Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The books, movies, and all memorabilia belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. No infringement intended.

Au/N: I had quite a few people ask me the name of the song in the last chapter. It was called "Broken" by Lindsey Haun and was featured on the movie "Broken Bridges." Also, thanks for all the reviews, guys! I adore them to no end.

Chapter Five. Hermione's Clicky Thing

Hermione Granger

I woke up at last, resting on a bed, the sunlight coming in through the blinds. I rolled over and pulled the soft quilt over my head, snuggling deeper into the warmth. It was only then that I realized someone was beside me in bed.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed, jumping out of bed and checking to be sure I wasn't naked. I couldn't remember drinking. As Draco Malfoy sat up, his face bruised and bleeding, I remembered the events of the previous night. At first the anger returned and I wanted to hit him again, but I noticed how carefully he must have laid me in bed and tucked me in, since he hadn't awakened me. And, there was, after all, obviously something going on between us. Lastly, he looked as though he'd already had a bit of a run-in with the Whomping Willow.

"Good morning to you, too…" he grumbled, sitting up and wincing as he touched his lip gently. When he spoke, he reopened the wound on his upper lip and it began to bleed into his hands.

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry! Wait there…I'll be right back!" I promised, running to the door, throwing it open, and rushing down the hall to the bathroom with the medicine cabinet. I grabbed peroxide, bandages, and gauze, barely pausing to catch my breath. It didn't occur to me that I was actually eager to make Malfoy feel better until I was sitting on the bed beside him, pressing the gauze against the nozzle of the peroxide bottle, and tipping it over to moisten the gauze.

"Ouch! That stings!" Malfoy said nastily as I dabbed at the long, bloody scratches on his face. He winced and recoiled from my touch many times, and I always sighed and put more peroxide on the gauze.

"Stop being such a baby. We both know you've felt worse." I picked up two bandages and stretched one across the cut in his brow and another across the bridge of his swollen nose. When he realized I'd finished, he let out a great breath of air.

"I hate it when people take care of me," he said as I stood up to put the medicines on the nightstand. Sitting back down beside him and looking into his swollen eyes, I could tell he didn't really mean it.

"Have you ever had anyone take care of you before?"

He didn't respond.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'" I turned my attention to my hands, which were resting on my lap. It was silent for a few moments, but he cleared his throat before long and forced me to look up at him before he would speak.

"So…about last night—"

"Oh, do you forgive me? I'm so terribly sorry! I was just…angry and…" It dawned on me what I was saying. My apology turned to a flying array of daggers in Malfoy's general direction. "…and…I had a very good reason to, as you are well aware. You did murder my parents, you are my slave, and you deserve whatever I did to you last night and far worse. Now…where's my clicky thing…" I said, searching around the room for my little white box with the big red button.

I reached in my pocket and felt it there. A grin spread across my face. I pulled it out of my pocket and prepared to push the button. Not for any particular reason…just because I could.

"Don't!" he begged, looking at the white box like he would surely die if I pressed the button.

"Oh? And why shouldn't I? What on earth could be a good enough reason for me to put this down? How do I know that you didn't…touch me or something last night? Hmm?" I said suspiciously. He looked horrified at the thought.

"I told you last night, I've never touched a woman without her consent. And…I…you…pressed it last night. Five times. While you were asleep. You rolled over and it went off. Please, Hermione. Put it down…" he begged, eyeing me with such a sadness that I felt forced to comply.

Slowly, the white box dropped to my side. He sighed and closed his eyes, probably thanking God. A thought occurred to me that I had to have Malfoy verify. A small, infinitesimal part of me wanted him to explain how he could not have killed my parents. Because I remembered them being very much gone…and him being very much the reason.

"Why did you say…what you said…last night? And did you mean any of it? And if you meant it…why did you wait to tell me? Why didn't you tell me when you first came here?" The questions just flowed out of me, and with each one, I could see his icy block of confidence melting away. I began to doubt him again, and I prepared myself to ignore his puppy-dog eyes when he begged me to put down that white box again.

"I said it…because it's the truth. I didn't tell you when I first came because you were too busy torturing me to listen. And I did mean all of it…but not to get you to sleep with me and not to make you like me, even. I just wanted to, because I'm--"

"Because you're such a good person," I mocked. He looked hurt, but I remembered who this was, and I did regret saying what I said.

"No, 'Mione…" he said, and I knew this was going to get freaky when he called me by my nickname. He'd never done it before; strangely, it made me blush. "It's because…"

"…go on….?" I pushed; he'd been silent for a few moments and the tension was beginning to irk me.

He blinked and looked at me with none of the normal emotions that usually described him. He was not arrogant, confident, or sadistic. His eyes were full of a sorrow I'd never seen, not even in the eyes of Harry or Ron. But I also noticed him fidgeting nervously, and a faint blush began to creep into his cheeks. Seeing this, I became even more impatient.

"Tell me! Before I'm too old to hear you, please!" I demanded; I vaguely realized that he was sliding closer to me and that my fingers were twisting the quilt into a knotted mess.

"I'm…falling for you, 'Mione," he said, not looking at me.

I'd been expecting something off-the-wall, but this was too much. So, I did what any normal, sane person would do.

I fainted.

End Chapter

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