Where I Found You

Hermione didn't see Harry or anyone else from her friend group until the potions class. She had been reading in the library and practicing non-verbal spells. The images of Viktor seeing her and showing off his skills flashed in front of her. She thought he was so cool back then and couldn't help but be mesmerized by him. Now that she was working hard and learning a lot, those skills didn't seem that grand to her anymore.

Harry and Ron were seated toward the back of the room when she arrived for the potions lesson. Despite the presence of her friends, she would never choose to sit in the back of the class. She would always sit in the front. Hermione saw a bunch of students near the big table, trying to see what was in the cauldrons. Although she had no clue what they would be doing in class, she shared their enthusiasm.

"Alright, everyone, gather around me!" Slughorn appeared in front of her out of nowhere, waving his hand. "I want you to focus on here, thank you. Can anyone tell me the name of this potion?"

He lifted the lid of the cauldron, revealing the unmistakable pink colour of the love potion. Spirals of steam emerged from the potion.

"Amortentia, sir," Hermione replied in an instant. Slughorn wasn't like Snape, he didn't mind not raising a hand if the student was eager for the class. "It's a love potion."

Everyone in the classroom appeared to be interested in the latter statement. The professor approached her after noticing the class' excitement. "Ms. Granger, could you tell us more about it?"

Hermione looked over at her friends and saw their eager faces. "Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world, but it's also the most dangerous because no potion has the ability to create true love, it only creates an obsession," she saw the disappointed look on her friends' faces, they must've been expecting something more interesting. "Its scent is also different to everyone according to what attracts them."

"True, true!" Slughorn grinned with pure joy. "How does it smell, Ms. Granger?"

She froze. "M-me? Uh..."

He motioned for her to go on, and she leaned a little, taking a deep breath in. She hadn't smelled Amortentia before, so she didn't know what to expect. What she did expect was to feel some sort of deep sentiment from it, but all she felt was curiosity.

"I'm not really sure, the mixture is a bit confusing," she smelled the air, inhaling once again. It made her dizzy for a second; she was drawn into it like a moth to a flame. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. It was overwhelming, like it was pulling the air from her lungs and replacing it with its own intoxicating scent. Something about it made her want to consume more and more until her head started spinning.

"It almost smells like honey, but the freshness outweighs the sweetness. Like mint or maybe apple? I'm not really sure,"

"That's it?" Slughorn asked, disappointed. He must have thought it might be something much bigger, more meaningful, but she could tell this was not what he had been expecting. 

"I think someone's perfume was blocking my nose, I couldn't smell anything else," she replied.

Pansy seemed to be opening her mouth when Slughorn raised his finger at her, silencing her. The disappointed look on his face was now replaced by amusement as he shook his head. "Well, thank you, Ms. Granger. 10 points for Gryffindor," he said, and the other Gryffindors smiled at her. 

But she noticed the look on their faces when she spoke earlier and how they eyed each other strangely. While Slughorn continued to show the Amortentia to a few other students, Hermione moved closer to Harry and whispered into his ear. "What's going on?"

Harry looked at her face, almost searching for something. "You tell me.”

She blinked, confused. "What? I don't know what happened."

"Whose perfume did you smell?" He asked. His tone sounded demanding and Hermione frowned. 

"I don't know, it wasn't too strong but I could easily pick it up," she answered. There was still no response from him and she felt her confusion grow. Why did that matter so much? Besides, how could she have known everyone's scent?

He nodded and didn't say anything more. As the class went on and the professor asked them to identify the other potions, Hermione knew them correct, earning another 10 points for her house. Ron sheepishly smiled at her, and she surprised herself by smiling back at him. Of course, Lavender didn't like his attention being stolen by another girl and squeezed his hand. Hermione almost laughed at that.

"Now, find your partners and let's start brewing.“ Slughorn announced and she paused. 

Her partner was Draco. 

Because they didn't need to partner up for potions before that, she had almost forgotten about it. She thought back to the time when Snape told them that they would be partners in potions and transfiguration, and how they reacted. She thought it was unfair because it was all because of him; if he wasn't stubborn at first, they wouldn't be partners in other classes, too. She hated the idea of being partners with him back then. But now, it didn't seem like that big of a deal.

She watched him put his book on the table, his expression bored. She walked to his table and put her bag on the chair before placing her book next to his book. They both didn't say anything as Slughorn told them to turn to page 268. "Elixir to Induce Euphoria?" She read.

