I own nothing Harry Potter!

This is just a filler chapter to set up what is coming next. Sorry if it's boring, but I thought it was needed to help the next chapter flow better. Thanks for reading!

Enjoy!

Hermione POV

I was sitting in the back of the library getting some work done for the first time in awhile. Without Draco as a distraction, I was able to cross pretty much everything off my to do list before I started to space out. As I allowed my mind to wander, it kept going back to this morning and last night and how everything had played out.

I was still surprise at what Ron had done, but I was glad that I was able to stay one step ahead. It had been nice having Draco alone to myself for a few hours with no one to interrupt. Yes, we'd been alone plenty of times, but the fact that everyone else thought we were pissed at each other made it so much better. It was our own little secret.

I was looking forward to getting everything settled down and solved so that Draco and I could finally have some peace and quite to actually test out relationship out in. I wanted to be able to have a normal relationship like anyone else would. I wanted to be able to relax and enjoy Draco as my boyfriend without worrying about how everyone else was going to react. I had a good feeling that that time was coming soon.

"Hey," Draco's voice pulls me out of my thoughts as he walks towards my table. I take in his appearance he looks shaken. His skin is even paler than usual, his blonde hair is tousled from running his hand through it one too many times, and his stance shows that he is tense.

"What's wrong?" I ask, knowing something was off.

Draco sits in the chair across from me as leans his elbows on the table before answering. "I just ran into Weasley," he says, his grey eyes on mine.

Suddenly it all makes sense; Draco is shaken because him and Ron had just gotten into it. "How'd it go?" I ask trying not to get my hopes up that everything had worked out. From the looks of it, things may have gotten heated, but it didn't get physical. Draco showed no signs of a fight and I knew Draco wouldn't have thrown the first punch.

Draco puts his head in his hands and rubs at his eyes before looking up at me and answering, "Better than I expected, actually." That hadn't been what I'd been expecting, but that was a good sign, wasn't it?

"What does that mean?" I ask with a slight smile, maybe things are looking up.

"I said what I needed to say and so did Weasley," Draco answers, it seems like he's holding something back.

"How'd Ron react to the news that we're not broken up?" I asking knowing Draco must have told Ron that much.

"He was surprised at first, but then he accepted it," Draco shrugs, not meeting my eyes for the first time. I don't think too much of it, but I still know something's bothering him that much is clear.

"So Ron's seriously okay with it?" I ask skeptically. That would be a drastic change from last night.

Draco shrugs again. "He wants to talk to you. I think he's realized that he needs to let you make this choice on your own," he says, his eyes on mine again.

"Why?" I ask, that didn't sound like the Ron I'd seen last night at all.

"I don't know. You're going to have to talk to Weasley about that one," Draco says stopping my questioning. I reluctantly back off, it still seems like Draco's leaving something out, but I'm not going to think too much about it. If what he's holding back is the reason Ron may be coming around then I don't need to know what it is as long as it helps.

Now all I needed to do was talk to Ron and figure out if he was really going to back off or not. It would be amazing if he'd accept that I wanted to be with Draco. If he did that, then maybe we could move on as if nothing had ever happened. If that was the case, then Draco and I would finally get the chance to have a legit relationship without all of the drama Ron was causing. Really, that's all I wanted. I just wanted to give this thing with Draco a fair shot while I figured out exactly where it was going.

Draco POV

I sat there at the library table across from Hermione, I'd just told her what had gone down with Ron…well not all of it, but all she needed to know for now. I could tell she knew I was holding something back, but she didn't question it, which I was grateful for. I wasn't sure what I'd say if she flat out asked me what I was hiding. I wasn't ready to tell her I was in love with her, I'd barely just admitted it to myself.

I wanted to give this thing with Hermione, whatever it was for her, a shot. I wanted to be the boyfriend she needed and wanted. I wanted to take this slow and make sure we did it right and I knew telling her I loved her wasn't taking it slow.

After we got past this whole Ron/Pansy thing, I had ever intention of telling her exactly how I felt. I would come up with some romantic gesture to show her just how much she meant to me. I knew Hermione would love it, no matter how much she wanted to deny she was a romantic, it was obvious that she was.

I didn't want to rush things and screw this all up, so I would bite my tongue and keep those three little words to myself until the perfect time came. I needed to give Hermione a chance to see that I am the perfect guy for her because I knew I was.

The fact that I loved Hermione was still new to me, but I was glad I knew how I felt. There was no denying it anymore Hermione was all I wanted. Now all I had to do was wait patiently until the perfect time to tell her how I felt arrived.

Thanks for reading and I'd love to know what you think!