Harry Potter 1. Contradictions

Forbidden

By Leah

****

Prologue

Contradictions

He glared at the back of her frizzy head as she scribbled down whatever nonsense Snape was rambling on about.

He hated her.

Know-it-all little mudblood Granger. Even now, a few days from the end of their sixth year she was still working as hard as the annoying little first year he'd met six years ago.

Of it's own accord, his lip twisted up in a sneer when her hand shot up before Snape could even finish asking his question. The professor-of course- pointedly ignored her. One would think that after six years she would learn that the Potions Master loathed her, but it was apparent that the message had trouble getting through her hair and reaching her skull.

His glare intensified when she turned to the side so he could see half of her face.

He watched her lips move as she whispered something to Potty and Weasel. He smirked thinking of other ways he could put those lips to work.

Even he had to admit that over the last few years, she had changed a bit. She was no longer the skinny little girl he remembered; she had grown into a somewhat pretty young lady that could turn a few heads. Her hair no longer looked as if a nest of hornets lay in its depths, it was far from what he would deem as acceptable but at least it seemed like she'd learned the importance of a good brushing over the years.

Overall she was no supermodel, nowhere near it actually, and there were still many girls whose looks outshone hers, she was average at best, but it wasn't just her looks that had his body calling for hers.

Not that he would never say that to another soul.

He noticed her turn to look behind, her dark brown eyes landing on his icy ones, he sneered at her and mouthed the word _'mudblood'_. She only rolled her eyes and turned around, leaving him with his thoughts.

He'd always said he hated being in her presence, but something inside of him screamed when she was far. He wanted her to hurt, yet he wanted to give her the most pleasure of her life.

He despised her, but how he wanted her.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the scuffle of chairs, signaling the end of Potions. He smirked as he watched her get out of her seat; he also stood. His eyes ran over her figure as she turned to leave, a figure that to the untrained eye was well hidden beneath her baggy school robes. But when it came to women he was anything but untrained. With a smirk, he moved to make sure his body was blocking her path to the dungeon exit.

"Move Malfoy." She said with a sigh, pulling her book-bag strap slightly. He nearly grinned, and to her surprise took a step to the side so she could pass.

He was sure she thought she was clear of him, his lip twitched, _'foolish little bookworm.'_

His hand shot out and grasped onto her wrist as she brushed by him, and pulled the surprised girl to his chest. He bent his head to her ear, feeling her shiver slightly when his warm breath tickled the sensitive skin.

"You should really work on your manners, mudblood." He smirked when he heard her breathing quicken, then pushed her away, dropping her hand as if it burned. He grabbed his bag and sauntered out of the room followed by his lackeys, leaving a very irritated girl behind him.

He hated her...but he would have her.

After all:  
_Forbidden fruit always tasted much sweeter._


	2. Famous Last Words

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter one**

**Famous Last Words**

"God it's like Lavender all over again." Ginny muttered to Harry, who nodded mutely, as they sat across from Hermione and Ron, the couple was in the midst of a long lip lock. The red head and his girlfriend finally pulled apart when Ginny let out a particularly loud retching sound.

"Oh, sorry, did I interrupt you two?" The girl asked fake sweetness dripped from her words.

"For a second we thought you two died and were stuck like that." Harry said with a grin. Ron opened his mouth to retort, probably something about Harry and Ginny's near constant lip locking, but Hermione, who was more than used to the siblings arguing was no longer paying attention to the conversation. Her attention was focused on the steadily passing scenery outside the Hogwarts express.

This would the last time she would be on this train heading to school. It was the start of her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She looked at her friends out of the corner of her eye, a sliver of a smile slipping onto her lips.

Ron and Ginny were now arguing -possibly brought on by the topic of PDA's- and Harry was trying to referee. With another soft sigh, she let her thoughts drift to her summer. It wasn't really that eventful, but there were some exceptions.

She and Ginny were bridesmaids in Fleur and Bill's long awaited wedding. It wasn't even that bad, though Ginny did complain about the awful multicolored bridesmaids' dresses that were splashed with enough color to put a bag of Skittles to shame. Also, Ron had finally -as Ginny so nicely put it- "grown a pair," and asked Hermione to be his girlfriend, which she responded to with an overjoyed "Yes!!"

Hermione had also received the title of "Head Girl", it didn't really come as a surprise to anyone, but that didn't stop anyone from sending her their congratulations.

The real surprise came when she was told that none other than Slytherin's Draco Malfoy had made Head Boy. The mere thought of sharing a common room with the boy who had made it his purpose in life to ruin hers, made the bile rise in her throat.

From the moment she received the letter, she had been hoping that he decided to decline the position, or that he moved and would never be coming back to Hogwarts (as he had often bragged of doing but as of yet had to make her dreams come true.) Or if she was especially lucky, he got hit by a rampaging Knight Bus.

She, unfortunately, had no such luck.

As if on cue the door to their compartment was ripped open, and there in his Slytherin robes with his "Head Boy" badge pinned on, was –of course- Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want ferret?" Ron sneered, instinctively wrapping an arm around his girlfriend.

"You should watch your mouth weasel." Malfoy snapped his eyes rolling onto the boy, obviously hinting at his new position.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ron began, sarcasm lacing his every word. "What I meant to say was: what do you want, _Head _ferret?" The others in the car couldn't help the smile that slipped onto each of their faces. Malfoy glared at Ron for a second before turning his attention to Hermione, deciding to ignore his last comment.

"I came to get the mudblood," Hermione only rolled her eyes and put a hand on Ron's shoulder when made a move to throttle Malfoy, after 6 years it wasn't even worth it in her eyes. "McGonagall wants to see us." Hermione sighed and stood, after saying a quick "see you later" to her friends, she headed out of the compartment. However she didn't make it too far before Ron grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, placing his lips on hers.

"Bloody hell weasel! Some of us just ate!" The boy cursed, causing Hermione to pull away with a brilliant blush staining her cheeks.

Walking away from her boyfriend with a smile, she left the compartment with Malfoy. Her smile dropping immediately to a scowl as she trailed behind him.

The short walk to the front of the train wasn't exactly the most comfortable, and seemed to stretch for hours, both were more than relieved when they reached the head compartment. Unfortunately McGonagall had left and they were once again alone to enjoy the awkward silence that permeated the air.

Hermione dropped onto one of the couches in the spacey compartment, while Malfoy took a seat on the other side of the room. The girl sighed and looked around the room for anything that would interest her while they waited. Almost against her will, her eyes landed on Malfoy, his eyes were closed it seemed he was trying ignoring her presence wholeheartedly until McGonagall returned.

Decided to use the time to do something she never allowed herself to before Hermione's eyes roamed over the boys features. Absently she thought of how she never had much of a chance to really look at him before, they were always too busy throwing insults at each other to notice little things like each others' bone structure.

She did know he was handsome, any girl in her right mind knew he was handsome, but now as her eyes ran over his features, she finally realized what those other girls were talking about when they complimented his looks.

It didn't seem like he had any physical flaws, his shaggy blond hair hung over his face, reaching to his cheeks, he had stopped gelling it back years ago, she was sure he was attempting the "bad boy" look that all the girls at Hogwarts muttered about. His pale skin seemed to be perfectly smooth and -she noted with some envy- was not marred by even a single blemish. Her eyes trailed down, but the way he was sitting and his school robes hid his -as she had heard from other girls- toned body from view.

"See something you like Granger?" His signature drawl pulled her from her thoughts. His sharp blue eyes had snapped open at some point during her assessment and without a doubt caught her staring at him.

"No; just an annoying ferret with a superiority complex." She snapped, making the blond chuckle.

"Touchy today, aren't we Granger? Or are you going on the defensive because I took you away from your darling Potty, Weaselette and Weasel?" He smirked at the anger that flashed through her eyes.

"Their names," She began through clenched teeth, "Are Harry, Ginny and Ron!" She snapped, sending him a particularly icy glare.

"Oh, now are you upset because I've insulted your little shag buddy." He smirked when two spots of red appeared on her cheeks. "Honestly Granger, you're not especially horrendous, even you can do better than the weasel."

Whatever insult Hermione had died on her tongue, and she sent the boy an incredulous stare. "Was that an attempt at a compliment Malfoy?"

He scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, you may not look horrible, but you're still below me."

Her stare dropped to a glower, "Why are you such a pig?" She grumbled, shooting him another hell freezing glare.

"It's part of my charm." Draco replied, his trademark smirk slithering onto his lips.

Hermione snorted, "You've got about as much charm as a flesh eating virus Malfoy."

"You are the witty one today, aren't you." He said, his smirk being replaced with a scowl.

"It's part of my charm." She answered, copying his smirk. Malfoy chuckled, he had to admit the girl was clever. He had to admit getting into a row with her was always more fun than anyone else, she was always so witty with her insults. With her it was an actual challenge, unlike with her two followers who would just call him a ferret and pull out their wands.

_'Oafs.'_

Unfortunately, their verbal sparing was cut short by McGonagall finally apparating into the room.

"Sorry to keep you two waiting." She began, taking her seat in the leather chair behind the desk in the room. "There was a problem involving some members of your houses that needed my immediate attention." She looked at the two over her glasses.

"Now then, I am sure that you are both aware of each others' new positions?" They both nodded and she continued.

"Good. As Head girl and boy you two will be spending a bit of time together, so I -along with Professor Dumbledore- advise that you two put aside your differences, just for this year." She paused to clear her throat.

"It is also advised that you two meet with the prefects to set up patrol schedules. The other professors and I will be doing patrol for the next two nights, but after that it is yours and the other prefects' job. You two will also be allowed to visit Hogsmeade whenever you like, but these visits must be cleared through Professor Dumbledore or myself. You will both also be in charge of coordinating the school dances, which include the Halloween Dance, Winter Formal and End of year dance." She went on for a few more minutes about what was expected of them as the new Heads, none of which Draco actually paid attention to, though Hermione hung onto her every word. Saying a curt goodbye she left them alone once again after telling them to come see her at teachers' table after the feast.

"Well that was informative." Hermione mumbled, getting out of her seat and stretching, Malfoy's eyes flowed her every move.

"Do you mind?" Hermione practically growled at the boy who was staring so openly at her chest.

"Not at all." He smirked, making no move to look away.

"You're such a prat." She snapped stomping over to the door. "If you need me, I'll be with my friends pretending that you don't exist." She said him another glare before stalking out of the room.

When she finally got back to her cabin, Harry and Ron were in deep conversation about -what else- Quidditch.

_'Those two really need to get another hobby.'_

Ginny, who looked bored beyond reason let out a relieved sigh when her friend returned to the cabin. "Oh thank Merlin you're back!" The red head said, practically throwing herself at Hermione, giving her a bone-crushing hug.

"Those two have been going on about the Chuddly Cannons for forever. I mean, I love Quidditch too, but for them, it's like a cult." They shared a laugh. "So, how was your meeting with the sexy new head boy?" Ginny asked, not even bothering to lower her voice.

"Ginny!" Hermione began in a shocked whisper. "Your boyfriend is right there!"

"So? A naked supermodel could walk in here and they wouldn't notice." The younger Weasley said, tossing a glance at the boys, who were still too deep in conversation to notice them talking. "So, how was your meeting?"

"Boring and uneventful. And, of course, Malfoy is back to being a git. He may have helped in defeating Voldemort, but he's still the same prat we've come to know and hate."

"Oh," The red head said, slightly deflated looking. "So I take it you two didn't get into a pleasant conversation, finding out you had so much in common, then he took you in his arms and confessed his undying love for you?" Hermione sent her friend a flat look.

"Sorry, I've been reading a bunch of mum's old romance novels over the summer." Ginny said a light blush tingeing her cheeks. "Anyway, what are you gonna do now, you know with the whole sharing a common room business?"

"I'm not going to do anything. Whenever we see each other, we'll exchange and insult or two then go to our rooms." Hermione said plainly.

" Hermione, I hate to break this too you, but you're going to be practically living with Draco Malfoy, or as he's known to over half of the Hogwarts female population, 'the Slytherin Sex God'!" The younger Gryffindor said, dropping her voice to a harsh whisper.

"OK first Ginerva, stop gossiping with Lavender and the Pital twins. And second, there's no way anyone actually calls him that, and lastly, we're not children anymore I'm sure we can learn to live with and thoroughly ignore each other for the next year."

The girl was not deterred. "He's practically got a line of girls for him to pick from every night, and -lets face it- he's bloody hot! I mean c'mon Hermione, the war's over, he's proved he's not a Death Eater, even you can't completely hate him now. And for the next ten months you two are gonna be seeing a lot of each other." Her tone was heavy with insinuation.

"Gin, I go out with your-"

"Brother, I know. Hermione, I love Ron, really I do, but let me be honest here and say, you can do better." She sent a sidelong glance at the boys.

"Oh yeah, and Draco Malfoy is so much better." Hermione muttered, rolling her eyes.

"'Hermione, even I wouldn't mine a quick shag with him."

"A quick shag with who?" Both girls looked up from their conversation to find two pairs of eyes glaring from across the car.

"Hey look!" Ginny said pointing out the window. "We're almost there, better change." Ginny ended and shoved the boys out of the compartment.

From behind the door they heard Harry's voice, "Shag who, Ginny?"

Draco slid the door open to the compartment he shared with Pansy, Blaise, Goyle, and Crabbe. He sighed and took a seat next to Pansy, the girl's eyes practically sparkled.

"So what happened with the old bat mate?" Blaise asked his friend.

"Nothing important." He mumbled as Pansy slid onto his lap, straddling him.

"So is it true, you're gonna be living with Granger?" Blaise asked, acting as if a girl nibbling on his best friend's neck was common place.

"Yeah, little bint would go running to Dumbledore the moment I sneeze too loud." Malfoy muttered, rolling his eyes. "Dammit Parkinson! I'm not in the mood!" He pushed her off his lap, making her fall on her bum with a squeak.

"She needs a good shag." Blaise continued, "Granger I mean," He sent a disgusted look at the girl on the floor.

"Good thing you're her room-mate then huh?" Goyle said sending an oafish smile to the Slytherin across from him.

"I don't even think Merlin himself could manage to get into her knickers before marriage." Draco said with a snort. "Besides, she's not like the other girls I usually go for."

"How so? She's pretty, no age difference..oh, she's not an idiot." Blaise said glancing at Pansy.

"Bingo."

Hermione stretched and followed her friends out of the cabin. She smiled at Hagrid as he herded the frightened First Years onto the boats, his lamp held high in his large hand.

"C'mon let's hurry up and get a carriage." Ginny said brushing past her friend her irritation clear in her voice, Harry was still nagging her.

"Sorry guys, I can't go with you." Hermione mumbled and stopped walking with her friends. "I've got to take the "Head's Carriage," with Malfoy." She spat out the words filling them with as much venom as she could.

"Alright, well we'll see you at the feast then right?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Of course." The two boys said bye to Hermione and went to look for an empty carriage, but Ginny stayed behind telling them she would catch up later.

"Just remember what I said Hermione." Ginny said and winked at her friend.

"Ginny! Nothing is going to happen!"

"But, in case it does-"

"Ginerva! **Nothing **is going to happen!" Hermione almost yelled before turning and leaving her friend, heading to the "Head's carriage".

Ginny sent a knowing smile to her friends retreating back then she went to find Harry and Ron, casting one last glance over her shoulder she smiled.

"Famous last words Hermione."


	3. Amour dans les bras d'un ennemi

Forbidden

By: Leah

**Chapter Two**

**Amour dans les bras d'un ennemi**

The minutes in the Head's carriage ticked on in an uncomfortable silence. The two occupants made sure to sit as far away from each other as possible, and both glared at the scenery outside the windows, hoping that by some mystical force if they glared hard enough they'd be able to make the other person in the carriage's head explode.

No such luck.

"Malfoy," Hermione's voice shattering the awkward silence. "Look, since we're gonna be living together for most of the year, maybe we should try to um...be friends?" She winced a bit when it came out like more of a question than the firm statement she was hoping for.

Draco looked at her like she had grown an extra head before chuckling. He leaned over until his face was inches from hers.

"Look Granger," He filled the word with as much malice as he could. "The last thing I want is to be friends with _you_. I may have been on your side during the war, but that **doesn't** mean that I like you, and it sure as hell doesn't mean I like your two idiot friends either. Honestly, I can barely tolerate your presence. So no, we shouldn't try to be... friends." He said the word sickly sweet, then turned his attention back to the window.

Hermione sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap.

_'One good hex, that's all I want.'_

* * *

The Head girl slumped into a seat at the Gryffindor table between Ron and Ginny and pinched the bridge of her nose; trying to hold back the migraine that she knew was coming.

"How was the ride with the prat?" Ron mumbled as the first year's clamored into the Great Hall nervously waiting to be sorted into their houses.

"Oh it was just perfect. We talked and laughed and revealed our deepest darkest secrets and became best friends." Hermione mumbled back, not bothering to spare him a glance.

She forgot sarcasm was wasted on the boy.

"Are you serious?" He nearly shouted.

Hermione's rolled her eyes over to him and gave him a deadpan look. "No."

McGonagall walked into the hall holding the sorting hat and placed it onto the three-legged stool, it cleared its throat and the entire Hall fell silent.

Hermione wasn't really paying attention as the hat began its song. After seven years, three-headed dogs, evil journals and getting attacked by foliage, a talking hat didn't really hold her attention as it had before. Instead, her thoughts drifted to a certain blond haired, slimy git that she would have the pleasure of spending the rest of the year with.

She was practically bursting with joy.

She was jerked out of her cheerful thoughts of which hex was best for rodent extermination by a sharp jab to her ribs, courtesy of Ginny.

"Hey, are you ok? You're looking a little out of it." The younger girl asked, the hall was buzzing with excitement -and the occasional cheer- as the hat continued to sort children into their houses.

"Hmm?" Her eyes jumped to her friend's. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Ginny looked skeptical, but remained silent.

The sorting hat was placed on the final student. "Hmm...Hufflepuff!" The little brunette's she scurried over to the table, grinning broadly.

The loud screech of a chair turned the dull hum of the hall to silence. Dumbledore stood at the head of the Professors table and cleared his throat..

"To our new students welcome, and to our older students, welcome back to another year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."

* * *

Malfoy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, Dumbledore was still talking. How much could one old man talk anyway? He was bloody hungry dammit!

He groaned and rested his chin in his upturned palm. He zoned in and out of Dumbledore's -much too long- speech, just incase the old man said anything important.

Blah blah blah...forest's off limits, blah blah blah, Filch will be patrolling, blah blah blah, he needs to kick the bucket already, blah blah blah...

"I am pleased to announce this years Head Boy and Girl! Our new Head Girl is Gryffindor's, Hermione Granger." Malfoy's eyes shot across the room to the Gryffindor, landing on Hermione, who blushed and stood. The Hall erupted in loud applause, and a few hisses from the table under the green banner.

"And," Dumbledore's voice rang out over the cheering, causing it to stop. "This year's Head Boy is Slytherin's Draco Malfoy." He said, his eye's twinkled with humor. Draco ignored it and stood, sending his trademark smirk to a few fan girls who giggled and swooned. The Hall once again erupted in applause (albeit much less applause) with a few half hearted claps from Gryffindor, where a certain Head Girl was glaring daggers at a certain blond haired Slytherin git.

As if sensing the tension between the two Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now then, let the feast begin!"

* * *

"Hermione? Hermione! Hermione Granger!"

"Huh?" Ginny shook her head and sighed.

"You're killing your baked potato." The red head said, pointing to the smashed and stabbed baked potato that lay in ruins on Hermione's plate.

"I wanted mashed potatoes." Hermione lied lamely, making Ginny grin.

"No, you wanted that to be a certain Head Boy's head." Hermione faked an appalled look.

"Never!" She said in faux shock. "I much rather it be all of him." Ginny giggled and Hermione sent an icy glare across the Hall at the blond who was laughing with a dark haired boy, who, if she remembered correctly, was named Blaise Zabini.

There was a loud scraping sound of a chair dragging against the floor, the Hall's attention flew to Dumbledore standing at the head of the Professors table.

"I regret to say that the feast is now ended, and it is time for you all to retire for the night. The Prefects will lead you to your common room. Tomorrow is the first day of classes, sleep well."

The loud rustling of moving bodies echoed through the Great Hall as students emptied out of the room.

"I'll talk to you later Gin, I've gotta go with McGonagall and the git." Ginny nodded and tried to push her way to the front of the crowd, she was now a prefect after all.

Glancing across the room, Hermione noticed Malfoy was also headed to the teacher's table where McGonagall was patiently waiting for them.

"Follow me please." McGonagall said to the pair who refused to look at each other. They nodded mutely and followed the professor who led them to the fifth floor, and through countless hallways. Hermione had finally given up on trying to keep track of where they were going when they finally stopped in front of a large portrait of a girl who had the most amazing silvery blond hair that reached her waist. Her eyes were a bright blue eyes that matched her 18th century French dress, and moonlight pale skin. She stopped playing with her white fuzz ball of a cat and looked up to the three newcomers.

"This is Kyara; she will be the guard portrait to your dormitories." McGonagall said, gesturing to the portrait who smiled prettily and waved. "You can pick the password. Please remember to schedule a meeting with the prefects tomorrow. Goodnight." McGonagall nodded her head to the portrait and walked back down the hallway, leaving the two people to pick their password.

"You arrre ze new Heads, yes?" Kyara asked in her thick French accent, bringing the two people's attention to her.

"Yes we are, I'm Hermione," The head girl smiled at the portrait who smiled back brightly. "And that thing is Malfoy." Hermione scowled at the boy who sent her a hateful glare.

"'Tis a pleasure to meet ze both of you. Do you 'ave a password?" The girl asked.

"How about 'Draco is the sexiest man alive'?" Malfoy smirked and Hermione scoffed.

"How about 'Draco's got an ego the size of Mars'?" She mumbled making the portrait giggle.

"What was that Granger?" Draco practically growled at the infuriating girl.

"You're an arse Malfoy." She snapped.

"At least I'm not a useless mudblood." He snapped back.

"I much rather be an useless mudblood than an obnoxious, conceited, self centered, egotistic-"

"Ah, excuse me, but ze password?" Kyara cut in sensing the beginning of a terribly long argument.

"Hold on!" They both yelled at the portrait then turned hateful glares to each other.

"No! I 'ave a suggestion." They both turned curious looks to the portrait who sighed, thankful for the silence.

"Amour dans les bras d'un ennemi." She said with a small smile. Hermione's eyes lit up and she smiled faintly, it was a bit long but she it sounded nice enough. Of course she had no idea what it meant, but she always did love the French language.

Draco sent a speculative glare at the portrait for a second before sighing, he was fluent in French. He made a mental note to have it out with the audacious portrait later, but at least the harpy next to him stopped screeching at her suggestion. He nodded to the portrait.

Kyara practically squealed and swung open, she was all too happy to get rid of the two people who had ruined her peace and quiet.

Hermione stepped into the common room, her breath nearly caught in her throat. The place was huge, nearly twice the size of the Gryffindor common room.

Surprisingly it wasn't decorated in either house colors, instead it had more of a neutral color theme. There was a glass table in the center of the common room right in front of a rather large fireplace. There was a huge sofa in front of the table and a cream coloured love seat across from the fire and two single seating chairs and ottomans. There were two spiraling staircases on either side of the room that lead to their respective bedrooms. And there was even a small kitchen on one side of the room, right next to the entrance, with a fully stocked fridge, and a small table for two.

Malfoy, unlike Hermione -who was practically giddy as she looked around the room- looked thoroughly unimpressed; he did live in Malfoy Manor after all.

"Well, I'll be seeing you mudblood...or not if I'm lucky." He muttered and brushed past her, heading to the stairs that he guessed lead to his dormitory (the green sash tied to the railing was not at all a dead giveaway.)

Without warning Hermione grabbed onto his sleeve before he could leave. Malfoy turned surprised eyes to the hand holding onto his robes. His expression quickly turned from shock to ill concealed disgust in seconds, he snatched his hand away successfully pulling his sleeve from Hermione's grasp.

"Personal space means nothing to you does it Granger?" He sneered, looking down at her.

"Um...can we talk, it's kind of important... I mean we are going to be liv-" He held up a hand to cut her off, he nearly smirked as her cheeks reddened, he could practically see her hair stand and crackle with anger.

"I take it that if I said no you would keep going with your incessant dribble until I gave up?" He drawled lazily. Hermione's lips remained shut, he guessed she was suppressing all manor of curses from slipping out of her mouth.

Suppressing a smirk, he strode to the table in the kitchen and took a seat, he had a feeling that this was going to be long winded. Then again, in the six years he had known the girl, he had yet to hear her explain something, and not be long winded about it.

"Well...?" He drawled, waiting for her to take a seat and begin her -no doubt- boring speech, about -he guessed- how they should try to get along.

For the sake of his sanity, he doubted that would ever happen.

Hermione took a calming breath and willed herself into a less homicidal state. Stiffly, she moved to the kitchen table. "Well," she took a breath, "I think that since we are on going to be living with each other, we should at least try to be civil and treat each other... nic-...politely."

He glared at her across the table, sometimes he hated being right. "Do you actually expect me to agree to that?"

She looked up to the ceiling, he was sure she was asking some higher being for the strenght to not throttle him. "I'm not asking for us to be friends or anything," she began again once again, her eyes turning to him. "Just for us to be civil. I'll still hate you, and you'll still undoubtedly hate me, we'd just have to tolerate each other, even ignoring each other would be better than starting a screaming match every moment that we're here."

Malfoy arched an eyebrow. "What exactly would this..."tolerating" entail?" The brilliant smile Hermione sent him made him more than a little suspicious. His comfort zone was hateful glares and scowls, this was completely new territory.

"Well, for starters, you can stop calling me mudblood." She smirked at his outraged look.

If he weren't a Malfoy he would have sputtered. "Fine, but you have to stop calling me ferret." Hermione looked up in thought for a second, then nodded and went on with her list of demands.

"You'll have to stop playing jokes on me to embarrass me in front of your Slytherin followers." He scowled but nodded and said nothing so she continued. "And you've got to stop calling Harry and Ron, Potty and Weasel."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He slammed his hands on the table in outrage. "Now that is where I draw the line Granger! I refuse to stop making fun of Potty and Weasel," He continued in a strained voice, "It's the only thing that gives my day meaning." He paused, and creased his brow in thought before continuing. "Well, maybe not the _only_ thing." He smirked, his implication hanging in the air.

Hermione cleared her throat, "about that... there is to be no "shagging" in here, it's against school rules and I will not allow it." Hermione said and braced herself for his outburst.

She was not disappointed, "Are you completely mental Granger!? Do you know how many women you are disappointing right now!" Hermione sent him a flat look, _'Count on Malfoy to turn any situation into a melo-drama.'_

The boy continued his tirade, shaking an indignant finger in the air. "I don't believe you expect me to go a year without sex! The longest I've ever lasted was two weeks! And that was because I was trapped in the Infirmary, and trust me it wasn't for lack of trying!" Hermione let out a sound of ill-covered laughter.

"You're pathetic."

"No, I'm a guy." Hermione snorted.

"I have my doubts." He sent her a deadly glare, which she completely ignored. "You do bare a remarkable resemblance to Kyara."

There was a moment of silence in which the girl closed her eyes and mentally gave herself a pat on the back for shutting the boy up. When she opened her eyes however Malfoy's face was mere centimeters from hers.

"Well Hermione," He breathed out her name, making her shiver in what could only be described as revulsion. "If you ever want me to prove how much of a man I am, just say the word. When I'm finished with you you'll think 'Draco' is the only word you know."

Malfoy smirked and sat back down, carelessly running a hand through his blond hair. He looked over at the girl, who still looked a little dazed, and almost grinned; he had that affect on most women. And although Granger thought she was different, he knew she was just like the rest of them.

Hermione licked her inexplicably dry lips as her mind went into overdrive. _'He did not just do that!' _She was sure her cheeks were burning red, and if the look on the face of the dope sitting across from her was any indication, he thought it was a blush of embarrassment, he'd never been more wrong in his life.

She forced herself into a state of mental calm, though strangling the life out of the prat would make her feel better -so much better- he wasn't worth losing her head girl position and all of it's lovely perks.

Letting out a long breath, she opened her eyes and said, in what she hoped was a calm voice. "You're going to have to choose." He was clearly not expecting her to say that, and it showed plainly on his face.

"What?" He sent the girl an incredulous stare.

_'There is something terribly wrong with this girl.'_

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "You'll have to choose between being almost human to Harry and Ron, or having your little tarts in here." She waited patiently for him to say something for nearly a minute.

"Hurry up Malfoy, it's not that hard, either call my friends by their proper name, or its just going to be you and your hand for the rest of the year." He made a face then sighed.

"Fine, I won't call them Potty and Weasel."

"Great!" Hermione couldn't help but smile.

"How about Potty and his shadow...or Scarhead and-"

"Good Merlin Malfoy, do you have a list or something?" Hermione asked, effectively cutting him off, and gave him a suspicious look.

His lips twitched into a classic Malfoy smirk, "I've got to do something to keep myself busy over the summer."

Hermione sighed loudly and muttered "Merlin help me." Before rubbing her temples and looking over to the Slytherin, she wasn't even sure if he was joking or not.

"Ok, just try and say: Harry and Ron."

"You've got to be mental Granger, I will not call them that!" Hermione sent him a fierce glare, the message was clear, either he called them by their names, or he was going to be a very lonely boy this year.

Malfoy glared at her then ran a hand through his silver hair and let out a resigned sigh. He opened and closed his mouth several times, no sound coming out either time.

"H-Ha-Harry, and Ro-ron." He finished with a grimace, after flinching a few times and looking extremely disgusted, but Hermione only smiled brightly at him as he turned a very odd shade of green.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" She asked in a babying voice.

"Not at all." Malfoy grumbled and got up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have to go soap my mouth for some other reason." Hermione watched him walk up the stairs to his room, slamming the portrait door as loudly as he could.

She grinned to herself and headed to her room. She stopped for a moment to think up a password to give to her portrait of a lion, settling on Elizabeth, her middle name. She smiled widely when she saw her room. It was huge. Of course it was decorated in gold and red as she expected. There was a canopy bed in the middle of her room, the sheets and comforter were a deep red with golden pillows. The walls were the same deep red with vines and leaves painted on in a rich golden colour that accented the red. There were two glass doors that apparently lead to her balcony overlooking the Quidditch pitch. She had a vanity and a huge closet on one side of the room. A dark red oak desk sat in the corner, her bags and Crookshanks' cage rested on the floor in front of it.

She walked over to the door that led to her shared bathroom, it was locked. Apparently Malfoy held true to his word about soaping out his mouth. She grinned and took Crookshanks out of his cage.

Her friends were never going to believe that she actually had a semi-civil conversation with Draco Malfoy.

She giggled to herself and dropped onto her bed with the orange cat in her arms; she couldn't wait 'til morning to tell them.

* * *

"I still don't trust the ferret." Ron grumbled after Hermione retold the events of the prior night, choosing to omit Malfoy's...comment.

"Yeah Hermione, he's still Malfoy." Harry agreed as they walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione had met them in the Gryffindor tower, just because she no longer resided in the Gryffindor dorms didn't mean she would give up her duties as the boys' alarm clock.

"Well, well, well," The all to familiar drawl came from behind them, stopping whatever Hermione was about to say. He was coming up the hallway to the Great Hall followed of course by his loyal lackeys. "If it isn't Potty, Weasel and the mu-" Hermione sent him a look that clearly said _'Are you sure you want to continue that sentence?'_

Malfoy sighed and glared at the trio. "I mean, if it isn't H-Ha-Har- hell, it would be easier to just ignore you both." He muttered a string of curses and brushed past them into the Great Hall, followed by his disgruntled lackeys.

"I can't believe he's going to ignore you guys now, I should make him apologize and-"

"NO!" Both boys yelled cutting off Hermione. Ron cleared his throat and put an arm around his girlfriend.

"We mean it's OK, Malfoy ignoring us is way better than Malfoy being civil with us."

"Yeah Hermione, we can live with this, the less Malfoy, the better."

Hermione grinned and linked arms with her two best friends.


	4. Late Night Poetry Anyone?

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter Three**

**Late Night Poetry Anyone?**

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" The girl in question looked up from her thick volume of Practical Potions to the bright eyes of her friend Ginny.

"Um...It's the library." Hermione replied, her eyes scanning the room. "I think the better question would be: what are you doing here?" Ginny shrugged and sat in the chair across from Hermione.

"So Hermione, it's been almost a week and a half, how long are you planning on avoiding your common room?" Ginny's lips curled into a very Malfoy worthy smirk when Hermione sent her a glare. She had always hated how blunt her friend was. "I mean, yeah Malfoy is a toad, but I'm sure that common room makes up for it."

"Well Gin, for once Malfoy's... toad-ness isn't why I've made a point of staying out of the Head's dorms." Ginny arched an eyebrow clearly interested in why her friend -who had wanted nothing more than to become Head Girl since she was accepted to Hogwarts- was now avoiding one of the nicest perks of the position.

"It's Malfoy's apparent insatiable sex drive!" Ginny dropped the book she was skimming and started laughing to the point of tears, but sobered up when Madam Pince rounded a bookshelf with a hard glare at the ready. "You were right about the line of girls, Gin. I've seen it!" She ignored the snickering girl across from her and continued in a harsh whisper. "And I'm sure the sick git is doing this all just to spite me!"

Ginny arched an eyebrow. "Oh yes Hermione, I'm sure that he's normally positively abstinent but since you made him angry he's out to sex up all of Hogwarts to spite you." Whatever look of annoyance Hermione sent the girl was ignored. "You've got to be exaggerating Hermione."

"Ok maybe a little," The younger girl rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand, signaling her friend to continue. "But I really think I've seen half of the female population of Europe leaving his room this past week." She ignored Ginny's snort. "And for some reason I just don't think they were there for some leisurely conversation." Hermione whispered, dropping her voice even lower when she noticed Madam Pince looking her way.

"Well he is the 'Slytherin Sex God,' so I guess anything less would just be unacceptable." Ginny whispered with a shrug.

"Once again, I'm almost positive you made that name up." Ginny scoffed, "Even so, it would be nice to walk to my room without hearing his headboard smashing a hole in the wall."

"Well this is your punishment for spending all that time with your nose in a book instead of traipsing through the school at night for a snog like the rest of us. Now you have to room with the 'Slytherin Sex God.'"

Hermione snorted. "More like the Slytherin Man Whore if you ask me."

"Well," Hermione nearly groaned, she knew when Ginny used that tone something inappropriate would come out of the little red head's mouth. "Judging from those girls, at least you know if anything were to happen withyou and Malfoy, you're guaranteed one hell of a good time."

Hermione sighed, "Well Ginerva, nothing is going to happen because -for the millionth time- I. Date. Your. Brother." She said slowly as if speaking to a child then added an evil glare for good measure. Ginny held up her hands in defense.

"Well, I'm just saying. You are living with one of -if not **the**- best looking boys in the school, and even you may be subject to temptation... and if he set his eyes on you, there definitely will be a lot of temptation," She leaned over the table with a wide grin, her voice dropped to a whisper; "And I still think he'd be better than Ron."

Hermione slammed her book shut, "Well Gin, this has been fun," Her hands stretched about the table gathering her things, which she stuffed haphazardly into her bag. "But if you'll excuse me, I have a dorm to go reclaim. Have fun with Harry back here." She added with a grin.

"H-he-" Hermione interrupted the sputtering girl, "Really Gin, you here by yourself on a Friday night, I'm sure studying isn't the only thing you plan on doing."Hermione waved to the blushing girl and strode out of the library, she nearly bumping into Harry at the door.

* * *

"Hi Kyara, do you know if Malfoy's um...with a girl right now?" Hermione asked, blushing slightly.

"Actually, no. You are ze only girl who 'as come into ze common room today." Kyara answered. "I was talking to Mariella today and she was telling me what she 'eard some of ze ot' er girls in ze hallways talking about him. Apparently 'e iz very popular." In the few days that Hermione had been in the castle, she'd discovered that Kyara loved to talk, more-so than even the Fat Lady.

"Yeah he is, it's really annoying actually." Kyara was about to respond, but Hermione was quick to speak before the portrait had time to start up a conversation. "Well, I'm a bit sleepy I'll talk to you later." Hermione said faking a yawn before speaking the password. Kyara wished her goodnight before the portrait swung open letting her in, and closing behind her.

The comfy beige common room couch never looked so good to her, she dropped her bag moved to the couch.

"Well it's about time you came in Granger." Hermione groaned and counted backwards from ten, she did have an equally comfy bed in her room, and Malfoy wasn't there as an added bonus. Without sparing the boy a glance she scooped up her bag and headed to her room.

"Hey, wait! We need to talk." She sighed and turned around to face Malfoy for the first time since their talk more than a week ago. The insult that built up in her throat died on her tongue as her eyes beheld the sight in front of her. There -only a foot or so away- stood Malfoy in a black robe that -of course- he had hung open to reveal green boxers.

Her mind and her eyes were locked in a battle of wills as she tried in vain not to ogle his smooth toned chest. Quidditch surely had done a lot for the boy over the years.

"See something you like Granger?" His cocky voice brought her eyes back up to his. His trademark smirk was already in place.

"No." She tried to sound as defiant as possible, but the word came out as more of a squeak. If anything Malfoy's smirk got larger and he walked (_'Oh no,'_ She mentally chided, _'sauntered would be the proper word,'_) towards her. She made sure that with every step he took forward, she took one backwards.

But there was only so much room in their dorm and soon she found her back against the wall. She cursed none too silently as Malfoy came inches from her and put his hands on either side of her face, securely caging her between his body, which was now being pressed against her.

"Let me go Malfoy." She sent him an icy glare, finally getting enough control of her voice to make her words sound threatening.

"Nope, not until you admit you like my chest." Malfoy was practically grinning like a child on Christmas morning. How he had missed the simple pleasures that came with torturing the poor girl in front of him.

"As much as I would love too," Hermione drawled sarcastically. "I really rather not stroke your already enormous ego." She wanted to recall the words as soon as they left her lips, she knew she had just asked for a perverted response, and the sly smirk that twisted up they boy's lips made her sure she wouldn't be disappointed.

"Well Granger, if you don't want to stroke my ego; I'm sure we could find something else for you to stroke instead." He had to fight a grin from taking over his face when Hermione blushed a brilliant shade of red before sputtering.

"Wha-you-" She opened and closed her mouth a few times before settling on what always worked...yelling and name calling. "Just let me go you ferret!"

"Now now Granger, remember what we said about calling each other names." He mock scolded sickeningly sweet, resting his head on her shoulder. Hermione felt a shiver run up her spine when his hot breath caressed the skin of her neck. He continued, "I think it only fair that you owe me one favor for such an indiscretion of such mammoth proportion." She rolled her eyes at his hurt tone.

"I do not! We never agreed to those terms!" Draco moved his head and brought his face barely an inch from hers, smirking when she tried to move her head back.

"Well Granger, I'm pretty sure that you're the one pinned to the wall right now, so I don't really think you have much say in the matter." He was beginning to wonder if she could even see anymore, it appeared her eyes were stuck in that mean squint she thought passed as a glare.

"Let me go Malfoy, and I might not hex you to death." She ground out through clenched teeth.

"As reassuring as that sounds," He began sarcastically, "The only way I'm letting you go is if you just admit that you think I'm sexy. And quite frankly, I kind of like this position." He returned his head to her shoulder for emphasis.

Hermione grumbled a few choice words under her breath and something that sounded like "egotistic pig" before sighing. "Fine I'll say it." She glared at him before adding "Only because I have a Potions essay to finish."

There was a pregnant pause between them while Draco waited and Hermione tried to figure out if she could say it and still keep her dignity intact.

"Well...?" Draco broke the silence making the girl sigh loudly.

"Fine!" Dignity be damned, she was sure the evil cockroach wouldn't have minded if he had to stay like this all night long, she however had other things to get done. "You have a nice chest." She grumbled, sighing happily when he moved off of her.

"Well Granger, I think you have a very nice chest also." He ignored the scathing look the girl sent him. "I think we should compare. Come on Granger; shirts off."

Hermione sent him a flat look before she stalked off to her room, she slammed her door as hard as she could behind herself but not before she made a very rude hand gesture.

"Well that wasn't very lady-like Granger!" He screamed, a Cheshire grin split his face as he heard muffled curses being screamed from the other side of her door.

* * *

Hermione sighed in contentment as she slipped deeper into her bath.

This was probably what she loved the most about being Head Girl. The bathroom was huge enough to hold a shower in one corner and the large bath tub that she occupied which could easily fit eight people and was adorned with different taps for bubbles, scented water and other things she had yet to try.

The bath was really the only reason she didn't spend all of her time in the Gryffindor tower. The only down side being that she had to share the room with that slimy git, Malfoy.

She muttered a few curses under her breath as she thought about the annoyance she was forced to tolerate for the next few months. How she would love to hex him until his head exploded. Azkaban wouldn't even be so much to bear as long as she knew she saved others from dealing with the annoying prat. She sighed and dipped her head under the water to clear her mind of Malfoy related thoughts.

"And here I was hoping the bubbles would stop." A deep voice drawled, as soon as she broke the surface, her calmed thoughts immediately dissipating. Her eyes snapped open to find the object of her irritation leaning against the door frame only a few feet away from her, now wearing a pair of black pants, grinning like the bloody Cheshire cat.

After the shock wore off, she did the only thing she could think to do, scream bloody murder and throw the nearest thing as hard as she could.

Malfoy's seeker instincts kicked in and he caught the bottle before it could do any bodily harm. He chuckled a bit; the girl had good aim, if he hadn't caught the shampoo in time it would've hit him right between the eyes. And the last thing he wanted was to explain to people was why exactly he had a nasty bruise on his face was from the bookworm in front of him.

"Merlin Granger, do you think you could scream any louder." He drawled sarcastically, walking into the bathroom.

The girl quickly shut her mouth and sent him a cold glare. "Get out Malfoy!" She snapped at the boy who sent her a lazy smirk.

"I think I much rather stay. You can't stay in there forever and I would love to see what it is that you hide under those baggy robes." His eyes, which were locked on hers, drifted down to her neck then the swell of her breasts to the bubbly water that shielded most of her from his wayward gaze.

Her glare intensified, but her eyes flickered to the soapy water, "I'm serious Malfoy, I've got a bottle of conditioner here and this time I'll make sure it hits it's mark." She ground out.

The boy scoffed at her supposed threat. Instead he went to sit on the edge of the bathtub, he chuckeld when the girl pressed herself to the back of the tub. He even went as far as to put his hand in the water, running his fingers through it. "I think it's time I called in that favor you owe me Granger." He sent her one of his sexiest smirks that made most any girl swoon.

But Hermione wasn't like most girls, "Malfoy, I wouldn't care if I owed you my life, I am not letting you into this tub with me." She sneered, making no effort to hide her immeasurable hatred for the boy before her.

Malfoy let out a snort of laughter. "Oh don't flatter yourself Granger. Besides I've already done some rather enjoyable things in that tub with someone much more enjoyable girls, I don't see why I would bother do a repeat performance with you. But if you would like..." He let the sentence hang in the air, it's implications obvious.

Hermione paled considerably, and if Malfoy weren't in the room she knew she would have jumped out of the tub as fast as she possibly could. "As appetizing as that sounds," She began, imitating his sarcastic drawl perfectly. "I much rather rot." She ended sweetly, sending him a smirk that mirrored his. She might have been thoroughly disgusted, but there was no way she would let that stop her from lowering his ego a few pegs.

"Like I'd even waste any time on you." He sneered, but made no move to take his hand from the water.

"So if you're not here to sexually harass me," She chose to ignore Malfoy's disgusted expression. "Why are you here? Even you have enough decency to know not to annoy someone when they're bathing."

"I need your opinion." To say that was a surprise wouldn't quite cover it. Hermione idly thought that she had drowned and this was an act of her unconscious mind.

"Um...what?" Malfoy rolled his eyes and pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from his pant pocket.

"Are you deaf? I said I needed your opinion." Hermione glared at him, and wanted to tell him to just sod off, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Why would _you _ask for _my_ help?" She asked bluntly.

"Simple, you're smart and you're a girl," He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "A complete pain in the ass though," before continuing. "Besides, you're right here so what's the use in going to look for someone else."

'_Lazy prat.' _

He cleared his throat, "And for the record, I'm not asking for your _help,_ I'm asking for your _opinion_."

She let out a resigned sigh, and sent the evil git a dark look out of the corner of her eye. She was sure he wasn't going to let her out of the tub without helping him, and she was beginning to prune. "Ok, what is it?" She propped a hand up on the rim of the tub and rested her head in her upturned palm.

"A poem." She let out a sound somewhere between a scoff and a choke in the back of her throat, her hand slipped off the tub and she sank into the water before coming back up seconds later sputtering a bit of water from her mouth. Malfoy was grinning broadly, obviously enjoying her reaction.

Now she was sure she was unconscious and dreaming.

"A what?"

"A poem." His voice showed his mounting irritation. "Really Granger, you should go to Pomfrey and get your ears checked." The girl glared at him, wishing she had her wand with her.

"So why on earth would you of all people write a poem?" She asked, propping her arm back up and resting her head back in her palm.

"Pansy." He grumbled a few words she didn't catch before continuing. "Something about wanting me to be sweeter, like other boyfriends."

"Parkinson is _your_ girlfriend?" Hermione asked incredulously. "You're her _boyfriend_?"

He rolled his eyes, "Those two usually go together do they not? Really Granger, I think that Brightest Witch of our Age title of yours needs to be revoked." He swore he heard the girl growl. "And she's more like fiancée." Hermione couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped her, her earlier annoyance nearly disappeared completely.

Malfoy was sure the girl was bad for his blood pressure, "What -pray-tell - is so funny Granger?" He sent her a bone-chilling glare, which she ignored, and tried to sober herself enough to speak.

"Oh I don't know," She said, sarcasm dripping from every word, "Maybe the fact that in the few days I've been here I've seen nearly a quarter of the Hogwarts female population enter your room-"

"Oh really Granger, you're exaggerating. It's only been four girls." Hermione waved him off.

"And from what I've heard, Pansy is -ahem- _well known _to quite a bit of the school's male population. And now, you tell me that you and Parkinson are... engaged." She let out a snort of laughter. "I really think there couldn't be a better couple." Malfoy glared at her, which only made her erupt in another fit of laughter.

"That wedding, is purely a business agreement." He snapped, though Hermione wasn't sure if it was because he was mad at her, or mad at the fate of his adult years. She could sympathize with him, that girl had a voice worst than nails on a chalkboard.

"So are you going to help or not?"

"Well it seems as if I have no choice, I doubt you'd leave unless I agree, and I am definitely not getting out of this tub with you in here." Malfoy smirked and his eyes once again drifted below her neck.

"So if you will please stop ogling my chest!" She snapped, drawing his attention back to her face, a lazy smirk sliding onto his lips. "I think we can do this fast."

"First time any girl has ever said those words to me." He chuckled, Hermione looked as if she would kill him any second. "You're such a spoil sport, Granger." He mock pouted. At her flat look he cleared his throat and unrolled the parchment with a flourish. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Imbecile."

"Say something Granger?"

"Just go."

He cleared his throat once more, "Roses are-"

"Oh Merlin." Hermione interrupted, massaging her temples. "Isn't that muggle poetry?"

"Yeah, it'll make her think this is my original work, now if you don't mind." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, don't let me stop you from butchering the art of poetry." She muttered and gestured for him to go on.

"Roses are red Violets are blue

"Pansy Parkinson how I love doing you."

"Oh Merlin." Malfoy ignored the girl who was turning a bit pale.

"You scream and writhe and throw back our head

"One day we should even try doing it on a bed."

"I think I'm going to be sick." Hermione muttered, but Malfoy still went on.

