They sat and stared into each others eyes, Hermione's unanswered question hanging in the air.
"Why did I kiss you?" Draco's voice was soft, all arrogance in his expression instantly gone.
"That's what I said." Hermione cleared her throat. "And I'll remind you, you promised me an honest answer." The air between them was loaded with electricity, Hermione hardly dared to even breath as she waited for his answer.
Draco swallowed and took a few seconds before he responded. "I don't know if even I know the answer to that."
"Oh." Hermione looked away, she could feel her cheeks turning red as a flush of embarrassment went through her, as she began to think that it was all in her head.
"But I do know that I would like to do it again." Her head face snapped back towards him as he stared into her eyes and her heart started racing when she realised that he was beginning to lean in, gauging her reaction.
If their last kiss was heated and full of passion, was the opposite, but every bit as good. Hermione had every second to be able to think as he slowly leaned towards her his hand reaching to the side of her cheek and pull her face gently towards him. Her mind was screaming at her that she was about to kiss Draco Malfoy, a boy up until a week ago she hated, but every cell in her body was aching for him to do it. His eyes were searching her face for any sign of apprehension, when he didn't find any he bridged the last few centimetres and pressed his lips up against hers. She found her lips parted of their own accord and before she knew what she was doing her hands wound around his neck. It was quiet, the only other sound was the crackling of the fire. They lost themselves in each other, his tongue finding hers and one of his hands was exploring the small of her back. Hermione sat up, not breaking their embrace and pushed Draco gently back onto the couch, pressing her body up against his. Her mind was still screaming at her to stop, but she found she just couldn't bring herself to. She pressed herself to him deepening their kiss, letting out a quiet moan as he ran his fingers through her hair.
All of a sudden, Draco grabbed her by the waist and softly pushed her away. They lay side by side next to each other on the couch, Hermione shifting from ridiculously excited to as confused as Draco had ever made her feel.
"You're too good for me Hermione." He muttered under his breath. "You need to walk away from me now, before this goes any further."
Hermione stared at him in disbelief. "Why would I walk away from you? You need to stop this right now, you saying these ambiguous sentences but never explaining how you really feel. Please just let me in."
"That's something I just can't do." There was pain in his normally guarded face.
"I just, don't understand what has happened to you..." Hermione shook her head trying to organise her thoughts. "Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"
Draco jumped off the couch in a second. "It's all you!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening like a mad man. "You make me question everything! All my life, I've been so sure of myself, my family, my beliefs. And then you…" He trailed off putting his hand on her the side of her face, running his thumb along her face, with Hermione involuntarily leaning her face into his hands. "You've changed all that."
"I've changed all that?" She couldn't help the scepticism that flashed across her face.
"Who else but you?" He pulled his hand off her face and abruptly walked across the room. "You are the smartest person I have ever met, and I've never found myself so drawn to another person. Until this year, I had never really looked at you. Never really seen you. And you have been here in front of me this whole time."
"A person doesn't just change their whole core fundamentals because of another person." Hermione looked away. "How could I ever believe that this change in you is real?"
"I'd already been questioning my family's lifestyle myself, but I guess I just wasn't brave enough to face those thoughts on my own." He whispered. "And you just forced me to face all those thoughts upfront, I just, can't work them out enough to organise them properly."
"Then let me in... Draco." He looked across at her at the use of his first name. "Stop with this hot and cold business. Kiss me again, and this time don't push me away." She looked at him desperately.
"I know what my future is, these thoughts will just make everything harder for me, but they won't change anything. Which is why kissing you again would only be bad for the both of us."
"Your future is what you make of it. 'These thoughts won't change anything' - That's a load of bull, and you know it!" She strode across the room and grabbed his arm, spinning her to face him. "You're just scared to step away from all you have known your whole life!"
"No! You have no idea the pressure I'm under!" Draco yelled kicking one of his textbooks across the floor. "You have no idea how deep my family and I are in. You don't just quit being a death eater. It's a lifelong sentence."
"You're not a death eater."
"Not yet." He spat out bitterly.
"It doesn't have to be this way." She looked at him softly. "I can see that you're good, too."
"If only I could believe that." They stood staring at each other, at an impasse, neither quite sure of what to say. After a few minutes, Draco took a deep breath.
"I just need some air. I'm sorry Hermione." He reached out and stroked the side of her face, and abruptly turned on his heel and strode out the room, leaving a shell shocked Hermione behind him.