Draco stepped into the lounge of Hermione's flat and found it to be empty. He exhaled nervously and walked toward the back bedroom, but still found no one.

Running his uninjured hand through his hair, he thought about where she could possibly be. That thought immediately made him feel sick to his stomach. She could still be with Krum…searching for comfort to ease the pain.

He suddenly heard the front door open and shut. He walked back to the lounge.

She had been crying, that was obvious, but she was also alone, which slightly eased his mind.

She was startled by the sight of him in her flat.

"Merlin Draco!" she exclaimed; her hand pressed to her chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He muttered.

Inhaling deeply, she shook her head, "It's fine. What are you doing here though?"

He sighed, "I know what he did. Potter got it out of him."

She nodded silently as she set the paper shopping bag she had been holding on the sofa.

"Yeah, I figured Harry would."

Draco swallowed, "Granger, I…"

The fireplace burned green, and Krum stepped into the room, "I've brought myself a change of clothes and…" He stopped talking when he spotted Draco at the entrance of the hallway.

Draco swallowed, feeling sick and looked back at her. She was watching him closely, waiting for him to react or continue.

Draco blinked and shook his head, "Never mind." he whispered, scratching his brow before wincing, having forgotten about his hand.

Her eyes widened with concern and confusion, "Draco, what happened?" She asked, "Your hand…"

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter." He muttered.

"No. Tell me." She pushed.

He was quickly losing his calm exterior, "It really doesn't…" he shrugged, "It just doesn't matter, Granger." he said as his jaw clenched.

She swallowed and looked over at Viktor.

Krum nodded understandingly, "Send for me if you need me."

She nodded before the Bulgarian disappeared into green flames.

Draco furrowed his brow, confused.

She sighed, "He was going to sleep on the sofa so that I wasn't alone tonight after everything that happened." She explained before looking at his hand and asking, "Did you hit Ron?"

"Yeah. I nearly killed him." Draco answered, "I would have if they hadn't pulled me back. That bastard ruined everything."

She huffed, nodding, "I know." She said with pain in her voice.

The wizard took a small step toward her, "Could we talk for a bit?" He asked in a pleading tone.

He could see the hesitation and fear in her amber eyes even as she nodded.

They sat on either end of the sofa and faced one another.

She hadn't known what to expect from him. She had no clue what he would say, but when he finally spoke up after a moment or two of silence…she certainly hadn't expected those words.

"Granger, I love you."

She froze. She felt as if the world around her had changed completely in such a short time and her fight or flight response had become faulty. Freezing was the only thing she appeared to know how to do.

"Granger…" he said, confused by her silence.

She swallowed, and nodded, "Hmmm?" She hummed.

He looked into her eyes, "I said that I love you."

She nodded, "Yes. I…I heard you." She replied quietly before looking at him with confusion. She inhaled shakily, afraid of asking her question and hearing his answer. "What about Astoria?

He nodded, biting his bottom lip thoughtfully. "She broke up with me." He said a moment later. "It was completely amicable. She knew that I loved you and after finding out what that bastard did, she knew that you and I…that we belong together." He whispered the last few words.

She swallowed, "Draco…" she breathed shakily, "are you saying that you want to get back together?"

"Don't you?" he asked with a small smile.

She smiled, unable to hold it back, "Of course I do. I'm just…"

"Scared?" He asked when she didn't continue her statement.

She nodded, "Yeah. Are you?"

"No." he answered with a smirk.

The brunette laughed, "Okay and how is that exactly?"

Draco shrugged, "Because it's simple, Granger. I fucking love you. That has never changed and it's never going to. My heart belongs to one person, Darling." He explained. "And I want our life back. It was a beautiful life." He said, scooting closer, "I've missed you, Granger. I've missed us."

Tears built up in her eyes and she shook her head, "I love you too. It was a beautiful life, and I want it back as well, but I'm just…I'm scared. Everything feels so…so fragile now."

"I understand, but it's not. What we have…it's important and valuable but not fragile."

She smiled and nodded as she scooted closer to him.

Draco slowly reached up with his left hand and pushed some of her hair behind her ear, "You're so beautiful."

She smiled and blushed as she looked down, seeing his other hand, "Let me heal your hand."

He nodded, "Okay."

She rested his right hand on her thigh and gently tapped the tip of her wand on it, performing a diagnostic charm.

"You have two broken bones, Draco!" she said, looking at him worriedly.

He smiled, "It was worth it."

She nodded and healed the bones before working on healing the abrasions and bruises. When she finished, she frowned, looking disapprovingly at the remaining bruises that she knew would simply take time to heal.

Draco watched her face closely, and raised his left hand again, lifting her chin so that she met his eyes, "I'm okay, Love. Thank you for healing my hand."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded before saying, "I've missed you so much, Draco."

He nodded, "Same here, Darling, but we're together now."

She smiled and leaned forward, softly kissing his lips. He smiled into the kiss and slowly deepened it.

Hermione pulled back and rested her forehead against his, "I love you. Please stay the night."

He chuckled, "You thought I was going to leave?"

She smiled and shook her head, "I just wanted to make sure you didn't."

He nodded, "I'm not going anywhere, Love." He said before kissing her lips with more fervor.