Confessions & Kisses

Hermione felt a hand on her head. She opened her eyes and sat straight up. She saw Draco standing beside her. Her jaw dropped.

"What - ?" A hand clamped over her mouth; Ginny was there too. The red-head pointed her wand at the door to Madam Pomfrey's quarters.

"Muffliato!" Ginny pocketed her wand and took her hand away. Dropping into a chair, she looked at Draco and said, "She can't hear a thing going on out here now. We could set off a bomb and she'd sleep through it." Hermione gazed at them, open-mouthed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Ginny turned her shrewd blue eyes on Hermone.

"I came to make sure you didn't give dear Draco a hard time. You two need to talk, and I didn't want to hear any stories about you setting attack canaries on him." Hermione felt her face warm; she remembered only too well the time she'd conjured canaries and made them attack Ron. One of the few times she'd let the pain of his actions overrule her logic.

"Hermione, I'm sorry." Draco spoke for the first time that night. She faced him. "I should've...I don't know. But I wish you hadn't found out that way. Not right after finding out about your parents." He sat down in a chair on her other side and hung his head. Hermione studied his blonde hair for a moment, but when she spoke her words were directed at Ginny.

"Gin, could you give us some time alone?" She looked at her skeptically, but Hermione said, "I promise the next time you see him he won't be covered in bandages. Or in the bed across the way." Ginny nodded.

"Should I wait outside, or just go back to Gryffindor Tower?" She asked.

"Go on back to the Tower. You and Harry come see me tomorrow, okay?" Ginny nodded again and stood. She walked toward the door, but stopped beside Draco. Hermione watched him lift his head, watched Ginny place a hand on his cheek and whisper something to him. Then she left the Hospital Wing and Hermione and Draco were alone.

"Please look at me." Hermione said. She couldn't stand to see Draco upset like this. He raised his gaze slowly to hers. She felt herself soften. "Draco, I'm not mad at you." a shadow of doubt and surprise flickered in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. "I'm not even disappointed. I'm a bit surprised, of course, and I tried to be mad, but...I couldn't. You're too good a friend for me to not like you for very long. I owe you so much." She stopped. Her parents' faces had just inexplicably popped into her head. She fought back tears.

"Hermione, I love you." To hear him say it straight out brought warmth to her, even in her pain. "You shouldn't have to deal with something like this. It isn't fair." When he took her hand, she squeezed his and felt the first tear about to fall. "Please, Hermione. Don't try to stay strong. Don't hold all that pain inside you. Let it out, let me help you bear it." The total honesty and conviction in his voice broke through her defenses. She started crying; harder than she ever had. She fell back on her pillows, and Draco crawled onto the bed beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head between his chin and his chest. Violent sobs racked her body; her parents were dead. They weren't coming back. She had no more family in this world. She was alone.

But I'm not, she thought. Draco's here. And Ginny brought him. And there's Harry. I have them. I will always have them. The thought comforted her and she was able to control herself again. Almost. Tears still spilled down her cheeks, but her breathing had returned to normal and she glanced up at Draco's face. She was surprised to see tears there. He looked down then, and her wonderings about the past years must've shown on her face.

"What?"

"Well, I can't help but wonder about the last six years. You claim to have loved me since the beginning, but you never showed it until this year. What I want to know is, why? Why now, and not sooner? Why at all?" She let it out, hoping he'd explain and she wouldn't lose her composure again.

"When I first saw you, I thought you were cute. Then, you looked me straight in the face and I saw your eyes. There was no hope for me once you'd turned those big brown things on me. You got sorted into Gryffindor and I was so disappointed. The year went on and I learned that you were a Muggle-born, which as you know, I'm supposed to despise. Well, I tried. I tried to hate you for what you were. No luck." He paused, and she wondered what he was thinking. She also found that the thought of Draco trying to hate her hurt her a little. "I went home that summer and told my father about you, thinking if he knew his hatred of you would rub off on me. It didn't, of course. So when second year started, I knew I had to get you to hate me. I started calling you Mudblood, and I made you cry. It killed me, but I thought I was doing the right thing, in a twisted sort of way. When you were Petrified, I skipped all the classes I had with Gryffindor because I couldn't stand to see your empty seat." It was too much for her.

