wildflowers // dramione

Chapter 16

...but he let Hermione close the distance between their faces.

Hermione gently kissed Draco, who at first did the same but as he thought the kiss may be reaching its end, he deepened it. Hermione, still holding her bundle of wildflowers, brought her free hand to Draco's face. She lightly touched his jaw and in reaction Draco moved one hand to the small of Hermione's back. He used his other hand to hold the wrist of the arm that held the flowers. He felt her "mudblood" carving, that was finally healed into a scar, and loosened his grip in fear of hurting the tender spot. Hermione lifted herself onto her tiptoes, putting her and Draco's faces at the same height. Hermione had feared Draco would tear away from her, but he didn't. She forced her still lingering fear of rejection aside and kissed him the way she truly wanted to. After wondering for so long what this moment would be like, Draco did the same. He increased his passion just as she did and their mouths moved in sync. The kiss was never tempted to transform into something more. Neither of the witch or wizard wanted to move past kissing each other for the very first time.

Refusing to end a kiss that he had been imagining in the back of his mind since he first ever met Hermione, Draco pulled her closer. Draco's mind flooded with another time he had seen Hermione this way, at the yule ball in their fourth year and she walked down the stairs in her dress. Draco moved on from those flashbacks and began to run through the events of the past few days in his head. Suddenly, his thoughts faded back to only minutes ago when him and Hermione discussed his aunt Andromeda. Draco abruptly realized the consequences of what he was doing and began to pull away from Hermione.

As Draco leaned away, Hermione felt his lips reject hers and it sent a flush of hurt through her. She shuddered as her old feelings of anxiety about his reaction from right before she swiftly connected their faces returned. Draco finally pulled his head away completely, but he kept his cold hands on Hermione's back and wrist. Hermione lowered her hands from his face, instantly humiliated. She remembered the last time she felt this embarrassed, which also included Draco; when he had cast the Engorgio spell on her front teeth in their fourth year. 

Hermione became confused as to why he ended the moment but hid her feelings by looking down at her bunch of wildflowers. Hermione could have sworn she felt his want for her was as strong as hers during the kiss, though now she was starting to believe it was all in her imagination. Hermione collected herself enough to look up at Draco. His eyes were still closed and his cheeks were pink, as she was sure hers were too. Draco was shaking his head, side to side, in what could only be disapproval. Hermione's eyes widened and her throat swell at the idea of him regretting what just happened, but his reaction did not surprise her. Hermione became offended and began to try to remove Draco's hands from her body. Draco's eyes shot open and for only a split second, an apologetic look grew on his face. Hermione immediately looked down at her flowers again, breaking the new eye contact. She knew the Malfoy boy and expected him to be angry with her for initiating the kiss he appeared to be so ashamed of. Draco dropped his hands from Hermione's body and returned them to his side. A scowl overcame his facial features. The blonde boy that had just recently looked handsome to Hermione in the bright sunlight of the late afternoon, now looked at her with hate and disgust. Hermione leaned away and took a few steps back from Draco. Hermione squared her shoulders and mimicked Draco's look of disapproval.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Draco spat at the witch in front of him.

Hermione couldn't stop her eyes from filling with tears, but her angry look at him stayed intact.

"You disgusting Gryffindor! Did you really think I'd like you! For the love of Merlin, Granger, you really are that stupid! Don't you think for a second that I'd risk being disowned by my family like Andromeda for a bloody kiss with a filthy mudblood!" Draco was shouting now. Hermione's jaw dropped at the sound of him calling her a mudblood for the first time in days.