?'s POV:

He edged ever closer to me, his hand splayed on my chest with the urgency the moment demanded. We had rushed in here breathlessly, following the same routine we always did, hurried kisses peppered over every bit of skin within reach and fingers tangled in hair. Despite having done this countless times, each desperate kiss snuck between classes or after curfew still managed to feel urgent and precious. But something was wrong this time.

He nibbled on my pulse point and I groaned, all cohesive thought eluding me. I could feel his lips smiling against my neck, the confident bastard was all too aware of his effect on me. In retribution, I reached down to squeeze his arse and erase that smugness, but before I could, we froze in unison at a foreign sound.

"Use protection you two!" shouted a voice from the doorway. "#RubberUpForDraco!" That words then dissolved into laughter, which faded quickly, yet we both remained still against each other, barely daring to breathe, both terrified of being caught. Our panicked heartbeats fell into sync, and I couldn't help but inhale his comforting scent, wrapping me up in a sense of warmth and safety even in this moment of fear.

Apparently, he felt the same, putting my lips to my ear once the danger had passed and whispering, "I missed this." He flicked my earlobe with his tongue. "I missed us." He bit the delicate skin at the edge of my jaw. "Merlin, I missed you," he groaned, in a tone so deliciously sinful it sent my blood rushing south. "It's been too long."

My heart felt as if it would beat out of my chest with a terrifying combination of lust and panic, but I let him continue to ravage my neck while I gathered my scattered thoughts. The last time we'd been together, he'd presented me with an impossible choice: going public with our relationship, or ending it.

I pondered it endlessly, tossing and turning my nights away, but there was no escaping the truth. We needed to stay a secret.

Regardless of my resolve to refuse him, simply the ever so familiar sight of the raven-haired boy in front of me in front of me with pink cheeks and eyes full of love was enough to tempt me to let go of all my worries. I suppose it doesn't matter that the school would tear me apart or that my mother would disown me. Yet the more I mulled over telling the world about us, because yes, it would be the world, (with him, it was always the whole damned world) the more I ached to keep him my own delicious secret. If we were to share what we'd been doing in dark corners between classes and on Conjoured couches in the dead of night for months now, our perfect little bubble would be burst by jealous girlfriends and traditionalist parents. No. Better we stay in the shadows, where we could be left alone. Where it was safe.

If only he wasn't so set on bringing my darkness into his light.

Finally slowing enough to tear his attention away from tonguing every inch of my neck, he grinned crookedly at me. I smiled weakly in response. "So," he said, eyes shining hopefully, "have you given my question any thought?"

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. He couldn't even imagine that I wouldn't want to take this step yet, or even at all. Merlin, this is going to break his heart. I tried to swallow again, swiping my tongue across my lips and finding them worryingly dry. I could only hope that he would forgive me quickly. He was bound to. Though we'd fought plenty of times, often bringing about extended periods of silence between us that always culminated in fantastic make-up sex, we always came back to each other, even though our worst fights. This would be a big one, but I was confident that we'd get through it.

I took a deep breath. "No matter what, it simply isn't prudent to tell everyone about us. The repercussions are unimaginable. So my answer is no."

He stumbled back as if the word had physically shoved him, his joy vanishing in favour of confusion and betrayal. "No?"

I rushed to defend myself, my hands pressed against his chest with desperation I didn't even know I had in me. I can't lose him. I can't.

"I love you, you know I do, but I'm not ready to take that leap. I might never be."

Panicked and furious, he shoved my hands off him. "Never? Never? You can't possibly claim to love me yet continue to confine me—us—to the shadows indefinitely! I'm not your damn dirty secret!"

I shook my head vigorously, no longer quite sure what was even happening. "Of course you're not! I love you more than I can even put into words, but I just- I just can't!"

His face was stone now, and his voice steel. "Can't what? Force me to lie to everyone I love? Relegate us to hiding? Or was it something else? 'Cause you've sure as hell done all of those!"

I looked away, tears welling up in my eyes. "And I'm sorry! But you had to know this wasn't going to be easy!"

"I did! But I was wrong when I thought the hardest part was going to be the reactions to the damned Boy Who Lived being bent, not coming out in the first place can't understand how much lying to the people I love is tearing me apart!"

"Please Harry! We can figure this out!"

