An Innocence Restored

Thank you so much to anyone who read the previous chapter. It means so much to me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter which will be the final one of this story! I'm sorry it was so short!

Lyrics: Give you what you want, but nothing is for free.

Chapter Nine

Draco believed that a visit to the library was in order today. After all, Hermione seemed to think a trip to the library was appropriate no matter how she was feeling. If she was happy, a visit to the library was in order. If she was sad, a visit to the library was in order. If she was confused, a visit to the library was in order. Yes, the library would be his best bet of finding Hermione.

He was still feeling rather confused. This library visit could be therapeutic for him also. After the way Blaise was acting, he didn't know how to behave around him anymore. It was as though the roles had been reversed and Blaise was the one who was always in control. His sudden want to keep what he was doing with Hermione a secret was making his head spin in absolute confusion.

He couldn't possibly allow himself to actually grow feelings for Hermione. That had never been part of the plan and he certainly wasn't going to allow it to become part of it. No, that was just wrong. It simply couldn't happen. Blaise would positively kill him if it did.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione sat at their usual table at the very back of the library with her head buried deeply in a book that bore no interest to Draco. She chewed on her thumbnail as her eyes rapidly scanned the pages. Wow, she must really get into all of the books that she reads. It was almost as though the walls around her could be set on fire and she wouldn't even realise because she was so engrossed in whatever it was that she was reading.

"Hermione" Draco said delicately as he slipped into the seat opposite her. He didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but her face seemed to fall as soon as she heard his voice. Draco was beginning to think this was all too real. Yes, he was creating problems for Hermione that she didn't want even if she was attracted to Draco. It was then, sitting there with Hermione, that Draco realised that what he was doing was cruel. Hermione didn't deserve to have to put up with all of this.

"What do you want?" She asked curtly. There was no anger in her voice, but there was none of its usual warmth. She wanted straight answers now. That much was clear to Draco.

"You've been acting weird ever since I kissed you" Draco pointed out. Perhaps being blunt was the best way to go about this. After all, it was obvious she just wanted to know where stood with all of this. Yes, he may as well just get it all out in the open as quickly and as simply as possible.

"Indeed I have been acting weird since you kissed me" Hermione agreed casually as though the reason as to why should be simple and easy to understand. Perhaps Draco was just slow with all of this. After all, he can safely say he has never been in a position like this one before. Yes, he would just go with that for now. It would make him feel better and less confused.

"Would you care to explain to me why you have been acting weird?" Draco asked once it was clear that wasn't going to elaborate on her statement. "I kind of feel like I'm in the dark a bit here."

"You and me both, Malfoy" Hermione agreed once more. This seemed as though it was going to be a very difficult conversation to have. She didn't seem very intent on giving any. No, she was only sitting with him now to receive answers. There was no way she was going to give them.

"Oh, so you're back to calling me Malfoy?" Draco questioned with the ghost of a grin. Now was probably not the right moment to be making jokes. Hermione already seemed as though she was in a rather fragile state.

"Yes, until this is all cleared up you're going back to being Malfoy" Hermione said in her curt manner than didn't suit her whatsoever. Well, at least she was giving some answer now no matter how brief it may be.

"Now that's just being petty" Draco noted, trying his best to keep his voice down. He didn't suspect that Hermione would appreciate a scene being made in front of everyone in the library.

"Perhaps I am being petty" Hermione agreed. All of this agreeing was beginning to freak Draco out. He had never really been used to a compliant Hermione. No, he didn't think this personality suited her at all. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing it."

"Okay then" Draco sighed, almost worried at how she would react if he tried to say anything more. "Whatever gets you through the day."

"Could you please tell me what you're doing?" Hermione asked with all the politeness that she could muster, but Draco could still hear an edge of frustration in her voice. She was not happy at all by all of this.

"Okay, I guess I should just come right out and tell you" Draco sighed as he experienced his own realisation. Everything that he had been doing with Hermione lately wasn't at all faked. No, he had enjoyed their library conversations. He had enjoyed eating breakfast with her. He had enjoyed taking her for a walk by the Black Lake. He had enjoyed taking her to Hogsmeade with him. He had especially enjoyed kissing her no matter how brief it may have been. It seemed that the bet was just an excuse for him to do all of these things without turning as many heads.

