Hermione desperately wanted to tell him those three words that nestled in her chest and lurked in the deep down regions of her mind, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to say them for the first time in response to a list of Draco’s failings as a plaster to cover his wounds, or as some sort of meaningless reassurance. It felt like saying that she loved Draco – she loved him, she thought giddily – right now would taint those feelings somehow. When Hermione admitted how she felt about him, she wanted the moment to be right. And, to be honest, Hermione would prefer it if Draco said those three words first, she thought with a smirk. That was, of course, if he even felt that way.