AN: Hooray! I am finally on my uni break now (not particularly long though since it's only a one-month winter break here in Oz), but still, it means I'll be updating more regularly, that is, once a week.

On a much sadder note, I will stop posting to ff. net after the end of this story. I have mentioned before about considering this in light of the site's recent purging, and this is my final decision. It wasn't an easy one, but I hope you guys will understand. You will be able to see on my profile the detailed announcement plus the links to other places where I can be found. I really, really hope that I can still see you all on one of those sites, and when you're deciding which site to use, I can alert you of new stuffs through PM if you want. Again, details are on my profile.

Right now, though, let's just forget the sad stuff for a while and continue our adventure alongside Draco and Hermione, shall we?

7 First Kisses
by leopion

The Fifth

The Slytherin seventh-year dormitory was atypically quiet except for the sounds of one student still tossing and turning in his bed. After locking up Crabbe and Goyle as usual, Draco had faked illness to his other friends and gone back to his room. Now that he and Granger had figured out the mechanics of the magic, there was not much he could do before their meeting time. Thus, he decided to catch up on his sleep after days of waking up immediately subsequent to travelling back in time. Granted, his body still retained the exact physical condition he'd been in the very first morning. However, his brain had been working constantly ever since, which made him wonder when it was going to explode.

All the same, Draco couldn't sleep. He found his mind wandering to the events of the last few days. They started again at the same spot every day. They hadn't managed to change anything. Yet, as the images of Granger swam before his eyes—the way she defended him in the empty classroom or the look she gave him just before dawn broke—he knew that everything had changed. Draco quickly quashed the thought. If he had to keep thinking, he'd rather it be about something helpful, the implications of Granger's wish, for instance.

What was meant by her loved ones? Even when she went all out, counting the names of almost everyone who died on the first day, his mother's name had not been on that list. The thought of her counting his mother was absurd, but the mention of saving Snape had opened his eyes. Granger had thought of his old mentor even though saving him proved to be impossible, but it wouldn't matter to her if his mother died. She had only been conveniently saved in their endeavour to save Potter. If something else happened to his parents, Draco wouldn't have another chance.

He didn't want to think of the other implication, but it was still there, glaring at him in the face. More than ever, he didn't want to die, knowing that Voldemort would be defeated in the end. There, he'd said the name, even if it was only in his head. Sweet Circe, how she'd rubbed off on him! He didn't want to get trapped on this day with her forever, yet a part of him said that he did and that there was more than business reasons that pulled him to their meeting every time.

The floor under Draco's feet trembled at the impact of the explosion. Although he was stationed rather far from the attack, he still found himself covered in a sizable amount of dust and plaster. He quickly shook them off so as not to let anyone see the peculiar sight of debris suspending in mid-air.

'No,' someone screamed from under the wreckage, their tone making his heart jump up in his throat. 'Percy, no.'

Draco breathed a small sigh of relief. It wasn't Granger. However, if someone died, didn't it mean she had failed? But it wasn't right. Fred was the one who was supposed to die. Granger had told him that the twin's position was the most dangerous of all, but she'd managed to protect him with a Shield Charm the day before.

'He was trying to shield me,' cried Fred Weasley as he pulled himself out of the ruins. Potter and Weasley had also freed themselves from the fallen masonry, yet there was still no sign of Granger. He knew that it must be hard for her to get up with a leg injury. It had been their plan. Still, the other part of it had gone all wrong. Percy Weasley was dead. What if—

'Hermione! Where's Hermione?' Potter's shout echoed Draco's own frantic thoughts. She was all right. She had to be.

'Over here,' came her soft voice. Potter and Weasley rushed towards her direction and started digging up the wreckage. Draco unconsciously stepped closer to them, despite the risk of blowing his cover.

When Granger finally emerged, Draco let out the breath he'd been holding. He couldn't see her legs, which were still half-buried, but by the look of it, her Shield Charm had worked properly except for the deliberate glitch.

'Percy? Did he ...' She trailed off, pain etched across her features as her two friends nodded in confirmation.

Don't forget, Granger. The mission, willed Draco. She drew in a shaky breath. 'We ... you two still need to find the snake.'

'Us two?' asked Potter. 'What—'

Realisation appeared to have hit Potter, for he turned his full attention to her legs, trying to brush off the remaining debris. Weasley stood dumbfounded, seemingly torn between his friends and his two brothers, the one still alive clinging on to the dead.

Suddenly Granger screamed, pointing her wand towards the outside. Draco's stomach lurched. They had meant to send Potter and Weasley on their way before the spiders arrived.

Granger's Stunner knocked down the head monster and thus sent the whole swarm falling off the building. Potter lifted her up and ran, Draco following right behind them. He turned back to see Ron helping Fred to haul their brother's body into a safe place before the older Weasley charged towards the battle at the end of the corridor.