"We should've learned it before," Draco murmured as he searched for the page. "You could've used it.“

Hermione crossed her arms. The potion could stop uncontrollable sobs, but she wasn't that bad back then. "I thought you were tipsy?" She emphasized the last word, clearly annoyed by his remark.

"I never get tipsy.” A faint smirk appeared on his lips and he turned his attention back to his textbook. Hermione sighed and started to read over the recipe, preparing her ingredients.

"Okay, we're going to add Shrivelfig until it turns turquoise," she told him as he added the said ingredient to his boiling cauldron and she added hers too before continuing. "Now stir four times anti-clockwise till it turns blue."

Draco did as she said and picked his book up. "It says we need to add a sprig of peppermint to counteract side effects, wait… wasn't this your Amortentia smell?"

She turned around quickly to stare at him. "It has nothing to do with our potion."

"No, but it just reminded me of that," he said and thought to himself before returning to his textbook.

"What else?" She asked.

"A perfume? That was a bit odd.“

"I meant the ingredient!" she said, not even trying to hide her annoyance.

"Oh, that. Hmm..." he traced the page with his finger. "Allow the potion to simmer till it turns yellow," he looked over to the cauldrons. "I think they've simmered already. Now add porcupine quills till it turns blue again and simmer it till it turns purple. Why so many colours," he muttered before finding his porcupine quills.

She added the quills and started to wait. "You have a problem with that?"

"Yes, what if I don't know which is blue and which is turquoise," he snorted and tapped his fingers against the book.

"That's why you have me," she grinned as he averted his gaze. She was used to him doing this by now, like his trademark smirk, this was also one of the things he would do around her. She didn't question whether he was uncomfortable or not, for she already felt uneasy near him most of the time. "Still, I don't think we need to partner up for this potion, it isn't that hard."

"I bet it's Snape, he still thinks he's teaching Potions and giving Slughorn suggestions.“

"You can't accuse a professor like that." She turned around to check on their potion. She could see the bubbles rising from the cauldron, turning purple. "I don't think he would interfere with someone else's class."

"He's our head of house, I think I know him better," he said as he stirred the mixture again.

Hermione added seven castor beans and stirred slowly. They were brewing their potions in silence when she suddenly remembered what he said. 'A perfume? That was a bit odd.'

She hadn't gotten an answer from Harry earlier and maybe Draco would tell her why everyone was reacting that way. "Have you ever smelled Amortentia?" She asked without thinking, making the blond man look at her in surprise. She wondered if he even considered the possibility that he might. And that thought led her to so many other thoughts concerning his Amortentia smell.

"No," he glanced down to his notes. "It's not something I have any experience with. Why?"

"Just curious. Everyone acted a bit strange after I told mine. I thought maybe you'd know what's wrong?" She asked, turning toward him to watch his reaction.

His jaw tensed for a moment before he shrugged. "That's because they were wondering whose perfume you smelled," he mumbled. 

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him while she kept stirring the bubbling mixture. "Why would that be important?"

He stopped stirring his mixture and looked at her. "It depends. What did this 'perfume' smell like?" He asked absentmindedly as he continued to stir.

"I don't know, like regular woody perfume," she responded uncertainly.

"Hmm," he hummed to himself as he added wormwood to his mixture and stirred slowly.

"What?" She asked and checked her potion before adding the wormwood. 

"Nothing, I didn't smell anything. Probably no one did," he said and resumed stirring his potion. After that, he didn't say anything.

No one smelled anything?

If no one smelled the perfume... no, that didn't make sense. Could she have been wrong? Maybe it wasn't a perfume at all, maybe the mixture confused her. 

No, Hermione couldn't lie to herself, the scent wasn't all natural. She was bothered at first but it felt like she had smelled it before. She could still feel the lingering sensation of it when she tried to remember. It was warm, like two arms wrapped around her.

"Let's practice tonight if you're free.” Draco suddenly broke into her thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. What time?" Hermione turned to him. He only raised an eyebrow at her. Her heart skipped a beat at his look and she looked away. She suddenly felt small under his gaze.

"At 8, I'll meet you there," he said before turning to the professor who was coming to check on their cauldrons.

Slughorn examined the bright yellow colour of their potions and nodded approvingly. "Very nice work, both of you."

