Draco did not say anything while he and Hermione climbed the stairs and made their way to the library. He was thankful that the corridor was empty. It made him furious to think about the way Ron and Harry had behaved towards Hermione. Anger seared through him. Suddenly, Hermione let out a gasp. Draco turned to see what was wrong. He had forgotten that he was holding on to her arm, and thinking about those two, he accidentally squeezed her arm too tightly.

"I'm so sorry." Draco said as he let go of the grip he had on her arm.

He saw that her shoulders were shaking. Surely, he did not hurt her, not that bad.

"Herm-"

Hermione throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest cut off Draco. Her book dropped to the ground with an echoing 'thump'.

"Why?" she asked, starting to cry softly, "Why are they always so mean?"

Good question.

"I don't know what's happened to them; they didn't used to be like that." Draco answered as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. He kept repeating to her that everything was going to be all right, holding her close to him.

After she had calmed down, almost ten minutes later, Draco returned the book for her. She held his arm as they climbed up to the Seventh floor together. Neither of them said anything. Other students passing by didn't pay them any mind.

It seemed as if the Seventh floor had been deserted as well. Draco thought that it was just as well. He didn't want Hermione on display, like a sideshow at a circus.

"Draco," Hermione started, her voice still a little bit shaky from crying, "Thank you."

Draco felt a pang of guilt. He didn't think she should be grateful to him. It had been his fault that she had been caught up in that mess.

"Hermione, I'm so-"

She hugged him, cutting Draco off.

"Thank you saving me," she whispered in his ear, "You're always there when I need you."

Then, Hermione pushed herself up on her tiptoes and kissed Draco on the cheek. The moment her soft lips pressed against his skin, Draco was sure his heart was going to bust through his ribcage. He felt the blush that raced over his face.

When she slowly started to ease herself back down on flat feet, Draco saw that her face was crimson with blush. He noticed her lips weren't that far from his. It felt like he had butterflies in his stomach and they were flapping like crazy.

He brought his hand up, very slowly, and gently caressed her arm. Once he reached her shoulder, he placed his hand on the back of her neck. He felt her warm breath against his face again. He started to lean down. He saw she was even closing her eyes.

Finally.

That was the only thought that made sense in his mind. Then, Draco slowly closed his eyes.

Suddenly, it seemed as if all of the Gryffindor house could be heard racing up the stairs to get to the common room within a safe distance from curfew.

Draco jumped back and moved out of the immediate area to avoid being ran over by the rushing students. He was a Slytherin, after all, he could imagine that some students that took the rivalry between the two Houses wouldn't mind hurting him. He shook off that thought as one of the Gryffindor Prefects, Neville Longbottom, mumbled the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Draco's eyes searched the crowd as they climb their way through the portal.

Draco spotted Hermione standing off to the side of the portrait. She looked like she was bummed down. She looked up and saw him, giving off an apologetic smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow." he mouthed at her. She nodded and smiled.

There were a few more Gryffindors waiting to get through.

"Good night." he mouthed.

"You too." she replied.

All the others had gone in, so it was Hermione's turn. Before she did, Hermione turned to Draco and waved at him. Her face still colored with blush. Then, she stepped through.

Draco lingered in the corridor for a few moments after she left. He was making sure that Ron and Harry didn't go in right after her to mess with her. He hoped that she went straight to her dormitory. After all, Hogwarts was designed so that boys couldn't enter the girls' dormitory, so she was safe there.

He turned to find the secret passage that would take him down to the dungeons. He was pretty sure that in his travels with Ron and Harry, along with the invisibility cloak that Harry's father had passed on to him, they had found a good number of the secret passages within the school. Another flash of anger went through Draco when he thought of his friends as he made his way through the dungeons and to the Slytherin entrance.

He said the password and went in. He walked through the common room, not paying any attention to who was in there or what was going on. He walked over to his trunk to pull out some clothes to sleep in and quickly changed.

Once he was in his bedclothes, Draco threw himself down onto his bed. He went over all the events of the day, while staring at the closed curtains of his bed. Draco was going to have a serious talk with Ron and Harry tomorrow. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, as he got under the covers, to think of better things.

She kissed me, on the cheek, but still, it's better than nothing! Draco thought to himself with a smile. With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Reviews are welcomed! ^_^v