Hermione rolled over in her bed. Her nose twitched as she inhaled the sweet smell of buttermilk pancakes. It took her a few moments to remember where she was. As she opened her eyes, they went straight to Draco. He was busy working away in the kitchen, making pancakes for breakfast.

"I see you're finally up." Draco remarked as he met her gaze.

"What do you mean finally?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's already noon."

Hermione's mouth dropped. She had never slept in before. This was a summer full of firsts.

"I made pancakes." Draco said as he brought over a stack of three pancakes on a plate over to her in bed.

"Draco, this is silly!" Hermione exclaimed. "Why do all of this work when you can just use the...the, er, magical basket thing?"

Draco chuckled at her. "Yes, I suppose that would have been easier. But this is more special."

Hermione sighed to herself. "This is so crazy...I feel like I've run away. It's so...dangerous."

"Yeah, but you haven't. I got your parents permission, remember?" Draco gave his famous smirk. "We're camping, not skydiving. It's not that dangerous."

"Fine, maybe for you that's the case. But for me, it's thrilling. It's as if I'm playing with fire."

"Well, good for you. Guys like dangerous girls. Maybe if you're up for it, we can do something that's actually dangerous sometime. If you know what I mean." Draco winked at the end, and Hermione gulped.

Is he...is he flirting with me?

"Uh, yeah. Great." Hermione croaked as she shoved a huge lump of pancake into her mouth.

Draco laughed at her again. "Guys also like girls with hearty appetites."

Hermione couldn't take it anymore.

She had to change the subject. "Truth or dare?" She blurted.

Draco smiled. "It's so much fun to watch you squirm."

Of course, Hermione thought. Draco had just been teasing me; messing with me.

"I'm glad you had fun." Hermione retorted sarcastically.

"Dare." Draco said as he sat down next to Hermione on her bed.

"I dare you to feed me like I'm the Queen!"

Draco picked up her fork and as Hermione opened her mouth, he fed her a piece of pancake. "Your majesty." He said, bowing his head, fighting back childish laughter.

Hermione snorted. "Your turn!"

"Truth or dare?"

"I pick...truth."

"Eugh, boring!" Draco laughed. "What do you think Iris Morris has to do with your dream?"

"Oh...I don't know." Hermione was suddenly serious once more. "I'm hoping she was just some chick that had a...fling...with Tom and then graduated and just disappeared. I just hope she's not still secretly in love with him and trying to avenge him or something."

"So, basically, you're hoping they were just sex buddies?" Draco asked.

"Oh my word, you are such a guy!"

Draco chuckled. "What does that mean?"

"No ladies refer to young couples as being 'sex buddies.' You know, the girl in the relationship always has more feelings for the guy than the guy does for the girl. It kinda...sucks."

"Hm, I don't know about that. I think sometimes the guy has more feelings for the girl than the girl does for the guy. And that, my friend, really does suck. Believe me." Draco seemed to be deep in thought about something, or someone.

"Oh really? And what experience with relationships do you have, Draco? Probably a long list of one-night-stands and a long line of girls waiting for their turn to be your sex buddy!"

"Go to hell, Hermione." Draco snapped. "You don't know anything."

"Really? Tell me then." Hermione challenged.

"I've been in love with a girl before, and she doesn't love me back."

"Draco, you don't know what love is. That's stupid."

"Oh yeah, and you do? A whole buttload of relationships you've had...Viktor Krum and Ron Weasley...that makes...let's see...two."

"That's more than you've had, and they were real relationships! Why don't know tell this magnificent girl of yours that you love her?"

"If I told her, she'd never believe me." Draco said somberly. He started to raise his voice more and more, getting more aggressive by the word. "She doesn't believe I know what love is. She thinks I'm stupid, and even though she tells people all the time not to judge me, all she does is judge me. And I hate her for that; I hate myself for that! But it's too late to change anything now. The past is the past, and you need to get the bloody hell over it because I'm in love with you!"

Hermione sat there across from him for a moment, staring at him. He was breathing heavily. "It's always a fight, Draco." She whispered, her voice a mere light breath.

Suddenly, Hermione pressed her lips passionately to his. She was on top of him, and the glass plate of pancakes dropped to the floor and shattered into tiny shards. They moved off the other side of the bed and Draco pinned her to the floor. She wrapped his arms around his neck as he moved her against the wall. Hermione moaned in pleasure. Their bodies were pressed together so tightly, you wouldn't have been able to tell where his stopped and hers began. Draco's hands moved from around Hermione's cheeks down to her waist. Her hands were exploring his chest.

Draco smiled and began to kiss her all over her neck.

Hermione moaned in pleasure but then bit her lip. "Stop, stop." She pushed Draco off of her as her birthday night came rushing back to her, the night a stranger stole something more valuable than money or jewels: her virginity. "Get off. We need to stop."

Draco immediately stopped. "It's okay, Hermione. You're safe. Those guys are never going to hurt you again...nothing like that is ever going to happen to you again." Draco gently pulled her into a hug. "Don't cry."

Hermione hadn't even realized she had begun to cry. "I'm sorry...I ruined everything."

"No you didn't."

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"I-I love you too."