No Going Back
Chapter 4

A/N: So, no one reviewed my previous chapter, which bummed me out a little as I had really wanted feedback because I'm so rusty. But I got a bunch of favourite story/author alerts so I know people are reading this, so I decided to update for you guys anyway please send a little love my way this time around!

"They're on the other end of the tent. The reason it's a rectangular tent is that it's designed to have two people sleep on one end, two people on the other, with a central area for luggage and food." Draco said this slowly, staring at his fingernail. Being nice to a Mudblood really was a foreign concept to him.

"You mean Elise and Ernie have already picked the other end?" She grumbled. "Way to leave me in the dust, guys…"

He hadn't even thought about this. They'd be together? Stunned into silence, he just looked at her. She really was quite nice looking. Well, for a Mudblood. Oh god, what was happening to him? It had literally been half an hour. Half an hour and his thought process was completely unlike anything it had ever been before.

Hermione held her breath and pulled the sleeping bag to her chin, trying to figure out where that sound was coming from. It sounded like a rattle – a really harsh, angry rattle. Could it be a bear? Would the professors really have picked a forest with dangerous animals? She squeezed her eyes shut and laid still for a few seconds. That sound was coming from inside the tent.

Her heart started to pound. She quickly got out of her sleeping back and fumbled around for her wand, until she remembered that they weren't allowed to use any magic this week. Cursing softly, she padded her way over to the noise, planning a quick escape if it was indeed a creature on the hunt.

Hermione crawled quietly on her knees until the noise got louder and louder. She couldn't quite place what it was, but it was definitely inside the tent. She crawled until the noise was right in front of her, and she knew what she had to do.

Hermione reached out and swiftly punched whatever was making that noise in front of her, as hard as she could.

"AHHHHH!"

The sound startled her so much that she started to scream too, and before she knew it, a strong arm had come out of no where and pulled her onto his lap, with one hand clenched over her mouth.

"What the f*ck do you think you're doing?!" Draco whispered harshly in her ear, holding his pulsing jaw with the other hand.

He didn't wait for a reply. Which was a good thing, considering he still had his hand over her mouth. Her heartbeat slowed as she realized he had just been snoring. Draco Malfoy, snoring. She giggled softly, thinking about how Harry and Ron would react.

"Is something funny, Mudblood?!" He grumbled, "Good thing you punch like a girl."

She pushed his hand away and tried to find his face, unsuccessfully. "It's so dark, I can't see you. But I'm sorry… I… I thought you were a bear."

"Do you usually go around punching bears? Bloody hell, Hermione. That really hurt. And I was sleeping too…" Draco groaned. He felt around his sleeping bag for something, and all of a sudden their tent lit up in an inconspicuous light.

Hermione gasped softly. "You brought your wand?! You could get in trouble for that, you know. Oh my goodness… your jaw is red and swollen. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. If I had my wand, I would fix it right now."

Draco didn't speak a word. He looked at her strangely until she realized she was still on his lap and his arm was still around her. She jumped off faster than Harry catching the snitch during last week's Quidditch game and pretended to assess his jaw.

"But on the plus side, I really do punch like a girl so I expect you'll be fine tomorrow morning." She whispered, her voice getting quieter. He was still staring.

"What?" She asked in a barely audible whisper.

And all of a sudden, without any warning whatsoever, his lips were on hers and the static in the air and on her lips was unlike anything she had ever felt before. No one had kissed her like this before. His hands were in her hair and her hands were around his neck, and he was groaning softly.

And then just like that, he pushed her off. "Damn it, Mud—Hermione. What are we doing? We're supposed to hate each other."

Hermione shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, gazing at him sadly in the soft light. "We're not supposed to do anything. I don't know what that was. But we aren't supposed to hate each other."

He shook his head. "I have a reputation to keep up with… I'm a Slytherin. I shouldn't have done that. No one can ever know."

Hermione swallowed. "I agree." Her heart was still pounding from whatever had passed between them but she forced herself to act cool. "I don't know you or what I feel for you. But we can't let it happen again and no one will ever know."

She got up and walked to her sleeping bag without a word, unaware that in the forbidden light, Draco Malfoy was watching her go with a new fascination in his eyes that he couldn't shake for the rest of the night.