A single tear trailed down his cheek.  It was like the day in Malfoy Manor when he had to watch Hermione be tortured.   He didn't know why but he wanted so badly to stop her pain.  Now he knows why.

Draco loved everything about her.  From her habits and looks to her brains and her personality, he just couldn't imagine a better person to spend his time with.

And now she was being threatened. Just like Draco's family was during the dark lord's reign, creating leverage against Draco.

He couldn't stand it.

Hermione looked up at Draco after she felt the tear hit her head. She pulled away a little to see him better.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I can't stand the thought of him hurting you. Or hurting anybody.  I realized that on the day you were tortured at the Manor. I didn't know I liked you, but I knew it was wrong to see you in pain like this.

"From that day on, I realized how horrible it was to hurt people. I tried to stop, to get away from them, but they were threatening my mother.  Now... now they're threatening you."

"Oh Draco.  Draco, you don't have to worry about me.  I've been through everything this life can throw at me, remember?   I am, after all, friends with Harry Potter," she said with a half-smile.

Draco then thought a little harder and couldn't come up with any reasons why Voldemort would hunt for her.

"Why is he after you?"

Suddenly they heard another clatter coming from around the corner.

"I'll explain tomorrow in the library.  I've got to go.  Bye!" Hermione placed a small peck on Draco's cheek, then quietly ran in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

Draco headed around to his common room, away from the footsteps. When he got it his dorm, he touched his lips. They still tasted like Hermione.

This was going to be fun to explain to Blaise and Pansy.

---------------------------

Hermione got back to the common room to see Ron and Harry walking up to their dorm. They saw her trying to sneak up to her dorm.

"'Mione? I thought you were already here. Where were you?" Ron asked for both boys.

"Uhh... I was- well, funny story- it's- uhh-" she didn't know what to say.   I was just making out with Draco and telling him things I haven't told you two yet.  Nothing big!   But she finally came up with a believable explanation.

"There was someone coming, and so I had to hide and take a longer way here."

"Okay... goodnight?"

"Night!" she exclaimed a little too quickly, bounding up the stairs to her room.

When she got there, she thought about getting her things ready for tomorrow but knew she could just ask Madam Pince if she could brew the potion in the library the next morning.

She fell asleep that night holding on to the feeling of Draco's lips on hers.

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Twice!  Twice Izzy almost gave herself away!

Note to self, next time I want to spy on someone, a suit of armor is NOT the best place to hide.

She knew that Hermione and Draco had noticed her slip-ups because Hermione left after the second clatter.  If she was going to join them, she needed to be a better spy.

Harry is so good at spying with his invisibility cloak, if only I had one- 

That's it!  To prove to them she was a good spy and useful on their team, she needed to break in to Harry's room and steal his invisibility cloak, use it to spy on them, then reveal herself.  It's a flawless plan!

The only problem is how to steal the cloak...