Hermione watched him walk away, hidden behind a tree. Her gold and red Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck, in an attempt to keep her warm. Hermione was frozen. Frozen by the look on Dracos face and in his eyes. He looked hurt that she didn't show up. She had watched him since 10 o'clock on the fence about going to see him. But That look....
"Malfoy?" She asked stepping out from her hiding space. Hearing her voice, Draco stopped in the snow and turned to her. Surprise was in his eyes "I'm sorry I made you wait so long..." She said shivering "what did you want to talk about?" Hermione watched him try to suppress a laugh.
"You're the brightest witch of our age Granger, you know what I want to talk about. I want to talk about that kiss" His grey eyes studied Hermione, who was much shorter than he. He studied how just mentioning the kiss, her cheeks turned red and she looked away.
"Oh..." Her voice was soft and quiet as she looked at the snow. What was she suppose to say? That she actually enjoyed the kiss? That she didn't want to stop? "So talk" Hermione fidgeted, which Draco must have taken for shivering, because he took his cloak off and draped it over her shoulders.
"Just let me get this out" he said wanting to make sure she was warm. "I enjoyed last night. I was happy last night and I'm rarely happy, I'm not saying that for sympathy. I'm saying it because it's true. I thought I met someone real, someone that I really connected with. Then we kissed...and it was amazing... I had never felt that way with anyone else. But then I learned it was you.." He spoke looking into her warm brown eyes.
"And I felt terrible for the way I treated you all those years. I felt terrible for caring about something as stupid as blood status. Now that I know you, I feel like an idiot for not taking the chance sooner. And now this war is going on but I only wish I gotten to know you, the real you sooner. Gran- Hermione" her name, like sweet honey on his lips "I want to apologize for how I treated you for so many years and I know you could never forgive me for everything I've done." After everything Draco has done in school, he realized he's never had something real. Because he pushed everything away. And last night, kissing Hermione had been the most real thing to him in a very long time. He didn't have to pretend to be The Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, he could just be him. A him who had been hidden away from years.
Hermione gasped. Not only was it a lot to take in, what he was saying, but Draco Malfoy was apologizing! Even she knew Malfoys never apologized. Hearing all this coming from Malfoy, she would have thought he was lying, but looking into his eyes she could tell he wasn't. Something had changed inside him. After learning it was him last night, Hermione spent all night thinking about it, something was different. And now, Just hearing him sincerely apologizing, and seeing the shift in his eyes, made up for all those years. "I-I forgive you" She said and found she believed it. Hermione did forgive him.
Draco looked at her in shock. He had never in a million years would have thought Hermione would forgive him, but she did. Overcoming his shock, Draco managed to speak. "Don't punch me again" his voice whispered.
"Why would I punch you-" Hermione was cut off when Draco's soft and strong hands cupped her face and his lips claiming hers in a gentle kiss.