, maybe Harry won't be an orphan right now and we might have met James and Lily Potter!"

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. "Everything happens because of a reason, Hermione, remember that," he whispered, slowly opening his eyes. He slowly gripped her left hand, rubbing his thumb comfortingly and affectionately against her smooth palm.

Hermione looked at him through her wet eyelashes, making Draco think that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world that he ever laid eyes on. The blond licked his lips and averted his gaze away from her. He watched as the Giant Squid eyed them carefully… suspiciously. He then brought his eyes towards the glorious, shining moon.

"You know what, Hermione," he started. "No one knows this but… I'm the reason why I'm an orphan right now. I'm the reason why my parents died."

"Don't say that, Draco," she whispered, sniffing. Draco slowly looked back at her and offered her a small smile.

"But, it's true, Hermione," he whispered. "I'm the reason why my father and mother are dead." He sighed and looked at their joined hands. He was glad that Hermione hadn't pulled away her hand. "Sometimes, I ask why my parents were like that. I ask why my father has to be part of them. I ask why my mother acted like that, only thinking about how she looked or what people thought of her." He looked back at the brunette who was watching him thoughtfully. "They were never like parents to me, Hermione. But, don't get me wrong. I wasn't happy when my father received the Kiss of a Dementor and I wasn't also happy when my mother died because of craziness. But I wasn't sad either. Their death made me think… question why my life was like that."

Hermione squeezed his hand which made him smile. "Sometimes," he continued, "no, let me correct that. Most of the time, I wished that I was born in a different family. I wished that I was not a Malfoy… that I grew in a family that really loved me, Hermione. But as I grew old, I started to accept that I grew up as me because again, there's a reason. I honestly don't know what the reason is but… I just know that there is one."

The brunette gently laid her head on his shoulder, releasing a soft sigh. "And then, she came along," he continued, a smile gracing on his lips as he remembered his beautiful Hermione past. "She came along and changed my life. Even if I only saw her for three weeks, she still changed my life… my whole life." He inhaled deeply, sniffing the brunette's fragrant scent. "She made me feel loved, Hermione. She taught me a lot of things like how to enjoy my own childhood, how to appreciate simple things, how to accept my mistakes, how to love… For the first time, someone made me feel that I'm being cared for and how good it was."

"She was actually the reason why I told the Ministry of Magic that my father was Death Eater," he continued. "She knew that I was being abused by my father. I don't why but she knew. She knew also about my father being a Death Eater. And she asked me… she pleaded me to tell the Minister that my father was one of them. And you know what her reason was?" He felt Hermione shake her head. "She told me that she cared for me. She wanted me to grow up as someone who was free. She didn't want me to be controlled by my father when I grow up." Draco closed her eyes. "Being controlled by other people is one of my greatest fears, Hermione." He paused for a few minutes before continuing, "In my entire childhood, those three weeks with her were the best weeks in my life."

Draco sighed and slowly opened his eyes. "I'm glad I followed her because if I didn't, I might be like those Slytherin brutes who only love themselves. I don't want to be like them, Hermione. I don't want to be… to be feared at. I don't want to hurt people. I don't want to insult those who are not Purebloods like you. I don't want to cause the pain. Honestly, that is one of my greatest fears, too."

Hermione lifted her head away from his shoulder and looked at him. She placed a hand on his right cheek and gently rubbed her thumb against his cheek. Draco's eyes drifted close, marveling at her wonderful touch. "You're not like them, Draco," she assured him softly.

The Slytherin smiled. "Yes, I know," he answered back. Draco kissed her palm and squeezed it slightly. "I'm glad I'm not like them." The blond sighed and looked straight again. "So, you see, Hermione," he continued, "things happen because of a reason. The reason why I'm an orphan now is because if my parents are alive, I won't be talking to you now, which will be quite hard, by the way." He saw the small smile that the brunette flashed at him at the corner of his eyes. "I really don't know the reason why all the people Harry love leave him... I really don't know the reason why Sirius left him. But again, there is a reason. And maybe" – he slowly looked at the brunette again – "their death will help him in the future, especially if he is fighting the Dark Lord already."

Hermione's small smile slowly grew into a big one. His words… his words had struck her so much. As she looked at the Slytherin in front of her, she couldn't help but feel proud of him. His words were wise. His words were true. His words were sincere. His words were comforting. She released a soft sigh as he smiled back. She really was thankful to all the gods and goddesses in the whole universe that she had a best friend named Draco Malfoy.

"Did I make you feel better now?" he softly asked, a hopeful look on both of his eyes.

The brunette slowly nodded. "You always do, Draco," she whispered. "You always do."

Draco gave her a smile. Suddenly, she did something that greatly surprised him.

When she did this, the Giant Squid in the Hogwarts Lake oddly danced. When she did this, for the first time ever since they met in the bench, the crickets grew silent, as if celebrating quietly what was happening right now. When she did this, the moon glowed brighter. When she did this, time seemed to stop. When she did this, Draco's heart raced. When she did this, he started to blush. When she did this, his eyes enlarged.

She kissed him on the cheek.

All right, fine, Draco was overreacting a little. Hermione just kissed him on the cheek! But Merlin, the feeling that she made him feel! The butterflies, or rather bees in his stomach swarmed wildly around. And Draco swore that some were stinging him since his stomach was peculiarly painful. He felt the sudden sparks again… the sparks that he felt ever since he kissed her on their third year. And his heart was flying! Oh God, his heart was flying! His eyes shown because of pure bliss. If Hermione had just kissed him straight on his lips then… Draco blinked several times, not wanting to continue that thought. At least Hermione had kissed him! Well, yeah, on the cheek but that was good enough. But still…

Draco just shook his head as he sighed contentedly when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm still worried for Harry," she whispered, softly sniffling.

Draco's eyes drifted shut as he slightly hugged her tighter. "Don't be," he whispered. "Harry will soon find strength in Sirius' death."

"I'm still worried," she softly said, voice slightly quivering because of the tears rolling down her face. "Harry blames himself for Sirius' death."

"I'm worried, too," he said. "But, stop worrying too much, Hermione. It's not healthy. And besides, I know that Harry will soon feel less pain as the days passed. You know him too well. You know that he tends to blame himself over bad things that he didn't do." Draco then started to rub her back gently as he tried to console the love of his life. He kissed the side of her head and whispered, "So, stop crying now, Hermione. I know… I greatly feel that in the end, everything will be all right."

Hermione sniffed and started to wipe away her tears. "Okay," she answered him.

Silence was heard between the two of them. And then, the brunette suddenly broke it. "Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me one thing," she said, tightening her hug. "Promise me that if we finally have more responsibilities, different interests… different lives, please promise me that you will still find a time to talk to me."

"I promise," he said, grinning widely.

"Good," the brunette said, also smiling widely.

Draco softly chuckled. "Let's go back to the castle now. I think it's almost midnight already. I don't want to look like a raccoon again tomorrow." He then sighed. "And Harry and Ron might suspect something again tomorrow if they see that both of us look like raccoons."

The brunette's hug tightened. "Can we please stay here for just a few more minutes?" she pleaded. "Please, Draco."

"Okay, fine," he said softly as he caught a whiff of Hermione's fragrant hair. Draco was being honest if he said that he wanted to stay right there and then in the arms of Hermione Granger. Draco was being honest if he said that he wanted to stay here forever, away from the chaos in the Wizarding World. If only he could freeze time and last this moment forever. "Let's stay here for a few more minutes."

---

Year Six:

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Hermione shrieked as she stomped inside the Gryffindor Common Room, eyes ablaze because of pure anger.

"Uh oh, here she comes," Ron whispered to Harry who just glared at the redhead. He then directed his glare towards the fuming Gryffindor brunette and watched as she trudged towards him until she was directly in front of him.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to trust that bloody Half-Blood Prince and just throw his book away?!" she exclaimed, tears of anger slowly rolling down her eyes.

"Umm…" Ron said, clearing his throat slightly. "You've got to admit that his spells are… cool." He cringed once Hermione's eyes were shooting daggers at him.

"Cool? COOL?!" she shouted in anger. "It is not cool, Ronald! It is not cool!" She then directed her glare back to Harry who had a stubborn pout on his face. His arms were also crossed against his chest as he coldly stared back at the enraged brunette. "Look at what had happened to Draco! Harry, you used one of this stupid Prince's spell against your own best friend! And look where he is right now?! In the infirmary! God!"

Harry's frown deepened. "It's that stupid git's bloody fault," he grumbled.

Hermione sniffed. "Do you still suspect him of doing those things that had happened to Katie and Ron's poisoning?" she asked, now in a whisper. "Harry, you know Draco so well. He wouldn't dare do those kinds of things. He's not the same as his other housemates."

The dark-haired boy's glare disappeared. A look of desperation now flashed on his face. "Hermione, he's not the Draco Malfoy we know! He's not our best friend! He's acting so strangely and suspiciously these past few days. Of course I'll suspect him!"

"HARRY!" the brunette shrieked. Her whole body shook because of her tears. "Draco will never do that. Draco's not like that."

Harry 'hmphed' and looked away from Hermione. "Are you siding with him?" he asked tersely.

Hermione shook her head and ran a hand through her hair because of frustration. "You're hopeless, Harry," she said as she turned on her heel and walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room.

'Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless!' she screamed in her mind as she hastily wiped her tears pouring down her face. She willed herself to continue walking towards the Hospital Wing to visit Draco. She was being slightly hesitant since she didn't want to see him there on the bed, full of bandages wrapped around his body. She didn't want to see the result of Harry's… foolishness. She didn't want to see the Draco Malfoy she knew quite vulnerable.

As she opened the infirmary door, she easily spotted Draco's blond hair amidst the beds in the Hospital Wing. She pointedly ignored the bandages wrapped around his body and his other visible cuts. Draco's eyes were closed, making Hermione presume that he was fast asleep. But as her feet made small noises on the floor, his eyes fluttered open which surprised the brunette.

She reached his bedside and watched as his eyes gazed on her. A small smile slowly formed on his face as he looked at her. "Hey," he said softly in a way of greeting.

Hermione sat down on his bed just beside him. "Are you all right now?" she asked, sniffing.

"I'm quite sore," he told her. His smile then turned into a frown as tears continued to stubbornly pour down Hermione's eyes. "Why are you crying?" he asked her, lifting his right hand and placing it on her right cheek. With the usage of his right thumb, he wiped away the brunette's tears.

"Harry," she simply answered followed by a soft sob.

Draco sighed. "Figures," he said. "What did he do now?"

The brunette sniffed. "I… I just don't get him anymore, Draco," she told him softly. "Look at what he did to you. Cursing you using a… a spell that he didn't even know!"

The blond sighed again and closed his eyes. "Is he still suspecting me?" he asked her quietly.

Hermione nodded her head. "I'm sorry," she told him.

Draco opened his eyes and offered her a small smile. "Don't be," he told her. "It's not your fault."

Hermione sighed and looked at Draco in distress. "But, Draco," she started. "You're really acting weird these past few days. Is something wrong, huh, dragon? You can tell me."

"I… I honestly don't know, Hermione. So please don't ask me," he told her, followed by a small shrug. "I also feel a little weird, you know. Sometimes, I just find myself in a place and I don't even know how I got there."

