'Cause Tomorrow Could Be One Day Too Late

The sun's rays filled the room as Hermione awoke with a startle, sweat dripping down her face, her thick brown curls wet with moisture. She had another bad dream. A week has gone by since the incident where Draco Malfoy had planted one on her with such passion and a week since he had uttered a word other than an insult to her. Hermione's mind was filled with thought, why was Draco stirring up these never before felt feelings inside of her? Could she maybe like him? No! Of course not! The mere thought sent shivers down her spine. She couldn't possibly be in love with Draco Malfoy. There she sat pondering these feelings stirring deep within her when she decided that all this was most likely just her confusion about the kiss. Yes, that must be it. Hermione had never seen Draco show any sort of compassion to anyone, she must be puzzled on why he would kiss someone like her; a kiss with such feeling and a hint of something else put into it. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Why did he do it though? Why did he kiss her? It couldn't have been intentional? Could it?

Draco was thinking of similar thoughts deep in the depths of the dungeons. He always had some sort of fascination with Hermione Granger; he just couldn't quite put his finger on what it could have meant.

Harry and Ron waved Hermione over to a spot they saved for her in the Great Hall. It was a morning like any other, she thought as she walked past people chatting merrily to their fellow house members while eating breakfast and took a seat next to Ron.

"Hey Mione!" he enthusiastically greeted her.

"No Ronald."

Hermione laughed at the expression on his face when she immediately declined as soon as she saw the quill in his hand and the parchment with scribbled messy writing on it.

"Nice way to greet a friend Hermione" he scoffed.

She gave a lighthearted laugh. "I know the only reason you greeted me so enthusiastically was so that I would do your Potions essay for you, am I right?"

Ron's face immediately turned a light shade of red as he tried to decline without looking as if he were denying the truth. "N-n-no of course not! Can I not greet my friend enthusiastically anymore without being accused of wanting something in return?" he stammered.

"No, you can. I just know that face anywhere; panic stricken eyes wanting a way out of whatever is tormenting you, eyes open slightly larger than normal to imitate the look a lost puppy has when it is asking for help. You're face just screams 'Hermione please help me!' and plus, whenever you have scribbled on parchment in front of you and a quill in your hand… well to put it bluntly, you need help."

He opened his mouth in an attempt to start a protest but was cut off with another 'No! You need to learn to do things by yourself Ronald' by Hermione. After that she turned and made conversation with Harry while Ron slaved away at his Potions essay, due right after breakfast. However throughout breakfast she felt uneasy. She could feel a pair of eyes on her at all times which made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up, and it was no surprise who they belonged to.

Draco was mesmerized with Hermione throughout breakfast; he just couldn't take his eyes off of her. He felt a sharp pain in his arm and turned to the boy who had nudged him forcefully, trying to get Draco's attention.

"You git! What did you do that for?" Draco finally said coming out of his trance.

Goyle gave him a look that said everything he needed to say without saying it, 'You're not yourself lately'. Draco, already frustrated with himself, got up from the table and started to walk away, leaving his breakfast untouched.

Goyle managed to catch the words "I have stuff to do. Don't' wait for me." before Draco disappeared behind the Great Hall's oak doors.

The next thing he knew Draco found himself wandering the grounds for what seemed like hours making him late for his first lesson of the day; Potions. He rushed in but stopped short when he entered and noticed everyone staring at him and a very grumpy Potions master. Mumbling a simple 'sorry' he rushed past the professor towards his seat. Before he sat down however, he caught Hermione's glance. They held eye contact for a few seconds, before both of them looked away, sharply turning their heads in the opposite direction.

After Potions class had ended, Draco was quick to get up and while walking towards the exit, slipped a piece of parchment in Hermione's favourite book; Hogwarts A History. Surely she would have to notice it? He then filed out of the class room with the rest, hoping no one had caught him in the act. Little did he know, one person had witnessed it all, and he felt a pang of jealousy course through his veins.

