Afterwards, he held me in his arms and we both cried. Why? Why now? Why did we have to be caught up in the middle of this? Why did this have to be happening? I don't think that was why we were crying though.
"Was I.." I let my voice trail off, allowing his mind to fill in the blanks of the unspeakable question I had just asked.
"Yes" He whispers back, into the darkness. "Yes, you were. Was I?"
"Yes" I mumble, into his ear. The awkwardness of it all was nearly too much, and then he spoke.
"I love you Hermione." Did he just? Did I just? My stomach drops, all the way down, until there is nowhere left for it to go. I feel butterflies, and..and broomsticks flying around in my belly. I can't talk, I can't even think. And then, through the tears, he looks at me in the dark.
"I..I love you too Draco." I whisper, not knowing what else to say. The honesty of it all, this wasn't simple, human emotions. This was raw, this hurt. "This...this is the last time I'm going to see you isn't it?"
"Only until the war is over. It's not safe for you to be here. I mean, it's not safe for you to be with Potter and that...Weasley" he caught himself, for my sake "either, especially not Potter. I think he would throw you in the line of fire before ever taking it himself, but you don't listen. A muggle trait, I assume."
"Watch it." I demand.
"Look" He says, leaning over and pointing out the window, and the full moon outside. "What do you see when you see the moon?" He asks.
"A moon?" I answer, thinking logic.
"No, look deeper at it, stop thinking so much." I stare at the moon, remembering the courtyard.
"I think of our kiss, in the courtyard, when you made all the bad in the world disappear."
"Anytime you feel like you don't have me, I want you to look for the moon, Hermione. I will be here, watching it every night." With that, he kisses me. "We need to go, it is getting early." He looks at me, sighing. "Will you tell anyone?" I know what he is referring to. That I am impure, that I have taken snogging to a whole new level.
"No," I whisper. "I won't. Will you?"
"Never, but I know my parents will know anyway, they can read me like a book." I smile at him, half-heartedly.
"Will you tell them what I am?"
"Mother perhaps. Father don't need to know, probably don't even care." He shrugs, then thinks about it "He would disown me."
"Yea" I sigh. "Let's get going." The broomride back to Hogwarts is awkward, not really knowing what to say about the whole thing, what we did. I love him, but how do you end a night like that? Not with talking about love and war, peacocks and clubhouses.
"Thank you for the evening." I whisper. "I truly did enjoy your company."
"I enjoyed yours too." He smiles, not just a smirk, but a full smile. "I can be myself around you."