Two days later Hermione was allowed to go home. Draco had stayed with her during the time she remained in the hospital, especially during the nights. 'The friend' Blaise did not object, and made sure to give his friend as much support as he needed. 'The Healer' Blaise was careful to give his patient enough Calming Draughts and Dreamless Potions to ensure good night sleeps.

"I suggest you make a habit out of taking one of each before you go to bed. At least for a time." Blaise told Hermione before she left the hospital.

She simply nodded, giving him a grateful smile and a "Thank you" before departing together with Harry and Ginny. Draco went ahead and was waiting for her when she arrived at her flat. Crookshanks meowed loudly when he saw her, clearly unhappy with being left all alone for so long.

At Harry and Ginny's loud protests that she stay at home for a few days longer, as well as Draco's silent stares, Hermione finally decided to take a week off from work.

"Alright, alright you lot. I'll stay put and rest. Happy?" she said, throwing her hands up in defeat.

Harry beamed at her, while Ginny rushed to give her a tight hug. Draco on the other hand, waited silently by the window for the couple to leave. When there was no one left but him and Hermione, he turned to face her.

"I'll leave you to rest." He said in a low voice.

"You don't have to. Maybe stay a little longer?" Hermione asked him, staring into his eyes.

There was something there she couldn't quite figure out. Ever since she woke up two days ago at the hospital and saw Draco by her side she felt him to be... weird. He acted strange and cold towards her, but in the same time he was attentive and careful to her every need. It baffled and annoyed her to no end.

"That won't be wise." He said shaking his head seriously. "You need your rest and I..." but he was cut off by Hermione, who had enough of his behavior.

"You what?" she snapped, crossing her arms and frowning at him. "You're afraid you'll tire me out with your attitude? Because if it's that, I can say you're quite right."

"Hermione" he said defensively but was cut off once again.

"Don't do this." Hermione breathed out in a warning tone, tightening the arms around her body as if to protect herself.

"Do what? What exactly am I doing?" Draco asked perplexed and slightly annoyed.

"This!" she shouted. "What you are doing now... you're distancing yourself. You're running away!" she finished scathingly, her eyes blazing with anger directed at him.

"What are you talking about? Why would I..."

"Because you regret it... because you regret kissing me." Hermione finally said wanting nothing else but to sob. Instead she clenched her jaws and remained still in front of him, boring into his eyes.

Draco remained silent and for a moment he forgot where he was or what he was doing. All he could think about was that night in the library when they got so close that he almost felt drunk. It was one of the happiest and treasured memories he had, and she was saying he regrets it? His mind finally jerked awake and he could see her, standing there in front of him, staring at him like she wanted nothing more than to murder him and he could only think about how much he cared for her, how much he even... loved her.

Part of him urged against it, his mind was desperately sending him signals to stop, but he ignored them all. In a second, Draco closed the distance between him and Hermione. He leaned down and looked into her beautiful brown eyes. He never would have imagined those eyes would ever look at him with anything other than contempt and disgust. Now, he saw fear and longing in them. With a swift move he brought her closer to him and brushed a strand of hair off her face, all the while boring into her eyes all his emotions and feelings, hoping she will see them.

"Silly Griffindor." He whispered against her face, brushing her cheeks gently, almost timidly.

He saw her expression change. Instead of angry, she now looked baffled and flustered, her cheeks shone pink and her arms fell limp on either side of her body. Draco saw Hermione's lips parting slightly and he leaned down and kissed her. For a second he felt her body stiffen against him, but the next moment she raised her arms and encircled them around his neck, pulling him closer. The kiss was gentle, but slightly more demanding than the one from the library. Now he was acting based on everything he knew he wanted, whereas then he allowed his instincts to act for him.

Moments later they broke the kiss and Draco took a small step backwards, allowing Hermione some space. His arms were still holding her, while hers were snaked around his neck. They were both breathing heavily from all the emotions that were raging inside their hearts.

"Does that answer your question, Miss Griffindor?" Draco asked, a small smirk plastered on his face.

"I think you're misinformed. As I recall, you were asking all the questions, Mr. Slytherin." She replied with a smirk of her own.

