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"Hermione! Hermione!"

The brown-haired girl was instantly jolted from her thoughts at Harry's frantic whisper. They were in the library so he could not very well raise his voice, but she could still sense the urgency in it.

"I'm sorry, Harry, were you saying something?"

"Where is Malfoy?"

Just the person that's been keeping her mind preoccupied a moment ago before Harry intruded into her reverie. If she hadn't known for a fact that he hasn't mastered the skill of Legilimency yet, she would've sworn that he had just read her thoughts.

"I don't know." And I don't care, she wanted to add.

"Did you even see him this morning?"

"Harry, you know very well that he wasn't at our Potions class this morning and, no, I haven't seen him since last night after our rounds," Hermione replied, her brows now knitted in a tight frown. She'd rather not think about last night, not until she'd figured it out herself.

Harry sighed as he ran his fingers through his mussed up hair. "Where is he always going off to? His mother's trial is tomorrow and we haven't even finalized our plans with the Head Mistress."

Much as she wanted to answer Harry's question, there really wasn't anything she could say. Malfoy had become more distant this past couple of days. She'd tried to draw him out during their rounds last night, but he brushed her off rather rudely, morphing back into his blasted annoying, arrogant self. She tried to justify his actions by blaming it on nerves. He was probably just nervous about the trial. But it still did not excuse his behavior. She couldn't say that to Harry, though. Whatever Malfoy said to her last night, she'd rather keep to herself, no need to involve Harry. It would only trigger his protective instincts and create tension between them again.

"He's just nervous. He's never been to a wizard trial, so he doesn't know what to expect," she said instead. Hopefully, that really was the only reason.

"Which is why we need to find him. I've been put through a Wizengamot trial, remember? I can walk him through it," Harry said, pulling a lethargic Hermione to her feet. "I'll go to the Quidditch field and walk the corridors leading to the Slytherin Common Room. Hopefully, I get to bump into Zabini or Nott. They might know where Malfoy is."

"Okay, I'll go back to our dormitory and see if he's already there. If he's not…"

Harry broke stride to glance at Hermione, "If he's not, then what?"

"I don't know…I'll think of something brilliant," Hermione sighed.

"Okay. Let's meet up at the gargoyle corridor in one hour, with or without Malfoy. We have to inform the Head Mistress in case we don't find him within the hour."

The two friends nodded in unison before going their separate ways. Thankfully, the corridors were not crowded since most of the students in the lower years were still in their respective classes leaving them to walk the hallways unaccosted. Hermione even peeked around every nook and cranny that she passed by on her way to their dormitory, but she caught neither hide nor hair of Draco Malfoy.

Why was he being so much like his old self again? She really thought that they'd made great progress these past two months! She actually thought that they were now fast becoming friends!

Her heart gave a little lurch as she looked back on those times that they sat in front of the fire in the Head Prefects' common room, just talking and laughing, sharing ideas and whatnots. In truth, she was already beginning to enjoy his company. Seeing glimpses of his true self made her change a lot of her preconceived ideas about him. Although he hadn't really opened up to her yet, there were instances when he would let his guard down and she would see the Draco that he was adamantly trying to hide. And it wasn't at all bad! So, why was he being obnoxious again?

Soon enough, she was standing in front of the portrait of an ancient wizard with a brown and gray owl perched on his shoulder. The wizard was currently dozing while the owl had her eyes opened and scanning her surroundings. Hermione stepped up and cleared her throat noisily. The owl hooted, waking up the wizard.

"Ah! Young mistress! Entrance you will gain if you but use your brain. Give me the answer to this riddle: Brothers and sisters, I have none, but this man's father is my father's son. Who is this man?"

"The man is the speaker's son," said Hermione.

"Well done, young mistress! You may now enter," the wizard beamed, the portrait swinging forward to reveal the entrance to the dorm. Hermione practically ran inside in search of Draco.

"Malfoy? Are you in here?"

Silence.

She walked to Draco's quarters and knocked on the door. "Malfoy!"

Still no answer. Thinking that he was probably just sleeping, she pressed her ear against the door and knocked again. Harder and louder.

"Malfoy! You better come out of there or I'll barge in whether you like or not!"

Not even a peep.

You're giving me a headache, Malfoy!

He obviously wasn't in their dorm, but where could he be hiding?

Hermione scratched her head as she gave the dorm one last glance. Then, a thought hit her.

Time to get creative, Granger! she said to herself.