"Why don't we tell Dumbledore?" the brunette offered. "He might have an explanation. He always has an explanation."

Draco shook his head. "Why bother?" he asked her. "He's too busy with a very important errand, Hermione. He has to worry about Harry more than me."

"Dumbledore's not like that, Draco," Hermione told him. "Of course he worries for all of the students in Hogwarts."

The blond just shook his head. "Just… never mind it," he told her. "Now, go back to the Gryffindor Common Room and kick Harry's butt for me, okay?"

Hermione softly giggled. "Okay," she answered him. And then, the brunette leaned down and kissed Draco's forehead, making him smile slightly. "Get well soon, Draco." And with that, she stood up from his bed and walked out of the infirmary.

Once she was out of his sight, a feeling of distress and confusion came crashing down Draco like a huge tsunami. He covered his face with both of his hands and released an audible groan. "What the bloody hell is wrong with me?!"

---

"DRACO!" Hermione shrieked as she, followed by Ron, burst inside the Astronomy Tower. Both of them gasped in unison as they stared at the scene in front of them. Draco's wand arm was lifted with his hand grasping his magical stick. And his wand was surprisingly pointed towards their old Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore.

The brunette, after composing herself, made a start to run towards the blond but the Headmaster immediately stopped her.

"Miss Granger, stay where you are!" Professor Dumbledore ordered. "Mister Malfoy is not himself. He's under the influence of the Imperius Charm. He is dangerous. Do not come near him."

Hermione gasped again. She started to connect all the jumbled pieces together. Draco's peculiarity… Harry's suspicion… the thing that happened with Katie and Ron's poisoning… the blond's sudden disappearance. She connected all of them together. Hermione's heart sank as she came to the conclusion that all that had happened on Katie's friend and Ron were all Draco's fault. But it made her quite relieved to know that he only did all of those… heinous things because he was under the influence of the Imperius Curse.

"Voldemort…" Ron whispered, eyes enlarged.

The brunette looked at him in surprise. For the very first time in Ron's whole life, he had said the Dark Lord's name without stuttering and flinching. "What?" she asked him.

"Voldemort placed Draco under the Imperius Curse," he told her, eyes still wide because of astonishment and fear. "Look at Malfoy, Hermione. Look at him and you will see that… that vile monster."

Hermione followed Ron and stared at her best friend. And indeed, he was right. For the first time in her whole life, she feared Draco. The look on his face was murderous. His eyes were blood-red, resembling the Dark Lord's. And his face showed pure hate and anger which could only be possessed by Lord Voldemort himself. Hermione started to cry and released a soft sob. She couldn't believe it. Their Draco… her Draco, was being used by him. The brunette glared at nowhere. She didn't even know if she could classify that Muggle-born, half-blood hater a human. "FIGHT HIM, DRACO!" she screamed, surprising all of the occupants in the Astronomy Tower.

The said blond looked at the brunette curiously, a frown evident on his face. "Hermione?" he asked, confusion evident of his face. His eyes shifted to his warm, grey eyes before shifting back to Voldemort's red ones.

The brunette released a soft sob as she continued to stare at the blond. He knew Voldemort's Imperius Curse on her best friend was strong to the point that it was as if Draco was being possessed by the Dark Lord already. And that made Hermione scared. No, not scared for herself but scared for the blond.

"Get away from him, Voldemort. Do not use my students to fight me," Professor Dumbledore said, his voice strong and firm. "If you are brave, you will not use Mister Malfoy and fight me yourself, Tom." The Headmaster slowly walked towards the blond, arms stretched carefully in front of him.

"STAND BACK!" Draco screamed. At the corner of her eyes, Ron shivered in fear. Draco's voice wasn't his. It was Voldemort's. "If you come nearer me, Dumbledore, I'm going to kill you."

"Tom…" the old Headmaster said but then, he didn't have the chance to finish his sentence since Hermione broke his order and ran towards the blond. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't bear to see her best friend being controlled by someone else. He told her himself. Being controlled by other people was one of his greatest fears. And Hermione had to save him. If no one else can, not even Dumbledore, she would try because Draco always listened to her. Draco cared for her. Seeing him in trouble made her worried and he knew that the blond didn't want her to worry too much.

Hermione then grabbed his wand arm and wrenched his wand away from his hand. She threw it at the farthest corner of the Tower. "Draco, listen to me, please," she pleaded. "Fight him, please. You don't want to be controlled by other people, right? You told me yourself, dragon. It's one of your greatest fears. Please fight him back, Draco. Please fight him back."

A look of confusion crossed on the blond's face again. But like what had happened a while ago, it was brief. The murderous look came back on his face and glared at the brunette. He pushed her away from him. Hard. The brunette's back collided against the wall and she released a shriek of pain. Ron immediately came to her aid.

"Are you all right, Hermione?" he asked her in worry.

The brunette ignored his question. Instead she cried loudly as she stared at the blond who was now looking for his precious wand. "DRACO, FIGHT HIM BACK!" she cried. "FIGHT HIM BACK!"

Professor Dumbledore watched the crying brunette thoughtfully. He was thinking… contemplating. And then, a small smile formed on his face as he finally analyzed the situation. "Ah, I see," he said softly.

"Fight him back, please! Fight him back!" Hermione sobbed. Ron, not knowing what to do, only hugged the crying brunette for comfort. "Fight him back."

A deafening shout then filled the Astronomy Tower. It wasn't Hermione. It wasn't Ron. It wasn't Professor Dumbledore either. It was Draco. All three of them stared at the blond who was now kneeling down while clutching his head.

"GET OUT OF ME, YOU DAMN, HALF-BLOOD MONSTER!" the blond shouted as he continued to clutch his head.

The Headmaster made another small smile. Draco Malfoy was definitely fighting back.

And then suddenly, there was silence. Draco collapsed on the cold, stone floor. Hermione and Ron, after composing themselves, immediately scrambled towards their best friend. The brunette cautiously held his cheek. "Draco?" she asked him, shaking him awake.

The blond slowly opened his eyes. To Hermione's and Ron's relief, his eyes were back to normal. He groaned as he tried to sit up. Ron helped him up.

"Nice to see you again, mate," the redhead said, beaming brightly.

Draco gave him a weak smile before turning at the still crying brunette. And then quite suddenly, Hermione flung her arms around his neck and held him tight. That made Draco's smile grow. "I'm sorry," he said as he felt her tightening her hug. "I'm sorry for making you worry."

Hermione's only answer was another soft sob as she buried her face at the crook of his neck.

Suddenly, the door of the Astronomy Tower burst open. They were relieved to see that it was Professor Snape. At first, he looked around before his eyes landed on Professor Dumbledore.

"Severus, please," he said… begged for only the ex-Potions Master to hear.

Time started to run slowly. Professor Snape pulled out his wand from his pocket and pointed it towards the Headmaster. And then, a flash a green light burst out from the tip of his wand hurled toward the old, great wizard. If someone was observing attentively, they would see the ghost of a smile playing on the Headmaster's face before he was hit by the Killing Curse squarely on his chest. Professor Dumbledore's body then moved until it was at the edge of the Tower. And then, he fell, lifeless… breathless… cold… dead…

Hermione released a loud scream of despair after she had witnessed the death of their beloved Headmaster. Professor Snape then fled the Astronomy Tower.

Suddenly, Harry materialized from nowhere. A look of distress and anger were marring his young face. A look of murder was seen on his face. He ran towards the door of the Astronomy Tower until he was out of their sight.

"HARRY!" Hermione exclaimed as she stood up, wanting to run after him.

"No, Hermione!" the blond said in exclamation. "Leave Harry alone."

"But… but…" she stuttered and covered her face with both of her hands. "Oh Merlin. Oh my God. This is horrible. So, so horrible."

"Draco's right, Hermione," the redhead said softly, casting his eyes downward. "Leave Harry alone. Let's just bring Draco to the infirmary."

Hermione removed her hands away from her face and nodded her head. Together with Ron, they lifted Draco up. The three of them then walked out of the Astronomy Tower, anguish and fright evident on their faces as they remembered the downfall of the great Professor Albus Dumbledore.

---

"I have decided," Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, now as the new Headmistress since Dumbledore's death, started, "to bestow Mister Malfoy the punishment of… expulsion."

The Gryffindors in the office of the Headmaster, Headmistress rather, gasped in surprise as they stared wide-eyed at their respected Head of the Gryffindor House.

Hermione frowned, still staring at Professor McGonagall. For years, Hermione had idolized their Transfiguration teacher. She had always liked her way of disciplining the students in Hogwarts. Deep down her feminine heart, she knew that she was a kind-hearted woman. But it greatly surprised her when she suddenly decided to expel Draco Malfoy from this school. They had given her reasons… they had given her a complete description of all the things that had happened in the Astronomy Tower last night. Hermione was confident that she would grant pardon to Draco, knowing that she would believe them. So, now, it surprised her when her most admired teacher in the whole school decided to expel her student because he did something that he didn't do at all.

"That's not fair!" Ron protested, face suddenly starting to turn bright red.

"Professor," Harry started grimly, "we explained to you everything that we had witnessed in the Astronomy Tower. It was Severus Snape who killed Professor Dumbledore, not Draco. Please, Professor McGonagall, believe us because this is the truth."

"But, Severus will never do that!" Professor Flitwick, Charms Professor, reasoned. "Severus is a trusted Order member. Killing Dumbledore will be hard for him."

"But he did," Harry spat, hands clenching into fists. "And we had seen it."

Hermione heaved a sigh of relief as she greatly stared at Harry. She was glad that she was defending Draco right now because honestly, he needed it right now. The brunette looked at Draco at the corner of her eyes and frowned. 'Why isn't he defending himself?' she asked. Ever since they went inside the office, Draco had been silent and that made the brunette quite worried. He was not acting like he was himself. Hermione slightly shrugged. Maybe he was still mourning for Dumbledore's death. She had seen his face while their deceased Headmaster was being buried six feet under the ground.

The brunette sighed then looked at the teachers in the whole room. "Then, if you do not believe us, please tell us why Severus Snape is not here right now, also deciding what punishment will be placed on Draco," she started. The teachers quickly averted their gaze away from the brunette, not wanting to stare straight at her eyes. Hermione made a small smile. At the corner of her eyes, she saw the smug look of Harry and Ron. At the corner of her eyes, she saw the small hint of smile on the blond's face. Surprising him, Hermione reached for his hand and gently squeezed it.

"If you do not believe us, please tell us why he left Hogwarts without any word, as if he wanted to run away from a murder he did," she continued. She bravely took a step forward and stared straight at their new Headmistress. "Please, believe us, Professor McGonagall. Draco didn't do anything wrong. He did not kill Professor Dumbledore. We know him… too well, actually. And for years, we know that he won't do something like that." She sighed as Draco's thumb slightly rubbed her hand. "If Professor Dumbledore is alive right now, I know that he will believe us immediately. Before, he will immediately believe without any suspicion… without hesitation. He trusted his students. So, please, Professor, as the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, please believe us. Yes, he tried to kill Professor Dumbledore but Draco was just placed under the Imperius Curse by Voldemort (Some of the teachers flinched). But that doesn't mean he killed him." Hermione released another sigh. "I repeat, Professor, Severus Snape was the one who killed our Headmaster. So, please, don't expel Draco. He didn't do anything wrong."