"And when we're in a romantic mood I'll set out some romantic food

"Then we'll do it with some candles lit.

"I love it especially when you scream my name every time I-"

"STOP!" Malfoy's eyes snapped off the parchment to the clearly nauseous girl in front of him. "I think I got it."

"So..?" Malfoy arched an eyebrow, letting the question hang in the air.

Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times as her mind groped for a compliment "That was...um...it rhymed...a bit." She said throwing him a smile.

Malfoy glared at her. "Well I'd like to see you try it."

The girl snorted and rolled her eyes. "Reverse psychology isn't going to work on me Malfoy, especially when it's done so poorly." He sent her a rather hateful look before sighing.

"Can't you even fix it or something Granger?"

"I'm sure I could, but why would I? You're practically holding me hostage in a bathtub, and I'm starting to prune here." She held up one of her hands to show her wrinkled fingers for emphasis.

"You do things like this for Potter and Weasely-"

"Yes because they're _my friends_. Or do they not teach you that concept in the dungeons?" She snapped cutting him off. She really was starting to get a bit annoyed, he had her sitting in the water for at least 15 minutes.

Malfoy sent her an icy glare. "I do have friends Granger, ones who actually come to me for more than just help with their assignments. Or do they not teach you _that _concept in the towers?" He snapped back, his irritation mirroring hers.

"Will you just get out so I can finish my bath in peace!" She yelled pointing to the door. Malfoy got up slowly and grinned at her.

"Looks like I've hit a nerve, eh Granger?" He said softly, smirking at the girl who glared at him intensely. He strolled over to the door without even glancing back at her once. "Maybe you need to look over your little friendship with Potter and Weasley... even you deserve better." His near silent words drifted to her before he closed the door behind him.

* * *

She slammed her door shut as harshly as she could, the lion on her door roared loudly before returning to sleep. The girl practically stomped down the stairs with the might of a pajamas clad, raving hippopotamos. A piece of parchment clutched tightly in her hands.

As she had guessed Malfoy was sitting on the sofa with his feet on the table in front of him. He looked deep in thought as he stared at the piece of parchment in front of him, Pansy's "poem" no doubt.

She dropped into the love seat by the fire with a huff and glared at the side of his too blond head.

"Out of the bath I see." He muttered, not raising his head from the page.

Her glare intensified and she tossed the rolled up piece of parchment in her hand at him. His hand shot up and caught the paper before it hit him without even batting an eyelash. _'Damn perfect prat.'_

"What's this?" He didn't unroll the parchment but looked at her from the corner of his eye, running a hand through his shaggy blond hair.

"Poem." The grumbled word was barely audible, but he caught it and grinned at her.

"Why Granger; are you being nice to me?" His eyes practically lit up with the prospect of annoying her in his grasp.

She snorted and rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that night. "Oh please Malfoy. I just couldn't sit back and watch you murder poetry like that."

Draco sent her a sly look and unrolled the paper. "Whatever you say Granger."

"So are you going to read it or not?" She muttered, averting her attention to the fire, trying to make herself look uninterested.

Once again Malfoy cleared his throat and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"How I love you- God Granger, did you have to make me sound like a complete ponce." She sent him a harsh glare from the corner of her eye.

"How I love you, my dearest Pansy Parkinslut- You gother name wrong Granger." He pointed to the name on the paper.

"No I didn't." Hermione responded slyly. "Keep reading."

"How I love you, my dearest Pansy Parkinslut

"Even though you remind me of my pet mutt." Malfoy paused and grinned before continuing.

"You stay near me always, following me without fail

"I fear the only way to get rid of you would be going to jail

"You're screeching voice, and greasy hair

"Have always filled me with a high level of fear

"And yet it seems my life is to be filled with this strife

"For one day you shall be my wife."

Malfoy grinned broadly and stuffed the poem in his pocket

"Brilliant Granger." He said with a hint of a chuckle. A light blush tinged the girl's cheeks and she smiled at him.

"Why thank you Malfoy." She yawned loudly and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Well goodnight. This was kind of... nice." She sent him one last smile before heading up the stairs to her room; leaving Draco alone once again.

His gray eyes stared into the flickering fire before he too got up and went to his room.

"Yes it was Granger."


	5. Let Me In

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter Four**

**Let Me In**

Hermione glared down the deserted hallway, her scowl darkening at each shadow that flitted across her path.

She guessed it was about 11:30, and she was on patrol. Yes patrol; instead of being in her room curled up to a nice book, or taking a long luxurious bath. Her scowl deepened at the thought.

Normally the thought of tending to her Head duties wasn't something she would ever scowl upon, and in fact the act of patrolling wasn't what was making her so disgruntled.

It was with whom she was patrolling. She shot a dark glower to the overly smug looking boy walking next to her.

As usual he wasn't making it easy for her. Every time she tried to start a conversation to try and pass the time, he would somehow manage to get in a scathing remark about either her family, friends, or of course, herself.

So in the end she decided she much rather have absolute silence than deal with his pompous attitude.

In the day that had passed since their -what she liked to call- poetry session, Malfoy went back to being the git she came to know and hate, much to her chagrin. She wasn't expecting him to be nice and pleasant to her...ok maybe she was, but a little wishful thinking never hurt anyone. But he was still Malfoy, and showing anything that might be mistaken for human emotions was just out of the question.

Hermione sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose; she had learned too much thinking of her "Malfoy predicament" inevitably led to a painful migraine.

This was not going to be an easy year.

* * *

"So how are things with Malfoy so far?" Ginny asked the brunette across from her over breakfast the next morning.

"Borderline homicidal. Sorry Gin, a relationship between Malfoy and I is about as possible as Snape giving Gryffindor house points." Hermione could no longer even gather the strength to be angry at or annoyed with Ginny for her near constant badgering on her non-existent relationship with the blond-haired devil. She grew to accept the fact that her best friend was clinically insane and now it seemed common place for her near daily reports on life with Malfoy.

"You know, I really have a feeling you two should be together and I can't shake it." Ginny muttered before draining the last bit of orange juice from her goblet.

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag and left the great hall with Ginny a few steps behind her. "Oh stop it Ginny, you're starting to sound like Trelawny."

"Ah yes," The red head jogged a few paces to stand at Hermione's side, her voice going airy as she did a perfect imitation of the Divination Professor. "It is written in the tea leaves, you two are destined for each other, but be warned; the stars tell me you will die in a week."

Hermione grinned and turned to the other girl. "Bye Gin, and don't forget the prefect meeting tonight at 8."

Ginny nodded and pulled on her bookbag strap before turning to corner to head to her next class. "Wouldn't miss it 'Mione."

* * *

Hermione sighed and looked at the clock on her desk top, 7:08. A low groan escaped her as she closed her book and rolled out of her bed. The prefects meeting was in less than an hour and that meant she'd have to set up; it also meant she would have to wake the beast, or Malfoy as he was known to the other students.

She stretched and ran her hands over her clothes, trying to smooth out the wrinkles and creases, before leaving her room and making her way to Malfoy's door. She knocked loudly and earned an irritated hiss from the snake portrait guarding his room.

"Malfoy! Wake up!" She sighed and knocked on the door again. _'He better not be trying to annoy me.'_

_

* * *

  
_

Hermione pounded on the portrait door to Malfoy's room. The snake in the portrait had grown tired of hissing and spitting at her and now stared at her with a bemused expression. (As bemused as a snake can get) And for what she guessed was the millionth time she yelled his name.

"Malfoy!" Nearly growling she continued pounding on the door.

"Malfoy! Malfoy please!" She sighed loudly and leaned her back against the portrait her head lolling onto the canvas, earning a half-hearted hiss from the snake. "Malfoy, I know you're in th-" Before she had time to react she heard a soft click and the door opened and she found herself falling backwards...into Malfoy's chest...correction, onto Malfoy's bare chest.

"Why hello Granger." She looked up at the smirk she had grown to hate even more.

After finally pushing herself off of Malfoy, she realized something that made her, if at all possible, even angrier. He was awake, not awake for 20 minutes awake, no, no, wide in had been awake for at least 2 hours.

"You!" She pointed an accusing finger at him, which only succeeded in turning his smirk to a broad grin. "You've been awake this whole time!"

"Yes...your point?" His sarcastic drawl caused her temper to bubble even more.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Why didn't you just answer your bloody door instead of making me scream myself hoarse!" Her words escaped her through clenched teeth.

Malfoy sent her a devilish smirk before responding. "Well, I was rather enjoying hearing you scream my name at the top of your lungs. Practicing for later I'm assuming?" It took all of Hermione's will power to not punch Malfoy, she decided against stooping to his level.

"There will be no "later" Malfoy."

"Oh, what a pity." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the doorframe. "You know my offer still stands." Hermione's look of pure repulsion obviously went unnoticed by the boy and before she knew what had happened she was pulled against him.

"I want you Granger, and I will have you, and trust me, you'll be more than happy to scream my name then." He whispered huskily in her ear, his hot breath tickling the sensitive skin.

Hermione quickly overcame her shock and pushed herself off Malfoy, her anger burning brightly in her eyes.

"Well sorry to disappoint you Malfoy," She spat out his name with as much malice as she could muster. "But I am not another one of those idiot-girls whose only goal is to get into bed with you. I am much smarter than that, and trust me," She leaned close and copied his trademark smirk. "It will never happen."

Malfoy's features hardened and his cocky smirk was wiped away, replaced with a hateful glower. Hermione ignored the hell-freezing glare he sent her and continued speaking.

"We have a meeting with the prefects in forty-five minutes, don't be late." With that she turned around and walked down the steps to the common room, not even casting a glance behind her when she heard his door slam.

* * *

Draco glared at his reflection in the full-length mirror in his room. The meeting was to start soon, he could already hear some of the early arrivals speaking with Granger downstairs.

He let out a deep sigh and ran his hand through his shaggy blond hair. Why was that girl so difficult? He knew there were lots of girls in the school who would be more than happy to be bedded by him, and dammit why wasn't Granger one of them!

He was handsome, rich, smart, and famous in a way. (Nearly everyone in wizarding England knew of Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune and son of the dreaded Lucius Malfoy.) So there was no possible reason -that he could think of- as to why this girl just refused his advances. He wasn't asking for her to hand him her precious Potter's head on a platter -although that would be _amazing_ foreplay; all he wanted was one good shag.

_'Well maybe not __**just**__ one, but still...'_ He thought with a smirk before sighing again. With one last glance at himself in the mirror he turned and walked to his door. As he reached out to grasp the doorknob a soft tapping echoed through his room. His dark grey eyes darted to the window where a regal looking owl was flapping its large brown wings, it's talons tapping at the glass with a letter held firmly in it's grasp.

Malfoy arched an eyebrow before he walked over to the window and opened it. The owl gracefully flew into his room and landed on his desk where it gave him a piercing look before flying out of the window again, the letter left on the table. He closed his window before going back to his desk and picking up the letter.

His eyes scanned over the deep red writing on the front of the letter before tearing open the seal; St. Mungo's Hospital. As his eyes flew over the words on the page a deep frown creased his brow.

"Shit."

* * *

"Can we please get this started?" Grumbled Pansy Parkinson , the Slytherin prefect, for the near millionth time that night. Penelope Clearwater, the Ravenclaw prefect, nodded her agreement and drummed her fingers on the table.

"Well I'm sure if your self centered boyfriend could pull his eyes off of the mirror for ten minutes we might actually be able to get this started." Ginny muttered, sending a glare at the Slytherin girl across the table. The prefects and Hermione had been waiting for Draco to grace them with his presence for nearly twenty minutes now, needless to say, it was getting a bit ugly.

"Well my Drakie likes to look good," Pansy retorted looking down her nose at Ginny. "Unlike some people." She sent a snide smile to Ginny who turned red with ill-suppressed anger.

"Parkinson of all the people here you should be the last to talk, you pug faced little-"

"I think it's about time we get started." A gruff voice called from the head of the table, efficiently cutting off the mountains of insults that were about to spew from Ginny's mouth. Nine pairs of eyes turned to the blond boy who had so quietly descended upon the table while everyone was watching the argument brewing between Ginny and Pansy.

"Oh Drakie; you're here!" Pansy turned her attention from the fuming red head to the stoic blond as soon as she heard his icy voice. She batted her eyelashes coyly before continuing, causing everyone at the table to roll their eyes. "You should have heard the horrible things this nasty little Weasley was saying abou-"

Draco rolled his eyes before setting a hard glare on the half-witted girl. "Shut up Parkinson, we have more important things to discuss." Pansy's jaw dropped and her cheeks flamed red.

"Drakie!"

Ginny grinned broadly before relaxing in her chair. "You heard the man Parkinson, shove it."

* * *

Hermione's head shot up from resting in her hands when she heard Malfoy's voice cut through the escalating argument. He looked normal enough; same blond hair, same complexion, same everything, but she knew something was off.

His voice was no longer smooth and silky, but hard and chipped. When he moved it lacked the aristocratic grace he always showed. But most obvious we're his eyes.

The normal icy color was darkened to a deep, contemplative grey. Something was definitely wrong, and as she turned back to the on going conversation on what to the theme for the Halloween ball would be, she vowed she wouldn't rest until she found out what was weighing so heavily on the Slytherin's mind.

* * *

An hour and a half later the prefects had all left after a long and tiring debate on nearly everything but the topic they we're supposed to be debating on. In the end, it was settled that the prefects would help with decorations and picking the food, all of which had to be cleared through the heads and teachers of course. The dress code was set, after Hermione's very conservative views had to be dimmed down a bit. And the theme was set to 'Classic Halloween'. After nearly two hours it was the only common ground they found.

Draco was opening the door to his room when a loud cough from one of the portraits caught both his and Hermione's attention.

The portrait, a burly, bearded man, cleared his throat once more before opening his mouth.

"Mr. Malfoy I presume." His words were clipped and voice was deep with a heavy Scottish accent. Draco merely nodded and the portrait continued. "Head Master Dumbledore wishes to speak with you alone in his office post haste."

Without a word to Hermione, who was sitting on the couch in the common room, Draco turned and left their dorm.

Hermione let out a deep sigh when she heard the soft click of the common room door closing and waited a few seconds before putting down her book. She headed up the stairs to Draco's room, noting with great joy that he had forgotten to close his door completely.

"Well this saves me some time on trying to figure out his password." The snake portrait gave her a hard glare as she creeped into Malfoy's room and she silently thanked Merlin that his portrait couldn't speak.

Hermione looked carefully around Draco's room, it was nearly a mirror image of hers, the exception being the dark Slytherin colors that decorated the room.

She felt wrong about snooping through his things, but something was bothering him and she knew asking him would just never work. Her curiosity just wouldn't die so this was the only way she could think of to find out what was on Malfoy's mind.

Her eyes scanned the room for anything that looked out of place; which wasn't that easy considering it wasn't her room.

Everything was neat and in order and she wasn't about to go through Malfoy's things, no doubt he would find out and complain of "Essence of mudblood" all over the room.

With a long resigned sigh she turned and was about to leave when a crumpled piece of parchment laying on the floor near his desk caught her eye. She mumbled a quick word of interest before bending to pick up the paper. It was crumpled into a tight ball and took a great deal of smoothing out before she could make out the words.

It was addressed from St. Mungo's.

_Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

_We regret to inform you of the passing of your mother last night at 8:23 p.m. We send our condolences._

_St. Mungo's Hospital Staff_

Hermione stared blankly at the letter for what seemed like hours, lost in thought.

_'Malfoy's mother... is dead?'_ She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the portrait entrance to their common room shutting. She quickly dropped the letter and ran to the bathroom and into her room.

She scurried out of her room and down the stairs in time to see Malfoy put his head in his hands. Hermione gnawed on her bottom lip for a brief moment, apparently Malfoy hadn't noticed her, or was just ignoring her. She cleared her throat loudly but he never so much as twitched.

"Um...Malfoy?" He grunted and she took this as a cue to continue. "What's the matter, um...I've noticed something was wrong since the-"

"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong bookworm." He muttered loud enough for her to hear, not bothering to look up. Hermione didn't waver in her persistence, if anything she was even more determined to get Draco to open up to her.

"Malfoy, I- you know it's ok for you to tell someone what's bothering you. I won't tell anyone a word you tell me, if you need my help I want you to know I'm-"

"I don't need your help you annoying fool." Hermione balked but still pressed on.

"But-"

"Back off, will you mudblood!" Hermione's head snapped back as if she were slapped. During his outburst Malfoy raised his head and gave her such a look of intense loathing it made all the other harsh glares he sent her way over the years look like nothing more than withering glances.

The girl strengthened her resolve before continuing in a calm voice.

"Malfoy, I know you no longer hate me because of my blood -" A cryptic smile slid onto Draco's face before he stood and made his way to Hermione, instinctively she took a step backwards.

"What on Earth gave you that idea Granger? I do hate you because of your dirty blood, I may have fought in that war alongside Saint Potter and those other mudbloods, but that doesn't mean that I still don't hate you. In fact, I think it's you who doesn't hate me! You're too much of a goody-goody to even think of hating someone," He was so close she could feel his breath on the side of her face now. "Even someone like me!"

Hermione clenched her teeth trying to keep her rage at bay, but Draco's words were chipping away at her resolve. "You're right Malfoy! I don't hate you!" She began, sending him a long harsh glare before continuing "I loathe you! You're a vile, disgusting, nauseating-"

Malfoy cut her off with a harsh laugh before moving himself off of her. "Well thanks for proving that you know how to use a thesaurus, Granger! But next time you try to insult me, why don't you try to actually believe the crap that you're spouting because I sure as hell don't! The fact is that you're too damn soft Granger! People like you don't survive in the real world! Open your bloody eyes and realize that not everyone has this damn hidden soft side that you believe in so much! People aren't like that, I AM NOT LIKE THAT!"

"Malfoy will you stop-"

"Just leave me alone mudblood!" Malfoy yelled again causing Hermione to flinch back a bit before continuing, her reign on her anger slipping.

"No, you insufferable prick! Something is bothering you and I'm not going to sit here and take your crap just because you're angry. So will you pull your head out of your ass long enough to realize that there's someone here who actually wants to help you!" She yelled back causing Malfoy to give her his most hateful glare yet.

"Look mudblood I don't want your pity and I don't need your help, so why don't you go back to your books and your little goons and stop trying to fix everyone else's problems!" Draco began calmly, slowly building up to loud yelling.

"I'm not trying to fix everyone else's problems Malfoy," Hermione's voice was as cold as ice, and her glare mimicked Malfoy's. "I'm trying to be a bloody human being! So for once why don't you try it also and show a little emotion and accept my help!" She snapped. Malfoy snorted loudly and looked at her as if she had made the world's funniest joke.

"I much rather not, whatever goes on in my life, is my business. So go back to your little fairytale world with wonderboy and his sidekick and your perfect life and STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MINE!" His steely grey eyes dared her to utter another word before her turned and stormed back to his room.

Hermione looked nervously at his back and before even realizing it, the words flew from her mouth without her brain's consent. "I know about your mom!"

Draco's hand paused midway to his portrait door, and Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. But it was too late her words were already out and the damage was done.

Hermione sighed, dropping her hands from her lips and continued, her voice dropping to a level barely above a whisper, but she knew he heard.

"I read the letter." If possible her voice dropped even lower. "I'm sorry."

Her only response was the harsh slam of his door.


	6. Stormy Sky and Silver Eyes

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter 5**

**Stormy Skies and Silver Eyes**

In the days following what Hermione had termed "the incident" she saw very little of Malfoy. She caught glimpses of him in the classes they shared and in the Great Hall, even occasionally in the hallways. But she never saw him in the Heads' dorms anymore; there wasn't even a sound when she knocked on his bedroom door. She figured that he was sleeping in the Slytherin dormitories, she knew for a fact that almost all of the Slytherin's would happily give up their bed for him.

Under different circumstances Hermione would have been ecstatic that the boy who tormented her for over six years was avoiding her like the plague; but for some reason that thought didn't comfort her as much as it normally would have.

* * *

"Hermione, Halloween is in a few days, and we've only had one meeting." Ginny said to her friend over their bowl of cookies late one Saturday night. Even though Hermione did admit she felt horrible about causing Draco to abandon the head quarters she had to admit it was much easier to have people over.

"I'm aware of that Ginny, but what can I do? The Head Boy is skiving on his duties and I'm pretty sure all the prefects hate each other." Hermione grumbled. Ginny nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah ... what's with Malfoy anyway? I hate to say it but we really need him, he's the only person all of the prefects listen to. No offense of course Hermione." Ginny blushed slightly looking up and her friend who only nodded and grinned.

"To tell you the truth, you're actually right. He kind of scares people into listening to him. It's just the Malfoy way to have all eyes on him, whether for a good reason or bad."

The red head looked at her friend and sighed. "I hate being the adult here Hermione, but I honestly think you two need to grow up and try and resolve your differences; because without Malfoy there will be no Halloween Dance."

Hermione snorted and looked at her friend curiously. "And how do you suppose we'd do that? I don't really see Malfoy as the type to accept an apology, no matter how heartfelt."

Ginny thought for a while before nodding. "I see your point. But if you don't mind my asking, what was the fight about exactly?" The younger girl looked nonchalant as she asked the question, busying herself with looking for a good cookie in the bowl, all the while she watched Hermione out of the corner of her eye. Noting the way she shifted in her seat and how her eyes widened slightly. Hermione was always easy to read if you knew just what signs to look for.

"Space issues." Hermione lied, knowing full well that Ginny thought her answer wasn't the truth; but instead of asking anything else Ginny only nodded and left the question for another day. Instead she routed the conversation back to their original topic.

"So about the dance?"

Hermione groaned, if she didn't "make nice" with Malfoy she could tell that that was one major disaster waiting to happen. "I guess I should call an emergency prefect meeting to discuss the details, and post flyers for the dance in all the common rooms with the specifics on them afterwards. I'll have to send owls informing the prefects as soon as I wake up tomorrow. Though I doubt they'd be at all happy with this."

Ginny grimaced, she had plans with Harry tomorrow. She sighed but nodded grudgingly, mumbling "fine" to Hermione. Suddenly her eyes lit up and Hermione let out a low groan knowing exactly what would come next.

"Maybe you and Malfoy should wear matching costumes. He'd look pretty sexy as the Phantom of the Opera." Ginny grinned cheekily remembering the play Hermione had taken her to see over the summer.

"Unbelievable." Hermione grumbled and slowly got out of her chair while Ginny was talking about which costumes she and Malfoy would look best in.

"Well I'm just saying you two would make a perfect couple." Hermione turned to the girl who was still sitting and sent her a withering glare.

"Ginerva Weasley, will you ever let this go?"

Ginny faked a thoughtful look and tapped her chin. "Um...yes. When I walk down and hallway and find you two snogging like the hormone driven teenagers you are."

Hermione let out a deep sigh and threw her arms in the air while turning away to stalk to her room, with a pajama clad Ginny trailing behind her.

They settled in to sleep without another Malfoy related word from Ginny. But as Hermione was falling asleep Ginny nudged her.

"Hermione?"

The older girl groaned into her pillow before answering with a curt, "Yes, Ginny?"

"Do you think he wears boxers or briefs?"

"Ugh!"

* * *

True to her word the next day Hermione sped to the owlery to send messages to each prefect and Malfoy about the emergency meeting. And at 6:00 sharp eight grumpy prefects piled into the Heads' common room. Hermione's eyes scanned through the small crowd, but couldn't find the platinum blond head she was searching for.

"Well I guess we should start then." Hermione said over the low rumbled of voices. It was already 6:10 and Malfoy was no where to be seen.

"We're not supposed to start without the Head Boy." The Hufflepuff prefect, Michael Hordly, interjected. A few heads nodded in assent.

"Then I suggest we get started." A silky voice rang out from the portrait hole entrance. All eyes turned to the smirking blond who swaggered to the head of the table to stand next to Hermione. Even after he came to a stop next to her, her eyes were still glued to him. The small smile that made its way onto her lips was wiped away when he turned a frosty glare her way.

"What are you staring at mudblood." His harsh whispered words were enough to make her heart clench.

The girl stared right into his cold empty eyes for another short moment. "Nothing Malfoy." She mumbled bringing her gaze back to the waiting prefects. "Absolutely nothing."

It wasn't until 9:48 did the prefects empty out of the common room, even more disgruntled and sleepy than they were when they entered. But now everything was planned completely and using some connections a few Slytherin's had they were able to get some great bands

Hermione waited until everyone left the room -pretending to busy herself by looking over the list she was to hand to Dumbledore- until only she and Draco remained.

"Are you staying here for the night?" Hermione asked, her eyes averted to a spot on the table.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she noted the hilarity of the situation. Here she was Hermione Granger, Gryffindor, muggle-born witch and pretty much everything else he hated, asking for his company. She almost cracked a smile at the thought.

Draco, unaware of Hermione train of thought, stared at the girl's form speculatively before offering a simple, "No."

Hermione sighed to herself, was he really that angry? Although she had to admit that she had crossed the line.

"Oh." An awkward silence permeated the air and Hermione shifted uncomfortably, opening and closing her mouth a few times before words finally came out.

"So why are you still here." She winced inwardly, that didn't come out as she intended it to.

Draco arched an eyebrow and leaned against the wall folding his arms across his chest. Their little game of cat and mouse was starting to bore him.

"You seemed to have something you wanted to say to me. Unless you were just staring at me all night for my dashing good looks." His normal joking tone was cast aside, his eyes bore holes into the side of her turned head. Hermione nodded, and for the first time since their conversation started she dared to raise her eyes to meet his intense silver gaze.

She felt a shiver slither down her spine when their eyes connected. Instead of his normal stoic features and emotionless eyes, she saw feelings swimming deep in their steely depths. Hundreds of them, but most prominent were annoyance, anger...and sorrow. But as soon as she saw them they were gone and their gaze was broken when he quickly averted his eyes from her prying brown ones.

"Well?" He grumbled impatiently.

Hermione's mind snapped back to reality and she looked at the boy from head to toe for a brief moment, before taking a step towards him, and then another. She approached him cautiously, as if he were a bomb set to explode at any second; in a way he was.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. And I honestly mean it." He didn't make a sound so she continued speaking. "I just- Well you looked so depressed and I- I wanted to help-"

"I don't give a damn what your bloody motives were Granger. You should know better than anyone else I don't want your bloody help!" He snapped bringing his gaze back to hers.

"I know you don't want my help, but maybe you need it. Sometimes it's best to confide in someone Draco." The boy let out a hallow laugh, and pushed himself off the wall.

"Even if I did want to "confide" in someone," He began, turning his back to her and walking towards the portrait hole. "It surely wouldn't be you, mudblood." He walked out of the common room. And for the second time closed the door on Hermione's compassion.

* * *

Days passed and the whole school was buzzing about the approaching dance. Everywhere Hermione turned she would either see a nervous boy asking a giddy girl to be his date, or hear hushed whispers in class concerning what who was planning on wearing.

Hermione and Ron had decided against the heavily cliched matching couple's costumes and after what seemed like hours of tedious shopping on Hermione's part, she had finally settled on a costume both she and Ginny could agree on. Ginny had settled on a gypsy costume, which was surprising that they even had the costume in a wizarding store, while Hermione picked a simple white dress and angel wings. Ginny had rolled her eyes and grumbled about her friend's choice of clothes to which Hermione replied:

"I don't need to be half naked to have fun Ginerva." Then she tossed the clothing and some money to Ginny and asked her to pay while she changed out of the Vampire costume Ginny had picked for her to try on.

The dance was to be held at 7:30 on Halloween night, which luckily fell on a Saturday. When the day finally arrived most of the school had emptied out to Hogsmead to get their last minute costumes.

Hermione and most of the prefects closed off the Great Hall to decorate, while the remaining prefects and Draco watched over the food preparations in the kitchens. Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that the only reason Malfoy had opted to stay in the kitchen with the house elves was because she was in the Great Hall.

Nearly three hours after beginning to decorate, the Hall was finally fully furnished in all its Halloween glory. Hermione cast one last look over the room making sure everything was in place. Tossing a glance to the enchanted ceiling a small groan slipped from her lips. It was a dreary gray outside with rain clouds looming ominously over head. No doubt there would be a storm coming later, perfect for Halloween; but she never liked storms.

It was 5:15 when they finished giving everything a once over, but before Hermione could even breathe a sigh of relief she was pulled out of the Hall by her feisty red haired friend.

"Ginny what are you doing?" Hermione asked the younger girl while trying to tug her arm from her grasp as she was pulled up a long flight of stairs.

"We've got no time to get ready, we really need to hurry!" Ginny said coming to a stop in front of the portrait of Kyara who looked up from tickling Jasmine to smile prettily at them. Hermione sent an incredulous look to her obviously daft friend.

"Ginny, we have over _two hours_!" Hermione cried, causing Kyara to giggle.

"So you see my point then." Ginny replied.

"No! No I don't!" Ginny rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I'm going to the tower to shower. When I get back you had better have done the same." Ginny whipped around and hastily walked down the hallway, nearly hitting her friend in the face with her fiery red locks.

Hermione shook her head and muttered the password to Kyara who was trying to contain her giggles, even her cat looked amused.

* * *

"Ginerva Weasley!" The loud cry rang through the Head dorms coming from the bristled brunette in a fuzzy pink bathrobe. Ginny, who was applying makeup in the bathroom visibly winced and dashed to lock the door before her obviously enraged friend could get in.

"Alohamora!" The bathroom door flew open with nearly enough force to rip it off its hinges.

"You!" Hermione seethed as Ginny tried to back away but found herself trapped in the room with a girl who she was pretty sure would make sure her body was never found.

"What... is...THIS?" She ground out before shoving pieces of black and white cloth under the other girl's nose.

"Um... your costume?" Ginny said as she helplessly jiggled the doorknob on the door to Malfoy's room. Unfortunately it was locked.

"No it's not! My costume actually consisted of more than shreds of cloth!" Hermione screeched. Ginny scratched her head and let out a nervous laugh.

"For arguments sake Hermione, isn't all clothing just shreds of cloth stitched together?" Ginny swore she saw a vein pulsing on her friend's temple.

"Not the time Ginerva." She hated when people used her full name, but she wasn't about to chastise the very angry witch before her, especially not when she had such a deathgrip on her wand. "Explain!"

"Well... when you asked me to pay for it, I kind of switched costumes."

Hermione's face turned red with anger and she tried to take deep calming breaths. "Why did you do it Ginny?" She asked in a slightly more calm voice, making Ginny exhale a relieved sigh.

"Well for starters, it looks better than your old costume, and it's Halloween Hermione. Be someone else for the night. It'll be fun!" Ginny smiled brightly at her friend, it appeared for the time being she was in the clear.

Hermione let out a resigned sigh and looked down at the costume in her hand. It wasn't _that_ bad.

"Fine."

Ginny's face lit up and released her grip on the doorknob.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stared at the costume once more. "I just know I'm going to regret this."

* * *

Seven-thirty was fast approaching and the prefects and Heads were to meet in the Heads Common room to go down together. Though they all had dates of their own, they had to enter with the other prefect of their house. An uncomfortable situation for Ginny and Ron.

Like the prefects the Heads also had to enter with each other. An uncomfortable situation for Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy. But a rather humorous one for Ginny.

"Ginny I refuse to go down there like this." Hermione grumbled and glared at her friend.

"After all the work I did to get you into that, you sure as hell are." She smirked and looked at Hermione from head to toe.

The normally conservative and borderline stuck up girl was in -what she considered- a very revealing pirate costume. She wore high heeled black boots that reached her calf and folded over at the top. (She did have a bit of trouble walking in at first, but after a few minutes she got the hang of it, although she was still wobbly.)

Along with the boots she wore black fishnet stockings and a black and white striped skirt that had a shorter red piece over it. Her top half was covered by an off the shoulder white shirt that reached only right below her breasts, with a black sleeveless corset top that reached a little above her belly button.

Ginny pulled her hair into messy high ponytail and tied a red strip of cloth in the front of her hair, tying it in the back of her head. She also had on very light makeup that Ginny had to practically force onto her.

Ginny shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Hermione, would you please stop pulling at your clothes!" She scolded in a very mothering tone before slapping the girl's hands away from her outfit, which she continued to try to make cover more skin.

"I feel so revealed! I'm not like you Ginny, this is so uncomfortable!" Hermione whined, a rare thing for her to do.

She was right though, she could never wear this and feel like herself. At times she envied Ginny's out going ways, she spared the girl a glance and noted with some jealousy that she was content in her purple and blue gypsy costume.

The costume had a short top that only reached right under her breasts leaving her entire stomach exposed and the tattered light blue sleeves that were more like strips of cloth and stopped only a few inches above her elbow. There was also a very gypsy like row of silver coins dangling across her flat stomach.

Her floor length purple and blue skirt was in the same condition as her sleeves, tattered and revealed much to much leg for Hermione to ever be comfortable in, but the dark blue hip scarf with silver coins dangling from the end covered anything too improper. Ginny had also donned silver bangles that clanged together with every move she made and long dangling silver earrings with a circle at the end of the chain.

"Just relax." Ginny said calmly before steering the unwilling Hermione towards the door. "And have fun." She said before she opened the portrait door and pulled her reluctant friend out with her. "Be someone other than the nerdy bookworm for one night." Ginny whispered in the girl's ear when the prefects who were already waiting in the common room for the dance to begin looked up, a shocked gasp escaping every one of them.

Hermione mentally groaned and wished the night would end soon. She carefully descended the few stairs from her room (her balance was still a little shaky) and Ron who was dressed as a Knight ran up to her, the shocked expression never leaving his face.

"Hermione...you...um... you look...bloody brilliant." Ron's cheeks were as red as his hair as he leaned down to give his girlfriend a kiss on the lips before circling an arm around her. Hermione felt herself blush, especially when Ginny muttered "Ew, gross" none too softly.

Hermione glanced at the small watch on her wrist, and bit her bottom lip, a frown creased her brow. "It's only a few minutes 'til 7:30 what are we waiting for?" She asked her boyfriend who still hadn't taken his eyes off of her.

Ron scowled and his features darkened. "Malfoy of course." He spat his distaste for the Head Boy most obvious. "Apparently being on time doesn't apply to the prat."

"Don't get your panties in a bunch carrot top." A cool voice drawled from the doorway. Hermione idly wondered how he managed to always get in to the common room without anyone ever noticing. The girl's eyes widened slightly when she noticed his costume, which was ironically that of a pirate. The uncaring, gruff, and untidy look of a pirate suiting him more than it would anyone else she knew. She nearly groaned when she thought of what Ginny would say about their unintentional costume match later.

Hermione sent Ron a stern glare when he took a step towards the smirking Malfoy.

"Well since we're all here," Hermione sent a pointed glare to Draco before continuing. "Let's go to the Great Hall." The prefects let out grumbles of consent before all leaving the common room, heading to the Great Hall, talking idly with the other member(s) of their house. Ron was busy telling Hermione and Ginny something about their coming Quidditch game against the Slytherin team (which Malfoy now captained) but Hermione couldn't pull her eyes off Draco. She wondered how he could be talking so nonchalantly with Zabini and Parkinson so soon after hearing of his mother's death.

She shook her head as they reached the Great Hall where some early students were already lined up waiting. She told herself it was only a Malfoy thing. _'Never show your true emotions, no matter how much it pains you.'_

As soon as 7:30 rolled around the two huge front doors of the Great Hall opened and Hermione made her way to stand with Malfoy at the back of the line of prefects who were pairing up. The blond didn't even turn his head in acknowledgement, only walked into the Great Hall after the prefects had entered.

The female pirate opened her mouth to say something to Draco once they were in the Hall but to her utter amazement, he had already disappeared from sight. He really could move fast.

Hermione looked through the Hall where students were already piling in and the loud music of the hired band was already playing. Her eyes landed on Harry, Ron, Ginny and Neville who were siting at one of the tables off the dance floor. She smiled to herself and pushed through the growing crowd to get to her friends.

"Oh Hermione!" She turned to find three fairy costumed girls heading her way.

"Hi Lavender, hi Parvati and Padma." She said with a small smile.

"You look amazing!" Lavender said looking at the girl from head to toe, much as Ginny had done when critiquing her costume.

"Who would have thought you would wear that." Parvati added with a giggle, earning a nod from her twin.

Hermione let out a fake laugh. "Well it was Ginny's idea-"

"And the Hall looks excellent!" Lavender continued without even acknowledging Hermione talking. The girls did have a habit of cutting other people off, which irked Hermione to no end. But she was right about the Great Hall, she and the prefects had worked themselves to the bone decorating the Hall, since Hermione insisted some of the things were best done by hand.

There was an eerie fog that covered the floor that rose to about mid calf, it was also enchanted to feel as if there were strange creatures slithering and crawling over your legs. Huge spider webs ran overhead from wall to wall with illusions of huge spiders crawling across them. (Which creeped Ron out to no end.) Even the walls were magicked to look like the inside of the forbidden forest. (You could even see the unicorns and centaurs that roamed the forest, and every once in a while dark shadows flittered through the trees borne of things unknown.)

A dance floor was set up in the middle of the room along with a large stage where the current entertainment was singing an eerie song about love and death. As customary for every Halloween, pumpkins with candles were floating overhead, and were also floating a few centimeters above the tens of round black clothed tables around the dance floor.

"Yeah, it took a lot of effort, but I have to go talk to Ron about something. I'll see you two later." Hermione said before rushing off into the crowd before the girls could say anything else.

Hermione dropped into the seat next to her boyfriend, who almost immediately planted a kiss on her cheek and put his arm around her before returning to his Quidditch conversation with the Vampire Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes before sighing and scanning through the crowd. Almost unwillingly, her wayward eyes landed on Malfoy who was busy conversing with Mummy Zabini and the French maid clad Parkinson. He never stopped amazing her, he was perfectly normal, and if she didn't know him she would even say he looked happy, but how?

In an unfortunate way, she envied his composure.

Hours passed and the dance rolled on for both Draco and Hermione, she danced with Ron and Harry and even occasionally a few other boys from the school who were appreciative of her look. Of course Ron cut in on all of those dances with a glare that could kill.

Meanwhile Draco was free to dance with whomever he pleased, and that he did. But as the night wore on his frustration mounted especially when Pansy started clinging to him and nagging about why he wouldn't dance with her.

"Drakie! I want to dance! Right now!" Her high pitched voice squealed in his ear as she latched onto his arm. He of course began to try to shake her off as soon as she touched him.

"Good for you, I'm sure you can find a lucky bloke somewhere who wouldn't mind having a leech like you stuck to their side for 3 minutes. Now woman, would you kindly release me!" He pried her off of him and strolled out of the Hall without even glancing back at the pouting girl. He decided against going to the Slytherin common room, _'much too close to Pansy,' _instead he opted for the Head's common room.

With a long sigh Draco dropped onto one of the large couches and stared into the burning fire, the events of the past few days crashing down on him. He hated being alone now-a-days; it meant he had time for his thoughts. And lately they were more dismal than ever, and more than anything he wanted to avoid them, pretend they weren't there, suppress them with meaningless distractions. But now in his solitude everything came rushing back with crushing weight.

Hermione let out a loud sigh and slipped out of the Great Hall. Every time she was having fun with her friends Ron would come and pull her attention to him. She understood that he was her boyfriend and so he did get a lot of her attention, but sometimes she wanted to be with her friends and have fun; and Ron never seemed to understand that. So she faked a bad headache and bid her friends goodnight and headed to the Common Room, ignoring whatever comment Kyara made after she gave her the password.

The girl let out another loud sigh before heading up to her room nearly missing Malfoy on the couch, but she glanced him from the corner of her eye.

She turned to him unsure if he even noticed her; he was still staring blankly into the fire. "Um...Malfoy?"

No response.

"Are you-"

"I loved her." His voice cracked with those three words, and Hermione stood with her eyes wide unsure of what to do, confusion etched across her features. Before she could say a word he continued speaking, his gaze still on the flickering fire. "She was my mother after all, but she was really like a mother to me. Not like my father, who was only my father in name. She cared about me. She never said she loved me but I guess she did, she was always there for me to help me when Lucius wasn't looking." For a brief moment his eyes flicked to hers, and Hermione would have gasped if shock hadn't caused her vocal cords to stop responding.

Pain.

That was all she saw swimming in his silvery eyes. She never thought it possible for there to be so much distress in one person.

Slowly she made her way to the couch and sat alongside him and listened. They lost track of time but the time didn't matter to either of them, he needed this, and she was happy he came to her. He told her stories of his childhood, how after his fathers Death Eater lessons Narcissa would sneak into his room after he left or went to sleep, risking her own safety and tended to his wounds. He told her about their secret jokes, and rare smiles. Through it all Hermione didn't utter a word, she knew that sometimes all someone needed was to just talk, and have someone there to listen.

After two hours Draco stood and walked to his room, but before he entered her turned to the girl. His gratitude shimmering in his eyes, Hermione knew he wouldn't say a word, and indeed he didn't, instead he turned and entered his room closing the door gently.

She smiled to herself, he may not have said it, but his meaning was clear and soon she too stood and headed to her room, a smile on her face as a low rumble of thunder echoed outside of the castle walls.

* * *

Hermione's caramel brown eyes shot open and a soft gasp escaped her lips echoing in her ears. She sat up in her bed, her red sheets pooling around her waist, unconsciously she ran a hand across her forehead wiping off the small beads of sweat that had gathered there and attempted to return her breath to normal.

Her eyes darted around her darkened room, finding nothing, although even if anything was lurking about it was to dark for her to see. She sighed loudly and ran a hand through her unruly brown hair before dropping back into her goose feather pillows.

She almost never had nightmares, so it was a bit odd for her to have one now when there was nothing she knew of that had provoked the gruesome stirring of her subconscious.

Then she heard it. The loud tapping outside that in her panicked state she had failed to notice before.

Rain.

She groaned loudly and pulled her fluffy comforter over her head. Normally the rain was one of her favorite things, as cliche as it sounded, she had always thought it to be freeing. She loved nothing more than spending her time outside on a rainy day, letting the soft droplets caress her face, and listen to its words as it told it's story concealed in every raindrop.

But this was not that kind of rain. This was severe thunderstorm rain. Rain that she had come to hate above most else. Peeking out from under her cover, a flash of light illuminated her room, making shadows dance and deformed figures appear for the briefest of seconds, before the light was gone, once again cloaking the room in the night's darkness.

A loud clap of thunder roared outside, loud enough to shake the panes of glass of her balcony doors. She whimpered and gripped her cover until her knuckles turned pale, her eyes squeezed shut.

Normally during storms she was either at her home where she always felt safe knowing that her parent's were right there, or she would be in her room with Lavender and Parvati. It sort of comforted her knowing that she wasn't alone, but now, she was all-alone with no one to find that comfort in.

"It's nothing more than a loud rumbling noise caused by the rapid expansion of air suddenly heated by lightning." She recited the memorized lines under her breath, hoping the knowledge would put her mind at ease. But no amount of recited lines from her books would ever quell the feelings of fear that the phenomena instilled in her.

Another streak of lightning lit her room before going away, taking with it the horrid outlines that her mind twisted and contorted into more morbid things. A loud boom of thunder once again sounded from outside. She squeaked and pulled her covers tighter, hoping it would block out the noise.

Her mind ran, of its own accord, to the person sleeping only a few feet away. Maybe she could spend the night with him.

Even in her terrified state she scoffed at herself for thinking such traitorous things. He was Malfoy. He was against letting her, a filthy mudblood, even breathe the same air as him, so what were the odds that he would want to share the same bed as her. He would no doubt laugh and taunt her 'til Kingdom Come, and most likely by tomorrow every Slytherin would know that the Gryffindor bookworm was petrified of a bit of harmless thunder.

But then again, he had opened up to her only a few hours ago, maybe he would not be as cruel as he usually was. Just maybe.

Another grand clap of thunder boomed outside, louder than the first, and the wind lashed rain harshly against her window. She whimpered and rolled off of her bed, pulling her red sheets with her.

Right then she didn't care what he would say to her, she just didn't want to be alone.

Draco grumbled and opened his eyes to slits, glaring at his door. He wasn't exactly a light sleeper, the monstrous storm outside would never normally wake him up, and indeed it wasn't the cause of his irritation and late night rousing. The incessant knocking coming from the other side of his door was what had dragged him from his thankfully dreamless sleep.

Muttering a few curses under his breath he grudgingly got up and trudged to his door, not even bothering to put on more clothes, since his normal sleeping attire consisted of boxers. He sent a glance to his balcony doors out of the corner of his eye to make sure it was shut upon noticing the wind howling loudly and the rain whipping against his windows.

Unlocking the door, it swung open to reveal Hermione wrapped in her scarlet sheet and shivering slightly. He shouldn't have been surprised since they were the only two who knew the password into their dorm, but he couldn't help the shock that flickered in his eyes. She was after all Hermione Granger, her hatred for him was legendary, as was his for her, and yet here she was, standing at his door looking like nothing more than a scared child.

"Um...can I...stay with you tonight?" Her near silent words cut through his sleep fogged mind like a knife.

"...what?" He couldn't help but grin a bit when she dropped her head and shuffled her feet nervously.

"I know it's really stupid, but um...I- well, I really don't-" A roar of thunder from outside silenced her, making her squeeze her eyes shut. Draco nodded knowingly and stepped out of the doorway to let her in.

She slowly shuffled in, shutting the portrait door behind her. He ignored the fidgeting girl and went back to his bed, he got comfortable under the covers before looking over at her. He arched an eyebrow before sighing and pulling back the comforter in invitation.

Hermione gave him a speculative look before trying to summon her Down to Business voice. "You do know that this doesn't mean anything other than the reason I've stated before." Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. _'Always such a prude.'_

"Just get in Granger." The girl opened her mouth to retort when a flash of lightening brightened the room for a split second, signaling thunder in the near future. She quickly got under the cover, but kept her sheet wrapped around her. Thunder rumbled loudly outside and she squeaked and once again squeezed her eyes shut.

Draco rolled his eyes and muttered something that Hermione didn't catch before he reached over and pulled her to him by her waist. He arranged them into a comfortable position, her head was resting on his chest and her arm was draped loosely over his torso, he was sitting up slightly, and his hand was rubbing her back in comforting circles.

He glanced down at her now wide brown eyes that clearly asked why he was even doing this.

He sighed and rested his head on headboard closing his eyes. Hermione thought he had drifted back to sleep since he hadn't moved in quite a while, she was also beginning to drift asleep when he began to talk, his eyes still closed.

"When I was a child, I was afraid of thunder also. My father would always tell me 'Malfoy's fear nothing,' and sent me to bed. But whenever he would fall asleep or was away on business, my mother would always let me share her bed, and comfort me until I fell asleep. I stopped fearing thunder years ago, but even now, nights like this remind me of my childhood and what my mother endured becuase she cared for me more than father deemed acceptable."

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes before smiling softly and nodding.

"Thank you." She mumbled before falling asleep. His hand continued running along her back, occasionally stopping to drawn unknown shaped on her soft skin.

Outside thunder clashed and the wind howled eerie songs, telling stories lost to man, but she wasn't afraid, not when she was in his arms.

Before he was also gripped by sleep, Draco looked down at the girl resting on his chest, whose warm breath tickled his skin with every puff. She was the same girl who stood for everything he was taught to hate, the same girl who he was raised to despise. And yet, now, he couldn't find it at all possible to hate her. The warm tendrils of sleep gripped his mind and his eyes closed, the rain lulled him to a peaceful sleep.


	7. Flight With an Angel

Forbidden

By

Leah

**Chapter 6**

**Flight With an Angel**

Hermione sighed contently and yawned before opening her bleary eyes. She blinked curiously looking down at the vaguely Christmas reminiscent green and red sheets that entangled her body. Deep creases formed in her forehead as her eyes scanned the room, taking in the black and green decor that was so unlike the bright gold and red one of her room.

