Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and this does not give me any sort of profit except personal satisfaction. :)

AN: This chapter sort of wrote itself and I did not intend for it. Anyway, I guess I needed a warm up before delving back into the plot. Reviews are always welcome, even flames. Enjoy.

Chapter Fifteen: Unplanned Meeting

Hermione raced through the deserted hallway, desperately trying to the sound of Malfoy's voice in her head. She wasn't aware the snake could be in love or posses the ability to care for another individual more than himself. She was utterly confused and knew that confronting him would only worsen her situation. She turned the corner and her breath got caught in her throat as she ran into a figure. He was strong and she felt his muscles flex as he steadied her balance.

"Hermione, are you alright?" She was the just person she didn't want to see at a time like this. She looked up and found Pansy by his side. A twinkle of concern was evident on her pale face but Hermione didn't both questioning it; she probably looked really distraught.

"W-What are you guys doing here?" The first thing she needed to do was to take the attention away from her. Harry eyed her for a minute before bending over to pick up her things.

"We were on rounds. Professor McGonagall suspected something, we are to meet the order in front of the Forbidden Forest." Hermione was alarmed, why was he talking about the order in front of a slimy slytherin?

"No worries. McGonagall trusts us." He assured, noticing her worried glance.

"You should go and rest." Pansy hinted.

"Don't tell me what to do." Hermione scowled. She was tired of people telling her what to do, especially Slyherins. "I'm coming with you, Harry."

"I don't think that's a good idea Hermione." Harry started as he ran a hand through his unruly hair. Hermione narrowed her eyebrows.

"I wasn't asking you. I'm simply informing you." she said bitterly and snatched the papers from his hands. "Meet you in front of the main gate in fifteen minutes." Without acknowledging Pansy, she walked by.

"What's wrong with her?" Pansy asked as she crossed her arms. "We can't let her come with us."

"She's too stubborn and will end up venturing out on her own looking for us if we don't wait. That's not safe." he said distantly. His mind was still muddling over trying to find a reason as to Hermione's discontent.

"Well, you heard her majesty, main gate in fifteen minutes." Pansy grumbled and just as they were heading towards the staircase, they heard approaching footsteps and turned to see none other than Draco Malfoy.

"What are you doing out late? We are on rounds you know," Harry snarled.

"Which is exactly why we let Granger go, right?" Pansy gave him an icy stare. She wasn't going to let the Gryffindor get the unfair advantage.

"Where is Hermione?" Draco asked.

"Hermione?" Harry and Pansy repeated, bewildered.

"Where is she?" He was in no mood of quarreling but was focused on talking to Granger. He was in love with her and there was no way around it. The sooner he learned to accept it himself, the more he started to trust his feelings for her. He wasn't sure when he fell for the nerdy Gryffindor but was glad he did; she was his hope, his reason to disobey his father and strive towards a better future. A future designed by his own principles and morals and not crafted by his father's selfish motives.

Before he could brood further about his newly formulated resolutions, Harry grabbed him by the collar; anger raced through his veins.

"If you did anything to Hermione," he warned. Draco glowered back and easily slipped away from his vice-grip.

"For your information Potter, I didn't do anything to her. I'm merely looking for her to get my bloody Astronomy assignment." He growled. He decided that it wasn't his decision to tell Potter about their secret relationship. He eyed Pansy who as quiet; she wasn't a blockhead, she knew something had happened between them the day she caught them arguing in front of the library. Nevertheless, he respected her for staying silent about the matter.

"You better hope your right." Harry had no intention of giving Malfoy an clue of Hermione's plan to follow them into the Forbidden Forest.

"Granger is joining us on our rounds." Pansy informed. She wasn't going to keep quiet and noticed Harry's angry glare towards her direction.

"What? Has she gone completely insane?" Draco thought out loud. Pansy had to bite her tongue from answering that question. Harry didn't bother listening to Malfoy thinking out loud so he brushed past them towards the main doorway. He spun around when he heard two sets of footsteps following him.

"You aren't coming with us Malfoy," He snarled and lifted his hands and pushed Malfoy back to emphasize his disapproval.

"Potter, as much I'd love to kick your arse right now, this isn't about you, for once. I'm coming and if I need to break your nose to get past you, so be it." Pansy tensed at the thought of Harry with a broken nose, she knew what Draco was capable of. Surprisingly, he's been going easy on Potter. Harry knew fighting with Malfoy would only stall them from meeting Hermione and frankly he didn't care. If Malfoy's foolish decision would get him hurt, so be it. Hermione was waiting near Hagrid's cabin, as promised. Her expression turned into digust when she saw the figure behind Harry.

"What is he doing here?" She knew Malfoy was looking at her but she didn't want to meet his gaze.

"Nice to see you too, Granger." he said dryly, though it did sadden him greatly that she didn't show any signs of concern towards his confession. He felt weak and stupid for letting his feelings spill out and accepted the fact that despite everything that has happened this year, she didn't love him.

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Love, starry.