Song(s) for the chapter:

1. never forget you~ Zara Larsson.

2. I think I'm in love~ Kat dahlia.

Draco POV:

The instant I pushed Hermione out of the room, I regretted it. I itched to have my arms around her once more, to have my lips on hers, to feel her heartbeat quicken against my chest.

I wanted to run out into the corridor, witnesses be damned, and kiss her so passionately she would melt. To carry her back into the secret room and begin our lessons in full. To do anything but sit here without her.

But I did none of those things. Instead, as if in a trance, I entered the bedroom and opened the dark oak door into the adjacent washroom.

I splashed some cold water on my warm face and looked into the mirror, my hands clutching the sides of the basin.

My platinum blonde hair was disheveled, and my cheeks were flushed a brilliant pink. My gray eyes, normally calm, were a swirling storm of silver hues.

"What the hell Draco?" I sighed to myself.

I had been with dozens of girls, in far more intimate ways, but none had ever affected me this way. Nothing compared to the way that Hermione's touch made my heart race.

I sighed once again and flopped backward onto the bed. "What the hell Draco?" What was I going to do? Hermione's heart belonged to someone else, her loyalties lied with Potter and the weasel, and don't even get me started on my family. Wait wait. Why would my family matter?

These lessons were supposed to be fun for me, a mere game, but that all changed after that tender kiss.

Oh that kiss.

I was supposed to pull back teasingly, make fun of her inexperience, compare myself to the weasel, anything.

But I didn't do any of those things because I was so afraid.

Afraid of how much I wanted her, how much I needed her.

So I sent her away. And now look at me. I was a mess because of her, yet I couldn't bear to stay away.

...Shit.

Hermione POV:

"You weren't in the library," Ginny said suspiciously as I sat down beside her at dinner.

"What?" I asked, not expecting the question. "Yes, I was."

"No, you weren't. I got in a big fight with Ron and went to find you, and the library was empty," she shot back.

"Uh," I splutter, trying to buy time. "Um, I did go, but I left early to go for a walk." I lie

"Where?" she asks, dead set on catching me in a lie.

"Around the grounds," I say, quickly.

"With who?" She asks, her smirk growing.

"Me, myself and I, okay?" I say, and she laughs.

"Suuuuuuure. I'll drop it for now, but you can't lie to me forever," she says, emphasizing the now.

"How's Harry?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, maybe you should ask him yourself, instead of avoiding him because of Ron." She says and I immediately feel guilty.

"I'm not avoiding him." I lie.

"Oh really? Then I guess you wouldn't mind talking to him right now," she says, pointing across the Great Hall at Harry.

He looked rather down, walking with his shoulders hunched and eyes downcast, but he brightened up when he saw Ginny and I.

"Hey, Harry!" I said as he sat down.

"Hey, Hermione. How are you? I feel like we haven't spoken in ages." He said, and the guilt comes flooding back.

I blush. "I'm sorry I haven't been speaking to you. It's just difficult right now, with Ron and all that," I say, feeling bad for my pathetic excuse.

"It's fine, I understand." He replies with a warm smile.

"Where's Ronald anyways?" I ask bitterly.

"Oh, he's, uh...with her," He says nervously, and my blood starts to boil.

"Oh," I say, the small word barely containing the tumultuous emotions beneath the surface. Ginny slaps Harry, lightly on the arm.

"Let's just not talk about him when she's happy," Ginny says to Harry.

"I'm right here," I complain, and their heads snap around to me.

"Oh right. Sorry." She says.

"Ugh, let's just eat," I say, irritated. I dig into my dinner, and the couple watches their every word. Fuck you, Ronald.

Towards the end of desert, I hear Ginny sigh with irritation.

"Ugh, who does he think he is?" Ginny snaps.

I follow her gaze to the Slytherin table, where Malfoy is teasing some fourth year.

His hair is neat once more, and I can't help but think about how much nicer it looked with my fingers tangled in it.

For some reason, I couldn't pull my eyes off of his pale pink lips. I kissed those lips. I shook my head to clear it and refocused on my dessert.

"Nothing new." I said, sighing unhappily.

Ginny rolled her eyes and returned to her conversation with Harry, mercifully not noticing the way my eyes had lingered on Draco.

But that's when the snitch hit the fan.

Draco stood and made to exit the hall, meaning that he would have to pass by me.

I caught his eye and shook my head slightly, silently signaling that he should ignore me. He nodded somberly, and I breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.

As he passed by me, he gently tugged on a loose lock of my hair, and Harry, Ginny and I all turned to stare at him, for different reasons, of course.

"Hey, Granger." Malfoy said, and threw me a flirtatious wink.

He smirked and continued out of the hall. Of course, he did that on purpose, to embarrass me in front of my friends. Damn you Draco Malfoy; I cursed him silently.

"What was that!?" Ginny roars, her head turning from me to Malfoy like a dog watching a tennis match.

"Nothing," I mumble at my plate, suddenly not hungry anymore, and Ginny smirks.

"It was definitely not 'nothing' Hermione. The sexual tension between the two of you is palpable!" She says, and my jaw literally hits the floor.

"WHAT?!" Harry shouts. I mutter a much more subdued "Goddamn you Ginny and your freaking instincts," which Harry luckily drowns out.

"Jeez, I was kidding, but I know it wasn't nothing." She says, with a wink towards me.

"Shut up." I say, basically confirming her theory.

She sits there smirking triumphantly, while Harry proceeds to interrogate me to no avail.

Draco POV:

The moment I am out of the Great Hall, I slump against the wall outside the doors and throw my arm over my eyes. What. Was. That. I had walked into dinner resolved to stay away from her, to cut off all contact and put and end to these "lessons." But instead, I shamelessly flirted with her in front of one of my enemies.

Around Hermione, all my logic, training, and composure flew out the window. I knew that it would make her blush and smile, so without thinking, I did it. What was she doing to me? I had to put an end to these lessons.

Hermione's POV:

After staying up far too late working on my Potions essay, (12 inches in 3 days? Easy!) I stumbled into the girl's dorms mid-yawn and changed into my nightclothes rapidly, very much ready to sleep. But unfortunately, sleep was not in my near future.

I had only been in bed for a few minutes before the covers were ripped off me in a smooth yet violent motion. I gasped and began to reach for my wand before I noticed who my visitor was.

"Merlin's beard, Ginny. You gave me a fright! What are you doing?"

"What's going on between you and Malfoy?!" Ginny shouts, unconscious or uncaring of the late hour.

"What?" I ask in a tired voice.

"What is going on between YOU and DRACO MALFOY!" She shouts.

"Nothing!" I splutter, suddenly alert. "Why would you even think that?"

"Well, that's not what he said when I tracked him down after dinner." She says with a triumphant smirk. "Ready to talk?"