Chapter 2

Later that night Hermione sat, curled up in a ball with her head in her hands. Immediately after she had pulled away from Draco she ran back towards the castle, wiping at her lips. She spat on the floor and walked right past Filch's angry glare, her only focus being on the solitude her room provided.

Now, Hermione's mind was reeling. Her lips had been pressed against Draco Malfoy's, and she had actually enjoyed it. It was wrong. Ron was the only person she should be kissing, and the fact that he wasn't made everything more complicated. Hermione didn't know if she should tell him, or continue life as if her recent encounter with Draco Malfoy hadn't happened. Hermione knew she would have to tell him. As soon as she could. The rest of that night, Hermione continued to imagine possible scenarios of what could happen and how he would respond.

"It's such a lovely surprise to have you here dearest." Mrs. Weasley said at lunch the next morning, while Hermione was awkwardly sipping a cup of tea. "Ron and Harry will only be out for a bit, I sent them out to de-gnome the Lovegood's garden. Those pesky beasts have been making poor Xenophilius' yard a home and now they're overflowing into our yard." Hermione nodded, not wanting to say much seeing as in a few hours Mrs. Weasley might not be talking so cheerily towards her.

Thankfully then, the two boys walked in, covered in dirt and laughing. Ron broke into a huge grin as he spotted Hermione sitting at the table. "Hermione!" He exclaimed as he gathered her into a muddy hug. She grinned and returned the hug, and remembered how much she had missed Ronald's old bear hugs. Harry gave her a nod of acknowledgement as he sat down in a chair next to her.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked, sitting back in the chair across from her.

Hermione shrugged, not wanting to ruin the mood just yet. "It was just weird attending Hogwarts without you guys, so I had to stop by and say hi."

Both Harry and Ron grinned at that. "Did Ginny come with you?" Harry asked, sounding hopeful that his own girlfriend was there.

Hermione shook her head. "Ginny's still in class. She's being a responsible wizard." Harry and Ron both chuckled. "I actually came because I have something I need to talk to Ron about."

The smile slowly fell from the red headed boy's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'd kind of like to talk in a more private place." Hermione mumbled, letting her thick hair cover her face some. Ron nodded and stood as Hermione followed his lead.

"We'll be right back mate." Ron said to Harry. Harry just nodded lost in a world of daydreaming about his girlfriend.

Ron led Hermione off outside, to one of the most private places at the Burrow. They were inside a patch of trees, in an area where nearly everyone but Hermione would practice flying and Quidditch.

Hermione took a deep breath because she knew Ron was waiting for her to tell him her big news. "Okay, I have something I really need to tell you, and I'm not sure how you're going to take it. I kind of would understand if you never wanted to see me again. Lord knows I hate myself for it." She took another deep breath, preparing herself to tell him what happened. "Last night, I agreed to help Draco study for muggle studies by the Whomping Willow."

Ron tensed up, his automatic reaction to hearing the blond boy's name. "What the bloody hell happened Mione?" He spat through clenched teeth. Unlike Hermione had, Ron knew why students went to the Whomping Willow at night, and it was never to study. He himself had taken Lavender Brown to the tree for a few dates before she got too annoying for him. "If that dirty scoundrel did something to hurt you, I swear, I'll kill that numpty."

"He didn't hurt me, he kissed me." Hermione whispered, barely audible. She glanced up at Ron to see if he had heard just in time, to see him lose it.

"HE KISSED YOU?" Ron shouted, fists clenching in anger. He started pacing around the forest, grabbing rocks and sticks to throw around out of anger. The red head was angrily mumbling to himself about how exactly he would disassemble Draco's head. Hermione watched anxiously as Ron ripped a near by tree branch right off of the trunk of the tree. She couldn't recall a time before this that Ron had been so mad. Hermione watched as he threw the stick, muttering about how no one could put their filthy hands on his girl. Then, once the branch had landed, Ron stood there. He didn't say anything, or do anything, he just stood, staring at the branch, thinking.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Ron moved again. This time, instead of being in an angry rage and throwing things, he slumped over to Hermione. "Hermione," he said, in a quiet voice. "Why did Draco kiss you?"

That question caused Hermione to have to stop and think. She wasn't entirely sure why Malfoy had kissed her. Before the kiss, he had mentioned muggles liking each other, and if it was completely mental. Of course, Hermione now realized that Draco had been referring to the two of them, instead of a random pair of muggles. But the reason why Malfoy had fallen for her still baffled her. Hermione had tried her hardest to avoid Draco, scheduling her classes so they would fall at different times and on different sides of the castle than his. Yet, for some reason, they still ran into each other in the corridors and Draco had still wanted to see her. The only logical conclusion was that someone had slipped a love potion into their pumpkin juice, but the possibility of that happening was highly unlikely.

She realized Ron was still waiting for an answer. "I don't know." She finally said.