Later that night, Hermione was getting ready for bed and decided to get some light reading done. She whipped out Hogwarts a History, opened it to the bookmarked page, and began to read. Once she had her fill, she got up and made to put the book away when she saw a tiny piece of parchment flutter out from between the pages of the tattered old book and land softly on the floor. Puzzled she picked it up and examined it. Slowly she unfolded the parchment and saw that it was a note, a note that had a message hastily scribbled on it. The message read:

'Hermione,

We need to talk about what happened. Meet me at the edge of the lake where an old Birch tree sits at 12.

-Draco'

Hermione stared at the note. It wasn't an offer; it was more like a command. A command she feels like she has to oblige, though she dreads what might happen. Hermione thought a bit longer; she thought about every memory related to Draco Malfoy, and of the familiar pain that surged through her chest every time she looked at him. She remembers the day they met, and how she wished she could get to know this boy better. He was the right kind of wrong. The kind a goody two shoes like her wanted to start a friendship with. It would have been a wonderful adventure for her. She won't deny it; she has had a strong feeling about Draco Malfoy for a long time now. She just couldn't put her finger on what it might be. Right now, in the moment of deeply examining her feelings, something in her brain clicked. She has feelings for the boy. No matter how impossible it may sound to her, it was fact; not fiction. This could be the reason for her feeling pain and hurt whenever he called her a mudblood, insulted her, the pain she felt when he got sorted into Slytherin, and every single time she saw him with Pansy.

So with that thought she looked at the clock and let out a tiny inaudible gasp. It was quarter to twelve, she had 15 minutes to get changed, make it out of the school without getting caught, and to the lake where Draco Malfoy was waiting for her. Without wasting another minute she rushed to get dressed, clambered down the stairs as fast and as quietly as she could, then was about to slip out of the common room through the portrait of The Fat Lady when a sudden realization struck her. I need the cloak! So she rushed back upstairs and being as quiet as a mouse, slipped into the boys' dormitory to retrieve Harry's invisibility cloak. As soon as the door closed behind her, she made a dash for it; still trying to get the invisibility cloak around her petite figure.

Draco stood waiting underneath the birch tree by the lake. Five minutes to twelve and she was nowhere to be seen. He half expected her to show up, even though he knew in the pit of his stomach that she wouldn't after the way he treated her. How could he be so mindless? And after the way he had acted? The minutes dragged on, and when sounds of bells ringing from the bell tower sent a wave of disappointment through his body he thought to himself. What was I thinking? For a moment I thought I might actually have feelings for that filthy mudblood. What is wrong with me..? Draco then heard a twig snap. He turned his head sharply in the direction of the noise, but saw nothing. Puzzled he turned around and started making his way back up to the castle when a voice spoke up that took away all he was thinking earlier, and made his heart flood with a rush of excitement.

"Sorry I'm late Malfoy."

He swiftly turned around and frantically searched for the source of the voice, his eyes darting in every direction. Yet he saw no one. Beginning to think it was just his imagination acting up again, he made to turn around when Hermione pulled off the cloak.

"Now that I'm here, talk. Talk about what happened. Cause quite frankly I'm not interested in it. Not after the way you treated me. Just when I think you're being nice for a change, you go ahead and throw more insults in my direction! Merlin's beard, and the kiss! Oh boy, how I could go on about the ki-"

Hermione got cut off mid rant when Draco couldn't take it any longer, letting his impulses take control of him. He pressed his lips onto hers with such passion and force that it took Hermione off guard and sent her tumbling against the birch tree behind her. He pressed his body onto hers, and ran his fingers through her hair. It only took Hermione a few seconds before she kissed back with just as equal force. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his torso. He started moving down her neck, planting kisses as he went. Then he looked into her eyes, and their lips locked again. For both, it felt as if nothing else mattered. They shut the world out temporarily, and lived in their own. They didn't think about what will happen from then on, nor what has already happened in the past. The only thing that mattered was that they were together; entwined in each other's arms.