There's a fine line between love and hate

Time Turns

Hermione stood in the hallway with tears in her eyes. She ran out of the castle and down to the edge of the forest. It was time for Care of Magical Creatures and she refused to be late.

"What is a Niffler?" Hagrid asked.

Hermione answered immediately. "A Niffler is a creature with a long snout and a coat of black, fluffy fur. They're attracted to shiny things, which made them wonderful for locating treasure but they can also wreak havoc."

"Very good Hermione," Hagrid praised as he turned to get something out of his bag. They spent the rest of the lesson learning about the creature. Hagrid had one locked up but told the class it had to remain that way due to earlier events. This caused Harry to glare at Draco, who gave him a taunting look in return.

Hagrid dismissed class a few minutes early. Hermione turned around to see Ron and Harry looking at her in confusion. "Were you crying earlier or something?" Ron asked bluntly. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"No I'm fine," she answered weakly. She looked behind Ron to see Draco and his friends laughing. Her eyes met his and he smirked, causing her to feel her anger swell. She walked past Harry, her eyes focused on the young Malfoy. She stopped directly in front of him, anger rising within her. "You foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroach," she screamed before slapping him hard. Her hand left a red mark on his cheek and a flustered look on his face.

Hermione turned and stomped away, making her way up to the castle. Harry and Ron followed her, praising her. She eventually turned around and told them to shut up. She felt bad about what she did. But, Draco deserved it. He deserved a sliver of the pain she was currently feeling.

Hermione parted ways from the boys, going to the girls lavatory. As she exited, she was pulled aside by a hand on her wrist. "Let me go," she exclaimed, hitting her kidnapper.

"Stop hitting me. Are you bloody mental?" Hermione looked up to see Draco looking down at her with confusion written all over his face. "What came over you to slap me?"

"What came over me? What came over you to snog another girl?" Hermione screamed, tears leaking from her eyes. "I thought you were different D. I thought you cared about me."

"What are you talking about? I didn't kiss anyone. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Draco I saw it with my own eyes. Are you calling me a liar?"

"Dear Merlin Hermione I love you. The only person I kissed all day was you," he said with an exasperated tone. Hermione froze and looked up at him.

"You love me?" She asked softly.

"I do. I've known for a while. I just didn't want to scare you off."

"Oh Draco, I cannot get over the fact that I saw you snogging the living daylights out of some girl earlier."

"The only girl I have kissed today, let alone EVER has been you. The way you kissed me an hour ago made my knees weak. How can you not remember that," Draco said slowly, reaching for her.

Hermione grimaced. "What room did we kiss outside of?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"Arithmacy."

Hermione hit her forehead with her hand softly, shaking her head. "I am so sorry. Forgive me my love," she whispered. "I can't explain it but just know I'm sorry."

Draco smiled gently, pulling her into his arms. "It's alright Mi. I know you're using a time turner," he said wiping a tear away and kissing her cheek. Hermione look at him with raised eyebrows. "Rather easy to assume. No other way you're taking both arithmacy and care of magical creatures. They're at the same time. And, another assumption is that your future self kissed me and your past self saw it but your future in that moment didn't know your past saw it. Therefore, this conundrum unfolded," Draco finished, grinning.

Hermione shook her head with a big smile on her face. "You absolute genius. I love you and I now have to go snog you on the 3rd floor," she said before she kissed his cheek and ran to the arithmacy room and spun her turner.

Suddenly, she was leaning against the wall, watching her boyfriend walk over to her. Hermione put her hood up, smiling as Draco stood before her. She grabbed his tie and pulled him in for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her harder. She smiled softly, pulling away. "You've got a good mouth on you Granger," he whispered, leaning into kiss her again.

Hermione giggled. "Draco Malfoy we are in public," she whispered, fixing her shirt.

"I'm aware. I'd imaging this would go a different way if we were not," he replied, smirking at her. Hermione turned a bright shade of red before she fixed her hood. "Have a nice time in class, see you soon," he said softly, kissing her forehead before leaving. Hermione stood against the wall laughing. How on earth had she landed him and how did he manage to take her breath away every time.