"That was really nice… we'll have to do that more often," Hermione mused while in the shower. In her awakening state this seemed like a reasonable observation.
`Hold up! Wait no; this isn't going to happen again ever!' Hermione snapped out of her fog. `You don't sleep in the same bed with your best guy friend, I really shouldn't have done that, we're too old to do stuff like that and say we didn't feel anything. It can't happen again.' With that she turned the taps off and stepped out of the shower.
"Harry and I will never sleep together again," she firmly stated.
"What was that?" her mirror's reflection asked.
"Nothing you nosy bint!" Hermione cried as she heaved her towel at the mirror so it draped over it.
With that she quickly said a drying charm and got dressed, and maybe today she wouldn't have breakfast with Harry.
././././.
`Did I lock the trunk? I was in such a hurry what if I didn't? Someone could what I wrote about Hermione….Oh shit!' Draco was jabbing at the food on his plate, trying to eat quickly but not look suspicious.
If someone got a hold of the journal it could make his life a living hell.
`What does it matter? If you like Hermione and you're going to ask her out people are going to know. You can't hide her in your trunk' the logical part of his mind said.
`I won't ask her out I just want to know if she might like me,' Draco thought angrily. `Oh God I've lost it I'm crazy, I'm talking to myself in my head!'
Draco distracted himself from his newly discovered "crazyness" by scanning around the Great Hall for the person who caused it.
Then he saw her.
She was laughing at something Potter had said; oh she was lovely when she laughed.
Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks were rosy and her smile was perfect.
`Considering the fact I ruined her teeth that one year' Draco thought ruefully, and he smirked at the memory, and then held it back, `I'm lucky she wants to be friends with me after all I've done to her.'
Hermione was laughing at Harry's comment when she noticed Draco was looking at her, she sobered up; she looked back at him curiously, questioning his stare.
Most people would have been ashamed to have been caught staring but Draco just bored his gaze further into her eyes.
It was a competition who'd look away first.
Hermione lost.
"Hermione will you sit down? I'm going to eat your toast," Harry threatened jokingly.
"What? Oh I'm sorry Harry just got caught up thinking about something," Hermione stammered and sat.
Harry gave her a look like I-don't-believe-you.
"What it's true!" Hermione insisted, "Harry you're so uptight!"
"Am not, and you weren't thinking, you were locking eyes with Malfoy," Harry pointed out.
Hermione flushed a bit, "What does it matter to you who I look at or not?"
Harry opened his mouth to retort, but he didn't have an answer. She was right he had no business in that aspect of her personal life, he shouldn't care.
`I do though…' he admitted, `is that so wrong?'
`Not really,' he reasoned, `but its not like Malfoy's interested in her and I'm jealous. I'm looking out for her.'
"Not really, but Malfoy doesn't count as a regular normal person,"
Hermione just rolled her eyes at him.
Once that was settled he focused his attention back to eating.
Draco smiled inwardly at himself; he liked to win, even if it was an insignificant staring contest.
Hermione forced herself not to look up, turn her head sideways and look out the corner of her eye had Malfoy.
`I don't even know why I'm acting this way?' she questioned, `I don't like him in that way, I'm not ready to like anyone in that way for awhile, its too soon after Ron.'
`Over two months is too soon?' she argued back.
"Look Harry I have to go get ready to meet Draco to work on our project ok?"
"But you hardly ate anything," Harry looked at her confused.
"It's ok usually we stop in the kitchens afterwards, the spare isn't that long, I'll see you later," Hermione got up, patted Harry on the back, and walked over to Draco.
Harry sighed and looked at his plate. He was very confused about how he should feel about Hermione, Hermione and Draco, Hermione and him.
It was turning into a bloody soap opera in his mind, and it was necessary!
././././.
"Well we're almost done, we just need to read one more book, to tell about the history of the curse," said Hermione closing a book.
She and Draco decided to work outside since it was a nice day; they were sitting at the tree where Hermione had wept about Ron for what seemed like ages ago.
Draco, who was lying on his back, rolled over on his side to look at her, he propped up his hand on the side of his head.
"You're amazing," he murmured.
Hermione turned to him surprised, the look on his face gave away that he didn't realized that he said it out loud.
So she pretended to play dumb, "pardon me I didn't catch that?"
Draco looked uncharacteristically flustered, "oh was just saying that today is amazing."
`Shit I said that out loud! This is ridiculous!'
"So we're almost done, that's good news," Draco said with a fake smile.
"Yea, Draco are you alright?" Hermione said concerned.
`Oh I'm fine, I think I might be falling for you, and we're polar opposites, you just think of me as a friend, but other then that I'm fan-bloody-tastic!' Draco thought, but he said, "Course what makes you think that?"
"Nothing, just wondering," Hermione lay down on her back next to him.
Draco closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, a fruity tropical smell filled the air around him, and it smelt like her.
`I wonder if I could get away with grabbing her hand?' but before he could act upon the thought, he heard someone calling Hermione's name and her happy laugh in response.
It was Potter! He was coming towards them and apparently the strange gait he was walking was part of an inside joke between the two of them.
Draco was furious at being interrupted, he was about to tell Harry off when Hermione beat him to it.
"Harry really we're trying to work here and you're a distraction!" Hermione tried to be scolding but she couldn't help but laugh at Harry some more.
