The Dark Side (Unedited)

Chapter 12

Hermione tossed and turned in her bed for hours after she finally said goodnight to Ginny. She couldn't believe that the truth had finally hit her so suddenly. Now that she looked back, she realised that she had slowly been falling for him for quite a while.

Many emotions had passed through her late that night, the first being confusion. How could she suddenly care so much about a person who had only brought her pain for so many years? How could the same person who used to make her feel ugly and worthless make her feel significant and loved?

Her confusion slowly led to fear as her mind replayed the warnings from her friends to be careful to trust Draco. Was she certain that his affection towards her was genuine? He was so quick to change, did he have an underlying reason?

Suddenly her thoughts were invaded by the most wonderful eyes, grey like liquid smoke. His eyes that would never lie. When they appeared in her mind, she could still examine the emotions that filled them. His eyes told the story of his heart, a story of suffering and pain. She wanted nothing more than to lift the pain away so that she could see the feelings he had stowed away, that had probably never surfaced. The feeling of love, of enjoyment, happiness and innocence.

Her fear of heartbreak completely diminished and she peeled the covers back as she stumbled out of her bed, trying not to wake Ginny. She felt around for her shoes, slipped them on and crept out the old, creaky door.

Walking around the castle at night reminded her of the old days when Ron, Harry and herself used to sneak around the hallways. She felt exposed without the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders Map and a few times she felt herself hoping that she didn't find Professor Snape lurking around the next corner, before realising that he was dead. She actually felt quite sad when she forgot his passing, because she knew that Snape had no one to mourn for him. No one loved him, he loved no one. When his only love - Lily - died, he had nobody.

She was feeling so sorry for Snape that when she came face-to-face with him, she jumped and let a little squeal escape her lips.

"Out for a midnight walk, Granger?"

"Oh, errr... Yes, Professor. I was just-"

"So sorry to interrupt, but your reason for wandering the castle at this time has no importance to me so I would rather save both of our time and just let you in."

"Yes Professor, good night." She quickly stumbled though the hole and tiptoed down the hallway. She slowly stepped across the room and was almost to the corridor where the rooms were when something hard hit her straight in the face. She yelped and pushed the thing away from her hurriedly. She groaned in embarrassment when she realised it was just a lamp. She'd always hated that lamp.

She set off on her difficult journey again and soon found herself next to her bed, looking down at Draco. She kicked off her shoes and climbed under the covers excruciatingly slowly. She had just laid her head on the pillow when he stirred and she felt his arms enclose her body and hold her tight.

It reminded her of Mrs Weasley's hugs, you felt safe when you were in her arms, like you were a young child again. She snuggled closer to him, amazed at the lack of awkwardness with him. With Viktor it had been horrible, she had never known what to say or do. Ron was hardly any better, they had fought for most of the time.

She replayed the scene of their first kiss in her mind, it was still clear as day as she thought of it quite often. Her cheeks turned red at the memory of her flinging herself onto him randomly. She had never done anything like that before. She found herself thinking to the future. They would be leaving school soon, and heading out into the real world. She was planning to get a job at the Ministry, but it had suddenly dawned on her that there was no time for fooling around. Was this relationship with Draco serious? Could it actually work out, or would she just have a bad impact her career?

She wished that she could stop worrying about her life, and start living it. For most of her life, her only goal was to defeat Voldemort. But now that she had survived and the war was over, she had her life in front of her. Was being with Draco a mistake? She sighed, her mind always overthought everything. She loved Draco, they belonged together even though they couldn't be more different.

---

Draco's head pounded as he awoke from his sleep, and he wished he hadn't drank that firewhiskey from last night. When he rolled over, he noticed that he wasn't alone in the bed. "Hermione?" He whispered, astonished that she had come back. He knew that he didn't deserve her and that she would probably leave him one day like everybody else has done his whole life. He bent his head to hers and felt her breath against his cheek. He slowly met her lips with his and after a moment Hermione woke up and wrapped her arms around him. "Hermione, I'm so sorry."

"I understand why you did it."

"You wha-"

"Shh," she interrupted. "You were jealous because me and Ron have been together in the past and we got a little too close for comfort. I understand." She felt his body relax. "We really need to work on your temper though, Mister Malfoy. You can't go around beating people up all the time." She smiled, but he shook his head.

"Why are you forgiving me? You looked so angry yesterday, and I hurt one of your best friends. You should hate me." He looked so hurt so she lightly kissed him before taking a deep breath, preparing herself for her revelation.

"Well I don't hate you." She began. "I.. I... I love you Draco." His eyes suddenly blazed with happiness and all the sadness drained out of his face. He sat up and pulled her up to him.

"I love you too, Hermione." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his bare chest. She couldn't remember ever being happier.

"Hey, Draco?" She said after a long period of silence. "Where are you going these holidays?"

"Probably just back to my apartment. What about you?"

"To the Weasley's, I think. I'm going to miss you so much. I wish we could be together." She whined.

"Hey, why don't you come with me?"

"Really? That would be great! I really wanted to spend Christmas with you."

"Yeah, I can't wait. But we better get up, it's almost time for breakfast. And with you being a nerd, I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss your first class."