In a particularly slow Divination class one afternoon, Draco and Hermione were discussing why she had returned to the subject after quitting in her third year.

"I just don't want to half-ass my education here," she explained. "This is such a great opportunity, I just want to take advantage of all it has to offer, and all this school has to teach."

"There's more to life at Hogwarts than just class you know" Draco said smiling. "Some of my most valuable lessons have been learned outside of the classroom." He shot her a wink.

Hermione blushed and lowered her eyes. No matter how much she and Malfoy flirted, he was always able to make her face burn with shy lust at the simplest remark. "Don't get me wrong, I have learned quite a few things here that most definitely were not taught by a teacher…"

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Oh really Granger? Do tell."

"Well for one, butter beer before fire whiskey is very risky, but fire whiskey before butter beer and you are in the clear. I learned that the hard way fifth year during the Gryffindor end of year party. I woke up the next morning dressed completely in Ron's Chudley Cannons clothing spooning a broom in Ginny's bed, not pretty."

"Why Ms. Granger!" Draco joked in a Professor McGonagall voice. "I am absolutely appalled at your behavior!"

Hermione giggled and slapped his arm where his cuff was rolled up to his elbow due to the warmth of the hazy classroom. His skin tingled with heat where her fingers brushed his arm. He swallowed and she quickly pulled her hand away looking down at her notes, then up at the professor, then at her notes again. She had obviously felt the heat of their connection as well, Draco thought to himself. He wondered again why she wouldn't let herself give in to the feelings and attraction between them.

Clearing her throat, Hermione looked back towards Malfoy. "So now you, what's a lesson that you've learned at Hogwarts, not in a classroom?"

Draco smirked, what to choose? He took a deep breath and caught Hermione's eye as he began to speak.

"I guess my most memorable lesson, the one that is going to stick with me after school, for the rest of my life, would be not to judge a person too quickly. I used to listen to my family's hate speech as if it were gospel. I formed opinions of others based on what they told me to think, never getting to know them for myself. Take your friend Ron for example. I used to think he was a ruddy git, but after spending time with him these past few weeks, I can see why you two are so close. He's very relaxed and easy to talk to. I guess I have you to thank for that, you've really opened me up to a whole new set of experiences and people. Accepting my apology meant the world to me Hermione, thank you."

They continued to stare at each other, hardly moving or even blinking in perfect silence. Hermione could hear her breath, and his, but nothing else as his words echoed again and again in her mind. He had called her Hermione. He had thanked her. He had said he liked Ron! They had talked before about the war, about Malfoy's family and the things that they made him believe and do, and the guilt and shame that he felt, but he had never said good things about Ron before!

Speaking of Ron, she would have to thank him later; this whole talking-to-Malfoy thing had worked superbly. She could feel herself beginning to trust him as she learned more about him, and the fire between them seemed to get hotter and hotter the more they got to know each other. But she knew she couldn't last much longer, she had felt that when she touched his arm. Something had to give. And soon.

Draco kept her stare, worried that he had gone too far. It was a risk to get so serious in their previously light-hearted conversation. He just couldn't help himself around her. She made him want to open up, to share his feelings and his secrets and his dreams. He had told her things about himself, his past, his family, that he had sworn never to divulge to another living soul. She made him feel so confortable, so welcome, so accepted, that he couldn't help himself. Draco Malfoy was becoming a marshmallow, soft and sweet and if you eat too many you get a stomachache.

He had to get himself under control, or he was going to scare her off. And that was the last thing he wanted. What he wanted was to make Hermione lose as much control around him as he did around her. She was always cool and collected. Never letting herself lose her command of the situation, unless they happened to accidentally touch. That was the only time that she seemed flustered or nervous around him.

He coughed, realizing that they had just been staring at each other for a long time in silence. "So there's that, and of course the lesson I learned fifth year that the trophy room is not as good a place for a secret shag as one might think."

Hermione giggled, gods he loved it when she giggled. He leaned in closer towards her and whispered "Professor Trelawney learned that lesson too that night, although you would think being able to see the future allow you to see these things happen and be able to avoid them."

Hermione let out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her hand to stifle the noise. "Maybe she knew you were going to be there," she said, "and came in on purpose!"

Draco laughed at that, and had to cover it up with a cough when Trelawney shot him an angry look. "I never thought about that! What would she have been doing in the trophy room anyway..."

He and Hermione both turned to their professor and watched her glide around the room. "Maybe she was meeting a lover of her own." Hermione said, "Even teachers need a little action sometimes."

