Changes of the Heart

Suddenly, Hermione's eyes snapped open and grew wide with panic. She was about to kiss Malfoy! Pushing herself away from him, Hermione ran out of the club, not even remembering to retrieve her coat in her rush.

She had to get away. How could she have been about to kiss Malfoy? He was Malfoy! He hated her. She hated him. That's the way it had always been, and how it would always be. So what had just happened back there? Hermione quickened her pace, too consumed by her own thoughts to realize that she was being followed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took Draco a few seconds to register what had just taken place. He had been dancing with Granger, and liking it, much to his shock. Then he had went to kiss her, for reasons he couldn't quite remember at the moment. And then she ran off.

'Yeah, she ran off. Now go after her.' The inner voice urged.

Nodding to himself, Draco exited the club in pursuit of Hermione. Why did he care so much? He couldn't stand her. She was just Granger, annoying always-right Granger.

'You just keep telling yourself that.'

'Do you ever shut up?' Draco asked himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione heard somebody behind her and she turned around to see Malfoy running to catch up with her. When he reached her they just walked in silence, both unsure of how to communicate with the other.

Finally Hermione couldn't stand the silence. "Why did you try to kiss me?

"It wasn't all me." He pointed out. "You were going to kiss me too."

"I most certainly was not!" she cried indignantly.

Draco rolled his eyes at her denial and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, and I suppose you weren't blatantly flirting with me either?"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" she cried out in frustration.

"I just...It's...I mean...Fine, Granger. I'm gone." Draco picked up his pace, and this time it was Hermione who was left alone on the nearly empty street.

Hermione felt slightly guilty for yelling at him. He had been telling the truth. She had been flirting with him and out on the dance floor that almost kiss was as much her fault as his, but that was the problem. He was Draco Malfoy, and no matter how nice he was being or how good it felt to be held in his arms he was still the same Draco. One night couldn't excuse years of hatred, could it?

'Well, you'll never know if you keep pushing him away.' Nodding to herself Hermione went to find Draco, hoping that he hadn't gone too far.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco plopped down on a bench in the park in front of Hermione's apartment building. Women. Why did they always have to be irrational? Especially this one. She had snapped at him for nothing at all. Was it his fault that she had been throwing obvious signals in his direction. No, no it was not. But he still got blamed for it.

Of course he got blamed for it. She was the perfect Hermione Granger and he was Draco Malfoy, the King of Slytherin. If he'd told anyone that she had come on to him they would never believe him. But he would never tell anyone. Draco would forget about everything that he had felt when he was near her and move on.

Not like there was anything to move on from anyway. Sure he may have felt a slight bit of something out on the dance floor but it had been nothing. Probably just caught up in the moment. Granger was attractive. Any guy would have done the same in his situation.

The voice inside him scoffed and Draco ignored it. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, rubbing his temples to try to relieve the headache that was threatening to surface. When he opened his eyes again Hermione was standing before him.

"What do you want, Granger?" he was not up for another fight with her at the moment.

"I...I..." Hermione couldn't seem to say it and Draco couldn't help but notice how nervous she looked.

"Come on, Granger. Spit it out. I haven't got all night." He said, slightly amused at her sudden loss of confidence.

Hermione snapped her mouth shut at his obvious amusement and glared. Why had she even went looking for him? He hadn't changed at all.

Draco became aware of the fact that he had angered her and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. What did you want to say?"

"IwantedtosayI'msorry." She said in one quick breath. Not daring to look at him, Hermione kept her eye's trained on the tips of her boots.

"I beg pardon, Granger, but I didn't understand a word you just said."

"I said I'm sorry! Are you happy now!" she yelled in frustration at having to repeat herself.

Draco smirked. "Yes, very much so. Especially since I heard you the first time."

"You insufferable -" Hermione stopped mid-sentence. Why was she rising to his bait? Sitting beside him on the bench, Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "Why did you follow me, anyway?"

Now it was Draco's turn to be nervous. He couldn't just tell her the truth, could he? It would make him seem soft. To be concerned about her. Malfoy didn't care about anybody but themselves. It would completely ruin his reputation if she went telling Potty and Weasel that he, Draco Malfoy, had be worried about her.

Draco had made up his mind to lie, but when he looked at her he found himself looking into a pair of soft brown eyes. Dammit! He couldn't lie to her. What the hell was wrong with him?

"I just...It's...I mean...It's not safe for a girl to be walking the streets by herself." He stuttered, embarrassed that he actually admitted he cared.

Hermione stared at him, surprised by his concern. "And so you've taken it upon yourself to be my personal escort?"

Draco gave a quick nod, not looking at her as he did so. The way she was looking at him was making him increasingly more uncomfortable by the second. That was exactly why he never did anything nice. Everyone just looked on in shock, as if it were impossible for him to be decent because he was a Malfoy. His eyes reverted back to his lap, not wanting to make eye contact.

"And you think it's safe for me to be with you?" Hermione asked, breaking the long silence that had stretched between them.

Draco's head shot up to look at her just then, ready to reply with a devastatingly insulting comeback. But when he looked into her eyes he saw nothing but laughter and teasing. He grinned back at her. "Well, depends on what you consider safe."

She considered it for a minute then laughed. "I guess so."

That sat there in silence, but it was no longer awkward. It was a comfortable silence. A silence that was broken after a few minutes by the rumbling of Draco's stomach. Hermione laughed and Draco scowled at her, but only a few seconds later her laughter was interrupted by a growl from her own stomach.

Draco smirked then grabbed her hand and pulled her up off the bench. "Let's go eat, shall we?"

Hermione nodded but she didn't extract her hand from his. Instead she let him lead her across the street to what she realized was her own apartment building.

Hermione's face twisted in confusion as they walked through the door. "I thought we were getting something to eat?"

"We are."

"But there isn't any food at my place."

Draco guided her up a flight of stairs. "Then it's a good thing we are going to my place, isn't it?"

"You live in this building?"

"No, I rent a place here but just use it to take beautiful young women there to have my way with them."

He felt her suddenly stop and stiffen. Draco looked at Hermione, who looked a little more than slightly alarmed. Shaking his head he chuckled at her. "Merlin, Granger. It was a joke. I'm not going to attack you or anything." she still looked slightly skeptical. "I've behaved myself tonight, haven't I? I'm not so desperate that I would do anything without the other person being completely willing."

Relaxing a little bit and feeling completely embarrassed, Hermione nodded and Draco beamed at her. He squeezed he hand gently and continued up another flight of stairs.