"Dahling! We just have to talk about the fab-bou-las dress I pur-chased this aft-her-noon!" Harry crooned to Hermione, in his impression of a saleslady who lived on her street.
Hermione was practically rolling on the ground laughing by now.
Draco wasn't amused at all.
"Potter when you're done acting like a moron Hermione and I would like to continue working on our
report."
Harry stopped laughing and looked Draco in the eye, and said sarcastically, "Great studying, Malfoy, maybe next time you can get off your back, stop gawking at Hermione, and do some work."
He turned to Hermione gave her a hug, "I'll see you later," he turned and walked back towards the castle.
Draco looked down at his feet, he wasn't ashamed of lying down on the job, but that Potter had noticed his admiring of Hermione.
Hermione quickly came to save the situation. She smoothed down her hair and walked over to Draco, "I think we've worked hard enough this afternoon, we can do more work later, see you around Draco," and she started to walk away.
Draco stood looking after her, when he blurted out, "I want to spend some more time with you! Can you meet me tonight in the Astronomy Tower?"
Hermione was surprised, but turned with a grin and said, "9 o'clock."
Draco looked at her retreating back, what had he done?
/././././.
"Will you slow down?!"
"Huh? Ahh it's my stalker!"
"Wait don't run!"
"Ahhh!"
"Harry you jerk! Slow down, your legs are longer then mine!"
"That's the point!" Harry turned his head and yelled over his shoulder, he was getting closer to being safe inside the castle.
Hermione was starting to pant behind him, `this is ridiculous!' she thought, then raised her wand and yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry caught himself before he could fall forward in the full body bind, but then with a war cry, Hermione body checked into him.
"Ohumph," Harry wheezed.
Hermione was laughing and asked, "What kind of word is that?"
Harry raised his head from the ground as much as he could, "when you get off me, release me, you'll be so sorry, oh and do you mind me asking, what the hell's gotten into you?"
Hermione got up off his back, and turned him over, but she didn't release him yet, "You say my female poweress is a bad thing?"
"It is when it's violent towards me!"
"You brought it on yourself, you interrupted my studying," she raised her wand and released him.
Harry still lay in the ground, but propped himself up with his elbows, "Studying? Studying books, or Malfoy?"
"Oh Harry don't give me that, you know I was studying books, besides you accused Draco of the same thing before and it was dumb then like it is now," Hermione said as she offered him a hand to get up.
"Whatever you say," Harry grabbed her hand, started to raise himself up, when he jerked his arm and she toppled forward on top of him, "hah gotcha!"
Hermione tensed up, she was staring into eyes that had so many different depths of green, like the leaves on a tree. Dark green merging with light, it was entrancing.
"I'm not going to tickle you, relax," Harry misread her reaction for why she'd gone tense.
Hermione smiled, kissed his cheek and got up laughing, "Good game, let's end it before you get hurt."
Harry nodded and got up, he'd been kissed by Hermione before on the cheek, and he didn't understand why the feeling of her soft lips against his skin was making him feel out of breath.
But it wasn't like the times before, this time it was the feeling of her body pressed against his, then seeing her brown eyes closer, and then feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek, the scent of her shampoo surrounding him.
"Harry are you alright?" Hermione looked at him puzzled.
"Huh? Oh yes I'm fine," Harry smiled at her, and offered an arm as they walked together back into the castle.
As they were walking through the corridors, Hermione debated about telling him about Draco wanting to see her later that night.
"Hermione can you please tell me?" Harry looked over at her.
"Tell you what Harry?" Hermione said, attempting to play the innocent.
Harry stopped and turned to her, "I know you're keeping something from me, can't you tell me what it
is?"
Hermione was a little upset with his wording, "I'm keeping something from you? Since when do I have to tell you everything that I do or don't do?"
Harry realized she had a point, he wanted to argue back, but then she'd never tell him. What if it was about her wellbeing? He couldn't risk cutting himself off from her, if she wasn't going to be alright.
But he couldn't help himself, "Hermione I could argue back with you, but I wont, so I'm sorry for being concerned about you, I'm an idiot for caring," and with that said he started to walk away from her.
"Draco asked me to meet him tonight!"
Harry stopped but didn't turn around.
"Are you going?"
Hermione looked at her feet, "I don't know."
Harry sucked in a deep breath of air then let it out slowly.
He turned and faced her, walking slowly with each beat in his sentences, "do know what you're going to do, but did you think about why he wants you to meet him? Did you think that he might like you? Do you know what you do to a guy when you act like you don't know how he cares?
Hermione just stared at him speechless. She hadn't thought about the fact that Draco Malfoy might like her. Then she remembered what Harry had said last, `Do you know what you do to a guy when you act like you don't know how he cares?' she looked up and into his eyes.
His eyes were full of caring, but they looked hurt and yearning for something that he hadn't known in a long time. She remembered the saying that `the eyes a windows into one's soul' well right now she was looking right into Harry's soul.
She saw the pain of being rejected by a person, who was the only one that it mattered if they loved him or not.
"Oh Harry…." She tried to find the right words, and then she reached up to him wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close, and whispered in his ear , "Of course I know how you care for me, I hope you know how much I care about you too."
Harry just clung on to Hermione, closing his eyes resting his cheek against her soft hair; he slowly ran his fingers through it.
Hermione rested her hair against his shoulder, and barely swayed back and forth, breathing deeply in the fresh comforting smell that was Harry.
`I wish I could stay like this forever,'
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