Harry Potter ran to catch up to the blond boy who'd walked out of the Great Hall so fast that Harry practically had to sprint. Ginny had already run after Hermione, promising to figure it out, so Harry figured he might as well talk to Malfoy and sort things out before Hermione ended up getting hurt.

Ron was still in the hall, banging his head against the table and crying over the two months of homework he had to do by himself. The hall was still amassed with whispers and murmurs surrounding the incident from only minutes ago, everyone wondering what tis all meant.

Harry had been pretty sure that he'd seen Snape hand McGonagall money, and wasn't sure if he even wanted to know what that was about. Did the teachers bet money on the students?

"Malfoy! Wait up!"

Draco slowed to a stop and turned to face the saviour of the world, his face passive of any emotions, "Harry Potter. What a wonderful surprise! How can I help you this fine afternoon?"

Harry made a face, polite disinterest, really? "Drop the indifference. You're still red in the face from before," he told the boy who immediately placed hands on his face like he was trying to cover it up or make it disappear.

Adorable. Who knew Draco Malfoy had a cute side to him?

Draco mentally groaned. Damnit! His face was still warm! Curse Granger and her soft, warm lips that made him feel all fluttery. His heart was still racing like a mad horse.

"What do you want, Potter? Haven't you and your friends caused me enough trouble for today?" Draco couldn't help the bitterness that seeped through his words. What had she said...sorry, Ron was being a prick?

Was that supposed to explain everything? Was kissing him and then running off meant to mean nothing? Was he just a means to an end for her as well? He'd hoped that she...

"She likes you." Harry voiced, watching as Draco glanced at him in surprise, his grey eyes clearing up from the stormy colour from before.

"What?"

"Hermione. I know you're probably thinking that she did it to piss of Ron or whatever, and maybe, some part of her was doing it for that, but she likes you. A lot." Harry pulled at his tie, feeling uncomfortable with this topic. It was a habit he'd picked up from Hermione, and since it was for Hermione's sake, he was going to put up with having to explain emotions to Draco Malfoy.

Just like Ginny was probably doing to Hermione.

But seriously, if someone had told him that one day he was going to have this conversation with Malfoy of all people, he would have laughed in their face, and yet here he was.

Talking about feelings.

With Malfoy.

"What are you talking about, Potter? She told me that Weasel was being a prick or something. Clearly, she needed him to shut up, and I happened to be there." Draco muttered, watching Harry adjust his tie.

That was Granger's thing. She always did that when she was talking about things she didn't like or wasn't comfortable with. She fiddled with her tie or bit her lip to give her time to think of something to say. It looked weird when Potter did it. It was Granger's thing.

Harry sighed, "Ron was making fun of her. He told her that she was fun or spontaneous enough to do anything crazy, so she did the craziest, most spontaneous thing she could think of. Kissing you."

Draco felt heat rise to his face again and his lips tingled. She really had kissed him. If only...

Harry pulled at his tie again. Of all the conversations to have...seriously, talking to Voldemort about his dead parents would have been easier.

"Exactly. She needed to prove Weasel wrong, so she did what she had to. That's all there is to it." Draco stated. He didn't want to say that. It hurt to say those words. To think that she only thought of him as a means to an end. Stupid Weasel.

Harry grimaced. Seriously, they were both as bad as each other when it came to emotions. It was like they were meant for each other. "Malfoy, she likes you. Of all the people in the Great Hall, she came to you. She could have gone to Blaise or Theo and gotten the same response from Ron. Hell, she could've poured pumpkin juice over your heads or turned someone into a bat or a million other things that's crazy, but she came to you and she kissed you. She likes you, a lot more than I'm willing to admit...she's just not very good at expressing her emotions well."

Draco blinked, not very convinced. He was aware that Granger wasn't good with talking about feelings, he could still recall the conversations they'd had late at night when homework was done but neither of them could sleep. She'd never liked talking about feelings emotions when it concerned her. She could talk about the fact that Blaise needed to express his emotions better, or that Pansy was upset about things, she could even talk to him about how he was feeling, but the moment the topic was about her, she got awkward and red in the face and would rush off to bed.

"She likes you, and she doesn't know how to express it. Ron gave her an opportunity to show her emotions and she took it. She did what she did, because she didn't know how else to tell you. And unless Ginny somehow manages to convince her to tell you, Hermione's never going to be upright about it to you. She'll do everything but tell you that she likes you, that's just who she is." Harry explained, wondering if Malfoy knew that he was blushing.

His usually pale skin had a slight red tinge.