_'Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.'_ She thought with a hint of amusement at the fact she still remembered the line from the old American movie that one of her more Americanized muggle friends made her watch.

The young witch slowly sat up and looked around the room for a few minutes, trying to remember where she was and how she got there. A few moments later she let out a soft gasp, her hand flying to her mouth as the realization hit her.

She was in Draco Malfoy's room ... in Draco Malfoy's bed.

That thought alone made her scramble to one side of the bed, unfortunately she was still helplessly tangled in the sheets, and accidentally fell off of the bed, landing on the floor with a none to soft: "Ow."

She glared at the bed but didn't bother to get off the floor, instead she leaned on the side of the bed and racked her brain for the reason as to why she was in Malfoy's room. In the back of her mind she idly mused that this must be what it felt like to be a drunk trying to remember the events of the night past the next morning. After many moments of her still heavily sleep fogged mind trying to grasp the memory Hermione let out another small gasp as the events from the prior night came back to her.

A light blush tinged her pale cheeks as she thought back on the night. She couldn't believe she showed weakness in front of Draco Malfoy, her tormentor for the past 6 years of her life. Hermione groaned and banged her head against the bed, the soft mattress lessening the effect she was going for. Another thought ran through Hermione's head causing her to stop her head banging and look around the room. She arched an eyebrow noting that she was the only person currently in the room.

So where on earth was the uncharacteristically human like Malfoy anyway?

"Probably characteristically telling the whole school that mudblood Granger is afraid of a storm." Hermione grumbled, although even she didn't believe her words. Last night she wasn't the only one to show weakness, and though Malfoy probably thought she wouldn't utter a word to another living (or non-living) soul, she doubted he would be stupid enough to test her with something that personal.

With a sigh, Hermione idly thought of how much she had been doing that this morning, she gathered her crimson sheet and shuffled through their adjoining bathroom door and made her way into her own room.

She dropped onto her bed and let her mind wander as she tried to grasp a few more minutes of sleep. The soft patter of left over rain from the storm from the past night lulled her confused mind into a state of drowsiness in which her thoughts ran of their own accord, to non-other than Draco Malfoy.

_'The richest, most arrogant pureblood in all of England, is now an orphan. I can't believe he came from such a home, of course if I had ever bothered to look, I would have known of his father's abuse. How could he have acted so...normal? How?'_

Hermione shook her head and groaned into her pillow. Her mind would not leave the topic of Malfoy alone. With yet another deep sigh she rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the new day.

If her mind wouldn't willingly budge off the missing prat, she would have to force it onto a more benefiting topic, by visiting the library.

"Malfoy! We should call it quits, the weather's not fit for flying!" Blaise yelled to his friend for the umpteenth time through the howling wind.

The entire Slytherin team was soaked to the bone. They had been practicing for hours, working on new plays and formations for their upcoming matches. The weather had taken a turn for the worst nearly an hour ago, turning from slight drizzle to harsh winds and pelting rain. Blaise had been trying to convince Draco to stop practice for the past twenty minutes, it was getting hard for the team to keep control of their brooms and it was becoming too dangerous, but the rigid captain wouldn't listen. Blaise could tell something was wrong with his friend, but now was not the time to take out his problems on his team.

"Draco this is getting to dangerous you have to stop practice!" Blaise yelled again as an especially strong wind nearly knocked him off his broom.

Draco looked behind him at his freezing and soaked team before nodding, heading back to the ground, followed by the other members of the team. He dismounted his broom and walked into the locker rooms with his drenched team who were more than happy to get out of the rain following behind him.

He didn't stay in the locker rooms to long, he performed a simple drying charm on his robes before he exited the room and headed to his dormitories. He wasn't in the mood for talking with the idiots on his team (excluding Blaise of course) he had something much more pressing on his mind. Like why he told Granger anything about his problems last night, and why he let her share his bed instead of doing the very Malfoy-esque thing and taunting her until she cried or threatened him. (He expected the latter although the former would have been a wonderful surprise.) But most importantly, why did he feel remorse for leaving her this morning, and why did he let his hand linger on her jaw while she slept?

As he was about to turn down the corridor leading to his dorm he felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind. He sighed loudly, already knowing who it was. He spun around in his "captor's" arms, opening his mouth to speak, but the girl was to fast and her lips were on his before he could get out a word. Draco let out an annoyed noise in the back of his throat but didn't even make an effort to push the girl away. Instead he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her lithe frame to his, and plunged his tongue into her mouth.

When they parted seconds later Malfoy sent the pink-cheeked girl a harsh glare. "What Parkinson? I'm busy."

The girl dismissed the harshness in his voice, and put on a coy smile. "Oh what could be more important that your dear fiancée?"

Draco rolled his eyes and was about to walk away from the annoying girl but her pale hand shot out and grasped his arm.

"I want to talk about plans for the wedding." Pansy said, noticing the way Draco's gray eyes iced over and hardened. "We have to start making the plans if it's to happen as soon as we graduate this wretched place."

"I'm busy Parkinson. We'll discuss this arrangement later." With that Draco turned on his heel and continued walking to his dorms without so much as a glance behind him.

Pansy glared at Draco as he walked away from her. She knew their so-called relationship wasn't an idea that he took a shine to, and honestly neither did she, but he was never that rude to her before.

Despite popular belief Pansy was definitely not an idiot, far from it actually, but she wasn't going to go around and correct them by spouting answers to every question asked like mudblood Granger.

No, she was happy being thought of as an idiot, it made her smile with a sadistic pleasure every time she proved one of the people who thought she was stupid wrong. And right now she knew something was wrong with Draco. They were never in love, nor would they ever be she guessed, but he was a friend and knew him better than he knew himself. He always gave off little hints in his body language and if you were able to pick them up, then you could solve the riddle that was Draco Malfoy. Luckily she knew how to catch onto those hints all to easily.

She surmised there was something wrong with his family, his mother perhaps. His eyes, though constantly guarded, were still more hollow than normal. She could also figure out there was something going on with him and Granger. He never passed up on "spending time" with her unless there was a better prospect available. Her face scrunched in disgust thinking Granger was in any way better than her.

Pansy sighed and headed back to the Slytherin dormitories, but stopped when she caught a glimpse of a startling head of red walking through the halls. A sadistic smile formed on her lips as she changed her route and headed for the boy.

If Granger was bothering Draco, then she would just have to keep her away from him, one way or another.

"You know," A cheery voice said causing Hermione to look up from the book she was so engrossed in. "I wonder if you would explode were the library to burn down."

Hermione glared at Ginny who slid into a seat across from her, her classic grin on her face.

"Ha ha Ginerva, I am not that attached to the library, but don't joke like that." Ginny rolled her eyes before looking around the library in a bored manner.

"You know, I never got how you could study like this," Ginny said breaking the silence. "I'm kind of envious, I mean if it were me I'd probably die of bor-"

Hermione rolled her eyes and cut her friend off. "Gin, I'm sure you didn't come here to talk to me about my study habits. So what is it?" Ginny blushed and grinned at her friend, sometimes she thought that girl knew her way to well.

"I was just wondering how you're night went, you know with the storm and all." Hermione grimaced slightly, Ginny was the only person (other than Malfoy and her parents) who knew of her little secret. The little red head learned of it accidentally on a night Hermione was spending at her house when an unexpected thunderstorm hit.

Noting the lack of response she got from her friend Ginny continued, replacing her grin with a sly smile. "You know since there was no one there to comfort you ... except for Malfoy."

Hermione tried very hard to hold back the bright blush that threatened to engulf her face. She unfortunately failed miserably, earning a squeal from her friend.

"I knew it! Oh wait 'til I tell Kyara-" Hermione arched an eyebrow and cut off the red head once again.

"Kyara? Our portrait?"

Ginny smiled brightly. "The one and only. She is a very intelligent portrait you know, totally agrees with me that you two are meant for each other. Amour dans les bras d'un ennemi." Ginny replied and winked.

"Oh not her too! You've contaminated the mind of a portrait Ginny! And what on earth does that mean?" The older girl asked in a harsh whisper, she unlike Ginny was well aware of the fact that they were currently in a library.

Ginny sent her friend an incredulous look before shaking her head. "The brightest witch of our age and she doesn't even know a lick of French." The red head sighed and got out of her seat. "It simply means, 'Love in the arms of an enemy.' Admit it Mione, you and Malfoy are destined for each other." Ginny said before turning on her heel and walking out of the library before Hermione could get another word in.

_'Great, now even a portrait is out to seal my fate with Malfoy, could this day get any better?'_ Hermione grimaced and turned back to her book, but not even a second later she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Ginny I do not like Malfoy! I don't care what you or that portrait says!" The voice that greeted Hermione was definitely not that of her best friend Ginny. It was the voice of the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

"Oh pity. I was so looking forward to you running into my arms confessing your never ending devotion for me." Malfoy said sliding into the seat across from the girl, much like Ginny had only moments before.

"Don't hold your breath Malfoy." Hermione said with an icy glare. "Actually, please do."

"Ah, Weasley." Pansy smirked and rounded on Ron who groaned and glared at the girl.

"What do you want Parkinson?" Ron grumbled much like Draco had only moments before and tried to push past the girl. But Pansy was not going to let Ron go so easily.

"Ooh, touchy today aren't we. Well I don't blame you, I mean if I were you I'd be a little snippy too knowing my girlfriend was always with someone like Draco Malfoy." Ron turned a harsh glare on the Slytherin girl who sent him a withering smile. This was going to be way to easy.

"What are you talking about?" Pansy took a deep breath to hold in her evil giggle.

She rolled her eyes and looked as impassive as she could. "Oh, I guess you haven't noticed. I think I shouldn't enlighten you then. You know what they say: ignorance is bliss." She shrugged her shoulders and walked away, but Ron sidestepped and stood in front of her, a dark glower on his face.

_'It must be sad to have so little brain cells.'_ Pansy sighed and glared at Ron.

"What are you talking about Parkinson?" A very Slytherin smirk graced Pansy's face.

"Well, haven't you noticed how they look at each other across the room. And he is Draco Malfoy, all women fall for him sooner or later, and your little Gyriffindor princess can barely keep her eyes off of him in class. I doubt she can keep her hands off of him in that private dorm of theirs either." Pansy smiled at Ron before walking around him and heading to her dorm.

Sometimes being bad, felt so good.

"Ouch. Touchy today aren't we." Malfoy sent the girl a sly smirk. "You were so much nicer when you were crawling into my bed last night." Draco leaned in, bringing his face mere inches from hers. "I think I like that side of you so much more."

Hermione found her mouth to be extremely dry and her mind completely void of insults. In essence, she, Hermione Granger, was speechless. This was a rare moment for her and of course, Draco Malfoy had to be the one to cause it.

_'Oh I hate that prat.'_

Draco smirked and got out of his seat, moving himself closer to the girl. "What's the matter Granger?" He practically cooed in her ear. "Cat got your tongue?" His warm breath tickled her skin, idly she wondered how many times it had been that she allowed him this close to her. She could almost feel the heat radiating off his body, the scent of his cologne tickling her nose. She felt herself leaning back into him, into the warmth, but quickly caught herself, and shook off the daze.

"More like snake." Her head snapped in his direction and her eyes held an icy look. Her intent was to scare Malfoy off, he usually got tired off their arguing after a few minutes and would leave after a particularly scathing remark. However, this time he seemed more amused than anything.

"Got your fire back, eh Granger?" It was a rhetorical question; not that she would answer anything he would say normally. "We'll see how long that lasts. Pity the storms dying down. I was so looking forward to seeing you in my bed again." He smirked and her and once again leaned his face close to hers, his voice dropping an octave. " But I'm sure I'll be seeing you there again soon."

And with that, he was gone, leaving a very shocked girl in his wake.

Hermione sat in the same position for minute before gathering her wits and picking up her books. _'That slimy little ferret! Ugh! He's on his own level of evil!'_ She violently shoved her books into her bag and hurried out of the library. Her whole being was focused on one goal: Finding Draco Malfoy and giving him a piece of her mind.

There was no way she would let him get the last word in any argument.

She hastily turned a corner in the empty hallway and collided with someone's hard chest. Her eyes squeezed shut and she felt herself falling backwards, her body automatically bracing for impact. Luckily it never came. Instead she felt two strong arms wrap around her and pull her to a strong body.

She opened one eye and met dark blue ones. "Ron?" Her voice waved with uncertainty, oddly, he was the last person she expected to see.

"Yeah." His expression was grim as he set her upright, Hermione looked him over slowly, taking in the stiffness in his posture, and the tightness in his jaw. Something was definitely up.

"What's-"

"Where are you going now?" He cut her off, pretending as if she never spoke.

Hermione stumbled over her words for a bit, his question wasn't weird, it was just...unlike him to ask. "Uh...the common room. I needed to speak to Malfoy-"

Ron's eyes hardened at the sound of Draco's name. "Well you shouldn't keep your boyfriend waiting." He bit out making Hermione reel back.

The girl let out a stifled laugh, but caught herself when she saw the seriousness etched into the boy's face. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you and Malfoy have something going on." Hermione's face flushed in shock and her mouth dropped open, but Ron must have taken the expression to mean something else and continued his accusations, his voice increasing in volume and harshness with every word.

"I can't believe you'd betray me like this Hermione! And with that slimy git! How could you!-"

"Ron! What on earth is wrong with you?" Hermione placed her hand on his arm only to have it shrugged off.

"I'm not the one who cheated Hermione! I'm not the one in a relationship with someone else! We're over!" With one final glare Ron turned and left Hermione standing alone in the hallway.

Her mind tried it hardest to grasp what had just taken place to no avail. She continued on her way to the head dorms, but her movements were automatic, she felt as if she were out of her body looking down on herself. Before she realized it she was back in the common room and was sitting in one of the large couches staring unseeingly at her feet.

"He...broke up with me?" The words fell out of her mouth like bricks and shattered into her ears. "He broke up with me."

The realization sunk in and for a second Hermione sat silently staring at the fire as the words circled through her head. A tear slowly made its way down her cheek, followed by another, and another. It wasn't long before Hermione began sobbing and ran to her room, ignoring Malfoy who was coming down the stairs from his room.

Draco stared behind the hysterical girl curiously. Normally he never really cared why the girl cried, but this time his curiosity was piqued, since he knew for a fact, he wasn't at fault.

He sighed and dropped into one of the couches in the common room, chalking up her tears to something girly that he probably wouldn't care about anyway. Afterall the problems of a mudblood would never concern him anyway.

He sat in the common room for a few more minutes impatiently tapping his foot before exhaling loudly and stomping up to his room to get properly dressed. Afterwards he stomped out of the head dorms in search of every gossipy girl he knew, in an effort to find out what made the annoyance he lived with so distraught.

All the while he cursed his nosy mind to hell.

It was well past dinner when he finally entered the dorms yet again. That story was not as easy to track down as he would have hoped, but he was a Malfoy, and Mafoy's never fail. He finally got his story a few minutes before dinner, and only by chance too. He had overheard two portraits going on about some huge fight in an empty hallway, of course he paid no mind until he heard the mention of Hermione's name. Then he question the portraits for the full story much to their aggravation at his rudeness for listening into their conversation. Not that it was very private anyway at the loud tones they were speaking.

Of course after hearing his involvement he rushed to the Great Hall to find Granger and that idiot Weasel to right this atrocious wrong. Honestly, him involved with Granger was utterly laughable!

Sure, he was trying to get into her pants...although to very little avail. But he would never want something on a "relationship" level with the girl. The thought made his blood curdle.

But after pushing two people out of the way to get to the Great Hall, he found that the bushy haired know-it-all was nowhere to be found, but her annoying boyfriend, or should he say, ex-boyfriend, was there and sent him harsh glares for the entirety of dinner. Not that he really cared anyway, he was more than used to this kind of treatment from the boy-who-wouldn't-die and his sidekicks.

So after dinner he continued on his quest to find Hermione, but was momentarily distracted by an especially gorgeous looking Ravenclaw whispering something delightfully sinful in his ear after dinner. So it wasn't until nearly two hours after dinner ended that he finally showed up in the heads common room to find Hermione sitting in a chair by the fire reading a book with an orange ... thing, in her lap.

He ran a hand through his hair and moved closer to the girl, as he came closer he saw how red and puffy her eyes were and the dried trails from tears that remained on her flushed skin.

_'She was crying this whole time, because of the weasel?'_ The concept as to why the girl even liked the red haired menace escaped him, but as to why she even spent so much time crying over him, baffled the boy even more.

He opened his mouth to speak just as the thing on her lap let out a strange noise and moved, causing him to jump back and scream out: "Good God Granger, that thing's alive!"

Hermione's head shot up from her book, apparently she hadn't noticed his entrance until his outburst. She arched her eyebrow and looked down to where he was pointing to Crookshanks in her lap.

"Yes it's alive Malfoy! It's also my cat! And _his_ name is Crookshanks!" She cried laying down her book and picking up the cat, cradling it in her arms as if it were a baby. Crookshanks only meowed loudly and turned its shining green eyes on Draco.

"I know what a cat is Granger! And that most definitely is not a cat! Make it stop looking at me!" He practically whined the last part and Hermione tried not to giggle; sometimes he could be such a two-year-old.

Coincidentally that was about the time Crookshanks decided to hope out of Hermione's arms and run up the stairs into the girls open bedroom door, but not before stopping to rub itself against Draco's leg, much to his annoyance and disgust.

Hermione let out a sigh and looked to the boy who stood a few feet away staring at her with shielded gray eyes. "You can leave now Malfoy, the last thing I need to deal with tonight is you."

"Touché Granger. But I'm not hear to poke fun at you, although it would be more fun." Hermione rolled her eyes and picked up her book once again, even though Malfoy kept speaking. "I hear you got dumped today, hm?"

Draco barely had time to react before Hermione's book came hurdling towards his face, he quickly sidestepped the book and it landed with a dull thud against the wall behind him.

"My relationships are none of your business Malfoy, now kindly remove yourself from my presence." Her voice was harsh and dared him to say another word but Draco saw the pain and hurt in her eyes and the new tears that threatened to fall.

Without another word he went to his room, but returned only a few moments later with his broom in hand.

"I thought I told you to leave." The girl didn't look up from her new book but hastily wiped away a few stray tears that forced themselves out of her eyes anyway.

"We're going flying." Draco said, not acknowledging a word she said.

Hermione head shot up and she stared at the obviously loony boy in front of her, "Excuse me?"

"We. Are. Going. Flying." He repeated slowly, as if speaking to a two-year-old, which only succeeded in making the girl angry.

"I'm not an idiot Malfoy, I know what you said! And_ you _and _I_ are most certainly not!" She said shutting her book as if to say their conversation was over. Apparently she forgot who she was dealing with.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, _you_ and _I _most certainly are." He replied in the same tone she used.

"Malfoy why on Earth would I ever give you a chance to fly me hundreds of feet of the ground. In case you haven't noticed: I don't trust you." She said getting up and heading to her room.

"Granger, just come! I swear I won't let you fall, and it's sort of a thank you...for the other night." Draco said, mumbling his last few words.

Hermione let out a sigh and turned to the boy. "So why can't you just say thank you?"

"I think this way's easier on my pride." Draco said giving her a cheeky smirk, which she found herself unconsciously returning with her own smile, but she soon remembered who she was dealing with and wiped away the smile.

"Well sorry Malfoy, but I don't fly." She said before continuing on her way to her room. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm as she passed him and pulled her closer to him.

Taking a deep breath he muttered something that sounded like "I can't believe I'm about to do this." Before whispering:

"Please Granger?" The girl looked up at him with shock written in her brown eyes before nodding and allowing herself to be pulled through the portrait hole entrance and through the near empty halls of Hogwarts. It wasn't yet after hours, but it was late enough that most of the students of he school were already retired to their common rooms, so luckily the pair didn't have to face questions or curious glances. He pulled her through the entrance of the school and out into the cool night air. He finally freed her arm from his grasp when they were near the lake.

Draco mounted the broom and looked at Hermione expectantly, and she looked back at him as if he were truly daft.

"What?" She said rubbing her hand up and down her arms in an effort to warm herself.

The boy rolled his eyes and extended a hand for her to take. "Get on."

"I'm rethinking this." Hermione said looking at the hand with uncertainty.

"Look, I won't drop you...I promise." His eyes bore into hers and Hermione shifted uncertainly under his gaze. She opened her mouth to say something but only a sigh came out and she took his outstretched hand and he led her onto the broom. He sat her in front of him and wrapped one arm around her waist and the other on the broom.

"You sure you won't drop me?" Her voice was shaky and unsure.

"God Granger, even I'm not that heartless."

"Wel-" He kicked off and Hermione's retort was replaced by a loud shriek.

The rose up slowly but that didn't matter to her, the point was that her feet were off the ground. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and shrunk back into Malfoy's warmth, a strong feeling of fear and dread settling in her stomach.

As a child she fell out of a tree and broke her arm and from then on she was always afraid of heights and never got further off the ground than a few feet.

Draco looked down on the girl and rolled his eyes. "Open your eyes. The view's beautiful."

Hermione took a deep breath and opened one bright eye, and then the other. He was right, the view was beautiful, in fact it was breath taking. They were high off the ground but she didn't feel the dread she did before, everything felt so surreal. She was looking down on the school grounds, most of which were in plain view from the height they were at. The moons silver rays shone off the lakes surface where the squid lolled about causing the surface to ripple.

Everything was perfect, the night was clear, the moon was full and the stars shown brighter than she had ever seen them. It would have been the perfect romantic night, were it not for the fact that she was with an obnoxious git ... but for some reason, he was actually being a gentleman.

"It's all so ... gorgeous." She whispered breathlessly, as if afraid that if she spoke to loud the night would be ruined. Draco looked up to the stars and smiled to himself, his mother had always loved them more than anything else. She would have loved to look at them tonight.

"Yeah, it is." He muttered back.

After a moment he slowly began moving the broom, taking it slowly around the grounds. He didn't want to speed up for fear of scaring Hermione, not that he was being soft or anything, he just didn't want to her hear nagging in his ear all night. At least that's what he told himself.

The night wore on and Hermione felt herself never wanting it to end, but soon she felt herself being drawn to sleep. She nestled her head to his chest, taking comfort in the strong arm wrapped securely around her waist. Slowly, she began to drift to sleep, lulled by the cool wind licking at her skin and whispering songs into her ears, finding solace in the warm body holding her so safely. A soft whisper that was almost lost on the wind escaped her before she finally slipped into sleep. Her near inaudible words carried through the breeze to his ears before floating through the chilled night air.

"Never let go."

His stormy gray eyes looked down at the girl resting in his arms. And for the first time in a long time, a small smile tugged at his lips, a real smile.

"I won't, I promise."


	8. Bittersweet

Forbidden

By:Leah

**Chapter 7**

**Bittersweet**

Draco looked down at the girl in his arms and let out a soft sigh before beginning to lower his broom. Once on the ground he began the task of maneuvering her off the broom and into his arms without waking her.

He couldn't even begin to fathom a reason as to why he even bothered to be as careful as to make sure her slumber wasn't disturbed. He felt that further thought on that subject would lead to questions he rather not address at the moment...or ever.

There was one thing he was sure of though, somewhere in the past few days his feelings for the bushy haired know it all had somehow shifted. Albeit the shift was minute and he was adamant on continuing his life as if it never happened, the point was there was still a change.

A change to what...he didn't know.

The next morning Hermione groggily opened her sleep weighed eyes. Her eyes swept around the room and a groan escaped her lips.

"How does this keep happening to me?" She raised her head only to slam it back down onto the black goose-feather pillow of the black and green four poster bed.

Once again she had awoken in Draco Malfoy's room...in Draco Malfoy's bed; and once again, Draco Malfoy was nowhere to be found.

This morning however, unlike the last, she didn't have the time to ponder her periodic appearances in Malfoy's bed. Instead, she sprinted out of the comfortable bed into the bathroom where she hastily peeled off her clothes and jumped into the shower.

Minutes later she stepped out of the shower clean and refreshed. Wrapping herself in a soft white towel she made her way to the door connected to her bedroom. She turned the knob, but the door refused to budge. She pulled the door a few more times before muttering a few choice words after coming to a realization.

She locked her door...from the inside.

Grumbling to her self at her own stupidity of forgetting her wand in her room also, she re-wrapped the towel around herself more securely before walking through Malfoy's room into the common room. Her brown eyes scanned the room before landing on Malfoy's form, surprisingly sleeping in what could not be a comfortable position on one of the couches. Hermione sighed silently and quickly (but quietly) walked to her room. No telling when the boy would wake up, but then again, maybe he wouldn't be as much of a prat as he always was. Over the past few days he had shown her a different side of him, a more mature, human side.

"Oh Granger...is that little outfit for me?" Then again, maybe Snape would wash his hair one day.

Hermione sighed to herself and stopped in her trip to her room. Her mind furiously debating her only two options. Either she could:

**A**- Keep going; be the bigger person and not play into one of Malfoy's childish arguments. Or...

**B**- Not break the cycle and spew a myriad of insults at the little mood hopping ferret.

Hermione shook her head and sighed for the umpteenth time in only a matter of minutes. She didn't even glance back at the boy as she kept walking to her room. She had more important things to do than exchange empty threats with a petty prat.

"'Cuz if you wanted to shag Granger, I'd be more than happy to comply." But really, who was she to deny Malfoy the ever so necessary verbal blow to his ego that he so desperately deserved.

"Sorry Malfoy, but I'm not into shaking up with ferrets. Although I did hear Parkinson has a bestiality fetish. Guess your impending marriage won't be so bad now, will it?" Hermione cast the boy a smirk much like his own before marching to her room with her head held high.

Hermione dropped into one of the seats in the back of the Potions room. Instantly her head dropped onto her folded arms on the table, tears flowing freely down her pale cheeks. She was thankful that she would be alone in the dank room for a few more minutes before students began piling in for class.

Breakfast had been pure torture. The news of her breakup had spread through the school faster than she had expected. She guessed that Ron was overheard telling Harry the whole affair in the Gryffindor common room and the news was swept through the school from there.

When she first stepped into the Great Hall that morning the low rumble of talking was replaced with deafening silence. She shuffled nervously for a moment, staring at the wide eyes staring back at her, before darting to the Gryffindor table. As soon as her bum hit the bench a low murmur of gossip spread through the Hall, slowly escalating loud enough for her to catch a few tidbits. Most of which went along the lines of a love tryst between Malfoy and herself, and Ron walking in on them snogging passionately.

Were it any other situation she would have rolled her eyes and maybe let out a snort of laughter or two at the utter stupidity of the comments. But as it was, it wasn't another situation, and right then she wanted nothing more than to get up and yell at everyone in the hall for spreading those lies, and yell even more at Ron for believing such absurd tales.

She never did that. She didn't even sit with Ron and Harry as she normally would. Instead she ate silently with Ginny, who sent her sympathetic glances, often just telling her how much of an idiotic git her brother was. Thankfully Ginny didn't open her mouth about Malfoy once as she did every other day at breakfast. Hermione was more than grateful to the girl for being so considerate, even occasionally yelling at a few people who kept staring at her.

All through breakfast Hermione found her eyes of their own accord wandering to Ron, who looked as bad as she felt. He truly looked heartbroken. All the while Harry was speaking rather animatedly with him and every once in a while she would catch some exceptionally loud snippet like:

"She would never!"

"Do you really believe Parkinson?"

"It's bloody Malfoy and Hermione we're talking about! Blimey Ron! It's just not true!"

Though being so near to Ron without being able to talk to him and the stares and constant whispers were taking its toll on Hermione, she finally reached her breaking point when barely 10 minutes after she walked into the Hall Malfoy entered. His entrance was also received with the same silence as hers was. But being who he was he stayed aloof for the most part, and did nothing more than roll his eyes, sigh and continue to his seat.

It was then, for the first time since she entered the Hall that Hermione felt Ron's burning gaze on her, boring holes into her. She didn't dare look in his direction to feel the pure loathing and betrayal rolling of him in waves.

With a muttered excuse to Ginny that was barely decipherable she shoved her things into her bag and ran from the Hall. A loud rumble of gossip spreading was the last thing she heard as the doors of the Great Hall closed behind her.

With nothing to do and much of breakfast left before classes were to begin, Hermione made her way to the dungeons, hoping the door wasn't locked. The library, her safe haven, didn't feel that way to her any longer. She knew that the memories of times she spent with Ron would assault her in her old sanctuary. She just needed to be alone and settle her raging thoughts.

And that was what led her here, sobbing into her arms, wondering how something so perfect ended so horribly.

She was so engrossed in her heartache that she missed the door to the room opening minutes later and didn't even hear the scrape of the chair next to her.

"What's the matter with you Granger?" The familiar voice sliced through the silence that was only shattered by her sporadic sobs. She lifted her tear stained face the last person she ever expected to see, but somehow knew he would be the one to find her.

Malfoy sighed loudly running a hand through his silver hair. "Don't tell me you're still crying over the weasel." He muttered, their earlier agreement of him not calling Harry or Ron any names temporarily forgotten by both.

Hermione's watery brown eyes stared into Draco's guarded silver gaze before she unwittingly launched herself at his chest, surprising them both.

Malfoy's facade of indifference was broken by a look of pure shock as he stared down at the girl sobbing openly into his shirt. He was completely unfamiliar with this situation. He had never comforted a female -or any other human being for that matter- before in his life. So he sat awkwardly and stared wide-eyed with arms hanging limply at his sides and the girl who mourned into his shirt, waiting until she calmed down.

He was more than amazed that this girl, this strong fiery spirited girl who never backed down from a challenge and would spit out witty retorts to his harsh words, was now reduced to a sniveling mass all because of one lousy Weasley.

It wasn't long before Hermione gathered her wits and pulled away from the relieved boy, mentally reprimanding herself for showing such weakness in front of Draco sodding Malfoy. She sniffled loudly and attempted to clean her face, muttering a soft "Sorry" to Draco, who only responded with a nod before staring at his once crisp white shirt that was now marred with tear stains with an expression of disgust.

"Oh...thank you." She whispered to him after a few moments of tense silence.

Draco arched a curious eyebrow and looked over the girls tear blotched face. "For what?" Their poor excuse for a conversation unnerved him slightly, this had to be the longest they were ever alone without hurling an insult at each other.

Her eyes met his gaze nervously for a moment before she looked away quickly, a few tears still rolling from her eyes. "For last night...it was...nice."

Draco shrugged slightly, "Yeah, it was kind of hard to carry you into school though. Next time, I'm waking you up."

Hermione's brown eyes widened at his last comment. _'Next time?'_ She let out a nervous laugh to cover her surprise before speaking. "I'm still surprised you didn't drop me." She gave him a weak smile before reaching her hand up to try and dry her face once more.

To both their surprises Draco grasped her chin between his thumb and index finger, turning her to face him. Hermione's eyes were wide at the intimate gesture but Draco didn't notice. His eyes were closely following the decent of a tear down her pale cheek, slowly his thumb trailed up her porcelain skin and wiped the tear from her cheek. But he never removed his hand.

"The thought was there." His voce dropped but he didn't even notice, his attention was no longer focused on their conversation. The words seemed to just spill from his mouth without his mind registering a thing. He didn't know what had come over him. All he knew was that the weasel didn't deserve her tears, and before he knew it his hand had lifted itself to wipe away the stray tear. But once he touched her skin, he couldn't stop. It was as smooth as the finest silk and he couldn't help but stare with the utmost interest at his finger as it trailed across the soft planes of her cheek, to her warm pink lips, her breath coming out in short puffs as she stared wide eyed at the boy who was so entranced with her.

Hermione mentally shook her head and willed her heart to stop pounding loudly in her ears, she wondered if Malfoy had heard it himself. "I- you even gave me your bed, very chivalrous of you. I figured you would have dropped me on the couch." Her voice cracked and wavered so much it was a wonder she was even able to get out the sentence.

Draco didn't even look to met her eyes as he responded, it seemed as if he were intent on burning every centimeter of her face into his memory. His words came out by themselves in a low mumble through his inexplicably chapped lips. "I was thinking more along the lines of the floor...but I'm a gentleman first, and a prat second."

If Hermione weren't in such a state of shock at the complete disregard for her personal space she would have rolled her eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night Draco."

Then, for the first time since he dared touch her, Malfoy rose his gaze to meet hers. What Hermione saw in those quicksilver orbs made her mind scream for her to pull back, made her heart yearn to lean forward, but her body chose to do neither. She seemed to be frozen in time and her eyes didn't dare to look away from his. Want, desire, confusion swirled in the gray depths of the windows to his soul.

Draco's face was barely an inch away from her own, she could feel his warm breath cascading onto her skin but despite the large amount of yelling in her head about how wrong this was, she couldn't find it in herself to pull away. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and the quick action caught Draco's attention. His gaze flickered down to her mouth. Her perfect mouth with cherry colored lips that begged for a kiss.

A real kiss. Not one of those sloppy things he's had the displeasure of seeing Weasley place on her. Oh no, he could do better, so much better. He could show her what it was like to be really kissed...and show her so much more.

"That'd be you." He heard himself respond, the utter cliche-ness of the line didn't seem to matter to either of them as they fell into the lust that permeated the air.

His lips barely brushed over hers gently for the shortest of seconds, her breath quickened and his eyes darted to hers before he leaned in again, intent of holding true to his internal promise. Intent on showing her a real kiss.

The door flew open and a loud **BANG** echoed through the dank room as it connected with the wall. The two jumped apart before anyone would notice and the room filled with wonderfully oblivious students.

Draco quickly removed himself from the seat next to the girl, making sure not to draw attention to himself, and dropped into a seat at the table across from her. The seat next to him was quickly filled by Blaise Zabini who gave him a speculative glance.

Hermione sighed and shook her head to clear it from her treacherous thoughts and focused her attention on the board, even though Snape had yet to arrive. Entirely of their own accord her eyes wandered to the head of red sitting only two seats in front of her with Harry next to him.

'_Why is this happening?'_ Her mind screamed as she glanced Malfoy out of the corner of her eyes.

She was thankfully snapped out of her thoughts by Neville asking to sit next to her.

Seconds later Snape entered the room in a flourish, slamming the door behind him, his black robes billowing over-dramatically in his wake.

"Can anyone tell me the uses of the leaves of the Bohun Upas tree? Anyone other than Ms. Granger." Snape received no answer and shot a glare around the class. "It's used in some rather deadly poisons, which means if you're not careful _Mr. Longbottom_...the affects could be...life threatening." Snape didn't even try to hide the smirk of pure sadistic glee that spread across his gaunt face at the thought before continuing on about the plant.

Draco glanced at Hermione once sure everyone who mattered had their attention focused on the scowling potions professor. As expected Granger was busily scribbling whatever nonsense was spewing from Snape's mouth.

But as he looked to the board, their thoughts unwittingly traveled along the same path, as one thing rang through both their heads.

'_Something's happening.'_

The week dragged on much to slowly for Hermione. The professors began to pile on the assignments (especially horrible for her since most of her classes were advanced ones.) in preparation for the N.E.W.T.S. She spent most of her free time in the library, not only because she needed to study as much as she could, but she also needed to be away from Malfoy. Their near kiss still shook her to the core.

Things with Ron were still going horribly. He hadn't even glanced in her direction since the day in the Great Hall, but it seemed their separation was taking its toll on him. He looked haggard and his messy red hair was messier than ever. Of course, she didn't look her best either.

Her eyes had dark bags and seemed eternally bloodshot from lack of sleep and too much crying. Her skin seemed much paler than usual, and there was never even a ghost of a smile on her face.

All of that along with Head duties, Hermione Granger felt as if she were drowning...

"Ron look at yourself!" Harry bellowed at the other boy who showed no outward signs of hearing him. That didn't stop Harry from trying to pound some sense into the boys' head though.

"You're pathetic without her! Just ask her back!" Ron still remained tight-lipped and aloof, his gaze sticking to the roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room.

Harry sighed and shook his head, turning from his friend. "You're my best mate Ron, but right now...you're being a complete moron. You plan on loosing the girl you've loved for years over a rumor that you heard from **Pansy Parkinson**!" Harry looked at Ron and shook his head before heading to the boys dormitories. "You're an idiot Ron. A bloody idiot."

Another voice broke the silence of the common room after Harry departed. "He's right you know."

Ron didn't look up, but a spark of surprise flickered in his blue eyes. Ginny had not once said a word to him since the end of his and Hermione's relationship. Of course prior to that she made it well known that she thought Hermione could do so much better than him, but she would never wish their relationship to end. She knew that for some reason her dolt of a brother made Hermione happier than any other boy, and her friends happiness made her hold her tongue.

"You know how I feel about you and Hermione," she sat in one of the over-stuffed couches across from him and didn't continue speaking until she was comfortably seated.

"She can do better, but for some reason, she loves you. And I know Hermione, and I know that she would never throw away something like that for a tryst. I just went to the library to talk to her, but I couldn't. And do you know why Ronald?"

He didn't respond.

Ginny was getting aggravated with the hardheaded prat. "Because she was crying! Over _you_!"

Ron finally moved his blue gaze from the fire to his sister's face. "How are you so sure it wasn't over her new boyfriend?" Malice laced his every word.

"Don't you dare Ronald! Don't you _DARE_!" Ginny was on her feet now, her eyes and face ablaze with anger.

"You may have a pity party here but I will not be a part of it! You are being a selfish prat! Hermione loves you- although the reason as to why escapes me- and she would _NEVER_ do that to you! Her feelings for Malfoy are non-existent, so you get your ass out of that chair, stop moping about and go APOLOGIZE TO HER! And if you're lucky she may even accept you back." With that said Ginny turned and stomped to her room, leaving her brother alone with his thoughts.

Hermione stood on the balcony in her room, her breath coming out in puffs of fog in front of her face. The chill of the late autumn air sent her lithe frame into a fit of shivers, but she didn't care. Her mind was busy trying to grasp everything that had happened in the past few days.

From the gossip she heard in the hallways and from some of the Gryffindor girls, she learned that Ron's "source" had been Pansy Parkinson. Of course it angered her to no end that he would take the word of a Slytherin and not her own, but she also learned that he had become a pathetic version of who he once was.

She did feel a little better knowing that he too was suffering, but her mild happiness was not of the vindictive sort. It just eased her dreariness slightly knowing that he did care for her even now. Still, he should know the idea of she and Draco being a couple was utterly ludicrous and blatantly fictitious.

Then again, even she had to admit there was something going on between Draco Malfoy and herself. What exactly that something was though, was the million-galleon question.

There was definitely no relationship in the sense that the school thought. Honestly, their feelings for each other only stretched to tolerance, understanding, and at the most a small sense of respect for one another. Their little...thing, in the potions room was nothing at all. She was only feeling depressed and he was just there. And those emotions she saw in his eyes, those were only a figment of her imagination.

But Hermione couldn't help but feeling it was something more. Maybe...just maybe, it was a slight attraction brought on by his showing that he's not a complete toad. Or maybe it was his looks finally getting to her, as they had so many of the other female students of Hogwarts. Or maybe it truly was just a dumb thought brought on by her grief stricken mind.

But despite all her theorizing and logical thought, Hermione was always brought to one conclusion. Despite their past and his digressions, she was drawn to the silver haired Slytherin, and that thought alone shook her to the core.

Her musings were interrupted by muted knocking coming from the entrance to the head dorms. With a sigh she stepped off her balcony and closed the glass doors. Very few people actually knew the location of the head dormitories, so who would be knocking baffled her. She knew for a fact that Ginny was with Harry today, so the only other possibility she could think of was that it was someone for Malfoy, although that seemed highly unlikely.

Even though she had taken to avoiding the boy like the plague and what little time she spent out of the library was spent in her room, she knew when he was in and out and she hadn't heard a sound from him all day.

Her mind briefly entertained the thought that it could be Ron, but she tried to dismiss the thought. He would never come and apologize. Besides, it could still be a prefect needing help with something or a professor.

The knocking became more insistent and she hurried to open the door, only to be pulled into a pair of strong arms and her lips were feverishly covered by another's.

Draco yawned loudly and swung his long legs over his bed. He'd been awake for hours now, but had not left his bed once. It was incredibly unlike him to just laze about, but he had a lot on his mind and needed to just lay down and think.

Unfortunately the brunt of his thoughts were focused on the annoying mousy Granger. She had been obviously avoiding him since their little...rendezvous in the potions classroom on Monday. In the few classes they shared she would blatantly ignore his presence. Even in the halls when he would walk past her she would press herself so close to the walls one would think she was trying to become part of it.

That girl, who was so bossy and studious, the one he taunted for years. She was the same girl that intrigued him like no other. She was a mystery, a mystery wrapped in a riddle surrounded by an enigma. And that was what was best about her.

She never ceased to amaze him with her ability to spout out knowledge from nearly any book ever written.( Although he would never say it.) And her maturity far succeeded her age, sometimes making her seem stuck up, and yet, she was still so innocent and childlike, scared by a simple thunderstorm. Of course there was her unabashed bravery and her unmatched temper and wit.

She was so unlike him, so innocent, so pure. Somehow untainted by all the evil that surrounded her childhood years. While he was ruthless, cunning, and least of all innocent. He knew the horrors of the world and had grown too compliant to care.

They were horrible for each other complete opposites, and yet he couldn't deny the pull he felt towards her. He had even given up- as of a few days prior- his "extra curricular activities" per se. Of course it killed him on the inside but for some God unknown reason he felt as if he were betraying her. He knew for a fact that she would do nothing to help his raging libido...at least not now. He was more than sure that she would be his, Draco Malfoy always got what he wanted.

With a sigh he pulled on some pants and a shirt and walked out of his room just in time to see Granger being snogged senseless by none other than...

"Ron!" The word escaped Hermione in a breathless gasp after he pulled away from her lips. "What-?" Before more words could be voiced Hermione found herself once again being pulled to her redheaded ex. Although this time instead of a kiss it was in a loving embrace. She felt him bury his nose in her hair taking in the scent of her shampoo that he had missed so.

"Oh god Hermione." She heard him mumble as he ran his hand through her hair.

Hermione could do nothing but stand still and stare wide eyed at the boy who held her.

This could not possibly be happening, it just couldn't be. She spent days wishing something like this would happen but knew it never would. Ronald Weasley was a lot of things, but he was not spontaneous nor was he romantic. And yet, here he was, pulling her into his arms and showering her with kisses.

Something definitely had to be wrong with him. A potion backfiring in class maybe, a curse, possible trauma brought on by a Quidditch accident. But outwardly he seemed to be perfectly normal and healthy.

Maybe something was wrong with her.

"Hermione," his voice drew her from her thoughts. Looking up to his face she realized his blue eyes were fixed intently upon her. "I-we...can I come in?"

For a moment Hermione only stared at him before realizing that he was still standing in the doorway to the dormitories with her body blocking his path. Nodding nervously she stepped out of the way and allowed him in. "Of course."

He sat on one of the comfortable couches in the common room and hesitantly she took a seat next to him, but not close enough to be touching.

"'Mione," his callused hands grasped her soft ones, "I-I'm sorry." Ron looked up to meet her shocked gaze before continuing, his voice shaky and soft.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I-I should have known not to believe a witch like Parkinson. I just-it's...well you two have been spending so much time together, and we- well you know I get jealous sometimes and-" Hermione placed a soft kiss on his lips ending his mindless ranting.

"I forgive you." She whispered to the wide-eyed boy and sent him a loving smile.

"So...are we...um...are we ok now?" He couldn't hide the hope in his voice and a pink tinge spread across his cheeks. Hermione smiled brightly and nodded

Ron's face broke into a wide grin before he pulled Hermione to him planting kisses on her cheeks and forehead. "I love you 'Mione." He muttered before capturing her lips in another heated kiss.

Seconds passed and before they pulled apart, both with wide grins on their faces.

"Hermione, I have to go...you know Quidditch practice and all. But I'll see you later." Hermione's smile faltered slightly but she nodded anyway and walked him to the door where they shared a long kiss and a short goodbye.

"Well that was just lovely Granger." A voice as cold as ice sounded once Hermione had closed the door behind Ron. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the all too familiar drawl that belonged to the one person she'd been trying to avoid more than anything.

"I see your standards have dropped back to nothing and you've accepted Weasley with open arms." Malfoy continued, strolling down the stairs from his room.

"Shut up Malfoy. You don't understand." Hermione said, though her words lacked much of their usual fire.

"It seems that you are exactly correct." Draco said coming to a halt a few feet away from her. "You see, I don't let worthless slime stomp on me and then take them back because they say 'I'm sorry.' And for that I am extremely grateful that I _'don't understand._' " Draco spat with enough ferocity to make her visibly wince at his words. All the while, he fought his own internal battle. This wasn't his place to interfere, if she wanted to destroy her life like this, he should do nothing more than sit back and watch with an 'I told you so' ready.

Hermione sent him a frosty flare. "He loves me!"

"Bullshit Granger!" Draco ferociously countered barely a second after the words were out of her mouth, he slowly began to approach her. "If he loved you so much then why would he take Pansy's words over your? Last I checked Granger, trust comes with love."

Hermione was speechless as to why Ron would believe Parkinson over her, but she knew he loved her. He said so himself.

"He loves me Malfoy! I know it!" Hermione fired back after a few seconds delay, but doubt flickered in her eyes, doubt that Draco of course noticed.

"Keep repeating that and maybe you'll start believing it also." He murmured to her, he was only inches away from her now. His hand slowly reached up and his finger gently trailed down her neck, coming to her collarbone. He felt her swallow thickly and heard her breath quicken. He brushed his lips over her cheek in the barest of touches before whispering in her ear, his hot breath caressing her skin.

"You deserve so much more." He felt her shiver. Soon...she would be his.

"Malfoy," her voice was shaky and her words came out in a breathless whisper. Draco smirked and moved his face inches from her own.

"Yes?"

"Get your disgusting hands off of me." She bit out, shoving him away from her. "And stay the hell away from my life!"

Draco's face contorted from shock to rage in seconds. "My pleasure. However you choose to throw it away is up to you!" He snarled before storming out of the common room, never seeing the tears trickle down Hermione's cheeks.

Days passed and Hermione's relationship with Ron was back to how they had been before. Though this time he seemed to parade her around like a trophy instead of respecting her like a girlfriend. But it was better than being ignored she figured.

True, their relationship was not one of fairy tales as she had dreamed up for herself when she was a child, but what was she to do, she couldn't exactly throw some dragons and castles into the mix. (Even though it was all a possibility in the world she lived in.) She told herself daily that she was in love and happy, not to appease herself but more to quell memories of Malfoy's words that echoed through her head every moment of the day. Nevertheless Malfoy's words still rang through her head, if anything they only became louder, drowning out her own thoughts, and turning her happiness bittersweet.

She had yet to willingly speak a word to him since their confrontation after Ron's departure. They did see each other in the common room, but those few meetings were awkward, short lived, and filled the air with tension. One thing still did not sit well with Hermione though, why did he seem to care about her relationship?

That was definitely not the same Malfoy she had known for the past seven years. She knew a Malfoy who was snobbish, had a superiority complex, cared only for himself and used others for his greatest profit.

But somehow the new Draco, the one who took her flying, and let her cry onto his shirt, and held her when she was scared was the one that was beginning to get ingrained in her mind. That was the Malfoy that would haunt her dreams.

Dreams... a window to the subconscious. A window that showed unwanted images of she and Malfoy...together.

Her dreams came nearly every night, each more vivid than the last. One such dream came to her after a particular meeting with Malfoy in which he had apparently forgotten about their feud and let his libido take over.

