Draco's face gets closer and closer until I am not longer breathing. His pale blonde hair has fallen in his face, casting shadows over his cheeks, but I can still see his grey eyes. They are so dark and stormy they are almost black as he refuses to look away. Then his lips are on mine and an explosion of feelings explodes through my body, radiating out from the points where our lips meet. It feels like fire is burning its way through my veins, leaving behind an intense heat and electricity as it works its way through my limbs and chest, settling low in my stomach. My eyes finally close, but his face is burned in my vision. I can still see every inch of that beautiful image. Then sight gives way to touch. Draco's lips are firm and frantic against mine. His arm is tight around my waist, holding me tight against his body while his other hand is tangled in my hair, holding my face to his. I can feel his heart pounding beneath my hands resting on his chest. My head is fuzzy as his tongue runs along the seam of my lips, seeking entry. I open to him and his tongue sweeps against mine, his taste bursting over my own tongue. He tastes like velvet chocolate and moonlight and something uniquely dangerous that makes me ache for more.

My hands slide up to tangle in his long hair, the soft tresses gripped tight in my fist. Now it is me holding his face in place. I can feel every inch of his body pressed tight against mine, making the most sensitive areas ache with need. Impossibly, his grip on me tightens, but the ferocity of the kiss smooths out into a heat breaking gentility and I know without a doubt that this boy could steal my heart, and he could also shatter it into a million pieces.

Without stopping to think or give myself time to change my mind, I drop my hands back to his chest and give him a firm push away from me, effectively ending our kiss. He takes a dazed step back and drops his hands to his sides. His face is a mask of fuzzy confusion.

"I can't...I'm sorry," I whisper before turning and rushing from my room, through the common room and out of the portrait, leaving Draco alone and confused behind me.

DRACO

My lips sting and my body is cold and frozen in place. I can still feel the ghost of her body against mine but it is just a mocking echo of the real thing. For a long time I am unable to move. I have no idea what happened, all I can think about is the feel of Hermione in my arms, the feel of her lips, her tongue tangled with mine. I can still taste her, like the ocean and cinnamon and rain tinted summer air. Kissing her was like being on every drug known to wizards and all those not known, but without any bad side effects. I could barely think, all I could do was feel, all I knew was Hermione, her taste, her body, her warmth. Then, without warning, she was gone.

When the feeling begins seeping back into my legs and arms, I leave her is nothing left for me there. I stride to my room, pull on my cloak and practically run from the common room, out the portrait hole, through the castle and out to the grounds. Waisting no time, I grab my broom from where I last stored it, swing my leg over it and shoot into the sky . Leaning close to the handle, I shoot forward, becoming a blur. Anger burns through me, anger at myself for letting her get to me, but mostly anger at I fly and fly and fly until all I can see is pale blue sky and the wispy white clouds that freeze my now moist skin, making it sting until I can no longer feel the anger and the longing absence her touch left behind.

HERMOINE

Ginny knows something is wrong the second she sees my face. She immediately leave the Gryffindor table where she was eating breakfast and pulls me back out of the room, through the hall into a small alcove.

"What happened," she demands as soon as she is sure we are alone.

"I kissed Draco Malfoy," I tell her, seeing no reason to lie and needing her friendship.

"You what?" she says loudly.

"I kissed Malfoy," I repeat, though I know she heard me.

"Tell me everything," she orders and I do. I tell her how nice he has been and how he was so helpful last night and how hurt I was that Ron hasn't bothered to write. I spill my guts to her and she listens with quiet intensity, never saying a word until I have told her every last detail. When I am done, her eyes are wide and her jaw has dropped.

"Why did you push him away then, if you like him so much?" she asks as soon as she gets her voice back.

"Because I am supposed to be in love with Ron, Ginny!" I snap at her.

"We don't get to choose who we love Hermione. Ron is my brother and I love him, but he is a moron. You were right to be upset at him, there is no excuse for him acting the way he is. Don't let what you feel you are supposed to be be feeling for Ron stop what you could feel for someone who could truly make you happy Hermione," says Ginny quietly and calmly, reaching out to take my hand.

"But it is Draco Malfoy, no one would ever understand," I sigh.

"Who cares? Those of us who are really your friends will accept your decision Hermione. Besides, if what you told me is true, it seems Draco Malfoy is not the bully he once was," she reminds me.