Draco gathered his stuff and left the classroom, going to the Slytherin common room. Hermione's eyes followed after him until he disappeared in the crowd of students. When her eyes met with Harry's, she walked over to him. "Are you done?"

He nodded in response and slowly walked past her. She let out an exasperated sigh and followed after him. "Okay, tell me. What's wrong?"

Harry stopped walking and turned towards her. They stood there for a moment before Harry sighed deeply and looked down at the floor.

"Amortentia."

"Draco said he didn't smell anything at all, but I did. I don't know what or whose it was though.“

He looked at her briefly, opening his mouth and closing it again. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Not that... I was wondering how it feels..." He trailed off, letting his voice die as he didn't know what to say next. 

"Oh," Hermione felt her stomach flip, but managed to keep a straight face. "Well, um, I was drawn to it for sure." He looked at her with curiosity in his eyes. "I know it sounds stupid but it was calling to me, it felt good." She shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

Harry scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I was wondering how it feels and how mine would smell like?"

Hermione couldn't hide her shocked face. "Why don't you try it?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm good. I rather not find out, actually."

Hermione smiled at him, wrapping her arm around his. "Let's go somewhere we can talk,"

Harry looked at her surprisingly at first, but let himself be dragged along by her anyway. Hermione led them to the library, setting herself and Harry on the couch. Harry leaned against the back cushions while Hermione sat across from him. She put her bag next to her feet, fidgeting slightly as she waited for Harry to speak. Finally, he seemed to gather his thoughts. "I was just curious, Hermione."

She smiled softly. "Yeah, yeah. Let's be open with each other, okay?"

"What do you mean—“

"What I mean, Harry, is that I know why you don't want to smell your Amortentia. You're afraid that it will smell like someone you can't have, right?" Her steady eyes met his and he averted his gaze, nodding reluctantly. She continued, "For a long time I thought I had feelings for Ron, too."

He looked at her in surprise. "You don't?"

She smiled. "No, not in the slightest. It was so confusing and painful, Harry. I still think about it sometimes. But the only thing I feel for Ron is friendship and affection, but not Amortentia smell kind of love." She added quickly. "But when I thought I did, it felt exactly like how you're feeling. I was jealous of other girls," she sighed and readied herself for the look of surprise from Harry, "just as much as you are jealous of Dean."

"You... knew about it?"

She gave him a shrug. "It's pretty much obvious at this point."

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with the fingers of both hands. After some time, Hermione spoke again. "You're wrong, by the way." He looked at her with confusion written all over his face. "Ginny is not someone you can't have."

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "But Dean... and Ron?"

"Don't tell Ginny I told you this but I think Dean and Ginny will broke up very soon, if they haven't already. And I think Ron would rather have you date Ginny than Dean or even anyone else."

He looked thoughtful as he took this information in. She could see the gears turning in his mind. "And Ginny?"

Hermione chuckled lightly. "Don't worry about that, I'm sure she hasn't forgotten her first love." He nodded and fell silent for a while. Hermione smiled, allowing Harry the time to process everything he has been told.

They spent the rest of the day uneventful as Harry acted like he had a taste of the potion they made today. He couldn't stop smiling whenever he was around Ginny or talked to her. Hermione could also see a blush creeping across his cheeks. She was happy to see him finally noticing how he felt about Ginny.

"Who will you bring for Slughorn's party?" Hermione asked Harry the night before the Slug Club's annual gathering. Harry frowned, thinking. He glanced at her. 

"I haven't thought about it." He answered quickly. Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. Harry looked sheepish, rubbing his neck. "How about you?"

"Uhm," she hesitated, looking between him and the floor. "McLaggen…"

"Really?" Harry asked, sounding incredulous. "Why? I thought you didn't like him."

"He asked?" She held her head between her hands, groaning internally. "I don't know, Harry and yes, I don't like him. He's arrogant and annoying but I said yes, what am I going to do?"

His shoulders bounced as he laughed. "Why don't you eat garlic bread to avoid him and hope he won't notice what you're trying to do?" He smirked suggestively at her. 

Hermione glared at him and rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, Harry. I'd need something stronger," she sighed. "Why the twins are not here when I need them, they have the nastiest sweets."

The two shared a glance in silence until they started giggling uncontrollably. Once their giggles died down, Harry sighed. 

