The Dark Side (A Dramione Story)

Chapter 19

She leapt to her feet, eyes wide and her breath caught in her throat.

"Draco, I'm sorry. I don't know how it happened, I shouldn't have let it, I'm so sorry."

While she apologised over and over, working herself into such a state that Ron wasn't the only one who looked like they were going insane, Draco moved towards them with a concerned expression.

"Hermione, stop." Her voice died in her throat when she heard his, somehow immediately calmer. "What are you sorry about?"

His question shocked her. Why was she sorry for kissing Ron? It wasn't as though there was anything going on between her and Draco.

But somehow she couldn't quite convince herself that that was true.

"Do you need some help taking him back to his dormitories?" Draco asked after a few seconds of Hermione gaping at him, seemingly in deep thought.

At that moment, Ron leaned forward and barfed all over the oriental Persian rug that laid beneath him, breaking Hermione's trance. He then sat with his head in his hands and groaned.

"Or perhaps the infirmary?" Draco smiled.

She thanked him and they each placed one of Ron's arms around their shoulders, hoisting him up.

As they slowly made their way to the infirmary, Ron continued to moan loudly, causing subjects in portraits lining the hallways to exclaim in annoyance and chide them for being out so late.

"Don't worry Ron, Pomfrey will have something that will make you feel better."

He laughed humourlessly and muttered, "nothing Pomfrey can give me will make me feel better, and you know it."

His words burned her again, and she dropped her eyes to the floor so Draco couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes. They carried on in silence from then on.

To say the least, Pomfrey wasn't impressed to see Ron in the state he was in. After Draco and Hermione helped him into a bed, the nurse stomped around muttering something about irresponsible delinquents always taking advantage of her and interrupting her sleep.

"And you two," she barked suddenly, "get out of here, shoo. It's late and you have classes to get to tomorrow."

They nodded and apologised for troubling her before heading back to their common room. Before they were even halfway there, however, Hermione suddenly stopped and covered her face with her hands.

"Are you okay?" Draco murmured softly. She couldn't answer, she felt a sob rising in her throat and knew that if she spoke, she'd be a mess. "Hey, you know it's not your fault."

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat before she answered. "Of course it is, I broke him. He's miserable and it's all my fault."

"It doesn't matter how much love a person has for another, they can't force them to love them back in the same way. Unrequited love, it's the oldest tale there is. Most people experience it, he'll move on, I promise." She kept her eyes lowered, unconvinved. One of his hands took hers and the other wiped a tear from her cheek and then rested below her chin, gently pulling upwards so that she had to look into his eyes. "Please Hermione, know that it's not your fault."

She couldn't speak, so she just gazed up at him as her eyes dried.

"I know I have no right to say this, but when Ron kissed you I..." He broke off, cheeks turning slightly scarlet in embarrassment.

"You what?"

"I wished I was the one kissing you."

She breathed in quickly, and before she knew it her hand was entwined in his hair and she was lifting onto her tiptoes to bring her face closer to his. She closed her eyes and felt his lips tenderly rest on hers. Their lips moved in sequence, first slowly and then faster as the kiss became more and more passionate. He placed one hand on the small of her back and gently pressed her against the wall, the length of his body pressing against her and fitting perfectly into her curves, as though they had been designed to fit together.

He eventually pulled away, leaving her leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. He rested his forehead on hers and she wrapped her hands around his neck, feeling more at home in his embrace than she ever had. 'That's how it's supposed to feel,' she thought. Kissing Ron that night had felt wrong in so many ways, but being with Draco made her feel as though she was finally where she was supposed to be.

They walked back slowly, not rushing to go back to sleep even though it was the early hours of the morning and, like Pomfrey had said, they had classes that day. In that moment, nothing seemed more important than being in each others' company. Hurrying back would have been futile anyway, as when they finally got back to their common room and parted ways to go into their respective bedrooms, Hermione lay awake for the rest of the morning. She touched her hand to her face where Draco's had been, wanting nothing more than for him to put it there again.