HERMIONE'S POV:

I wasn't sure why I believed Draco.

I wasn't sure why I felt so miserable.

I wasn't sure why Ron had seemed so mad over me just talking to Draco.

I wasn't sure why I started crying the minute my covers were over my head.

I wasn't sure why I felt so helpless and lost.

I wasn't sure why I missed Draco.

I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

DRACO'S POV:

I walked at a leisurely pace to the Slytherin common room.

When I got in, the lights were off and no one was awake.

I walked quietly to my bed and crawled in, thinking about what had just happened.

I never would have acted like that normally. But I was changing and I didn't know how to stop it.

I thought I might've been starting to develop feelings for Hermione. I would never admit it to anyone else, though… Maybe.

It was too shameful for me, a pure-blood Slytherin, to have such feelings for a mudblood Gryffindor.

I thought about how it had felt to have her small, cold hand in mine.

But, I fell asleep thinking about how beautiful she looked in the starlight.

HERMIONE'S POV:

When I woke up, the first thing I did was run to the bathroom and throw up.

No other girl was in the room. It was a weekend and everyone but me had plans.

I looked in the mirror and was startled at what I saw. My face was white and my eyes were nearly as red as my nose.

I turned to leave, but sneezed on my way out, banging my head on the wall in the process, which only made my headache worse. I stumbled weakly to my short bedside table, pulling open a drawer and pulling out a box of tissues. I set them on the table and laid back down, grabbing one and blowing my nose before lobbing it into the trashcan. I shivered violently and pulled the covers closer around myself.

A knock at the door made me jump.

"Come in." I said, my voice coming out weak and scratchy. I sounded terrible.

Harry and Ron walked slowly through the door.

Their eyes widened at the sight of me.

They moved closer and Harry said, "What's wrong, Hermione?"

I sniffled and said, "I've got a cold."

I shivered again. I felt a cough coming on and grabbed another tissue quickly, holding it up to my mouth and coughing violently, my whole body shaking.

"Do you need anything?" Harry asked.

I tried to say "Another blanket" but through my shivering, all that came out was, "B-b-blanket."

He nodded and walked off to get another blanket.

Ron leaned over and touched the back of his hand to my forehead. He pulled back quickly.

"We may need to take her to the infirmary, Harry, she's burning up."

Whatever Harry said next was cut off by me jumping faster than should have been possible for someone as sick as me and sprinting to the bathroom.

Ron came in and held my hair back for me while Harry left to get a teacher.

When I sat back in bed, another coughing fit racked my body.

Ron looked at me worriedly and handed me the box of tissues.

Harry came in with Madam Pomfrey at his heels.

She checked my temperature and had me moved to the infirmary.

Harry and Ron stayed with me for most of the day until I told them to leave because I felt bad about making them stay in the sick-room with me on the weekend. Even when they protested that they didn't have anything better to do anyway, I convinced them to go.

Shortly after they left, I fell asleep.

DRACO'S POV:

When I didn't see Hermione at breakfast I got a little bit worried. I tried to convince myself that she probably just woke up late or something. She was up late last night, it made sense.

But then, Potter and Weasley were at lunch without her. That made me even more worried.

Trying to make it sound like a joke, I said sarcastically to Crabbe, "I wonder where Granger is."

Crabbe was so dumb he wouldn't even think that anything was going on.

"I heard she's in the infirmary." He laughed.

I laughed with him, not feeling like laughing but doing it anyway because it was required.

After that, I snuck away into the infirmary.

There she was, asleep on a cot. Her face was gaunt and her breathing was raspy.

I sat in a chair beside her and inspected her further. Her hair was stuck to her pale face with sweat.

Her eyelids fluttered open and when she looked at me, she said, "What are you doing here?" She sounded terrible. Her voice was nearly guttural and it rasped, sounding painful.

"Don't talk." I said, sure that it was taking a lot out of her just to say that short sentence.

She obliged without complaint.

"I came to see you." I said, taking hold of the side of her cold hand. "I heard you were in here and… Well, I guess I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

She smiled a little bit and nodded, showing that she was fine. But she wasn't, she looked like she was turning green. Then, her face went blank and her cheeks puffed outward.

I knew what was happening immediately so I reached for the nearest bucket and held it up to her.

She gripped the edges of the tin pail so hard that her knuckles turned bone-white.

The horrible retching noise that came from her, along with the splattering sound on the bottom of the bucket, made me sick to my stomach. In between retching fits, she said, "Leave."

I did as she said and ran. I felt like I might get sick, too, but I wanted to be back there with her. I finally convinced myself it would be far better if I got away from the infirmary.

If Ron and Harry decided to drop in on her and saw me, what would they do? I didn't need trouble with her friends.

I went to the library and decided maybe I would read something and try to get my mind off Hermione. After a few minutes of searching, I found something with a promising title. "Death Wish". But, as with every novel, there is a love interest. And I couldn't help picturing myself and Hermione as the couple.

When I gave myself a stern talking-to about how impossible that was and how ridiculous I was being, I put the book back in its place, deciding to practice some spells instead. But even that didn't help.

Every time I came to one that was even slightly difficult I thought, 'Hermione would have this one down in a minute… In fact she probably already knows it.' and when I came to one that extremely hard, 'I need help from Hermione.' Nothing helped get her off my mind.

'Quit being so stupid!' came that little voice again. I would name him Steve. Because the name Steve really got on my nerves, and lately so was this voice. 'The only reason you even think you like her is that she's pretty.'

And Steve wasn't wrong. She was very pretty.

But that wasn't the only reason. She was also smart and she had an amazing smile and-

'Didn't you come here to get her OFF your mind?' Steve said in his tiny, annoying voice.

I scowled at the book in my hands and placed it back on a shelf and walked out of the library determined to find something that would distract me.

Halfway through the hall outside the library, I ran into Ron. Literally. I was turning a corner when he stepped out from behind it, a certain menace shining in his eyes.

"Malfoy." he sneered.

Was this what I was being reduced to for some girl? Getting picked on by a Weasley? I reminded myself it was for the best. I had to do it for her. I wanted to be good for her.

"Ronald." I said monotonously.

His eyes widened in surprise and he only blinked at me for a moment.

"Was there something you wanted?" I asked after he just stood there eyeing me warily.

This seemed to surprise him even more. I guess I kind of expected this. I had always been horrible to him. It made sense for him to act like at any minute I might give him a super wedgie and steal his lunch money.

"Um… No, I guess not." he said, seeming to have had something to say before he saw my attitude change. Obviously he wasn't factoring this in. I guess I couldn't blame him.

"Okay. Well, bye." I said, walking around him and down the hall.

There were a few kids in the hall, but no more than 6 or 7.

A first year walking toward the library tripped on the edge of his robe and fell forward, dropping his books all over the floor.

Feeling the sudden urge to help him, I bent over and pulled him up by his elbow then began gathering up the books.

"Thank you." he said, bent over his mess.

I held out the pile of books he must've been on his way to return.

He looked up and his eye widened in fear as he found out to whose arm the helping hand was attached. He grabbed the books and ran, nearly tripping again.

As I watched him turn the corner, I saw Weasley watching me.

I turned back and kept walking.

RON'S POV:

Maybe Malfoy really was leaving the dark side. I couldn't be sure quite yet, but it seemed like he was turning nice.

But you couldnt do that, could you? Surely you could...

But not someone like Malfoy. I would have to see a little more proof before I bought his load of-

"Ron!" I heard two identical voices call.

I turned to see Fred and George racing up to me with a box of their candy and rolled my eyes, ready for them to ask me to do a test-run on something.