Warm lips moved over hers, at first fierce and demanding, then the kiss softened. She stared up at Malfoy in shock. She felt his hand that once held hers captive slid down to cradle the side of her face and play with her hair. Her eyes slid closed and she relaxed to his uncharacteristic touch meeting his lips gently, her own hands running down the side of his face.

When oxygen became a dire need the two broke apart. Hermione was mildly pleased to see that she was not the only one in shock. Gasping she rolled to her side and out of his grasp. Fumbling for her feet she dashed to the door, slamming it and running down the stairs. Once outside she leaned up against the house and caught her breath. Her hands absent mindedly running across her tingling lips. 'What the…?'

Draco sat on his bed, running a hand through his hair, he stared down at his other hand and noticed it was shaking. He was shaking from kissing Hermione Granger? Draco felt a surge of anger at himself. 'What in Merlin's beard was I thinking? I can't… I kissed…' He couldn't deny the rush the flowed through him when he though of her lips moving against his. He shook his head and tried to continue his nap, as fretful as it was.

Hermione came back in the backdoor and listened closely. There was no noise coming from Malfoy's room. In a flurry she grabbed her cloak and ran back out the door. She walked into the forest until she reached what looked like a glass dome that became more pronounced the closer she got. When she was close enough, Hermione licked her finger and ran it along the barrier and stepped through. Bracing herself she said, "Hogwarts." as the world began to spin.

The large oak doors loomed over her as she regained her sense of balance, pushing her cloak a little off her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside. The entrance hall was empty, but footsteps could be heard coming closer. Hermione steeled herself and turned to face who came through the Great Hall. All she caught was a flash of inky jet black hair before she was tackled.

"'Mione!"

"Hello Harry," Hermione gasped. "I take it you're happy to see me?"

Harry's grip around her waist only became that much more restricting. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean it I swear. Please tell me you're back for good."

Hermione fought down the blush that spread across her cheeks and put her hands gently on his shoulders, "Harry, I can barely breathe."

"Oh!" Harry put her feet on the ground taking a step back but still holding her hand in his own. "'Mione, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have said all that before."

Hermione didn't bother to fight the grin that spread across her face as she wrapper her arms around her friends neck. It felt like something clicked into place, like everything was going to be alright as long as she had Harry and Ron behind her. Sniffling she pulled away from him, "It's alright."

Harry smiled down at her, the jade in his eyes sparkling. "So, what brings you to Hogwarts?"

Reality came crashing back down on Hermione like a ton of bricks and she raised her fingers to her lips. "I came because I needed to talk to Dumbledore."

Harry's face fell a little in disappointment as the turned and headed up the stairs. "So you're not back for good?"

"I'm afraid not. I can't leave Malfoy alone for long though. Who knows what he'll get into. I just… I'm sorry Harry. It's not like I want to stay around him, but I was given an order and now that I look back on it… Dumbledore was right. If I can turn Malfoy towards our side… He would be an impressive ally," Hermione said.

They reached the gargoyle and Hermione turned towards Harry. "I have to talk to him alone."

Harry nodded and brushed his lips against her cheek. "I understand. Don't be a stranger though, ok?"

Hermione nodded, watching him walk off down the corridors. Her heart was lighter than it had been since this whole fiasco started. With a little more of a bounce in her step she scaled the stairs and into Dumbledore's office. Knocking against the door she listened quietly.

"Enter."

Hermione stepped through and graced her age old professor with a smile, "I needed to speak with you."

"One would imagine, since your presence here would otherwise be very questionable. What can I do for you today Miss Granger?" Dumbledore said, staring at her over his half moon spectacles.

"It's about… It's about Draco, sir. He… I… We kissed. I didn't mean to, it just happened and I feel horribly about it and… What?" Hermione asked noticing the smile creeping across the professor's face.

"Clearly this is a matter for you and Mister Malfoy to be discussing."

Hermione's jaw hit the floor, "I can't talk to him about that!"

"On the contrary, you are speaking to me. What makes it so difficult to speak to him? Simply two men differing greatly in age, one you have kissed and one you have not. Honestly Miss Granger, you are the brightest witch of your age. Clearly you could have seen this for yourself." Dumbledore leaned forward on his elbows, entwining his fingers. Hermione noticed with a flare of anger that the twinkle hadn't gone away.

Crossing her arms, Hermione just glared.

"Also it is not wise to leave Mr. Malfoy to his own devices for very long. So that being said, I think you should be off now.' Dumbledore brought his hands together and clapped.

The next thing that met Hermione's eyes was the backdoor of the cabin. Throwing her arms up in frustration she stalked through the backdoor, slammed the door and threw herself on the couch. Draco simply lifted an eyebrow at the very un-Hermione-ish behavior from the kitchen. "Knickers in a twist Granger?"

Hermione turned to face him, she hadn't noticed him there in her anger. She simply glared at him and then turned to face the fireplace again. 'Stupid Malfoy with his stupid lips. Of course my knickers are in a twist and it's his bloody fault! He knows it too that git.'

"Fine, I try to be civil and you can do nothing more than act like a mute with the maturity of a third year." Malfoy said.

"You're lecturing me about maturity?" Hermione snorted. "And to think you came in right below me when they posted grades. Maturity Malfoy? You kissed me! Why did you do that? What on this earth possessed you to think that you could just do that?"

"Sod off Granger, you kissed me back. So yes, I am lecturing you about maturity," Draco said, taking a sip of the tea he had been previously making.

"You still haven't answered my question," Hermione said, standing and walking towards him.

Draco glanced her way. "I don't intend to."

"You had bloody well better," Hermione hissed, catching his eyes and glaring for all she was worth. She tried her best to ignore the rush of anticipation she felt when he put his cup down and turned, moving towards her slowly.

'What in the bloody hell am I doing? I am not going to… That's it, I'll make Granger fall all googly eyed for me, then when she doesn't suspect it. I'll grab her wand and I'll leave. That's why I'm going to kiss her again, not because I want to … never because I want to.' Draco leaned towards her pushing her slightly back against the kitchen table, his hand shooting out and grabbing the back of her neck.

Hermione felt the pressure from his hand and fought it all she was worth, "Don't you dare!"

Draco smiled, "Then stop me."

Next thing she knew his lips were on top of hers and his hand was at the small of her back. What she would never admit was that she was kissing him back, that one of her hands was wrapped around his bicep and the other on the side of his face.

And that her wand was in the pocket of her jeans… And she could have stopped him.

And she would never admit she didn't.