After the brunette's little speech, all of the occupants in the office of the Headmistress fell silent. And then, Professor McGonagall broke the silence with her audible sigh.

"Who believes them?" she asked, looking around the room.

"I do," Professor Sybil Trelawney said, raising her right hand up.

"I do, too," Professor Pomona Sprout said, beaming at the four students in the room.

And soon, more teachers announced that they believed Harry, Ron, Hermione, and of course, Draco.

Professor McGonagall sighed again and closed her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she said, "All right, I believe all of you." She slowly opened her eyes. "Now, off you go. Go back to your dormitories and help your other housemates in cleaning the mess. You're now dismissed."

The students beamed as they walked out of the office of the Headmistress.

"Whew," Ron said, scratching the back of his neck. "That was pretty intense."

"Yeah," Harry said, grinning. "But at least Draco's saved."

The blond just rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile back.

"That was a good speech back there, Hermione," the redhead said, patting the brunette's shoulder.

The brunette smiled. "Thanks," she said.

"Why didn't you defend yourself, Draco?" Ron demanded. "You were awfully quiet back there. You didn't even say a word."

Draco smirked. "Why bother when I know that the three of you will defend me?" he asked, his smirking turning into a teasing smile.

"Intelligent, Malfoy, very intelligent," the Weasley said as he matched Draco's teasing smile.

Harry just laughed and shook his head. "Now, come on, all of you. We still need to visit the other Order members in the infirmary," he said.

Ron rolled his eyes. "If I know better, Harry Potter, I'd say that you just wanted to see my beloved sister," he said, slightly glaring at The-Boy-Who-Lived.

The dark-haired Gryffindor paled as he met Hermione's eyes. The brunette offered him an apologetic smile. She knew that he already broke everything off with Ginny, just to protect her. And honestly, when Hermione discovered this, her heart broke into two.

Harry then followed Ron. Hermione was about to follow them when Draco suddenly tugged her arm until she ended trapped between his arms. She looked up at him, surprised, as a small smile started to form on his face.

"Thank you," he told her as he leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "You made me proud back there, do you know that?"

Hermione chuckled softly (though, she knew she was slightly blushing). "Anything for my favorite dragon."

"OI, ARE YOU COMING OR WHAT?!" Ron shouted. Draco broke free from Hermione.

"Come, let's go," he said. Hermione nodded and started to follow the other two with Draco at her side.

And then, suddenly, she felt his warm hand enclosing hers. Her smile grew as a small sigh escaped from her lips. This simple gesture made her heart flutter. This simple gesture made butterflies fly wildly in her stomach. This simple gesture made her feel the sparks again. The brunette knew she had to be alarmed. But oddly, she didn't want to pull her hand away from his comfortable one. Instead, she shifted her hand until her fingers were entwined with his. At the corner of her eyes, she saw him smile.

---

Year Seven:

"No, Harry, what you are trying to tell me is actually incorrect," the Head Girl said as she shook her head at the dark-haired boy. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were now walking towards the Heads' Dormitory where Hermione was currently staying at. Since she was chosen as the Head Girl by Headmistress McGonagall, she had to move out from the Gryffindor Common Room to the Heads' Dormitory. And of course, much to her absolute delight, her best friend, Draco Malfoy, was chosen as the Head Boy.

Harry sighed tiredly and waved a dismissive hand. "All right fine, I'm wrong if I'm wrong," he said.

Ron laughed. "What? You won't defend your answer?" the redhead asked, looking at Harry with amusement evident in his blue eyes.

"I don't have the energy to," he said, releasing a wide yawn. "I'm kinda sleepy. Let's go back to the Gryffindor Common Room and take a nap before the start of the afternoon classes, Ron."

"Now that you mentioned it," Ron started, rubbing his right eye. "I'm dead beat. Merlin, the potion that we made in Potions practically drained the life out of me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're overreacting, Ron," she told him. The brunette watched them carefully as the both yawned in unison. Instantly, Hermione's eyes narrowed because of suspicion. "Were you sneaking out last night again?" she asked, demanding for an answer. She had seen their looks before and she knew that they might have sneaked out last night again.

Ron smiled at her sheepishly while Harry just rolled his yes.

"Hey, even if you are best friends with both of the Heads in Hogwarts," the brunette scolded, "that doesn't mean that you have to abuse it and break rules, you know."

Harry rolled his eyes again and sighed. "Oh, cut it out, Hermione," he started, a small smile now growing on his face. "You were always with Draco every night. Doesn't that mean you're sneaking out, too?"

Hermione's face turned red and so did Ron's. "Really?" the redhead asked. The person didn't have to be Albert Einstein to notice the jealousy in his voice.

The Gryffindor brunette just sighed. She knew that the redhead had this silly, little crush on her. And it annoyed her, really, because every time she was with Ron, she would immediately feel awkward and all. She really had no idea how this Weasley suddenly fell head over heels with her. I mean, she wasn't that beautiful… Hermione rolled her eyes (earning some curious looks from the other two). Now, who was she kidding? She knew that she looked quite lovely ever since the start of the school-year. Girls gave her compliments… asking her how she just miraculously morphed from plain, ol' Hermione Granger to their beautiful, gorgeous Head Girl. Boys made it obvious since they started to eye her interestingly which made the brunette quite uncomfortable (but slightly pleased, by the way). She honestly didn't know how. All she knew was that she was becoming quite popular for her own good.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the redhead continued, snapping Hermione out of her musings. At the corner of her eyes, she saw Harry's eye rolling and his frown.

"I don't have to tell you everything, Ronald," the brunette snapped. "And Harry," she said, looking at the dark-haired boy, "we were just having some… friendly meetings there. At least we are not doing anything wrong unlike the both of you."

Harry's smile didn't waver. "Besides the fact that both of you are breaking the rule because you were roaming around after curfew," he pointed out.

"We were doing our duties," she protested, a frown evident on her voice. All right, fine, Hermione was with Draco almost every night in their bench while talking about this and that. Even though she knew that curfew was up, she would sometimes beg Draco for both of them to just stay at the bench for a little longer.

Hermione's frown, though, suddenly deepened. These past few days, she was spending lesser time with Draco. Hell, he was spending lesser time with them. And his reason? His girlfriends. He was not a two-timer or something but… he was just fast. The brunette knew that he was all grown up and raging testosterones were inside his body but it made her quite mad (and she didn't know why) to know that if he broke up with a girl, he would easily find someone else. And thus, branding him as the heartthrob of the whole school since girls were practically swooning and sighing dreamily whenever he was in sight. 'My God, what a jerk,' the brunette said, clenching her hands into fists.

The brunette wouldn't deny the fact that her best friend was actually good-looking at the very start of their seventh year. Merlin, she wouldn't deny the fact that he was absolutely handsome on the very first time she laid eyes on him. But he was abusing it, making the brunette really angry. He practically dated every single girl in Hogwarts right now!

And you see, Hermione was not jealous. She was not. She really was not.

The trio walked quietly once they were nearing the Heads' Dormitory.

"So, friendly meetings, huh?" Harry asked with humor evident on both of his eyes once they were in front of the entrance of the Heads' Dormitory.

Hermione and Ron both glared at the dark-haired young man, only making him laugh.

"Okay, okay," he said. He then turned ton Ron. "Now, come on, mate. Let's go back to our dormitory and take a goodnight… I mean good afternoon rest."

Ron just chuckled and smiled at Hermione. "See you later," he said, ears bright red because of embarrassment.

The brunette tried her best not to frown. Instead, she forced a small smile on her face. "Yeah, see you," she said. Harry gave her a wave before he and Ron walked away from her.

Hermione shook her head and looked at the portrait guarding their dormitory. The portrait contained of an angel surrounded by white, fluffy clouds. The angel was adorably cute, in Hermione's opinion. She probably was aged five-years-old. Her halo always glowed every time Hermione came into view. The little angel once told her that she liked her, making the brunette slightly flattered. Her wings were moving now as she gazed at brunette with admiration.

"Password?" she asked, her voice little, sweet, and soft.

"Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust," the brunette answered her. The little angel smiled brightly at her before giving her access to the Heads' Dormitory. Hermione thanked her before walking inside the Heads' Dormitory, a small smile evident on her face.

And then, she halted.

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, her heartbeat quickened, and her face turned bright red. 'How dare him! How dare him! How dare him!' the brunette screamed inside her mind as she walked out of the Dormitory again. The little angel looked at her in concern.

"Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Yes, yes, fine," the brunette answered her quite distractedly as she walked away from the Heads' Dormitory. 'How dare him! How dare him! HOW DARE HIM!' the brunette continued screaming inside her mind as she blindly walked ahead, not minding where she was going. All that was in her mind right now was that bloody image. That image that Hermione knew would forever haunt her wherever she goes or whatever she does.

The Gryffindor Head Girl ran a hand through her hair because of frustration as she pressed her other hand against her throbbing forehead. "Why the bloody burning hell is that girl with him right now?!" the brunette shrieked aloud, attracting the attention of some of the portraits. Inside the Heads' Dormitory, Hermione had seen a scene mostly seen in movies… horrible horror movies.

She had seen, much to her disgust, Draco kissing his newest girlfriend on one of their couches. 'What was her name? Was it Sandra? No, no. Hmm… Sally? Wait, Sophie? Ah, I know, Son of a -." The brunette didn't continue her thought, not wanting to curse right now, even in her mind. 'I mean Daughter, though,' she added as an afterthought. Why the bloody, burning hell did Draco bring his woman inside their own Dormitory and kissed her senseless. Didn't he know that maybe she would come inside and might had seen them making out.

Hermione pursed her lips until it was formed into a thin line. Her eyes were stinging and she didn't even know why! The brunette bowed her head and glared at the cold, stone floor. Her hands were tightly clenched into fists, her knuckles turning pale white. She was angry… very, very angry. The brunette then buried her head on both of her hands and released a groan. She didn't know why she was angry but when Draco's look while he was kissing his girlfriend flashed back into her eyes, her chest roared in extreme anger. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' she repeated again and again in her mind.

Suddenly, Hermione bumped into someone. She looked up and was surprised to see Harry and Ron looking down at her with concern evident in their eyes.

"Hey, I thought you're going inside your Dormitory," Harry said, frowning because of curiosity.

"Are you all right, Hermione?" the redhead asked, frowning, too.

"I'm fine," the brunette answered them flatly. Luckily, the stinging sensation in her eyes completely disappeared.

"OI!"

Harry and Ron turned around and beamed at the approaching blond. Hermione, in the other hand, refused to look at him. Instead, she stared straight ahead. Once the three were beside her again, she announced, "I'm going to the library."

"Oh," Ron said. "I can go with you. Do you want that?"

"No, don't bother," she muttered before walking away from the males.

"What's gotten into her?" Draco asked, burrowing his eyes in confusion as he looked from Harry to Ron.

"Well, actually, she just - ." Harry abruptly stopped as his eyes widened.

"She just what, Harry?" the blond asked.

