Love Doesn't Lie (A Dramione Love Story)

Chapter 21

Draco pressed his lips against Hermione's, startling her, but she quickly managed to gather herself again and kissed him back. She hadn't thought Draco would kiss her, ever, and if you would've told her younger self that she'd be kissing Draco Malfoy in the near future, she'd have laughed. Warmth spread through her body and butterflies tickled the insides of her stomach. Draco's hand felt hot against her cheek and she had to pull away after a moment to catch her breath.
'Do you believe me now?' Draco asked huskily, gazing into her brown eyes.
Hermione was speechless as she stared at him. She couldn't help but think about the girls he might've slept with and done the same thing with. What if this was all but a game to him? A bet he had made with one of his friends? She didn't know why this crossed her mind right that moment, but it did and it made her take a step away from him.
'I- I have to go.' Hermione said, hastily turning around and running out of the common room, leaving a startled and confused Draco behind. She ran down the stairs, through the corridors and out of the castle into the snow. The cold wind blew against her face, making a shiver run down her spine, but she didn't stop and continued running down the path towards the Black Lake. She had to be alone, she had to gather her thoughts. It was Draco Malfoy she had started to like. How could she have fallen for him? After everything that had happened in the past. She knew he had been notorious for hooking up with girls in the past. She wasn't up for a broken heart. She had wanted a drama-free year and then she happened to fall for the school's bad boy. She heard footsteps behind her, slowly coming to a stop. 'Hermione.' she heard Draco say, slightly out of breath from chasing her.
'Go away.' she told him, not turning to face him.
'Hermione-'
'Just go away.' Hermione said sternly.
'I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you like this.' Draco told her as he took a step closer.
'Leave me alone.' Hermione said, only to feel Draco's hand on her shoulder a moment later.
'No.'
Draco stepped around her and looked at her, but Hermione quickly looked away. Something in the back of her head told her she wanted him to stay, but why? What if this was all but a game to him? He never liked her, he always bullied her and her friends. Making their lives as difficult as possible at Hogwarts, why would he want her now? She knew he had changed, but can someone change so much? She felt like it was highly unlikely for him to fall for her. And somehow she couldn't believe Luna and Ginny. She'd never seen him look at her in some loved-up-puppy kind of way. How could she be sure they weren't just making it up?
'Why did you run away?' Draco asked quietly, his hand still on her shoulder.
'Can I ask you something?' Hermione asked, looking up at him. Draco slowly nodded, searching her face for answers. 'Is this some kind of game to you? Play with someone's head and eventually, when you've had enough of them, throw them away like they're garbage?'
'What?' Draco asked confused. 'What are you talking about?'
'I heard the stories, Draco. I heard about those girls you hooked up with. How can you make someone fall in love with you and then break their hearts? I'm not up for being a piece in your game. I don't want to get my heart broken.'
'I honestly have no idea what you're talking about Hermione.' Draco said, furrowing his eyebrows. 'Wait, did you say fall in love-'
'You know what, never mind.' Hermione said, turning around and wanting to walk away, but Draco quickly grabbed her wrist.
'No, no wait!' Draco said. 'Have you fallen in love with me?'
Hermione looked up and narrowed her eyes. She had no idea how to answer this question, because had she fallen in love with him? 'Uhm.'
'Hermione, I would never break your heart. How could I break the heart of someone I've fallen in love with?' he asked.
'What?' Hermione asked startled.
'I've fallen in love with you, Mione.' Draco said.
'You have?' she asked carefully.
Draco nodded, a grin plastered on his face. 'I didn't know what to do. Hell, I didn't even know if you liked me the way I liked you. I thought you only wanted to be friends, because you said that so often.'
'I just said it because I thought that's what you wanted.'
'Obviously, I didn't.' Draco chuckled. 'I didn't know what to do, you were mad at me and you didn't want to talk.'
'Draco.' Hermione said.
'You just stayed in your room all day and you didn't want to let me in. I was starting to get quite desperate to be completely honest with you.' Draco went on. 'And then I fell into your room and you were laughing and,'
'Draco.' Hermione tried again.
'I heard slight concern in your voice, I thought that this could be my only chance to show you that I liked you, so I went for it and kissed you, but then you ran away and-' Draco continued, only to be interrupted by Hermione, who pressed her lips against his.
'I'm sorry, you literally didn't want to shut up.' she said, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. Draco looked down at her and grinned before wrapping his arm around her and pressing her closer to him. Their lips met again and the butterflies seemed to go crazy in both of their stomachs. The moon shone brightly, lightening up the night sky above them, accompanied by many stars. They pulled away from each other and a sigh of relief left both of their lips. Draco stepped back and pulled his cloak off before placing it over Hermione's shoulders. 'What are you doing? You'll be cold-'
'I won't be.' Draco told her. 'Let's just head back inside, okay?'
Hermione nodded and they both started to walk back down the path towards the castle. They walked up the stairs in a comfortable silence and told Snape the password, who stared at them with a knowing look on his face before the portrait swung open and they could step inside. They sat down on the couch. Draco grabbed the blanket from the side of it and draped it over Hermione's shoulders before sitting down next to her.
'Don't you want it?' she asked, looking up at him.
'No, you ran out of the castle without a cloak, you need it more than I do.' Draco told her. Hermione stared at him for a moment longer before scooting closer to him and pulling the blanket off her shoulders to drape it over the both of them. She leaned her head against his shoulder and curled up next to him on the couch. Draco rested his head against hers, savouring the moment he had been longing for, for so long. Both of them felt content with each other and themselves. Silence fell over them as sleep started to weigh down on their eyelids. Slowly but surely Hermione had dozed off, leaving Draco to be the only one awake. He smiled down at her, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head. He was tired, but still he wanted to enjoy the moment as much and as long as he could. It didn't take long for Draco to fall asleep as well, the strength slowly leaving his body as he dozed off into a deep slumber, the girl he confessed his love to fast asleep next to him.

