Only Ones Who Know

The First Time

The winter grew colder and all Hermione could think about was that kiss. It was obvious Draco wasn't thinking about it though. He never brought it up let alone look in Hermione's direction since then. She sat at a desk adjacent to his in potions and recently started studying the back of his head instead of the subject. Professor Snape snapped at her multiple times to get her to focus again. All she wanted was for him to turn around and look at her. She found herself longing for his attention. She blamed it on her hormones. If someone else kissed her like that, she'd probably feel the same way.

Before he left the classroom, he slipped a note on her desk. She was hoping it was an invitation to meet her somewhere for another snog. There was something about that kiss that made her replay it in her head over and over again. If she thought about it too long she would have to distract herself so she wouldn't get too worked up. Harry would kill her if he found out what happened but for some reason that just made it all the more exciting. She reached for the note and felt her face flush as she read it.

Quit staring at me. It's creepy.

Fuck, he noticed? Embarrassment took over. Her ears got hot and she stared at the note until she was the last one in the classroom. She read it over and over, studying his handwriting. She crumpled it up and threw it in the waste bin on her way out the door. She tried not to let it bother her as she headed toward the Room of Requirement for the last practice before Christmas break.

She quickly turned her embarrassment into anger as she put all of her frustrations into her spells. She knocked Ron off his feet five times in a row and Harry's "Brilliant!"'s and "Excellent work Hermione!"'s brought back some of her confidence.

Harry wrapped up the meeting and wished everyone a good holiday. Ron was antsy to get out of there and head for the common room. He had told Hermione that the Christmas parties are the best by far. Hermione followed him out and they left Harry and Cho alone.

"It's going to be great, Hermione!"

"I think I'm going to skip out tonight." Hermione held her books to her chest and looked down at her feet. She wasn't in the mood to get drunk or see Draco.

"You sure?" Ron held the prefect door open for her and she nodded then went to her room.

All night she tried to drown out the blaring music with some reading but it was useless. Out of all the unrecognizable voices, Draco's was distinctive. She wondered how he could just kiss her and then go back to hating her just like that. She lay on her side on top of her covers and closed her eyes. She managed to get a few hours of sleep before waking up shivering. She hated how cold it got in the castle during the winter season. She didn't hear the noise anymore and assumed the party was over. She decided to go to the common room and warm up by the fire for a bit.

When she walked into the room, she went straight for the blazing fire. She sat down in front of it and let the hot air warm her up. She didn't even notice someone was sitting in the corner, drinking a tall mug of butterbeer.

"Are you stalking me, Granger?"

Hermione jumped when she heard his voice. She assured herself that she was alone. Why did he have to be everywhere she went?

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." She turned back to the fire and prayed he would just go away. But, of course, he didn't. He got up and grabbed a full mug of butterbeer from the table and walked over to Hermione. He offered her the drink. She was hesitant to take it from him.

"Go on." He waved the mug in her face, spilling some on the rug she was sitting on. She grabbed it before he dumped it all over her. He took a seat next to her. Hermione tried her best to ignore him. She sipped her drink quietly. She didn't want to get drunk, yet here she was. She also didn't want to see Draco, yet here he was.