Author's Note: This is an AU! No Lord Voldemort, No Death Eaters, No War, just the students going through life at school the best that teenagers can.

He closed his gray eyes to block out the light from the late afternoon sun and leaned back in his favorite little hiding place on the school grounds. He used his hands as cushions for his head against the rough bark of the tree. He knew that students would be walking through the courtyard, but unless they deliberately looked up in the tree, they wouldn't see him hiding up there.

This is nice. He thought to himself

He let his other senses take over as he relaxed. He could feel the crisp fall air cascade over his pale, barely-exposed skin. He heard the rustling of the trees in the Forbidden Forest scratch against each other in the wind; which also carried the voices of the students from various places over the grounds. The most over-powering scent came from the tree he sat in and-

"What are you doing?" a small voice called out, interrupting his relaxation process.

He knew that voice. He immediately shot up and frantically reached up to fix his pale blonde hair, just in case it had messed up.

Then, he turned his attention to the direction that the voice came from. Down at the base of the tree stood, he thought to be, one of the loveliest girl he had ever laid eyes on. She had pulled her typically bushy, brown hair into a neat ponytail. Her chocolate brown eyes were shining. Her cheeks had a slight tinge of color to them, as if she had just been running. He took notice that she pulled her lips up into a smile, this, in turn, made him smile. He let his eyes quickly travel over the rest of her body. Her body, well, she didn't have the gaze of most of the guys in school for nothing. She did have a nice, fit build. She stood there with one hand on her hip and the other holding a rather large book. She started tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for his answer, he realized.

"Well, if you must know, Hermione," he said as he turned to start climbing down the tree, "I was enjoying my Saturday the proper way."

"Ha, hardly, Draco, you just want to slack off instead of study." Hermione retorted.

Once he was less than a few feet from the ground, Draco jumped down and turned to face Hermione. He didn't realize that he was going to literally face her. Usually, he stood over her by a few fair inches, but today, Hermione had placed herself on one of the roots of the tree. He made the mistake of looking at her lips and how close they were.

Draco turned around quickly and took a couple steps away. His heart was racing. He could feel the blush go across his face. He could still feel the tingle of her warm breath on his face. A light sweat covered the inside of his clinched hands. He had to distract himself.

"So, what brings you out of the library?" he asked over his shoulder. He was thankful that his voice was steady and didn't reflect how nervous he was.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the lake with me." she said cheerfully.

Of course, they went to the lake together on random Saturdays for the past three years. Hermione had suggested it in their Second year, so, whenever they wanted to talk about school, life or whatever it was, they would go down to the lake to talk about it.

"Sure, let's go." Draco said as he turned to look at her.

Hermione smiled at him, and then focused her attention down to her feet as she climbed her way out of the tangle of roots that surrounded the tree. Draco took this opportunity to dry his sweaty palms on his trousers.

Just in case. He thought to himself.

Draco and Hermione weren't a couple, but they had a complex friendship. A fairly recent development in their relationship was that Hermione would, albeit very rarely, randomly take his hand and hold it.

Hermione caught up with him and started chattering about her classes. Though they were both in their Fifth year, Hermione was taking the most difficult classes she could. She was a genius, always studying magic beyond our level. Draco wondered why she would even bother to study. Then again, he wouldn't have a study partner if she didn't. Draco was in average level classes for a Fifth year student.

Hermione was prattling on about this advanced spell and that advanced potion that she was learning. Draco nodded at all the right times, watching to see of she would make a move, in fact, he was waiting for it.

They had just about reached the lake. He figured she wasn't going to hold his hand, so, he just stuffed his hands into his pockets. He kicked at an imaginary rock to show his disappointment.

They reached their spot by the lakeside. Draco dropped down onto the grass. Hermione was more cautious about her descent; he couldn't help but watch her.

She'd look much better in Slytherin colors. He thought to himself as she settled down comfortably in the grass. He started thinking about what it would be like if they did share the same House. He had to admit, he had been thinking about that a lot lately. They could hang out in the common room, instead of having to part ways at curfew.

"-aco?"

Hermione's voice broke his train of thought. She was lightly tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. Draco glanced down at her hand, then back up to her face. Her facial expression looked slightly annoyed, but her eyes said that she was concerned about him.

"Is something the matter, Draco?" she asked, dropping the annoyed look and exchanging it for a worried one.

Only daydreaming of being with you. He knew he couldn't say that. He looked out across the lake as he contemplated his answer.

"Just…got a lot….on my mind." he said with a sigh. Then, he fell back to lie down on the grass and look up at the pinks and purples that colored the sky. He closed his eyes, wishing she would realize how much she was the one of his mind.

"You know…" Hermione started, and then she hesitated. Draco could hear the crunching of the grass as she shifted her weight closer to where he was laying down. Suddenly, her soft, warm hand took hold of his and clasped it carefully. "…you can talk to me about anything, right?"

He opened his eyes, sat up and looked at her. She was blushing. He followed her gaze, down to where their hands were interlocking with another.

"I know." Draco replied, giving her hand a little squeeze.

Then, a low rumble broke the silence. Hermione was biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Draco put his free hand over his stomach, realizing where the sound of the rumble came from. His stomach growling slightly embarrassed him, but Hermione couldn't help laughing.

"Well…I guess we'd…we'd best go get supper." she said, in-between giggles.

Draco reluctantly let go of her hand as he got up off the ground. Once he was up on his feet, he reached down to pick up her book and to offer Hermione a hand to help her get up to her feet.

"Thanks." she said as she dusted herself off.

Draco was a little more than shocked to see that she didn't pull her hand out of his. So, the two walked back up to the castle hand in hand, in silence. Draco smiled, enjoying this little moment.

Reviews are welcomed!