"Maybe I should invite Luna." Harry tilted his head slightly to one side, pondering.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

She wished she could encourage him to ask Ginny, but she knew that that wouldn't happen anytime soon. They were still together and even if she had broken up with Dean, she'd still need time to move on. Hermione sighed and decided to focus on herself to forget about them. 

It was almost 8 when she left the common room to meet Draco for their duelling session at the room of requirement. He looked tense while he was standing in front of the entrance, waiting for her. 

"Hey there, Malfoy. Ready to get your ass kicked?" Hermione teased playfully.

The corner of his lips lifted into a smirk but his tense posture did not change. "You have no idea," he said in a quiet voice.

"Alright, then." She said and closed her eyes to call the door but when she did so, she felt a hand touching her shoulder. Her eyes shot open and he let go. "I'll do it," he said and she gave a little nod.

It doesn't matter who summons the door, Hermione thought as the door gradually appeared in front of them. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced at her over his shoulder. Hermione pretended that she didn't see him do that and continued to look at the door. He swallowed thickly, grabbed the doorknob and stepped aside to let her in first.

Hermione felt an odd twinge in her chest as they walked into the room. Her mouth fell open at the sight in front of her. The dark ambience of the room was now replaced with bright blueish light reflecting off the walls and the ceiling. The unmistakable scent of Amortentia was strong inside the room. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest as she stared at the very same room she remembered so vividly; the scene replayed itself in front of her, like a movie she had seen many times. She walked closer to the center of the room where she danced two years ago. It was the Great Hall from the Yule Ball. Everything was the same, except there was no one in sight and the there were less tables, leaving more room for the dance floor. She glanced up at the ceiling and saw the snowflakes floating down towards them.

She turned around and saw Draco looking at her. He wasn't shocked at all, it had to be his doing. For a second, she thought maybe the room acted up but it was all him. Their gazes locked for a moment before she took a step towards him. "This is from the Ball?" She asked.

Draco nodded quietly, staring at her with worried eyes. Why would he worry? Her reaction? Seeing him like this sent shivers through her body, causing a small smile to appear on her face.

"Malfoy?" She asked in a questioning tone. He didn't answer, just stared at her. She looked around once again. "Why are we here?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, you once said that you wanted that night to be unforgettable and I suffered through your crying —twice," he added quickly, causing her to chuckle. "And I thought I should put us both out of this misery." He spoke as if he recited his speech.

Hermione looked at him in silence, taking in his words. Was this seriously happening? Was he trying to change her memory from that night? He made her night even more miserable that day and now he wanted to dance?

She suddenly remembered a piece of their conversation. 

"I wanted this night to be unforgettable,"she muttered under her breath and closed her eyes shut. 

She clutched her dress firmly as her vision blurred once again. She took deep breaths to calm herself down and not cry in front of him anymore. It wasn't helping, though. It felt like the whole world was closing in around her, making it harder to breathe. She could hear how laboured her breathing was getting and she hated every second of it. It was a bad idea, she shouldn't have said that.

"What?" Draco leaned his head forward. 

She didn't know he heard her, but knowing that he did and he still wanted to do something about it made her heart race just a little bit more. Her breath caught in the back of her throat and she felt herself swallow nervously as she glanced at him. He wasn't looking at her and she could tell by how his shoulders were tense and his jaw was tight that he was uncomfortable with the situation. But she just couldn't look away from his face. She kept her gaze locked on his eyes, the way they were so dark and the way they seemed to sparkle when he laughed, or when they narrowed in anger as he tried to keep from smiling. 

"I don't know..." she started.

"Don't overthink it, Granger. I know I was a shit to you that night and I experienced how you felt yesterday, thanks to our bonding, and I wanted to do something," he said in a low voice as he watched her carefully for a reaction, waiting to see if she would react negatively or if the words had any effect. He had thought a lot about this and now he had to do see it through, even though she wasn't saying anything in return. "I just... wanted to apologise for being such an ass to you when we were kids. You won't forgive me but I needed to do at least one good thing..." he trailed off as his eyes searched hers before falling to the ground, disheartened.

A few moments passed in awkward silence and Draco looked back up expecting to see her staring at him with a frown like he'd seen Hermione do on many occasions before. Instead he saw a warm smile on her face as she nodded at him.

"Okay."

"Okay?" He asked incredulously, wondering what the hell she meant by that. "Okay to what?"