_Hermione sighed loudly and stepped out of her late night bath. Her nerves were being worn thin with all the work the teachers were piling on and she desperately needed a long relaxing bath. Seeing as how Malfoy was nowhere to be found that night, it was the perfect opportunity for her to take that long bath completely uninterrupted._

_As soon as she finished wrapping her towel around herself the door connecting the bathroom to Malfoy's room burst open and in waltzed Draco Malfoy with an overly pleased look on his face. Whatever he had been doing before appearing at their dorms Hermione would much rather remain a secret to her._

_He stopped mid-step once he realized exactly what he had just walked in on, and of course instead of apologizing and leaving like the proper gentleman that he claimed himself to be. He let his gaze slowly rake over her towel-clad form for the second time that month._

_"Do you mind removing yourself from the bathroom until I am finished?" Hermione ground out, her temper flaring just at the sight of him._

_"Actually I do mind." He smirked, satisfied with himself and continued to stare at her legs without shame._

_Hermione felt herself turn red in the face, from anger or embarrassment she wasn't sure. "Get out!"_

_Instead of listening to her words Malfoy moved closer to her, making her take a step back. He smirked coming to a halt a few inches from her. She never knew why she let him so close to her without cursing him back to whatever part of hell he came from._

_"I always get what I want Granger. And currently you're number one on that list." His voice was husky as he whispered into her ear, but Hermione would not be shaken._

_"Well sorry to disappoint Malfoy, but I have a boyfriend who I happen to love very much!" She responded, her tone clipped and her head held high._

_Draco merely shrugged, his hand playing with a stray strand of her brown hair. "So?"_

_Hermione balked, but then again she didn't think dissuading Malfoy from his goal of ruining her life would be easy. "So? So I'm not going to cheat on him for you Malfoy! It's called honor and decency! Oh Merlin! Look who I'm talking to, I forgot those two words aren't even in your vocabulary."_

_"You know Granger, with all that honor and decency crap you just spouted I never heard the words 'Because I don't like you' ever slip from those little lips of yours." Draco countered with a smug smile._

_Hermione grimaced slightly before biting back. "Fine I didn't say it, but I hope you know that on the day of your funeral I plan on showing up in a yellow sundress and dancing shoes ready to throw a bloody party on your grave! How's that for an I don't like you!"_

_Hermione was positively livid by the time she finished her rant. Her eyes almost glowed with fury and her cheeks -like Draco's- were tinged pink with rage. Her breath came out in short ragged pants and her body was stiff, waiting for Malfoy's retort, which never came._

_Unexpectedly he wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her to his body. A loud gasp escaped her and her eyes widened dramatically when she realized he was leaning in to kiss her!_

_A loud smack echoed through the room as her hand connected with his pale cheek. She pushed herself away from him and stomped into her room slamming the door with all the force she could muster. The slap was bound to leave a mark._

_That would show him for trying to kiss her again!_

That day there was just something else there. Hermione didn't know how to explain it, but for the briefest of moments she just wanted to give in. Give in to Malfoy and drown in all the pleasure a single touch from him could bring to her.

Ron- she would always say to herself- held her heart, but as the days wore on and the dreams became more frequent, she wasn't so sure anymore. Though she was positive Malfoy in no way had any grip on her heart, he exerted a certain hold on her body and had wormed his way into her thoughts and borrowed deep into her traitorous subconscious.

That was the only way she could possibly explain those nightmares of him she had been so constantly plagued with- though nightmares wouldn't quite be the term one would use to describe dreams of that nature, Hermione was sound in her decision to term them unwanted nightmares.

The girl let out a sigh and heaved onto her bed, intent on settling in for a dream free nights sleep.

Draco tossed his covers off himself and stared at the top of his four poster bed. Sleep would not come to him tonight. Just like every other night that past week since the argument with Granger.

With a huff he dragged himself out of bed and walked to his balcony. It was useless to try and sleep and he knew it. But oh, what would he do for sleep, his days had been plagued with thoughts of the bushy haired Gryffindor who would not even give him a second glance.

Before it was all a game to him, get the Gryffindor princess into bed and tell everyone. It would be his greatest conquest, he would be the one to take the virginity of picture perfect Hermione Granger. But now...now it was something more. Something happened, somewhere something went terribly wrong and he began to develop feelings for the girl.

He wanted to punch something, and hard. Where was Potter or that annoying spawn of redheaded evil when he needed them.

He took a deep breath of the crisp night air, trying to clear his mind. But peaceful thoughts would be the last thing he would be getting that night.

A soft knock echoed through his room and his eyes locked on the door to his room...

Granger.

Hermione sat up in bed and threw off her covers. Strands of her hair were stuck to her face by the sweat that drenched her forehead.

That dream...oh god...it was so real so erotic so...perfect.

She hated to admit it, oh how she wished she could deny it, but she knew for a fact that she didn't want that dream to end. She would give anything for that dream to continue.

It scared her, but aroused her, and lit a flame in her that burned every part of her body.

Her body began acting without the consent of her mind, as soon as she realized what was happening it was too late.

Something had driven her out of her bed, out of her room and to Malfoy door, and then she raised her hand and knocked three times.

There was no response, not even a sound from inside the room, she sighed, with relief or disappointment, she wasn't sure. But just as she was about to turn away and leave the door opened, and there stood Draco Malfoy.

He looked almost unreal.

His hair was messy, but still perfect, and his pale skin practically glowed from the moonlight emitting from the open balcony doors in his room. Hermione heard herself gasp as her eyes raked over his body, blazing the picture into her mind.

Of their own accord her hands rose to his chiseled chest, feeling the muscles contract under her touch. His skin was soft, unmarred by even a single scar and surprisingly warm to the touch.

She stared at her hands with the utmost wonder as they slowly glided up his chest, stopping over his heart for a moment to feel its speedy beating. Her gaze ran ahead of her hands to his parted lips, she could hear his breath coming out in ragged uneven puffs.

Then her eyes met his, quicksilver with flecks of ocean blue stared down at her with such intensity it made her want to hold onto him forever. So many emotions swam in the stormy ocean depths of his eyes, so many things she wanted to know were concealed in the swirling pools of silver but they were his secrets to keep, and he kept them well.

Her hand wound into his hair and pushed his head down to hers, and she stood on her toes.

She felt his arms slide down her sides to her waist and he pulled her body to his.

With one last glance to his eyes Hermione leaned up and closed the distance between them in a kiss that she would later say opened her eyes and truly began her life.


	9. Run

Forbidden

By: Leah

**Chapter 8**

**Run**

Hermione Granger was not an impulsive person; she seldom did the unexpected. She abided by the rules, did everything by the book, and did everything morally correct.

So when she graced the doorstep of Draco Malfoy late one November night the Slytherin was shocked to say the least, as to why the predictable little Gryffindor was doing something so unusual. But when her hand hands lifted to his bare chest, and her lips placed themselves on his, Draco Malfoy was almost one hundred percent sure that the world was to come to a fiery end soon.

But he held onto her anyway, he ran his hands through her hair despite the fact that she was "rule abiding Hermione Granger." He kissed her back, despite the fact that she was forbidden.

The kiss; it was so unlike anything either had felt before. It was strong and passionate, fierce but perfect. They poured every feeling into the kiss. Their hatred, lust, confusion, anger, and uncertainty. It lit a flame deep in their bodies, a flame that threatened to engulf them both.

His hands ran up her sides, tracing her gentle curves and pulling her closer. He needed this; he needed to feel her. He needed to know this was all real, he needed to know she wasn't going to disappear.

Her fingers were entwined in his platinum hair. Their lips danced over each other's feverishly, their tongues battled for dominance while their minds screamed for them to stop this act of pure madness.

His tongue ran through her mouth with the skill of a practiced master, getting drunk off her taste and the feel of her small body pressed so intimately against his. Her breathy moans and low whimpers were more than enough encouragement and he removed his lips from her now red ones. He dipped his head and trailed hot kisses down the creamy flesh of her neck, gently nipping and sucking on the exposed skin.

Her knees felt more and more like they would give out with his every nip, she found herself grasping onto him for support.

Her breathing turned into an erratic panting as her mind dipped more into the fog that threatened to engulf her. Slowly his lips returned to hers, a husky whisper escaped him before his lips covered hers.

"Hermione."

_'Stop!' _Her mind cry broke through the haze that seemed surrounded her thoughts and her eyes shot open. Her senses came back to her, crashing down with excruciating force.

Her name on his lips.

It sounded so perfect, but Merlin it was so wrong.

She pushed him off of her, not even pausing to see the expression of shock and confusion on his perfect features. Instead she ran.

She left the head dorms, not caring that it was nearly two in the morning, or that she was only clad in her pajamas. She just needed to be out of that place and away from him.

Hot tears slid down her pink cheeks as her bare feet hit the cold castle floor. There was only one place she could think of going, only one person who wouldn't question but already understand.

She stopped in front of the painting of the Fat Lady who opened one bleary, sleep filled eye to gaze at her.

"My word child, what on earth –"

"Ch-Choco-late frogs." She stuttered out and ran into the common room as soon as the portrait swung open ignoring the Fat lady's parting grumble.

("Children these days, waking a person at this hour for nonsense I'm sure.")

Hermione ran as best as one could with tears pouring from their reddened eyes up the stairs to the girls dormitories and into Ginny's room, not caring if she woke up any of the other four girls in the room. Hastily she pulled aside the curtain of her friend's bed.

"Ginny, please, please wake up." Her hand shook the younger girls shoulder slightly, thankful that she was a light sleeper.

"Hmmm...Merlin Hermione it's two-" Hermione launched herself at Ginny, (cutting off her sentence) and sobbed openly into the younger girls shoulder. Ginny sighed wisely before looking down at her best friend who she was sure made a huge mistake.

But to Ginny that error was leaving the arms of her enemy.

"Don't worry Hermione, it's going to be fine."

Draco stared at the spot that Hermione stood in only minutes before her hasty departure. For a moment he believed it was all just a product of his over active and sleep-deprived mind, made to taunt him and throw what he couldn't have in his face.

But his body still burned from where her dainty fingers trailed with virginal shyness along his skin. He could still feel how perfectly her body was pressed against his. He could still smell her shampoo lingering in the air, and taste her on his lips.

He shook his head slightly and closed the door with an exasperated sigh; it wasn't long before he found himself on his bed with his face pressed into the pillow and his mind muddled with thought.

She had a boyfriend, and if he knew her as well as he thought he did, he knew she would not leave the weasel. Oh no, she would never dare disappoint him or Potter, or prove to the world that she wasn't as predictable as they all thought she was.

But the events that transpired only a few moments ago was very unlike her, so perhaps hope was still alive...albeit he didn't exactly know what that hope was for.

He didn't do relationships; that much was widely known. So would Hermione Granger give up the love of her red headed, overly freckled Prince Charming, for a few good rounds of sex with him? ("A few bloody magnificent rounds of sex I'd like to add!") The answer to that question was a reverberating "No" and he knew it.

But this was something he couldn't ignore; the feelings that stirred in him were terrifying and new to him. Love was definitely out of the question. He may be one of the last living Malfoy's but he was still a Malfoy. And though most of their old beliefs and customs died with his parents, one thing still lived on: Malfoy's don't love. Despite that he had only really known the girl for three months or so; the past six years could not be considered as time spent getting to know each other.

Back then she was just the mudblood, bookworm, and Potter's friend. But now...gods he didn't even know what she was now. He guessed all you could say was that she was simply Hermione. No other words could describe her and he had come to know that in their short time together. (He cringed at the thought, this girl made him sound soft.)

But Draco Malfoy was no believer in fairy tales and he knew that things like love at first sight didn't exist, neither did love between enemies. So love -or in their case passion- would not conquer all.

"Oh god Ginny!" Hermione wailed into her best friend's shoulder. The other girl merely nodded and patted her friend's back, waiting patiently until Hermione was back to normal and able to tell her the story. The older girl let out another loud sob and Ginny was grateful she cast a silencing charm over her bed long ago, she was also fairly sure that Hermione wouldn't like any of the sixth year Gryffindor girls to get their hands on this juicy bit of gossip.

"Gin what did I do?"

_'That's what I would like to know.'_ Ginny sighed and mumbled comforting words to Hermione whose tears were finally beginning to ebb.

"Feeling better?" Ginny asked in her most motherly voice when Hermione's sobs slowly turned into the occasional hiccup.

"Not really." Hermione mumbled and pulled herself away from her friend. "Ginny, I-Merlin I'm an idiot!" Hermione groaned and dropped herself onto Ginny's goose-feather pillow. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation Ginny would have laughed at the rather drama queen like behavior from her bookish friend.

"So now can you tell me what happened?" The red head knew there was a limit to the amount of times she could ask that question without having Hermione's temper act up. But as of yet Hermione seemed too distraught to be angry, and so she pressed on with her inquisition.

For a long while Hermione didn't respond and Ginny was opening her mouth to ask her again when jumbled words muffled by the pillow escaped her friends lips.

"Um... didn't quite catch that last bit, care to restate that?" Ginny arched an eyebrow and leaned closer to her friend, almost knocking her skull against Hermione's when the girl unexpectedly sat up before dropping back into the pillow.

"IkissedDracoMalfoy." Ginny stared at her clearly anguished friend for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh."

Hermione shot up and nearly threw herself off the bed with all the force she used in the movement. Her eyes were livid as she glared down upon the redhead who regarded her so calmly.

"Oh? I tell you that I kissed Harry's biggest enemy; the boy who tormented me for 7 years, and more over I cheated on my boyfriend -your brother- and all you have to say is _oh_?" Her voice had reached near banshee worthy levels in her tirade causing Ginny to wince in a few places.

Ginny still gave her a level look before nodding her head and saying, "Yes, oh."

Hermione let out a loud noise that sounded like something caught between a scream and a groan and dropped back into the pillow. "You know what this means don't you?" Ginny asked thoughtfully, breaking the silence.

"That I'm an utterly horrid person and that my life and chances of a good future with Ron have all been shot down because of my stupidity?"

Ginny let out a snort before responding. "No. It means that Ron was right and I was wrong...bugger." She let out a small laugh that nearly drove Hermione mad.

Hermione fixed her friend with a level glare before speaking. "Will you be serious for one moment Ginerva! What am I going to do? When Ron finds out-"

Ginny held up one hand, which surprisingly silenced her friend who she feared was minutes away from another tirade. "For now, you sleep. This won't be gone by morning, but at least you'll have had a few hours of restful sleep and your mind will be much clearer."

Hermione let out a stifled groan; how on earth did Ginny think she could get a minute of restful sleep after what happened not even an hour ago. "Would you please do me a favor and stop being so bloody calm about this!" The ginger haired teen hissed at one of her best friends who gave her a sleepy smile in return.

"I think I have to be. Both of us can't be acting like chickens who got their heads cut off now can we. That wouldn't solve a thing...and I figured something like this was bound to happen sooner or later, so I was pretty prepared for it...didn't think it would happen at 2 in the morning though." Ginny said, mumbling the last bit more to herself than to Hermione. "But even I don't exactly know what you're going to do from here."

"What do you mean what am I going to do?" Hermione asked curiously. She thought it would have been obvious to Ginny what she was going to do. The same thing she did every time she and Malfoy had a dispute or hit an awkward spot: run.

"Well you can't just spend your time here and avoid him for the rest of the year." Hermione gave her a look that clearly said 'Why not?' Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend's cluelessness.

"Well you're both Heads, and you have meetings to go to together, and such things. Also, you have quite a few classes with the Slytherins. And honestly, don't you think the running and hiding thing is getting a bit old?" Hermione sent the younger girl a harsh look, but the red head remained unfazed and kept her calm exterior.

"Then what do you propose I do?" She asked with an air of false sweetness.

"Um...well," A small smile flickered across Ginny's face and Hermione knew the girl's next words would not quell her growing anger. "I was thinking along the lines of running into his arms and confessing your undying love and devotion to him, then riding off into the sunset on his white steed."

Hermione gave her a dry look. "Goodnight Ginny."

"Um...Hermione, that's my bed..."

Something had happened, and it didn't take long the next morning for Pansy Parkinson to figure that much out. Though the signs were subtle, if one looked they could definitely tell something was amiss between the Gryffindor Bookworm and the Slytherin Prince.

She began to notice the small telltale signs during breakfast. As she slowly sipped her goblet of pumpkin juice and listened to the conversations around her she noticed that every few moments Zabini or whomever was speaking to Draco would have to call his name to bring his attention back to them. She had known Draco nearly her entire life and knew that he was not one to be unfocused unless there was something wrong.

Out of sheer curiosity her eyes skimmed across the great hall landing on the Gryffindor table, where after minutes of silent spectating she noticed that Granger too was a bit out of it. She also realized that the girl's appearance -though, she thought with a grimace, it wasn't ever anything spectacular before- was haggard, worn. She had bags from lack of sleep under her eyes and her skin looked paler. All in all, Pansy thought, she looked more like filth than ever.

And then the mudblood did something that made Pansy's eyebrows nearly shoot into her hairline. The pauper put his arm around her shoulder and a look of pure horror, disgust and most importantly guilt flashed across Granger's face, all before she promptly shrugged off the arm.

_'Oh yes,'_ Pansy thought_, 'Something definitely happened last night.'_

Pansy's keen gaze followed Draco and Granger through the day. Carefully she watched their interactions and made note of their behaviors.

She had witnessed, on more than one occasion, Granger ducking out of her boyfriend's grasp or leaving the room entirely if he were to enter, or making someone fill a seat beside her before he could.

Of course the actions of the -and she used the term loosely- couple, did prove to be her bit of amusement for the day, she also noticed Granger trying her hardest to also avoid Draco. Her efforts weren't as visible as they were towards the red head but Pansy did notice every time that Draco entered a room Granger would get a panicked look in her eyes, sometimes she would even stop speaking mid-sentence or she became extremely fidgety.

And then there was Draco. He wasn't as obvious as Granger, he was afterall a Malfoy, masters at hiding anything closely related to emotions. But then again she was also a master at reading him like a book.

She noticed what no one else did, like how every time he walked into a room his eyes would scan the area. At first she didn't think much of it, but then she noticed that he would stop his search once his eyes landed on -as expected- Granger. And of course every time he would find her he'd give her an odd look. One that would be categorized as intrigue...that is if it weren't directed to something so below him. She also noticed that every few moments in class or the great hall his eyes would find their way to Granger when she wasn't looking. Also when Draco wasn't looking Granger's eyes would be on him, it sometimes appeared as if they planned their little visual romance for the exact moment one wasn't looking. But there were a few moments when one would be caught staring at the other and either Granger would blush and look away or Draco would raise an eyebrow in question.

There were millions of ill-concealed signs that Pansy picked up on throughout the day and by dinner she was furious. She needed to find Draco and speak to him. He needed to know that he was hers and no one else's.

Especially not a mudblood's.

With her new resolve Pansy glanced up and down the Slytherin table, but a head of blonde hair did not stand out to her. "Zabini!"

The Italian boy hung his head and let out a long sigh before turning to Pansy with a smile as fake as they got plastered on his face. It was no secret among the Slytherin House that she annoyed him half to death, but that didn't matter to her. If anyone knew where Draco was, it would be Zabini.

"What is it Parkinson." His smooth as silk voice did little to hide the ice in his words, not that Pansy took time to notice or care.

"Where is Draco?"

Blaise rolled his eyes and shrugged. "If he were half as smart as he thinks he is, he would be avoiding you." The boy was about to turn away from Pansy and back to his meal until he felt her hand pulling his arm.

"I am in no mood to joke with you Zabini," Pansy said dangerously, "Now where is Draco?"

Blaise harshly brushed off her hand and turned a glare dark enough to match Malfoy's on the girl. "I. Don't. Know." He began, speaking as if he were talking to a slow child. "And if you ever lay a hand on me again Parkinson, I assure you, you won't be getting it back." Blaise's threat fell on deaf ears as his first words processed.

She knew for a fact that Draco had come into the Great Hall for dinner, but now where could he be. Of their own accord her eyes traveled to the Gryffindor table, where one member was missing.

_'Something is definitely going on.'_ With that final thought Pansy got up and dashed out of the Hall in search of Draco and the mudblood he was undoubtedly with.

Blaise watched the priss princess dash out of the room and shook his head. _'Bloody nutters that one.'_

Hermione walked aimlessly around the snow blanketed grounds of the castle, having no spot in particular to go to. She dared not go to the Great Hall. She had no appetite and _they_ were there. Ron and Draco.

Throughout the day she had been shrugging off Ron's advances, every time he would touch her, her mind would scream that she was betraying such an innocent man. And for what?

For Draco sodding Malfoy that's what.

On more than one occasion during the day she felt herself ogling him, strangely sometimes she would actually catch him staring at her also. Of course whenever that happened he would give her one of his Malfoy perfected condescending smirks and then raise his eyebrow in what she guessed he thought was a sexy manner.

Unfortunately her mind did admit that he looked rather dashing when doing that. Bloody traitorous mind.

"You know," A cool drawl that she knew all to well broke into her thoughts. "One like yourself shouldn't be wandering about the grounds at such a late hour in such a frigid month."

Hermione dared not turn around, she already knew that he would be standing there, leaning casually on a wall in his thick winter cloak with his Malfoy-esque smirk already on his face.

At the moment he appeared to be acting civil and she didn't want to upset him, knowing fully how his temper made him act. For now she would try to have a civil talk with him.

"What do you want Malfoy." Her words were clipped and harsh. So much for civil talk.

But her ice queen tone would not deter Draco, instead he chuckled and pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, having taken on the pose Hermione envisioned to a tee.

The rustling of moving clothing caused Hermione to gasp and spin around quickly, skidding on a sheet of ice that caked that part of the grounds. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for a fall that never came.

Instead she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her to an equally strong body. Opening her eyes she came face to face with Malfoy. Their faces were centimeters apart, their noses barely touching each other's.

Her eyes ran over his face that was now devoid of its normal smirk and cruelty. He looked so much like he did the night before, he was unguarded now and it appealed to her. This wasn't the condescending prick she had known for years. This was the Malfoy that was hidden to the world, the one that she kissed. The one that she hoped was the real Malfoy.

Her fingers itched to trail along his strong jaw or run through his unfairly silky hair. Her body ached to feel so near to him again. Her entire being wanted him, but something in her mind still whispered that it was wrong.

But right then, she didn't care about wrong from right.

He was the first to make a move. Of their own accord his fingers trailed to the side of her cheek, which his hand cupped. His other hand stayed firmly placed on her waist with no intention of moving.

His stormy eyes pierced into her brown ones, stopping her breath for a moment, Merlin they were beautiful.

"What spell do you cast that pulls me to you like this Granger?" His voice was the barest of whispers and his cold breath came out in smoky puffs in front of their faces.

Hermione opened her mouth when a loud cry filled the still night air, followed by the sounds of the doors to the entrance hall closing.

"Draco!"

Pansy.

Hermione's thoughts came back to her and she pushed herself away from Malfoy using strength she didn't know she had, skidding a little on the ice that covered the ground but regaining her balance before she fell.

"Your bride to be is calling you." Her soft words spoke volumes. With one last saddened look in his direction she turned and left just in time to see Pansy running to Draco, throwing her arms over him in a hug.

"Haven't been in here before." Blaise let out a low whistle as his eyes looked over the Heads' dormitories. "You're a lucky bastard Drake."

Draco nodded, not really taking in his friend's words, and dropped onto one of the black couches in the common room. Seconds later Blaise also dropped onto the couch with aristocratic grace, his family like the Malfoy's were also filthy rich, thought their mountains of galleons fell short in comparison to the Malfoys's.

Sensing Draco wasn't going to speak first, Blaise began speaking. "So where exactly where you at dinner today? You left me with Parkinson, I owe you for that one by the way." Blaise's mock threat was shrugged off by Draco.

The boy in question let out a rugged sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Parkinson?" The word dropped from Blaise's mouth as if it were poison for him to speak it.

"And Granger."

"Ah," The Italian boy flicked his wand and two glasses and a bottle of Firewhiskey appeared on the table in front of them. Draco gratefully accepted the glass of orange liquid offered to him. "Let me guess. You planned to bed the bookworm," (Blaise unlike many Slytherins rarely called anyone a mudblood) "since your ego is ever expanding and a conquest like that would surely make it reach earth consuming proportions."

If Blaise bothered to look up during his speech he would have noted the steely glare Draco sent to him. Instead he stared at his glass of Firewhiskey -the liquid lolling from side to side in the glass- and continued with his assumption. "And as all great plans of mice and men go, I'm sure that backfired, and now you have feelings for the girl." Here he paused to send a smug look to Draco before bringing his glass to his lips.

"But that's just a guess." He placed his glass on the table with a flourish and sent Draco a look, daring him to say he was wrong.

And of course, Draco dared to differ. "I do **not** have feelings for her." His words sounded weak to his own ears. "She only intrigues me."

"Of course," Blaise filled both his and his friends glasses. "Because she won't let you have her."

Draco took the glass and emptied its contents in one gulp, wincing slightly at the burning feeling that followed. "Exactly." He let out a deep sigh and ran his hand over his face. "But last night, she- I don't really know what happened to her, but she just...came to me."

Blaise arched and eyebrow and sent his friend a curious look. Draco's forehead creased in thought as he replayed the night in his head, focusing on every detail, trying to figure out when it all went wrong.

"So you-"

"No." He blinked away the memory and returned his focus to Blaise. "Nothing like that happened. She just ran off when I said her name." He leaned back into the couch and let out a low groan. "And then what just happened; god this girl confuses me."

"What exactly _did _just happen?"

"You know I skipped dinner, Pansy's been staring at me all day and I didn't feel like risking an ambush." Blaise interrupted him with a grumble that sounded like: "Thanks for getting me ambushed instead...mate." Which Draco ignored. "So I went for a stroll on the grounds, and there she was, of all bloody places in this **castle**, she had to be outside on the sodding grounds the same time I was. Then we were back to where we were last night, and then bloody Pansy shows up. Granger practically flew away from me, but not before reminding me of my impending future of marital bliss with Pansy."

"Which you forgot?"

"Which I forgot." Draco's face took on a dark scowl and Blaise felt a pang of pity for the poor bastard. A marriage to Pansy was enough to make any normal man go off his rocker, but here Draco was...trying to get someone else in bed. Maybe pity wasn't exactly the right word for what he felt.

_'Shocked disbelief sounds more fitting.'_ Then Blaise thought of something, this was the Heads' common room, and Draco was not the only Head.

"Where is Granger anyway?" Draco seemed unfazed by the question and rubbed his temples with his index and middle fingers.

"Same place she always goes when she's hiding from me: Gryffindor tower. Probably telling those two idiots that I assaulted her or something."

Blaise shook his head slightly, "I doubt it. If there's one thing Granger is, it's predictable. She would never tell Potter or Weasley what happened. It's probably eating away at her seeing as she wouldn't trust a soul."

Draco let out a grunt and Blaise took it as a sign of agreement. "Actually," Draco sat up a bit and looked over to his long time friend. "There is the Weaselette. I'm pretty sure that one is telling Granger that she should forget about the weasel. Only one in the family with brains, that one."

Blaise chuckled before turning serious again. "So what are you going to do about Pansy?"

Draco groaned again. "Oh hell, I forgot about _that_ again. Guess there isn't anything I can do about it. If I don't marry her I risk loosing my inheritance. Speaking of which, what are you doing for the Christmas vacation?"

"Not much, probably go back to Italy, mum's told me countless times how she's been missing me since father's not there any longer. Why?"

"Wanted someone to keep me company at the manor. I have to go see about mother's will and sort through father's effects; not something I look forward to."

Blaise stood and pat his friend on the shoulder giving him a sympathetic look, he heard about his mother's death, he was one of the few people Draco actually told; actually he was the _only_ person Draco told. Granger only found it out because of her snooping. "Sorry but I can't be there mate, and I really have to go, it's past curfew and all." Draco nodded in understanding and Blaise let himself out.

Left alone in the room Draco's thoughts wandered to his most prominent problem, his growing feelings for the bushy haired brunette.

"Yes Granger, what spell indeed."

Pansy stared at the fading embers of the fire in the Slytherin common room.

Moments ago she found Draco outside and with another girl in his arms. Of course after seeing that she practically ran to Draco and threw her arms around him. But the other girl was gone long before she could catch a glimpse of her. It was after all nearly 8 'o clock on a November night, the sky was as dark as it would be at midnight.

She didn't need to see who it was though to figure it out.

"Granger." Pansy scowled darkly at the fire while remembering what happened after the other girl's departure.

The bookworm was long gone before she could see how harshly Draco shoved her off of him. He looked positively livid and Pansy was sure it had something to do with the few words Granger muttered before she left.

Unfortunately the words were to quiet for Pansy to catch. But Draco got the full meaning.

After Draco had roughly shoved her off of him, causing her to stumble back a few feet, he sent her a glare that even made her want to back away in fear.

_"Drakie, what's the matter with you,"_ she recalled her words_. "Is there something going on between you and the mu-" _

_But he cut her off, controlled fury seeping through his every pore. "You will never be my wife!" Then he stalked off, back to the castle leaving a very confused Pansy behind._

She was snapped out of the memory by the sound of the common room entrance closing, seconds later Blaise walked by, sending her a half hearted glare, and went into the boys dormitories.

Pansy looked into the dying flame and pushed herself off of the chair.

"Oh but Draco, you will be my husband."

For the second time in not even twenty-four hours, Ginny Weasley found herself holding onto a sobbing Hermione Granger and whispering comforting words to her, all the while not knowing exactly what was wrong.

She guessed that like last night it had something to do with Draco Malfoy. In fact she was more than certain it had to do with Draco Malfoy, especially since neither of them happened to be at dinner tonight.

She had silently watched them the entire day, following the movements of Draco and Hermione in the few times she saw them. And though she knew neither would admit it she could tell that they had feelings for each other. Feelings that stretched beyond conventional lust.

But maybe she thought that because she still held onto her romance novel dream of Draco and Hermione, two enemies, finding love in the arms of one another.

One thing she did notice that seemed a little off was Parkinson. Every time Ginny would look at Draco or Hermione in the halls or in the Great Hall, she would also see Parkinson glaring at Hermione or watching Draco closely.

Ginny knew the other girl was on to the whole thing. No good could come of that. After a bit of studying Parkinson she knew that she didn't have an obsession with Draco as most people thought. No, the girl was much smarter than that, Ginny doubted she would be one to give her heart to any man. Instead Ginny knew that Pansy was only with Draco for his money and status. She also knew that little dumb blonde routine of Pansy's was all a sham.

That girl was smarter than most.

But she would worry about Pansy later, now she had to take care of her best friend.

"Hermione, what happened at dinner?" Thankfully unlike last night Hermione relayed the story to Ginny, only stopping a few times to let out a sob or hiccup.

"Hermione, it's ok, you can deal with this." The girl shook off her friend's words of reassurance and pushed herself off of the younger witch, looking at her with watery chocolate eyes.

"Ginny I can't!" Her words were choked and thick with tears, but she continued. "This- this wasn't supposed to happen! I h-have Ron! It's expected, I mean it's you and Harry, m-me and Ron! It's safe...it's what's supposed to happen!"

Ginny shook her head and put a comforting hand on her friend's arm, only to have it shrugged off. "Hermione-"

"No! No! This thing with him, these feelings...it has to end! I- He's Malfoy." Her voice softened to a near whisper, a stark difference to her loud ranting. "He-He'll break my heart Gin." She sent Ginny a look that reflected so much sadness it almost broke Ginny's heart. "I'm...I'm scared."

Ginny's gaze turned sympathetic and she pulled her friend back to her, letting Hermione sob into her should yet again.


	10. So this is Christmas Part I

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter 9**

**So this is Christmas Part I**

Draco stared listlessly at the ceiling. It was December 20th and outside white crystals of snow were falling steadily onto the grounds of Hogwarts. It would be his last day in the common room for a while; tomorrow he would be going home for the Christmas vacation.

He scoffed at the thought. _'Home to what? An empty mansion, all the money I could want...and no-one there to say a Happy Christmas.'_ He pushed himself off the couch and walked to his room; he should at least start packing now and not leave it to the morning.

He paused mid-step and turned to the door, he had heard a small creak that was so soft he wasn't even sure he heard a thing.

But he did; she was there. Neither said a word, neither knew what could be said.

Her eyes widened and she looked very much like a deer caught in headlights, though he reckoned he was mirroring that look. The silence was suffocating and wanted to say something -anything- to ease the tension. Maybe apologize...

_'No, I didn't do anything wrong, she was the one who-'_ But his lips moved without his minds consent.

"Gran-" and then she was gone. She practically bolted into her room, without even uttering a sound. He heard the door slam and the lion in her portrait roar.

He let out a sigh and let his head roll back. He contemplated waiting on her to leave her room, afterall she couldn't stay in there forever, but after two minutes of thought he continued to his room.

They had things they needed to talk about; he was to be married to Pansy, she had a boyfriend, and there was so much more. But for once even he, Draco Malfoy, felt that this was something he was to afraid to do.

He closed the door to his room and went for his trunk, beginning to pack; all the while wondering when their little game of cat and mouse had turned into something so serious.

Hermione curled onto her bed with Crookshanks lying behind her. Her heart still beat furiously in her chest and her mind was racing, all because of him.

What was he going to say to her? Would he bring _it_ up?

God she hoped not.

That night replayed itself in her head so many times in the past few weeks that she practically had every breath, every touch, every sound, every feeling...every sensation memorized. Yet she would still find herself shocked and left asking why?

Why did she go to him? Why did she kiss him?

Why...did she run away from him?

She hated herself every time that question came up. She told herself over and over that she left because it was wrong and she loved Ron. She was meant for Ron, and he for her.

She snuggled closer to the orange cat and sniffled. "Crookshanks, I'm a complete idiot." The cat responded with a soft meow.

She took comfort in the thought that she would be away from him for a few days. Normally a break from school and her studies (especially with N.E.W.T.S coming up) would have made her distraught, but with all of the things going on, she couldn't wait for the chance to get away from Hogwarts. She just wanted to forget about him, and about Ron.

She let out another sniffle. _'Ron.' _Last week she gave herself to him.

She told herself that it was because she loved him and wouldn't want anyone else to be her first. But she knew she was lying to herself, trying to make her heart believe her minds words.

She knew that she only did it to prove to herself that she felt nothing for Draco. But she did; and doing _that_ with Ron only made her believe it more.

It wasn't completely horrid or anything; just awkward. It was the both of their first times, and they knew what to do, but when it actually came to doing it, it was just...odd.

And then came the pain, she tried not to scream, nearly succeeding in biting her lip bloody to keep it in. And Ron was no help in comforting her. He panicked and nearly fainted when she bled.

It was also one of the most uncomfortable things she had ever experienced. They had to do it outside, on the ground near the Forbidden Forest so no one would see. But the whole time there were stones and gravel digging into her back and there were twigs in her hair and dirt on her clothes. She even got a nasty scrape in her shoulder from a rock .

To say the least it wasn't exactly the rose petals on the bed, soft music in the background and magical love making she always envisioned her first time to be.

Needless to say, the next day she felt horrible; physically and emotionally. She nearly threw up when she glanced Draco across the Great Hall at breakfast.

Ron of course was beaming and from the looks she received from many of the Gryffindor boys she guessed he told them all the sordid details.

After that she had taken to staying in Ginny's dormitories when she wasn't in class. (Thankfully none of the sixth year girls questioned as to why she was staying with them.) Ron had tried a few times after that to have sex again, but she would say she had to study or something of that sort, once or twice even saying she had a head or stomach ache. He would believe her, but always sulked in silence for a while.

Not that Hermione minded much.

The next morning the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were filled with the noises of excited children getting ready to leave for home for the holidays, or of animals flapping, scurrying or jumping intheir cages.

Hermione managed to slip away from the crowds without having to talk to many people and snagged an empty carriage. In minutes she was at the train station where hundreds of children were piling onto the black and red Hogwarts Express.

She spared two quick glances up and down the platform for her friends, though she was not entirely sure she wanted to find them. Seeing them nowhere she boarded the train -pulling her trunk and Crookshanks behind her- and set out for an empty compartment.

Unfortunately in each car every compartment she passed had occupants, so -though she knew some of the people in the compartments, and knew they wouldn't mind her staying in with them for the ride- she continued looking for an empty compartment. She really wasn't in the mood to be around people today, with a sigh she continued to the back of the train, her arm beginning to ache from pulling her trunk.

Before she knew what was happening she felt a hand grip her free arm and roughly pull her into a compartment to her left, causing her to drop her trunk and Crookshanks' cage (the cat hissed loudly) in the process. She nearly screamed in surprise and turned to face her captor; her eyes widened.

"Ginny? Merlin! What on earth is the matter with you?" The younger girl smiled sheepishly before leaving the compartment, returning seconds later with her cat and trunk.

"Well I figured you would want to be alone and have no-one bother you so you could think. And you weren't here yet and all the compartments were filling up so I took it upon myself to save you one." The girl finished with a triumphant smile and tried to push Hermione's trunk into the luggage compartment. After minutes of struggling to lift the thing she sighed in defeat and left it on the floor, there would be more than enough room with it only being the two of them anyway.

"Blimey Hermione, are you taking every one of your text books home with you?" Hermione ignored the grinning girl and gave her a withering glare.

"If you thought I wanted to be with no-one, why are you here?" Her words weren't harsh, just questioning, and Ginny didn't seem offended in the least.

Instead she grinned and dropped her bum onto the red velvet seat. "Come now Hermione," She began with a cheeky grin, "you know I'm your no-one."

In other parts of the train, Draco wasn't as lucky. He sent a cold look to the three people sitting across from him, all of whom were oblivious.

Pansy was magically filing her nails. _'Merlin forbid she lift a hand to do it herself.'_ Meanwhile Crabbe and Goyle were... well doing something idiotic he was sure.

The only person in the compartment he could have a decent conversation with was Blasie, but currently the boy seemed to have developed a case of lockjaw.

_'Brought on by having to be so close to Pansy for so long no doubt.'_ Draco sighed and looked out the window at the scenery whizzing by, and leaned his head against the glass, letting his mind roam.

Moments later he was brought out of his daze by the sound of the compartment door slamming shut and the feeling of the seat next to him sinking slightly under a persons weight. Looking next to him he saw Pansy instead of Blaise. Apparently the boy had stormed out when Parkinson moved into the seat between himself and Draco. There was, after all, only so much Parkinson one man could stand.

"Draco," She practically purred in his ear. He shuddered slightly when her hand grazed dangerously close to the crotch of his pants.

He may not like the girl per se, but he _was_ a teenage boy with teenage boy hormones.

Pansy smiled to herself, knowing she had his full attention. "What are you going to be doing for Christmas Drakie?"

He would have told her it was none of her business or something of that nature, but whatever clever retort he had died on his lips when her dainty hand slipped into his pants. Instead he sent a glare to Crabbe and Goyle, making them leave the compartment without a glance behind them.

Pansy smirked and continued her ministrations. _'Men are too easy.'_

"I was thinking," She continued, her words soft as her lips grazing the skin behind his ear, "since you're going to be at the Manor all by yourself, I could come over and...keep you company."

Draco let out a muffled groan and Pansy's smirk widened. "We could Christen every room," She began dropping feather soft kisses along his jaw and neck. "After all, it will be my home too pretty soon." Those words cut through the haze in Draco's mind like a knife.

The boy's eyes shot open and he pushed Pansy away from him. He bolted out of the seat and fixed his pants before turning a fiery glare on the witch before him.

"I told you Parkinson," his words were as cold as ice, but Pansy's smirk never left her lips. "I will not marry you!"

Pansy let out a humorless laugh -much to Draco's chagrin- and stood; confidence seeping from every pore on her body.

"To bad for you Draco Malfoy, because I will be your wife. There is an iron-clad contract binding me to you; so on your eighteenth birthday, you will be my husband." She sent him a cold smile before coming to stand closer, pressing her body to his. He sent her a sneer but didn't retaliate.

"And I know you wouldn't dream of risking your money and name just for the love of a mudblood." Draco's eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. Pansy's devilish smile grew and she threw her arms around his neck.

"You're mine Draco," Her lips grazed his and he could feel her smirk.

"Get used to it."

Blaise was sick.

Actually disgusted to be more exact.

He couldn't stand to be in that compartment one more minute with Parkinson so obviously leering at Draco. The girl was so bloody annoying that she actually succeeded in making him physically sick without even moving.

So when she moved to sit in-between himself and Draco he had to get out of there, opting to wander the halls of the train aimlessly than to stay in there and loose his breakfast.

"Well what do we have here?" He mumbled passing by one particular compartment.

There sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried in a book was Hermione Granger. More importantly it was Hermione Granger minus her two ever-vigilant village idiots, instead there was only the youngest Weasley with her.

Draco's words about the girl played in his head. "..._there is the Weaselette. I'm pretty sure that one is telling Granger that she should forget about Weasley. Only one in the family with brains, that one."_

"Perfect." A devious smile slid onto his face and he wanted to pat himself on his back for his own brilliance; now he had a plan.

There was only one problem: Weaselette -as Draco had so affectionately termed her- was in there with Granger, while he needed her to be out in the halls with him.

He wracked his brain for a way to get her out of the compartment without alerting Granger, but came up with nothing. He was about to turn away in defeat when -as if sensing him- Ginny's eyes turned to the door and widened.

He nodded he head to her and shot a glance at Granger and then back to her. Ginny gave him the smallest of nods and excused herself from the compartment, telling Hermione she needed to use the loo.

She exited the compartment and motioned Blaise to follow her to the back of the train. _'Thank Merlin she has more brains than her brother, he would have taken years to get that.'_

They slipped in to one of the few remaining empty compartments without drawing attention to themselves. Many people would question why a Gryffindor -Harry Potter's girlfriend no less- was sneaking into an empty compartment with one of Slytherin's top playboys if they were seen.

"Malfoy's friend correct?" Ginny began.

"Correct, though I prefer to be called Blaise." He sent her a very Slytherin smirk and she couldn't help but giggle._ 'Do all the people in that House have to master the art of smirking or something?'_

"Oh, an Italian," She said taking note of his accent, he sent her another charming smirk.

"Correct again. Now Ms. Weasley-"

"I prefer to be called Ginny." She gave him a cheeky grin and he let out a small chuckle.

"Ok then -Ginny- I guess you know what's going on with Draco and Granger?"

Ginny nodded, "You mean that they're both bloody stubborn as mules and won't accept that they actually like each other."

Blaise grinned "I like you; wouldn't happen to be single by any chance now would you?" He sent her a little wink which caused the girl to blush prettily.

"No sorry; dating Harry."

Blaise sighed and nodded, "Of course, Potter. Back to business then." He smirked and continued. "I propose we do something, just to give them a little nudge in the right direction you know."

"You mean do something sneaky and underhanded behind the backs of out best friends to get them together?" Ginny looked appalled and Blaise rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

_'How could I forget Gryffindor's are all a bunch of goody goodies.'_

"Because if that's the case," Ginny smiled and leaned in, "I'm bloody in!" Blaise couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"If you and Potter ever end it, look me up." He sent her his charming half smile and Ginny couldn't contain her girlish giggle.

"Wait a moment," Ginny said as an idea just struck her, "I thought Malfoy was to marry Pansy, his betrothed or some archaic rubbish like that."

Blaise shrugged, "It's merely a contractual agreement between their parents," Ginny didn't seem swayed and he sent her a smirk, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "besides, there are some...extenuating circumstances which I'm sure make the contract not as iron-clad as one would think."

Ginny nodded and didn't question what those "extenuating circumstances" were. She knew it wasn't her business, and she guessed he wouldn't tell her anyway. But she did have a hunch that they were the same circumstances that caused the disagreement between Malfoy and Hermione a little before the Halloween Dance.

Blaise dismissed the topic and began telling her of his "ingenious" plan to bring their two friends together. Minutes into what Ginny had told him was utter lunacy the red head's head shot up and she sent the boy and incredulous look.

"ME!" She jabbed her finger to her chest for emphasis. "Why me? I can't bloody well do that! Why can't you do it? You are his best mate!"

Blaise remained impassive as he spoke. "I'm going to be in Italy for Christmas. And trust me I would if I could but I can't."

Ginny sent him a harsh glare. "So you expect me to waltz into Malfoy Manor shake hands with Malfoy and strike up a bloody conversation?" Blaise -much to her annoyance- nodded. "What am I going to say? 'Oh hi there Malfoy, lovely home, remember me? Ginny Weasley, or Weaselette if you prefer. I know we've had our differences in the past, you calling me a pauper I calling you a good for nothing daddy's boy and such. And I know you've hated my family for oh, say seven years or so; but I think we can put that behind us and be mates so I can help you tell my best friend -mudblood Granger as you used to call her- that you're hopelessly in love with her. Oh and lovely tea could you please pass that bloody scone?'"

Blaise looked unfazed by her sarcastic display. "Not at all,"

"Good, be-"

"Draco normally serves his guests finger foods, not tea and scones." Ginny looked at him as if he were insane, which she was sure wasn't too far from the truth.

"You're bloody mad aren't you? Completely off your rocker. Why on earth would I do that to myself?"

Blaise shrugged and leaned back into his seat. "Because you care about your friend's happiness like I do, and you want them to make little blue eyed, bushy haired, egotistic, know-it-all babies."

Ginny rolled her eyes and also leaned into her seat. "Oh yes, because I just can't wait to unleash that horror into the unsuspecting world."

Blaise chuckled, "You know," He began breaking the silence, "with Draco's drive to succeed and Granger's smarts, and their combined stubbornness, their child could rule the world."

"Yes, well we'd have to get them together first." Ginny muttered.

Minutes later they had the details of their ploy sorted out and Blaise told Ginny he would contact her via owl post sometime during the vacation. She nodded and bid him farewell, ("I never knew a Slytherin could be so...human, it was nice talking to you Blaise." "I never knew a Gryffindor could be so cunning. Damn Potter.") before returning to her compartment.

"Well that was an awfully long trip to the loo." Hermione said her head still in her book, though now it was a different book.

"Yes well-" A loud noise from outside cut off Ginny's sentence. It was the train's whistle signaling their arrival into muggle London would be soon.

The students on the train began to ready themselves for departure as the train began to slow. Soon it came to a lurching stop and the whistle blew again. The doors opened and the children rushed off the train into the arms of their parents who were waiting anxiously on the platform for them. Soon the station was filled with the noise of bustling feet, cries of joy, and the voices of students bidding their friends goodbye.

Hermione looked up and down the platform quickly and spotted her parents who were still looking for her. "Oh thanks so much for everything Gin," Hermione said turning to her friend and giving her a hug. "I'll floo you later, tell Harry and Ron I'll chat with them soon." Ginny nodded and smiled to her friend before the other girl ran to her parents, her trunk and pet in tow.

"Oh and remember to try and relax Hermione!" Ginny yelled, though she wasn't entirely sure if her friend heard her over the noises of the excited crowd.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione threw her arms around her parents, once again dropping her trunk and Crookshanks' cage -the poor cat let out an annoyed meow which no-one took note of.

"Oh honey! We've missed you so much!" Her mum said, practically showering her face with kisses while her father chuckled and grabbed her fallen trunk and cat.

"Come along ladies," He said jokingly. "Time to go; button up Hermione it's freezing outside." Hermione nodded and did as told, all the while grinning broadly.

She really did miss her parents and right then she wanted nothing more than to forget about school and catch up with them.

"So mum how's the baby?" Mrs. Granger -Aby- was absolutely glowing and rubbed a hand to her growing stomach.

"Fine dear, six more months to got, but your father insists on following me like a hound." Hermione giggled imagining her father annoying the poor woman to death.

They left the train station, the cold winter air hitting Hermione harshly in the face, making her eyes water. Her father wasn't kidding; it was unbelievably cold outside, even for this time of year. Soft flakes of snow drifted down from the sky, adding onto the growing two inch layer of glistening white on the ground.

They found her father's black Audi and her father packed the luggage into the trunk while she and her mother talked.

"So how school dear? How are Ron, Harry and Ginny doing? And that head boy, the poor dear, is he spending the holidays by himself?" Hermione winced, of course her mother would bring that up.