Draco laughed, and Trelawney shot him another glare and held her finger up to her lips. "I guess I could see that, she's a little barmy for my taste though." Hermione giggled softly at the image of Draco and their Professor together. "Yeah she doesn't really seem like your type."

"Oh yeah? What does?" Draco shifted his seat closer to Hermione as Professor Trelawney moved closer to their part of the room. He put his left arm around the back of her chair and leaned in, pretending to point to things in Hermione's cup of tealeaves. "Just keep in quiet, we don't want Trelawney coming over here and asking questions about your future. I've got no bloody idea what any of this means."

Hermione let out the breath she had been holding since he put his arm around her. Even though it was just resting on her chair, she could feel the heat from his body and his musky scent was making her heart speed up. "Oh yeah, of course. Well, I've always pictured you with someone tall, blonde, leggy."

Draco snorted. "You asked!" Hermione whispered.

"Well go on, that's just looks. I'm not that shallow you know. Be real with me Granger"

"Fine then, I guess I've always thought you go for the type of girl who has always been told that she's beautiful, but is still riddled with insecurities so she will put out and be a little submissive. One that would be up for shagging you in a trophy room with no questions asked."

Draco lifted his gaze from her teacup to meet hers. His eyes were dark, almost angry, when they met hers. Hermione's lips were slightly parted and she bit her bottom lip when their eyes met. She was sure she had said something wrong, something offensive. They were still getting to know each other, why did she have to go and put him in a box?

"But that was before I got to know you better." She said quickly. Draco didn't react, but held her gaze, silently willing he to continue.

"I think you care more about personality now than you did before…" she said quietly. "You want someone to listen to you, really listen, and not to make fun of you for opening up or being scared. And you want someone who is going to be your equal, not someone you can just boss around. "

Draco still held her gaze, but his glare softened into something like relief. Hermione continued, looking down at her hands as she spoke.

"You want someone who can push you to be better, and whom you push to be better too. You're not looking for a shag buddy anymore, you're looking for a partner."

Hermione trailed off as Draco's eyes fell back to the teacup. "From what you've told me," she said softly, lightly touching his hand on the table, "your biggest fear is to end up like your parents. You want someone to share a life with, not someone to warm your bed. But what you don't realize Draco, is that just by wanting those things you are different than them, than your father." She moved her hand away from his, but left it resting on the table.

"You just need to start seeing in yourself what I see in you."

Shit, she had really done it this time. She mentally kicked herself for always over stepping her boundaries. Maybe his parents were something only he was allowed to bring up, how could she fix this?

As Hermione fretted over how to lighten the mood again, Draco lifted his eyes to hers. His brow was furrowed and he looked as if he was struggling to find something to say. Draco's dark eyes glimmered in the flickering candlelight of the room as they bore into hers.

"Hermione…" he started, his voice so faint she barely heard it.

Hermione was suddenly acutely aware of Draco's face only inches from hers. As if in the distance she heard Trelawney saying "Oh students! Before you leave come here and see a perfect example of the sunburst tea symbol found by Pavarti!" and the scraping of chair legs against the floor as the rest of the class shuffled to Pavarti's seat.

His right hand reached out slowly to cup her face, his calloused thumb brushing over her cheek as it had done that night in her bedroom weeks before. But instead of moving to trace the rest of her body as before, his hand stilled, cupping her chin.

"Hermione..." he said again, his voice deep and hushed.

Hermione didn't dare move, she reveled in the warmth of his palm on her chin, his fingers lightly touching her neck. She felt jolts of electricity shoot from the places where his skin met hers all the way to her core.

A loud cough brought them both back to reality. Draco pulled his hand away from Hermione face and began shuffling his books as Ron and Harry approached them.

"Fascinating class, don't you think Mione?" Harry said as he started helping her to gather her books. Malfoy finished packing his bag and bolted out of the classroom with a "See you around, Granger!" Evidentially he had important places to be.

Hermione looked up at Ron. "Sorry!" He mouthed. Hermione nodded and gave him a smile to let him know it was all right that they had interrupted. Her conversation with Draco had gotten a little heavy for Divination anyway.

Harry was still chattering about all the things he and Ron had made up for their Divination work. They finished packing their stuff and made their way to the Dining Hall for dinner.

Hermione couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that she had said something wrong with Draco earlier. When she saw that he wasn't at dinner, she was sure it was her fault. She grabbed a slice of strawberry cheesecake on her way out of the Dining Hall, planning on using it as a peace offering when she got back to their dormitories.