Chapter 3- Confusion of the Mind and the Heart

After Hermione shut her door after her, she slid down the door and sank to the floor, putting her head in her hands, taking deep, calming breaths. What had happened out there? One minute she wanted to hex him into oblivion because she thought he was trying to trick her, and the next she had the overwhelming desire to kiss him. What was wrong with her? She had wanted to kiss DRACO MALFOY, the boy had tormented her and her friends ever since their first year, now she felt bad for him and wanted to kiss him? She must had something slipped into her pumpkin juice, that had to be it, but deep down she knew that she had wanted to kiss him under her own power, but she refused on the outside to except the fact that she may be falling for the ferret, Draco. She got changed into a nightgown and threw herself into her plush bed.

Draco was in a similar state of mind. Why the hell couldn't he get how beautiful she was and how much he wanted to hold her again out of him mind? She was the enemy, a mudblood, beating him in every class, top of their year while he, a pureblood, a Malfoy, was stuck under her, second best. He was suppose to hate her, he had been told from a young age that fact, but he'd much rather kiss her full, red lips... something must be wrong with him, that's the only thing that made sense. He COULDN'T be falling for a girl how humiliated him on a daily basis, for answering questions he didn't know the answer to, for being smarter than him, for reading books in her first year that he had sitting in front of him in the Malfoy Library for years and had never touched or thought about reading, at all. Also he didn't understand what he was feeling, he'd never felt it before, usually he didn't dwell in on girls this much, nor had he been so affected by tears before. When she began to cry at the mention of Weasely all hatred and anger flew out of him and was replaced by the strong need to comfort her and hold her until the tears disappeared. And then when she stopped crying, he still wanted to hold her, to protect her from the thing that made her cry, which is why he suggested he and her fake date, to make Weasely jealous. He had want to make her feel better, it was weird because he had been so cruel to her for so long, why was he feeling this need now? He didn't know why, but he was going to find out, somehow. He had completely forgotten his need for revenge because of his confusion, maybe to never be remembered. He shook his head in a attempt to clear his thoughts and striped down, pulling on some pj pants and laying face down on his bed, mentally and emotionally exhausted by the different thoughts and emotions that he'd gone through in such a short period of time.

The next morning, early, Hermione walked down the stairs from her room in her nightgown still, which was light pink in color and cut off just above her knees, in to the Heads' common room. What she saw in there made her suck in air in shock.

Draco was standing, shirtless, in front of the common room's fire, facing it. He had green pj pants with silver strips on, showing off his house colors. Hermione could see the toned back of his arms and at her intake of breath, he turned around, so she could now see his lightly toned chest and stomach. She couldn't move or speak, all she could do was stare at him.

Draco, too, was staring. He had never imagined Hermione had hide such a body under her school robes, she had long legs that her nightgown showed off and her lower lip was turning redder due to the fact she was biting it out of nerves, then he noticed she was staring at him, much like he was staring at her. After what seemed eternity in silence he smirked at her, "Like want you see Hermione?"

The effect was what Draco had wanted it to be, she tore her eyes from his chest and glared at him, "No, I don't actually, Draco", his first name on her lips was coated in sarcasm, "Actually I was wondering why you are standing in OUR common room without a shirt on."

Draco's smirk became more pronounced, "Oh really? So you weren't staring at my bare chest for about 5 minutes? Also, I could ask you why you are wearing a nightgown in OUR common room."

Hermione flushed a bright red color, "No I wasn't staring at you, I'm wearing a nightgown because.. I thought you were still asleep.", only the last part of the sentence was honest, it was the first honest thing she had spoke so far, she had been staring at him, and she was enjoying the view of his toned body. "And weren't you staring at me?"

Draco was still smirking, however, "Oh and you were still sleeping when I came out here, I was out here first. and I wasn't staring at you I was thinking about how I'd never thought you of all people would be dressed in a nightgown at night, I know Pansy didn't."

Hermione snorted in disgust at the name of one of Draco's "friend's" who she's helped put in Azkaban, "Right, I bet Pansy slept in little lace bras and panties like the little slut she is."

