It was a couple of weeks after the "Forgotten Incident" as all the girls called it, and there was the big match between Gryffindor and Slytherin tomorrow. Hermione was not happy at the moment.

One the one hand she had her best friends since first year on one team and her house. On the other hand Draco was on Slytherin and he is her boyfriend.

The poor confused bookworm was laying on the edge of her bed with her head upside down staring at the pictures on her desk.

There were a couple of her still photographs of her parents and there was a moving picture of Ron, Harry, and Hermione right after he had won his first quidditch match.

But the last and most recent picture was her favorite. It was a picture of Draco holding Hermione with her back to him and his arms around her waist. The Draco in the picture would kiss Hermione every few moments making the tiny Hermione blush.

The bigger version of the picture smiled at the memory. Ginny had taken the picture without her knowledge but she didn't really mind.

Sighing heavily she ran her hands over her face in frustration.

"I love them all." She whispered out loud then slapped a hand over her mouth. "What?" the question was said out loud in the still air of the room.

I don't love him! She yelled at herself. I just feel, really, really strongly about him! She sat up quickly making her dizzy. Grabbing a pillow she screamed loudly into it muffling the sound to as not to alarm anyone.

"Oh dear Merlin…I love him." Hermione said out loud to the room surprising herself even more.

"Hermione." A soft knock on the door.

Hermione's heart sped up to unsafe speeds and she smoothed down her hair for no apparent reason. How much had he heard?

"Y-yes?" she said in a squeaky voice.

"Its me, I needed to talk to you about the match tomorrow. Can you please come out?" Draco asked.

Hermione stared at the mahogany door; not really wanting to move for fear of what she would say when she started talking to Draco. What if she just started having word vomit and he found out about this? It was a really big thing and she really didn't want to tell him. It was really none of his business about how she felt about him. Right?

Oh what a load of bullshit that is she thought to herself. "Come in." she squeaked and put down the pillow she had a death grip on.

A smiling Draco walked into her room. He was in a black t-shirt and green pajama pants looking completely handsome as always. Even his pale bare feet were beautiful, in a really ugly-boy-feet way.

Hermione made herself stop looking at his feet with a shake of her head and patted the seat on her bed next to her. "What is it you want to talk about again?" a strained smile made her cheeks hurt a little.

Draco sat down and ran his hands through his hair. "I just want to talk about the match tomorrow. I know you've been thinking about what side to sit on." He grinned at her shocked look. "Oh, you didn't really think that I can't read your anxieties by now did you?"

"Well, I didn't think it was that obvious." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I know you like the back of my hand Granger." Draco chuckled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Anyway, you've been to my games all season, and I think it's only fair that you get to sit with all your friends for this one. It is your house after all. Besides, you have been telling me that the Slytherins have been giving you a hard time. I've dealt with a few of my classmates for you if would like to know."

"I told you not to do that, you have to deal with those people all day, and I can handle myself thank you." Hermione snapped and felt her anger flare up. Who was he to think that she needed to be protected?

Draco looked at her curiously. "Yeah, I know you can I just didn't think you wanted to deal with those guys, besides I'm a Slytherin too so I know how to deal with them."

Hermione scowled. "Yes, you are a Slytherin aren't you? I'm just a coward Gryffindor, we can't take care of ourselves can we?" she didn't know why she was this angry, Draco was just trying to be nice but she couldn't think past her irritation at the moment.

"Well, it's just that you're my girl and I should-"Draco knew this wasn't going to end well and tried to save himself by stopping mid sentence but it was too late. The damage had been done.

"Oh so I'm just your property?" Hermione exploded. "A cute little thing that couldn't possibly understand the big, bad Slytherins and could never, therefore stand up to them? I am just a wittle bitty girly girl and I need protection by a guy like you is that right Draco?" She was red in the face and stood to face Draco on the bed, her hands on her hips.

Draco stood with a grimace. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all! I just want you to have fun at the bloody match later on, my gods Hermione what the hell is wrong with you?"

Hermione made a sound that sounded like a cat getting beaten to death which made Draco jump up. "What the hell is wrong with me? You think you can just talk to me like that?" She threw her arms up in frustration, at the situation, at Draco but especially with herself. Hermione pointed at her door. "Get out Malfoy! Get out before I hex you into oblivion!"

