AN: So this update was slightly slower than the first few but I think one every single day was pushing it a bit, don't want to burn out the creativity candle before the story ends. I think everyone is enjoying this so far, I hope you are at least enjoying it as much as I am enjoying writing it.

Thank you to my lovely Beta Astarte_Lydianna. Go to her profile to read some really great HP and Twilight fics.

Disclaimer: All recognized character and situations belong to J. K. Rowling. I make no money from this.

Hermione gasped as he smashed their lips together and Draco took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her warm mouth. She didn't struggle or try to stop him. She just felt warm all over.

She tentatively moved her tongue against his and slowly brought her arms up his arms to settle around his neck. Draco pushed her back towards the tree until her back was against it and lifted her left leg over his hip.

Feeling a hard length against her centre woke Hermione up to what was actually happening. She broke away from the kiss.

"What are we doing?" she gasped.

Draco backed off instantly, dropping her leg and causing her to lose her balance. He quickly grabbed her shoulder to stop her falling. "I…. I don't know"

Just at that moment Hermione looked over Draco's shoulder to see Ginny marching towards them. Her wand drawn.

"Get your hands off her Malfoy" She growled, pointing her wand straight between his shoulder blades.

Draco rolled his eyes before turning around to face Ginny. "Lower your wand Weaslette" he answered in a low menacing way.

"No... Wait. Stop" Hermione cried stepping between them. "Hermione he was holding you against a tree, and forcing himself on you" Ginny growled, holding her wand higher at his face.

"No! Gin he wasn't. Wait please. I don't really know what happened" Hermione finished, looking back at Draco for more of an explanation.

Draco gripped his wand in his pocket and said again "Lower your wand"

"What are you gonna do Malfoy?" Ginny spat his last name "one foot wrong and you're in Azkaban"

"That's where your wrong you foolish little girl. My sentence says I must behave with muggles. It never said anything about defending myself against a pureblood little chit who is pointing her wand at my face. So I say again…" he pulled his wand. "Lower your wand"

"Stop this right now!" Hermione yelled, putting her hands on bother their wands and pushing them down, "Draco please"

"Draco? 'Mione what the hell do you mean Draco?" Ginny was looking at her friend like she was going insane.

"Oh for Merlin sake, Ginny will you calm down. Come on lessons are about to start" She grabbed Ginny's arm and made the younger witch turn around and start walking. She looked back over her shoulder at Draco who mouthed "work of art" to her before turning away.

….

At lunch Ginny accosted Hermione before she even managed to get a single bite of food in her mouth. "What in Merlin's Baggy Shorts is going on 'Mione? Why the hell did you let Malfoy kiss you?"

Hermione huffed out a breath before giving up on any attempt at eating. "To be honest I really don't know what happened. We were talking and then he said I was a work of art and then I was up against the tree and we were kissing"

"Wait a minute... Work of Art? Hell talking, since when do you talk to Malfoy?" Ginny asked, confused.

"Oh well we have talked a few times" Hermione went onto explain the time he came to the rescue during the rebuild of the castle and the conversations since then.

"Wow" Ginny responded. "So, he willingly helped you?" Hermione nodded.

"You had conversations, like proper conversations?" Ginny went on. Hermione nodded.

"Well again, Wow" Ginny said.

"I don't want to jinx anything and say he's changed but I think the war has had just as much affect on him as it did on us. To be honest I think now that he doesn't have to reach his father's expectations, we may see a completely different side of Draco Malfoy" Hermione stated.

"Well I really hope you're right 'Mione, and it's all nice and everything if he has but I still don't understand why you were kissing him. And what is this whole work of art thing about?"

Hermione blushed and lowered her voice. She explained the conversation in the Astronomy Tower after Ron had cheated and the conversation that morning. "I don't know why he kissed me Gin, maybe he just got caught up in his emotions. I think he's feeling really lost"

Ginny smirked in quite a good impression of the young wizard they were discussing and replied "Or maybe he fancies you 'Mione" before getting up from the table and leaving Hermione with a good impression of a goldfish on her face.

…

Hermione completed her afternoon class, History of Magic, without taking in so much as a word the professor had said. Her hand seemed to take notes without engaging her brain in any way.

She decided to skip dinner altogether. She just went straight to her room and lay back on her bed. "Ginny can't be right. There is just no way" she told herself out loud to make it more believable.

She was taken out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. "Err…Hermione, are you okay?" came the concerned voice of Neville through her bedroom door.

Hermione pulled herself from the bed and opened the door. "I'm fine Neville thanks"

Neville peaked into her room, "Were you talking to yourself?" he asked, he was looking at her like maybe he should be hauling her off to the hospital wing.