She couldn't help but laugh softly at his confusion. "Okay to this," she showed the room around them with her hand. "Let's do this, let's dance."

Draco blinked, confused by her statement, yet unsure of exactly why, but still wanting to comply anyway. This wasn't exactly what he had expected from their conversation, but he also knew that he needed every bit of forgiveness that this girl could offer him. He nodded slightly. "Okay, wait a second."

He went to one of the tables and brought two bags with him. He held out one to her, the latter took it with slight question before opening the bag and revealing her ball dress. She gaped at him in surprise. "H—how?"

He smirked with pride as he shrugged nonchalantly. "While I was imagining the room, I also added the little information that Hermione Granger's and Draco Malfoy's yule ball clothes were needed, too. I didn't expect it to work, but, here they are," he stated smugly. 

Hearing him say her name with his felt strange at first, but she liked how it sounded. Hermione smiled and shook her head as she started taking the dress out of the bag. It was the same blue dress!

"Where are we going to change clothes?" She asked the obvious.

"There's a little changing area, you can go there," he pointed to a corner and she left smiling widely.

When Draco went to his corner to change his clothes, he couldn't stop smiling either. The first time they danced together was in their fourth year and he was thinking of ways to embarrass her in front of everyone. Now that he was thinking about it, he really was a child.

After getting changed, he grabbed his perfume and sprayed his neck as he walked towards where Hermione was. As she turned around, he remembered his friend's comment.

"Beautiful," Theo muttered to himself.

Draco's head jerked towards his friend. "What the fuck are you talking about? She's the mudblood-"

"The mudblood I would spray that cologne for," he winked and pressed his lips.

He grimaced at the use of his own words. She was beautiful, the most beautiful girl at the ball. And he was too dumb to see it. He wasn't lying to her when he said everyone was jealous of her that day, himself included. 

Especially him.

He noticed how nervous and shy she seemed to have gotten all of a sudden. She was standing near the middle of the dancefloor, not looking at him at all, fidgeting nervously with the skirt of her dress.

"You look pretty," he told her while walking closer to her and extending his arm. She blushed deeply and took his offered hand. Draco flicked his wand before placing his hand on her back. Hermione inhaled deeply and froze for a moment. How was she even going to dance with him? The same song started playing in the air and it almost felt like she was being pulled to another universe. This one was different, everything about this night was different and the familiar scent that filled the air was not helping her in any way.

Draco on the other side tried not to show his nervousness. He held her waist gently and guided her with ease.

"Let's just have fun this time." He said to ease the tension that had formed between them. Her face lit up and she nodded, allowing herself to be led away. His heart was racing in his ribcage and he hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt. It was probably due to how much he liked spending time with the girl who was currently holding his hand. And there was no getting away from her.

He knew he should've put an end to this immediately, but he needed to do this. Not just for her, but also for himself, he needed one good night. A night where he would dance with a girl and just have fun.

As they continued to dance, he felt himself relax gradually. Draco never broke eye contact with her as she twirled gracefully and effortlessly. Her hair danced around her shoulders freely as she moved. She beamed just as she did back then when he lifted her in the air. He smiled softly at the sight of such a vibrant girl being so happy and free with him. He was still in shock that she was so comfortable around him.

When the song came to an end and she pulled away, his face slightly fell but she held his hand and pulled him along to the next song. When the music filled the air, he tried hard not to smile as he saw her face light up again. This time, however, she wasn't able to hide her excitement, and she let go of his hand so she could move around better. They both laughed as they danced song after song until Hermione found herself collapsed on a chair.

"There's no drink, right?" She asked breathlessly while leaning over the table. 

Draco shook his head lightly as he sat next to her. "Magic can't create food or water, but... accio bag!" He yelled and his bag flew up to him and landed right in his lap.

"I came prepared. We've got water, pumpkin juice, butterbeer, wine and firewhisky." He listed off as he opened the firewhisky he took out from his bag that was charmed to expand.

"Wine? I didn't know you were a wine guy." She teased lightly, sitting up straight and resting her elbows on the table.

He smiled as he poured the alcohol into a glass before handing it to her. "I'm not, I thought you might like it."

Hermione smiled brightly and sipped from the glass. "This is great, thank you." She took another sip and smiled before continuing to speak. "How come you have these in the dorm?" She raised an eyebrow.

The corner of his lips turned upwards into a smirk and he drank his firewhisky in one gulp. "That's a Slytherin secret, Granger, and you're definitely not one of us."

