"I Dont Hate You"

A/N: Back! Did ya miss me? This was just a completely random chapter by the way. No plot development at all, except the feelings Hermione and Draco have for each other. I didn't know what to write, sorry. Plus, it gives me a moment to think about what I could do about Ernie and Pansy...Any ideas? I strongly need them, and don't hesitate to tell. Otherwise, Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 18

The next morning, Hermione woke up bright and early as she usually did. She was about to sit up and stretch when she noticed a heavy arm wrapped around her waist. She turned her head slightly to see Draco's face just a few inches away from her own.

"Mornin'," He greeted.

Hermione replied by shrieking and tumbling out of the bed in surprise. "D-Draco! W-what are you doing in here?"

"Well geez, can I not sleep with my girlfriend? No, not like that," he said quickly when he noticed Hermione's horrified look. "I just couldn't go to sleep alone last night." He threw the covers off him self and crawled over the bed to peer down at her. Hermione's eyes drifted down to Draco's bare torso, lavishing in the sight of his flawless abdomen. Without much thought, she raised her hand up, and lightly traced her finger around each muscle. It was firm, yet soft and very comforting. This was something she had wanted to do for the longest time.

She finally realized what she was doing and met her eyes with Draco, who had been staring at her the whole time. She blushed heavily as she pulled away her hand. "Sorry…"

"No, it's okay," Draco told her. "It felt good." He smiled at her as he stealthily slinked his body from the bed, and to the floor, so that he was how hovering over her body. "You can keep doing it if you want."

"Okay." Hermione smiled. "Or maybe I can do this…" She started to lean upwards, closer to his face. Draco looked at her in surprise. Is she really going to kiss me? FIRST? His mind began to race as she grew even closer, and he closed his eyes, anxiously waiting for it…

But then suddenly his body was wrapped with blankets and he found himself wrapped in them, on his back, and Hermione was suddenly straddling his body now. She began to giggle when she saw the horrified look on his face. "You're so easy, Draco."

Draco couldn't help but smile. "That's one of the few times you've actually caught me off guard."

"No, actually it's the second," Hermione pointed out. "Remember that time in third year I punched you in the nose?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I saw that coming."

"Sure you did," Hermione said sarcastically.

"You know, you always have to be right, don't you?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, I do," Hermione said with a false snooty voice, crossing her arms. A few seconds later she shrieked again, but cheerfully as Draco attacked her sides with tickles, making her collapse back first into the floor. After her round of giggles was over, she noticed Draco on top of her. "Okay you win, Malfoy."

"Thanks, Granger," Draco returned, smiling.

Hermione smiled back. There was no way Draco was pretending at this point, or neither did she think the old him could put up a charade this long. He didn't care if his friends saw her anymore. And apparently he didn't care about the opinion of his father, whom resented Muggle borns with a passion. Eventually she'd have to deal with him later. She snapped out of her thoughts to realize that she had been staring up at Draco, and he had been staring at her back. And judging from the look on his face, she knew what was coming next. And she made no attempt to stop him as he leaned forward and kissed her gently. What started as a simple, innocent kiss developed into a fiery passionate one moments later. Hermione surprised herself by interacting back, feeling emotions that she'd never felt before. Was Draco bringing out a side of her she never knew she had?

She could feel his fingers snaking through her brown locks as his tongue made its way to her mouth. Her stomach churned, and she tensed for a second, but she realized that she was safe with Draco and gave a labored sigh as she allowed him to take control. They broke away from each other's lips, getting their breath back while Draco's lips lowered to her neck. Draco heard Hermione's small gasp as he began to work his magic. But only seconds later she had melted like butter against him, her fingers running smoothly up and down her back. The space in his boxers suddenly felt constricted, and he was surprised that only her touch could make him do that. He felt as if he was just about to move on when Hermione suddenly stopped him by pushing him back gently.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

"Um…" Hermione began to blush. "You're…"

He knew instantly what she was talking about. "Only you could do it," he told her shamelessly.

"But I didn't do anything," Hermione protested.

"You didn't have to," Draco said softly. Hermione blushed even deeper and continued to look embarrassed. Draco smiled as he leaned down to kiss her forehead gently. "If you're not comfortable with this, then we'll stop," he added as he pulled away from her.

Hermione felt instantly guilty as she sat up, grabbing his arm. "Wait, Draco. Please, its not you…"

"I know." Draco looked over at her. "Maybe I shouldn't have pushed this on you so much. It's my fault, really."

Hermione leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry."

Draco hugged her back, trying (and probably failing) to hide his disappointment. "Yeah. Me too." He wished that Hermione hadn't stopped him while they were already on a roll. But he had forgotten that she'd never done this kind of stuff before. Lucky for him, he was more than willing to wait for her until she was more comfortable.

Hermione was still embracing Draco when she suddenly froze with a gasp. "Draco! We've got to get to class!"

Hermione jerked away from him and began to search for her clothes. She'd momentarily forgotten that Draco was there and began to strip herself of her night gown and throw on her school clothes. Surely Snape would have their rears today.

When she'd finally dressed she turned and saw Draco sitting on the bed, looking at her in amusement. There was a moment of staring when finally, Draco exploded into hysterical laughter, doubling over and clutching his stomach for support. She stared at him in confusion until the laughter subsided.

"Sat…Saturday," he said breathlessly, looking at her. "No…classes…" He wiped a tear from his eye as Hermione gaped at him. "But thanks for that little show though, it made me feel better," he added with a wink.

Hermione growled as she grabbed a pillow off the bed and smacked him as hard as she could in the face with it. "You git! You didn't bother to tell me?!"

"It was so hilarious," Draco admitted, holding his hands up in self defense as Hermione was poised to hit him again. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry!"

"No!" Hermione smacked him with the pillow, and then again, and again. She was going for another time when Draco suddenly grabbed her wrist with one hand, grabbed her waist with the other and dragged her over to the bed. The two of them ended up laughing together and a few minutes later, Hermione's head was on Draco's chest, playing with his abs again.

"You know, I'm glad we met," she admitted, her fingertips tracing his muscles again.

"Yeah, me too," Draco replied softly.

Hermione continued to trace around his muscles until she noticed his breathing had gotten deeper. She sat up and looked around to see that Draco had fallen asleep, his face completely lax and stress relief. She stared at him, thinking about how lucky she was to have a caring boyfriend such as him. But she already knew the road to their relationship was gonna be even rockier than it was.

I'm willing to sacrifice, she thought with a teeny smile. She leaned over and kissed his cheek gently. The corners of his lips turned up slightly into a smile of his own. Hermione giggled as she rested her head back on his chest and gradually fell back to sleep alongside him.

A/N: Awww, don't you love fluff? Anyway, I'm reminding you that I'm really open to suggestions now, if you have any, about Ernie and Pansy. I'm kind of stuck with them. (That's what I get for being random, right?) But anyway, please review on the chapter you just read. Thanks!