Harry only chose to be quiet. He pursed his lip and glared at the blond.

"What did I do now?" the Slytherin asked.

The dark-haired boy only shook his head. "You're hopeless," he said before turning around. "I'm going to follow Hermione, Ron. Don't follow me."

Once Harry was out of sight, Draco looked at Ron. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

Ron shrugged. And then, his eyes widened and released a soft whistle. "Woah, mate, is that a… hickey?" he asked, an impish smile growing on his face.

Draco's eyes widened and looked down at his neck. And indeed, a hickey was there. The blond said colorful curses before he walked away from Ron, probably thinking of a way to conceal it.

The redhead just shook his head and yawned. He walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room, now wanting his good afternoon rest.

Meanwhile…

So, Harry was following Hermione closely behind. He didn't know if the brunette already noticed her or not.

The reason why Hermione was upset was quite a mystery to The-Boy-Who-Lived, though, he had a wild guess and he hoped that that was the real reason.

"Harry, stop following me, please," Hermione said as she abruptly stopped. Harry stopped, too, and gazed at the Head Girl. He noticed the humor in the brunette's eyes and smiled. Though, something in her eyes was marring her happiness and that made Harry's smile disappear.

Harry sighed and brought back his smile on his face. "Are you quite all right, Hermione?" he asked as they neared the entrance door of the Hogwarts library.

"Never been better," she told him, though Harry noticed her lack of enthusiasm.

The dark-haired young man sighed again and shook his head. "You know what, Hermione?" he started. The brunette stopped walking and slowly looked at the Gryffindor. "Go get a life."

Hermione frowned. "What are you talking about, Harry?" she asked him. "I have a life. And I love my life. I don't need to get another life."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I've already known you for seven years, Hermione, and most of the time, I see your head buried behind your precious books," he pointed out.

"Are you insulting me or what?" the brunette demanded, placing both of her hands against her hips in a scary manner.

"Go get a boyfriend," he simply answered her.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't need a boy to bother me, thank you very much," she snapped back. "I already have the three of you. Why bother in finding another man to pester me about boyish things? I'm better off as a single young woman, Harry. I feel freer and more comfortable."

He shook his head. "No, listen to me, Hermione," he continued. "Have you ever looked at the mirror ever since the start of the school-year and actually saw your own reflection?"

Hermione's frown deepened at his question. "I just looked at the mirror this morning," she said slowly, not really sure if she was answering him right.

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair, only making it messier than ever. "What I meant to say is this, Hermione," he started, looking at the brunette straight at her eyes. "You are so damn beautiful now, do you know that?" Hermione blushed and averted her eyes away from Harry. "Did you ever notice how guys turn their heads every time you pass them by? Did you ever notice how girls eyed you enviously?"

"Err…" she stuttered, rubbing her cheeks to cool them down.

"See, Hermione, a lot of guys wants you," he told her. "Well, of course, except for me. I already want another girl."

The brunette looked back at Harry and smiled. She was glad that he and Ginny got back together a month after the new school-year started.

"And I know this particular guy," he continued, picturing the blond Slytherin in his mind, "who is so in love with you ever since our fourth year started."

Hermione sighed. "I think I already figured that out, Harry, thanks," she told him.

Harry frowned. 'Did Draco already tell her?' he asked himself in confusion. What made him more confused was the fact that they never got together since he had a suspicion that Hermione was feeling the same way for Draco. "Really?" he asked, making his confusion evident.

The brunette sighed again. "Ron's not in love with me, Harry," she told him. "What he feels for me is merely a silly crush. He'll get over me as soon as possible."

Harry blinked several times. "What?" he asked. He was now more confused.

Hermione ran a hand through her hair endearingly. "You're talking about Ron, aren't you?" she asked him, also confused.

The male Gryffindor shook his head. "No, no," he told her. "He likes you, obviously. But this guy I'm talking about is annoyingly keeping his feelings inside his system. I don't even know when he will finally have the courage to ask you out when he's obviously dying to be with you."

The brunette frowned. "You know him?"

"Yeah."

Hermione leaned slightly closer to Harry. "Then please tell me who he is so that I can kick his butt for waiting for so long," she said in a low whisper.

Harry burst into laughter as he stared at Hermione disbelievingly. And actually, he really thought that Draco needed to be kicked so that he would come into senses immediately and discover that a lot of guys were his rivals. He shook his head and sighed. "I can't tell you who he is, Hermione," he told her. "He will kill me if he discovered that I'm the one who told you. And besides" – he scratched the back of his head – "he's quite taken right now."

The brunette frowned. "Then tell my bloody secret admirer to burn in hell." And with that, she went inside the library, leaving Harry all alone to himself.

The male Gryffindor then shook his head and cracked the knuckles of his right hand. Someone needs to be punched for being a damn coward. And of course, he would tell Draco Malfoy to really burn in hell right now.

---

"Hey," Draco smiled as he immediately recognized the brunette seated on their favorite bench. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and some of the students in Hogwarts were still sleeping in.

Hermione looked up and frowned. Honestly, she was not in the mood to talk to him now. She averted her eyes away from him and just stared at the Giant Squid, as if making an impression that she'd rather watch the sea creature than the blond staring down at her.

Draco frowned, too. He wasn't blind. He caught the frown she flashed at him. Normally, whenever he would come to their bench and greet her, she would greet back and flash him the brilliant, crooked smile he loved so much. But right now, her reaction towards his arrival made him confused (and slightly scared, honestly).

The blond then sat down on the bench beside her. Again, sensing her annoyance, he left a wide space between the two of them which he wouldn't do since he wanted to be close to her as much as possible.

Silence first was heard around the two of them, except for the splashing of water made by the Giant Squid. Draco was thinking… contemplating at what had happened to him ever since their school-year started. He had to admit, he was having a good time. It made him feel good to know that a lot of girls were dying to date him. It made him feel good to know that he was branded as the newest heartthrob of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was not being proud or the likes, but he knew he was kind of good-looking this school-year. Just look at the girls every time he passed them by. That would be a good proof.

And so, since he was a curious, growing seventeen-year-old, Draco experimented. He went out with some girls – ranging from fifth year to seventh year. He didn't like dating fourth year girls and below (though he knew some were so in love with him, too). He thought that they were too young for his own liking.

But of course, there would always be one girl in his heart. Always and forever. It wouldn't change. He was completely in love with Hermione Granger already (who, he had pointedly noticed at the start of the school-year, was absolutely more breath-taking than the other years) to the point that it would be hard to just throw his feelings out of the window.

But again, Draco was no Gryffindor. He was still a Slytherin even if he despised his housemates. And so, as much as he wanted to deny it, he was a total coward. He couldn't understand why every time he asked a girl out, it would be a piece of cake for him since he was confident that they would immediately agree to date him. But Hermione was different… absolutely different. She had been his best friend ever since he started studying in Hogwarts. Honestly, his friendship with the other three, especially with the Head Girl, was his most prized possession right now. Their friendship was something special and it would completely change his entire life if it broke.

There were actually two reasons why Draco didn't like to ask out Hermione (even if that was what he had wanted ever since fourth year). First, he was afraid that all Hermione felt for him was mere friendship. He was still a guy. He didn't want to hurt his ego if the brunette turned him down and tell him that her reason was that she only love him as a friend (or as a sister). And of course, he didn't want to break their beautiful camaraderie just because of the words 'I love you' and not platonically speaking.

And secondly, he knew that Ron was completely head over heels with the brunette. Draco wasn't blind at all. His vision was still clear… 20-20. He knew that most of the guys in Hogwarts were falling in love with Hermione Granger since she was gorgeous and all. And in actuality, that made Draco quite alarmed, knowing that he had a lot of rivals in this school. Including one of his best friends, Ron Weasley. Ron was his best friend, too, so that was why he didn't want to hurt him. He had seen how Ron looked at Hermione. He knew that he sometimes looked at Hermione like that but, since he had a queer ability of masking his feelings, the looks weren't really obvious (except for Harry since he already knew how he truly felt for the brunette). And he was afraid that if he dated Hermione, Ron would be forever angry with him. And he didn't want that.

The blond released a soft sigh and closed his eyes. Sometimes, he really just wanted to break up with his girlfriends and just confess to Hermione that all he wanted was her and no one else. Draco rubbed his right cheek, still feeling Harry's punch last week. He really didn't know why he punched him but the blond had a good guess it was because of the bloody hickey on his neck. Draco really appreciated the fact that Harry wanted him for their Hermione but sometimes, he was being way overboard.

Draco then looked at the brunette at the corner of his eyes, watching as her hair billowed against her face. He watched her. She was so endearing… enchanting and the blond didn't have enough strength to avert his gaze away from her.

When her eyes met his, he immediately looked at his lap and slowly blushed. The blond sighed. He discovered a few months before that Hermione was the only girl in the whole school that could make him feel like that. He tried it with his other girlfriends… staring at their eyes and waiting for himself to blush scarlet. But, it never happened. And that made Draco frustrated. The only reason why he dated the other girls were, as what he had thought a while ago, to experiment, to avert his attentions away from Hermione, and to find someone who at least made him feel like he was looking at the brunette herself. But alas, the quest was a futile one. He never found anyone just like his dear Hermione. And that had made him frustrated. It seemed like she was really one and only.

The blond closed his eyes again and breathed deeply. 'Hermione past,' he started in his mind. 'What should I do now?' Draco then slowly opened his eyes and pulled Mr. Beady out from his jacket. He then slowly looked at Hermione, gripping Mr. Beady tightly. "We… missed you," he whispered. He watched as the brunette slowly looked at him, raising one, brown eyebrow.

"Well, we always see each other, Draco," she said flatly. "There's no point in missing me."

Draco frowned. Of course he knew that! But… these past few months, he had thought that he was spending lesser time with his best friends, especially with Hermione. His girlfriends were quite demanding, actually. They always wanted him to have time for them, making it quite impossible to at least greet his best friends 'hi' or 'goodnight'.

"I know that," came his simple answer. "But…"

"Your spending lesser time with me, I know that," she said (quite tersely, in Draco's opinion) and looked back at the Hogwarts Lake.

The blond sighed. He didn't know why but… Hermione started to be quite distant, too. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just that…"

"You have girlfriends, I know that, too," she continued for him. And again, she said it quite tersely.

Draco frowned. "Is there a problem, Hermione?" he asked. "You're acting quite… mad at me. Did I do something wrong?"

"Nothing," she abruptly said, voice as cold as ice, making Draco slightly shiver. Then suddenly, she stood up and walked away from Draco. "I'll be going to the library, Draco. See you later."

The blond's frown deepened as he, too, mimicked Hermione's actions and stood up. "You're giving me the impression that you'd rather spend time with your precious books than with me, Hermione," he said, making his slight irritation obvious.

Hermione spun around and slightly glared at him. "Well, Draco Malfoy, you're giving me the impression that you'd rather spend time with your girlfriends than with your best friends," she said and then spun around again.

Draco ran and gripped her arm, forcing her to look at him.

"What?" she asked, her irritation blaringly obvious.