She rolled her eyes at his comment. "And I'm glad for that." She said and finished the rest of her drink in one large swallow. 

Draco watched her with wide eyes as he refilled her glass. He was suddenly glad that she was enjoying herself. 

As he remembered the night at the Astronomy Tower and her memories with Krum, he wanted to erase everything even more. Maybe Krum wasn't a bad memory for her, but a part of him wanted her to remember him first. He could offer her fun time, dance, alcohol and his company. That was all he had. He could replace everything except for her kiss with Krum.

Ever since she told him about her first kiss and how much she smiled while thinking about it, he couldn't help but look at her lips. He felt slight jealousy when she told him about that kiss under the moonlight. The way she was talking about it… he never felt like that with anyone. And since that, he sometimes found himself glancing at her lips for some reason, especially when she was talking. He tried so hard not to think about the times when he fantasised about kissing her. But tonight, it seemed impossible not to. Especially now that her lips were stained with wine and slightly parted from taking her drink and he wanted nothing more than to close that gap.

"Will you drink more?" She looked over at him.

His attention snapped back to reality as he looked back down at the bottle of firewhisky. "Uh...yeah." He took the bottle, trying to hide his blush and poured himself some more.

"I need water, the wine made me thirstier," she said and held out her hand waiting for the water bottle. He couldn't help but find her attitude cute.

As he reached over to give her the bottle, their fingers touched, sending electricity through his body. His heart jumped against his chest as his mind went blank momentarily. He was holding her waist and hand not so long ago and his body hadn't reacted this much back then. He looked over to see her reaction, but she didn't seem phased by it as he had been as she drank the half of the bottle already.

"Should we dance one last time and leave?" He asked. He didn't want to leave but it was getting more and more difficult to stay near her, especially with the alcohol running through his body.

"Okay, but it better be a slow dance, the other ones are too tiring," she whined.

Hermione wasn't drunk, but the alcohol and dancing to the energetic songs certainly helped her to relax, otherwise, it would've been awkward between them. But offering him a slow dance was definitely something she couldn't muster up the courage to do if it wasn't for the alcohol. Or, that was her excuse, at least. The truth was that he was looking at her in a way that she had never seen from him and she wanted more of it.

The moment his eyes lit up when she made him laugh. The soft smile on his face. It had all been there before she even realised it. But now, there was so much more in them. So much more than she'd ever felt before. It made her insides flutter like never before.

She was seeing new sides to him and noticed how much he had been masking under a thick layer of ice. They were coming out little by little before he even noticed it himself. Like some part of him knew he didn't need to hide his real self from her anymore but still couldn't quite bring himself to bare it fully. She sometimes watched him laugh, knowing that it would be gone in less than a second. But tonight, tonight he was different. He seemed to be enjoying himself and she kept in mind to treasure every minute of this night. This was better than their original Yule Ball dance.

He stood and held out his hand when the music started playing. She took his hand and gave him a little bow, then placed her hands over his shoulder. His eyebrows raised as he smiled.

"I thought you said you wouldn't curtsy to me?" He teased as the two began dancing again.

"And I thought you could never be nice?" She quipped back with a sly smile.

He shook his head with a grin as he twirled her around and pulled her back, only this time, they were closer than before. Her hand suddenly moved to the back of his neck as their eyes met and her lips parted ever so slightly as she looked into his eyes. He was glancing at her mouth, too, his eyes darkening. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and took a step back. He noticed it but didn't say anything.

When the song gradually sped up, she looked around. "It feels weird that no one's here," she said looking away from him.

There was silence for just a few seconds until she heard him let out a small laugh. "I'm sure it would be no fun."

"Yeah," she met his eyes. "You probably wouldn't be interested in any of this anyways." The air between them became heavy as they both stared intently at each other. It made her uncomfortable.

"Let's not ruin tonight, too, Granger." He said softly and turned her around by her hand. She decided not to say anything knowing that he was right. There was no need to ruin this night, instead, she let him lead her around the room, humming to the melody. His hands sneaked around her waist and pulled her close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him. Her left arm on his shoulder bent, allowing her to close the gap between them. Before either of them could understand what was happening, she leaned her head on his shoulder and felt him tense against her. After a few seconds that felt like hours, he took her right hand and place it on his other shoulder. When he wrapped both arms around her, she wasn't sure whether it was her heart that was pounding or his.

