I'm going to apologize in advance for this chapter...it's not very nice, and I apologize for being so mean, but hopefully you all like it anyway.

Chapter 11

Hermione lay in the familiar large white bed that took up a large portion of the Room of Requirement. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace across the room, and she was warmer and more comfortable than she could remember being in a long time. Best of all, she was in Draco's strong arms. He held her closely, bodies snuggled together under a mountain of warm blankets with his arms wrapped securely around her.

She tilted her head up to stare at his face, soaking in the sight of him: the sharp angles of his face, the strong line of his jaw, the soft curve of his lips. Lifting one arm from his body, she brushed back the white-blonde hair that had fallen down across his forehead and letting her fingers linger in the silky tresses.

"Hey, Granger," he said, eyes of molten silver meeting warm brown. She smiled.

Pulling her into his body, he kissed her gently as his hands explored her body with an ease borne from familiarity, and the feel of his touch against her bare skin was like coming home. She moaned and arched into his touch, pressing her breasts into his naked chest and relishing the skin-on-skin contact.

"I've missed this, Draco," she moaned as his hand grasped the soft flesh of her side. "I've missed you. So much."

"I've missed you, too, Hermione," he said solemnly, all hint of teasing now gone from his voice.

He rolled her over onto her back, fingers tangling into her wild curls in the same way they always did. She could feel his hard length nudging at the place where she longed most to feel him, and her body was ready for him. In fact, after so long apart, she was more than ready.

"I love you, Hermione," he whispered softly.

Then he pressed the most excruciatingly tender kiss to her lips. It was sweeter than anything she had ever experienced in her life, and she never wanted it to end. If she hadn't been so desperate for him, she would have been content to just lay there and kiss him for the rest of her life. She reached out to pull him closer…

…Then startled awake. She reached out, hands searching for Draco, only to discover that she was lying alone in her bunk in the tent. Hearing the sound of snoring cutting through the otherwise silent night, she looked to her left to see the faint outline of Ron sleeping in his bunk across the room.

Her heart fractured just a little bit more at the realization that it had all been a dream. Draco wasn't there with her…

She wished more than anything that the last kiss they had shared before she had woken up had been real, that his lips had really been pressed to hers: that it hadn't just been a dream, an echo of a memory. Tears poured down her cheeks and she cast a quick, non-verbal Muffliato so as to not wake Ron or alert Harry, who she could hear outside taking his turn at watch.

The keening sobs burst through unhindered, and she pulled her pillow up to her chest, hugging it to herself tightly as thoughts of Draco raced through her mind. She remembered vividly, as if had just been yesterday, the first time he had told her that he loved her. Looking back, she couldn't have imagined ever loving someone as much as she loved him. Being away from him now, and knowing just how much danger he was in, was agonizing.

She wished that she could just hold him close and revel in the warmth of his embrace, but until they found and destroyed every single Horcrux she knew that it couldn't happen. Until Voldemort was gone, there was no future for the two of them. She needed to work harder to make it happen quicker, so that they could defeat him and then everyone, then Draco, would finally be safe again.

With a determined nod of her head to steel her resolve to see this through as quickly as possible, along with a rough swipe at her cheeks to attempt to erase the evidence of her tears, she made her way to the entrance of the tent and out to the tree where Harry was propped, keeping watch. He'd had just as long of a day as she had, and since she knew she wouldn't be getting any more sleep that night anyway, she figured she might as well keep watch and send him off to bed for some much-needed rest of his own.

"Night, 'Mione," Harry mumbled as he ambled off to bed and if he noticed her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks, he didn't comment on them.

After he went inside, she propped her back against the tree and huddled deeper into her favorite jumper. It was one of Draco's that she had snagged from him last year, and she had placed a charm on it to keep the faint echo of his scent on the fabric. It was almost like having him there with her, sitting somewhere in the darkness and just out of sight. With thoughts of her dream teasing her mind, she found herself stuck somewhere between comfort and torment for the remaining hours of darkness until finally the sun began to creep up through the sky and filter through the densely wooded forest that surrounded their camp.

Song Inspiration: Last Kiss – Taylor Swift

I know, I know...I suck... sorry about it. It just felt necessary for some reason, so I went with it.

But, hey! At least you got a little bit of lemons!

sbz