She knew she shouldn't have, but she told her mother of Malfoy's mother's death, and of his father being killed in the war. Her mother -ever the kind heart- told her she should have invited him over for the holidays saying it was terrible for any child to spend Christmas without a parent.

When she had sent the letter to her mother in early November, things between she and Malfoy had been relatively stable. She was actually going to ask him to come over; though she knew he would say no, he usually took kindness as pity.

But with the horrible turn of events as of late, she knew that asking him was out of the question.

"Harry, Ginny and Ron are fine mum," She said, bringing back her grin, only now it lacked its true happiness, if her mother noticed she didn't say anything. "And Malfoy had some business to take care of so he said he couldn't come. But enough about school, how have things been while I was gone."

Hermione smiled as her mother began telling her tales about the bothersome new people who moved in across the street. Hermione laughed and nodded along, but for a moment she swore she saw a head a stark blonde behind her mother, but then it disappeared.

Draco practically stormed off the train, harshly pushing the unfortunate fellows who were unlucky enough to be in his path out of the way.

He was positively livid.

Parkinson was a conniving witch; but she was a conniving witch who had a point. As much as he hated to admit it, he was stuck with her and he was sure that contract was loophole free. His father, though and idiotic follower of a madman, was an excellent businessman.

He passed through the barrier of Platform 9 3/4 and entered the muggle London train station.

He caught sight of Pansy walking behind her aunt, the girl promptly winked and blew him a kiss. He only scowled darkly and exited the train station.

_'That damn witch has me trapped.'_ He spotted his black limousine -that was only used for a rare few trips through muggle London- and the family chauffeur.

He sighed and quickly dragged his trunk and midnight black owl towards the car, he was getting tired of the curious look that all the muggles sent him, and it was bloody cold. He left his things for the chauffeur to attend to and made a move to climb into the limo, but something caught his eye.

There, two cars in front of him, was Granger; a happy Granger talking to an older woman who he guessed was her mother. Her mum must have said something upsetting because for a moment he saw her eyes cloud over before she faked a smile and continued talking, her smile turned real once more as her mother went on with a story about something he couldn't catch.

He hated to admit it, but she looked quite pretty with the snow falling around her like that and the happiness shining in her eyes. She was positively alight now that she was away from school, her cheeks were rosy and wind whipped her hair haphazardly around her face. The older woman must have said something funny for Hermione let out a small laugh. The sound reached his ears and he felt his lips tilt up slightly in a smile.

He shook his head and let out a great sigh, banishing the thoughts that arose from his head and got into the limo.

_'Pansy will be the only woman for me soon.'_

Two days had passed since everyone arrived home for the holidays. Christmas Eve was to be the next day and only a few minutes before midnight a large dark brown owl found itself in the room of Ginny Weasley in the great slanting house that she called home.

The owl happily munched on a treat as the red headed teen read a letter from his owner, Blaise Zabini.

Ginny yawned loudly yet again and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she tried very hard to comprehend the words in the letter, she was still unbelievably tired. It was 11:47 and she had been sound asleep since 9 -having spent a long day getting last minute Christmas presents- and right in the middle of a rather lovely dream of she and Harry and an abandoned classroom, she was awakened by a loud tapping outside her window.

She shook her head and focused on the letter and her task at hand, making a mental note to teach Zabini about time when next she saw him.

_Ginny,_

_Hey, I can't talk much, just writing to tell you tomorrow would be the perfect time to put our plan into action. And don't worry, Draco won't do anything to you, actually he may yell a bit... and try to kick you out, but I think you can handle it. Well Good luck and tell me how it goes._

_Happy Christmas, _

_Blaise_

_P.S.- I know it's late, I hope my owl didn't wake you._

Ginny glared half heartedly at the last line before grabbing her quill and a piece of parchment.

_Zabini,_

_You annoying prat, does the concept of time not faze you. Just remember when we return to Hogwarts I owe you a serious Bat Boggy hex. And fine I will do it tomorrow...or should I say later today seeing as it is now midnight. Lovely way to be awoken on Christmas eve, a bloody owl bashing itself into my window._

_Annoyed to the point of Homicide,_

_  
Ginny_

Ginny rolled up the parchment and tried to tie it onto the owl's leg only to have the bird try to get away from her. After all one trip from Florence Italy to London was enough for one night, a second one would be the death of the poor creature. After moments of chasing the bird Ginny attached the letter to its leg and sent it on its way -much to the owls aggravation.

The girl once again dropped into her bed and snuggled under her sheet.

"Bloody boys and their bloody owls."

Hermione sighed to herself and finished wrapping the last of her Christmas presents for her friends.

She hadn't talked to any of them since she arrived back home, blaming it on all the last minute shopping and catching up with her parents. But she knew that she was only trying to avoid them.

_'I'm not ready to face Ron yet.'_ She looked down at his present, wrapped in shimmering red paper, some Quidditch supplies that he had been longing for since he made the Gryffindor team last year.

Her eyes wandered to another present resting near to that one. It was much smaller and wrapped in a deep forest green paper. She didn't know what possessed her to buy the gift; she was walking along Diagon Alley with her parents a few days ago when it caught her eye and she knew she had to buy it for him.

It wasn't much really, she knew that compared to the presents he must have gotten in the past it paled in comparison, but she felt that she should at least get him something. At least, she felt that then; when she first saw it.

But now as she lay on her bed days later she wondered why she even bothered. He wouldn't accept it, and she didn't feel as if she had the strength to even send it to him.

_'It's Christmas eve, I'm with my family and I'm in a happy relationship with someone I truly love. Malfoy should be the last thing on my mind.'_

Her eyes slid shut and she rolled onto her side. A tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another and another, soon she was silently crying into her pillow.

_'So why is he the only thing on my mind?'_

Ginny Weasley, being the youngest and only female child of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, was able to get away with a lot. Her parents doted on her and treated her like a princess, but still left her alone when she needed to be and did not keep her under lock and key as they did her brothers. But on one early morning of December 24th at 11:45 AM when she told her mother she was to be traveling by floo to one Draco Malfoy's Manor, Mrs. Weasley drew the line... and surrounded it with barbed wire and guard dogs.

"No daughter of mine is setting foot into that forsaken Manor! Especially not without giving me a proper explanation as to why!" Ginny long ago had given up on trying to hush her mother during her tirade. She didn't want the family to know that she was going to see Malfoy at all, in fact she was hoping she could sneak out and not have her mother notice. But that hope quickly died upon reaching downstairs at 9 'o clock to find her mother wide awake and readying breakfast.

_'I really don't think that woman sleeps.'_ Ginny sighed and gave her mother her most innocent look, the one she had perfected years ago to always get what she wanted.

"Mum, you know I have never done anything wrong, so please believe me when I say I am going to do nothing wrong. I just need to speak to Malfoy in private about something very important." Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to speak but Ginny continued on quickly. "Mum nothing is going on between Malfoy and myself, of that you can be sure. But the matter is very very urgent and I'm sorry I can't tell you about it, but please can you let me go?"

Mrs. Weasley looked doubtful for a moment; it was Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, one of the most feared Death Eaters to have walked the earth, and from what she heard the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

But she knew Ginny was mature beyond her age and she did trust her child to not do anything ridiculous like her brothers.

_'And she _is_ gifted with hexes if anything were to go wrong.'_

Mrs. Weasley sighed and hugged her daughter. "Mum!" Ginny whined loudly into the woman's shoulder. "I'm not going off to war or anything, I'm just stopping by his house."

"I know, but-" Her mother wiped away a tear and Ginny rolled her eyes. "You've just become so mature. I'm so proud."

Ginny finally pulled herself away from her mother. "Thanks mum," She grabbed a handful off floo powder and walked to the fireplace. "I'll be back in an hour or less hopefully. Please don't tell anyone, especially Ron...and Harry."

And with a yell of "Malfoy Manor" and a puff of green flames she was gone.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "If only Fred and George could be that mature."

"And so Mr. Malfoy you are the sole owner of Malfoy Int'l., but since you are still in school the partners are currently taking care of the business." Draco zoned in and out of the lawyers monotonous droning. Since he returned to the Manor from Hogwarts he had been looking through papers, sorting out things from the Ministry and going through his parents' Wills with his lawyer Mr. Brimton. The lawyer was a portly man who normally reeked of scotch, though he was never drunk and Draco had never seen him drinking.

Though his father had died almost a year ago during the War he had never looked over the will, but Draco did know that all of his father's possessions were left to his mother and himself. But when the lawyer read the will to him he found that his father left everything to his mother initially, and when Draco left Hogwarts or if his mother were to die or become unable to perform her duties as head of the household, all possessions would go to Draco; leaving Narcissa with nothing.

_'No love lost between those two.'_

"Well that wraps it up Mr. Malfoy." Draco's attention was jerked back to the lawyer who was readying himself to leave. Draco shook his head and stood, extending his hand for the man to shake, which he did. "And I'm so sorry for your loss." Draco nodded mechanically and ushered the man to the door; he was getting tired of all these people giving him pitying looks and their faux sadness.

"Oh! Before I forget." Mr. Brimton spun around on his heel and pulled a sealed letter from his pocket and placed it in Draco's hand. "It's from your mother," Draco nodded, it did in fact bear the Malfoy seal and had his name scrawled in his mother's flawless penmanship on the front of the envelope. "She wished for it to be delivered to you by hand in the event of her death. Had it sealed away in a vault at Gringotts. Must be something very important." And with that the man bid Draco farewell and exited the Manor, most likely going to find a spot to apparate since the Manor grounds blocked apparation.

Draco slowly walked back to his father's old study, but his eyes were glued to the letter he held. His mother was a woman of many mysteries, so what was in the letter was anyone's guess.

Reaching the study, Draco pushed open the two large mahogany doors to find one of the last people he would ever expect to see sitting on his desk with a bright smile on her face.

"Hello Malfoy; you and I have a bit of talking to do."


	11. So this is Christmas Pt II

Foridden

By Leah

**Chapter 10**

**So this is Christmas Part II**

"Weasley get your ass off my table and it and the rest of you out of my study." Ginny's grin never faltered as she hopped off his deep red mahogany desk and stretched.

The younger girl crossed her arms in front of her and smirked. "Now Malfoy, where is all that lovely holiday cheer and hospitality?"

Draco scowled and approached his table, dusting where she had been sitting moments ago. "That is reserved for guests who were invited."

"Well since I don't see any of those," Ginny said and moved herself to one of the leather chairs on the room much to Malfoy's aggravation. "I suppose you might as well give some to the trespassers." She ended smiling, ignoring Draco's muttered curses.

"I take it you're not just here to try my patience and remind me to close the floo network to unwelcome persons, are you?" Draco drawled coldly as he took a seat behind the desk and regarded the girl calculatingly.

Ginny only smiled knowing that her presence in his home baffled the Slytherin to no end. "And you would be correct," She began, appeasing some of his curiosity, "but first, where are these finger foods I've been told so much about?"

Draco nearly gaped at her forwardness, this girl was one hell of a piece of work. She practically invited herself into his home, made herself comfy, and was now placing food orders. She really had some nerve, and being a Slytherin, he had to respect that.

With a flick of his wand he summoned a cowering house elf and ordered the creature to get "that red headed brat" something to eat. "Now then Weaselette," He began once the elf returned with a pop and placed a silver tray of small foods in front of Ginny, "what do I have to do to get you out of my house?"

"Date Hermione." Ginny said inspecting a piece of the food before putting it in her mouth. "Lovely crab cake by the way." Draco could only stare at the Gryffindor girl, she was completely daft.

"Then you're wasting both our time."

Ginny looked at him and shrugged, "Maybe I am. Although I do know that you have feelings for my best friend-"

"I don't know what you-"

Ginny waved him off in the middle of his sentence and continued again as if he hadn't said a word. "And I also know that she harbors feelings for you."

Draco sent her a calculating look. "What leads you to these idiotic assumptions?"

Ginny shrugged once more and swallowed the food in her mouth, she -unlike her brother- did have enough table manners to know speaking with your mouth full is just disgusting. "I look."

He raised an eyebrow at her simple, yet incomprehensible response. "What does that mean?'

"It means what it is." Ginny sighed, the look on his face told her she would still need to elaborate. _'Some genius Head Boy he is.'_ "Any dolt with a brain cell can see there's something going on with you too." She paused for a moment to observe Malfoy before continuing. "That is, if they bothered to look beyond what is marked as right and wrong at that school.

"I'm also pretty sure there has been something going on for a few years now, only you two just haven't even noticed -or wanted to notice- what your bodies knew for the longest. I guess you've both been too ignorant and preoccupied with stupid rivalries to realize it."

Draco couldn't help but chuckle, "You sound a lot more like that old coot Dumbledore than like a sixteen year old witch." Ginny responded with a withered smile.

"I guess we've all been forced to grow up a little too soon." She muttered softly before brightening up. "Anyway, it's time for you toget Hermione. And I'm here to help."

Draco scoffed. "Leave what you know little of alone Weasley. All you have are your guesses and nothing more."

It was Ginny's turn to scoff. "I _know_ you love her."

"Then you truly know nothing indeed." The girl made a "hmm" noise then nodded.

"Perhaps love is too strong an emotion; especially for one who has never experienced it."

Draco didn't respond, but they both knew she was right. He had always believed that love for anyone other than family -and even then it was sometimes a stretch- was something that was best left in books with damsels and princes.

"Her boyfriend is your brother." He pointed out.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I really don't get why everyone keeps bringing that up." She sighed softly, "You're smart Malfoy, surely you can tell there is no love there. Only a delusion."

"You're friend doesn't seem to think that." Draco muttered. "She believes they love each other."

Ginny shook her head slowly. "She wants to believe they love each other. Maybe at some point she did love him, although I think she just got used to the idea of being with him.

"She's comfortable and safe with him. But love has little to do with it. She's afraid to see that maybe the world isn't as black and white as she thought." Ginny looked at Draco from the corner of her eye and dropped her voice, but it was still loud enough for him to hear her next words. "Just like you're afraid of what could be."

Draco's reaction was almost instantaneous. His jaw clenched and his hands fisted as he fixed her with a harsh glare. "Get out."

"Oh, seems like I've hit a nerve." Ginny grinned and made no move to get up, instead she pressed on. "You're afraid to admit that you like Hermione, and you're afraid that maybe these feelings could escalate to something more."

Draco's glare intensified ten fold, but could not think of a word to say in his defense.

"You're afraid that she might have feelings for you too. Afraid that she might leave Ron for you. You're afraid that she would make you feel; that she would show you that you really do have a heart." Ginny stood up during her speech and was now standing in front of Malfoy's desk, ignoring the daggers he was glaring into her.

"You're afraid to go against centuries of ingrained Malfoy tradition bullshit. But most of all, I think you're just afraid that you won't be good enough for her."

Draco had heard enough, he sprung from his seat, causing his chair to fall to its back with a dull thud.

"You make some very good guesses Weasley." His voice was as cold as ice, and he towered over the younger girl. But Ginny wasn't intimidated in the least. "Too bad none of them are correct. Now get out of my home!"

The red head sighed. "It's sad isn't it Malfoy," She didn't wait for him to respond, "that everyday girls throw themselves at your feet, that you can win over nearly anyone with your charm, looks and money, and that so many girls wish they could be _the one_ for you. Yet the person who won't have you, just might be the one."

"GET OUT!" Draco roared again, this time Ginny listened, but not before glimpsing at a scroll of parchment on his desk. _'His mothers will?'_ The pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together.

"You've a large mansion Malfoy," The red head gave him a pitying look, "too bad you have to live in it alone." Ginny took a handful of floo powder and was about to step into the fireplace when,

"Wait." She turned to the boy who let out a long sigh. As she looked at his form she couldn't help but pity him even more. Here, standing in the great study with papers strewn all around him, she realized that he was not a boy like all of her friends at Hogwarts. No, he grew out of that stage long ago. He was an adult now, had to deal with adult problems. Given his upbringing she doubted he had ever had a carefree childhood as most children. Even now his eyes looked aged and hollow; even he, Draco Malfoy, didn't deserve this. He needed happiness now, happiness which Ginny was sure Hermione could bring to him.

"Do you..." He licked his lips nervously and hesitated. "Do you love Potter?"

Ginny smiled softly, "Yes, I do."

Draco nodded, still not looking directly at her. "How do you know that you l-love him?" Draco mentally cursed himself for sounding so curious in front of the girl, but he just needed to know.

Ginny's smile stayed on her face and her eyes flashed with joy, and for a brief moment they connected with Malfoy's pale blue eyes and he could see her devotion and love for the other boy shining brightly. "You just know."

With that she stepped into the fireplace, "Happy Christmas Malfoy" and with a yell and a puff of emerald flames, she was gone leaving Draco along in his study.

Draco sighed and began straightening his desk once more, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a piece of balled up parchment on his immaculate floor. He picked it up and unrolled it slowly, a small smirk found its way to his lips as he read the few lines written on it in the Weaselette's curved script.

With a sigh he dropped back into his chair after righting in and looked to his mother's envelope. But his mind was no longer focused on whatever its contents could be and what impact it would have on his already twisted future. Instead he couldn't help but think of a certain bushy haired know-it-all and her red headed busy body friend's words.

"You just know."

Ginny coughed loudly as she stepped out of the fireplace, reflexively she dusted off her clothes, though there was so much soot on her that it made little difference. "Bloody wonderful way to spend my Christmas Eve. Arguing some sense into that bloody git's hard head."

She was too busy grumbling to notice the other person in the family room who regarded her with a queer expression. "Bit early to be flooing don't you think Gin?"

Harry couldn't help but grin when his girlfriend jumped and spun around to face him, her cheeks as scarlet as her hair and her hand over her heart. "Gosh Harry, don't do that again!"

The boy gave her a sheepish smile and patted the seat next to him on the couch. "Where were you off to anyway?"

Ginny muttered a quick cleaning spell to rid herself of the ash before taking a seat and curling up to her boyfriend. "Nowhere important." She stole his cup of hot cocoa and took a sip before handing it back to him. "Isn't it a bit early for you boys to be awake anyway?"

Harry laughed and placed his cup on the table then circled his arms around Ginny. "Yeah, it is, but Ron's snoring kept me up all night, you'd swear it was some sort of beast from the Forbidden Forest sleeping in there sometimes. " Ginny giggled and nodded. "So after a while I just came down here and your mum started bustling about and fixed me with more food than I could ever eat, saying I was much to skinny for a boy my age."

Ginny grinned and nuzzled into Harry's warmth. "Yep sounds like mum."

"But honestly Ginny, why were you sneaking around so early?" The girl looked up at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye and Harry couldn't help the exasperated groan that escaped him. She was definitely up to something.

"Sorry Harry, but all plots are between me and my fellow plotter until everything has worked out."

"Ginny-"

"Now if you'll excuse me," She pulled herself from his grasp and stood up, "I have to go borrow Pig."

Harry also stood, "Why?"

"Well you don't expect my Pigmy Puff to sprout wings and deliver a letter for me now do you?" Harry rolled his eyes at her very Ginny like answer before grasping her shoulders with both his hands.

"Gin, just make sure no one gets hurt. The war just ended, try not to start anything to cause any more animosity."

"Harry-"

"G'mornin'" Ron grumbled as he bounded down the stairs, cutting off whatever it was Ginny had to say.

"Oh Ron!" Ginny quickly pulled out of Harry's grasp. "Can I borrow your owl for a bit?"

Ron nodded and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Yeah, the little blighter's been flapping around its cage since we got back from Hogwarts. Bloody annoying you know." Ginny nodded and bounded up the stairs, but not before giving Harry a look that clearly said _'Trust me.'_

After scowling at how messy a room two boys lived in could be, the only female Weasley child set out to capture the annoying bird that couldn't stay still for more than two seconds. Pigwidgeon was just so happy to get out of his cage that he felt it necessary to take victory laps around the room, and was so excited one would think he freed himself from his own cage.

Moments later Ginny was holding the bird tightly -but not too tightly- under her right arm and holding its beak shut with her hand all the while trying to scribble a note to Blaise with her left hand. But with the bird flapping and wiggling, and she not being left-handed, her writing came out terribly slanted and barley legible. _'But it'll have to do.'_

_'Balise,_

_I just visited your lovely friend Malfoy and tried to talk some sense into him. Which proved to be as easy as giving directions to a blind man. But I did drop the note for him. The rest is left in his hands, I'll keep you as informed as I can._

_Ginny,_

_P.S.- Happy Christmas'_

Ginny sent the letter off with Pig -after pleading with the bird to not loose the letter or drop it at the wrong house- and waited for his reply, she guessed it would be a while since Italy was a bit of a way for a bird.

A little over an hour later a large dark brown owl, that Ginny recognized as Blaise's flew into her room and dropped a letter on her lap before perching itself on her vanity. Moments later a very exhausted looking Pig flew in and tried to land near to the other bird only to receive an owlish glare and an annoyed hoot from the older owl.

Ginny arched an eyebrow and shrugged before opening the letter.

_'Ginny,_

_What happened, did you have a bloody seizure while writing that letter? And if you ever send that annoying blighter with the post to me again, I'll feed it to Mum's cat. And that's a guarantee. Anyway, yes please do keep me posted, I just had a very interesting chat with Draco via floo.'_

Ginny glared at the letter for a moment,_ 'He couldn't just use the floo network all along. I bet he just didn't want to deal with Malfoy's temper.'_ She shook her head and continued reading.

_'Shockingly enough he actually has a high opinion of you Weaselette; you should be proud. I guess from here we can't do much more, it's all up to those two hard heads now._

_Zabini_

_P.S.- Happy Christmas to you too.'_

Ginny sighed _'It's all up to those two.'_ She grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a quick note to Zabini and sent it off with his owl.

A while later the brown owl flapped into the open window in Blaise Zabini's Florence villa.

"Grazie Maria." Blaise took the letter from the owl and stroked its feathers before letting it swoop into its cage.

He unrolled the parchment and grinned. That girl was one piece of work.

_'Then I guess we better start on plan B._

_Ginny'_

_'Hey 'Mione,_

_I know we haven't really talked much or have gotten to see each other since you've been busy with so much family stuff, so I was thinking about coming over later. The muggle way of course, I know your parents haven't quite gotten used flooing._

_Love,  
Ron'_

Hermione groaned and tossed the letter into her wastebasket. She never had "family stuff", at least not anything so important that it would cause her to be unable to see her boyfriend and friends. She had been lying to Ron since they arrived home for Christmas.

He made the effort to see her, but she just couldn't bring herself to want to see him. Yes, she Hermione Granger, the essence of morality, was avoiding her boyfriend Ronald Weasley whom she had pined after for nearly six years.

_'Because I might have feelings for Draco Malfoy.'_ Hell had just officially frozen over.

Hermione pulled a quill and piece of parchment to herself and scribbled a quick note telling Ron he shouldn't come because she was feeling a bit under the weather. She tried to attach the note to Hedwig's leg only to have the owl pull back and send her a reproachful glare.

"I know I'm lying to him Hedwig, but- oh, you wouldn't understand. It's just...complicated." The owl let out what -to Hermione- sounded like an understanding hoot and stuck out her leg for the letter. "Thank you Hedwig." The snowy owl hooted once before spreading its large wings and flew out of the window.

_'Now even an owl is mad at me.'_ Hermione sigh and left her desk to lay on her bed, her eyes automatically rested upon the present wrapped in green laying innocently on her bed table. She groaned and diverted her eyes to a piece of paper on the floor.

Christmas would be the next day, and she was still unsure as to what to do about the present. She was unsure as to what to do about anything nowadays.

_'I don't have to do anything, my life is perfectly fine without Draco Malfoy. This is just a faze or something, it will go away in a few days. __**It has to**__.'_ But her words did little to actually comfort her.

She knew her life wasn't perfect. It was steady. Everything was as it should be, and was the same everyday. It was what was safe.

She didn't change, and neither did Ron. She always knew what he would say and what he would do. He was reliable, he was what she wanted. Some would think that to be boring, but to her it was perfect. There was nothing unexpected or spur of the moment. He would always be short-tempered Ron, no matter what.

_'So unlike Malfoy.'_

She flipped onto her back and stared at the ceiling with blank eyes. Malfoy and Ron were so different, practically polar opposites. He was unpredictable to say the least. He was a complete mystery to her, and she had learned that trying to figure him out would only lead to more mysteries.

She had never before met someone like him, and she doubted she would ever meet someone like him again. He was a maze, filled with twists and turns and unexpected surprises, and just when you think you've got it figured out, turn a corner and you've found a whole new path.

For six years she had thought that she knew the real Draco Malfoy, a snobby little brat who used his money and social standing to boss around others. But now...

_'Now I don't even know what to think. He is still a bossy annoying little snob, and for six years he was the Slytherin prat whose nickname for me was Mudblood. But he's grown up now, and matured. He's a young man who's had to deal with the death of two parents. He's not just the same Malfoy anymore.'_ Hermione looked to the present wrapped in green paper and smiled softly. She knew what she would do with it now.

"Hermione?" Aby called from outside of her door before knocking.

"Come in mum." Hermione called, her mother opened the door and popped her head into the room.

"Honey, one of your friends are here to see you from school." Hermione nodded and mentally groaned. Of course Ron would want to stop by to see how she was doing. "And your father and I are popping out for a bit to visit your aunt. We'll be back later tonight." The older woman regarded her daughter carefully before continuing. "I trust you not to do anything while I'm gone."

Hermione nearly choked and covered it up with a laugh. "I know mum."

Her mother nodded and was about to leave but turned back around. "You may want to save the boy soon. I left him with your father."

Hermione groaned and practically flew down the stairs and into the family room.

"Zabini get your scheming head out of my fire place and bring your soon to be dead arse over here."

Blaise chuckled and his glowing green head shook in the fireplace. "As heartfelt as your words are, I think I'll be staying on this side of the flames. For safety purposes of course." Draco clenched his teeth at that idiotic grin on his friend's face. Did that boy not realize who he was playing games with. "So how are things at the Manor?"

"Cut the act Zabini." Draco barked, glaring daggers at the boy who still remained unfazed to the amount of danger he had gotten himself in to. "I know it was you who sent little Weasel to the mansion."

Blaise took on a curious expression, "I don't know-"

"What are you playing at anyway." Draco pressed on, "I know you well enough to know that you're too Slytherin to do something without some sort of ulterior motive."

Blaise chuckled and shook his head, then made a tsking noise. "Ah, ah, ah, that is where you are wrong my friend." Draco arched an eyebrow. "You see Malfoy, **you **are too Slytherin to do something without some sort of ulterior motive. **I,** on the other hand, am actually human and can tolerate doing things like this for short amounts of time. And Ginny just happened to be the perfect help."

"You want to bed Weaselette!" Draco exclaimed and smirked at his friend's shocked expression, before he covered it with a mask of indifference.

"Do you ever pay attention when people other than yourself are speaking?"

Draco ignored him and went on. "Too bad for you that she's too in love with Potter to notice you." This was turning out to be the happiest moment of Draco's day. Someone else being crushed was exactly what he needed to cheer himself up.

"Malfoy! We're talking about your fucked up love life here, so stay out of mine!" Blaise mentally groaned, _'We're talking about our love lives? This is pathetic.'_

But once again, Blaise was ignored. "Damn shame for you though that those Gryffindors don't like getting too chummy with Slytherins."

Blaise knew he was mocking him, but now was the perfect time for him to jump in about Hermione. "All but one it seems."

Draco's happy mood almost immediately deflated and with a broken sigh he dropped onto one of the couches in the study. Blaise's head disappeared from the fire and moments later the hearth roared to life and he stepped out of the green flames, dusting himself off with aristocratic poise.

"Why'd you come out now? Thought it would be best to jeer about my troubles in person?" The other boy grumbled and ran a hand over his face.

Blaise smirked and dropped into the seat next across from him, instantly calling a house elf to bring them some Brandy. He, like Malfoy, wasn't to big on muggle things -what with being raised a pureblood wizard and all- but he did appreciate a fine liquor, be it muggle or of the wizarding kind.

"Partly," he began. The elf appeared with a tray containing a bottle of the amber liquid and two glasses before disappearing again. "But I also figured that a depressed man is much less likely to hex me when I tell him that he's being a complete idiot. Brandy?" Blaise held out the snifter.

"Offering me _my _alcohol in _my_ home. How very kind of you Zabini." Draco drawled but took the glass anyway.

"This is stupid." Draco sneered after emptying his glass. "I'm a Malfoy. She's- Well it's just not done!"

Blaise nodded and drank from his glass before placing it on the table. "The way I see this is you're that last remaining Malfoy in England; why still stay with stuffy old traditions that should have died out with these fellows." He motioned to the portraits adorning the room, some of which muttered indignantly. "It's time to let go of those old views. Don't let things from the past stop a great future."

Draco smirked and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "You're starting to sound an awful lot like a woman Zabini. Anything I should know?"

Blaise chuckled and picked up his snifter. "I've been forced to spend everyday, all day, with mother. I think it's all that motherly feminine brainwashing." Draco forced out a bark of laughter and put on a small, pained smile.

Blaise grimaced and reached over to pat his friends shoulder. "I'm sorry, I forgo-"

"It's fine." Was Draco's curt reply, though Blaise still looked uneasy.

"So how are things here without-" He broke off nervously. Being Slytherins they didn't talk much about any problems or issues that involved real emotions that may arise. Instead topics like that were looked over, not to be insensitive, but because none of them really knew how to deal with it. "You know you're always welcomed to stay at the villa. Merlin knows there needs to be another male in that house."

Draco chuckled but shook his head. "I think I should stay here for a bit. Tell your mother next Christmas I'll be there."

The Italian boy offered him an uneasy smile. "I will...she worries about you mate." Draco nodded and finished off his forgotten second glass.

Blaise cleared his throat to break the uncomfortable silence before standing, automatically his hands ran over his robes to right any wrinkles. "So mate, just out of curiosity, why would you say that I would want Weaselette?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but from the smirk on his friend's face he knew he had been found out. _'Merlin! I'll never hear the end of it.'_

Draco also stood and took to staring at his nails. "Just a hunch. She's a smart girl though, no wonder she doesn't feel the same."

Blaise arched an eyebrow, "You are aware that you can be a bloody ass when you want to be."

Draco shrugged. "It's a Malfoy thing."

"I'm sure it is," Blaise began, then wearily turned his gaze to the fire place. "I best be going, mother's probably about to set the hounds loose to search for me."

Draco smirked and patted the boy on his shoulder. "I'll see you around Zabini."

"Yeah," Blaise paused for a moment in front of the fire and looked to be contemplating something. He sighed and turned to face his friend. "Look, Draco, I know you want to be alone and all, but maybe you should give people a chance." He paused before smirking. "Besides, mum's been bothering me about when she's ever going to get to see you again. At least have dinner with us for Christmas tomorrow."

Draco shifted his weight from one leg to the other for a moment. "I'll...I'll see."

"Thanks mate. And try and have a happy Christmas." Blaise gave the boy a weary smirk before grabbing some floo powder and disappearing into the green flames.

Draco waited a moment after Blaise's departure before letting out a deep sigh and running a hand through his hair. He looked down at the envelope that was tightly clutched in his hand. He wasn't sure exactly when it happened, but at some point during his and Blaise's conversation he had picked it up and broke the seal._ 'Might as well read it now then.'_

He took a shuddered breath before brining his eyes to the neat script that was his mother's. A myriad of memories of the woman bombarded him and for a moment he felt as if he would choke on all the emotions stirring within him.

He swallowed the lump that had inexplicably formed in his throat as his eyes skimmed the parchment.

The suffocating silence of the room was suddenly broken by a choked chuckle, which turned into a snort of laughter, which grew to howling bursts of elation. He shoved the letter into his pocket and ran to his desk, pushing parchment after parchment of important documents to the floor. A small smile slid onto his face when his eyes rested on the small torn sheet he was searching for. He glanced over the few scrawled lines for a moment, his gaze stopping on the last line.

_'Sometimes the muggle way works best.'_

He stuffed the paper into his pocket and ran out of the room, ignoring the portraits' shouts of: "Malfoy's don't run!"

He made it to the entrance to the Grand Ballroom and pushed open the large golden double doors. His grey eyes scanned the room before landing on a large life sized portrait hanging on the wall to his left.

He walked to it and smiled slightly at the woman in the golden frame. She was rather tall, though he remembered he was still a good inch or so taller than her. Her hair was bone straight and was the same blonde color as his but reached a little below her waist. Her eyes were not the mellow grey that his was most times, but were a startlingly bright blue that always reminded him of the sky on a cloudless day. Her features were aristocratic, but lacked the biting sharpness of most.

In her life she had been sought after by many men, even after she was married, and she always accredited it to her Veela mother. But Draco always thought that though she was breathtaking, she was also more brilliant than anyone he had ever met, and that was also why men lusted after her.

"Mother." Narcissa looked down at the boy with a loving smile and waved. Draco felt his heart clench knowing that looking at this portrait would be the only time he'd see his mother again. "Thank you."

"Dad! Stop!" Hermione bounded down the stairs and came to a stop at the scene before her.

Her father was sitting in what had been designated as "his chair" with his back to her, and in front of him was Ron, who looked about four shades paler and had a fearful expression on his face. The moment his eyes landed on her she could practically feel him begging for her to rescue him.

"Ah, darling, there you are." John, her father, stood and smiled at Hermione. "I was just talking to your friend Ronald here. We were having a lovely chat now weren't we?"

Ron, who was still obviously shaken, only nodded his head, not trusting his voice.

There was a long awkward pause in which Hermione tried very hard to think of something to say to ease the tension in the room. Thankfully Aby chose that time to appear, smiling brightly, completely oblivious to the mounting tension in the room.

"Come on now honey," She placed a hand on her husband's arm and led him to the coat closet. "We've really got to be leaving. My sister is probably already wondering what happened to us."

They both put on their coats and scarves -after John fussed on how his pregnant wife shouldn't be going out in such frigid temperatures- and left Hermione alone with Ron.

"Your father is bloody terrifying Hermione." Ron muttered and let out a long deep breath of air, finally relaxing.

Hermione smiled nervously and shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "Yeah, he can be."

The redhead stood and stretched and Hermione felt herself take a step back when she thought he was approaching her. _'What is wrong with me.'_

"Look Ron," She began, her voice wavered a bit. "I think you should leave. I am very sick, and I'm in no mood for company right now. Maybe another time."

Ron gave her a once over before shrugging and coming to stand in front of her. "You look perfectly fine to me."

_'There's a difference between how I look and how I feel Ron; a big difference.'_ Hermione faked a smile when he caressed her cheek, and nodded. "I know, but I really just feel under the weather. And I don't want you to get sick also."

Ron smiled, that smile of his that she used to love. It wasn't that lazy smirk that Malfoy had, no, Ron's was a perfect broad smile that used to make her insides flutter every-time it was directed at her.

Now it only made guilt bubble inside of her. _'I don't deserve him.'_

"Alright, me, Harry and everybody at home were wondering if you could come over for dinner tomorrow though." Hermione smiled at the grammatical horror of his words, typical Ron.

"I'm spending Christmas with my family, but the next day I'll be there." She reassured when she noticed his crestfallen expression.

Ron nodded and smiled brightly, then planted a long kiss on her lips. She couldn't help but compare it to Draco's kisses, which made her skin light on fire and sent her whole body into a fit a shivers.

"I'll see you then." She nodded and led him to the door.

"Wouldn't it be easier to floo?" She asked when she saw him put on his thick winter coat.

He shook his fiery red head. "Nah, Fred and George dropped me, they should be waiting on the corner, but you know how those two are, especially in a muggle neighborhood. Worse than dad sometimes."

Hermione giggled and nodded. "Bye Ron." He bent down and kissed her once more and muttered a quick goodbye before leaving.

_'I'm so sorry Ron.'_ Hermione groaned and went up to her room, she desperately needed to go lay down and read a book. She felt drained, she hated herself for what she was doing to Ron and every-time she saw him she felt her conscience eat away at her.

Unfortunately, she only made it to the fourth step before there was a knock at the front door. _'What did he forget now?'_ The Gryffindor girl let out a sigh before going to the door.

"What hap-" Her words caught in her throat and her eyes widened. _'No.'_

There in her doorway wrapped in a black coat with a green and silver scarf was Draco Malfoy.

"Do you mind Granger, in case you haven't noticed it's winter out here!"


	12. Malfoy's Don't Love

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter 11**

**Malfoys Don't Love**

"Do you mind Granger, in case you haven't noticed it's winter out here!" Hermione felt herself nod dumbly, but remained glued in place.

Draco rolled his stormy eyes and let out a long frosty sigh. "Damn it Granger," she heard him mutter before he pushed her out of the way and stepped inside, slamming the door behind him. He looked around for a moment and after deciding that Hermione wasn't going to be of any help to him any time soon, he removed his coat and placed it in the hall closet himself.

"Honestly Granger, close your mouth. It's unbecoming, even for a muggleborn." Hermione snapped her mouth shut so fast that Draco heard the click of her teeth slamming together. The girl shook her head before fixing the boy with a harsh glare, finally coming to her senses.

"Why are you here Malfoy?" She tried to squeeze every ounce of malice in her being into those words, trying to convey to him the pain and confusion he had caused her the past few days. "And how did you find my house?"

Draco chuckled and stepped forward, grossly invading her personal space, in her opinion. "As to why, you will get your answer soon enough. And how, well, that's my little secret."

Hermione narrowed her eyes even more; he was behaving quite peculiarly, if she hadn't known better she would say he was teasing her. "What are you doing here Malfoy? And I want a straight answer."

Much to her chagrin, he chuckled before pulling a piece of semi-crumpled parchment from his pocket and thrust it into her hand. She should have known her answer would not come easily from Draco Malfoy.

"What is this?" She spared the parchment a quick glance before returning her gaze to his face.

"A letter...from my mother." He replied nonchalantly.

Hermione's brown eyes widened and flew to the sheet in her hand. "But she's-"

"A letter she left for me Granger." He cut her off with a roll of his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

Her eyes shot up to his face and once again she sent him an icy glare. "Why you annoying-"

"Just read the bloody letter Granger." Draco interrupted her with his signature bored drawl.

Hermione huffed and opened her mouth to undoubtedly spew insults at the prat who dared come into her house and treat her so unmannerly, but instead she closed her mouth and let out a defeated sigh. She was a curious person by nature, and right now she was dying to read the letter although she would never tell Malfoy. She knew he was prone to temper tantrums and she doubted he was above taking the letter and stomping out of her house like the two year old blighter he really was.

"Would you like anything to eat?" She bit out venomously, she didn't want him to think that she was offering him anything because he was a guest. Oh no, no, he was definitely not a guest in her home, but she did have manners, and she just knew her mother would scold her for not offering food were she there.

Draco smirked at her aggravated tone, it was obvious she didn't want to give him a thing, and quite honestly he wasn't in the mood for food._ 'But moments like this come along so rarely.'_

"Actually, I'm parched and still a bit chilled. Some tea would be lovely...if it isn't any trouble." His sickly sweet tone was laced with condescending arrogance which Hermione didn't miss.

The girl balled her fists at her sides, the crinkling of the parchment she still held fell on deaf ears. _'Yes it bloody well is too much trouble! Arrogant, annoying prat!'_

"Follow me." The words escaped her clenched teeth as she turned stiffly and led him to the kitchen.

"Lovely home Granger." Hermione scowled at his words, she could practically hear his smirk. To anyone else that would have sounded like a compliment, and from anyone else it probably would be, but this was Malfoy. _'He probably wouldn't even know how to spell compliment, let alone actually give one.'_

"Cut the banter Malfoy," she said as she turned on the kettle and took a seat at the table while she waited for it, Malfoy followed, taking a seat across from her. "We both know you're not here to admire my house. What is it that you want?"

"Granger you disappoint me." Hermione arched her eyebrow, "I thought you were a better listener than this. You hold the answer to that question in your left hand." She shifted in her seat and glanced at the parchment again and began to unfold it, but the sound of a chair scraping the floor quickly drew her attention back to Malfoy.

"Now then, where is the loo?" Normally Hermione would have glared at him and pointed out how rude he was for not asking politely, but she was too curious about the letter to care. Instead she lifted her hand and pointed to the staircase near the kitchen.

"Upstairs, second door to your left." He nodded before turning and leaving her alone in the room. Hermione heaved a sigh and dropped her gaze to the parchment that was now resting on the table before her.

_'What is so important that would make him come to muggle London to see me? And why would he let me read something so personal, it is from his deceased mother after all.'_

Hermione shrugged to herself and smiled softly, _'Then again, Malfoy was never an easy puzzle to solve, this shouldn't be any different,.'_ She thought staring down at the paper.

She took a deep breath and unraveled the parchment. _'Here goes.'_

0o0o0

o0o

0o0o0

Draco splashed a handful of cold water onto his face and looked into the mirror before shaking his head and drying off. _'Why am I even doing this. I'm a Malfoy, and she' a mu-... she's the one I want.'_ With a soft sigh he stepped out of the washroom and made his way back to the stairs, when something across the hall caught his eye.

The door across from his was slightly ajar, but the space was wide enough for him to see into the bedroom. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but with a quick glance up and down the corridor, he crossed the hall and gently pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

_'Never pegged Granger as a purple person.'_

It was true, he had always pictured Hermione's room to be draped in gold and red and practically scream 'I'm a Gryffindor to the core!', but her room was actually decorated in a soft lilac and mellow yellow theme that was strangely soothing.

_'Guess even she knows a horrible color combination when she sees one.'_

He mused as he looked around at the trinkets on her table.

He knew that he was trespassing in her room, and were she to catch him here, he would surly be kicked out of her home, but despite his brains reasoning, he couldn't help but move forward.

Her room was immaculate -though he expected nothing less- the only true sign that anyone lived there was the small rumple on the sheet of her bed from laying in it after its been made. The shelves on the walls were filled to the brim with books of all sizes, packed neatly in alphabetical order, on some shelves there were a few pictures resting in front of the books.

_'They don't move?'_

He stared at the still frames with as much fascination as a muggle would at wizarding pictures. He smiled bitterly at each picture; a feeling of envy bubbled in his chest.

There were some with her as a child, with the same wild bushy hair he remembered she had at eleven. It was endearing to see her smiling as a child before she grew to the snooty wench he had come to know now. Then again, she was only a snooty wench to him because he was a pompous ass to her.

But there was one thing that tugged at the strings of his heart. Nearly all of her pictures were of two people he supposed were her parents and she, smiling brightly and looking so much like a happy loving family.

He sighed and ran a hand through his blond locks and muttered a line that he was sure many people had said in reference to him. "What it must be like to have what you do."

0o0o0

o0o

0o0o0

_'To My Dearest Son,_

_Before I say anything else, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you Draco, so proud. And I want to say I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't the mother that a child like you truly deserves. I'm sorry I wasn't attentive, or nurturing, I'm sorry you were left to be raised by a tutor, nurse and house elves, instead of by your parents as it should have been._

_You were the only thing that made my life worth living Draco, you were my son, and I hope that you saw me as your mother, but I doubt it. I don't blame you, I never acted as a mother should, and I have so many regrets, so many that it seems that I've lost count. But most importantly, I regret that I must have died before we truly got to spend time together._

_I know that I've never told you about my sickness, but the truth is that I have been ill for months. I didn't want to worry you with my troubles, but I do feel you should know. And I've tried to tell you, I've tried so hard, but I never could bring myself to do it. Honestly I do not want to tell you. I know that I'm not long for this world, and I know that I will never get a chance to redeem myself in my eyes and yours. So that is why I am penning this letter, to tell you what I've wanted to, but never could, and to give you two things that I've always wanted to, but never could in my lifetime._

_I want to give you love and happiness my son, two things you so greatly deserve. With my death the contract between your father and the Parkinsons is no longer valid. That contract was made only between us four parents, so even with your father dead, as long as I lived the contract was still binding. But now that I am gone -as I am sure I am since you are reading this letter, I only hope it isn't too late- you are free._

_Draco I beg of you, do what I could not. Marry someone you love, someone who will give you the happiness you truly deserve. Draco please; do not be like your father. He was a ruthless man, and all I wanted was a good life, so I over-looked his flaws and married him. I was selfish, I married for wealth and status, though neither of us loved each other, and it has been something I have regretted each day._

_But he cared for you Draco, love was too much of a thing to ask from a man like Lucius Malfoy, but I knew that you held more of a place in his heart than I ever could. And you held a place in my heart that he never could. Draco, I love the child you were and I love the man you are. You're strong, independent, brave, bold, and caring. I just hope that one day you can also be happy._

_Draco please, when you find the girl of you dreams I want you to cherish her, hold on to her, but more than anything, I want you to love her. I want each day of your life to be filled with joy Draco; I want you to grow old with the person you love. I want you to have children, Draco I want you to live, to truly live. Don't take a thing for granted, don't be what you are not. Follow your heart Draco, you are free now. Free to find her, and no matter what she is, now you are free to be with her. You may be the son of Lucius Malfoy, but always remember, you are also the son of Narcissa Black._

_Goodbye Draco.I know that I may have never said it, but more than anything in the world I just want you to know that I love you. And never forget that. '_

A drop of salty water splashed onto the letter, followed by another. Hermione stared at the letter for minutes after she finished reading it, her eyes unfocused and clouded with tears. She was snapped out of her reverie by the loud whistling of the kettle behind her. She folded the parchment and pocketed it before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and quickly turning off the water.

_'She gave up so much, and never told him she loved him. Now she's gone, but he-he doesn't have to marry Parkinson.'_

She looked up, as if just realizing that he was still not back in the room.

_'Where is he?'_

Her hand stilled as she reached for two mugs for tea, and with a sigh she turned and went in search of Malfoy.

Minutes later she found him in her room, with his back to her, completely unaware of her presence. She wanted to yell and scream and rant and rave about his presence in her room, but she just couldn't, not after what she just read. She stepped in the room, catching a glance of the thing he held in his hand, her breath caught in her throat.

It was an old wooden music box with intricate designs carved into the wood, some of the varnish was worn away from years of being opened and closed, but it was still in beautiful condition. He opened the box and a soft, slow song began to play in the tinkling noises known the music boxes.

"My grandmother gave it to me on my fifth birthday," He jumped at the sound of her voice, but it was barely noticeable, and she didn't comment on it. "She died a few weeks after that." He nodded, his back still to her, and closed the music box and placed it back in its spot on her table.

"Why are you in my room?" She took a step further into the bedroom and he turned to face her. But instead of answering her question his eyes dropped to the piece of aged parchment slightly sticking out of her pocket.

"So you read it then?" She frowned but nodded reluctantly.

"I'm sorry...but, what does it have to do with me though?" As soon as she the words left her mouth he had crossed the room and pushed her back against the wall.

"Everything." He muttered before Hermione found his lips pressed on to hers. She didn't have a second to react and stared at his face with wide eyes. The kiss was so random, so sudden, so spontaneous,

_'So Malfoy.'_

The words echoed in her head before her eyes slid shut.

0o0o0

o0o

0o0o0

"Come in." The youngest Weasley child called to who ever was on the other side of her door.

The door creaked slightly on its hinge as it was pushed open by Harry Potter, who sent the girl one of his famous lopsided smiles that she loved so much.

"Hey Harry. Something the matter?" The boy hesitated for a moment before stepping into her room, closing the door behind him. He took a seat on the edge of her bed, seconds later she too joined him in sitting on the bed.

"What are you up to Gin?" The girl let out a small laugh before sending him a mirthful look.

"Awfully blunt of you Harry." She said with a hint of teasing in her voice.

He chuckled and ran a hand through his unruly black hair. "Well, just trying to be as straight forward as you." He said with a shake of his head and a grin on his lips.

"Oh, so what pray tell, would lead you to believe that I am up to something?" Ginny asked mirroring his grin.

