The Dark Side (Unedited)

Chapter 4

"So I never asked, why did you trash the common room?" After they had finished their classes, Hermione and Draco went back to their dorms to magically repair what had been destroyed.

"I heard you and Ginny talking..." He said after a while. "And I realised how bad I've treated you. I realised that nobody will ever forgive me."

"I've forgiven you." she said carefully. She knew he had a sensitive temper and she didn't want to set him off again. He looked stunned for a few moments, and then he stopped fixing the lounge and picked her up. He wrapped his warm arms around her waist and she wondered how she had never noticed how good looking he was. "So, I'm getting kind of hungry." On cue, her stomach rumbled loudly. "Do you feel like finishing this up and going down to dinner?"

While they continued to fix the room, Hermione could see Draco staring at her. She had never seen him look so happy. Butterflies flew through her as she realised she was the reason for his smile. She never imagined there could be such an amazing person inside Draco. She supposed that the person hiding inside Draco had just needed a little kindness and attention for him to show his true colours. She wondered if her friends would be able to see past his wall that he had put up to stay unattached to everyone.

That made her think, would it be healthy for her to start a romantic relationship with Draco? She had seen how much anger he had stored in him and it was sometimes scary, but somehow she knew that he would never hurt her. She knew how sorry he was for everything he had done to her, and she was ready to move past that.

There was a problem though, now she had to try even harder to pretend that her and Draco were not friends, and certainly not anything more. But she wasn't exactly sure what they were. It was one kiss, and she was sure that Draco had kissed many other girls before. Did it mean anything at all to him? As much as she tried to tell herself that it was nothing - so that she wouldn't be surprised if that was true - she couldn't get the picture of his face when they broke apart out of her mind. He had looked at her with passion and need written in his eyes.

She was very confused and wanted to find out what was going on between them, but decided to just see how everything played out.

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As Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table, her hand felt cold and strange without Draco's wrapped around it. She glanced across the room to see Draco sitting next to Pansy. She tried to fight the jealousy that flared up inside her, but couldn't help cursing the pug-faced Slytherin as she laughed too hard at something Draco had said.

When she looked up, she noticed Ginny glaring at her with a knowing expression. Hermione just shrugged at her, playing innocent. She tried to focus on a conversation between Harry, Ron and Neville but the only thing her mind could settle on was Draco. Dinner was a sluggish blur, and she longed for the opportunity to head back to the Head Prefect dorms.

Finally, she faked a yawn and said her good-nights. From the corner of her eye, she saw Draco quickly get up and walk out the doorway. She followed suit, and when she turned a corner he majestically appeared, sliding his hand into hers. They paced to the Snape portrait - where they received confused looks from the Professor - and Hermione went into her room to change into her pyjamas. As she stepped out into the hallway, she noticed Draco leaning against his door with boxers and a t-shirt on. Even though they had been living with each other for a couple of weeks, it was still strange to see him in casual clothes in place of his school robes.

"Err.. Listen, I'd like to ask you a favour. If you don't feel comfortable with it, just say no. Okay?" Hermione nodded slowly, slightly concerned about what his 'favour' could be. "I haven't told anybody about my nightmares. Usually I put a Muffliato charm on my room but I guess I was too... upset to remember last night. Anyway, I just feel that if I had you lying beside me, maybe they wouldn't come."