The Head Boy sighed and retrieved his hand away from the brunette's arm. And then, he gripped Mr. Beady with both of his hands and raised him. "Mr. Beady wants to sleep with you tonight, Hermione," he started, a hopeful look on both of his eyes. "He kept on pestering me, you know. He wouldn't let me go to sleep. Can he sleep with you tonight?"

All right, fine, Draco was acting quite childish. But those thoughts quickly disappeared once he saw the brunette's small smile.

"All right," she said, gently snatching Mr. Beady away from him. She pressed him against her chest and kissed the top of his head.

Draco returned back her smile. This was what he had missed. Little moments with Hermione which really meant everything to him. And then, surprising her greatly, he pulled her into a big hug, hugging her as tight as possible. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for not spending more time with you."

Hermione slowly looked at him, her small smile still plastered on her face. "It's all right," she said, though Draco knew it wasn't all right at all judging from her reaction a while ago. "I know you're… quite busy with your personal life to hang out with us… me."

"Want me to walk with you 'til the library?" he asked with another hopeful look on his face.

Hermione shook her head and broke free from Draco's hug. "Your girlfriend might see us and suspect something," she told him and then turned around. She started to walk away from Draco, Mr. Beady tightly clutched against her chest.

Draco blinked. Right now, screw his bloody girlfriend! All he wanted right now was to spend time with Hermione. He ran towards her until he was beside her. She looked up, surprised. "Your girlfriend - ."

"I don't care," Draco had immediately cut her off. "I'll come with you."

The brunette blinked three times and then a bigger smile started to grow on her face. "Okay."

The blond sighed in relief as he returned her smile.

---

"YOU ARE WHAT?!" Draco bellowed as he trailed behind Hermione followed by a frowning Harry Potter. They had arrived back in their bench, now with Harry actually seeing it for the first time.

"So, here's where you always meet up, huh?" The-Boy-Who-Lived asked, looking around. And he had to admit, their meeting place was a pretty good place, and he dared say it, it was a pretty romantic spot in Hogwarts. Harry's eyes then focused on Hermione and his frown went back into his face. He then averted his eyes towards the fuming blond and his frown deepened. He shook his head. 'They're really a hopeless case,' he thought.

"Not important, Potter!" the blond exclaimed, glaring eyes still trained on the brunette with a stubborn look on her face. "Now, repeat it again, Granger. You are what?!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Draco, you're overreacting!" she answered back in exclamation. She matched his glare and softly hissed, "It's just Ron so, get over it!"

"No, Granger, I will not get over it!" he shouted, eyes blazing because of pure fury. "Now, again, repeat what you had said a while ago."

The brunette crossed her arms against her chest and looked at the Giant Squid. "I'm Ron's new girlfriend," she said, averting her eyes away from the Giant Squid back to the enraged blond. "There, I repeated it. Are you happy now?"

Draco growled. Fine, he knew he was kind of overreacting. He always had a feeling… he always knew that if Ron someday asked Hermione out, she would instantly say yes without hesitation. But now that it happened… now that Hermione had told him… now that the brunette… his beloved brunette belonged to someone else, Draco practically was seeing red. Everything was red. He was livid, absolutely livid. "But Hermione!"

"What?!" she exclaimed, also enraged already. "Aren't you happy that I finally found someone who loves me, Draco Malfoy?!"

The blond's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe this girl in front of him. "You told me that he merely likes you, Hermione! You told me that all he felt for you was a silly crush!" he exclaimed.

The brunette looked away from him again and stared at nowhere. "I was proven wrong," she spat. "So what?"

"So what?! SO BLOODY WHAT?!" Draco hollered, practically tearing his hair from his scalp already. "This is a serious matter, Hermione!"

Hermione scoffed. "You're making it sound like I'm dating Lord Voldemort himself!" she exclaimed, eyes trained now on the Head Boy. "I'm dating Ron, Draco! God, he's your best friend, too, you bloody, bumbling idiot! You know him and you know that he can't… won't hurt me at all!"

Draco groaned so loud. "But Granger!" he shouted, almost classified as a whine. Hermione rolled her eyes at his childishness. "You're still… you're still…" he spluttered, arms wildly gesticulating in the air. "You're still… young!" Okay, his last comment was pretty lame.

The brunette's jaw dropped. "EXCUSE ME!" she exclaimed so loud, not failing to notice Draco's and Harry's flinch. "Young?! You call me young! We're both seventeen, for heaven's sake, Malfoy! And you had a lot of girlfriends before! And you're acting like… acting like my father and telling me I'm too young to enter into a relationship when you yourself already had a lot of bloody dogs trailing you around all day!"

"But… but that's different!" Draco said desperately. He shot Harry a look that said 'help me here, you bloody idiot!' but all he got from the male Gryffindor was a glare and a shook of his head. "I'm a… I'm a guy! And you're a girl!"

Hermione uncrossed her arms and placed both of her hands against her hips. "What's that supposed to me?!" she asked, really, really enraged now.

Draco didn't answer her. Instead, he clenched his hands tightly into fists until his knuckles turned pale white.

"You know what?" the brunette continued, eyes stinging. "Just go back to your bloody female dogs (A/N: You know what I mean. Wink Wink) and leave me alone!" And with that, she stormed away from their bench towards the inside of the warm Hogwarts castle.

Once she was out of sight, Draco collapsed on the bench and buried his head on his hands. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!" he exclaimed again and again.

Harry, after witnessing that scene (an interesting one, in his opinion), approached the blond and whacked the back of his head.

Draco lifted up his head and glared at the male Gryffindor. "Why the hell did you do that?!" he bellowed. "Just leave me alone, Potter."

The-Boy-Who-Lived sighed and sat down beside the fuming blond. He had a lot of problems. That was a fact. He needed to find all the Horcruxes. He needed to discover as soon as possible who were the people he should trust or the people he should not. He needed to muster all of his strength to, finally, defeat Lord Voldemort.

But his best friends' problem was too much for him to bear. He had to do something just to bring them together. What if their feelings could help him in the near future? Nobody knows.

Harry sighed. "See, Draco, you should have made your first move earlier," the Gryffindor said, shaking his head as he looked at the disgruntled Slytherin. "You had a lot of opportunities before, Malfoy. Now… you screwed it."

"Shut up," he hissed. "You're not helping at all, Potter."

"Now that Hermione is happy with Ron," he continued, "you can't do anything anymore, Draco. Just… try to be happy with your female dogs."

"I said shut the hell up, Potter!" he bellowed, glaring at the Gryffindor. Harry, though, wasn't affected at all.

"Poor, poor Draco Malfoy," Harry taunted, not bothering to extinguish the burning fire in front of him.

"Potter, if you opened that big, fat mouth of yours one more time," the blond threatened, eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Just one more time, I'm going to beat the daylights out of you."

Harry raised both of his arms in the air, surrendering. "Okay, okay, no need to be so pissed off," the Gryffindor said. Harry sighed again and shook his head. "I'm going to say something interesting, Draco. Do you want me to continue?"

"Piss off," he hissed, glaring at the Giant Squid.

"Come on, this will interest you," Harry pleaded. "It involves Hermione's feelings, Malfoy."

Draco sighed. "Fine," he grunted, covering his eyes with his hands in a distressed manner.

"You see, Draco," the Gryffindor started, leaning his head at the back of the bench. "Hermione's relationship with Ron won't last at all. Trust me."

The blond glared at Harry in between his fingers. "Well, you heard her, Harry," he said. "And you just bloody told me that she's happy with Weasley!"

"I was just teasing you, all right," Harry said while rolling his eyes. "As I was saying, Hermione's relationship won't last at all. I have a great feeling that it will end… hmm… let me say, after a week? Because you see, Hermione's eyes are set on someone else already."

Now, Draco really did look quite interested. His eyes stared at Harry in wonder. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Harry gave him a small smile. "I'm not really a love expert, Draco," he said. "But, I have a great feeling that Hermione's in love with you, too."

"Stop it, Potter," Draco suddenly said. "Stop giving me false hopes."

The-Boy-Who-Lived shook his head. "I'm not giving you false hopes," he protested. Harry sighed. "Look, Draco, please, for the love of all those who are in love right now, do something now. I already have four eyes, Draco (humor was evident in his eyes when he said this) and I'm not blind. I'm still a guy and I find Hermione absolutely gorgeous. So you see, I'm warning you, if you don't do something as soon as possible, you might loss her forever with some bloke out there."

Draco ran a hand through his hair. "It's not that easy, Harry," he groaned. "I've been her best friend for seven years already. What if she doesn't love me back?"

"Nonsense," Harry said followed by a dismissive wave of his hand. The Gryffindor patted the blond's shoulder and stood up. "You've been best friends with three Gryffindors, Draco. I hope some of our bravery rubbed into you." And with that, Harry left the blond all alone as he contemplated all the things that Harry had told him.

---

Hermione sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the bench. Last week was a very, very, very long and tiring one. She wished that those days never happened at all since they were practically a nightmare to her! She buried her head on both of her hands and groaned. She couldn't forget the expression Ron made after she had broke everything off with him. It was just that as the days passed by, the brunette already felt that their relationship wouldn't last for a very long time. Actually, she always knew that their relationship wouldn't last. The reason why she agreed to be his girlfriend? The brunette had no clue at all.

But, oh Merlin, the look on his face… the way his ears and then his face turned red when she had to break everything with him, that broke Hermione's feminine heart. Of course, she didn't want to continue their relationship anymore. It was just that… she knew, she always knew that Ron's feelings for her were truly just a silly crush and not the one that Hermione dreamed of ever since she was a little girl. But of course, Ron was her best friend. She had seen him freak-out when she told him she didn't want to be his girlfriend anymore even though their relationship only lasted for exactly one week. She had seen the hurt expression on his face as he questioned her reason. And she didn't want to see that. Ron was still her best friend. She didn't want to see him hurt.

And so now, the brunette was contemplating on their bench, thinking if what she really had done was the right one. She had hesitated at first, knowing the effects of their break-up in their friendship (including the awkward moments hither and thither). But Hermione didn't want to continue it. Yes, Ron had this silly crush on her but she knew that there would be a big possibility that he would really fall in love with her. And Hermione didn't want that, either. Because in her heart, in her mind, and in her soul, she knew that fate didn't want her to be with Ron. She knew that somewhere… just anywhere, there was this man who really was the perfect guy for her. She knew that somewhere… just anywhere, there was this man whom fate wanted her to end up with.

And actually, she was tired of waiting for him already. Quite tired, to be honest. She had this huge feeling that she would end up with no one. And that scared Hermione, not wanting to be a silly, lonely, old spinster!

The Head Girl sighed again, face still covered with her hands. Truly, last week was a very, very tiring one.

"Hey."

Hermione frowned, not lifting her face away from her hands. Of course she knew who her intruder was. She didn't have to have to lift her head to face him, anyway. 'I thought he refuses to talk to me,' the brunette thought, slowly removing her hands away from her face as she looked at Draco. "Malfoy," she said, her frown deepening.

Draco sighed and sat down beside her, this time though, leaving a smaller gap between the two of them. "Okay, fine, I admit, I was wrong," he said, a frown evident on his face.

"Forget it," Hermione muttered, refusing to stare at the blond. "Just… forget it."

