Once again, I don't own Harry Potter. I wish I did though.

It had been a few weeks since the secret study room incident, and Hermione couldn't get Draco's words out of her head. You are like the light in the dark. You quiet the voices.

Hm, that's tremendously funny: Draco Malfoy fancies me, Hermione thought bitterly, her eyes drawn to the common room fireplace. At least it gets my mind off of Won-Won and Lav-Lav. Speaking of, the couple walked into the common room, holding hands. A sick feeling welled up in Hermione's throat, and tears pricked in the corners of her eyes. Why can't he see? Why can't he see what he's doing to me?

As if her thoughts were being broadcast out loud, Ron looked over in her direction, noting her pained expression, tears threatening to burst from her eyes. He gave her an apologetic look, and focused his attention back onto Lavender, who planted a big sloppy kiss on his mouth.

Unable to control her emotions, and afraid that she might have an outburst of accidental magic, Hermione slammed her book shut and ran out of the common room and out of the Gryffindor tower. She could hear Harry faintly calling her name, and the unmistakable sound of Lavender giggling. I need a place to calm down, to think. I need my study room. As if on autopilot, Hermione navigated the halls, coming to the portrait of the old wizard standing over a cauldron.

"Horklump," she whispered to the painting, her voice shaking, her left hand gripping her book, the right one balled into a fist. The portrait swung open, and she stomped through it, finally reaching her favorite armchair, only to see a certain blond Slytherin occupying it. He grinned at her at first, then saw her hurt and wounded expression. His smile turned into a somber look, and he stood up.

Hermione, on the other hand, was indignant. "What the everloving hell, Malfoy? Why are you here? Was my Body Bind not a subtle enough hint for you? Can't you just leave me alone?"

"What's wrong with you? Is it Weasel-Bee?"

"It's none of your concern, Malfoy. Now, please, kindly remove yourself from my presence. I wish to be alone."

He moved closer to her. "No."

Hermione, flabbergasted and surprised, scoffed at his answer. "Malfoy, how dare you come into my-"

"Oh, your room? As far as I'm concerned, this room is open to any students." He grins at her, completely oblivious to the rage building up inside of Hermione. "In fact, I don't wish to leave. I'm just going to sit-" he settles back down into her armchair, "-and make myself comfortable."

Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She began sobbing uncontrollably, the tears flowing, her body trembling. She dropped to her knees in front of Draco, her face in her hands, and cried and cried.

Draco, clearly uncomfortable, swung his legs down from their position on the arm of the chair, and leaned forward, prying the witch's hands from her face, and entwined his fingers in hers. "Please don't cry, Granger. It makes me feel…. Weird. Like if you cry, I'll cry. Just please, stop crying."

Hermione just began to sob harder, and progressively became louder. Draco couldn't help but notice a loose tendril of caramel colored hair coming undone from the messy bun on top of her head, and he went to tuck it behind her ear. His cool fingers came in contact with the warm, blotchy, moist skin of her cheek. She leaned into his touch, the coldness of his fingers soothing her in an unusual way. He wiped away a tear with his thumb, and tipped her head up so that her brown eyes met his grey ones.

As Hermione looked into his eyes, she noticed his expression soften. His eyes, they're beautiful. Like grey clouds before a storm. Her eyes traveled down to his lips, the lips that had kissed her a few weeks ago. Why haven't I been able to get those lips out of my mind?

She took a shuddering breath, and sniffled a bit. "Have you always been this benevolent?"

Draco let out a sharp laugh. "Me? Benevolent? If I'm benevolent, then a Hungarian Horntail is cute and cuddly."

Hermione giggled. "True." Hermione got off her knees, and sat in the armchair opposite Draco's, brushing her skirt off. "Why are you being so kind to me? What's in it for you?"

Draco looked immediately at the ground. "I can't really explain it. You make me feel- well, normal. You make my dark thoughts go away. No one has been able to do that, not even my mother. Sometimes I forget that I've a sickness of the mind. I feel like a regular teenager." His eyes travel back up to her face. "I've been watching you a lot lately. I know that Weasel has been hurting you, even if he doesn't know it. I've seen the way you look at him, the way you pine after him. Oddly enough, it hurts knowing that you'll look at him that way, but you'll never look at me like that."