"Hang on. Harry and Ron told me that when you said a Muggle-born died last time, it was only a matter of time until one died this time. They told me - they told me you said you hoped it was me." She heard her own voice waver as she said it, and no wonder. Draco, want her dead? Before this year, she would've shrugged it off. Now it pained her almost as much as her parent's death.

"I only said that because I wanted to make it look like I really did hate - wait a minute." He looked confused, and Hermione suddenly realized why. "I never said that in front of them. I said it to Crabbe and Goyle. How did - ?" Hermione dropped her gaze as Draco looked at her. She felt the blush creep up her cheeks. "Hermone?"

"Um, well, we thought - we thought you were, you know, the Heir of Slytherin. We made Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and they snuck into the Slytherin common room with you as Crabbe and Goyle." She said it all in a rush, embarassed that she'd brought this to light.

"Merlin, you made Polyjuice Potion when you were only twelve? That's very advanced brewing! You really do know everything, don't you?" She heard the wonderment in his voice.

"Not really. Just a whole, whole lot." She laughed. It felt good. "Actually, I screwed up my own Polyjuice Potion. Remember when I was in here right after Christmas?" Draco nodded. "Well, I thought I had a hair from Millicent Boulstrode. It turned out to be a cat hair. That potion's not meant for animal transformations." He laughed, and she did too. They spent the early morning hours talking about everything that had happened between them in the six years they'd know each other. As he explained everything about his father and the driving need to keep his feelings hidden. During a brief lull in their conversation, Draco whispered that it was getting light, he needed to go. She let him stand up, but he stopped by her bed and turned slowly around to face her. He took a deep breath, and asked the question she hadn't known she wanted to hear.

"Hermione, could I...could I kiss you?" She smiled, joy flooding her system. She slipped out of bed too, and stood in front of him.

"Draco, I would love for you to kiss me," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his encircled her waist, and she closed her eyes as his lips pressed to hers. It was more beautiful than anything she'd ever imagined a kiss could be, and she realized that no matter what happened from now on, she would always love Draco Malfoy and she would always remember her first kiss.

Amazing Kiss

"Where are you?" Draco hissed. It was midnight, and he was standing by the suit of armor outside the Hospital Wing. He could see nothing in the pitch black.

"Over here," Ginny answered, and he made his way towards her voice. He nearly knocked her over in the dark, but he grabbed her arm and she managed to stay standing. "Come on."

She led him to the hospital door and tapped the handle with her wand. There was a soft click and she pushed the door open. It was lighter inside; the lamp by Hermione's bed was on. Draco closed the door and they tiptoed to Hermione's bed. She was the only patient tonight, and that made things much easier. When they reached her, they saw that she'd fallen asleep quickly; she was still wearing her robes. Ginny placed a gentle hand on Hermione's head and her eyes flew open. She sat up and saw Draco first.

"What - " She started loudly, but Ginny covered her mouth and pointed her wand toward Madam Pomfrey's quarters.

"Muffliato!" She whispered. She dropped her hand from Hermione's face and pocketed her wand. Then, she plunked down in a chair and looked at Draco. "She can't hear a thing going on out here now. We could set off a bomb and she'd sleep through it." He admired her skill.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione gasped. Ginny answered.

"I came to make sure you wouldn't give dear Draco a hard time. You two need to talk, and I didn't want to hear any stories about you setting attack canaries on him." Hermione flushed, and Draco was confused. He didn't bother asking.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I should've..." He actually couldn't think of anything. "I don't know. But I wish you hadn't found out that way. Not right after finding out about your parents." He sat down in a chair opposite Ginny and studied the floor.

"Gin, could you give us some time alone? I promise the next time you see him he won't be covered in bandages. Or in the bed across the way."

"Should I wait outside, or just go back to Gryffindor Tower?" He heard Ginny ask.

"Go on back to the Tower. You and Harry come see me tomorrow, okay?" Draco listened to Ginny's chair scrape the ground and her footsteps make for the door. They stopped by him and he looked up. She put a hand on his cheek and smiled.

"Good luck," she murmered, and left the two alone. Draco waited, dreading what he might hear Hermione say.

