A Daring Move

Draco appeared in the alley where Hermione had taken him before, the one next to her apartment.

"Alright," he said out loud, "I can do this. I'm a Malfoy." He took a deep breath and headed for Hermione's place. He wasn't certain she would be there because he heard Harry invite her to his and Ginny's house that day. He needed to do this now, though, otherwise, it could be too late, and there would be no chance of Hermione hearing him out. Although, he knew that Theo was probably right; she wouldn't want to listen to a word Draco had to say. Not after what he had done the day before. Why would she?

He stood at the bottom of the stairs and felt himself shaking. He had some thoughts of what he would say, but they escaped his mind whenever he tried to rehearse them. Theo told him to be vulnerable, just like Hermione was, but what did that mean, exactly? Was he supposed to tell her his deepest darkest secrets, or was he only supposed to confess his feelings and his now growing obsession with her? Either one sounded terrifying and uninviting.

"Up the stairs you go, Draco," he whispered, and climbed them until he arrived on the third floor, Hermione's apartment, the only one on the left. There was no light shining through the window, but she very well could have been sleeping.

"No lights. Should I risk waking her up?"

He stood on the doormat, which had black paw prints painted on it. A smile spread on his face as he thought of Hermione picking the mat out just for that. Looking up, his eyes found the doorbell next to the door frame.

"Do I knock or ring the doorbell? I guess I would wake her up either way."

He knocked on the door and waited. No lights turned on, and he couldn't hear any footsteps, though an orange fluff ball that was Crookshanks, jumped on the windowsill, looking right at him. Pressing the doorbell this time, his heart jumped since he knew she wouldn't have been able to miss that sound. The cat continued to stare at him with still no answer from inside the place.

"Well, I don't know what to do."

Not wanting to leave yet, he looked around for a spot he could wait in until she came back. Ahead was the little park he saw the first time he visited, which had a swing set and some benches. He opted for a bench that was near a giant tree. As he looked around, images of Hermione sitting on the same bench, maybe reading a humongous book, came to mind. He thought of the kids that must come to play on the swing set and how he, himself, would have had a kid by now if he had given into Astoria and his parents.

"What would Mother and Father think if they saw what I was doing now?" Draco chuckled as he thought of what their reactions would be to their son sitting in front of Hermione Granger's apartment, waiting for her to come home.

At this point, he almost hoped Hermione wouldn't come back. He hadn't been this nervous in a long time, the last being when he was supposed to murder Albus Dumbledore.