'Here, behind the tapestry,' Granger instructed Potter. Ron Weasley seemed to hesitate for a moment before joining his friends. Draco had no choice but to stay a few feet away, straining his ears to hear their conversation.

'We'll wait for you to heal so that we can go together,' said Potter.

'There isn't enough time.'

'I can't leave you alo—'

'There are still the others, Harry. Go!' cried Granger, agony laced in her voice. She's just pretending, Draco reminded himself. It's only a minor injury. Then again, Granger had never been a good actress.

'You as well, Ron!'

'If I can't stay with you, then at least I wanna kill Death Eaters,' roared Weasley.

Draco couldn't help but inch closer and take a peek inside. What he saw made his blood boil, and he seriously considered Imperiusing the two idiots so that they would go after the snake already. Granger was still arguing with them on the top of her lungs, her right leg bleeding despite the cloth she was pressing on it. The wound was definitely more severe than what they'd agreed on.

'We're the only ones who can end this, and I already cannot go. You can't let Harry go alone, Ron.'

Weasley gave in at last, pulling Potter to stand up.

'Are you sure you're gonna be okay?' asked Potter.

'I can heal it. It just takes time. Now, GO!'

Draco hastily backed away as Potter and Weasley burst out from behind the tapestry. He waited until both had gone out of sight before slipping in next to Granger, who was tracing her wand over the cut in her leg and murmuring healing spells.

'Are you okay?' he asked, taking off his concealment and then putting a simple ward on their hide-out.

'Not you as well.' She huffed in annoyance. Draco didn't reply but instead conjured a clean cloth to help her wipe up the wound. He fumbled a bit before finally running the material smoothly over her pale skin. Somehow, it felt nothing like the time he'd tried to heal her days ago.

'It's just a bit worse than expected because I made my Shield a bit too skewed to the left,' said Granger once they'd finished. As Draco looked up to her face, he knew what was going to come next.

'Don't blame yourself for what happened,' he said quietly. 'The aiming is always tricky when casting multiple spells at once.'

'But I aimed correctly at Fred,' she burst out. 'I just didn't ... Percy ...'

'Is he one of your loved ones?'

'I don't know.' Her face creased, her eyes glistening with tears. 'That is the problem. I mean, I love the Weasleys like family, but Percy's been a right git, and ... I just don't know.'

'There's nothing you can do about it now.' He successfully resisted wiping away her tears this time, thanks to the burden weighing down on in his chest. If even a Weasley might not make her list, how could he or his parents stand a chance?

'Let's get on with helping you save Lupin, then,' she said softly.

Draco nodded, rubbing his hair as though the action could clear up his awful thoughts. If Granger didn't lie to him, his hair was brown now. They had been in the middle of altering his appearance when Potter had found the diadem, which was the reason why they'd had to revert to plan B so that Granger could stay behind sooner. With her help, Draco would be able to directly join the battle today under disguise. He had attempted to help Lupin by casting spells under a Disillusionment Charm yesterday, but it hadn't work. Hiding in a corner made it impossible to aim. On the other hand, staying in the middle of the battle invisible meant he had to spend most of his time trying to evade people bumping into him on top of avoiding curses. Hence, he and Granger had decided that this would be the best solution. As long as no one recognised Draco, his parents would not suffer for his betrayal of Voldemort.

Draco wasn't paying much attention to the changes until his jaw twitched in a painful sensation.

'All done,' announced Granger. He gingerly touched his chin. It felt square and a tad stubbly. Draco ran his hand up the rest of his face. His cheeks were covered with stubble as well, but he couldn't care less.

'Should we go now?'

'Yes, let's.'

He disabled the ward so that he and Granger could get out, and for the first time, they ran side by side, out in the open, towards the battle ahead.

They didn't attempt to fight, but instead tried to find their way to the Great Hall. By the time they rounded the final corner, it was impossible to get past the duellers without splitting up, and Draco could only steal occasional glances to make sure Granger was all right.

His blood chilled as out of his peripheral vision, he saw Granger dive towards a blonde-haired girl instead of getting out of the way. Just as she managed to knock the other girl aside, a green beam brushed past Granger's back, slightly singeing her jacket. A Death Eater walked up to the two girls, his wand raised. Draco didn't have time to think before the words escaped his mouth.

'Avada Kedavra!'

The Death Eater sank to the floor. Draco dashed towards Granger and yanked her away, leaving the other girl babbling her thanks in shock.

Without a word, he dragged Granger into the classroom where they usually met, ignoring the fact that she was struggling to keep up. He angrily slammed the door behind them.

'What do you think you were doing?' yelled Granger.

'I saved your bloody life,' he bellowed, crossing his arms as he turned towards her. 'What do you think youwere doing?'

'What do you mean?'

'The last time I checked, you never included that girl in your to-save list. Do you even know her name?'