Draco's heart was dancing in his rib cage and his blood was boiling at the very idea...to think that she liked him too...how long had he wanted to tell her? How long had he waited for a chance to...?

But...

"Why are you telling me this? I would have thought that you of all people would be opposed to me and Granger being in any kind of relationship." He muttered, sticking his hands inside his pockets. His fingers were cold, if Hermione had been here right now, she would have been holding them tightly, trying to get them warm again. She always did that.

Harry sighed again and copied him, placing his hands inside his pockets.

Draco scowled. Potter and he got along now, sure, they'd been civil to each other ever since the war, but that didn't explain why he would be willing to explain Hermione's actions to him so clearly. Surely, Potter would've warned him to stay away rather than clear things up?

What did Potter want?

Harry kicked a rock away and watched it roll off the pathway into the grass, wondering what he'd done in his life to deserve this. First he had to come to terms with the fact that his best friend, his sister almost, had a thing for Draco Malfoy. And then he'd had to explain that to Draco Malfoy...and now he had to explain why he was explaining all of it.

Where was Voldemort when you needed him?

"Well, Malfoy. Like I said, Hermione isn't good at talking about feelings. She probably thinks she's sick or something because she likes you. And I consider her to be like my sister. I care about her because without her, I would be dead and this world wouldn't be the same. You should know how much she means to so many people. And I'm not going to pretend to understand why she likes you, in all honesty, I don't understand it and even trying gives me a headache, but if I don't clear this up and it made her upset, or caused her pain, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Huh. Potter caring wasn't something new. Potter was always about caring for his friends and whatnot. "And in telling me, what were you hoping to accomplish?" he asked the dark-haired boy, needing more to believe.

Draco wanted to believe. He wanted everything Potter said to be true.

Harry was getting tired of sighing. He felt like he was a hundred-year-old man, his back hurt and his knees hurt and he wanted to smack Malfoy for asking stupid questions. And he was hungry too. He hadn't gotten to eat before Hermione had decided to kiss Draco Malfoy in front of the whole school and then run off.

"I know you like her too. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that she did it because she likes you and not because of anything else. If she does somehow manage to work up the nerve to tell you, be patient with her." Harry hesitated, "and don't hurt her. She may appear to be tough and all, but she's kind of fragile too. Once she cares about someone, she can't let them go, hence why she still sticks with me and Ron. And if she cares about you...you're stuck with her. Be patient."

Draco licked his lips, aware that his face was red now. His whole body felt warm, but it wasn't a bad feeling. More like he was in a warm embrace. He wondered if this was what it would feel like to hug her.

H glanced at Potter who was staring at him wearily too. Of all the people to hear this from, he found himself kind of glad that it was Potter who'd done it. Draco didn't even want to imagine a situation where Ronald Weasely had done all the talking in this scenario. Draco stood up straight and smirked, "relax Potter. I seldom let people I love get hurt. Thanks for explaining. I appreciate it."

He inclined his head and headed towards the Head Dorm where Hermione would have to turn up eventually.

Harry watched him go and sighed, wondering if Malfoy realised that he'd used the word love instead of like. He'd been trying to avoid using the word love so that he wouldn't scare the boy off, but, it appeared as though Malfoy had strong feelings for her too.

He tugged at his tie and began to walk back to the Great Hall to console Ron, knowing full well that Malfoy was probably going to tease the pride out of Hermione soon, but at least he could be sure that he wouldn't hurt her.

Malfoy and Hermione, huh? Who would have thought? What was the author of this story thinking, placing those two together? Ah well, if they were both happy, Harry was too.

Now, what was he supposed to tell Ron to console him?

Draco couldn't hide the smile on his face. She liked him. She had feelings for him. It wasn't one sided like Blaise had been insisting it was for the past few months. And to think, if Weasel hadn't pushed her, she wouldn't have done anything about it either!

Weasel did have his uses after all!

Draco traced his lips with his fingertips, wanting to feel that same feeling again. She was so warm, so fun, perhaps not spontaneous, but she was exhilarating. Just one kiss and Draco wanted a thousand more.

He wondered what Weaselette was talking to her about right now? Had Potter's girlfriend managed to convince Hermione that she needed to tell him her feelings? He hoped so.

He opened the door to their dorm and grabbed a book from her bookshelf, seating himself on the couch that faced the doorway, waiting for her to arrive. Just because he knew, didn't mean that he wasn't going to have fun teasing her. He was going to have fun watching her stumble over her words.

She was so cute when she tried to justify things her own way. How was she going to handle this?

Hermione Granger...he couldn't wait to see how she was going to try and explain this. He couldn't wait to see her face when he told her that he loved her too.

.*.