"Well, this morning you popped back here early this morning through the floo from some unknown person's house. You also borrowed Pig, who now looks bloody exhausted, Ron wants to thank you for that though, says it's the quietest that bird's been since he's gotten him. But this morning I could have sworn I heard a different owl making noise in here" Harry looked at her calculatingly through his glasses, his green eyes sparkled as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"You would be the only one to notice." Ginny's grin widened and she let out another small laugh. "But how can you be sure that those things mean that I'm 'up to something' as you say?"

Harry scratched the back of his neck and looked uncomfortable for a moment before responding. "Well, on the train I went looking for you and 'Mione, and I spotted you talking to Zabini in a car near the back of the train. I'm pretty sure there's something going on Ginny."

"Oh, you saw that." For a moment Ginny looked extremely nervous. "Harry I know what it looked like, but I swear-"

"Gin," He held up a hand to cut her off, a good natured smile on his lips. "I trust you, I know you weren't doing anything like that with Zabini. But I am sure that he is you accomplice in whatever plan you're putting in action."

Ginny's cheeks tinged pink and Harry chuckled. "Well yes...but I still can't tell you what's going on Harry. I'm sorry."

Harry let out a sigh and nodded before he stood up, his boyish grin still in place. "Didn't think you would, but I still want to tell you to be careful Gin. Playing games with a Slytherin always gets complicated. Especially with that one."

Ginny also stood. "But Zabini isn't-"

"Zabini isn't the Slytherin I was talking about. G'night Gin." Harry gave her a short kiss before leaving her room, closing the door behind him.

Ginny smiled and giggled. "Sometimes I really underestimate him."

0o0o0

o0o

0o0o0

Hermione drowned in the feelings that shot through her body. All thoughts she had stopped in their tracks as soon as his lips were on hers. She felt as if the earth had fallen away from beneath her feet and with it fell all of the "this is wrong" 's and "you can't do this" 's.

All that existed was Draco and herself, and that perfect moment. She wanted time to stop and stay here for eternity. She wanted to bask in the feelings that stirred within her until the world ended. She wanted this, she needed this.

So she let go. She let go of all the doubt, uncertainty, guilt, everything. She didn't know why, but she did know that for once that this was what felt right, this moment, this passion, this kiss.

His tongue ravaged her mouth, leaving no crevice unexplored, while his hands ran down her sides, deliberately brushing the sides of her breasts with his thumbs. The kiss was so unlike their first, which was hesitant and unsure. This one lacked all of the questions of the first kiss. This one was driven by passion, the fierce unyielding fire which grew within them both. They had both waited for this for so long, and they made sure that neither would be left disappointed.

His teeth nibbled on her bottom lip making her moan into his mouth, she felt his lips curve up into a smirk but they still didn't pull apart. Her fingers fisted into his baby fine, silvery hair as she pulled him closer, deepening their kiss. She bit down softly on his lip and ran her tongue over the abused flesh. He knew if both of their eyes had been open she would have seen his nearly roll back in pleasure.

He left her lips for air before his lips descended on her neck, nipping and sucking on the heated flesh leaving a trail of wet red marks down to her collar. Her fingers were still laced through his hair while her chest rose and fell erratically with heavy pants as she tried to take in enough air.

Through the passion induced haze that surrounded her mind she felt Draco lift one of her legs to his waist followed by the other. She wrapped her legs around him as tightly as she could in their weakened jello-like state, and felt his hands cup her bottom to keep her in place.

He ground his pelvis to hers and bit down on her neck, satisfied when she threw her head back, arching her back of the wall and let out a deep moan. Her hands fell from his hair to grip his biceps in an effort to keep herself tethered to reality.

She felt his lips move against her neck as he muttered something upon reaching her shirt. "This is in the way."

He returned to her bruised and reddened lips for another deep kiss and lifted her away from the wall to deposit her onto her bed. His lips broke away from hers to pull her shirt over her head, kissing a trail down her neck to her chest that lit every inch of her body on fire.

Her legs dropped from his waist and his hand snaked underneath her arched back and unhooked her bra with practiced ease. His mouth feasted on one of her breasts while his hand pinched, teased and played with the other, mimicking the things he was doing with his mouth, teeth and tongue.

Hermione gasped and writhed underneath him, arching her back to allow him better access, while wriggling to try and relieve some of the tension she felt building below her waist. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as he rolled her nipple gently between his teeth. His name escaped her lips in broken pants.

"Dra-Draco please." He left her breasts to deliver another searing kiss to her lips before leaving them to kiss a trail down her neck, down the valley of her breasts to the flat planes of her stomach. Her hands once again dropped to weave themselves through his hair, while she felt as if something inside of her was coiling tightly, yearning to break.

Her eyes opened a crack to look down at him, but instead her gaze fell on something on her table.

A Christmas present, wrapped neatly in gold and red paper.

In an instant reality came rushing back to her with bone crushing force. _'Ron!'_

Her hands dropped from his hair to his shoulders and she pushed him off of her with enough force to send him to the floor. She jumped off the bed and grabbed her shirt, putting it on in such a rush that she didn't even realize it was inside out.

Draco pushed himself off the floor and sent her an incredulous stare. "Hermione-"

"I can't!" She nearly screamed in anguish. "**We** can't!" She ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, which didn't help in the least.

He squeezed the bridge of his nose and let out a deep sigh before turning his pale blue eyes to her. "Hermione, what do you want?"

She stopped pacing the room and looked at him with wide, fearful eyes before letting out a dry, humorless, sad sort of laugh. "The same thing every girl has dreamed about Malfoy." He winced slightly at her use of his last name. "I want my fairy tale romance."

He crossed the room and placed his hands on her shoulders while is grey eyes peered into her warm brown ones. "Then let me give that to you."

As she stared into his stormy eyes she wanted to let him. She wanted to say yes and give in, damn the consequences and screw what everyone else would think. She wanted to kiss him, hold him, let him make love to her. She wanted him and no one else and she wanted to believe he felt that too.

But that was just a fantasy, just a dream. Besides, she had Ron, dependable Ron.

She shook her head and stepped out of his hold. "This is no fairytale."

He shook his head and took a step back. "What can he give you that I can't?" His voice was broken, and so sad, for a moment she wished to reach out to him. But she knew she couldn't.

"Love." She whispered softly and he let out a scoff and turned defiant eyes to hers.

"But you don't love him."

She shook her head sadly, maybe she didn't, but, "He loves me Malfoy...and you don't"

"I can learn-" She let out another one of her sad laughs and looked at him with her chocolate eyes.

"Love isn't something you can teach or learn...it's something you just feel." Her eyes dropped to her bedside table where a small present wrapped in green seemed to mock her.

His quiet voice brought her attention back to him. "How do you know I don't feel it?"

She shook her head and a small, woeful smile found its way to her lips. She locked eyes with him for a moment and in that instant a tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the floor. "Because Malfoys don't love."

He felt something in his chest clench and for a moment felt as if he couldn't breathe. She sniffed softly and picked up the present and walked over to him and placed it in his hands, her eyes never raised to meet his.

"Now please leave."

She heard him suck in a breath, as if he were about to speak, but instead he dissapparated with a pop.

0o0o0

o0o

0o0o0

Draco apparated into his room at Malfoy Manor and dropped onto his bed with a huff, he dropped the present from Granger unceremoniously onto his bedside table and buried his head in his hands. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, thinking over the events that transpired at her house, but the loud continuous chiming of the grandfather clock in the hall stirred him from his thoughts.

_'Midnight.'_ He rose from his bed and left his room. He made his way to the closet on the first floor and retrieved his winter cloak. He quietly exited the mansion and padded through the snow covered grounds to the green house that was built a few years ago.

There were a myriad of plant life but he didn't take particular notice of any of them and continued to the very back of the greenhouse where there was a large rose bush a bloom with tens of pink and white tender roses charmed to thrive all year long.

Carefully he picked one of the long stemmed roses and cleaned it of all its thorns before leaving the greenhouse and apparating off the Manor grounds.

The cold winter wind rushed upon him when he appeared with a pop in front of two large iron gates. He walked through the silent yard with only the company of his footsteps and their continual crunch of the freshly fallen snow.

He tread through the snow for five minutes before coming to stop in front of two headstones laid next to each other in the empty graveyard. He bowed politely to the first and stared at the second.

He took a hesitant step the grave before kneeling down in front of it. His fingers raised to trace the words engraved in the stone.

**Narcissa Black-Malfoy**

**1954- 1997**

**A loving wife and devoted mother**

Draco bowed his head and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Happy Christmas mother. I'm- I'm sorry I didn't come to the funeral. I just couldn't bare to see you like- I'm sorry." He took a deep shuddering breath and licked his chapped lips. He looked to the rose in his hand and placed it gently in the snow beneath her tombstone.

"I know how much you love them, and I-I've been taking care of them for you. They're doing very well, you would love to see them." His voice waved and he brought his eyes up to the grave.

"I just-just wanted to say thank you. For everything, I-I...mother I miss you." He turned his eyes to the night sky and stared at the bright silver moon, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, Draco felt a tear slide down his cheek. "I've found her mother...you would love her." His voice was a choked whisper as he tried to hold off any more tears.

"But she doesn't feel the same, she says that I can never love her, because Malfoys don't love." He took another deep breath and rose from his kneeling position, and dusted off the snow on his knees that left wet spots on his black pants.

"But she's wrong, and I'll prove it to her mother. I'll prove it for you. Goodbye and happy Christmas." He took a hesitant step back and swallowed again hoping to rid himself of the insufferable lump in his throat.

"And, I love you too mother."


	13. Pretend

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter 12**

**It's All Pretend**

Christmas day arrived with as much cheer as it did every other year. At least on the surface.

Hermione woke at the crack of dawn as was customary for every Christmas. She smiled softly at the neatly packed stack of presents that lay at the foot of her bed, from her fellow Gryffindors and some members of other houses she had become close friends with. Instead of tearing open the presents, she carefully moved them to a corner of her room and left, opting to first go downstairs.

Her bare feet made no sound on the hardwood floor as she entered the family room where her parents were curled up on a couch together near the blinking Christmas tree they all decorated together. Hermione smiled brightly as her mother motioned to the cup of steaming hot cocoa one the table waiting for her.

"Morning darling." Aby smiled and kissed Hermione on the cheek. "Happy Christmas."

Her father ruffled her hair before he kissed his daughter's forehead. "Hey pumpkin. Happy Christmas."

Hermione giggled and sent then both a toothy grin reminiscent of her childhood years. "Morning mum and dad. Happy Christmas."

The morning was spent how all traditional Christmas mornings were spent at the Granger's. Hermione was cuddled up in a single seating comfy chair with her attention focused on whatever new book she had received while her other presents and wrapping paper littered the floor around her.

Her parents were cuddled together on their own couch watching the Christmas specials on the telly while her father rubbed her mothers growing stomach, and sipped hot cocoa or egg nog (strictly alcohol free for her mum) with the fire roaring in the hearth.

Of course this scene of family bliss was disrupted a few times by phone calls from family members and visits from some of the closer neighbors who dropped off some scrumptious ginger bread cookies, half of which were devoured by Hermione within ten minutes.

_'I wish time would stop right now in this moment.'_

Hermione smiled contently and sighed softly before biting into another cookie.

"Hermione dear," The girl looked to her mother and answered with a muffled "Hmm?" because of her cookie filled mouth.

"Weren't your friends from school supposed to stop over today?" Aby asked with genuine interest.

And then it all came crashing back down. Yesterday, Ron, Draco, everything.

Hermione swallowed her treat painfully and put on a fake smile that she hoped covered the worried look she felt herself take on.

"Oh, um...yes, I suppose so. A bit later today though. I guess I best go send them an owl." The Gryffindor stood up on heavy legs and made her way to the staircase.

"Oh, and dear?" Aby called once again, this time Hermione managed to get out a weak sounding "Yes?"

"Why don't you invite over that Head Boy. It would be lovely for him to come over don't you think, even for a few minutes." The young witch let out a nervous laugh to cover her grimace. 'Absolutely lovely.'

"I'm sure he's bu-" Her mother cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"Nonsense. It's Christmas Hermione, and the poor lad is all alone. I'm sure a bit of company is just what he needs."

Hermione sighed softly in defeat, it was painfully clear that her mother wasn't planning on giving in on this argument anytime soon. She nodded and without another word made her way to her room.

She closed her door softly behind her, resisting the urge to slam it shut, and leaned onto the cool wood. _'It's all a giant mess, and it's all my fault.'_ With another sigh she pushed herself off the door and made her way to her window, pushing it open. She shivered for a moment as the frigid winter air swept into her room before she stuck her head out of the window into the biting cold.

Her eyes scanned the branches of the tree outside of her window for a moment. "There you are." She muttered and smiled to herself upon spotting a light brown owl that stood out brightly in contrast to the snow that covered the branch it chose to roost on.

"Care to do me a favor Ginger?" She called to the owl that cocked its head and hooted before spreading its massive wings. Hermione barely removed herself from the window in time for the owl to swoop in to her room. After seating herself on Hermione's work desk Ginger hooted once more and looked at the girl with its bright yellow eyes.

Hermione smiled at the bird and stroked her brown feathers before seating herself at the table. Ginger was her pet owl that was kept more for her parents than for herself. Since Hermione could always borrow Hedwig or one of the school owls at Hogwarts she really had no use for Ginger during the school year, but if her parents ever wanted to reach her they would have to wait until she wrote to them.

So that was why they bought Ginger, unfortunately the bird's only trips to Hogwarts were to deliver letters and rarely did she ever get to spend the night, but she always seemed more than content to spend her time with Aby and John Granger. And as a bonus she was rarely ever kept in her cage, but she never wandered to far in case someone was in need of her assistance. Just as she was needed right now.

"Hope you're not too tired from delivering all those presents last night." Hermione cooed, earning an indignant hoot from the bird who seemed insulted that her owner would think she was tired from a few trips. "Guess not then." The Gryffindor chuckled and stroked the bird. "Well, you'll have a light load today anyway."

The witch pulled out a sheet of paper and pen, sometimes she preferred the muggle way. She scrawled a quick note to Ginny asking what time she, Harry and Ron were to come over if they were still planning to come at all.

"There you go." She muttered and fastened the letter to Ginger's already outstretched leg. "The burrow, deliver to Ginny and wait for a response please." Her owl hooted her understanding before spreading her large wings once more and taking flight out of the window.

Hermione waited until Ginger was well into the darkness before closing her window once more shielding herself from the cold.

She returned to her desk and ran her hand through her hair repeatedly. After a minute of silence she let out a determined sigh and pulled a piece of parchment and quill to herself. This letter was to be done on proper wizarding stationary, after all.

_'Invite Malfoy.'_

She pinched the bridge of her nose before staring at the blank sheet as if it held the answers to all the problems in the world. _'What should I say?'_

"What can I say?" She muttered, her hand returning to her hair. "After yesterday I doubt he'd want to hear a word from me, let alone an invitation to breakfast with my parents."

Crookshanks meowed from her bed startling Hermione from her thoughts. The girl sent her cat a half hearted smile which withered too quickly. "Crookshanks, what do you think I should write?" Hermione laughed to herself when her cat only licked his front paws and turned from her.

"Not like I expected a real answer anyway." She smiled to herself and turned back to her table but stopped instantly when her eyes landed on a wooden music box that sat innocently on her bedside table.

_'Draco.'_

Her eyes clouded over as memories from the prior day washed over her.

Why hadn't she stopped him?

Why did she yearn from his touch and moan from his every caress?

Why didn't she think of Ron at all then?

Why?

She sighed deeply and covered her eyes with her hand. She knew why, she knew the answer to every one of those questions and felt the guilt bubble in the pit of her stomach.

She knew she didn't want him to stop, not then, not ever. She wanted to feel the things he stirred within her. The things she had never felt before, the things that threatened to engulf her body in a flame that she never wanted to burn out.

She knew she yearned and moaned for him because she needed him. She needed to make sure that their fantasy was not just a fantasy then. And oh, how she revealed in the reality of it.

But worst of all, she knew she never thought of Ron because he could never awaken in her the things Draco did. She hated herself for admitting it, but that night had only proved to her that Ron wasn't _'the one'_ for her.

She let out a cruel hollow laugh and glared at the music box. _'And Draco is?' She shook her head, a sardonic smile tugged at her pink lips. 'No, it wouldn't work. It defies logic! And besides, Ron is my friend, I could never leave him from Malfoy. 'The one', 'Mr. Right' don't come along for everyone, there might not even be a 'the one' for me. So why not settle with 'The right choice', 'Mr. Good Enough'?' _

She sighed and covered her face with her hands, and tried to block out the pain in her heart. _'Ron is stability, he's what I need. Malfoy will only ruin my plans for the future. I don't need that, now or ever.'_

A sharp tapping from the other side of the window jerked Hermione out of her thoughts. She let out a deep breath and smiled faintly at being startled.

"Ginger." She stood and opened the window to allow the bird entrance before shutting it with a shiver, it seemed as though the temperature had dropped since last she opened the window. She dropped back into her chair and retrieved the note from the owl's leg and gave the bird a treat.

_'Of course we're still coming, we'll be there around 5:30. See you later._

_Ginny.'_

Hermione shot a glance to her bedside table, it was still early, just a little after 10. She crumpled the paper and tossed it into her wastebasket, only barely making it.

She sighed and pulled the parchment and quill back to her, she had a few hours until her friends would come over. Which should be enough time to get ready, invite Malfoy, have him leave, then get ready for them to arrive.

She took a deep breath and brought the quill to the parchment. _'I shouldn't let him bother me like this. He's just Malfoy.'_ She pushed aside the other voice that yelled _'The boy I have feelings for'_ and wrote him a brief, detached note, sounding as professional as she could.

Draco stared at the small glass dragon he held ever so carefully in his hands. It was magnificently made, the dragon was beautifully carved and the glass glittered in the early morning sunlight that streamed through his large French windows.

It was one of the many gifts he had received, and even though it was given to him unceremoniously and was worth probably less than a quarter of his other presents, it was by far the most precious.

His other presents, from his Slytherin housemates and family friends, lay unopened and stacked haphazardly in a corner of his vast bedroom. Hermione's gift and the ones he received from Blaise and his mother were the only ones he had opened, and he wasn't disappointed.

He -unlike millions of people around the globe- was not at all excited about Christmas; in all honesty, he had never really cared for the holiday.

For him it had lost its childish lustre years ago, the elation that went along with this day was lost to him. And now, more than ever, he found himself hating the joyous squeals, laughter of happy families, and chimes of Christmas bells that echoed to his ears from surrounding homes.

He was more than content to sit in his oversized mansion, with its hundreds of empty halls and barren rooms. He had to be content with it. This way was how he would be spending Christmas mornings for many a year, he was sure.

He knew that as time dripped on the well wishers would leave, the sympathizers would disappear. Even the fake smiling corporate leeches would dry up, and with them would go the mountains of presents and cards baring words of faux sympathy and compassion.

But he didn't care; he wouldn't open the gifts anyway, or read the untrue words in the expensive cards.

_'Besides,'_

He picked up the clear dragon given to him by the most unlikely of persons and turned it this way and that in his hand, letting the light shine through it and cast rainbows of colors onto his white walls. _'Dragons prefer solitude.'_ He turned the figurine once more and curled his lip up into a withering smile. Then with an echoing crash the dragon was thrown against the wall and shattered into thousands of tiny crystalline pieces.

He dropped back onto his expensive green silk sheets and ran a hand over his tired face and groan escaping his lips. _'Bloody hard headed witch!'_ His attention was pulled to his bedroom window where an owl was tapping relentlessly.

_'Sodding blood sucking businesses why won't they understand the damn company isn't for sale.'_

With a sigh, Draco dragged himself off his bed to the large window. He glared at the bird through the glass before opening the windows and letting the creature in. He scowled as the bird took roost on the perch of his eagle owl that was out hunting.

He retrieved the letter from Ginger's leg rather gently and unrolled it; his brows furrowed as his eyes scanned the parchment.

_'Malfoy,_

_I am presently writing this letter to ask for your attendance at my house for a short Christmas breakfast with my parents and myself. It would greatly please my mother were you to attend. Please send a response back with my owl._

_Sincerely_

_Hermione Granger.'_

The boy couldn't help but chuckle at the note. _'Just like Granger to brush over awkward moments with formalities.'_ He looked to the brown owl that was waiting patiently for his response and fetched her a treat. He would never tell anyone, but he always had a soft spot for animals.

_'Except for Granger's "cat."'_

The wizard let out a sigh and raked a hand through his hair, a habit found he had been doing increasingly as of late.

"What do you think I should do?" He asked the bird, which only blinked at him before cocking her head to the side and hooting.

Draco smirked to himself. "It would be lovely to see the look on Granger's face were I to go." Ginger hooted once more before raising one taloned leg. "Alright then, yes it is." His smirk widened and he scribbled down a note to Granger - sounding as professional as she- informing her that he would be at her house in an hour.

"You're a lovely owl," he said as he tied the letter to the bird's leg. Ginger seemed to perk up as if she understood him and puffed out her chest with pride. "Too bad your owner is off her rocker."

He smirked and sent the owl off before closing the window after the bird's departure.

_'What are you thinking Granger?'_

He picked up his wand from his beside table and flicked it lazily at the broken shards of glass that was once his gift. "Reparo."

Ginny yawned and watched Hermione's owl fly off into the distance. It wasn't even close to noon and she was already tired. But she had been up since five in the morning helping her mother prepare the Christmas breakfast and dinner feast. And with as much family she had, along with their wives, girlfriends and friends who frequented the burrow on Christmas day, it was indeed a monstrous task to undertake.

_'But mum still did it.'_

And being the only female child, she was of course drafted into helping.

The creek of her door being opened pulled her from her sleepy revere. She turned around lazily to find Harry's head poking in her room.

"Hey Harry." She managed to get out before a yawn escaped her lips.

Harry chuckled and entered Ginny's room and closed the door behind him. "Hey, I was wondering if you've heard from Hermione yet?"

"Yes actually," She said, pushing herself out of her chair to lay down on her bed. "She just owled me asking if we were still coming over."

Harry nodded and sat on the edge of Ginny's bed before placing a hand on his girlfriend back. Ginny sighed contently as she felt his hand begin to rub her back in small circles.

"Harry,"

"Hmm?"

"How did you figure out about Hermione and Malfoy, did she tell you or something?" Ginny couldn't help the drowsiness that slipped into her words. She was just so tired.

Harry chuckled, "It's pretty easy to see hidden things for the "boy-who-lived"."

There were a few moments of silence before Harry looked down to Ginny's face, only to find her sound asleep.

Hermione sought to busy herself for the next sixty minutes to avoid the feeling of time slowing down that always seemed to occur when you were anxiously waiting for something to happen. Although she would never openly admit she was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Draco Malfoy.

She readied herself by getting groomed and dressed, and helped her mother with breakfast only to find that a mere forty-five minutes had elapsed. With a deep sigh she began to clean her already near immaculate room. Upon finding very little to do she began re-packing her bookshelf, this time by size order.

She just needed something to do to keep her mind from wandering to the topic of Draco Malfoy, but wander it did, straight to the events that unfurled the prior night. Without realizing, she dropped the book she was holding in her hand (her autographed copy of Gildroy Lockheart's earlier work that she couldn't bring herself to throw away) and sat herself on her bed as the scenes of the night before played repeatedly in her head.

Her hand had found itself to her lips and she began chewing on her nails as her eyes blurred over and became unfocused to her surroundings.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't even hear the distinct pop noise of someone apparating into her room at 11:15.

Draco's impassive eyes swept around the pale yellow and purple room that he had been in less than twenty-four hours ago before landing on the girl sitting on her bed. It was apparent that his arrival still went unnoticed to her, _'Probably too busy biting her nails.'_ His lip curled in to a sneer that was reminiscent of his father's before he walked up to her and swatted her hand away from her mouth, effectively making his presence known.

Hermione's head snapped up and her mouth opened as if to speak, but whatever words she was about to say died on her lips at the sight of him.

"That's a disgusting habit Granger." His words were cold and biting while his face was back to the stoic mask she had known from years ago.

_'Back to old ways then.'_

She cautiously stood and closed her mouth before he could comment.

"Malfoy." She greeted as sturdily as she could.

He curled his lip into a sneer once again. "Save the formalities Granger." She felt herself wince but if he saw he made no mention. "Why did you call me here on Christmas of all days?"

Hermione instinctively lowered her head at his scolding tone. _'He's still mad I guess. But surely he must know that any sort of relationship between us just wouldn't work at all.'_

"My mother insisted that you were invited over, at least for a few minutes." She looked to his stony grey eyes to try and get a glimpse of what he was feeling, but they were hard and as emotionless as his face. She guessed he was back to his self-preservation mode, the one he had been using since she first met him all those years ago.

He aristocratically arched an eyebrow signaling that he had caught her staring. Hermione felt her face heat up before she continued speaking.

"Breakfast is ready downstairs, I'll...um, I'll take you." He nodded and stepped out of the way so she could pass in front of him.

Breakfast, much to Hermione's surprise and annoyance, went perfectly fine. The tension she had expected to be in the room was non-existent as her parents fawned over Malfoy. Her mother seemed to take it upon herself to take the place of his departed mother and piled his plate with food and was treating him as if he were her own son. But the actions of her mother didn't surprise her in the least. Hermione knew her mother's nature and wouldn't expect anything less from the woman.

Her father on the other hand, had her completely baffled. He spent breakfast chatting merrily with Malfoy -something he had never done with her boyfriend- about Quidditch of all sports. Of course this was after Draco patiently talked him through the rules.

The boy was actually decent through the ordeal. He never snapped or sneered; though he would also never smile. He was kind and polite and was everything that Hermione could never see him being. One could even venture far enough to say he was actually being nice.

Hermione sat and silently ate her hearty breakfast and watched the scene play out with calculating eyes. She had barely gotten in a sentence throughout breakfast since her parents were so focused on the silver haired Slytherin sitting across from her; it didn't matter to her much though. It gave her time to sort out the questions that were being shot out of her mind every second. Malfoy was never this polite, not even to Dumbledore himself, so why would he "lower himself" to being so kind to a bunch of muggles?

The girl couldn't quite figure it out, but she knew something was going on, and she knew she had to find out what. So when her parents left the table to watch some more Christmas specials on the telly, Hermione retired to her room, bidding Malfoy to follow her.

"What are you doing Malfoy?" She hissed dangerously after her bedroom door had been securely shut. She fixed him with a harsh glare, but the boy look nonplused, bored even.

"I was having breakfast with your parents Granger. Like I was asked over to do. I thought that even you could figure that out." He drawled.

Hermione was flustered with rage, how dare he insult her intelligence and furthermore act as if the events of the previous night had never transpired. "But yesterday-"

"Yesterday has no baring on today." He interrupted. "Besides, you were perfectly clear about how you felt if I remember correctly."

Hermione felt her anger bubble within her to near dangerous levels. His words were harsh enough but how he said them made her wish she had her wand with her. His voice remained emotionless, stoic and very business like and on the surface he sounded uncaring but there was a hint of malice and hatred that laced through every syllable.

On top of that, how dare he dismiss her words so curtly? She knew he was feeling something, and she wanted him to tell her what. The events in question had cajoled all she believed in and sent her mind into a flurry of activities. Even now she was still trying to sort out all of the new feelings stirring inside of her.

And yet, here he was looking as calm and unfazed as possible. If she were an outsider looking in, she would have never guessed what had occurred just by looking at him.

"You-you snake!" She sputtered, her anger getting the best of her as her fists clenched at her sides. "You lying, dirty little snake! Quit your act Malfoy! You're not this person you showed to my parents! You're not some passive little gentleman! So just stop it!" She felt her face turning red, but that didn't deter her. "I know what you truly are Malfoy!"

"And what is that Granger?" He snapped with a sneer. For some reason she was surprised at his response, maybe it was because he had stayed quite and impassive through her rant not even moving an inch or batting an eyelash at her harsh words. But now he was attacking her with his anger, every ounce of his aloof calm had disappeared.

"What am I then?" He continued. "A snake? A no good viper that seeks to make you miserable? Is that what you were going to say?" His words, though they were not yelled, carried enough malice to make her flinch back. His eyes, now a dark foreboding grey, stared at her so sharply she felt he could be looking into her soul.

"Then I guess you'd be right then Granger." Hermione's eyes widened. "All I am is a cold blooded snake who doesn't know a thing about love." He bit out, the coldness of his words cutting her deeper than any curse could. "But that's just how we Malfoy's are isn't it? Since we are _all _the same." His cynicism was not wasted on her, although it didn't seem as if he cared whether she got the jibe or not.

"I best be off." His voice was flat, but still held its angered edge. "Tell your parents thank you and Happy Christmas."

And before Hermione could regain her senses, he was gone with a pop. Leaving the girl to sort through the new whirlwind of thoughts stirred in her head.

"Your mum is a brilliant cook Hermione." Harry smiled broadly at his friend as they all settled into her room after a light dinner.

"Oh honestly," Ginny admonished, "I've no idea how you two managed to scarf down your body weight in food, knowing full well mum'll have a feast waiting for us when we get home." Hermione stifled a grin and nodded in agreement.

For Hermione, Ginny, and Aby and John Granger, the better part of dinner was spent watching the two scraggly boys plow though enough food to feed a small country, and then asking for desert. It was a mystery to Hermione where all that food went, but she guessed Quidditch did help them burn off the weight they should be gaining.

The eldest girl was wrenched from her thoughts by an arm being slung over her shoulder, belonging to Ron. She felt the blood drain from her cheeks and her now widened eyes darted around quickly. None of her actions went unnoticed by Ginny or Harry, but Ron remained oblivious.

"Well I guess now would be as good a time as any to open our presents!" Ginny cried with a jubilant smile and fished around in the pocket of her muggle pants, hoping to pull Ron's attention away from his plainly uncomfortable girlfriend.

"Good idea Gin." Harry added before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a handful of shrunken presents. Ron removed his arm from Hermione's shoulders in order to retrieve his presents also. The three proceeded to enlarge their gifts -though Ginny was still under legal age to use magic outside of school, so Harry had to enlarge her presents for her- while Hermione fetched her gifts from the corner of her room.

Nearly half an hour later the four friends sat with various gifts strewn about while they enjoyed some treats they had received. As usual Hermione had received mostly books from her friends and housemates and the usual Christmas sweater from Mrs. Weasley along with her famous white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.

"Hey 'Mione," Ron's voice drew Hermione's attention from the small hard cover book in her hands.

"Yes?" She looked up but didn't meet his gaze.

"You've got one present left." He held up a small gift wrapped neatly in forest green paper. She guessed she missed it because of its small size.

"Who's it from I wonder." She asked aloud.

Ron shrugged and turned the present over in his hands. "Don't know. Just says "To Hermione" on it."

The girl looked at the package for a moment as if debating whether she should open it or not. Her curiosity won out against her apprehension and she quickly tore off the wrapping to reveal a rectangular black box.

"Is that a jewelry box?" Ron asked, although he -along with Harry and Ginny- knew it was. _'He wouldn't. Would he?'_

"Well? Are you going to open it?" Harry asked as he softly nudged her with his elbow. Hermione nodded mutely and with trembling fingers she opened the box.

"A charm bracelet?" The red head boy's voice held surprise and a few traces of ill-covered anger. Who in the name of Merlin would buy **his** girlfriend a bracelet? Especially one that looked as if it cost a small fortune.

"It's beautiful." Ginny said in a way that to Hermione sounded accusatory.

"Yeah, it is." The witch replied automatically before picking up the silver bracelet that only held four small charms.

A book, a cat, a letter, and a broomstick.

What little doubt that was left in Hermione's mind soon disappeared at the sight of the small silver keepsakes. He had to have sent them, each charm had its own special significance to her, that only he would know.

_'What is he trying to do?'_

Ginny watched Hermione's expressions closely as she stared at each charm. She didn't know what the trinkets meant exactly, but from the way her friend's eyes widened and remained fixed on the jewelry, she could easily guess that each had its own meaning to her.

"Who sent it then?" Ron grumbled, not even attempting to hold in his contempt.

Hermione snapped her gaze from the precious accessory, looking very flustered. "Oh, um...probably Viktor. He-he sends me something every year. Although this, well this is a bit much. I'll have to send it back to him. I can't accept such a thing at all." She tried to hold back her wince at lying to Ron like that, but it couldn't be helped. He wouldn't exactly embrace the idea of Draco Malfoy sending his girlfriend expensive gifts now would he?

Ron grumbled something that no one caught and huffed around for a few moments until Harry challenged him to a game of Exploding Snap that he received from Lee Jordan.

Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her over to the far side of her room, and comfortably seated herself on the floor. "What happened Hermione." She muttered as Hermione too dropped to the carpeted ground.

"Everything's so wrong Ginny. I- How did this all happened?" Hermione ran a hand over her face and leaned back against the wall. "He came over yesterday." She began; ignoring the look Ginny sent her. "After Ron left. He gave me this letter from his-" The girl stopped herself mid-sentence. She never told Ginny about Draco's mother, and even though she trusted the girl with all of her secrets and she knew she was honorable enough to never tell a soul were she to find out. Hermione just couldn't bring herself to tell her. It would be a betrayal of trust, and she knew that for some reason, having Malfoy's trust meant a lot to her.

"Hermione?" Ginny shook the older girl's arm gently and smiled warmly when she focused on her.

"Thought I lost you for a minute." Hermione sent her friend a small smile and nodded.

"Look Hermione," Ginny began, her face once again turning serious. "I know about Malfoy's mother, and before you say anything, my means of finding out were completely accidental and I won't tell a soul. Nor do you have to tell me a thing. I know how you must feel about keeping something like this private... for Malfoy."

Hermione smiled gratefully at the younger girl before her eyes automatically darted over her shoulder to the boys who were still playing their game, not noticing the girls' chat.

The red head giggled and bounced back into Hermione's vision. "You don't have to worry about Ron." She began as she too looked over her shoulder at her brother and boyfriend. "Harry'll keep him busy for us to talk."

The young witch's eyes snapped to her friend. "Wha-"

"He knows." Ginny admitted nonchalantly with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Wha-How?" Hermione hissed harshly in an effort to keep her voice down. Ginny still seemed to calm for her liking.

"No idea really. He just figured it out I guess. But then again, not all of us are as blind as Ron." She joked. "He won't tell him. Don't worry. Just tell me what happened."

Hermione hesitated and shot a glance at Harry but then sighed and nodded. "After he gave me the letter, he went to use the loo while I read it. He had been gone for a bit, so I went to search for him only to find him in here." Ginny nodded wisely, but didn't comment. "We talked for a bit...and then. We-I..."

"You had sex?" The younger girl asked in a rather mature voice, but there was still a tinge of girlish urgency in her words.

"No! Definitely not!" Ginny's cheeky smile disappeared and was replaced by a confused frown. "But we probably would have if I hadn't stopped him." Hermione muttered so softly it was near inaudible.

But Ginny still heard. Her eyebrows shot up before dropping back down as she scrunched her forehead in thought. "Why?"

"Why?" Hermione retorted. "Because Malfoy and I are just wrong!"

"Does he make you happier than Ron?" There was that cool tone in her voice that Hermione was beginning to grown to hate.

The older witch ran a hand through her thick curls before letting out a long breath, "I don't know. All we do is insult each other. It's all that we have done for nearly 7 years. But Ron has been my friend, although we have our spats, we'll always be friends. So, I guess no, he doesn't make me happier then." Hermione answered, though she seemed unsure of herself.

Ginny made a "hmmm" noise in her throat and nodded. "But he makes you feel alive, doesn't he? He stirs things in you Ron never could?"

Hermione paled considerably and opened and shut her mouth a few times. "But-how-"

"It's how Harry makes me feel." Ginny answered the unspoken question. "I've dated a few guys, but only Harry has ever made me feel so...complete." Ginny smiled to herself and cast a glance over her shoulder at Harry. "And I would never want that feeling to go away. Because that's love. And if ever you can find it, you should never let it go Hermione."

She turned back to her friend whose eyes were now downcast and her posture was ridged. "You can't just pretend everything is alright Hermione. You can't pretend that this is alright, and that you love Ron."

Hermione's head shot up and she sent a cold glare to Ginny, anger and uncertainty clouded her vision and judgement for the moment. "But this is right!" She began in a dangerous hiss. "And I have to pretend! Years from now I'm going to look back on this and say 'I did the right thing.'"

Ginny pursed her lips and sent her once sensible friend an equally harsh glare before she stood up and turned to walk away. But not before muttering something to the girl.

"Will that be before or after you realize how miserable your life has been?"


	14. Morning Breaks in the Astronomy Tower

Forbidden

By Leah

**Chapter 13**

**Morning Breaks in the Astronomy Tower**

Hermione stared blankly out of the car window at the grey scenery of London as it blurred past.

She was once again on her way back to Hogwarts, and would be arriving at Kingscross in only a matter of minutes. Crookshanks meowed restlessly in his cage and her parents were having a petty argument over what gender her unborn sibling would be. Every now and then she would hear her trunk hit something in the back of the car when they went over a bump or stopped.

But everything seemed muted to her, hushed in a way, like a grey dream she was looking in on. Her fingers ran over the piece of parchment in the pocket of her sweater. A small shiver slithered down her spine.

It was the letter from Malfoy's mother.

She had forgotten to give it back to him, afterall they did become a bit preoccupied after she read it. Her mother had found it in her jumper pocket when she was doing laundry. Luckily it fell out of her pocket as it was to be put into the wash.

Aby had told her daughter that se didn't read it, but for some reason Hermione doubted that. She loved and trusted her mother, but she knew that the woman had a nosy streak that could rival that of Lavender and Parvati's.

Hermione let out a small sigh as the train station came into view in the distance. She was almost back to school, and back to the problems that lay there waiting for her. The letter weighed down heavily in her pocket, just one more trouble.

She would have to return it to him afterall.

Much like her last ride to Hogwarts only a few months ago Hermione spent her time laughing with her friends and boyfriend in their compartment as the same scenery blurred past in the window. It was different now this time though; at least to her it was, underneath everything else, she could feel the difference.

This time she couldn't bring herself to feel as elated at her pending return to the school, nor could she bring herself to conjure the same feeling of contentment at having Ron's arm slung over her shoulder.

But much to her relief, this time she didn't have to go to Heads' compartment to speak with McGonagall, and to be near him. She nearly sighed at the thought of the boy. She was so unsure of things between them now, she was unsure of herself now.

Sometimes she actually felt herself wishing to see him, but at the thought of him being around she felt exposed, open to his penetrating gaze. There were times when she hated him, looking back she felt the hate bubble as she the memories of him talking down to her, insulting her intelligence or her blood filled her mind.

And then there were times when she felt something else towards him, something far from hate.

She wanted to stay away from him, at least until she figured out what was going on inside of herself. But the folded piece of parchment that was now in her possession wouldn't allow that.

She had to return it to him. She couldn't keep something so personal away from him. This time she did let out a soft sigh so as not to draw her friends' attention to herself. Her gaze dropped to the silver trinket clasped around her wrist.

Why was she even wearing it anyway?

Draco massaged his temples in an effort to keep the migraine he felt creeping upon him at bay.

"You really fucked it up this time didn't you Malfoy?" The Italian boy across from him muttered humorlessly. To Draco it sounded as if it had been said at least five times before, maybe it had been.

"Shut up Zabini." The two sat alone in a secluded compartment near the rear of the train. Draco was positive that Parkinson would be looking for him, but he couldn't care less. In fact, the reason they were so far away from everyone else was to get away from the annoying bint.

Blaise let out a mirthless chuckle, drawing Draco out of his tumultuous thoughts. "No. I don't think even you have fully grasped what you've done."

Draco shot his supposed best friend a harsh glare, which was ignored. "You know Zabini, you speak like you're riding an elephant along the tightrope of my patience."

"Clever." Blaise muttered dryly. "Unfortunately, no amount of clever quips will get you out of this. Especially when Granger finds ou-"

"What she thinks and whether she finds out isn't my concern." Draco's sharp voice cut in. "She made it clear that she doesn't want anything to do with me on more than one occasion. So what I do has no baring on her life." The silver haired Slytherin stood abruptly and walked to the door.

Blaise followed suite and stood also. "Bu-"

"We're here." Draco muttered and left.

Zabini sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair, a sardonic smile on his face. "Just a bump in the road then...bloody ass."

"I'll see you in the Great Hall right?" Hermione called to her friends over her shoulder.

"Of course." Ginny said, smiling brightly, though her eyes reflected her worry.

Harry nodded before turning to leave with Ginny to find an empty carriage, but not before sending his friend an apprehensive look.

"I'll save you a seat 'Mione." Ron said brightly and gave his girlfriend a short kiss on the lips before he too disappeared into the crowd of students.

The girl looked around the crowd for a minute before letting out a deep sigh. _'I guess I had to see him sooner or later.'_ She steadied her resolve before pushing her way through the crowd to the Heads' carriage.

"Where could he be?" She muttered to herself after sitting alone for nearly five minutes. She shot a look out of the window and sighed again.

The crowd had thinned considerably, and only a handful of stragglers looking for an empty carriage remained. But the Head Boy had yet to make an appearance. She felt her carriage jerk forward before beginning to move onward, slowly being pulled by the Thestrials that she -and she was sure nearly all of the students- could now see.

Part of her was relieved as she journeyed to the school, she didn't think she was truly ready to see him now. But another part of her wished that he had shown himself.

She shook her head and shifted her blurred gaze to the window where she could begin to see the shadow of the castle looming in the distance.

Her conflicting emotions were beginning to drive her mad.

The echo of a heavy chair scratching the floor resounded through the crowded room. Everyone in the Great Hall fell silent as the Headmaster stood to address his students, his smile ever present on his face.

It was the same speech Hermione had heard after every Christmas vacation. She knew the words nearly by heart and Dumbledore's voice only faded into a dull drone in the back of her mind. She was focused on something else now, something that had been plaguing her mind since she arrived in the Great Hall.

Her eyes shot to the Slytherin table for the third time that evening. _'Where is he?'_ Blaise was there, but the seat next to him -Malfoy's seat- remained empty.

She scanned the table once more, but there was no head of silver. Parkinson was there though, whispering excitedly to some other Slytherin girls, looking as if she was on top of the world. _'Guess he hasn't told her that he no longer has to marry her yet.'_

The girl let out a sigh and turned back to the front of the Hall, where Dumbledore was taking a seat. "Did he even come back?" She muttered.

"Who?" Ron turned his bright green eyes to his girlfriend questioningly.

Hermione let out a nervous laugh and turned to her plate of food. "No-one. Just thinking aloud." She looked up to meet the green eyes of another Weasley who gave her an understanding look.

Of course Ginny would know.

The remainder of dinner passed quickly and uneventfully. Hermione picked at her food and tried to focus on the conversations around her, but she was soon pulled into her own troublesome thoughts.

Before she realized it, dinner was over and she was already walking mechanically to her dorm. It only took her a few seconds to notice that she had been separated from her friends. It didn't matter much to her anyway, they were going different places, and she didn't feel like talking to them then.

"He didn't!" A loud voice only a few people in front of her exclaimed, it sounded vaguely familiar.

"Yes he did. It's all arranged and everything!" Another voice practically yelled. That voice she knew very well, Pansy Parkinson, so the other girl must have been Millicent Bulstrode, the large oaf-like girl that followed Pansy nearly everywhere.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, she wasn't the type to eves drop -often- but these two obviously wanted the entire school to hear them. They were after all standing naught but three feet away from each other and were screaming as if oceans separated them. She was about to push past the two when Pansy opened her mouth to speak once more.

"As soon as we graduate I will become Mrs. Draco Malfoy."

The Gryffindor held back her urge to laugh. _'So he hasn't even told her yet.' _

"He proposed to me on New Years." Hermione's heart pounded loudly in her ears and she froze mid-step. She heard wrong, she was sure of it, he wouldn't- he couldn't... _'No! She must be lying. He wouldn't! Of course he wouldn't.'_ But Pansy only went on.

"Millicent it was positively lovely! As soon as it hit midnight, he got down on one knee and asked me! Then the next day we went out to look for a real engagement ring, that thing he had originally was much to small." Then the girl pulled out her hand to show the largest diamond Hermione had ever seen sitting on her ring finger.

"This one cost nearly a million..." But her words became fuzzy, distorted, then muted completely. _'He-he wouldn't.'_ But she couldn't believe herself. She knew her face must have taken on a pallid color, but she didn't care, nor did she care that she had stopped in the middle of a busy hallway.

The world no longer existed to her; every one passing near her was now a malformed blur. Their voices were now hushed and cut off.

_'She-he...no. No. No! No! No! No! No!'_

And then she ran, the shouts of the people she pushed fell on deaf ears, all she could hear was her breathing and the blood pumping in her ears. She needed to get to their common room. She had to see him. She had to... she had to vomit.

She ignored Kyara's greetings and choked out the password. Her feet carried her into the empty common room. He wasn't there, but she wouldn't have noticed if he were. Soon she found herself hunched over the toilet emptying her stomach of what little food she had just consumed.

_'They're getting married.'_

Her sobs mixed with the sound of her retching for hours.

Days passed, then weeks, and still Hermione never saw Draco alone outside of class. There were some instances in which she saw him in the halls, but Parkinson was always attached to his arm. But something was wrong with the picture of pre-marital bliss.

There was no bliss. At least none that showed on Draco's face. Pansy was always looking as if she had just won the worlds greatest prize. But even that was more of a triumphant look than a happy one.

But it wasn't her business anymore now was it? Nothing dealing with him was her business any longer. He didn't want her anymore, that much was obvious. But...but maybe she really did want him. She could never bring herself to feel as relieved as she should have. Now she could be with Ron and not worry about what Malfoy thought since he was with Parkinson now.

But that wasn't how it worked. All she could do now was think of him and Parkinson. They were going to get married; they'd have kids, and grow old together in Malfoy's oversized mansion.

Did she want that for herself?

No! Not at all. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. And as the days turned to weeks and time wore on, she started to believe herself. She began to bury her life in schoolwork, and Ron. She promised herself that things with Ron would work out now.

They had to work out now.

He was all she had now.

She was no longer part of Malfoy's life in any way. That revelation hit her one-day when she arrived back to the dorm late from Transfiguration.

Hermione sighed as she rounded the corner to Kyara's portrait. She was back later than usual, but she just had to ask McGonagall one last question after dinner.

_"How am I supposed to finish all my work before patrol now. Maybe if I just speed through that Charms essay, no, I need to stop by the library for that- Oh, hello Kyara." Hermione smiled brightly to the portrait that bore an unusual worried look._

_"Ah! 'ermione. What a pleasure it iz to zee you. But you musn't go into the-" _

_Hermione cut her off with a wave of her hand. " I can't chat now Kyara, I really have to get started on my work. Amour dans les bras d'un ennemi."_

_"But-" Kyara let out a sigh before the portrait opened with a soft creek. Hermione swore she heard the girl mutter something along the lines of "Don't say I didn't warn you." _

_She was so engrossed in her thoughts of her class work that she didn't notice the two people on the couch until she was halfway to her room. Her head snapped to the chair fast enough to make neck crack, but that didn't matter to her. All that mattered were the two people on the couch, and the feeling of her heart clenching in her chest. _

_There, Draco was laying with Pansy straddling his waist, her victorious smile still in place. It was obvious what they had been doing, and what they were most likely about to do._

_She shook her head in an effort to clear her head. "I-Um..sorry." She muttered, but her voice was soft and hoarse. She quickly spun around and nearly ran to her room, but not before hearing Pansy speaking. _

_"Silly little mudblood, she's so bothersome." _

_"Yeah...mudblood." _

She cried for hours that night.

"These cupids are so annoying!" Ginny muttered and swatted another one of the bothersome floating babies away from her. It was early Sunday morning of February fourteenth and Ginny and Hermione were two of the few people who were down in the Great Hall that early for breakfast.

"Yeah." Hermione nodded and buttered her scone.