At that, Draco grinned and leaned down, giving her a small peck on the lips. She smiled against his touch, brushing his soft blond hair.

***

"Are you sure, Malfoy?"

"Of course I'm not, Potter!" Draco snapped at Harry. "I know I should have stayed away from her, but it's too late now."

They were sitting in Harry's office, throwing daggers at each other from their eyes. Draco had come to let Harry know that he and Hermione were now developing a relationship and that he, Draco, would stay by her side no matter what happened. He also wanted the week off from work in order to spend that time with Hermione. Draco may have been a Consultant Auror, but he still had to let the Aurors Office know when he wanted days off. These two were precisely the reasons why he had to endure this conversation with Harry.

"Then why do it?" Harry prompted Draco impatiently. "Why throw caution to the wind and do this now, after all this time?"

"Because there is nothing else for me to do. I've tried to stay away, believe me I tried." Draco said, letting out a frustrated huff and brushing a hand through his hair. "It's no use, I just can't. After all this time, after getting to know her better, I've started to care for her. Those feelings won't allow me to leave her Potter, no matter what you say." He finished, throwing another deadly glare at Harry.

Harry on the other hand stared at Draco in slight disbelief. He never thought the day would come when this man, sitting in front of him, would profess his love for none other than Hermione Granger. It was as if the world had turned upside down and he, Harry, was finding hard to hold onto something to keep his footing in place. After a moment of silence, in which neither one dared to say anything more, Harry finally sighed in defeat. He leaned back into his office chair and regarded Draco carefully.

"You'd better hope the time never comes when she regains her memory of you." Harry said warningly. "I might not be able to save you then. No one will."

"If it were up to me, that time will never come, Potter. And besides, I don't need you of all people to save me." Draco scoffed, crossing his arms as well and frowning at Harry.

"Fine, I won't worry then." Harry said dismissively. "But one more thing before you go." Harry hesitated for a second before continuing rather awkwardly. "Are you sure all this, everything you think you feel, isn't generated by something else? Are you quite sure you're not blinded by guilt and not able to distinguish love from the need to help someone you hurt?"

"The only thing that's blinding me right now, Potter, is your stupidity!" Draco snarled, getting up on his feet in one swift move.

Before Harry could say anything else, Draco stormed out of his office, snapping the door shut with a loud bang. That attracted the curious eyes of several Ministry people who were outside on the corridor, but Draco ignored them completely. He started for the lifts, all the while huffing and fuming.

Who does he think he is, asking me that? Is he that stupid? Does he really think I, Draco Malfoy, cannot make the difference between loving someone and feeling guilty. Then a small voice in his head interrupted that trail of thought, nudging him in another direction. But then again, you've never before felt any one of those feelings, Draco, so it might be possible that you're confused.

Draco cursed under his breath and started walking faster. He was feeling so frustrated, so unaware of what was going on around him that he bumped into someone, head first. Draco heard a male voice cursing and saw sheets of parchment falling on the floor in front of his feet. Glaring and feeling even angrier than before, Draco looked up and saw a flaming red hair and a pair of green eyes staring curiously at him. Then, as if just then recognizing Draco, the man shot him a wide grin.

"We really have to stop bumping into each other like this." McKinley said, beaming at Draco.

With a swish of his wand he made all the sheets of parchment fly back into his arms. Struggling a bit, he stretched one hand towards Draco, who had finally managed to compose himself enough to act like a decent man. He shook McKinley's hand and nodded his head in response, muttering a barely audible "Indeed" and making his way around McKinley and leaving.

He never once turned to look behind, and therefore was completely unaware of the strange look the redhaired man gave him. His green eyes were piercing Draco's back and a deep crease was starting to form between his eyebrows. His beautiful and pleasant features transformed for just one second into an ugly expression of pure hatred. It all passed as quickly as it happened, and the next moment McKinley smiled to himself and started for his office, a slight bounce to his step as he walked away.

Thank you all for reading this story! If you are intrigued, stay tuned for the next chapters. Until then, have a wonderful day! ^_^ <333