It seemed that now was the time that Draco was going to have to tell her how he really felt despite what Blaise may see or do to him. With a deep breath, he opened his mouth and readied himself to launch into his explanation that she probably wasn't going to listen to anyway, but it was worth a try. What did he have to lose now?

…

Hermione was infuriated. She practically felt as though she was going to explode in anger. Why was Draco being like this with her? It couldn't possibly be that difficult to just explain to her what was on his mind. He had been doing so well the past couple of weeks. They had talked as though they had been real friends. Surely doing that one more time couldn't hurt. He could manage it. She knew he could. The only problem was that she didn't know how to make him believe that he could.

"Well, I guess if I'm putting it bluntly I would tell you that I enjoyed kissing you" Draco finally blurted. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. Draco was actually blushing and beginning to look as though he was about to start stuttering excuses for what he had just said.

As much as Hermione wanted to tell Draco that she enjoyed it too, she simply sat frozen in her chair and stared at Draco as though he was going insane.

"Feel free to say something at any moment" Draco finally said once it seemed as though you could cut through the tense atmosphere with a knife. Yes, the silence had been rather deafening. Hermione would agree on that with him. It had been simply astounding.

"You enjoyed kissing me?" Hermione asked as though she needed some more clarification from him. After all, this had been entirely unexpected…just like the actual kiss itself. She had never thought something like that would ever happen.

"Yes" Draco answered, his voice now taking on a croaky quality.

"So, where do we go from that?" Hermione asked, finally discarding of her book and taking to tapping the table annoyingly. It stopped Draco from thinking properly.

"Well, where do you want to go from that?" Draco asked. He couldn't understand why this was so hard. He had dated a tonne of girls. Hell, he was practically an expert when it came to them now. Why was Hermione confusing him so damn much? This was so not fair.

"Oh no, I'm leaving that entirely up to you" Hermione explained. Yes, she was ever so tactful. It seemed that making Draco confess his heart to her was her way of going about this. That way she didn't embarrass herself. Draco liked her way of thinking. It was another thing to add to the growing list of reasons why he would be lucky to have her.

"Oh, you're so considerate" Draco said sarcastically as he began tapping his fingers off the table much like Hermione had been.

"Well, you know me" Hermione joked. "Always try to help you out."

"I want it to go somewhere" Draco finally said with a resigned sigh because he was damn near sure that Hermione wasn't going to feel the same way at all. "I want to be with you even if it is completely unrealistic."

"Who said it was unrealistic?" Hermione asked, sensing how uncomfortable he was with admitting all of this to her. She may as well at least try to help him out a little if it meant getting this over and done with faster.

"Well, I just figured that it would be" Draco answered, confusion morphing in his eyes. "You're in Gryffindor and I'm in Slytherin. We shouldn't go together."

"Yes well" Hermione mumbled. Now she knew how Draco felt, she was beginning to feel rather guilty for forcing him into doing all of the talking. It should have been her. She's better at communicating feelings. "If two people go together then there's nothing anyone can do about it."

With a confidence she didn't know she possessed, she leaned over the table and let their lips meet right in front of everyone in the library. She no longer cared what others may think about her or Draco. For once she was going to live her life the way that she wanted to live it. She was going to live it as though she was the only one who mattered.

This kiss was much better than the first. This kiss was longer, sweeter and hell of a lot more romantic. It was a shame it had to end.

"So, now that we're together" Draco grinned. "What are you going to do about Weasley?"

"What can I do about Ron?" Hermione asked with a shrug of her shoulders. Although she may seem casual about it, she wished that Ron could just accept who it was that she wanted to be with and get over himself long enough to realise that she was happy. "If he can't accept the fact that I'm with you then it's his problem…not mine…not ours."

With that said, she took his hand and led him straight out of the library.

Yes, today was a good day. There was no need for Draco to tell anyone about the bet he made with Blaise. He'd tell him the bet was off and then all would be good. Hermione had finally accepted that Ron not accepting Draco wasn't her problem and she had finally relaxed enough to put herself forward. Yes, today was a very good day…and Draco had got the girl.

Probably a very bad last chapter, but hey I'll post it anyway ;) I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter and the story on a whole. I'd just like to say thank you to anyone who has read any of my chapters and other stories and for reviewing. You have no idea how much it really means to me! Thank you!