The Commencement

"That shut you up, didn't it?"

As Draco stepped back away from Hermione, the tears stopped, the sobs quieted, her grip on the books loosened and all she could hear was her heart throbbing. She didn't, more like couldn't, think, for her crush, the boy she had secretly been in love with for three years, just kissed her.

"Now will ya shut up? Jeez," he sighed, and looked down at her secret notebook. Hermione didn't move, her eyes glued to his. "Don't think anything of it, though, it was just to shut you up, okay?"

"O-okay."

"Can I look at the picture?" he asked, and pointed toward her chest, where the book was held against. She quickly handed him the notebook and looked down again, I don't want you to…she thought, but I can't say no! He flipped through each page, scanned them as they were covered in scribbled poems and crossed out thoughts. When he turned the page to the picture, Hermione looked away, embarrassed, as she remembered her fall from the few weeks before.

He immediately knew where he was, I was near the shore, but where was she? Hermione looked back at him as he looked at the drawing and could tell that he was embarrassed too, and when he lifted his head from looking down, he quickly looked back down, grumbled, and turned the page. The next page was a surprise to him; it was full of scribbled writing and water damage. He brought the book closer to his face and read what he could, it said:

Why can't I be the one that everyone adores?

Or at least be as beautiful as the shores?
Why god, must you inflict all these sores?

So no one can see through these closed doors.

In my heart where pain is caused by wars.

The word pain was what he immediately thought of.

"Gahh, uh, you should write more poems," he spat and shoved her secret notebook back at her.

A small wisp of air exited Hermione's mouth with a "Thanks" trailing behind it. Draco then stood up, so Hermione's face was level to his groin, which caused them to both blush and she stood up quickly, popping her ankle. They then stood there, facing each other, and smelled the other one's breath. Hermione, chestnuts. Draco, lemon drops.

"Gahh, uh bye," he huffed, turned around and started to walk away, leaving her standing in the middle of the hall. He looked back, secretly to see if she was still there, but she wasn't.

She had already slipped out of sight.