"Oh err… yes I was, sorry about that" Hermione was thoroughly embarrassed at being caught talking to herself, her mothers' voice came into mind 'firstsignofmadnessdear'

"Okay well I saw that you didn't come to dinner so I brought you some, it's down in the common room" Neville said, then gave her another look of concern before going back downstairs.

Hermione found him sitting on one of the plush armchairs by the fire. She turned to pick up a bite to eat and found her desk covered with a plate of everything that had been served in the Great Hall that night.

"Wow Neville, were you feeding me or all of Gryffindor House?" Hermione asked, and laughed as he blushed.

"I just err… wasn't sure what you would like" Neville's face turned deep crimson and turned back to the homework in his lap, after one day they were already piled high, and they hadn't even had Potions or Transfiguration yet.

"Thanks Neville this was really nice of you" Hermione said sitting opposite him and tucking into the Bangers and Mash she had picked out from the large group of plates.

"Hermione, there was something else I have to tell you" Neville said once she had settled into her seat.

"Of course Neville"

"Well, I was sitting with Ginny at dinner and Draco Malfoy was staring at us the whole time. I thought he was just being creepy but then when I got up to leave he came over" Neville stopped and Hermione motioned for him to continue with her fork.

"Well he asked where you were. He asked if you were okay. Ginny told him to mind his own business and I had to threaten them both with detention to stop them drawing wands on each other"

"Oh Neville. I'm sorry you had to do that for me" Hermione apologized straight away.

"No it's cool, I'm happy to help protect you from him. We didn't fight that war so that he could get back up to his old tricks again" Neville answered.

Hermione decided to keep quiet and let Neville get back to his studies, no point involving him in the weirdness of that morning too.

She finished her meal and thanked Neville again for thinking of her before returning to her room. She decided to read her History of Magic textbook, since she had managed to miss most of the lesson, stuck in her own head. She of course had already read it cover to cover when she had bought it but it wouldn't hurt to do it again.

….

The next morning Hermione was sat at the Gryffindor table, looking dishevelled. She had gotten through all of three pages of her textbook before she gave up. She could not concentrate on the words as thoughts of the kiss broke into her mind.

She had never felt anything like that, granted she had only kissed two other men. Viktor, she had been far too young and inexperienced to appreciate what was happening, and after the initial romance of coming together during the battle any and all intimacy with Ron had ended with her having to pry him off her as he didn't want to take no for an answer and would always take it too far.

Kissing Draco was different; his kiss was all encompassing. His body fit with hers and the feeling of being pressed between him and the tree would not leave her. She had been shocked to feel his excitement against her, shocked enough to pull her back to reality, but she had not at any point felt uncomfortable.

'Oh Merlin, never mind if he likes me, I've got to worry about whether or not I like him' she thought to herself. She shook her head and turned to her toast, determined that today she would be back to normal, concentrate in her classes and complete her head girl duties.

She had already set up a schedule for the prefects' rounds before school had started. She had cleared it with Professor McGonagall and Neville had assured her that he was more than happy with whatever she came up with.

He still struggled with his confidence even after his heroics during the final battle. Hermione was still determined to include him; he had been given Head Boy for a reason and she hoped with a little nudge in the right direction he would shine.

Yes. She would get back to normal and forget the odd situation with Draco Malfoy.

Except for one small problem….

An owl had just dropped a letter in front of her and the handwriting was certainly not from anyone she knew. It was beautiful penmanship, and Hermione was almost certain she knew whom it was from.

After a moments hesitation she picked up the letter and opened it.

Dear Hermione

I would like to request that you meet me tonight after dinner. Please be in the Astronomy Tower at 9pm. I think we should talk.

Regards

Draco

"What's that?" Ginny asked, grabbing the note and reading it before Hermione could get it back.

"Oh 'Mione, please say you're not going" she almost begged.

"Ginny, give me back the note" Hermione was about ready to lose her temper with the interfering young witch.

"I hadn't even had a moment to contemplate the note before you snatched it out of my hand" she said grabbing it back and folding it, slipping it into her robe pocket.

"Hermione please, whatever he has to say, it's not worth it. How do you know he isn't just trying to befriend you so that he looks better to the rest of the world? You are Harry Potter's best friend after all"

"Thank you Ginny. I've already thought of that, but it's nice to know that you think that no one would be my friend if I wasn't a third of the supposed bloody Golden Trio" Hermione got up quickly and left the hall.

She went to her first class and waited outside for everyone else to come. She looked at the note again and made a decision. No matter what the reasons Draco Malfoy wanted to talk and she was going to be in the Astronomy Tower at 9pm that night to meet him.

AN: SO? What do you think, is Ginny right and he's just making himself look good? Or are his intentions better than that? I can't wait to hear what you all think of this.