The blond's frown deepened. It wasn't typical Hermione. He knew that she would still throw back some witty comments. But right now, it confused him to see that Hermione was so… just not herself. "Is there something wrong?" he asked softly.

Hermione sighed and looked at her clenched fists on her lap. "Honestly… yes," she answered him in a whisper also.

A look of worry crossed on the blond's face. "Did someone hurt you?" he asked, worry evident in the tone of his voice.

The brunette shook her head. "It's quite the other way around," she answered back.

Draco's frown returned on his face. "What do you mean, Hermione?" he asked.

Hermione sighed again and slowly looked at the blond. "I have news for you, Draco, and I know that you will be glad once you heard it," she told him.

The blond just stared back at her, quite confused.

"Haven't you heard the news?" she asked him. She seriously thought that a few minutes after her break-up with Ron, the news would spread like a wildfire in the forest. "I broke up with Ron."

The blond's eyes widened. His jaw slowly dropped. "You… you… you…" he stuttered.

"I broke up with Ron," she repeated, eyes now gazing on the grass.

Since Hermione wasn't looking, a wide grin broke on the blond's face. 'YES!' he exclaimed inside his mind. Huge hope was now evident on both of his eyes. He was not happy, actually. He was bloody ecstatic! He knew it! He knew it! Hermione's relationship with Ron wouldn't last at all. The blond thanked all the angels in heaven. The blond thanked Merlin and the other great wizards who made a mark in the history of the Wizarding World since now, his beloved was a single and free young woman. He had no idea, though, if she was available.

"Now, go on, laugh at me and tell me 'I told you so'," the brunette repeated, eyes still gazing on the green grass.

And for some weird reason, that made Draco's smile fall. For some weird reason, he felt guilty for even thinking that that news was the greatest one he had ever heard in his whole life. For some weird reason, he became ashamed of himself for even thinking that that news wasn't bad at all. "I… I'm sorry," he apologized, eyes staring at the ground because of shame, too.

To his utter surprise, Hermione softly chuckled. He looked up with a frown on his face, confusion evident on his pale, handsome face. "What?" he asked.

"Do you know that you apologized to me for countless times, Draco?" she asked with a small smile on her face.

Draco pursed his lips and didn't answer her back. He knew… he knew she was right. He had apologized to her many, many times already and it was because he had always hurt her. A frown now was plastered on his face. All these years, he tried his very best to always make Hermione Granger happy. But, as much as he tried to avoid it, most of the time, he hurt her. The blond released a rueful sigh. Truthfully, he was sorry.

"I just don't get you, Draco," Hermione continued, making Draco to look at her with a questioning look on his face. "Sometimes, you do things that frustrate me or… or… angers me (she pointedly noticed the frown on his face) but then, sometimes… no, most of the time, you are the only one who has the ability to really comfort me." She released a small chuckle again and then released a long sigh. "After all these years, you're still a mystery to me, Draco Malfoy. You know what? I have a feeling that you're hiding a huge secret from me."

The blond blushed scarlet even if he tried not to. 'Okay, try not to be too obvious, Draco,' he scolded himself, trying to find his face away from the brunette. He cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. Once he knew that he returned back to his pale white color, he looked back at Hermione with a small smile on his face. "Don't you love a mystery?" he asked her.

Hermione grinned back. "Yes, I love a mystery," she answered him back.

Silence then followed. Both teenagers watched the Giant Squid gliding across the water, oblivious to the fact that the two students he loved to observe were the ones who were now observing him. Draco and Hermione knew that their little quarrel last week was forgotten already. No more hard feelings.

"So…" the brunette started, breaking the peaceful silence. Draco lifted up his head and looked at her, his smile not yet leaving his face. "Do you still think I'm too young for a relationship?" When Draco scowled, Hermione released a soft laugh. "Come on, Draco, that witty comeback of yours was really hilarious." The brunette gave him a big smile and continued, "You see, quite honestly, I'm practically more matured than you."

Draco stuck out his tongue immaturely, making the brunette laugh again.

"Thanks for proving my point," she said.

The blond smiled back.

"But seriously, Draco, tell me the truth," Hermione said. "Why did you freak out when you discovered that I'm going out with Ron?"

Draco gulped. 'Uh-oh,' the blond thought as he looked at the brunette with a panicked look on his face. "I… uh…" he started, stupidly stuttering. Hermione eyed him suspiciously, blinking at his uneasiness. "You see… I…" – he cleared his throat – "I was just… I was just feeling like your older brother! Yes, that's right! You're older brother. I kinda… felt slightly overprotective."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "More like my real father," she muttered, not failing to catch Draco's glare. She then looked at him with narrowed eyes. "So… you think Ron's dangerous and you don't want me to get hurt?"

The blond frowned. "I didn't say that," he said, annoyed.

"Well, you're implying it, Draco," the brunette said. She sighed and then looked at the Giant Squid again. "Look, Draco, the reason why I broke up with Ron is because, fine, you are right, he does not love me at all." She then looked down at the grass and watched as a long line of ant scrambled back to their ant hill with some glorious food. "Ron got pretty hurt when I broke up with him," she continued, "but I know that in the end, our relationship won't work at all. So, even if we just started the relationship last week, I decided to end it already." Hermione pursed her lips and looked up at Draco. "So, there."

Draco didn't know what to say. He blinked for several times before averting his eyes away from the brunette. Instead, he looked at the grass again, aware of the holes Hermione was burning on his head already. "I'm sorry," was what he only answered her.

The brunette softly laughed. "See, you're apologizing again," she pointed out.

The blond didn't smile at all. Instead, he gently grabbed the brunette's right hand and slowly looked at the brunette. Hermione stared back at him, surprised at his sudden action. "No, seriously," he continued. "I'm very sorry."

Hermione only frowned.

"I… I mean," he slightly stuttered. "I didn't mean to… to scold you like that when you became Ron's girlfriend. I don't really have the right to." He paused and released a long sigh. "But, I don't know, I just kind of got a feeling of overprotection."

The brunette sighed. "Draco…"

"I know, I know," he said, cutting her off of her sentence. "You're a big girl now. You don't need any protection at all." Draco squeezed her hand lightly. "That's not the only reason why I'm apologizing to you."

Hermione looked confused. "What else?"

"For… for spending lesser time with you," he continued in a soft whisper.

"You already apologized for that, Draco," the brunette said. "You don't need to apologize again since I already forgave you."

The blond shook his head while sighing. "No, no, I know you still haven't," he told her. "Listen to me, Hermione. I'm going to tell you this." He paused as he took a deep breath. "None of my relationships with my past girlfriend were serious so, like your relationship with Ron, I break everything off before it gets too serious to the point that I won't have any escape anymore."

Hermione gasped. "Draco Malfoy, that's horrible!" she scolded him. "Us, girls have feelings too, for your information. What if I told your past girlfriends that you were just snogging them for fun?"

Draco frowned. "Okay, I do that because they weren't really the girl I like," he truthfully said, eyes gazing at the brunette.

The Head Girl frowned. "So, you're hiding a secret from me!" she exclaimed, glaring at the blond.

"It's quite personally, really," he told her quietly. He tightened his hold with her right hand, eyes now meeting the brunette's. "You see, Hermione, there will always be one girl in my heart. Always," he continued in a whisper. "She doesn't know it because I'm a bloody coward."

The brunette softly laughed. "Guess some of our bravery didn't rub into you," she joked, making the blond smile.

"But she'll always be here" – he slowly placed Hermione's right hand against his chest right were his heart was – "in my heart."

A spark of interest ignited in Hermione's eyes. She slightly leaned closer, a small smile on her face. She always wanted to know some secrets. "So, who's this girl?" she asked him in a whisper.

Draco didn't answer at all. He was afraid that if he told him that he was talking about her, she would freak out and forever run away from him. Instead, he just squeezed her hand again and stared back at her.

And suddenly, to his surprise, Hermione's eyes widened. Her cheek started to color and her jaw dropped open. Realization was dawning on Hermione, the blond noticed that. He didn't know, though, if he should be happy or quite scared. "Are you - ."

"THERE YOU ARE!" Ginny screamed after spotting the Head Girl. She approached her with a wide smile. "HERMIONE, PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL IS LO… OH." She blinked at the scene unfolding in front of her. "Oh."

Hermione then looked at her, still red on the face and astonished. She pulled her hand away from Draco's grip and stood up. The Gryffindor then ran past the redhead, not bothering to at least greet her.

Ginny gulped and slightly laughed sheepishly. "Uh-oh," she said as the blond slowly looked at her, his eyes blazing because of pure fury.

"Weaslette, you ruined my chance!" he exclaimed once the brunette was out of sight already. "Nice timing, you bloody girl! Nice timing!"

The redhead softly laughed again and approached the burning fire. "Aww…" she said, gently patting the blond's hair. "Don't be angry with me, Draco. I didn't know."

Draco growled, making the she-Weasley flinch. "You ruined my chance!" he said. "It was my only chance!"

Ginny then grinned widely. 'Ah,' she thought. "Well, that's good news. You're progressing, do you know that, coward?" And with that, she leaned down and kissed his forehead before waving goodbye.

Ginny then ran back to the castle, a huge smile still seen on her face. 'Harry should know this!' she excitedly thought.

The next after that incident, Draco Malfoy broke up with his current girlfriend.

---

So, now it was official. Draco Malfoy was going out with his co-Head, Hermione Granger. And that fact broke many Hogwarts students' heart. Girls became wild once realizing that their beloved blond Head Boy was totally taken (yet again). Boys became wild once realizing that their gorgeous Head Girl was totally taken by the heartthrob of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This new couple was the latest hottest gossip in the whole school. Even teachers and portraits were quite amused about this sudden relationship between these two best friends.

Harry was pleased… absolutely pleased. Finally, Draco mustered up all his courage and confessed what he truly felt. He didn't know how Hermione discovered but The-Boy-Who-Lived had a small guess that it happened a few minutes before Draco arrived in his party for winning the Quidditch Game. He noticed that both students walked inside the Heads' Dormitory, dripping wet, but they looked like they weren't bothered at all since their cheeks were flushed, their eyes were shining bright, and there were big, wide smiles plastered on both of their faces. The next day, they just announced it. And Harry was glad that Draco wasn't too late since Hermione accepted him, thank Merlin Almighty.

Ron was surprised, actually, when he discovered this news. But again, surprisingly, that didn't bother him at all. Actually, he got over Hermione already three days after their break-up. And the most surprising of all, he started to go out with Luna Lovegood (well, some students liked to call her Loony). His friends had no idea how these two became a couple but all they knew was that they had never seen Ron so happy before. As for Draco and Hermione having a relationship more than friendship, Ron didn't mind and even congratulated them!

Now, the Head Boy was absolutely blissful. The moment he always dreamed of finally came true. He didn't mind that every time he passed by some students, he would hear whispers from them and knew that they were talking about her. He was quite happy, for the very first time, because finally some people were talking about someone who absolutely made him happy. He had no idea why he just suddenly kissed her in the pouring rain. Sounds cliché and romantic, but Draco did it anyway. And he was glad he did since he got his desired reward.

Now, the Head Girl was absolutely blissful, too. She was glad that the reason why she got angry and all every time she saw Draco with other girls (kissing them or not) was that because she was so jealous. Finally, she got an answer. And, she was glad, too, that Draco became her boyfriend because actually, she was so in love with him.

