Draco sat up, his eyes searching Hermione's face. "What exactly are you trying to say, Hermione?" His voice was so gentle that it took Hermione's breath away.

"I don't know exactly what I'm trying to say," she whispered. She looked down at the wine glasses and licked her lips, nervously. "I think the wine is affecting my judgement." She looked back at Draco and the expression on his face made her catch her breath. He actually looked upset, sort of disappointed...she felt a hundred butterflies set lose in her stomach. Was Draco disappointed that she made a joke about the wine? Had he been waiting for her to say more? She'd only said it to cover her embarrassment. Draco blinked and she could see his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"You're judgement is spot on, Hermione. Potter's a good guy and I'm his nemesis. So what that we've all grown up and now manage to converse with each other without name calling? The mural upstairs proves who I am and you should stick to your original views of me."

Hermione stared at him, shocked at his sudden outburst. He was the stereotypical over confident, self-possessed, poised man with looks and money and power. This sudden show of self-doubt was shocking and it was about her - about how she thought of him. He'd watched her for those few moments but now he went to stand up, his gaze averted. In that second, Hermione knew she couldn't let him go now, not when it had taken so long for them to get to this point. Not when she was finally willing to admit that he meant something to her. She grabbed his arm and stopped him moving to standing and then without thinking she reached her hand out to his cheek.

She swallowed, her throat feeling dry as the tips of her fingers delicately touched his beautiful, smooth skin. The tingles ran down her arm to her stomach, her breathing rate increasing. They'd never touched like this. Being together all the time they'd touched by accident, they'd held each other in fright or to apparate but they'd never actually touched intentionally. It registered in Hermione's brain that Draco had, in fact, been the absolute perfect gentleman.

She'd intended to just touch her fingers to his face to show him what she was struggling to tell him but now she had started she couldn't stop. Her fingers traced his jaw line and then, surprising herself as much as Draco her other hand lifted to repeat the actions of her first until she was cupping his face.

Draco reached up and grabbed her wrists, his eyes the most intense she had ever seen them. "You can't do this, Hermione."

"Shut up." Hermione answered him forcefully because her impromptu, intimate gesture had opened the flood gates to all the emotions that had been simmering away inside her. She knew what she was about to do was against her better judgement but she needed something other than tension and fear. She needed someone to hold her and Draco letting his defences down was enough to convince her that it was him she needed. She saw his face freeze as she leant closer, his eyes darting around her face, not quite believing what she was about to do.

She leant forward until their lips met, just a gentle, feather light touch - warm and incredibly sweet. Draco let her kiss him, responding to her but nothing more. He leant into her but his hands remained at his sides so that only their lips touched and it was this gentle, tender and thoughtful response to her that was made Hermione's breath catch. The first time you kissed someone it was usually either cautious and fairly chaste or heated and passionate but this was none of those.

Draco was responding to her like this was something precious, as if he didn't want to rush or spoil it. He was responding to her in the exact same way she was kissing him. With reverence, with care and with a kind of awe. A wave of total longing washed over Hermione and again, without a conscious thought, she had her hands back around his face, holding him while her lips danced with his.

Her surroundings were blurring as her entire focus was homing in on the heated, tingling and electric feelings that were reaching her toes and fingertips. The centre of her world was now the lips that were moving with her own so deliciously, so sensually and with so much feeling. She'd never experienced a kiss like this, one that didn't deepen or end and it was beginning to make her melt. The warmth had spread from where their lips touched and now it was turning to a heat that was incredible. Hermione couldn't hold in the small, low, breathy moan that bubbled up from her throat as she felt Draco respond immediately, his lips becoming more demanding.

Hermione leant into him, wanting more, her hands grabbing the muscles of his arms, their upper bodies touching. He felt warm, he tasted delicious and the gorgeous aroma of him washed over her. Hermione was losing herself now, the simple, little kiss that she'd started had turned into something she could never have imagined. He was sexy, sensuous, gorgeous...but that wasn't what was making this the best kiss Hermione had ever had. This was two people, who should have still hated each other, finally letting themselves connect.

Draco pulled away but he then slipped his arms around her and she let herself be pulled into his embrace. They sat like this for ages, neither one speaking. Hermione knew that something had just changed with that kiss because how could a kiss like that not change everything? Her heart was still racing from its implications. It was Draco who spoke first.

"I hope that isn't something you treat all your friends to."

Hermione sat up and pulled away to look at him. "No - you're the only one."

"I want to be the only one." The double meaning of Draco's words wasn't lost on Hermione and she gave him a small smile.

"The only one I've almost got myself killed for? Almost lost my magic for? The only one I feel like hexing about fifteen times a day?" she gave a little chuckle. "That wasn't what you meant, was it?"

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Hermione felt a little awkward coming down to breakfast the next morning. She had no idea how Draco would be with her this morning. He was already eating, sitting at the table with a bowl of cereals.

"Morning."

"Good Morning."

Hermione busied herself getting a drink and grabbed an apple, feeling uneasy. She had no choice but to sit opposite Draco to eat them but he didn't look up from the papers he was reading. She sipped her coffee, ate her apple and then glanced at him again. This time he lifted his eyes to her.

"Okay?" he asked.

"I suppose so."

"So you're not okay then?" Draco asked again. Hermione shrugged but didn't answer him and he pushed his papers away. "Would you like some attention?" He smirked and she glared at him.

"No. I'm going to make some toast, would you like some?" She really did want his attention, desperately because after last night she had somehow expected things to be different. She wasn't sure how she had expected them to be different. Maybe their kiss hadn't made him feel like she did.

She popped the bread under the grill and stared out of the small window. When it was ready she bent to pull the grill pan out but it slipped out of her protected hand onto her arm.

"Ouch!" she cried out and stared at her arm that had a developing red line across it. Draco jumped up, looked at her arm and then fetched his wand.

"Hold still," he instructed, waving his wand over the offending burn. He examined his work and then nodded. "Should be fine now."

"Thanks," Hermione said. Draco still had hold of her arm and they stared at each other for a moment, the toast forgotten. Hermione knew she had to say something. "About last night..."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Oh no! Not the 'about last night' conversation!"

"I just wanted to say..."

"You don't have to say anything," Draco interrupted her. "I know it happened in the heat of the moment and that you didn't mean to do it."

"That wasn't what I was going to say. I wanted to say that I didn't plan to kiss you and it happened in the heat of the moment..."

"Isn't that what I just said?" Draco asked.

"But I'm not sorry about it," she lowered her voice. "It felt amazing." Her breath was a little shaky because this felt like a big confession. "I didn't expect kissing you to feel like that."

Draco's expression changed, his eyes darkening and then without warning, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her onto the worktop before sliding up close to her and kissing her firmly but gently on the lips. Hermione was taken completely by surprise and for a moment didn't respond and then the magic that had happened last night sprung to life, tingles spreading through her and her lips began to move with Draco's.

Draco was still being gentle and somehow it was so much more intoxicating than a forceful kiss. She felt his arms slip around her, pulling her nearly to the edge of the worktop and as his body pressed into hers she slid her arms around his neck. Their lips danced together and Hermione willingly let him open hers so that he could deepen the kiss. She was clinging to him, already completely lost in the moment, not caring that she wasn't bothering to keep up the pretence of not being attracted to him.

A moment later there was a deafening bang that made the house judder and before Hermione had even jumped off the worktop she could hear voices in the hall.

Lots of kissing! And another interruption - sorry! Hope this helped with everyone's Dramione withdrawals. x