They continued to sway and she felt herself get lost in the music, her body moving in tune with his. She felt like a piece of herself had found itself here tonight with him. They may have been enemies for years but for tonight, there was nothing to define them but themselves. 

"Thank you," she whispered against his shoulder. Her eyes fell shut as she inhaled his scent, the one that she was painfully aware of every second she spent near him. "For all of this."

Instead of saying anything, he nodded and rested his cheek on top of her head and involuntarily held her tighter. He just wished to stay in that moment. Where no one was around to watch them, where he found her in his arms, where the time stopped. When the song came to an end, neither of them made a move, as if afraid to break whatever connection existed between them now.

When she slowly pulled away, he stared into her eyes, telling her not to leave without actually saying it. He wasn't sure if she understood him, but she wasn't going anywhere. She searched his face for something and bit her lip. The movement made him lean in towards her more. Her eyes widened slightly at first, but she didn't pull back. His mind raced with thoughts, wondering why she wasn't pulling away, wondering if she was feeling the same, if he should kiss her. 

Just as his lips were inches away from hers, she whispered "Draco..." and all hell broke loose. He closed that little gap between, pressing his lips onto hers. She didn't push him away or made him stop. When she didn't respond to his kiss, he stopped but his lips lingered on hers, not wanting to let them go. He wondered why she didn't push him away. If she didn't want it she would've pulled away or slapped him, but she just froze. And that hurt him more. He wished she would just reject him, but this was torture. 

Apparently, his feelings were not mutual.

The thought caused him to pull away but she immediately chased after his lips. He was tentative when he first kissed her but this time, his lips connected with hers fully and without hesitation. He kissed her gently, savouring every second he had. For a brief second they belonged to each other, and when she pulled away, it felt as if there was an explosion around him and everything seemed to fall away. The world spun faster, the air rushing into his lungs faster until the only thing left was her. And he needed more.

She took a step back and brought her finger up to brush across her lips; still tasting him on them. He smiled slightly as she did this, unable to wipe away the grin from his face. But the confused, hesitant look on her face made that smile disappear in an instant, his breath catching as he waited for whatever it was she was going to say. 

She hesitated before speaking. "I don't want to be your friend." She said softly, almost too quiet for him to hear. His eyes widened as her words processed through his mind, leaving him with a small gaping hole where the words should've been. He swallowed and nodded slowly, this was probably for the best. There it was, the words he'd been waiting for all along. A part of him screamed inside at the rejection, but he tried to hide his reaction with a shrug. "Glad we're on the same page," he replied and looked away from her, down at the floor.

He heard her take a step towards him, but he didn't dare move. It seemed like time had frozen around him, he couldn't bring himself to look back up or even speak any longer. He knew nothing could have happened between them and—

"I want this.”

Her voice broke through the silence and echoed around them. Slowly, he glanced up and met her gaze. His lips parted, but no words came out. He forced himself not to react more as the realization dawned upon him. Her cheeks flushed lightly and he could've sworn he saw her bite down on her lower lip. It was such a small movement, it would've gone unnoticed if he wasn’t looking directly at her. He felt his throat constrict as the realization hit him again. He wanted this, he wanted her in so many ways it was nearly impossible for him to describe. 

He stared at her intently for what seemed like hours, taking in the way her skin glowed under the dimmed lighting, taking in the way her eyes sparkled. Could he do this? Could he give in to his desires and allow himself to fall in love? And how would that work, being with Hermione Granger of all people? If his auntie or her friends heard about this, they wouldn't hesitate to kill her. She was a mudblood anyway, they'd be happy to get rid of her, to make sure none of her disgusting magic infected anyone else. He swallowed hard, feeling sick to the core. He was almost about to give up when he saw the way she was looking at him expectantly. He let out a shaky breath.

This wasn't right, he knew it. This wouldn't work, it would never work. He knew that already. But he still hoped. He hoped that maybe, he could do this. But he would break her heart anyway; he had little time left for his mission. He shook his head slightly to clear it from those thoughts, knowing they wouldn't do anything but distract him. They would only serve as distractions. He opened his mouth, the words burning the tip of his tongue. What would she do if he told her to go? To leave him and find happiness with someone who's not a Death Eater? Maybe he should tell her. He took another deep breath, meeting her eyes with a determined gaze. 

"I don't want this."