"What's going on with you lately Hermione?" Ginny asked as she looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye. She had noticed Hermione's slump in energy since the girl arrived back from Christmas, and she was sure she could guess the reason why. "Does it have anything to do with Parkinson and her fiancée?"

"He's no longer any of my concern." Was her emotionless response.

Ginny arched an eyebrow. "Monotones don't suit you too well you know." She paused and took a bite out of her muffin before continuing. "And really Hermione, you didn't even give him a chance, he waited around much longer than any other male would."

Hermione slammed her butter knife down on the table and shot a glare to her friend. "He didn't have to go and propose to _her_!"

Ginny shrugged and opened her mouth before snapping it shut once more. Harry and Ron had just entered the Hall, putting their conversation on temporary hiatus.

"G'morning girls!" Harry smiled brightly at Hermione before kissing Ginny soundly on the lips. "Happy Valentines Day."

Hermione smiled softly at her two friends who were obviously deeply in love. Looking at them she felt a pang of jealously and sadness at knowing that now she could never have that feeling of true love.

"Happy Valentines Day 'Mione." Ron said and gave placed a quick kiss on her lips before sitting next to her and piling food on his plate.

"Yeah." Her obvious lack of enthusiasm was on her oblivious boyfriend.

"Are we still on for dinner tonight?" Ron asked in-between chews, across the table Ginny scowled at his bad table manners.

Hermione nodded and put down her uneaten scone. "Yeah...I'm gonna go, I don't feel that well right now." She muttered before abruptly standing and leaving the Hall.

"I'll go check on her." Ginny mumbled and attempted to run after the girl, but was stopped by Harry.

The boy-who-lived shook his head and motioned for Ginny to retake her seat. "I think she just wants to be alone right now."

The youngest Weasley sighed but sat down anyway. "She's been so depressed lately, I just don't know what to do for her." Ginny whispered so that Ron would not hear her.

"I know, but sometimes she has to sort out things on her own Ginny. You can't always be there to tell her what to do." Harry smiled warmly and pulled Ginny closer to him.

The red-head sighed in defeat and rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. "It would make things much easier though," Her head shot up and a sly smile took over her face. "But you're right, I can't always tell her what to do." She smiled broadly to Harry and kissed him before hurrying out of the Hall.

Harry shook his head and looked at his food. Sometimes Ginny was too meddlesome for her own good. But then again that was one of the reasons why he loved her so much.

"What just happened?" Harry chuckled and looked at his clueless friend.

"Nothing important Ron."

"Zabini!" Ginny yelled down an empty hallway as she saw the Italian boy turn the corner. It was purely by a stroke of luck that she found him, afterall the school was huge, and if he was in the Slytherin dorms there would be no way she could get to him.

"Ah, little Weasley. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He said once Ginny caught up to him before bowing very gentlemanly and placing a kiss on the back of her hand.

"I think you know what I'm here for." The red head said without missing a beat, she wasn't one for friendly banter in a situation so serious. Apparently neither was Blaise. He immediately straightened himself and his face took on a rather serious and grim expression.

"I'm afraid I can no longer be of any service to you with the Malfoy and Granger problem." He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. "He's as hard headed as his father sometimes. And this seems to be one of those times."

Ginny let out a defeated sigh and leaned against the cold stone wall. "So there's nothing we can do about this then?"

"Not unless we want to make the situation worse." Blaise said and copied her pose.

"He couldn't have gotten over her so soon, and with Parkinson of all people! Why would he do something like this!"

Blaise shrugged. "Hell if I know. The inner workings of Draco's mind aren't things I'd like to explore. But I'm guessing it's because he's never spilled his feelings to someone. And then to have them thrown back at him, he must have been feeling vulnerable, and of course Parkinson would have sensed that and moved in for the kill like the evil little bint she is."

Ginny couldn't help but smile. "I guess there's little love among your house."

Blaise smirked. "Very little."

"So we have to leave this up to those two now then?" Ginny mumbled, getting back to their original topic of discussion. Blaise nodded mutely.

The red head let out a sigh and pushed herself off the wall and turned to walk back down the hallway. "Then I guess this won't be a happy ending."

Hermione sighed softly as she looked around the cozy restaurant, waiting for Ron's return.

It was a couple's restaurant in Hogsmead that she had never come to, mostly because she was never really part of a couple. And although the wisps of smoke and the soft candle light coming from every table wasn't her thing, it was actually very romantic for this time of year. Ron had definitely picked the perfect restaurant.

And so did half of Hogwarts.

The place was packed with students sitting with their significant others sharing a meal, talking or staring deeply into each other's eyes. Normally it would be enough to make anyone sick, but right now Hermione didn't mind it that much.

"'Mione?" Hermione's eyes snapped up to her boyfriend who was now seated across from her, she was too deep in thought to notice his arrival.

"Oh, sorry." Her cheeks tinged pink and Ron chuckled.

The evening passed by delightfully enough, Hermione smiled and laughed as Ron relayed stories from Quidditch practices, and told her his first hand accounts of their games.

They talked like the old friends they were and for that night Hermione didn't feel any guilt nor was her mind clouded with thoughts of another. That is until Hogwarts' newest married couple walked in.

Pansy was clad in a skimpy skin tight green dress that left little to the imagination, and as usual she was clinging onto Draco's arm as though it were her life line. And then there was Draco, who looked around the place as if it were beneath him, his eyes gliding right over Hermione without stopping.

"Ron, I think we should leave. It-it's getting pretty late and we have class in the morning afterall." Hermione lied but couldn't pull her eyes off the couple. Ron followed her gaze and grimaced.

"Yeah, I don't want to be here with ferret stinking up the air either." Hermione offered a halfhearted smile and stood.

"Can we just go back to the castle?" She asked as Ron stood as well after placing the money for their meal on the table.

"Yeah, whatever you want." He ushered her out of the restaurant and shot a glare to Malfoy as he and Parkinson sat at a table by the window.

The carriage ride back to the castle was a short silence filled one. Hermione really had nothing to say, her mind remained elsewhere as she stared out the window of the carriage.

_'He's obviously moved on, so why shouldn't I? He's not worth torturing myself over, I've said it millions of times, he's just Malfoy. Stupid, insensitive Malfoy.'_

"Hermione?" Ron said catching her daydreaming for the second time. "We're here."

The girl nodded sheepishly and stepped out of the carriage, taking the proffered hand. Ron was being unusually gentleman-like tonight. _'It is Valentines Day after all.' _

"May I walk you to your room m'lady?" Ron joked as he offered her his arm. Hermione giggled and blushed slightly as she took his arm.

"That would be lovely."

The two strolled through the corridors of Hogwarts, smiling and waving to the portraits who bid them hello. Sooner than either would have liked they arrived at the portrait of Kyara and some other French male who the girl shooed off when she realized Hermione and Ron had arrived.

"'Appy Valentinez Day 'ermione!"

"Happy Valentines Day to you too." Hermione smiled to herself when she noticed Kyara peering over her shoulder to Ron. The portrait had seen the boy before, but she had never been introduced to him, and knowing Kyara's talkative and friendly nature, she must have wanted to be introduced to him. "This is Ron, my boyfriend."

"What a pleasure to meet you Ron." Kyara said in her bubbly tone and curtseyed politely, Ron smiled and looked at Jasmine as she hopped into the girl's arms with a quiet meow.

Hermione turned back to Ron and smiled brilliantly at him. She was sure it was time to get over Malfoy now, it had to be.

Ron shuffled his feet nervously and looked anywhere but to Hermione. "So...I guess this is-"

"Would you like to come in Ron?" The boy's head shot up and he met his girlfriends gaze with crimson cheeks.

"Yes! I-I uh mean...if you want me to."

Hermione smiled and let out a small laugh before speaking the password to Kyara who had a sullen look on her face for some reason Hermione couldn't fathom. Nevertheless she took Ron's hand in hers and led him into her dormitory.

He didn't leave for more than an hour.

Hermione rolled over restlessly for what she was sure was the near hundredth time that night. Sleep just would not come to her easily. Her mind was far to troubled for sleep to come to her.

_'Is this because of what Ron and I did. No, he's my boyfriend, it's only natural. And-and I love-' _

"Why am I trying to kid myself." Her eyes drifted over to the bathroom door that connected her room to Malfoy's. "I need to speak to him."

She pushed any doubt out of her mind and shrugged off her covers before getting out of bed. She quickly grabbed his mother's letter from her vanity and opened her door, intent on finding out why he was doing what he was doing.

Seconds later she found herself outside of his room and pounding on his portrait. The snake had slithered away upon seeing her approach, now as it looked on from a nearby frame it was relieved it moved.

Moments passed and still no answer; Hermione snuck a glance to the clock in the common room and grimaced. It was nearly five in the morning; of course he would be sleeping. But just as she turned to leave, the portrait door opened and she quickly spun on her heel only to have her mouth drop open.

"Parkinson?" Pansy stood in Draco's doorway wearing only his shirt, which reached down to her mid thigh. It didn't take a genius to figure that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"Yes Granger." The other girl asked in a sickly sweet tone that dripped malice.

"I-um...nothing. It's nothing." Hermione muttered, her voice so soft it was near inaudible. She turned to leave but Pansy wouldn't let her go that easily.

"Granger, make sure this is the last time I ever hear of you knocking on my fiancée's door late at night." Hermione turned back to give the girl a harsh glare, but didn't say a word. "He's mine now, got it? I won. Don't think I didn't know about you two, and don't think that I'm ever going to allow him to go near to you ever again." Pansy continued with a smug smile. "You were foolish to think that aristocracy could ever lower its self to love a mudblood." She spat the last word with enough venom to make Hermione want to flinch back, but she didn't.

"I guess you're right Parkinson. I was foolish to believe that Malfoy could actually be a human being and break old traditions. I was foolish to believe that he could see filth when it threw itself at him," She paused to give the girl a scathing look. "I was foolish to think that he could love me. But most of all I _am_ foolish to still want him to love me."

Hermione turned to leave but paused mid-step, fighting back the stinging in her eyes. "And congratulations on your future marriage. You two deserve each other."

Before she could even hear Pansy's response she was out of the dorm and heading to the one place she could clear her head without anyone finding her.

The Slytherin sighed and dropped his hand from the door, he had been knocking on the door connecting to Granger's room for a few moments now, but the girl had yet to answer. _'It _is_ almost 5AM.'_

His eyes dropped to the little blue box in his hand. He didn't know why he felt the need to give her a Valentines Day present; she wasn't even his girlfriend. Hell, she wasn't even his friend. She was just...someone who mattered.

He let out another sigh and ran his free hand through his hair and turned to leave the room.

Draco scowled as he stepped out of the bathroom, expecting to find Parkinson laying in his shirt on his bed, asking him to "make love" to him. He scoffed to himself; it was impossible for him and Pansy to do anything more than have sex.

"Making love," meant letting in emotions, and unfortunately all his emotions towards her were negative ones. He had to remind himself daily why he was even going through with this stupid marriage.

_'It's good for the business. That's what Malfoys do; marry a rich pureblood and take in all the publicity, feelings have nothing to do with it.'_

He sighed and reminded himself it was for the best, even though he wished Pansy were someone else.

Draco pocketed the present and with one last sigh entered his bedroom. But when he looked in, the girl was missing from his bed, he wasn't sure whether he should have been confused or happy.

"I-um...nothing. It's nothing." _'Granger? What's she doing- Oh Merlin Pansy!'_

"Granger, make sure this is the last time I ever hear of you knocking on my fiancée's door late at night. He's mine now, got it? I won. Don't think I didn't know about you two, and don't think that I'm ever going to allow him to go near to you ever again. You were foolish to think that aristocracy could ever lower its self to love a mudblood."

Draco paused mid-step, anger surging through his body. He was jerked out of his thoughts by Hermione's voice.

"I guess you're right Parkinson. I was foolish to believe that Malfoy could actually be a human being and break old traditions. I was foolish to believe that he could see filth when it threw itself at him, I was foolish to think that he could love me. But most of all I am foolish to still want him to love me."

His forehead creased in thought, and he heard the shuffle of her clothes as she turned to leave. "And congratulations on your future marriage. You two deserve each other."

Pansy slammed the portrait shut. "Damned mudblood." She whirled around to find Draco's piercing grey eyes glaring into her brown ones.

"Draco-"

"What was that?" He cut in, not wanting to hear any of Pansy's annoying cooing.

Pansy smirked as if she were proud of herself. "Just getting rid of some trash."

Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her to him before she even knew what was happening. "Don't you ever" He began, his teeth clenched together in an effort to hold his rage. "_Ever,_ call her that."

He roughly pushed her away from him and left the room in time to hear the entrance portrait shut, leaving a shocked Slytherin in his wake.

Draco tried as best he could to keep up with the girl without drawing any unwanted attention from Filch or that bloody cat. He expected her to run into the library, her home away from home, but she ran past it and up the stairs.

_'If she isn't careful she'll get caught.'_

It was well past curfew as they both knew, and as Heads any sort of rule breaking would land them in extra trouble. But Draco knew right now Hermione wasn't thinking of that.

"The Astronomy tower?" Draco muttered to himself, of course she had to be heading for the tower, it was the only room on this end of the castle.

He climbed up the last flight of stairs to the tower where the sound of sobbing was resonating. He looked to the ledge where Hermione was leaning; looking to the sunrise as tears flowed freely down her pale cheeks.

"Hermione?" He didn't know why he called her by her first name, but apparently she was as surprised as he was. She whipped around and wiped her face hurriedly with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Why are you- why are you here?" A hiccup broke her sentence as she stared at him with wide teary eyes. She was completely vulnerable to him right then, but it no longer seemed as if she cared.

"I heard you and Pansy." He began, taking a step closer to her.

Hermione let out a dry humorless laugh, her breath turning into a puff of smoke on the cold February air. "Ah, your lovely wife. You two are so fitting."

Draco let out a defeated sigh; he knew where this conversation was heading. "Granger-"

"Why? Why Draco? Why did you choose_ her_!" A few tears slipped down her reddened cheeks.

Draco scowled at the audacity of the girl, the anger he had built up since that December night got the best of him as he lashed out against her. "_Me_! You were the one who threw _me_ out Granger! You were the one who chose Weasley over _me_!"

He crossed the distance between them in a flash and gripped her shoulders tightly. "_You_ of all people have no right to ask** me** why."

Hermione swatted his hands off of her, the silver trinket on her wrist catching the rays of the rising sun. "What do you want Draco?" She asked, using the same question he used to her only months ago.

The boy couldn't help let out a dark chuckle. "You know what I bloody want Granger. You on the other hand, are more confusing than that old coot Dumbledore." Hermione laughed softly at the bad attempt at a joke and turned back to the ledge.

"I come up here to clear my head sometimes." She began after a few moments of silence. "No-one knows about it really. I'm sure everyone thinks that I go to the library when I need to think. But I guess they're right. That is where I go to think," She turned to him and nodded to the spot next to her. He obliged her unspoken wish and moved next to her, his eyes turning to the changing colors of sunrise on the horizon.

"But this is where I really come to escape from thinking. Where I come to listen to my heart."

Draco nodded and smiled to himself. Although he was quite confused at her change from irate Gryffindor to subdued girl, he had realized some time ago that the girl changed moods nearly as much as he did. And for some reason, he guessed that he was the first person she had ever told of this place. He didn't know what that meant, but he felt pleased to know something that others didn't about the strong Gryffindor near to him.

"It's nice here." He began, letting his anger melt out of him also. "Sunrise is your favorite time of day then?" He took in her look of surprise from the corner of his eyes with a bemused smirk.

"How did you guess?"

"You always seem to be up in time for sunrise. And this was the first place you ran too at this time of morning, that says something about you." He smirked at the soft smile that ran along her lips.

"You're quite perceptive Malfoy. I'm guessing it's yours also?" She saw him nod and open his mouth to speak. "You too are always awake in time to catch the sunrise." She said with a cheeky smile, answering his unspoken question.

"You're very perceptive yourself Granger. But I think everyone already knew that." He replied in a joking tone of his own.

Minutes of silence stretched between the two, but neither minded that much. It was a calming moment watching the sunrise shared between...friends?

"What are we Draco?" Hermione asked softly, her eyes still on the colored horizon.

"I was hoping you'd know." They shared a laugh as both thought of how to continue from there.

The sound of ruffling clothes drew Hermione's attention to the boy next to her. Draco was now facing her and held a small blue box in his hand, the present made her remember the piece of parchment she still held folded in her hand.

"What is it?" She asked, staring intently at the box.

He gave her a bemused look, he guessed she would have figured it out. "A Valentines Day present."

Hermione sent him a small smile. "You're a bit late."

Draco rolled his eyes and sent her a halfhearted glare. "Just take the bloody present Hermione!"

All traces of laughter disappeared from Hermione's face in that moment. _'I'm Hermione. And he's, he's Draco. What are we doing?'_ "No." She whispered softly, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"What?" Draco's brows furrowed at her words. It had all been going so well, he was sure that this time they were getting somewhere.

"No. I'm sorry Dra-Malfoy. This-this isn't right." She quickly unclasped the bracelet from her wrist for the first time since she had received it, and shoved it along with the letter from his mother into his hands. "I just...can't."

She took a slow step back as tears blurred her vision again before turning on her heel and running out of the tower. To where? He didn't know.

He wasn't going to follow her this time.


	15. When the Night is Overcome

**Forbidden**

**By Leah**

Chapter 14

When the Night Is Overcome

The Head girl shifted her nervous eyes to the clock at the front of the room. Fifteen minutes left.

Her eyes dropped back to the paper on her desk before glancing to the cauldron, which held a simmering, clear potion. Her hand pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. _'Veratiserum.'_ One of the most complicated potions she had ever made.

It took nearly two months to brew one batch, so the preparations for this potion -along with some others- had begun a long time ago.

It needed to be brewed for exactly four minutes and thirty-two seconds more before it was ready to be removed from the flame.

She bit her bottom lip nervously and dropped her a gaze down to her booklet, from the shuffling of paper she heard across the deathly silent room she guessed one of the other eight people in the room were also checking over their answers.

Her gaze shifted to the clock once more. _'Three...two...one.'_ She quickly extinguished the flame with her wand before dropping in a scale of a mermaid. She waited for exactly 20 seconds before stirring the potion twice clockwise and once counter-clockwise.

_'Finished.'_

She let out a small, relieved breath and looked into her cauldron with a satisfied smile. She quickly ladled out a spoonful of the water like substance and poured it into a vial labeled with her name and the name of the potion. Four other vials stood in a neat row next to her Veratiserum. One a yellow, near golden color, one a shockingly bright pink, another a thick deep purple, while the last a shimmering blue color.

Giving the potions a final once over she gathered her things, and left her closed booklet on her potions table, as was instructed. She pushed put her chair as softly as she could so as not to disturb the other six people in the room before turning and exiting the class.

One outside she let out a long, happy sigh. She had just finished her final NEWT!

"It's finally over!" Seamus Finnigan's loud yell from atop a table in the Gryffindor common room was barely heard over the roaring music and loud speaking. Nevertheless his cry was met with a roar of applause and cheering from those within hearing range.

Bottles of butterbeer and mountains of sweets and food were piled haphazardly on some table that was conjured up in the common room. Ron had to plead the aid of the elder Weasley twins to get the treats for them on such short notice and to sneak them into the school for him. And even then he still had to deal with hours of hearing "ickle Ronnikins is all grown up now, I think I feel a tear Fred."

Harry and Ginny were off dancing somewhere in the mass of Gryffindors, of course Harry had first to be dragged into the crowd by his overly excited girlfriend who fell instantly in love with the muggle song playing.

Hermione sighed to herself and sipped her butterbeer from her spot against the common room wall, her mind tuning in and out of the conversations around her. Ron had run off somewhere a few moments before, actually, she had long since waved him off, bidding him to do whatever he pleased since she wasn't in the particularly celebratory mood.

Of course she was indeed overjoyed at the prospect of NEWTs finally coming to an end, and she was more than sure that her studious ways for the past seven years had most definitely paid off. But she just couldn't bring herself to jump around and party, like the other seventh years.

With her exams gone and finished and school ending in a little under four weeks her mind was left to wander to its favorite topic - Draco Malfoy.

With a great sigh she finished off the rest of her bottle in one gulp, it wasn't really a miraculous task since there was little over half a mouthful left. The Graduation Ceremony would be in two weeks time, and the Graduation formal would be held the night before.

Then she would have to pack her things and one day after that she would be back on the Hogwarts express for the final time.

All that was left to do was to avoid Malfoy until then.

Hermione crept cautiously into the Head dormitories as silently as the floorboards would allow. It was near three in the morning, and though she knew for a fact that there was a party carrying on in the Slytherin dormitories, she did not however know whether or not Malfoy was in attendance. Or if he had been there and had arrived back to the Head common room before she had. And as she had learned from earlier experiences, the boy had ears like a bat -when it benefited him most of course.

So she slowly pulled the common room door behind her praying it would not squeak too loudly. A small breath escaped her pink lips when the door clicked softly into place; she turned and began creeping her way through the dark room to the stairs to her bedroom.

A sound that was so low that she was sure she would not have heard it were she not holding her breath and tip toeing through the soundless room, drew her attention to the couch where she could see the vague black outline of what she guessed was Malfoy, sound asleep.

She pulled out her wand and whispered a lumos spell so silent it was near inaudible. She quickly shielded most of the bright yellow light that shot from her wand with her hand until the light had dimmed enough for her to remove her hand.

She moved closer to the couch to find that it was indeed the Head boy sleeping soundly on the chair with the most peaceful expression she had ever seen him wear. Of their own violation, the corners of her mouth tugged up in a gentle smile as she stared down at the platinum blonde Slytherin. He looked so...so... so human.

No calculating gaze, or tightly clenched jaw. There wasn't a trace of a condescending smirk and no air of pretentious arrogance. No, now he was just a boy. A handsome young boy forced to grow up all too quickly, as they all had been in the age they lived in. Her hand reached out to his face, landing softly on his jaw tracing the well-defined contours of his strong jaw.

Draco let out a sort of stifled groan and she pulled her hand back faster than would be thought possible. Her eyes darted to his face, with a small sigh she noted he was still sound asleep. She passed her lip between her teeth for a moment before turning on her heel and scurrying to her room.

"Nox."

"GRYFFINDOR WINS! GRYFFINDOR WINS! THIS MATCH HAS SURELY SECURED THE HOUSE CUP FOR GRYFFINDOR FOR YET ANOTHER YEAR!"

The loud yells from the speaker were nearly drowned out by the loud roars of cheers echoing from the Gryffindor stands as scarves were waved like banners of gold and red. The Gryffindor team was already on the ground carrying their grinning captain and red-haired keeper as they all sang unintelligible lyrics to "Weasley is our king."

As the players shrouded in emerald and silver dismounted from their brooms, they found it hard to keep their own grins at bay. Despite the fact that they had lost the match, their team was the one to catch the Golden Snitch, which was still held firmly in their captain and seeker's pale hand.

Draco smirked to himself as he looked down at the tiny ball that was trying so desperately to escape from his hand. The Gryffindors won the game by a mere ten points, but that didn't matter. He had finally one upped Potter, and nothing could possibly dampen his mood.

"Malfoy," the boy looked up from his thoughts and into bright green eyes that were crinkled at the ends from the large grin on the boy who lived's face. "Good game Malfoy." Draco looked down to the hand that was extended to him, and for the first time in his life, he couldn't respond with a biting remark to Potter's kindness. Instead he simply reached out his own hand and shook the other captain's.

There was still the evident animosity between the two, no doubt about it, but they were both mature enough to show respect to a formidable opponent...as long as it wasn't something that was to occur to often.

"You too Potter." The boy nodded and returned to his red and gold clad team mates, leaving Draco and his own to trudge back to the castle, but the usual post-Gryffindor match anger was no where in sight.

It was only Draco's second year as the captain of the Slytherin team, and already his team had racked up more wins in a row than had ever been accomplished in Slytherin history. No matter how much Draco would say he detested Hogwarts, a little part of him would always call the place home.

He turned to face his team once they were in the locker rooms, the classic Malfoy smirk in place. "I think this deserves a bit of celebrating, what do we think?" His cry was met with loud cheers from the team.

"C'mon Hermione; it's been forever since last we-"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed sharply, cutting off her boyfriend. "Can you please just drop it! I'm in no mood to d-"

"ALL HAIL HARRY POTTER! SAVIOR OF GRYFFINDOR!" Dean's loud yell rang through the room as Harry was pushed onto a table in the midst of the Gryffindor celebration. The dancing ceased as all eyes turned to the grinning Quidditch captain. Someone yelled "Speech" and soon the whole room was chorusing the sentiment in slurred voices.

Hermione was unable to enjoy the party as much as her fellow housemates. Throughout the evening her boyfriend had been pestering her in one way or another about getting in some celebrating of their own, and he would not get the hint that she just was not interested.

She looked to Harry who had at sometime during his speech pulled Ginny -who was still clad in her Quidditch robes- next to him on the table. The pair, obviously slightly intoxicated, were staring lovingly into each other's eyes as the crowd cried for a kiss. Seconds later their wish was fulfilled as the couple broke into a drunken snog, nearly toppling over the table.

Ron gripping her arm tightly pulled Hermione's eyes away from the romantic, yet humorous scene. With a sigh she pulled her gaze to Ron's angered blue eyes. "Do you always have to be such a prude Hermione?" He muttered before removing his hand to run it through his red locks. It was obvious to her that he hadn't seen Ginny and Harry or else he would be violently pushing his way through the crowd with the intent of pulling his sister away from his friend, rather than bothering her.

How she wished he paid more attention to his surroundings sometimes.

She hardened her gaze and took a step back, nearly bumping into someone in the crowded room. "Do you always have to be such an immature brat Ronald!?" She snapped before she turned sharply -her brown curls nearly slapped him in the face- and stormed through the crowd of dancing teens.

She heard Ron shout her name over the music, but pointedly ignored him and exited the room swiftly.

"Brilliant game today mate." Blaise said heartily and slapped his friend on the back.

"First time we've ever said that after a loss." The captain chuckled and brought a bottle of butterbeer to his lips.

The two boys sat in the quiet Heads common room, talking about idle topics as they sipped butterbeer and Firewhiskey, as they had been doing for nearly half an hour. There was in fact a rather large and rowdy, drunken party going on in the Slytherin dormitories at the moment - a rarity given the fact that thy did not win the game- but neither boy cared to be amongst their housemates.

They had attended the party for an hour or so since it was in their honor, before they left out of boredom, after "borrowing" a few bottles of Odgen's and butterbeer. At least boredom would be the reason given if you were to ask Malfoy why they were enjoying the festivities a few floors down in the Slytherin dungeons.

Blaise on the other hand would relay a story of how he was harshly pulled from a room filled with willing and highly intoxicated women, just because his best mate was tired of his fiancée throwing herself on him.

The Italian boy let out a sigh and dropped to the back of the couch, and pulled the entire bottle of Firewhiskey with him. "Bloody hell, I feel old." He heard the snort from his fellow Slytherin which he ignored. "We're graduating in less than a month. Can you believe it? Leaving ol' Hogwarts behind once and for all. Then we have to lead adult lives and work. Dear Merlin, I don't fancy that idea."

Draco rolled his eyes and drained his butterbeer before grabbing another one. "Then it's a good thing that you're an heir and you don't need to get off your fat arse for the rest of your life then, isn't it?"

Blaise snorted and swirled the alcohol around its bottle a habit he had developed from his father. "I'll have you know, my arse is not fat Malfoy."

Draco sent his friend an apprehensive look before swiping the bottle from his hand, "I think you should stick to butterbeer for the rest of the night mate."

Blaise chuckled, but grabbed a butterbeer from the table. "But seriously mate, I'm really going to miss this place." Draco shot his friend a curious look to find the dark haired boy staring unseeingly at the ceiling. "I mean, I'm not going to miss classes in the least -alright maybe I'll miss Snape harassing the Gryffindors in Portions- and some of the professors can go and rot for all I care. Like that bloody McGonagall and the daft coot." Blaise paused and grinned for a moment. "But you know, I'm going to miss being here."

Draco snorted before taking a gulp from his newly poured glass of Odgen's, "You're obviously drunk Zabini. I'm counting the days until I can leave this place, and start a real life."

"With the new Mrs." Zabini added, ignoring the glare now focused on him.

"I don't care to hear this now Zabini." The blonde spat venomously, only to receive a half-hearted shrug from Blaise.

"Pity then, that I've never been known to care about your preferences." Blaise could practically feel Draco's anger radiating from him, but that didn't deter him. "That is what Pansy will be, the new Mistress of the Manor. And you, my friend, are going to be the idiot left asking himself why he made the greatest mistake of his life."

"Shut up Zabini," Draco growled out, "I told you, I'm in no mood."

Blaise smirked, "And I believe that I also told you that I have never been one to care for your moods." The boy took a swig of his butterbeer, idly longing for the burn of Firewhiskey, and watched jealously as his blond housemate nursed a glass of the orange liquid. He let out a sigh and pressed on; someone had to talk some sense into the boy. "Now, it appears to me, that you're beginning to realize that Parkinson cannot be molded into the fair bookworm you so blatantly pine for. And that despite the fact that your Gringotts account will increase tremendously -even without the contract- from this...union; you're starting to see that no amount of money will be able to stop that little ache in your chest."

"Shut up Zabini," said Draco once again, his words as sharp as a dagger.

"I don't think I shall." Blaise straightened himself and sent his friend a level glare. "Someone's got to talk some sense into your bloody hard head Draco. Do you honestly think this is what your mother would have wanted for you? Do you? She died for you to be happy! And this is how you repay her!"

"I said shut up!"

"You're being a selfish sod Malfoy."

"I said: SHUT UP ZABINI!" Draco roared and stood up to his full, intimidating height. He shot the other boy a bone-chilling glare; Zabini nearly flinched at the blatant resemblance between Draco and Lucius at that moment.

"You should really learn to pull your nose from matters that do not concern you Zabini. You know more than anyone that I will not hesitate to hex whomever doesn't exercise caution around my private business, into oblivion, be they friend or not. Remember that next time you decide to give your opinion." Draco snarled before he turned on his heels and strode out of the room, his cloak billowing behind him in a manner that would make Snape envious.

Blaise arched a dark eyebrow and smirked.

It wasn't past curfew as of yet, but it would be in a few moments, so of course the halls of Hogwarts were near empty and there was no one to see the angry Head girl storming through them.

Hermione didn't really care that she would probably draw attention to herself from a teacher, or worse Filch and his bloody cat. She just wanted to find a place to brood in peace. Her common room was out of the question, seeing as Draco might have taken Pansy there to celebrate the win with his fiancée. The thought alone made bile rise in her throat.

Her instinct told her to go to the library, but Madam Pince would probably not allow her in, seeing as it was so late at night. With a sigh she turned towards on of the moving staircases and headed to the one place she knew would be empty.

And even if it wasn't she could always use her Head Girl title to get rid of whoever maybe skulking about in the Astronomy tower.

Draco smirked half -heartedly when he reached his destination; of course his feet would bring him to this place.

He stepped towards the ledge where he and the girl stood that night not so long ago. Idly his mind realized that it was much warmer this night than it had been those weeks ago, he remembered her ill-concealed shivers as the wind blew around her. "That's all in the past now anyway." He murmured and shook away the small smile that had found its way onto his face.

He turned his eyes away from the cold stone floor to the silvery moon; it looked exactly as it did the night he first arrived here seven years ago. "Who would have thought, all those years ago, that one day I would be standing here; in love with a mudblood." He chuckled sadly and dropped his gaze to the darkened grounds of the school.

From the height he could make out the inky blackness of the lake, where two lovers were holding each other tightly on its shores, lit by the silver glow of the moon.

Some would have smiled at the scene of romance that played out below, but he scowled and turned to leave, only to find a pair of dark brown eyes staring at him.

"Granger."

Hermione let out a breath as she narrowly escaped the yellow eyes of Mrs. Norris. Although judging from the clanging of falling armor and loud cackles that resonated down the hall -undoubtedly from the bothersome Poltergeist Peeves- she guessed the cat had its proverbial hands full with the ghost.

She waited in her spot behind a suite of armor for nearly a minute -just incase Filch was also nearby- before she slipped out of her hiding space and padded -with much more caution- to the Astronomy Tower.

She took each cold stone step to the tower carefully, in an effort to make as little sound as possible. Halfway up the steps she considered turning back and going back to Gryffindor Tower instead, or at least to the Head Dorms, something in her gut told her that she should not go to the Astronomy Tower.

She shook off the feeling, after all she had made it that far already, what was the point in turning around now?

Gently, she pushed open the door and turned to shut it softly. She walked closer to the ledge of the tower when her eyes landed on the back of a silver blond head of hair.

_'I should leave now.'_

But her body seemed to be frozen in place and she knew she must have taken on the look of a deer caught in the headlights. After what felt like hours, her body took heed to her minds screams and she slowly began to walk backwards to the door, her eyes never leaving the boy, feeling very much like prey who had just stepped into the snake pit.

She had barely made any progress to the door before Draco turned his grey eyes onto her, his curiosity and surprise swirled in their mercurial depths.

"Granger."

She wished - not for the first time - that she listened to her gut and went to her dorms instead.

Seconds passed in stale silence. Draco nearly smirked at the frozen Gryffindor standing so statue-like in front of him. She looked quite like the embodiment of that muggle saying he had heard one of the prefects use once - what was it again... ah yes- like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar...or something to that effect.

He was pulled from his thoughts by her small discrete movements, her left leg slowly inched behind her right as she tried to step back, while her shaking right hand reached behind her in an effort to grasp the door knob.

He nearly felt obliged to tell her the door was at least another four feet behind her, but didn't.

"I think- I think I should go." He would have rolled his eyes at her incredibly child like behavior, but he too felt the urge to run from the awkward moment that was brewing between them.

"No." He sighed to himself and ran a pale hand through hair. "I should be leaving anyway."

She nodded -he guessed she didn't trust herself to speak- and moved more into the room, her eyes still as wide as galleons.

He let out another small sigh and shook his head slightly before making his way to the door. Unfortunately, he accidentally brushed his arm against hers, a small matter that he would have overlooked, were it not for the sound of her lips pulling in a shuddered breath in a gasp.

His hand reached the door before he paused and let out what felt like his millionth sigh for the night.

"Why are you with him...Granger?" He knew that his pause told her what he really meant. _'Why are you with him and not me.'_

There were a few minutes of silence in which Draco took another step to the door. It had become apparent that she wasn't going to answer him. He nearly left when he heard her sigh; he turned his head in time to see her shoulders slump in defeat. He almost smiled to himself.

"You've asked me that before if I'm not mistaken. Why ask the same thing twice?" This time he did smile a small lopsided one that she never saw since she refused to turn to him.

"Because you never answered me before. _'Because he loves me'_ just isn't good enough for me Granger." He thought he heard her chuckle, but it must have been a mistake, now was no time for laughter.

"Not good enough?" This time he was sure he heard her chuckle. "My, well I guess I was foolish to think that love would ever be a good enough reason for a Malfoy." Her tone was light and laced with laughter, but her words still held their sharp, biting edge.

His small smile vanished and was replaced with the scowl that she had known years before. "I guess you really were." He spat and turned to he door, pulling it open with a fierce jerk.

"Because he's safe." She called to him, turning quickly to face his back.

Draco let his squared shoulders slump into a more relaxed pose and shut the door once more before turning to face her.

"And I'm not?" He turned to face her with one pale brow arched, now as they faced each other he was free to see the tear streaks that stained her pink cheeks.

Seconds passed in silence as Draco studied the girl in front of him, her posture still rigid. It seemed that she was trying to formulate an answer to his question, or at least trying to find a way to answer him without adding any unnecessary barbs to her words. He let out a small sigh before taking a step towards her, only to have her step back.

He shook his head as a ghost of a smile graced his lips. "When will you stop running Granger?"

"When I run out of places to run to." She replied, he half expected her to keep her mouth shut this time also.

"You know, not everyone will always search for you." He stepped closer to her, this time she did not step back.

"Yes," She began, "but the ones who truly cared for me would."

Draco smirked at the naiveté of her comment. "You would be a fool to think life is like one of your cliched little muggle movies Granger. Sometimes the right guy expects you to come back to him."

Hermione sent him a saddened smirk of her own. "Then it is he who is the fool."

Draco chuckled half heartedly before returning his grey eyes to her brown ones. "Once again you haven't answered my question."

"Isn't it obvious what my answer is?" Hermione began carefully, her smile gone. From the look on his face she knew he wanted a straight answer. She let out a small sigh before beginning. "You're not safe Malfoy. You're just- he's; Ron's good for me." She winced; her words were the near exact ones she said to Ginny only weeks ago.

"Ron would protect me, and-and he'll always be there for me. He will always try to make me laugh," Her eyes softened as she thought back on memories of her time spent with the youngest male Weasley. "He's always tried to make me laugh." She turned defiant eyes to Malfoy, her obstinate spirit visible in the chocolate depths. "Ron is the perfect-"

"Friend Granger." Draco's bored draw cut off her indignant words, his eyes on his well-manicured nails. "Weasley is the perfect friend. He's nothing more than that to you, and you know it." His sharp quicksilver eyes shot up to hers, their silver was flecked with the lightest shades of blue, she had never noticed that trait about them.

"I-"

"You know I'm right Granger," She took a small step back.

"We can't do this I-I don't want to fall-"

"I think it's a little to late for that." He crossed the room in three large strides and sighed as he looked down at the girl, she didn't move back but instead looked at him with her wide, innocent doe-eyes. The tear trails were still visible on her cheeks, he wouldn't wipe away the moisture though, he did it once, but he wouldn't again, it was just not his thing. And she accepted that. "You know you don't feel for him what you feel for me."

He took one final step forward, their bodies so close he could feel the heat radiating from her body, he lifted one alabaster hand to her cheek in a ghost of a caress. "You know he doesn't make you shiver like I do. You know his kisses don't light you afire like mine."

His hand cupped her cheek more firmly and she couldn't stop the whimper that sounded from the back of her throat, she couldn't help but lean into his touch, welcoming the warming tingle that spread through her from his fingers. "You know his touch doesn't make you feel what mine does."

His face hovered lower now, his body was separated from hers by the width of a hair, his pale hand slithered from her smooth cheek down the definition of her jaw, to the milky soft skin of her neck. Her pulse was strong and fast, he knew his was also. "What would you do if I were to kiss you right now?" His voice was ragged and husky, filled with his ill concealed lust.

"I-I don't know." Her words were nothing more than a whisper and her own breath came out in uneven pants. Draco's head dipped even lower, but his lips still didn't touch hers.

"You know, you know he can't satisfy you the way I can." Hermione's eyes dropped to his pink lips, before she dragged them back up to his grey eyes.

"I-I know." She stood on her toes, and sent him a small smile before her lips connected with his. This night, she wouldn't think of the consequences. "I know."

Draco's hands grasped her hips, pulling her closer to his growing erection. His tongue battled with hers as he walked her back to the nearest wall. His hands ran up her sides, and slid under her crisp white school shirt. He felt her soft stomach quiver as his cold hands passed over the warm planes of her skin.

His hands reached the cotton material that hid her breasts from view, and with the ease of a practiced master he reached behind her and unhooked the offensive garment before sliding one hand over the soft mound of her breast. His other hand slipped from under her shirt to grasp her wrists and bring them above her head.

He pulled away from her lips, his ice colored eyes sliding over her face, taking in the flush of her cheeks and the candy apple red of her lips. Her eyes were still half closed and her brow was scrunched slightly while her lips let out puffs of warm air.

"Granger, stop me now if you want, after this Merlin himself wouldn't be able to get me off of you." The hand under her shirt rolled the perk pink nipple between his fingers and for a moment she drew in a shuddered breath before biting down on her bottom lip, her eyes sliding shut completely.

Seconds passed and he waited with baited patience for her response. She opened her chocolate eyes and her teeth released her plump lip, she fixed him with a sharp glare before speaking. "Don't stop, Draco."

That was all the encouragement he needed, in an instant his hand withdrew itself from under her shirt and ripped open the garment, the sound of six little buttons hitting the floor went ignored by both teens. Her bra that was hanging on by the straps soon joined the lost buttons on the floor. For a moment her eyes flashed dangerously as she watched her favorite bra being torn off of her, but the decent of his mouth on the heated flesh of her breast stopped all words in her throat.

Draco's eyes feasted on the sight of her now exposed breast, her areolas a dusty pink while her darker nipples stood up, calling to his mouth. Who was he to deny them their desire? With an aggressiveness he didn't know he possessed his mouth crashed down onto her breast as his tongue hungrily circled her nipple, the mewls of pleasure that escaped her lips were more than enough motivation for him to continue. His mouth left her moistened breast behind - he felt her shiver as the cool night air hit the wet flesh, the feeling of her body quivering beneath him made his member quiver with impatience - and continued to trail hot open mouth kisses up her chest to her collar, nipping harshly at the flushed flesh. He heard her sharp intake of breath every time he left a small love bite on her skin; her hips involuntarily bucked themselves towards his erection in an obvious plea for him to end the tension building below her waist.

His free hand slid down her side and hiked up her plaid skirt before brushing against her cotton panty that was now soaked with her desire. In one swift movement he pushed the garment aside and roughly slid to fingers into her dripping core. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and her eyes flew open as she arched into him, the mixing of pain and pleasure obviously drew her overboard as he felt her inner walls spasm around his fingers.

A smirk formed on Draco's face as he drew her off the wall and brought them both to the cold stone floor. He pulled his fingers out of her and released her wrists, in an instant her skirt was pulled off of her and thrown over her shoulder, her underwear soon followed. Before Hermione could make sense of what the boy was doing his head had slid between her legs. Her mouth formed a small "o" before her head lolled back and her chest arched upwards, her face scrunched in pleasure as his tongue danced over her clit with practiced skill.

"Oh God! Pl-Please Draco!" Her breathy cries reached his ears, fueling his near painful erection. His mouth worked diligently on her, she tried to buck into his mouth but his hands held her quivering legs still. His tongue slipped into her opening, imitating what he was planning on doing with other parts of his anatomy in the near future. He replaced his mouth with his fingers and dragged his lips along her inner thigh where he bit down sharply on the sensitive flesh. She screamed a broken version of his name as her second orgasm of the night washed over her body.

Her arms felt weak, but she still managed to pull him up to her, his covered erection grazed over her wet entrance and a pleasured groan escaped him. Her small hands tried to unbutton his white oxford shirt but were shaking too much, with another smirk he took over the job of removing the shirt while her small hands reached down to his pants. He couldn't help the second groan that escaped him when she brushed her hand over his hardened member.

In seconds he was kneeling over her clad only in a pair of black boxers. His hands were placed on either side of her head as he leaned over her, his eyes clouded with lust, his forehead already held the beginnings of perspiration, he was obviously trying to contain himself. "Last chance to leave Granger."

Her only response was her small hands pulling his boxers off of his hips and throwing them onto the floor, his erection stood proudly near her entrance. She blushed scarlet and tried to look away but his hands grasped her chin and brought her face to his. He wanted to see her expression when he first entered her.

He knew that he was not the first man to be with her, and despite the anger that bubbled within him at the thought, he appeased himself with the fact that even though Weasley may have had her first, he would be the one to have her last.

With that thought he slammed himself into her moist heat, she let out a startled cry that was mixed with pain and immeasurable pleasure. Her eyes drifted shut as her senses began to be overridden by the pleasurable sensations he filled her with.

"Don't close your eyes Hermione, I want you to see." He whispered in her ear, biting down on the flesh. She obliged and opened her bright eyes as he slammed into her over and over. Her hands found their way onto his back, her fingers digging into the flesh leaving half moons along the strong muscles of his back.

Loud moans and breathy mewls of pleasure filled the chilled night air, his hand slid to her bottom to lift her slightly higher off the ground, allowing him reach deeper within her. Her nails dragged down his back as he slammed into her while he sucked and nipped at the sensitive flesh of her neck.

There would be passionate lovemaking this night, no, they needed this, this rough raw release of emotions. The next time it would be sweet and pleasurable, and if Draco had his way -as he always did- there would indeed be another time in the not too distant future.

He felt her inner walls begin to clamp around him, a low groan escaped him as he buried his face in her neck, his thrusts were becoming erratic as he felt himself nearing the end. He knew hers was close also, she was nearing exhaustion and her throat was surely going to be sore the next day from the loud yells that escaped her.

He reached a hand between them and his thumb pressed against her clit one last time, sending her spiraling over the edge, taking him with her.

Seconds after his orgasm he rolled over to lay next to her, and watched her as she came down from her own release. His hand tangled itself into her soft curls, he had always wondered if it was really as much of a birds nest as it often looked, it was a pleasant surprise to find that he was wrong about that.

He tried to control his erratic breathing as his eyes dropped down to her chest that was steadily rising and falling with her deep breaths. He felt himself begin to stir again, but it was too soon for her to have a second go. Instead he was content to lay silently next to her, his little bookworm -his alone- running his hand through her frizzy hair, while he stared out into the darkness of the sky outside of the Astronomy Tower.

Her hair slipped from his fingers and the heat of body left his side, immediately his attention was pulled to the girl. She was laying on her side, her back to him, slightly curled into herself.

"Hermione-?"

"Don't call me that!" She snapped, her voice was thick with unshed tears.

He let out a small sigh, he should have known she would regret it, never would he expect her to forget about her precious Weasley and Potter and for once focus on what was good for her. "It's your name if I'm not mistaken."

She sniffled quietly before replying, "No-yes. Of course it is, but-but you can't call me that." She was aware of how utterly childish she sounded but it couldn't be helped, although at a time like this she wished that her rather expansive vocabulary hadn't failed her. "Granger...that's what you call me. It's what you have called me for nearly seven years. And I've called you Malfoy. It's- it's- it's how things are supposed to be!"

Draco reached his hand over to touch her shoulder, she flinched at his touch before she pushed herself off the floor. She ran around the room and grabbed her clothes, and tried to slip them on as quickly as possible, but for some torn article she was forced to fix them with her wand. She reached the door as she ran a hand through her thoroughly frizzy hair, her hand touched the cold metal of the knob before she turned to Draco, to find him already covered from the waist down.

"I'm sorry- this - it was a mistake." She moved to turn when he called out to her.

"I won't come after you if you leave here without me Hermione."

She smiled sadly to herself and opened the door. "And I won't come back to you...Malfoy."

Hermione returned to the Head Dorms, knowing that Draco would now be avoiding her at all costs. She didn't even know how she managed to stutter out the password to Kyara through her tears, but before she realized it she was laying face down on her bed, sobbing loudly into the bleak night. After nearly two hours of tears she fell asleep, letting out the occasional sniff in her fitful rest.

Ginny Weasley's red head turned side to side a she looked up and down the Gryffindor breakfast table the next morning. Something just wasn't right.

Breakfast had been underway for twenty minutes, and yet her best female friend had yet to come downstairs. When she asked her brother he simply waved her off telling her that Hermione probably had a stomach ache, through the massive amount of sausage and egg that was stuffed into his mouth. The idea that Hermione had a stomachache -though plausible- just didn't feel right to the younger girl.

With a quick scan of the Slytherin table she noticed that a certain platinum head was missing, surprisingly there was another person who she noted seemed also to be suspicious of Draco's lack of attendance to breakfast.

Parkinson was surveying the Gryffindor table, and Ginny was sure the girl realized that Hermione was also missing when her face turned a brilliant shade of red and she promptly flung down her fork before stalking out of the hall, looking much more like an enraged cow than ever. Ginny drew her laughter filled eyes from the door at the feeling of someone staring at her. She turned back to the Slytherin tables to find Blaise looking at her with a curious expression on his face.

His near violet eyes glanced at the empty seat next to her and back to her eyes, he was asking where her friend was. Ginny shrugged and flashed him a grin before looking to the empty seat that Malfoy usually held before looking back at him. The Slytherin now held a wicked gleam in his eyes before he too shrugged.