Draco looked around the familiar surroundings. He'd missed this, his old room. His home life may not be ideal, but his room was still his refuge. It was the only place where people left him alone. Even his father never set foot in his room; he considered it beneath him. Draco was always summoned, never visited in his room.

Except by his mother. She would always drop in to check up on him.

His mother.

The thought stabbed at his guts. She would be put on trial tomorrow. A trial that she didn't deserve. And all because his father was too selfish to face the consequences of his actions. He ran away and left her to face the wolves. Coward!

Anger roiled within him and he started punching at the cushions of his settee. He slammed his fists repeatedly against the hapless cushions while loud, wracking sobs escaped from his throat. He let all the fury, frustration, fear, and hurt pour out through his fists. Too caught up in his pain that he did not even hear the door creak open to admit a slight figure into the room.

"Draco?"

The soft, tentative sound sliced through him like a knife. He knew that voice, it was music to his ears. Was he going crazy? Why was he hearing her voice?

"Draco."

This time, he turned toward the source of the sound and gasped when he saw two gentle, brown eyes staring at him with such sweet sorrow.

"Granger? What are you doing here? How did you find me?" He turned away from her and buried his face in his hands. This was the reason why he came here, so he couldn't see her look at him with those haunting eyes. How could he bear having those eyes on him when he was nothing but a monster!

"Why are you hiding here?" Hermione asked, taking a hesitant step toward him.

"I am not hiding! And you haven't answered my question. How did you find me?" he tossed over his shoulder, not daring to look at her.

"I asked for help in finding you."

Her answer was like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown at his face. Why was she looking for him? Was she worried about him or was she here to finish off what he started last night? Whatever her reason, she must've been desperate enough for the Room of Requirement to reveal itself to her. He swallowed hard before he turned around to look at her again.

Mudblood.

The word slapped him hard. How could he have called her by that despicable word again last night? After everything she'd done for him! After she had welcomed him into her world, and did everything in her power to make her friends see him in a different light. After she had made him see himself in a different light!

How could he, in a moment of insecurity and vexation, just throw that word at her like it meant nothing? How could he make her feel like she meant nothing?

Because he was nothing but a rotten, twisted excuse for a human being!

"Go away, Granger. I don't need you here," he spat at her. He must protect her from himself before he hurt her again. He saw her blink twice, thrice, then she pulled herself to her full height and squared her shoulders.

"No. I'm not going anywhere. Not until you explain to me why you're pushing me away. I'm not stupid, Malfoy. I know you said that word to make me hate you again. I want to know why."

"Really, Granger? You really want to know why?" he sneered.

"Yes," she replied, tilting her head up stubbornly.

"Because I'm tired of being nice to you, that's why! I'm tired of pretending to be somebody I am not! I'm tired of spending time with you like we're the best of friends! I am NOT your friend, Granger. And you shouldn't want to be my friend. EVER! You should run away from me. Far, far away! Some place where we wouldn't even breathe the same air!"

He expected her to scream and curse at him, to cry and stomp out of the room. Instead, she started walking towards him, her face set in an expression he'd never seen before.

"How dare you tell me what I should and shouldn't do. I can think for myself, Malfoy."

"You're obviously not very good at it!"

Hermione stopped in front of him, her mesmerizing brown eyes locking with his stormy gray ones. Draco's heart slammed against his chest as he caught a whiff of that unique scent of hers – strawberries and vanilla.

"I want to know why you are pushing me away. And don't give me that crap about you being a rotten person. Give me an honest answer, Malfoy, or we are not getting out of this room."

What was he supposed to say? That he needed to stay away because he was fast falling for her? That every time he looked into her eyes, he must stop himself from kissing her like there was no tomorrow? That he must always remind himself that he did not deserve to even be in her presence? That he was tired of constantly battling with himself, telling himself that he was poison and he would contaminate her if he even laid one finger on her?

Perhaps he should, that way she could start running away from him. But was that what he really wanted? For her to turn her back on him, for her eyes to cloud with hatred and disgust? For things to go back to the way they were? Would he be able to survive it? Or should he take a chance, roll the dice and let the chips fall where they may?

"Well? Tell me, Malfoy. I'm not going away until you –"

Hermione never was able to finish her sentence because Draco's lips were suddenly pressing hard against her own. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart started beating a painful tattoo inside her breast. She felt Draco's lips moving against hers, patiently nudging them to open. She could feel his arms moving around her waist, pulling her close. Then, without willing it, her hands moved of their own accord, sliding up his neck, gliding through his silken hair.