Without hesitation Draco stood. "Fine Granger." He sneered. "I'm gone."

"Good, now if only you can keep a promise and stay gone!" Hermione threw in one last parting shot before pacing the room in anger before sleep finally got the best of her.

The next morning Hermione was feeling horrible. Why had she said all those horrible things to Draco? He had done absolutely nothing to her and she had attacked him like a lion on a wounded zebra. What was wrong with her?

After getting cleaned and dressed Hermione went into the living room of her dorm, hoping to find Draco but he wasn't and there was no way that she was going to knock on his door. She was way too embarrassed about her behavior the night before.

So without any real reason to be hanging around her room she went down to breakfast to meet up with Harry and Ron in their Quidditch uniforms. Ron, as usual was stuffing his face and Harry was reading the Daily Prophet.

"Good morning Hermione." Harry said cheerfully but then noticed the tired look on Hermione's face and her single status. "Are you alright? Where's Malfoy?"

She smiled weakly. "Yes, I'm fine. Draco's…just is practicing for the match."

"Are you sitting on our side for the match today Mione?" Ron asked with a piece of toast in his mouth.

"Yes." she said and started to pick at her breakfast.

Hermione stole a glance at the Slytherin table and saw Draco was not present there either and felt her spirits drop even more. He must have been mad, or maybe he really was just getting an early start for practice. Even as she thought it she couldn't believe it.

The Hogwarts Stadium was packed as per usual for Slytherin vs. Gryffindor games. The house rivals made for a great tension match, even though Hermione was maxed out on tension as she took a seat in the Gryffindor side near Neville, Luna and her other friends.

As Hermione was getting settled she felt Luna tap her shoulder. Looking over she was met with two great big lavender eyes. "Are you alright Hermione? You seem to have a lot of snargles around you at the moment and snargles just love unhappiness."

"I'm okay Luna." Hermione ignored the comment about the snargles. She already knew about Luna's weird comments. "It's just…Draco and I had a fight last night, our first fight, but it was really all my fault and I have no idea why I blew up like that, he was just trying to be nice and I was being a complete witch!" she blurted.

Luna smiled at the pun but then moved so close to Hermione that their noses were touching and looked deeply into Hermione's dark mahogany eyes. Just as Hermione felt the urge to pull away Luna pulled away first and smiled.

"Sometimes when someone loves someone else so much it becomes too much. To feel such a strong feeling that you may not have felt before for another person, may have adverse effects on the person who does the loving." Luna sighed and smiled while patting Hermione's hand. "Now don't be so sad, snargles are very unlucky to have."

Hermione looked at Luna in wonderment. Luna had made actual sense…kinda, but still! Was that why Hermione had been so weird with Draco? Was it because she felt so much towards him that she didn't know what to do?

With so much to think about Hermione jumped in surprise when the match started.

"Welcome to the last Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match of the season! This is sure to be an exciting match for the players and the audience!" Hermione tuned out the announcer for the game. With all the time that she had spent with Draco she had learned a lot about the game and she knew what was going on.

Madame Hooch threw up the first ball while letting go of the snitch. The players broke into chaos. Ron stayed at the end of the field guarding the three rings while Ginny held onto the Quaffle while going to the Slytherins rings and throwing it in right past the other keepers ugly snout face. The Gryffindors cheered while the Slyherins booed. Hermione searched the flying students to find Draco. He was right below her in fact, but not for long as he caught sight of the snitch and zoomed across the field with Harry right on his tail.

"GO DRACO!" Hermione caught herself saying in the roaring crowd, thankfully only Luna heard and gave her a knowing spacey look.

Her attention was back on the Gryffindors as Ginny Scored another goal and the beaters knocked a Slytherin away who was trying to pull her off her broom. After a near miss the Slytherins got the ball while a bludger went right over Hermione's head, scaring the wits out of her. Making his way to the Gryffindors top ring Ron braced himself and smacked the ball away with the back of hid broom.

Twenty minutes into the game Gryffindor and Slytherin were tied. The tense atmosphere was beginning to be too much for some people who were hurling insults at the other teams and sometimes objects.