"Please look at me." He obeyed. 'Please'? Maybe this won't be so bad... "Draco, I'm not mad at you. I'm not even disappointed. I'm a bit surprised, of course, and I tried to be mad, but...I couldn't. You're too good a friend for me to not like you for very long. I owe you so much." She was looking at him with care and gratefulness on her face. It melted away to be replaced by pain, and he knew she was thinking about her parents.

"Hermione, I love you. You shouldn't have to deal with something like this. It isn't fair." He reahed for her hand, and she squeezed his. He could tell she was about to cry. "Please, Hermione. Don't try to stay strong. Don't hold all that pain inside you. Let it out, let me help you bear it." That was it. She sobbed and slumped back on her pillows, and he moved so he was sitting on the bed beside her. She leaned on him and he cradled her in his arms, chin resting against her forehead. He cried some too, for her. He could never imagine her pain. Well, he knew how he'd feel if anything ever happened to his mother, but he didn't care about his father. Hermione did care, and she'd lost them both. He didn't know what she was going through and never would.

Slowly, Hermione's sobs ebbed away. Draco looked down at her face, thinking she'd fallen asleep, but she was looking up at him. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, but she was silent. The expression on her face was curious and confused.

"What?" He asked her.

"Well, I can't help but wonder about the past six years. You claim to have loved me since the beginning, but you never showed it until this year. What I want to know is, why? Why now, and not sooner? Why at all?" She replied in a rush. He had a feeling she needed to talk about something, anything, to keep her mind off her parents. This was a logical conversation to have.

"When I first saw you, I thought you were cute. Then, you looked me straight in the face and I saw your eyes. There was no hope for me once you'd turned those big brown things on me. You got sorted into Gryffindor and I was so disappointed. The year went on and I learned that you were a Muggle-born, which as you know, I'm supposed to despise. Well, I tried. I tried to hate you for what you were. No luck." He paused, thinking about the turbulent emotions that went along with his efforts. "I went home that summer and told my father about you, thinking if he knew his hatred of you would rub off on me. It didn't, of course. So when second year started, I knew I had to get you to hate me. I started calling you Mudblood, and I made you cry. It killed me, but I thought I was doing the right thing, in a twisted sort of way. When you were Petrified, I skipped all the classes I had with Gryffindor because I couldn't stand to see your empty seat."

"Hang on. Harry and Ron told me that when you said a Muggle-born died last time, it was only a matter of time until one died this time. They told me - they told me you said you hoped it was me." Her voice faltered, and he felt shame burning in his belly.

"I only said that because I wanted to make it look like I really did hate - wait a minute. I never said that in front of them. I said it to Crabbe and Goyle. How did - ?" Hermione was looking at the floor, suddenly very red in the face. "Hermione?"

"Um, well, we thought - we thought you were, you know, the Heir of Slytherin. We made Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and they snuck into the Slytherin common room with you as Crabbe and Goyle."

"Merlin, you made Polyjuice Potion when you were only twelve? That's very advanced brewing! You really do know everything, don't you?" He stared at her in amazement.

"Not really. Just a whole, whole lot." She laughed then, and the sweet sound filled him with joy. "Actually, I screwed up my own Polyjuice Potion. Remember when I was in here right after Christmas?" He nodded. "Well, I thought I had a hair from Millicent Boulstrode. It turned out to be a cat hair. That potion's not meant for animal transformations." They laughed together, and as the hour grew later, they combed through the previous six years and Draco explained every incident, every insult and evil comment. Finally, when dawn's first light crept through the windows, Draco pointed out that Madam Pomfrey would wake up soon. He slid off the bed, but he stopped there. He turned to her slowly, and taking a deep breath, asked the question he'd wanted to ask for ever.

"Hermione, could I...could I kiss you?" He saw the surprise flitter across her face, but she smiled at him and slid out of bed. She stood in front of him, positively glowing in the golden light, and the sweetest words he'd ever heard slipped from her lips in a gentle whisper.

"Draco, I would love for you to kiss me." And she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist, and their lips met for the first time. She tasted like honey, and she was all his. He'd never in his wildest dreams thought he would be kissing Hermione Granger in the middle of the Hospital Wing. It was the most amazing moment in his life, and one he would never forget.