Dramione

1* Rendezvous

Draco Malfoy scowled a little deeper than usual that morning as he watched Harry Potter and Hermione Granger walk down the corridor together. Next to him, Crabbe and Goyle assumed it was because he hated the scrawny boy and the mudblood. They would never guess that he was jealous of the boy who lived. He just couldn't understand what Granger saw in that prat. Or the Weasley boy for that matter. He readjusted his robes, and continued on to Charms class.

Later that evening, Draco snuck behind a tapestry on the second floor. Only a handful of students knew about this passageway, and it only led up to gryffindor tower. Half way through the passage, he stopped abruptly, and turned left. There was a small inlet there, hidden by a dusty curtain no doubt hung by students that desired more privacy. The inlet was, perhaps, sometimes a doorway. At the moment it was a mere arch leading nowhere. He set his bag down and leaned against the wall facing away from gryffindor dormitories.

Minutes later, Hermione Granger ripped the curtain aside and slid into the archway, a little out of breath, her frizzy hair askew. "Sorry." She whispered."Was running late from my Arithmancy class. Had a question."

Draco smiled. "Of course you did." She dropped her bag and hugged him. They almost never got to see each other these days, what with N.E.W.T.'s next year, and Hermione was glad for the occasional opportunity to simply be held in the arms of her boyfriend. She loved the smell of his cologne, even though it had worn off somewhat during the day.

Draco tightened his arms around her. He wasn't sure when he would get the chance to hold her like this again. He always thought it was close to the last time. When they released each other, Draco's mind cleared, and he remembered what he had seen that morning. "What are you doing with Potter these days?" He asked, trying to keep the sneer out of his voice.

After quickly casting muffliato over the curtain, Hermione backed up to the opposite wall a couple feet away. "Don't. Don't get jealous. I've told you, there's nothing going on between Harry and me!"

Draco rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. She never listened to a word he said about that annoying little twerp. Just because he was the chosen one, he had girls fawning over him ever since he got to Hogwarts.

"You should lighten up on him a little bit Malfoy." She said quietly. "He's been under a lot of pressure from Dumbledore and--"

Draco scoffed. "He's been under pressure? He has no idea what it's like to have parents who push and push for their impossible expectations to be met, parents who ask you to--" He bit his lip, afraid to say more. He couldn't tell her what he had been asked to do. He couldn't bring her into it at all. It was too dangerous. He had no way of telling what his parents might do to a mudblood who was against the Dark Lord's cause. He averted his gaze, staring at the hem of the curtain.

Hermione stepped closer. "Don't frown like that." She laid a soft hand on his sallow cheek.

Draco turned his face into her palm and kissed it. Then he put a hand around her waist and drew her into him for a kiss. He pushed into her until she was against the opposite wall, his hands on either side of her head. Her hands gripped his hair, pulling him closer.

They stopped to breath, neither moving away. Eyes closed, they breathed in each other's scent. They lived in that moment, making a memory of this time they could spend together. Hermione felt like her chest was bursting. Draco, like his heart was breaking. Every second he spent with her was a small reminder of what could never be. He could never be with her forever. He could never be more than a secret boyfriend. He kissed her again, trying to forget the bitterness that she brought him. It was his own fault, he knew. She hadn't thought of him as anything special, until the Yule ball.