When Draco woke up the next morning, Hermione was still asleep, leaning against him. The warmth of her body radiated against his side and he couldn't help but smile down at her sleeping form. Soft mumbles left her lips, but Draco couldn't hear what she was saying. He could hear her say the same thing a few times over again, but he couldn't make out what it was. 'Draco.' she mumbled softly, slightly moving her head. He looked down at her and silently chuckled. He leaned his head back, not wanting to wake Hermione up. The events of the previous nights replayed in his head as he closed his eyes. He had been startled and confused when Hermione had run off after he kissed her, making him doubt whether this had been the right thing to do. He had been scared for a moment that she didn't like him the way he liked her, but he couldn't just let her run away from him. He didn't want her to shut him out again, so he ran after her. Even if it meant he'd end up apologizing for his spontaneous action. Luckily it turned out she did actually like him. He felt like life was finally getting better after such a long and dark time. Hermione slowly moved and eventually opened her eyes. She looked up at him and offered him a small smile. 'Hi.'
'Hey.' Draco said softly with a small smile. Hermione pushed herself up and stretched her arms and back. 'How did you sleep?' he asked.
'Like a baby.' she sleepily smiled. 'What about you?'
'I slept well. Have you been dreaming?'
Hermione lazily looked over at him, seeming to still be in a sleepy state of mind. 'Why'd you ask?'
'You were talking in your sleep.' Draco said, a grin forming at the corners of his lips. Hermione's arms dropped to her side and a blush crept up to her cheeks. 'What did I say?' she asked, her eyes slowly starting to widen.
'At first I couldn't really hear what you were saying.' Draco said. Hermione let out a sigh of relief.
'And then you said my name.' Draco finished. Hermione widened her eyes and her cheeks turned red.
'I did?' she asked embarrassed, to which Draco nodded. Hermione laughed and leaned forward to give him a quick peck on the lips.
'What were you dreaming about?' Draco asked.
'I'm not going to tell you.' she chuckled.
'Why not?'
'Because.' she shrugged. 'Didn't you still have something to tell me? You know, that thing you actually wanted to say that morning after Harry had turned to walk back into the Great Hall, but Ron interrupted us?' Hermione asked, a grin appearing on her face.
'Oh yes, that thing.'
'Are you still keeping it to yourself?' she asked.
'I've actually already told you.'
Hermione raised her eyebrows as she looked at him. 'When?'
'Last night, when I told you I had fallen in love with you.' he winked.
Hermione chuckled. 'Oh is that so?'
Draco nodded. 'I'm glad I've finally been able to tell you.'
'You could've told me sooner.' Hermione shrugged.
'I'm sure I could've.' Draco smirked.
'I'm going to take a shower.' Hermione called, pushing herself off the couch. She got up and just wanted to walk away when Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him, pressing one last, lingering kiss to her lips. Hermione smiled and walked to her room. After having gotten herself ready for the day she brushed her hair and walked back into the common room. Draco looked up from his book and smiled at her. 'You know,' he started. 'we do have a problem now.'
'And what might this problem be?' she asked.
'What would your friends think of this?'
Hermione raised her eyebrows as she crossed the room. 'And may I ask what "this" is?'
'You may.' Draco nodded. 'In my opinion I'd say we'd call this thing a relationship?'
Hermione chuckled. 'Oh really?'
'Yes.'
'You're very romantic.' Hermione said sarcastically.
'Do you want me to drop to one knee?' Draco asked.
'No, but a bouquet of flowers of some sort would've been nice.' she joked. 'But seriously though, wouldn't it be better to keep this between the two of us, at least for now?'
'Why?'
'Because of what others might think?'
'Screw them, the only thing I care about is you.' Draco said, pulling her closer to him. Hermione looked up at him and smiled before slowly nodding.
'Sounds fair enough.' she said eventually.