"I don't know what to do Ginny," I tell her, desperation clear in my voice..

"I can't tell you what to do Hermione, all I can do is support your decision. Now, why don't we head to the Library and get some homework done?" suggests Ginny and I jump at the chance.

For the next couple hours, I submerse myself in schoolwork and I am finally able to put boy trouble out of my mind. But only temporarily. By dinner time, all my homework is done and there is nothing else to distract me as I walk into the Great Hall. My eyes immediately flit over tot he Slytherin table where they land on Draco. He is sitting next to Nicola Cartson who is much to close to him for my comfort. He seems to be mostly ignoring her advances, but it still makes my stomach churn.

I follow Ginny over to our table and load my plate, but I can't really make myself eat. I pick at a piece of bread and have a few bites of stew, but eventually I give up and, bidding Ginny goodnight, head for my room. Once there, I decide to wait for Draco, to explain what happened earlier. But while I am waiting, there is a tap on the window. When I open it, Ron's owl Pig flutters in with a letter tied to his tiny leg. It is tough getting him to stay still long enough to free the letter. When I finally manage to get it, I rip it open and begin to read:

Dear Hermione,

I am sorry it has taken me so long to write back, but I know how you get about homework and I didn't want to disrupt your studying. Everything is pretty much the same here. The Ministry has had me and Harry training from morning until night every day to get ready for our Auror entrance exams, but most of it is pretty fun so I can't complain too much. I miss you and wish you were here cheering me on. Ginny told me you have to share a room with Malfoy, but that is was such an awesome room it was worth it. I hope he isn't giving you too much trouble because if he is, Harry and I will personally show up to kick his arse, muggle style. I can't wait to see you again.

Love you,

Ron

I stare at the letter in my shaking hands, guilt swallowing me. Then footsteps announce my roommates return and I look up to see Draco's guarded face staring at me.

"I see you got the letter you were so worried about. I am sure everything is all rainbows and unicorns for you now," he says coldly, striding away from me toward his room.

"Draco, wait!" I say, standing and walking quickly toward him.

"What for?" he snaps, stopping and turning to look at me, his face a mask of anger. But I can see behind the anger. I can see the deep hurt in his eyes and I feel tears spring to my eyes.

"I need to talk to you about what happened," I tell him, reaching out to grab his hand. He jerks away from me and takes a step closer to his room.

"There is nothing to say. Weasley sent you a letter full of love and kisses and now everything is better between the two of you. Last night was a mistake Hermione, and now that we both know what you want, it won't happen again. Now go write Weasley a nice long letter professing your undying love. You don't even have to tell him about what happened this morning. It can be our little dirty secret," says Draco and without another word, spins on his heel and walks into his room, slamming the door behind him. I hear the lock click into place and it rings out with finality.

Feeling completely hollow inside, I walk over to my room and without even pausing to change into my pajamas, I fall on my bed, fully dressed and let the tears fall. I don't blame Draco for his anger, I deserve it. I led him on, told him I wanted to kiss him both verbally and with my every action and then I rejected him. And tonight when he came in, I was reading a note from Ron, acting like nothing had changed. He was right to be angry, he was right to yell. I could see the hurt in his face, the heart breaking sadness filling his eyes. I rejected him and now I have lost the new friendship we formed, the friendship that allowed me to sleep at night and to make it through the day.

Even now, I can hear the floor in his room creaking as he walks over it and I know he is pacing. With every squeak of a floorboard I can feel his anger and hurt and restlessness like a blanket of pain, continually covering me. Hot tears streak down my cheek as I try to sleep, but it never comes. I spend every minute of the night listening to his pacing which never ceases and it isn't until morning that I realize I was not crying over my betrayal to Ron, I was crying over the loss of Draco. The thought is like a punch in the stomach. It brings me up short and I can barely breathe. Could my feelings have changed so quickly? Thoughts of the kiss intrude, the heat and passion, the gentility. I have never felt like that before, not with Ron of Krum or anyone. It was like Draco lit a fire in me that could burn away any bad thing that could ever happen to me, and I pushed him away. And as the first streaks of morning light begin pouring through my window, coloring the ceiling, I finally drift to sleep, aware of the fact that I may have made the biggest mistake of my life.