A/N: Not exciting whatsoever, but necessary. Next chapter will be good I think :)

Chapter 8: Awkward

Harry and Draco stayed down at the lake for a couple of hours more. They talked and ate and stole a kiss here and there, but nothing more. There was some underlying awkwardness that Harry could feel, but he wasn't sure what to do about it. It seemed that Draco did not want to talk about him stopping their snogging session earlier and he preferred to just enjoy his company than anything.

They walked up to the castle, their hands brushing, but neither one reached out to grab the others hand. When they walked inside, the foyer was rather quiet and they both assumed that everyone was in their dorms. They reached the point where Harry would go up and Draco would continue down to the dungeons.

"Hey, thanks for dinner. I had a good time. We'll have to do it again sometime," Draco thanked as he shifted his weight nervously.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and took a step towards the stairs. "You're welcome. I had a good time too. Good night, Malfoy," he said before he started up the steps.

Draco watched him go up the steps and watched until he could no longer see him. Harry never looked back which made Draco feel worse than he already did. He trudged down to the dungeons with his hands in his pockets and his heart heavy.

XXXX

Harry walked into the common room and saw Hermione sitting alone at a table, surrounded by books. He walked over and took a seat and sighed heavily. She looked up at him and could see the confusion and concern on his face. She closed the book that she was looking in and gave Harry her full attention.

"Harry, what's the matter?" she asked.

"I blew it Hermione," Harry muttered angrily.

"How so?" she questioned calmly.

"So, Malfoy and I were snogging and well things were getting pretty hot and so he had taken my shirt off and I took his off and I thought that things were progressing rather smoothly and then I reached for his belt buckle and he stopped," Harry explained as he buried his face in his hands.

Hermione's face flushed crimson as the mental images flashed through her mind. She swallowed before responding in order to hide the fact that the mental images were not too bad. "What happened after he stopped?"

"I asked him if he was okay and he said he was, just not sure and so I apologized and said that I thought it would be okay and he said that it was fine, but he just wanted to talk and that was that," Harry told her.

"I see," she commented, deep in thought. Harry looked up at her with a glare.

"That's all you have to say, 'I see'?" he whispered.

"I'm thinking, geez. Okay, so Malfoy has a thing for you which would make me assume that being…sexual…with you would be something that he wants so you would think that he would be cool to go well, where you guys did, but it turns out that he's not okay with that. Which begs the question, why?" Hermione said as she thought through their situation.

Harry grumbled. "Why do you think I'm talking to you about it?"

Hermione glared at him and then froze as a thought came to mind. "Harry, did you ever think that Malfoy didn't want to go further because he actually wants more than just a shag?"

Harry's mouth dropped open at Hermione's 'shag' comment. Once he recovered from that comment, he processed her words and nodded. "I suppose that's possible, but why couldn't he just tell me that?"

Hermione gave him a 'duh, you know why' look which he frowned at. "To Malfoy feelings of love are foreign. They show vulnerability and he can't just say 'hey Harry, I want to shag you, but I'd like to have a relationship first' and not be uncomfortable. He probably has strong feelings for you and he just doesn't know what to do with them," she explained.

"Yeah, but he can tell me. Especially considering the feeling is-" Harry stopped and bit his lip. Hermione's eyes widened and she grinned at him. He shook his head, refusing to continue, but Hermione knew what he was about to say. She chose to not press the issue since she could tell that Harry definitely did not want to admit that he had feelings for Draco that did not just include shagging.

"Maybe his thinking is the same as yours, he's just not ready to admit it like you?" Hermione suggested with a lifted eyebrow.

Harry stared at her for a moment. He shrugged before he pushed back from the table and stood. "I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll be able to process this all while I'm asleep," he thought aloud.

She gave him a small smile. "Harry, I think it will be fine. Don't worry," she assured him.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and shrugged. "Easier said then done. Night, Mione," he said before he walked over to the stairs leading to the boys dorm. Hermione watched after him, deep in thought.

XXXX

Draco walked into the Slytherin common room and Pansy immediately zeroed in on him and picked up on his sour mood in seconds. She waited as he plopped down next to her on the couch with a heavy sigh. "What happened?" she asked quietly.

"I blew it," Draco said miserably.

"And how did you do that?" Pansy questioned kindly.

"We were kissing and half naked and hard and he was reaching for my belt buckle and I stopped. I pulled away and ended our make-out session," Draco mumbled.

"And why did you stop?" she asked.

"I don't know!" he cried. He placed his face in his hands and groaned.

"Draco, you just don't like Potter do you? You really like him and want more than just sex?" she questioned gently.

Draco slowly lifted his head and looked at her. "I don't think so," he denied.

"Think about it. You stopped for a reason and I'm pretty sure that you stopped because you want more than the physical stuff," Pansy insisted.

Draco continued to look at her and frowned. "Yeah, that may be what I want, but I don't believe Potter wants it and I don't believe I deserve to be more then just someone to be used."

"You know that's not true. If anyone deserves love it's you. I think you're wrong about Potter though. I really think he wants more too and you'll never know unless you ask him," Pansy said.

Draco stood and shook his head. "I can't say anything to him because I don't want to know his answer. I already know his answer," he responded before turning and walking up to the boys' dorms. Pansy watched after him with a frown, deep in thought.