Hermione was once again watching Draco, he had found the snitch three of four times but couldn't quite catch up to it. Neither could Harry and it was obviously frustrating both of them. She was starting to get worried about her friends safety, the beaters were starting to get a little ruthless, more than usual, with their clubs. Ginny and Ron had both taken hits but seemed fine and Harry had almost got knocked off his broom.

Suddenly Harry shot up into the sky with Harry right behind him catching sight of the snitch. Hermione was relieved as Harry reached out for it, knowing that the game would soon end and she could talk to Draco and sort out whatever she had been feeling, and maybe even tell him what she felt.

But she caught sight of one of the Slytherin beaters looking up towards them while a bludger came into his arm length and Hermione gasped. With a great swing he belted the destructive mass towards two of her loved ones.

Harry and Draco weren't paying attention as they reached for the snitch and with sudden clarity Hermione realized right where the Bludger was headed and screamed in horror. "DRACO!"

The bludger hit him right on his temple and made him topple off his broom at least 100 feet in the air. Hermione felt her heart clench painfully and her stomach turn in on itself as she watched the man she loved fall to his death. She couldn't hear anything except her rushing blood but she was acutely aware that she was screaming.

Harry, forgetting about the Snitch started into a nose dive after his falling enemy and reached for him like he was the snitch. He grabbed Draco's arm, most likely dislocating his shoulder in the process, about 10 feet above the ground Harry was pulled from his broom by Draco's weight and fell with him.

Utter chaos filled the stadium and the field as the quidditch players landed and help was trying to be given to the two boys.

Hermione started fighting her way through the throng of people; elbowing and clawing her way down to the field, trying not to throw up from anxiety. All her mind kept telling her was that Draco was dead, no one could take a blow to the head and fall like that and survive. It just made her sicker as she felt tears fall down her cheeks as she sprinted across the emerald Quidditch field to Draco.

Both Harry and Draco were on magical stretchers being taken to the hospital wing and Hermione saw Ginny coming towards her but all she could see was Draco's pale face against the black stretcher and the horrible realization fell upon her and she started to run, run away from the stadium and the pain and Draco…he was dead.

Before she could get very far though a strong hand wrapped around her arm and she turned to see Ron looking pale and scared behind her.

"Let go of me Ron!" Hermione screeched and tried to pull away. "I have to go! I have to leave! He's gone! He's gone!" as she was yelling at him she started to sob and collapsed from exhaustion into his chest. "He's gone! He's gone!" she repeated over and over again.

"Hermione! Hermion!" Ron shouted and shook her trying to get her to snap out of her grief stricken trance. "Shut up for a moment! Draco and Harry are fine!"

Hermione gave all her attention to Ron. "Wh-what?" she sniffed.

Ron smiled. "They're alive Mione. They're a bit banged up but they're going to be okay, Harry caught Draco just in time and his head injury isn't that bad. Draco is alive."

The horrible feeling suddenly disappeared and Hermione hugged Ron fiercely. She couldn't even speak she was so relieved she felt exhausted like she had just faced a Hungarian Horntail. Draco was alive, hurt but not too badly, he was strong and he wouldn't die. She loved him and he was okay. After the initial relief she set off with Ron to the hospital wing with Ginny being picked up on the way.

When she got there Madam Pomfrey gave her a bit of trouble but she obviously saw how worried the girl was and allowed her to come in and see Draco for a moment, a moment was all Hermione needed to make sure that Draco was alive and well.

She looked down at his pale face and held the hand of his undamaged arm. She brought her lips down to kiss his fingers and feel his warm skin against her cheek. To make sure that he really was alive she pressed her ear gently to his chest and listened to his heart. The steady and loud beat assured her and she sat in the chair beside his bed.

Hermione didn't know what she would've done if Draco would have died. Probably die right along with him. She loved him so much and this incident just proved it. Tears fell down her cheeks at the realization but this time they were tears of happiness and determination. She would show Draco how much she loved and she would keep him for as long as she could. Safe and warm with her as long as they were happy.

Hermione took Draco's hand rubbed the top of it gently with her thumb. "I love you Draco Malfoy." she whispered with a smile.