And so, Draco was seen in the Heads' Dormitory in front of the Head Girl's room, dressed handsomely. They were about to go to a small party in Hogsmeade (The Three Broomsticks, to be exact) to celebrate early Christmas with their other classmates (since they would all go, including Draco, to the Burrow on Christmas).

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The blond knocked on the brunette's bedroom door, a frown now evident on his face. He looked at his magical watch hidden beneath his right sleeve and looked at the time. 'We're late,' he thought, his frown deepening. 'Seriously,' he thought while shaking his head. "Hermione, are you done?" he asked.

"ALMOST!" the brunette shouted back. Draco cringed when he heard some shattering inside her room.

'What the hell is happening inside there?' he asked himself. "Is everything all right there?" he asked.

"Yeah!" he heard her muffled voice.

Draco shook his head. For years, Draco admired the brunette because she would do everything as quick as the speed of light. But right now, she was actually doing the contrary. He had been waiting outside her bedroom door for almost an hour. And do you know what she was doing? Dressing inside for the party. That made Draco confused since Hermione would just choose some random clothes and wear them without bothering how she looked (well, except for the Yule Ball in their fourth year).

The blond's musings were cut off immediately once the door opened and revealed the brunette herself. Draco stared at her face and a small grin started to form. "Is that… is that make up?" he asked her, quirking one eyebrow up.

Hermione blushed. "Erm…" she said, "yeah." Draco stared at her hair then and noticed that it was way tamer than her bushy hair before. A red headband was seen on adorning her silky curls. The blond then sniffed while raising one blond, eyebrow again.

"You smell nice," he complimented her.

Again, the brunette just blushed and grinned at him. "Thanks," she said. "Ginny recommended it."

'Ah, Weaslette,' he thought. Draco made a mental note to thank the redhead later. The blond's eyes then traveled down to her clothes and instantly, a frown appeared on his face. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked her.

This time, though, Hermione didn't blush at all. Instead, she frowned. "I'm wearing something not so modest," she explained to him. "That's why I decided to put my school robe above it until we arrive at the Three Broomsticks."

"Not fair," the blond said, almost whining. "I need to see what you look before everyone does." He caught a glimpse of high-heeled red sandals worn by the brunette, making his curiosity grow. "Come on, just a glimpse."

"No," the brunette said as she turned on her heel and walked out of the Heads' Dormitory.

Draco also walked out of the Heads' Dormitory, trailing behind his girlfriend.

As they walked out of the walls of the Hogwarts castle, Draco continued to provoke Hermione to remove her school robe so that he could see what she was wearing.

"Oh, don't be shy!" he exclaimed in frustration. He gestured dramatically around the Hogsmeade. "See, you are the only one who's wearing her Gryffindor school robe above her clothes!"

The brunette frowned stubbornly and crossed her arms against her chest. "I don't care," she said. At the corner of her eyes, she could see the suspicious look given to her by the other occupants of Hogsmeade but she pointedly ignored them.

"Please," the blond begged, giving her the most charming smile he could muster.

But, unfortunately, Hermione didn't give in. "No," she said.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

The brunette smirked at him. "Nice try, Draco Malfoy," she told him while the blond scowled.

"Please," he pleaded for the last time but like what had happened a while ago, Hermione stubbornly refused. The blond looked around. And then, his eyes lit up once they landed on one of his most favorite shop in Hogsmeade, Honeydukes. Draco then, surprising Hermione, suddenly yanked her arm (earning him a shriek from the brunette) and pulled the Head Girl inside the sweets shop.

"Why are we here?" the brunette asked with a frown evident on her face.

Draco just ignored his girlfriend and continued his way towards the very back of the shop. Finally, after both of them arrived at the most secluded area in Honeydukes, the blond stirred Hermione around until her back was resting against the wall. His hands were both placed on her shoulders as he gazed at her, a small, teasing (kind of evil, in Hermione's opinion) smile.

"So, why are we here again?" Hermione asked, trying her best to compose herself under the intense look of the blond Head Boy.

"I'm," he started, his small, teasing (evil) smile growing bigger, "going to give you something."

He then let go of her shoulders. Draco unclasped his necklace (the one containing a pendant of the Malfoy Crest and of course, Hermione past's birthday gift). He removed the ring and showed it to the brunette.

"It's your ring," she said, still admiring at the beautiful ring.

"Yes, it is," he said, smile still plastered on his face. "And I remember that you wanted to have this."

Hermione smiled at him. "Yes," she told him. "I remember."

Draco then held her right hand and kissed her knuckles. His eyes were still gazing at her (adoringly, in Hermione's opinion) and squeezed her hand. "Do you still want to have it?" he asked her a low whisper.

The brunette sighed and stared at the ring. "Yes, I still do," she answered him truthfully. There were times she caught a glimpse of this beautiful ring and just like what she had felt in second year, she still wanted to have it.

"Oh," the blond said again, inserting the ring in one of the brunette's fingers.

"Are you - ."

"Yes," Draco said, now smiling at her widely. "I'm giving it to you now."

Hermione lifted one eyebrow. "But I thought I couldn't have it since it would mean something," she reminded him. "Am I right?"

Draco then held both of her hands. "Seven years ago," he started, "the girl I had met when I was still ten-years-old gave me this ring as her birthday present for me. Of course, it was too sissy for my own liking so I refused to accept it."

"And?"

"She still insisted," he told her, the smile still plastered on his face. "She was too stubborn for her own good." Draco paused as a sigh escaped from his lips. As the Head Girl grew older, she looked more like Hermione past. And of course, that made him fall in love with her more. "And so, I accepted it without any choice. She then made me promise that I would take care of it until…"

"Until what?" Hermione asked, a spark of interest in her eyes.

"Do you want to know the meaning if I gave this to you in our second year?" he asked her.

Hermione nodded, curiosity evident on her face now.

Draco smiled. He knew the brunette would be embarrassed if he told her. "She made me promise that I will give this ring… this beautiful ring… to someone, a girl to be specific, that I know I will love for the rest of my life."

Slowly, the brunette's cheeks burned red. "O-oh," she spluttered, averting her gaze away from her boyfriend. She then released a nervous laugh. "I shouldn't have asked to have that ring in our second year."

The blond then held her chin and lifted it up until her eyes were locked with his again. "See, Hermione," he started. His hand (the one holding her chin) then disappeared among her glorious tresses. "That ring means everything to me." He leaned closer to the brunette and watched as her eyes fluttered close. "This is what I've wanted… what I've always wanted." He leaned closer until their forehead and their noses were touching each other and their lips were a few inches apart. "You are mine now. And I want that you'll always be mine. Forever and always." And then, he closed the small gap between them as he captured her mouth.

As the kiss happened, like what they had felt on their first and second kiss, sparks formed. Hermione encircled her arms tightly around the blond's neck while tilting her head to her right. Both of Draco's arms then wrapped themselves around her waist, hugging her as tight as possible.

And then, the small, teasing (evil) smile formed on his lips again. His arms then traveled up to her shoulders. Doing his small plan, Draco successfully removed her (annoying) robe away from her body.

Hermione, feeling the sudden coldness, gasped and pushed herself away from their kiss. Still quite flushed, the brunette started to kneel down to retrieve her robe and wear it again. But, Draco stopped her as he held both of her arms and stared at her, eyes wide and mouth ajar.

The brunette sighed. She knew it. She knew that this blond was scheming something evil. 'Err… okay, not really evil,' the brunette thought. 'Stupid, super sly, and sneaky Slytherin,' she added and then blinked several times. 'Wow, all the 's',' she thought as she softly laughed. Her thoughts then were stopped once Draco stupidly opened and closed his mouth, resembling a fish out of water. "Are you all right?" she asked him, genuinely concerned.

"Merlin," he told her as he pulled her again for another kiss. The brunette was absolutely gorgeous. Totally. Her dress apparently was a black, spaghetti-strapped one that ended just a few inches below her knees. Apparently, the brunette vowed that she would never, ever wear something that would reveal her knees (even if Ginny kept on complimenting that they were pretty nicer than hers). A red belt was seen wrapped around her face, adorning her black dress. Like what Draco had caught sight a while ago, Hermione was wearing high-heeled red sandals. Again, she was absolutely breath-taking.

Draco then pulled away from their kiss and clutched both of her hands. "Why the bloody hell did you want to hide your dress away from people's sight?" he asked her, demanding an answer.

Hermione frowned. "It's just that… it's not what I really like to wear. I mean, this dress is too short and all. And look, it's a v-neck dress! Thank goodness it's not too revealing," she ranted. "Oh, Ginny forced me to wear this dress! That conniving redhead threatened me that if I didn't wear this, I will never see my first copy of my precious Hogwarts: A History anymore. So I have no choice but to wear this… this ugly dress!"

"Ugly?" the blond gasped in horror. "Are you blind or what, Hermione. Look at you. You are absolutely gorgeous."

"Quit flattering me," she muttered, though, blushing again.

Draco grinned. "I must be the luckiest guy in the whole wide world," he continued.

"There you are!" Ron Weasley exclaimed as he trudged toward the place where Draco and Hermione were. "HARRY, I FOUND THEM!" Ron then looked at the two disapprovingly. "I knew it. I knew it. Were you making-out again?"

The brunette blushed redder while the blond glared at the redhead. Harry then suddenly appeared just beside Ron and a look of relief was now seen on his face. "Thank Merlin we finally found both of you," The-Boy-Who-Lived said. "Both of you are the only people who aren't in the party! Why the bloody hell are you here anyway?"

Before Draco or Hermione could answer Harry's question, the said Gryffindor's and his companion's jaws dropped in unison.

"IS THAT YOU, HERMIONE?!" they shouted at the same time. People from the other parts of the shop looked around, surprised at the sudden outburst.

Draco rolled his eyes while Hermione just smiled. "Of course," she told both of them. "The one and only."

Ron grasped Hermione's right hand and looked at her from head to toe. "Merlin, Hermione, if you wore that kind of dresses when we were still dating, I wouldn't have let you break our relationship."

"Hey!" the blond exclaimed, frowning at the male Gryffindor as he pulled Hermione's hand away from Ron's.

The redhead rolled his eyes. "No need to get angry, Draco," he told him as he slung his left arm around the blond.

"Get your arms off my shoulder, Weasley!" the blond exclaimed.

"Yeah," Harry said, slinging his right arm around Draco's shoulders, too as he agreed with what Ron had said. "No need to get angry, Malfoy."

The blond just rolled his eyes as the three of them with Hermione trailing behind them walked out of Honeydukes. The three talked lightly (mostly about Quidditch and of course, girls). "Nice dress robes, Ron," the blond teased. "At least it's not as horrible as your dress robe in fourth year."

Ron glared while Harry and Hermione laughed. The three young men continued to talk while Hermione chose to be silent, observing her three best friends… she meant two best friends and her boyfriend. A smile formed on her lips as she stared with care at the three young men. They were so important to her now. The brunette sighed and looked at the ground. The war would soon start, she greatly felt it. Harry had already destroyed six Horcruxes, meaning, he would only destroy one more Horcrux then he could kill Voldemort already. She knew that Voldemort felt it every time a part of his soul was destroyed. She read it somewhere in a book.