Harry recoiled. "No, we can't." He stepped away from me. "We're done." Then he turned on his heel and stalked away, too fast to see me crumple to the ground in a hopeless heap.

Hermione's POV:

"Sneak out?" she repeated, incredulous.

"Yeah! C'mon, it'll be fun." Draco began to trail his hands up and down my waist, leaving a delicious trail of want in their wake. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Just you, me, and the stars."

"I don't know...what if we get caught."

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Really? You and your Gryffindor friends have broken every rule in existence, including the damn laws of death. Now you get cold feet?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. But if—when—we get caught, you're taking all the blame."

Draco grinned, that debonair smile that only ever seemed to lead to the best kind of trouble. "Anything, darling."

***

It was a windy night, a harsh reminder that winter was just around the corner, but the stars were bright, and a potent combination of warming charms and Draco's lips on mine kept the cold at bay. Our hands intertwined, we set off towards the lake at an ambling pace. When we reached the shore, he shrugged off his robes and lay them on the ground as a makeshift blanket.

I chuckled. "How chivalrous."

He swept into a low bow, offering me a hand as if I'd need help reaching the ground. "Milady."

A snort escaped me as I took a seat (on my own, thank you very much). "Oh, kiss my arse."

Sitting down beside me and slightly behind, his broad chest against my back and right side, a single hand settled on my thigh, he grinned broadly. "Gladly."

I looked over my shoulder at him, my tongue already forming a scathing retort, when I found myself trapped in the silver of his eyes, in the beauty of their mercury glint in the moonlight.

Draco paused in his teasing, the playful expression sliding off his face only to be replaced with a velvety passion. "Cat got your tongue?" His voice came out deeper, like he wished he was the cat in question.

"N-no, I just..." I glanced away and trailed off, overwhelmed by the intensity of his expression. "You're much easier to get along with than I thought you'd be."

He cleared his throat, clearly not expecting such a frank response. "Well, it's easy to be nice to the people I care about." A pink flush dusted the tops of his cheeks.

"You're blushing!" I declared, a grin sliding onto my lips, all too happy to let the serious moment go.

"Wha-Shut up, you're blushing!" He muttered, ducking his face into the back of my shoulder.

"Oh wow," I scoffed, "a comeback on par with 'your mum,' I'm amazed."

He groaned. "If you don't stop I'll tell everyone your little secret."

"What secret?" I queried, eyebrows raised.

"I'll tell everyone you fancy me."

"Please," I snorted, "If anything, you fancy me."

Our laughter died rather suddenly, the gravity of the moment returning swiftly as he smiled softly at me, sending flutters through my heart. "Well, yeah. I guess I do."

It was my turn to duck my head, hiding behind my hair. "I guess I do too, now that I think about it."

"Of course you do," he shot back, soft smile widening to a full-on smirk. I didn't reply, just leaning back into him, basking in the truth of that statement. "You know," he whispered, "I'm not really used to being like this with anyone."

"Hmm," I hummed, as he leaned back so we were lying on the ground, I propped up on his chest. "Like what?"

"Dunno." I could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath. I could hear his heart pounding. Maybe he could hear mine. Merlin, I hoped not. My pulse was racing with an excitement that seemed a touch out of place. "Pansy and I never...did anything this intimate."

"This is intimate?"

"Well, yeah. Just in a different way."

"Oh."

He coughed awkwardly, then changed the subject. "Did you and Weasly ever..."

"Well sure, at the...beginning we did stuff like this but then he just...changed. I don't know when it happened, but suddenly he was a stranger."

He sighed deeply. "I'm not much better. I...like you, but I'm not good at...this stuff. For Merlin's sake, I used to deal with my feelings by insulting you."

"Then I guess we'll have to figure it out together," I said, filled with resolve.

Draco laughed, then nudged me up to stand. "C'mon, it's getting late."

I sighed, "I guess we should get going. But tonight was great." I smiled at him.

"I know what would make it better," he said, a glint in his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Spend the night with me in the secret room?" Draco asked, eyes hopeful.

***

Thanks for reading !! There's nothing I love more than reading the comments<3

Please voteeee and comment. I follow back and my instagram is ' Miacaseyxx '

This chapter has been in the works for a super long time, Mia and I probably spent hours deciding the details of the "big reveal" about Harry. I hope you guys liked it! Any guesses on who the mysterious guy is?