Draco's smirk turned into a little smile as his eyebrows shot up, "Well, you're right about that.. she is a slut and she did sleep in little lace bras and panties, I know because I took them off her a few times.", it was no secret that he'd slept with Pansy, everyone in their year knew it, even if the parents and teachers were blind to that fact.

Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Ugh. One, tell me something half the school doesn't know. Two, way to much information. Lastly, three, it's a good thing that I helped put her into Azkaban, so I don't have to listen to THAT all year long.", at the last statement she smirked, one that could rival Draco's own smirk, and turned away to her room to get changed into her robes.

Draco jumped forward and grabbed her arm before she could take a step. She inhaled sharply and turned to face him, his several inches on her causing her face to be at his chest, she looked up and hissed, "What?", to cover the emotions wracking through her.

He lost any thoughts he had had as she turned to him, her head at chest level, then he remembered what he'd wanted to say, "I never liked her, you know. She was just a distraction."

"A distraction?", she hissed in disgust, "From what? You are worshipped here in school by most of the females. And you had most of the Slythrins in our year as your friends. Why would you need a distraction from all that?"

Draco replied, his voice deadly quiet and soft, "Those girls only like me for my looks, not for me, Pansy included. And the Slythrins? After the Dark Lord came back after the Triwizard Tournament and dissed my father in front of all of them were cruel to me and looked down on me, even for so after I was suppose to kill Dumbledore and failed, Snape having to kill him in my place. Pansy stood by me during that, though just because she's a slut that liked what I gave. So, don't act like you know me. Because you know nothing about me. Not one thing."

Hermione just stood there then muttered to herself, "So, last night wasn't a weird dream.. it was real."

Draco blinked, "What?"

Hermione responded, "Last night, when you were being nice to me and said you'd never wanted to be a Death Eater, it wasn't just a crazy dream.. and you really did suggest we fake date to anger Ron.. it was real.", which meant she really did want to kiss Draco last night... and standing here, his and still wrapped around her wrist, she wanted to kiss him again. Her senses and thoughts were filled with him, she could smell his cologne, feel his hand wrapped lightly around her wrist, and she could see the look in his eye anger that she thought she knew him and all mixed with confusion and some other growing emotion in his gaze that she didn't recognize. Draco's face was always so emotionless, unless it was hatred, disgust, or anger on it. The look in his eye she'd never seen on him before, but it looked similar to the way she had seen Harry look at Ginny. What was it?

Draco's mouth slowly tipped up into a smile, god he couldn't remember the last time he smiled. He must have been a little boy the last time he had a real smile on his face, maybe when he received his letter for Hogwarts. "No.", he said gently, "That wasn't a dream..", this feeling he had no name for was growing inside of him, he was making him fell light-headed, and happy for the first time since he got his Hogwarts letter when he turned eleven. His grey eyes were sparkling and he didn't know why. Why was he so happy while she was so near? He didn't know, or understand.

"So," Hermione asked, "You were serious about wanting to help me?" When Draco nodded mutely at her she said, "Ok then, I'm telling Ginny though, and Harry so they don't think I've gone totally bonkers."

Draco let out a short stream of laughter, "Ok, but how will Weas- I mean Ron - know about this? I didn't see him or Pot- erm, Harry, at the feast."

"Harry and Ron didn't come back this year, Kingsley offered all the of age people who fought on OUR side of the war jobs as aurors," Hermione stated plainly, "and angry owls from the Gryffindors in our year to Ron will probably work.. if there is any more of them."

Draco winced at the way Hermione said our, meaning not him, "You think that'll work? Second-hand information?"

Hermione smirked, very Slythrin-ishly, knowingly, "Ron is a VERY jealous person, and being that it's you, it'll drive him MAD with anger and he'll try to get me back on the spot!", Hermione said excitedly, "But, I'll turn him down for a while and then get back with him."

Draco smirks, very much like the one Hermione still wore, "I think this will be fun, then.", he stated, but he had no idea how much 'fun' it would be.