'Well, no, but I've seen her among the fallen several times. I knew what would happen.'

'This is war, Granger. There must be casualties. It's unavoidable.'

'At least we can try to save as many lives as possible.'

'That's what you call it? I would personally say that you were trying to get yourself killed with your stupid Gryffindor righteousness.'

She opened her mouth to protest.

'Don't deny it, Granger. You know that you could have used your wand to take down her opponent.'

'I could have hit her. Even if I didn't use a severe curse, hitting her with it in the middle of a duel would have been as good as killing her myself.'

'Then leave her be.'

'I can't.'

'Why not?'

'Unlike you, Malfoy, I'm not a selfish bastard who only thinks about his own friends and family.'

'At least I wasn't risking everything we're working towards just for a girl's life.'

'The day will repeat if we fail to save my loved ones, Malfoy, even though it's not clear where the line is drawn. But I knowit will never repeat for her. That's why I couldn't—'

'But will it repeat if you're the one who's dead? Have you ever stopped to think that you might not have included yourself in that wish?'

'I ...' Granger sank down on one of the desks, lost for words. He knew by the look on her face that she had never thought of the possibility. He didn't say anything either. Draco was sure once he opened his mouth he wouldn't be able to stop himself from pouring out all of the turmoil that had been gnawing at his mind all day.

'I still have a werewolf to save,' he managed to tell her at last, before storming out of the room.

Saving Remus Lupin turned out to be less difficult than Draco had thought. Having observed the duel the day before, he only participated in the fight at the most crucial moment when Dolohov's Killing Curse was meant to hit. In a matter of minutes, he found himself fighting alongside Lupin. To Draco's surprise, the older man accepted his help without questions, despite Dolohov's initial remark that he'd encountered someone whose voice was similar to Draco's in the Dark Lord's service. He was relieved that in the end, Dolohov's suspicion was diminished. However, Lupin's quick acceptance and the fact that the man even ended up saving Draco's life more than once baffled him greatly.

He turned to Lupin as soon as the Death Eaters retreated on Voldemort's order. 'How could you trust me so easily?'

'Didn't you just save my life earlier?' said Lupin, regarding Draco with an all-too-knowing smile. 'Though I do admit I am curious about your identity.'

Draco was prepared to give out his elaborate fake tale but then realised he didn't need it. His cousin had successfully distracted Lupin with her tight embrace. Before anyone else could question his identity, Draco silently slipped out of the Great Hall.

He didn't know whether it was the strain after their fight or the worry clouding his mind that did it, but neither he nor Granger had uttered a word since they met up again for the mission in the Forbidden Forest. They were merely operating on a set programme, with such ease that it unnerved him.

If this was to be their last adventure—if one could call it that—then he didn't want it to end like this. He needed something worth remembering.

'I do not require assistance.' Voldemort's cold voice penetrated through the layers of leaves.

Draco didn't have much time until he had to cast the Imperius Curse on Bellatrix. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. As long as he managed to cover his mother's lie and thus save Potter, it wouldn't matter to Granger what'd happen to him afterwards. This might very well be his last chance. He yearned to feel something other than dread.

But then, he realised he was feeling something: he heard Granger's soft breathing, he felt her closeness as they both pressed themselves against the tree trunk, he breathed in her lilac scent even though it was overpowered by the damp smell of the forest. Draco turned to look at her. It was an awkward angle, but he dipped his head and planted a kiss on her lips. She pushed him away at once.

'What was that for?' Her words caused a twinge in his chest.

'Just thought we should keep up our tradition,' said Draco, pretending to be nonchalant.

'Well, we don't have time,' she said curtly. Knowing that she was probably right, he left their hiding place to fulfil his task.

When Draco came back to their hiding, they reverted to the silent treatment once more. It wasn't until they had gone their separate ways in the final battle did he realise there was still one matter they had yet to discuss. Would she still expect him to cast the Shield Charm on Potter? Or would she attempt to do it herself?

He was glad that this time Molly Weasley—in her outrage at Bellatrix's taunt—took the life of the other witch much sooner and without any outside help. That left only Potter and Voldemort in one final face-off, which went quickly. It was still dark when Voldemort met his end.

Draco could see Granger trying to make her way towards him, but he found no courage to face her. The rising guilt in his stomach didn't need to be made worse by her presence, for he was exactly what Granger had accused him of. All Draco cared about was the time when the sun would rise above the horizon. His family was safe at the moment, and he hoped desperately for the day not to repeat again, even if it was at the cost of Percy Weasley's life. It wasn't within his power, though. It wasn't even within Granger's power. In the end, only her subconscious mattered.

He ran away from her, yet he couldn't run from fate. Never before had Draco felt the weight of the darkness crashing down on him like it did now.

AN: Thank you so much for reading, and see you next week!

~Leo