Draco felt her lips opening up to him and he needed no further invitation than that. He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue inside her delicious mouth, exploring her depths. He could never get enough of her. She was intoxicating! Her soft body was pressed against his, and his heart hammered against his ribs. He wanted more of her, but this was not the right time or place for it. It was enough that she did not push him away and hex him to oblivion.

So, despite the protestation of every cell in his body, he slowly pulled away from her, releasing her lips from his onslaught. He was breathing hard, but he noticed that she was, too. It brought a tiny smile to his lips as he rested his forehead against hers.

"That is why, Granger. That's the reason why I want you to run away from me," he whispered against her lips.

Hermione laughed, softly, enchantingly. And Draco had to mentally slap himself from kissing her again. He must not take advantage of her. For all he knew, it could be pity that was driving her to him, and nothing as foolish as what he was feeling for her.

"Oh, Draco," she breathed, that sweet smile still grazing her reddened lips. She slid her hands down his arms, squeezing gently. "Did you think that I would run away from that?"

He felt like bursting at the seams. She did not hate him! She did not hate his kisses! He stepped back, taking her hands in his and slowly led her to the settee. They sat facing the fireplace, his arm going around her shoulders as he pulled her to him. Taking his wand from his pocket, he cast a silent spell and lit a fire. He loved the feel of her against him. It felt right. It felt like she was meant to be there. But the memories of last night intruded again and threatened to burst his blissful bubble.

"I'm sorry about last night. I was so afraid that you would want to stay away from me now that my mother would be put on trial."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Well, because…I don't know. I just thought that you would not want to be associated with me anymore, former Death Eater and the only child of two notorious criminals," he said, chuckling now that he realized how stupid that sounded. He should've known that Hermione was not as shallow as that.

"Draco, I know we didn't start off on the right foot. We've spent six years 'hating' each other (he loved the way she put the word hate in quotation marks with her fingers). But I understand why you did what you did back then. You were only trying to protect your family, your mother. And you did not want to disappoint your father."

"I've always been a disappointment to my father. I just thought that if I did everything he asked me to do, that he would finally see me as the son he'd always wanted to have. That I would finally be worthy of the Malfoy name."

Hermione heard the sadness and regret in his voice and her heart went out to him. She reached up and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. Draco glanced down at her and smirked.

"Can't get enough of me already, Granger? Ow!" Hermione playfully smacked his arm and threw a raspberry at him.

"You wish, Malfoy," she chuckled. Draco did the same before planting a soft kiss on top of her head.

They both turned to the fire, each one contemplating on this new development in their relationship. Did this mean that they would now be more than just friends? Were they officially 'together' now? Neither knew the answer to that, so they let the words, the questions, die on their lips. For now, they can just be content in being in each other's arms, like only the two of them existed in the whole wide world.

But just when Hermione was starting to feel cozy in Draco's arms, Harry's face swam into focus. She sat bolt upright and muttered a few curses to herself.

"Damn! I forgot that we're supposed to meet Harry at Prof. McGonagall's office!"

"We are? What for?" Draco asked lazily, he didn't want to leave the room, and her embrace, just yet. He still needed to make sure that this wasn't just a dream or a product of his imagination.

"Draco Malfoy, have you forgotten that tomorrow is your mother's first day of trial?" Hermione scolded in her most 'professor-ish' voice.

"Of course not. But what does Potter have to do with it?"

"He's going to testify on your mother's behalf, so he wants to discuss his testimony with you and the Head Mistress first."

"Oh, right!" Draco nodded, finally understanding what the fuss was about.

"So, shall we get going, then?"

"Well, if we must," Draco said, gingerly getting to his feet and helping Hermione up from the settee at the same time.

He looked down at their entwined fingers. He couldn't believe that he was holding her hand, Hermione's hand, the hand of the girl who'd haunted his dreams for as long as he could remember. When he lifted his gaze, he felt his heart swell at the tender look in her eyes.

"I could get used to this, you know," he said as he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. She smiled that smile that made her eyes crinkle at the sides. He had that uncontrollable urge to kiss her again and so he did. His hands went behind her head, tilting it up to his as he let his lips show her everything he'd been trying to hold back for the longest time. They were both gasping for air when they finally parted.

"I think we better go now, before I totally lose control and ravage you in this very room," he breathed, taking her hand back in his. Hermione giggled, her cheeks turning a delicious pink.

They were but a few steps away from the door when they noticed that it was glowing and before they could even react they were thrown back by an unseen force that rippled through the whole room.

And then everything went black.