The brunette sighed again as she stared at the ring that was given to her by Draco. Her smile came back on her face as she fingered the beautiful thing. She was glad that after all these years, their friendship grew steady and strong. Goodness, she even became the girlfriend of one of her best friend! She softly laughed and shook her head. At least, even if the war was coming, there were still people who she knew would protect her (especially Draco) until the end.

As the brunette averted her gaze away from her new ring, she was surprised to see that Draco's right hand was trying to find hers. The brunette looked at him. A small smile was plastered on his face and she knew that it was directed to hers.

Hermione grinned and held his searching hand. She shifted her hand until their fingers were entwined together.

When Hermione looked at Draco's face again, his smile reached his ears.

---

Draco shifted on his bed. Again. There was a huge storm outside the castle, making Hogwarts eerier and scarier. It was not that the blond was afraid or something. It was just that… he was feeling slightly uncomfortable. And, he was feeling that something bad would happen.

The blond sighed and sat up on his bed. He ran a hand through his hair as he slowly stood up and trudged outside his bedroom. A loud thunder followed by a bright lightening was seen once Draco was outside the vicinity of his room, illuminating the whole Heads' Dormitory. Draco walked faster once he was outside his girlfriend's room. He held the doorknob and twisted it. To his pure relief, it wasn't locked but open.

Slowly, he walked inside towards the brunette's bed. A lightning illuminated the skies again, also illuminating the brunette's room. Draco caught glimpse of the brunette and apparently, she was already sleeping. Draco, once beside her bed, knelt down until his face was leveled with hers. The brunette's eyes were closed. A small smile appeared on his face when he saw that Mr. Beady was trapped between the bruentte's arms (it was Hermione's turn in putting Mr. Beady into bed tonight).

"Hermione," he whispered. Hermione, surprised, immediately opened her eyes and looked at the blond. A look of curiosity crossed her face as she stared at him.

"Can I sleep here?" he asked her. The brunette just gave him a smile and scooted to the left, giving the Head Boy some space. Knowing that was a yes, Draco grinned and stood up. He then lied down beside the brunette. Once his head touched the pillow, he wrapped his left arm around the Gryffindor and pulled her closer to him until her back was pressed against him.

The Gryffindor made a small smile and removed her arms around the teddy bear. Instead, she shifted on her bed until she was facing her boyfriend. She wrapped her left arm around him loosely and buried her face against his neck, making the blond smile.

"Hermione," he said again as he ran his hand through her long mane. "I have this bad feeling."

The Head Girl snuggled against his neck. "What bad feeling?" she asked him.

Draco sighed. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. "I have no idea," he truthfully told her.

The brunette lifted her face and briefly kissed him straight on the lips. "There's nothing to worry about, Draco," she assured him, this time, kissing his nose.

Draco opened his eyes and stared adoringly at the brunette. A small smile formed on his face when the brunette smiled at him. A contented sigh escaped from the blond's lips. "You know what?" he asked her. "This is a dreaming come true."

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked with a curious look on her face.

"You see, Hermione, in third year, I started to like you," he told her. "And in fourth year, I started to fall in love with you. As we grow older, my feelings grew." Draco sighed. "You kind of distract me, especially now, that was why I went out with other girls, wanting to avert my attention away from you. But unfortunately, my plan didn't happen."

Hermione chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry for distracting you," she told him.

Draco grinned. "So, seriously, this is a dream come true," he told her. "I always wanted to be with you. Not with other girls. Just you… always you. I always dreamed to hug you tight" – he tightened his hug – "which meant something more than friendship. I always dreamed to kiss you" – he briefly kissed her lips – "without knowing that you will punch me after I did it."

The brunette chuckled again and kissed the place where she had punched him on their third year. "Did it really hurt?" she asked him. "I was utterly surprised when I saw that your jaw had bandage the day after I punched you."

The blond's grin widened. "Yes, it did hurt," he told her. "And you actually punch like a man. You know, you should have punched Pucey on his face when he called you that M-word."

Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"Do you know that when I was a child," he continued, "I always wanted to be Peter Pan? I envied him, honestly. I was envious because he won't grow up. I was envious because he got to have these awesome Lost Boys who helped him fight Captain Hook and his men in the Jolly Roger. I was envious because… well… he has Wendy."

The brunette stared at him disbelievingly as thunder rumbled outside their room. "You liked Peter Pan?"

Draco grinned. "Obviously," he told her. "Remember the girl I kept on telling you? The girl who gave me Mr. Beady and that ring you are wearing right now? She was my very first crush. I didn't care that time that I was ten-years-old and she was seventeen-years-old. It was just that… she was so beautiful, like you, of course. And you see, she was my Wendy when I was ten-years-old." He looked at her, this time, with love evident on his eyes. "Now, I'm seventeen-years-old" – he kissed her forehead – "and currently the luckiest man in the whole wide world because I have the most gorgeous and intelligent Wendy. Even Peter Pan will envy me."

Hermione chuckled softly. "Whatever," she told him.

"But it's true!" he protested softly, tightening his hug (if it was still possible).

The brunette just shook her head and buried her head at the crook of his neck again. "You know what, Draco?" she murmured. "This is a dream come true for me, too."

The blond smirked. "I knew it!" he exclaimed softly. "You were dreaming of me, too."

"Egoistical," the brunette told him, punching his arm lightly. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Mr. Every-Girl-Loves-Me-And-I-Love-It, but, you're quite wrong."

Draco's smirk disappeared and he frowned. "How so?" he asked her.

"Well, I always have this dream," she started to explain, eyes now trained on his face. "In this dream, I was there, happy and all. And then, there's this man. I don't know who he was because honestly, his face was kinda blurry. I just realized that you were that man."

"So basically, you were still dreaming about me," he pointed out, now smugly smiling at the brunette.

"Oh, shut up," she told him, though, still grinning.

Draco grinned back. His grin then changed into a loving smile as he continued to stare at the brunette. "You make me happy, do you know that?" he asked her.

Hermione just smiled, telling him that he always made her happy, too. "Guess what?" she whispered. "I discovered something today."

"Really?"

Her smile grew as a small sigh escaped from her lips. "I discovered the reason why you have the ability to make me smile when I'm crying."

Draco grinned. "Go on, tell me," he told her.

"Well…" the brunette said. "I'm not really sure if this really is the reason but…the reason why you have the ability to make me smile when I'm crying is because, well, I'm currently" – she looked up at him – "the most important person in your whole life."

"See, you're intelligent," the blond said. "I know that you will discover it soon."

Hermione smiled. "Just so you know," she told him, "you are currently the most important person in my whole life, too. Well, of course, also my parents and Harry and Ron."

Draco chuckled as he leaned closer. "I know that," he whispered before closing the gap between the two of them. Hermione could feel his hands running through her hair. And, to her slight annoyance, her insides were turning into jelly. Yes, Draco had this weird effect on her. She sighed when he then moved above her, his hands both placed beside her head to support himself and not to crush the brunette below her. Hermione wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled her closer to him.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Someone was knocking… banging rather the entrance door of the Heads' Dormitory. Hermione pulled away from their kiss, earning a soft moan of protest from the blond. The Head Girl chuckled as she kissed the blond's forehead. "Someone's impatiently knocking outside," she told him. "Let's go check him who he is."

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Draco stood up from the brunette's bed and helped her up. "Bloody intruder. Ruined the moment," he grumbled softly to himself. He watched as Hermione grabbed her robe (color red. Typical) and wore it.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"All right, all right, we're coming," Draco, already irritated, grabbed Hermione's right hand and together, they walked out of their room.

Draco was the one who opened the entrance door. They were surprised (and Draco showed his annoyance) when they discovered that it was Harry who was impatiently knocking. His look was absolutely horrible. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were askew.

"Harry?" the brunette said, frowning. "Why do you look like that? Did something happen?"

The Head Boy glared. "Yeah, Potter, what the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

"They're here," he simply said.

Draco rolled his eyes. "We understood it pretty well, Potter, thanks," he sarcastically told him. "Seriously, who are here? Who are they?"

To his astonishment, the brunette gasped and covered her face with both of her hands as she started to sob. "Oh my God, this can't be happening. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God," she cried in her hands.

The Head Boy started to get alarmed. "What? What's happening?!" he exclaimed.

"They're here, Draco," Harry told him again. "Death Eaters are here. Voldemort is here. The war started."

Hermione's cries grew louder as she shook because of fear. The war already started. That was her greatest fear. She couldn't believe that the war already started.

Draco paled noticeably. "All right, Harry, warn the others," he ordered him. "We're going to follow you in just a minute."

Harry nodded and ran, disappearing from their sight.

The blond then faced the brunette. "Okay, Hermione, listen to me," he told her, pulling the crying Head Girl towards his arms. "Don't be afraid, okay? I'm going to watch your back."

"What if something happened to me?" she whispered brokenly. "What if something happened to Harry… or to Ron? What if something to you?! Oh Merlin, I don't want something to happen to you!"

"Shhh…" Draco consoled, kissing her forehead. "Nothing's going to happen to us," he reassured her. "Everything will be all right in the end."

Hermione removed her hands from her face. "How can you be so sure, Draco?" she asked him, fear evident in her eyes.

"I just know," the Slytherin answered her. "Because Harry's in our side. And I believe in him."

The brunette bit her bottom lip.

"Now, go get your wand. Make it quick," he told her as he retrieved his own wand in his secret pocket. He watched as the brunette obeyed him and went to her room.

'This can't be happening,' he thought, running a hand through his hair. He knew it. He bloody knew it. He had this feeling that something bad would happen to night. And he was proven right.

Hermione then went back to him, still crying. Draco pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I love you, remember that," he softly murmured to her.

The brunette nodded. "I love you, too," she said.

And with that, they walked out of the Heads' Dormitory to fight for their freedom.

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A/N: So, end of chapter! One more chapter (it's sort of an epilogue) and I'm done. And for the sequel I'm planning to do… I still have no idea if I will make one. HaHa! I'm slightly hesitating, you know. So, I will make a poll in my profile after I posted the last chapter of TU! (maybe next week? I have no idea).

I have two trivia, btw. First trivia, remember the "Can I keep you?" that Draco asked Hermione while she was sleeping. Yeah, it's from Casper. And the funny-looking ghost, in Draco's opinion (adorably cute ghost, in Hermione's opinion) is Casper. The second trivia – Remember the password for you to enter their Dormitory ("Faith. Trust. Pixie Dust")? I got it from the movie, Return to Neverland. You know, where Wendy's daughter, Jane, met Peter Pan himself.

Anyway, that's all my dear readers. Before I end this Author's Note, I would like to thank all those who read this story and loved it. I would like to say that I appreciated those readers who found time to review this. Your reviews always makes my day, do you know that? I'm quite sad because TU! is about to end. Honestly, this is so far my most favorite story I ever made in my whole life. I couldn't believe that a plot just popped into my mind and I managed to make this into a story I fell in love with. Thanks again, by the way.

So, that's all. Review, okay? I love you all.

With love,

2booklover4 :D