Hermione searched his eyes, looking for any sign of deception. When she saw none, she took hold of one of Draco's hands and held it in her own, bringing it up to her cheek. She rubbed his cold hand against her warm flesh, and smiled tentatively. Draco inhaled sharply, and slowly leaned forward, eyeing her lips. Hermione knew what he was going to do, and leaned close to him, so that their lips were centimeters apart. She could feel the electricity between them crackling in the air.

Draco closed the distance, crashing his lips against hers, entwining a hand in her hair, pulling her bun loose. Hermione reciprocated the kiss, her body beginning to become hot, placing her hands on either side of Draco's face, completely forgetting why she was so upset in the first place. Draco's other hand slowly crept up her thigh, and Hermione wrenched away just as he got close enough to touch her center.

"Don't. Please. I- I just need to go." She got up, picking her book up from off the floor, and made to stride out of the room.

"Grang- Hermione!" She stopped. Did Malfoy just call me Hermione? "Please, come back. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just not good with this kind of thing." She heard movement behind her, no doubt him putting his head into his hands. "I've messed this up, haven't I?"

Hermione turned on her heel, and walked back towards the Slytherin. She kneeled down, peering up into his cold grey eyes, placing a hand on his knee. "You really do like me, don't you?"

He nodded. "More than anything in the entire world. More than you'll ever know."

She stood up, and extended her hand out for him to take. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

He took her hand and she led them out of the study room, and into the dark empty corridor. Thank goodness it's ten o' clock, Hermione thinks to herself. Otherwise people would be making a fuss about me holding Draco's hand.

She leads them out into the courtyard, past the large doors, and out onto the sprawling grounds of Hogwarts. She continues, leading him to a hill overlooking the lake. Letting go of his hand, she whips out her wand and conjures a thick blanket, laying it on the ground. Plopping down, she pats the spot next to her, and Draco sits down, reaching to the side to snatch up a blade of grass, slowly tearing it apart.

"What is it you wanted to show me, Hermione?" he asks, not looking her in the eye.

Hermione leans back onto the blanket, putting her hands behind her head. "Just look up at the sky, Draco. You'll see."

Draco glances at Hermione, taken slightly aback at the usage of his first name. "Okay." He lays down, placing his hands behind his head, like Hermione. He looks up at the sky, the gentle sound of Hermione's breathing matching his own, and the sound of crickets and other animals perforate the air. Suddenly, three distinct bursts of light shoot across the sky, all three brilliantly blue, and Draco's mouth widens in surprise. He emits a slight "Oh," underneath his breath, and Hermione chuckles, taking her hands out from behind her head and placing them by her sides.

"I take it you've never seen a shooting star before? Or even three?" Hermione said, a smile spreading across her face.

"No, not really," Draco replied, his head turning towards the witch beside him, watching her grin like a beautiful idiot. "Mother never really let me roam about after dark. And I rarely come outside."

"Well, today's your lucky day." Hermione said, looking towards Draco, the smile slowly disappearing from her face. The look he was giving her was full of burning intensity, as if he were afraid that she might disappear if he blinked. No one had ever looked at her like that.

Draco rolled onto his side, and propped his head up on one hand. He continued looking at Hermione, enraptured by her beauty, the way her heart shaped mouth moved as she breathed gently, her round eyes sparkling in the pale moonlight. She looked ethereal, like a faerie, and her hair, oh her hair, how it somehow glowed in the light of the moon. She was perfection, and he knew, right then and there, that he was completely in love with this curly haired witch. His siren, his world. He knew, at this moment, he would do anything to protect her. He would kill for her. He would die for her.

"Draco?"

He snaps out of his reverie. "Yeah?"

"Would you hold me? It's quite cold and I seemed to have misplaced my wand so I can't cast a warming spell."

He moved closer, and put the arm that was propping him up underneath her head, and she rolled so that her face was buried in his jumper, and he could feel her hot breath on his chest. He smiled, kissing the top of her head.

She is mine.

Reviews are appreciated! Tell me what you think so far!