Ron rolled his eyes. "So you expect me to believe that Draco suddenly has a crush on you, and there's no bloody reason why?" Hermione nodded. "I'm sorry, but I can't. Malfoy isn't like that." With that, he turned, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back to the Burrow.

Hermione's heart sank as she watched Ron walk away. The farther away he got, the more alone she felt, until finally, Ron's red hair and slumped form could no longer be seen, and Hermione felt completely alone.

That night, Hermione didn't return to the castle, and she most certainly didn't return to the Burrow. She wandered around, carelessly apparating in and out of muggle neighborhoods and communities around the world. Everywhere she went, something reminded her of Ron, or even Draco. A giant spider statue, albino ferrets in a pet store, some things as simple as a kid with a long nose sent tears down her cheeks.

Hermione did that for a while. It had been a week before she returned to Hogwarts, and once she had, her Head Girl badge had been revoked and given to another 8th year, a Ravenclaw. Ginny had stopped talking to her as well, upon receiving an owl from Mrs. Weasley, describing what had happened and Draco was avoiding her. The only student who seemed completely oblivious to everything was Luna Lovegood, and Hermione had no interest in hearing another story about Nargles, or another creature that only existed in Luna's own mind.

A few days after she had arrived back at the castle, Hermione had decided to confront Draco. She waited outside of his potions class and used a simple spell to make it appear as if he had spilled a bottle of unicorn tears to assure that he was the last one to leave the room. As soon as the other students filed out and Draco was left cleaning up his spilled mess, Hermione silently slipped into the room, shutting the doors behind her. The blond's head popped up as soon as he heard the door click shut, and his eyes immediately locked on Hermione.

"Hermione." He said, as a form of what Hermione assumed was a greeting. Hermione only glared at him. "Where have you been? You just up and disappeared for a week for no bloody reason."

"For your information I had a reason and that reason was you!" Hermione exclaimed, defending herself.

"Me? What did I do?"

"You kissed me! I had to leave the next day to tell Ron because we don't keep secrets and I thought he would forgive me!" She fell quiet. "He didn't . . ."

Malfoy stood up and walked to her. He sat on a table close by where she was standing. "Hermione, I'm sorry. It was wrong, and I was out of place. If there was anything I could do, I would."

She stared at him. Hermione believed that that was the first apology she had ever heard come out of Draco's lips at free will, and it's seemed sincere. She wiped at the tears which has made their way to her cheeks sometime in the classroom and stared at him.

"What?" Draco asked when Hermione didn't say anything. She shook her head to show that she didn't want to say anything and sat next to him at the table.

"Why?" She finally whispered, not making eye contact with Draco.

"Why what?" Came the response.

"Why did you do it?" Hermione turned to look at him.

Draco didn't answer right away, just as Hermione hadn't when asked that very question. She sat silently on the desk, patiently waiting for him to respond. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke. "Before I knocked on your compartment door on the Hogwarts Express, I had gone to the compartments where Slytherins normally sit. I peered into each one, searching for a familiar face and every time I found one, they would deny me a place to sit. No one wanted a Death Eater sitting with them." He absentmindedly scratched at his left forearm while mentioning Death Eaters. "After no one in my own house would allow me to sit, I continued onto Hufflepuff's, then Ravenclaw's, then Gryffindor's. I even asked a few first years if I could sit with them." Draco chucked to himself. "I couldn't even get a seat with a bloody first year. But when I asked you, the girl who I had called a mudblood and insulted year after year, and who had once given me a wicked slap across the face," Hermione smiled softly, remembering that back in third year, "You let me sit with you."

Hermione thought about that. "So, because I offered you a seat on a crowded train full of people who either hate you or are terrified of you, you kissed me?"

Draco chuckled, "When you put it like that it doesn't sound like a good reason. But seeing as I had a terrible summer with the Ministry of Magic tracking me and my father down, then having to take care of my mother when my father was sent off to Azkaban. It was a difficult task, and that one train ride made me realize that even though you had lost one of your close friends as well as Professor Lupin, and his wife whatsherface." Hermione chuckled, "You still let a death eater into your compartment, to sit with you. Despite all the darkness in your life right now, you still saw the light."

Hermione stared at him, shocked that he had given her such a detailed reason behind the kiss. Then, before she could think anything through or change her mind, she leaned towards him and kissed him.

Their second kiss was different then their first. The first kiss they shared was hot, passionate and Hermione couldn't process what was happening. This kiss however, started off slow and cautiously. Almost as if going to quickly would offend the other person. When that slow, second kiss ended, Hermione didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay where she was, but of course, class was about to start entering the potions room and being caught snogging Draco Malfoy, wasn't part of her plan.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

So how did you like that second chapter? Romione is over and Dramione is beginning! But can it all really be that simple? Or are things going to start getting worse?

I love every review I get so I'd love it it you told me what you thought about this chapter and what you see happening in the future!