It was all the answer Ginny needed, with a discrete nod to Blaise and a muttered excuse to Harry she dashed out of the Great Hall and ran to the Head Dorms, taking the steps two at a time. By time she reached Kyara's portrait she was panting, but her face still held a large grin.

"Amour dans les bras d'un ennemi." The portrait swung open and Ginny bound into the common room, almost forgetting to close the door. She reached Hermione's portrait and was about to say the password when she stopped herself. If she was right, there would be two people in that room, two people who she was sure wouldn't want her to run into the room while they were sleeping...or indulging themselves in some other activities.

So she raised her hand and knocked on the lion portrait, the massive cat growled at her before shaking its golden mane. Ginny waited for a moment, the sounds of shuffling reached her ears from inside the room. If possible her grin grew, the door was wrenched open and instead of the frizzy haired sheet clad Hermione that she expected, she was met with a puffy eyed Hermione, who was clad in her rumpled clothes from the day before.

Her grin immediately dropped and a look of concern took over her features. The girl looked awful! Her hair seemed more like a birds nest than she had ever seen it, it was obvious that she fell asleep her clothes -her shirt was completely rumpled and her skirt had twisted around almost completely- her eyes were red and her nose was pink, tears were falling from her eyes following the paths of the ones before.

"Oh Merlin Hermione, what happened to you?" Instead of the sob that Ginny was expecting, Hermione pulled her into her room and shut the door behind her.

"I slept with Malfoy!" She nearly screamed before a strangled sob wrenched itself from her throat. Hermione dropped onto her unmade bed and grabbed Crookshanks who made a valiant effort to escape. "Last night, when I left the party I ran into him in the Astronomy Tower and- and Ginny I didn't even say no! I-I-" She was overcome with her tear and buried her face into Crookshanks' orange fur. The cat let out a strangled meow before giving up its crusade for freedom from his distraught owners hold.

Ginny sat next to her friend on the bed and pat her back consolingly. "Was it really that bad?" She joked in a lame attempt to lighten the mood. Hermione seemed to only sob louder, and her head slid onto Ginny's lap where the girl attempted to soothingly detangle the frizzy mass on her head.

"No!" She began, pulling Crookshanks closer. "That's it, it was perfect Ginny! It's just- I- what will I do about Ron?"

"Break up with him of course." Said Ginny, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"I-"

Ginny's hands stopped trying to smooth out her hair, "Hermione, I love you, you are the best friend I've ever had, but," Ginny took a deep breath and bit her lip. "Well, Ron is my brother, and I love him also. Hermione you're going to end up hurting him! Please just end this thing you have with him before Ron does something stupid." Hermione removed herself from Ginny's lap and regarded her with an aggravated look, her temper was beginning to get the best of her.

"Hermione, you need to break up with him; your heart belongs to Draco, you need to admit it to yourself.. You love the boy! You have to give up Ron for him. Ron's just not right for you." Ginny placed her hand over Hermione's consolingly, only to have the girl pull her hand away and jump off the bed.

"You don't know anything Ginny! I was foolish to think you'd understand any of this!" The older girl screamed and accidentally dropped Crookshanks from her arms, but the angry hiss the cat gave her fell on deaf ears as all the girl could hear was her blood pounding through her veins. "Stop trying to push Draco and I together! This is none of your business! There's no one else for me but Ron, Ginny! So stop trying to control me and get out of my life!"

The younger girl offered her friend of six years a sad smile and pulled herself off of her bed. "I'm sorry that you of all people cannot do what's right, Hermione."

"So?" Ginny let out a yelp of surprise at the sound of the voice.

"Merlin Zabini! I nearly jumped out of my skin!" She turned to face the smirking Slytherin who was leaning ever so casually on one of the cold stone walls.

Blaise shrugged and dragged his dark eyes to hers. "You really need to realize that we Slytherin's are rather sneaky folk." He sent her another Slytherin Smirk -as she had termed it- and continued, "Did they do what we thought?"

Ginny looked to the ground and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Yes," She could practically hear the smirk forming on the boys face "But, she's in denial about her feelings for Ron. She still believes that her feelings for Malfoy are only fleeting, and Ron is the one for her." The girl let out a defeated sigh and slumped against a wall. "This isn't how I expected this to be!"

Blaise frowned and pushed himself off the wall, immediately he dusted off his side. "That's the trouble with having humans as pawns; they have a will of their own."

Ginny chuckled and pushed herself off the wall also. "I believe you're right, I doubt that even the most skilled chess player would ever be able to find the strategy behind the moves of people. Especially the moves of those in love."

Blaise sent her a half hearted smirk. "I guess this is where we really do just sit back and watch the train wreck that's bound to happen."

Days passed and the seventh years grew more and more restless, the Graduation Ceremony would be less than two weeks away, and the night before would be host to the End of Year Dance.

Draco had spent most of his hours in the Slytherin dormitories, only leaving when it was absolutely necessary, or when Pansy decided to get a little too touchy for his liking. He had taken over Crabbe's bed - which was sadly not as comfortable as the one he was used to in the Head Dorms- and was left alone by the other Slytherins for the most part. Even Zabini had taken his warning and had steered clear of the boy, the only one who didn't quite understand that he was indeed in a foul mood was his dear fiancée who just wouldn't leave his side.

He saw Granger much more than he would have liked, after all he was trying to ignore the girl. But with the dance only a scant few days away, the prefects and heads were meeting nearly every night to plan for the gala, so he had to see her face along with that of her precious Weasel on a near daily basis.

Thankfully the day before the ball the girl was no where to be found while he and half of the prefects prepared the Hall, she had probably taken the job of overlooking the arrival of the entertainment, or dealing with her "over-worked" house elves in the kitchen.

Hours later he saw her while he along with many of the school's seventh years who had procrastinated on buying their robes for the event that was to be held in less than 24 hours time. She was striding out a very trendy looking boutique with a large purple bag in her hand, containing what he guessed was her dress, while two harpies he had learned were named Lavender and Parvati straggled behind her gossiping about some nonsense. He doubted the two noticed the look of pure agitation on the girl's face.

He nearly cracked a smile when he saw her grip her wand that jutted out of the pocket of her robe, the expression on her face that of one intent on murdering a person. But she let out a breath and hurried along while the girls tried to keep up with her large strides.

Minutes before the dance, Hermione stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom and stared at herself. Even she would admit that tonight she did look rather beautiful. It was no secret in Hogwarts, this girl could clean up rather nicely.

Lavender and Parvati had to talk her into the change of look, and of course buying the dashing red dress that she was now wearing, but in the end she was rather pleased with the result. But of course she would never tell the two girls that, they'd try to give her a makeover every minute!

Her hand reached up to her hair and her fingers ran through the brown tendrils. It was straight, after hours of brushing and some extremely complex charms from the latest "Teen Witch" magazine for "Pesky hair that just won't be tamed!" Lavender and her friend had finally succeeded in getting her hair down, then they promptly began spraying it and gelling it with every "Sleek Eaze" hair formula they could get their hands on, to ensure that their hard work wasn't for nothing.

They also managed to wrestle a bit of makeup on her face before she threatened to Transfigure them into parrots if they didn't stop trying to make her look like a clown. But she did have to admit the light bit of makeup did do wonders to her skin.

But what was more breath taking was the dress. It was a deep crimson in color -there was no such thing as too much Gryffindor pride after all- and was a simple floor length halter with knee length slits on the sides, but it did seem to be made for her body. Of course she did have her doubts about the color, it was a tad bright, but after nearly a half hour of contemplating it and hearing Parvati and Lavender whine about how gorgeous the dress was, she had to concede and buy it. If only to make them shut up.

The Heads and prefects had to enter together, as they were supposed to do at every dance, so when the time came for them all to line up with their designated partner in front of the two large doors to the Great Hall, the party had already begun.

Hermione removed herself from Ron's arm -the boy had latched onto her since he picked her up at her dorms- and moved to Malfoy's side, standing with just enough space between them to be deemed normal. He sent her a lazy glance before his eyes turned back to McGonagall who was fussing over Pansy's dress.("Miss Parkinson, your dress is highly unsuitable for a school function such as this! I guess there is nothing that can be done about it now though!")

The great double doors opened by themselves and the Heads walked in side by side -rather stiff and uncomfortably- followed by the two rows of prefects.

Hermione, and those prefects who weren't part of the group fixing the Hall, sucked in a sharp breath. The Hall looked better than it ever had before, looked like something out of a fairy tale. She of course helped plan it out but she had no idea it would look so wonderful.

The cold stone floors were replaced with a brilliant marble that shined brightly, the whole room was decorated in a silvery white color, but that wasn't at all what everyone was staring at. It was the walls, with the help of many seventh years and underclassmen, along with Proffessor Flitwick's charms skills, the Prefects had collected hundreds of photos of the graduating students through their years at Hogwarts. With a few complex charms the walls reflect an enlarged version of each photo and would shimmer into a different one every few minutes. The sight of themselves when they first entered the school and their years as they grew up there brought tears to the eyes of many of the soon to be alumni.

"Students!" Dumbledore's cheery voice drew Hermione's attention to the teacher's table where the elderly man stood in silvery robed that matched the decor near perfectly.

"Another year had passed at Hogwarts, and with a heavy heart I am to say that it has been your seventh and final year here. This castle holds millions of memories for each of you, and I assure you each teacher here also has a myriad of memories of you in their classes." A few students caught the look of annoyance that flittered across Snape's ever frowning face before Dumbledore continued in his age rasped voice.

"Tomorrow I shall declare you adults, and you will be set free into the world of adulthood where you shall be faced with new problems and new friendships. But for tonight you are still children, children who have overcome seven years of work and toil and problems that one can only find in a school, and friendships that will last you a lifetime, with memories that shall last even longer. And now that this old man has finished speaking," he smiled down at the students with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, "I believe it is time for the Head Boy and Girl to open up the dance!"

The band began a waltz and all students but Hermione and Draco were ushered off the dance floor, it was a Hogwarts tradition that dated back hundreds of years that the opening and closing dance of the final year belonged to the two Head Students. Both Hermione and Draco couldn't help but curse tradition at that moment.

"We best get this over with quickly Granger, your boyfriend's practically spitting mad." Draco muttered and held out his hand for her to take. She nodded and placed her hand in his upturned palm.

Draco glided her effortlessly across the dance floor and dipped and twirled her when necessary, moving with much more grace that Hermione would have ever thought he could have. Then again she was sure all aristocrats such as himself had to take dance lessons or learn the moves quickly with all those balls they had to attend all the time.

Before either realized it the music drifted off and their classmates' thunderous applause filled the air. Hermione had barely opened her mouth to say something to Malfoy when she was swept away by Ron who's ears were now a brilliant red.

The dance waned on and Hermione found herself wishing for it to end soon, unlike the Halloween dance, she could not skip out on this one before it was brought to a close, but that didn't stop her from dreaming of doing that. She sat at a table with Ron, Ginny -who could only attend since Harry was her date- Harry, Neville, and Samantha, a Hufflepuff who was Neville's date.

With Ron complimenting her every second and Ginny -her usual support in these matters- giving her the cold shoulder, Hermione was left to stare at the ceiling wishing that time would speed up. Brief entertainment came when she spotted Trelawney trying to get Snape to dance with her during a particularly slow waltz, as Dumbledore was with McGonagall, unfortunately the Divination professor did not see the look of utter loathing that Snape was directing her way.

After what seemed like decades she heard the loud noise of a chair scraping against the floor snapped her attention the teachers table where Dumbledore was now standing. "I regret to inform you that it is now nearing three o'clock, and I do believe that you all have a Graduation to attend in the morning. After the closing dance from our two Head student's I would like to bid you all a very goodnight." The wizard looked to Hermione and Draco, who grudgingly made their way to the emptied dance floor before beckoning the singer on stage to start a new song.

The band began a slow, eerie tune and Draco pulled Hermione closer to himself than was necessary; at least in her opinion.

_You smile at me, that perfect smile_

_And maybe I could stay a while_

_Our problems all just slip away_

_Every time you hold me this way_

He took the lead once more, though she didn't mind in the least, dancing wasn't exactly her forte.

_Just promise me no matter what_

_You'll always be there to save me a dance_

Draco effortlessly pushed her out into a twirl and pulled her body back to his, she could feel the heat radiating off of him. Against her will a contented sigh escaped her lips and her head rested itself on his shoulder.

_I'll hold you close, just don't let go_

_Don't say those words_

_Don't say goodbye_

_I like our world of make-believe_

_Just please don't say we have to leave_

They both seemed to forget that there was in fact a crowd of their peers staring intently and curiously at the scene unfolding on the dance floor as the two swept around the room, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that there were feelings shared between them.

_I want to pretend for just one more night_

_That everything is finally all right_

_Don't say it's a dream_

_Don't tell me wake up_

_Don't say this is it_

_Don't say it's the end_

_Don't tell me goodbye_

_Don't tell me we were living a lie_

He twirled her again as the music hit a crescendo and pulled her into a dip, all thoughts of Ron and her obligations to him left her as Draco steered her around the floor and held her so securely.

_I don't want to go_

_I don't want to cry_

_Don't say that you love me_

_'Cuz that's all a lie_

_You go your way,_

_And I with him_

_But deep in my heart, you'll always be there_

_And in my mind I'll always hope that after this_

_You'll save me a dance_

_Our fingers slip, the music stops_

_You smile at me, that perfect smile_

_I know it now, but it just can't be_

_You drift away_

_And as you fade I realize_

_That was our dance_

The music faded away and he pulled her into a low dip, the applause from the students fell of deaf ears as the both stared at each other, still in their final dancing position. With a small smile Hermione knew that as she looked into his steel gray eyes she had fallen, and right then she realized she would give up anything for his love.

He smiled back at her and lowered his head when they both her Dumbledore's chair scrape back, Draco pulled her up, but this time didn't flee from her side.

"It has come to my attention that there is one more announcement to be made, and it isn't for me to make. Mr. Weasley?"

Hermione felt a hand circle around her wrist and give her a great tug onto the stage, as she was pulled by her boyfriend she heard a muttered "Oh no" coming from Ginny as she passed her.

Hermione smiled nervously at the boy who was staring down at her with eyes shining brightly with adoration. He ran a hand through his fiery hair and offered her a small grin before beginning. "'Mione, I know that things between us haven't always been perfect, but we've always worked on this relationship, and we've always tried. And even though we have annoyed each other to the point of...sending a flock of birds at one another, I just want to tell you I love you." There were a few scattered awe's throughout the crowd and Ron's grin broadened. "What I'm trying to say is," he kneeled down on the stage and a gasp rippled through the Hall.

Hermione felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room, she tried to open her mouth to tell Ron to stop this instant, but her jaws seemed to be glued shut.

"Will you Hermione Elizabeth Granger do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Hermione looked down at Ron's smiling face, she could feel the bile rising in her throat, she didn't dare look into the crowd for Draco's face.

"I...Ron...I...yes..?"


	16. Sorry

Authors Note

....Is there still anyone reading this? If so I'm sure you will not be too happy to see that this is only an Authors Note and not an update. So sorry, but it is a much needed note, so here goes. I guess I owe everyone an explaination, but I really have nothing to say except I'm sorry. I've had an outline for the last two chapters just waiting for years, but everytime I started to write it I never thought it looked as good as it should be. I know exactly how I want this story to end, I just want it to come across as perfectly as I can possibly make it. I've read a lot of amazing fanfics and I really wish for this story to be on the same level as that of the others I've read, and years later as I re-read what I've written I can see that some parts need fixing while other parts need to be rewritten all together. So there is a lot of revision going on on all of the chapters...but at the same time I have finally been writing out the last two chapters and so far they are coming out very well. (Unfortunatly I just noticed that I've had two chapter 5's posted for a few months and I deleted chapter 4, but I've just fixed that problem.)

So I'm so sorry to those of you who have been waiting for the last chapters, but I promise that this story will be completed. Thanks for the patience guys I really appreciate it and I'll try to hurry with the chapters.

-Leah


	17. Leaving

**Forbidden **

**By Leah**

**Chapter 15**

**Leaving  
**

As her eyes scanned the crowded room from her corner Pansy Parkinson couldn't help the smile that twisted across her glossed lips. By far, this had to be one of -if not the- greatest nights of her life.

Sure, everything had started off terribly enough with that shrew McGonagall harping at her about her choice in clothing for nearly a quarter of an hour. Then things continued to take a down hill tumble when she had to watch _her _fiance twirl Granger around the Great Hall _twice_ with that condemnable expression akin to longing so plainly evident on his face. But, oh God, did the night redeem itself two hundred fold when -in a spectacular burst of stupidity that left her awestruck- Ronald Weasley actually had the gall to propose to Granger.

Not only just propose to her, but call the witch _on stage_ and propose to her. Merlin, when that idiot decided to make a public fool of himself he pulled out all the stops.

From there the good times just continued to roll.

Granger, faced with a surprise proposal and all of the eyes of her soon-to-be graduating peers on her, said yes.

It was like Christmas all over again!

Of course the Hall erupted into applause, everyone apparently too wrapped up in the joyful _idea_ of the moment to notice that the future Mrs. was turning a splendid shade of green. Everyone except for Pansy that is, who was giddy with glee as her eyes danced from Granger's terrified face to Draco's livid one. _'Well it's about damn time their little bubble was burst.'_

Pansy was pulled out of her head for a moment when some moron without a self-preservation instinct started hollering for the happy couple to kiss.

Ha!

Even from her distance Pansy could see the look of murder that flashed through Granger's eyes. That poor bloke had best pray she hadn't been able to spot him in the crowd.

Pansy's eyes darted to Draco only to catch a glimpse of his back as he stormed from the Hall. In her opinion he couldn't have picked a better time, at least he was lucky enough not to have to witness that sloppy and (even Pansy had to wince) slobbery excuse for a kiss that Weasley smashed onto unsuspecting Granger's mouth.

God, it was all just too good to be true, and the icing on the cake: she didn't have to lift a finger for this to come about. Weasley went out of his way to solve all of her problems for her! Godness, she'd have to send the dummy a thank you package.

The kiss lasted for less than five seconds before McGonagall swooped in to admonish the display in front of faculty and students. Granger looked as if she was going to hug the woman and Pansy couldn't help but wonder how none of these people who were so close to her could miss all of the emotions that flit across her face plain as day announcing to the world that she was distressed and trapped.

Gryffindors really were dense as doors.

Weasley tugged her off the stage and Pansy began to push her way through the other students to get a little closer to the happy couple. She remained a few feet away from the group of congratulators that circled them, but close enough to see the look of shock that seemed to be stuck on Granger's pale face as she stared down listlessly at Weasley's arm that held her waist in a death grip.

The scene was _almost_ pitiable... but far more amusing.

Before Weasley could pull his shell-shocked new bride to be out of the Hall with the rest of the crowd of well wishers the mini-Weasel, whose face was now a splendid shade that matched her hair almost perfectly, cut between them and if looks could kill the girl would have sent her brother six feet under in a heartbeat.

"Hermione is coming with me Ronald." Her voice was crisp and Pansy swore she heard that same tone come out of the girl's mother's mouth on more than one occasion. She held up a hand to stop whatever comment her brother was about to make and sent him a glare that would make the strongest of men flinch back from the diminutive girl.

She grabbed onto Granger's wrist and tugged her out of Weasley's hold and in a flash of red hair strode out of the Hall, pushing through the crowd with ease. Pansy could only smirk as she heard Granger mumble a thank you to the girl as they moved past her.

Her smirk widened to a grin as she spotted her long time lackey Millicent lingering over by a table of food. _'There's a shock.'_ With a roll of her eyes she made her way over to the female version of Goyle and tugged her out of the Hall. The night was still long from over.

* * *

More than anything Ginny wished she could disown Ronald. Right. Bloody. Now.

What a brainless... Merlin there wasn't a noun out there that did him justice!

There was no way she could have stayed in the same womb that he had once occupied.

She nearly growled as yet another set of idiots descended on she and Hermione to extend their congratulations. Were they bloody blind! Couldn't these people who had gone to school with Hermione for seven damn years see the girl was on the brink of a damn breakdown? They could take their congratulations and shove them so far-

"Ginny," she pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked to the girl whose wrist she still held in an iron grip, "Thanks."

They climbed a flight of stairs and she slowly loosened her grip on her arm. "Anytime." Her words were clipped and she was sure she looked the picture of anger but hopefully Hermione knew her rage was directed at her dimwitted brother and not her.

Ginny let out a soft puff of air and willed herself to calm down. "Ronald Bilius Weasley is a damn git of a man Hermione, none of this nonsense should have happened and if he had _two_ bloody brain cells to rub together he would have realized that he could have done nothing more idiotic than that!" She threw her hands up and let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl. "I mean really, _on stage_! On the bloody_ stage! _Does he even know the meaning of tact?"

Hermione couldn't help the small smile at Ginny's antics. "It's fine Ginny, what's done is done. I'm not blameless in this mess either."

Ginny rolled her eyes and let out a snort, "Well that much is undeniable. I believe I've earned the right to say "I told you so" a thousand times over." They turned down a deserted corridor, the Fat Lady's portrait just a few feet away. "But now we need to figure out how to fix this...unless you plan on-"

"Congratulations Granger!" A particularly high pitched voice all but screamed down the near empty hallway, cutting off whatever Ginny was about to say. Both girls turned to face the two Slytherins leering at them a few feet away.

Ginny's hand flew back to Hermione's wrist as she pulled her a step behind her all the while letting loose enough expletives to make a sailor blush. "There are an awful lot of other hallways in this castle Parkinson, can't you find somewhere else to graze?" She snapped, not giving Hermione the time to argue.

Pansy turned a cold glare to Ginny, "I was not speaking to you Weasley." Her glossed lip twitched at the corner. "The poor really do need to learn when to hold their tongues."

Ginny's eye's darkened dangerously and she surely would have lunged for the girl if Hermione had not held out an arm to bar her way, "What do you want Parkinson?"

Pansy's pink heels clicked loudly on the stone as she sauntered towards Hermione and Ginny, her lips spreading into a too-wide smile. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your engagement Granger. It's not everyday a girl gets proposed to by a man of such...low class. And still accepts!"

Ginny's face filled with a rush of red at the Slytherin's saccharine words, her hand instinctively darted to her wand. "And it's not everyday a Slytherin whore gets hexed into a coma." Her teeth were so tightly clenched it was a miracle the words were coherent. "So unless you really are a glutton for punishment, I suggest you ask your hound," she nodded to Millicent "to herd you back to your cage. Now."

Pansy shot Ginny a withering glare and let out a "hmph" before she turned on her pink heel. "I still have to get mine and Draco's wedding things, so hopefully we'll see each other at Madame Milkins." She called over her shoulder. "Though I doubt it, I don't believe they carry second hand items there." Her shrill laugh echoed through the stone halls and Hermione had to grab onto Ginny's arm to keep her from going after the girl.

"I promise you Hermione," Ginny mumbled, "no one would miss her."

"Leave them be Ginny, she's only doing this to make herself feel even better." Hermione let out a sigh, her first tear of the night slowly rolled down her cheek. "She got what she wanted, whatever her plan was, it worked."

Ginny scoffed before she pulled Hermione into a consoling hug, her eye's still trained on the shrinking backs of the two girls. "She only got Malfoy because my brother decided to throw sanity out the door, Hermione. Between her and Bulstrode there isn't enough brain power to light a candle, let alone think up a plan of any sort."

* * *

"Ron...are you- uh- are you sure that was a good idea?" Harry looked around nervously. He knew he was doing the right thing, after all he was a friend to both Ron _and_ Hermione but Merlin, this was one Hell of an awkward subject to discuss.

"C'mon mate," Ron slapped his hand on Harry's shoulder jovially. "She said yes!" He nearly had to shout over the music in the Gryffindor Common Room. The fact that the soon to be bride was nowhere to be found was easily forgotten in the late night festivities, but Harry was sure he had seen Hermione and Ginny sneak through the portrait hole a few moments ago and head to the girls dormitories.

He let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, Ginny definitely owed him for this. "You did put her on the spot a little Ron, don't you think you may have... forced her decision."

"I did not!" The red head cried out indignantly.

Harry couldn't help but look heaven ward before replying. "Ron, you pulled her onstage and proposed to her in front of our whole year, some underclassmen_ and _teachers."

Ron gave his friend a look that clearly said he thought he was a little barmy. "It's called being romantic, Harry. I know Hermione, she loved it."

Harry knew this was a losing argument, after all he had seven years worth of experience with Ron's hard headed behavior. "Just ask her again, in private next time."

The boy chuckled but shrugged, "If it'll make you feel better Harry, I will." He sent Harry a grin so wide it made him almost feel bad for relaying his concerns. "But I guarantee the answer will be the same mate."

Harry couldn't help but sigh as he walked away, some times Ron simply amazed him.

* * *

"Well, this is just lovely." The crunch of heels on broken glass shattered the silence of the room. The portrait door creaked shut followed by a haughty sniff. "I hope these theatrics aren't for that mudblood, Draco." More glass crunched under Pansy's feet, the noise tracing her path towards him.

Draco practically growled as she advanced further. "Get out Parkinson."

His clipped words only amused her. "Come now Drakey," She cooed as she stepped around the debris that once was a bookcase. "She is _just_ a little mudblood. Behavior such as this," she gestured to the remains of his room where nearly everything had been demolished save for the chair the brooding boy occupied, "is quite... unbecoming."

His eyes remained locked on her as she came to a stand in front of him. "Just imagine what Lucius would say were he here to see this." She tisked softly as she slowly made her way behind him, looking more and more like a snake watching her prey. "How sad." Her arms slid down his chest as she lowered her lips so close to his ear he could hear the smack of her lip-gloss each time her lips parted. "Something like this would surely shame the Malfoy name, hm?"

Her arms slid away and her feet began to crunch a trail to the remains of his bed. His gaze locked onto her as she strolled past him.

The harpy was testing her bounds tonight.

She let out another tisk and pulled out her wand before she puffed out a disappointed sigh. "Reparo." The shattered shards of wood joined and rebuilt themselves, goose-feathers flew across the room in flocks followed by torn sheets of satin and cotton.

"That's better." Pansy dusted a few left over feathers off the dark green comforter before she sat comfortably at the foot of the bed. Her eyes traveled to Draco, her laughing brown locked with his tumultuous gray. It was obvious that he was beyond furious, the air around him practically crackled with the intensity of his rage and she was well aware of the thin line she toed carelessly. The thought made her lips twitch up into a smirk.

She broke eye contact and dropped back onto his bed, her grin remained in place as she gazed at the green canopy. "I suppose I should be insulted." She heard the shuffle of fabric and crunch of glass as Draco stood but didn't bother to sit up.

"After-all, my future husband is infatuated with another woman." She continued, "But I still find it hard to find anything other than amusement from the situation when the other woman is a sodding mu-"

"Didn't I tell you to leave Parkinson?" The chilled words cutting her off.

Pansy sighed and propped herself up on her elbows. Her eyes rolled over Draco's tense frame standing less than a foot away. "Why, Draco?" Her voice dropped back to a patronizing coo. "I am your fiancee. Isn't it my job to _comfort_ you in moments of need?" Her lips twitched up into a full smile unable to hide the laughter in her voice.

"Leave Parkinson." His words were clipped as he tried to reign in his rage. She sat up and feigned a pout.

"But Drakey-"

"LEAVE!" His arm whipped up from his side and gripped onto her forearm before he easily pulled her to her feet. His darkened eyes bore into her before he roughly shoved her back against the wall. She let out a squeak as the exposed flesh of her arms and legs were scratched by the small pieces of glass that still clung to the plaster.

One of his hands seized hers and pinned them to one side while his free hand slammed onto the wall to the right of her face, successfully trapping her. His face inches away, his livid gray eyes bore into her's with an insistence that left the girl speechless.

For the briefest of moments Pansy felt a tingle in her abdomen, the feeling of what could have only been described as fear. For the slightest of instances, she worried that maybe, just _maybe,_ she had finally pushed the boy too far.

But only for an instance.

"Watch yourself Malfoy," She spat, her eyes flashed dangerously, "you don't know _what _I'm capable of."

His lip twitched up into an almost predatory smirk. "But you know _exactly _what I'm capable of."

She ignored the re-emergence of the panic in her stomach and snorted, "You wouldn't dare do a thing to me Draco." She fixed his with her best pretentious glare. "I've chosen to overlook your... involvement with Granger. However I don't think I can keep this transgression to myself any longer." Her lips curled into a lofty smile. "I wonder what your mother's reaction would be to such devastating news about her betrothed heir."

"Go ahead," His eyes challenged her, successfully removing the victorious look she held and replacing it with a confused one. "However, I doubt she would care too much from the grave."

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Liar!" She hissed.

He had to be lying, the news would have been all over the Wizarding world if someone as influential as Narcissa Malfoy had died. Surely, even if Draco had attempted to keep it a secret it would have leaked out somewhere. She told her self that there was no way, absolutely _no way_ the woman wasn't still alive. But the unbroken look of pure vindictive pleasure on Malfoy's face even after her accusation, did little to quell the bubble of apprehension that formed in the pit of her stomach.

He sent her a flat look, "Oh yes Parkinson, that's exactly something I would lie about."

"I haven't heard so much as a rumor of this Malfoy. And you know full well that would have been in every newspaper from here to Australia!" She snarled and attempted to buck herself free of his hold, she needed to owl her mother immediately.

Draco easily held her to the wall and pushed his body more firmly against hers. "Now dear," He drawled in a near loving coo, "You gravely underestimate the silence money can buy. Allow me be the first to tell you, Narcissa Malfoy is dead." He fixed her with a frigid glare. "And with her death, our contract is voided."

Pansy sputtered out a jumbled unintelligible retort. Her heart beat so furiously she was sure it was trying to release itself from the confines of her chest.

"I'm afraid I didn't catch that, darling." Draco's words were laced with a malicious laughter. It had taken much too long for the girl to receive retribution for her everything she had done, so he fully intended on enjoying every second of her misery.

"Release me." She ground out.

His lips twitched into a smile at the emergence of her composure. "But I thought you were planning on comforting me in my time of need, Pansy." He released her hands with a shove and pushed himself off of her. "You can't just leave your ex-fiancee like this."

A crack echoed off the walls as her hand connected with the side of his face. Her hit barely had enough force to turn his head, but still his eyes flashed with bubbling rage. "You still lose Draco." She brushed past him, ignoring the undiluted fury that rolled off of him. "You know as well as I do she's still going to marry Weasley. She will stand by a promise to the end, it's just her nature."

Her heels crunched a path to the portrait door. "In the end you're still going to be alone and bitter while she has a family to love and care for. So don't think for a second that you've won anything but more loneliness." She pulled open the door.

"Pansy," His voice cut through the silence like a knife. "Tell yourself whatever you want, but if I ever see you anywhere near her I assure you I can and will make you regret it."

Her heels crunched and the door closed with a slam.

* * *

"I swear, you look fine." Lavender sighed and slapped away Hermione's hand as she went to fidget with her scarlet graduation robes for the umpteenth time that morning. "Besides the ceremony is in 20 minutes. This is as good as you're going to get under that time limit."

Hermione sent her former dorm mate a flat look in the mirror. "Thanks Lavender, I appreciate it."

The girl failed to notice the sarcasm and continued on with a wave of the hand. "I'm sure if we don't get down there soon McGonagall is going to have a cow. And I don't want to be on her bad side today. I heard she gets very emotional at graduation. This girl who graduated our fourth yea-"

"You can go down without me." Hermione interrupted, the girl was a gossip to the end. "I'll only be a minute."

Lavender sent her a dubious look. "Fine, but if the old bag gets mad, don't count on me for help." She huffed and headed for the exit to the Gryffindor Girls dorm.

"Duly noted." Hermione muttered.

"Oh, and Hermione," Lavender paused at the door, one foot already crossed the threshold. "I know we haven't been close, and we've had our...differences in the past," Hermione could practically hear her chewing on her lip nervously, "But I still...well... good luck, you know...with Ron and everything." The door clicked shut before Hermione could respond.

She appreciated the sentiment, but she didn't need to focus on the events of last night nor did she plan on doing so at all today. The frantic preparations for Graduation had enabled her to temporarily forget everything that went on between herself, Ron and Draco, but of course Lavender's words brought back the memories she had spent all day suppressing.

God, she had sex with him! And then agreed to marry Ron not even a day later. She was sure she was in the running for Slag of the Year award.

Yet what had bothered her the most wasn't the fact that she had cheated on Ron, the boy who she had dreamed about marrying for years, it was the look on Draco's face when she said "yes." She wished he would have just come out and yelled, screamed, thrown a typical Malfoy tantrum right there in the Hall. _Anything_ would have been better than that look of complete betrayal in his eyes.

Her feet nearly carried her off the stage to him, but the rest of her body was frozen in place. Then he was gone, and she was left to spend the night sobbing into Ginny's shoulder. It hadn't been until the early hours of the morning that she finally found rest.

She shook her head to bring herself back to reality. There was no point in doting on the past, if there had ever been a time when she could have had a future with Malfoy it had long since past.

She had made her commitment and so had he. She was going to get married to Ron, and he to Pansy.

What they had last night was a sweet dream but it wasn't something that could survive in the light of day; there was just too much holding them apart and she had come to realize that. Surely so had he.

She let out a small sigh and gave herself one last once over in the mirror. "It's finally time."

* * *

"What!" Draco wrenched open the entrance to the Head's dorm and sent an angry glower to the green robed boy on the other side.

Zabini smirked devilishly and dropped his still raised fist. "Happy Graduation, Malfoy!" He practically yelled as his other hand lifted a bottle of Firewhiskey to Draco's scowling face. "It's time for our last illegal drinks of adolescence my friend."

Blaise shoved past Draco's stiff form and invited himself into the Common Room purposefully ignoring the look of pure irritation the other boy's face. He really needed to work on mastering the use of other expressions besides scowling.

"Zabini," Draco slammed the door shut and rounded on the boy, "For future reference, when I do not answer the door on your first knock it in no way means that you should- or are welcomed to- stand outside for five minutes pounding down the damned frame until the portrait who inhabits it comes looking for me." He dropped down onto the chair across from the other boy. "I assure you I knew full well it was you out there and I was in fact _choosing_ to ignore you."

Blaise lazily flicked his wand and conjured two glasses. "As chipper as usual I see."

"I assure you this sort of cheer is only reserved for your visits, Zabini."

"Your pleasantries overwhelm me." He filled the glasses with the whiskey and slid one to Draco. "We've only got twenty minutes before adulthood my friend, so stop the sulking and share a toast with your best mate."

"I'm afraid I don't see anyone matching that description nearby Zabini."

Blaise arched a dark brow. "That was quite weak Malfoy, I've come to expect a certain level of asshole comments from you and I'm sad to say I'm somewhat disappointed. Does this decrease in your natural charm have anything to do with Granger and Weasley?"

Draco nearly growled at his friend. He was nowhere near in a mood to deal with Blaise and these pseudo-psychiatry sessions he was so fond of having. "I'm not going to sit here and discuss my feelings with you like a bloody ponce Zabini. So either you make the toast or get out."

Blaise shrugged and raised his glass, obviously Malfoy was in a foul mood and it was threatening the alcohol related joy he was feeling. _'Buzz-kill.' _"A toast to you Draco, for finally liberating your testies from the clawed hold of Parkinson. May they hang freely for years to come." Blaise chuckled and downed the shot, ignoring the dark look on Draco's face.

"Tactful as always Zabini." Draco mumbled before he gulped the contents of the glass. "She told you then?"

Blaise scoffed, "She told anything unlucky enough to cross her path. She came bounding into the Common Room last night wailing so loud you would think something was after her, then she started raving to anything that moved about how you betrayed her with _'that big haired mudblood whore!.' _I'm sure by now even Snape knows the sordid details of your love life." He paused and gave Draco a sidelong glance before refilling their glasses. "Which begs the question, what are you planning on doing about the whole Granger situation?"

Draco sent him a particularly icy glare before grabbing the glass and downing it without preamble. "There's nothing to be done about the whole "Granger situation," as you put it. She has -on more than one occasion- made it clear that Weasley's feelings are much more important to her than any future with me. So she can stay with the weasel and spend the rest of her days in some homely hovel amassing an army of red haired dunderheads and enjoy her remaining years of misery for all I care."

"Well, it's good to see that you're handling this whole thing maturely." Blaise sent him a dry look and refilled his glass.

Draco leaned back into the couch and swallowed his whiskey. "Well, in a matter of hours none of this is going to be a problem. I got a letter from one of the board members this morning, there have been quite a bit of funds leaking from one of the overseas branches of the company. Dumbledor's going to have a floo channel opened for me after graduation."

Blaise let out a low whistle. "And they expect you to take care of it? I always thought there was some sort of training that went along with these things, or do they just hand over billion galleon businesses now-a-days?"

"Since I was old enough to walk my father has been training me to take over the company in the event of his untimely demise. It's a Malfoy tradition to have the heir prepared to take over as early as possible." Draco sent him a smug look, "So while you're in University wasting time for the next 4 years, I'll be running my own business."

"Oh yes, work... such a terrible thing to hold over my head, Malfoy. How I envy you." He let out a melodramatic sigh. "But I'm sure even you can find some poor deluded girl over there who can deal with a basketcase such as yourself."

Draco scoffed. "I'm not trying to find another stupid bird to tie myself to Zabini, I just got rid of Pansy."

"Come now Drake, the only way to get over one witch is to find another." He sent his friend a sly smirk. "I'm sure there must be at least one smart little witch who can put up with your temper and that atrocity of a personality as well as Granger has. You've got the proper bait to lure them all in with, you're young, rich, handsome, well to do-"

"Zabini..." Draco's face scrunched into a disgusted sneer, "Are you flirting with me?"

Blaise sputtered and choked on a breath. "Malfoy, there is no way in this world or any other that you could ever hope to be good enough for me. So erase such thoughts from that shiny little head of yours."

Draco scoffed and poured himself another drink. "Delude yourself all you want Zabini, we all know that I'm out of your league."

"Well," Blaise flicked his wand and magicked Draco's glass into his hand before it could reach his lips. "This has been a thoroughly disturbing conversation and I do believe that you don't need any more liquor in your system. So I think it's best we join our fellow graduates downstairs." Blaise downed the stolen glass of liquor before pulling himself off the couch. "So when can we expect your return to jolly ol' England?"

Draco also got to his feet and flicked off a few piece of lint from his dark robes before making his way to the door with Blaise following suite. "I don't think I will be coming back." He didn't turn to see the falter in his friend's step as he made his way through the portrait door, nodding automatically to Kyara. "There's nothing to keep me in this rain soaked country, and the company's headquarters will be where the owner is, not the other way."

Blaise let out a slow sigh and shook his head. "Well, would you care for a travel companion?" He grinned in a half hearted way.

"Zabini, one of the perks of leaving this God awful nation is getting to leave you behind with it." Draco sent him one of his Slytherin smirks over his shoulder. "But, I do have a favor to ask..." He stopped at the head of the stairs before the grand wooden doors leading to the grounds where the ceremony was to be held, already they could hear the hum of conversation from outside.

The Italian came to a stop besides his long time friend, "I am not surprised."

Draco pulled his pale hand out of his pant pocket and held out a silver trinket for Blaise. "Make sure it returns to it's proper owner..." His voice wavered with unease. "Please."

Blaise looked down at the piece of jewelry and let out another sigh, "Of course."

* * *

Draco's eyes rolled heavenward for the umpteenth time as McGonagall continued her seemingly endless speech about only Merlin knew what.

All of the other professors had managed to make their speeches short and somewhat bearable. For Merlin's sake, even the oaf Hagrid managed to cough out some garbled form of a farewell behind his wild man beard and through his pint sized tears in under five minutes and Dumbledor got out his congratulations and good luck's out in a stunning three minutes.

But this woman-! God, centuries had passed.

She really should take a lesson from Snape- bless his icy heart- _he_ knew proper speech procedure for these things.

Eleven words: "Somehow you lot managed to scrape by, I congratulate your mediocrity." Truly brilliant man.

Draco was pulled from his wandering thoughts by the roar of applause, his eyes automatically jumped to the stage where it appeared McGonagall had finally (Finally!) stepped down. He even felt the sudden urge to applaud but the urge died quickly when he saw Granger attempting to wobble her way to the podium to deliver her Head Girl speech.

Seriously, was there no justice in the world? Exactly who was the brilliant fellow who decided the order of speeches for this thing? Was he unaware of the plague of narcolepsy that would surely ensue from having McGonagall _and_ Granger speak back to back.

God, the girl couldn't give a one word answer to a yes or no question if the life of her so called cat hung in the balance.

Draco was practically livid that some loon had deemed this a good idea. _'Probably Dumbledor acting on one of his more sadistic whims.' _Then again, the sudden surge of fury could have had something to do with the fact that not even a full 24 hours ago he had engaged in some stellar sexual acts with the long winded girl only to have her accept the proposal of another (_'completely inferior in every imaginable and conceivable way'_)man.

His focused on her every move as she reached the podium, nearly letting out a scoff when he took note of the ridiculously high heels that she teetered on so precariously. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the Weaselette had to have something to do with that. At least the rest of her had remained as unspectacular, mousy and bushy-haired as she normally appeared as opposed to the fiery little minx she turned into the previous night at the dance.

He couldn't help but be a little happy about that. As shallow as it may sound he knew if she were to.. "doll" herself up a bit the familiar feelings of anger he held towards her and her oaf boyfriend may give way to something more akin to that of jealousy and never would he allow himself to be jealous of Ronald Weasley. Anger, disgust and loathing, now those were feeling he would direct towards the other man in spades, but jealousy? He saved that for those few who were actually _better_ than him.

Of course he had yet to encounter anyone who could accomplish such a feat.

She cleared her throat and he was pulled back to reality as she began her speech. "Good afternoon professors, Headmaster, parents and my fellow graduates." Her voice shook nervously and her couldn't help the undignified snort. The girl made it a point to spend seven years traipsing after Potter on a near daily basis to hunt dark wizards, battle maniacal geniuses and whatever other nonsense Gryffindors believed logical and this -a simple little speech- was what had her quaking in her ridiculous heels.

"Seven years ago, we entered this school as wide eyed first years, terrified and awed by the new experiences laid at our feet. Within these halls we grew as students, wizards and people. Here we conquered not only our fears or classroom trials, we conquered our doubt as well.

"For seven years, we had a break from normal, we had a daily dose of the extraordinary. We all took a step outside of the everyday and it was hard -we struggled- but today is proof of all those years of work, of hardship, of friendship and adventure. We came out at the end and even though we started separate; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin we leave as one. The Hogwarts Graduating Class of '98. Congratulations guys, we've earned it."

* * *

_'Damn Ginny and these bloody shoes!' _Hermione let out a deep breath as she wobbled her way back to her front row seat among her fellow Gryffindors. Merlin, she was glad to be done with that speech, but more than anything she was ecstatic she managed to make her way from her seat to the stage and back again without tumbling onto her face in those God awful harlot heels she let Ginny talk her into.

"Confidence booster," she couldn't help but snort at the memory of the other girl's words as she held up the shoes earlier that morning. Yeah right, the only thing the shoes accomplished was make her less worried about embarrassing herself through the speech and more worried about embarrassing herself by falling on her bum. This and that bloody Halloween costume were just two more reasons why Ginny was never allowed in her wardrobe again.

She sighed softly and stamped down the urge to run her hand over her face, instead she turned her attention to the stage and out of her thoughts just in time to hear Malfoy greeting the staff and parents. She noted, with some envy, that the boy looked as impeccable and unshaken as ever, despite the events of the prior night. It was pretty damn annoying that he was always so bloody calm and confident. Even on graduation day he practically oozed irksome sureness.

Maybe she was a little jealous of his ability to weather nearly any storm of b.s. without a hair out of place while she had been a bundle of anxiety and nerves but she would be damned if she ever let him know as much.

"For hundreds of years Hogwarts has stood as both a school and home to thousands of adolescent witches and wizards. These walls have witnessed decades of change, lifetimes of memory and I'm proud to say that for seven years I was allowed to create many memories of my own within these walls as well."

Hermione nearly groaned aloud when he paused to send a wink to a group of Ravenclaw girls in the front row. _'Pig.'_

"For seven years I was challenged to exceed expectations, we all were. For seven years we all struggled not only to define ourselves as capable witches and wizards but to define ourselves as people as well. Behind the safety of these walls we were allowed to stumble, fall and pull ourselves up, learning new lessons with each trip. The road to where we are now was hard for each of us and even though we've all received scars and bruises along the way, those only help to prove that we deserve this.

"We may be leaving this castle behind, but never leave behind the memories that shaped us and help us grow from bumbling first years to the people we are today. So congratulations."

_'Dammit, even his speech was perfect too!'_

_

* * *

_

The next day flew by in a teary blur of farewells and well wishes and before Hermione noticed she was already on her way back to London from Hogwarts for the final time.

It was almost eerie how silent the train compartment was as the three friends sat together on their last ride home. Ginny had stepped out to say goodbye to some girls in her year and Hermione found herself wishing for the girl to hurry back and provide some relief from the suffocating silence that allowed her mind to run wild.

Ron's hand was clasped around her's, his fingers playing aimlessly with her's. He had promised to get her a ring to fill the bare spot on her hand when they returned home, she had nodded and forced a smile. But now, staring down at their interlaced hands in the silence of the compartment, she couldn't help but allow her mind to focus on her impending nuptials.

She was going to be married.

And to Ronald Weasley.

It had been her dream to be in a relationship with him for years and in the past -when things were a lot simpler- maybe she had wished to marry him also. But now that she was staring a lifetime with him in the face, it felt so surreal. She kept believing that this was just like the beginning of every other summer, she would go home with her parents, visit Ron, Harry and Ginny at the Burrow, maybe see some of her few remaining muggle friends. But now, it was finally setting in that that wasn't true.

She had a wedding to plan -a future to plan- with Ron. He would be with her forever as more than just a friend or boyfriend. She would see him everyday, go to sleep with him each night and wake up next to him each morning. Their bond would have to grow deeper than that of friendship, he was to be her life long lover and companion. He was to be her _husband_.

God, the word never held so much weight before. It was almost suffocating. The more she thought, the thicker she felt the air she inhaled become. She looked to Harry who was staring sightlessly out the window lost in his own thoughts, then to Ron who seemed to be nodding off next to her. Finally, her eyes landed on their still connected hands, her bare ring finger peeking up at her.

It wasn't right. She knew it, she _had _known it.

It wasn't _meant_ to be him. And maybe it wasn't _meant_ to be Malfoy either but she had never allowed herself to give in completely and find out.

Her legs acted before her mind had fully put thought behind what she was doing. She was out of her seat, the jerk of her hand jarring Ron from his light slumber, she could feel Harry's eyes on her. She offered them no explanation before she was out the door and striding through the aisles of the train.

She would explain things to Ron later, apologize for being such a terrible person, stringing him along and even worse for cheating on him. She would think about the consequences of her actions another time, berate herself for her lack of judgment and beat herself up for doing this to those around her who cared for her. But right now logical thought be damned, she was running on raw emotion and her few remaining shreds of Gryffindor courage.

Her body was in control not her overly analytical mind and right now she was going to find Draco Malfoy.

She was nearly to the back of the train when a hand grabbed her wrist. "Hermione-" She didn't bother sparing Ginny a glance before she pulled her hand from her's.

"I don't have time right now Gin-"

Her eyes flashed with worry. "But-"

"I have to go." Hermione strode off without a backwards glance, she couldn't be distracted now lest she was given more time to think about the insane task before her.

She didn't have to travel much farther before she caught sight of a familiar face and without preamble she pushed open the compartment door, undaunted by the three surprised pairs of eyes that turned to her.

"Hermione!" The Italian boy smiled brightly and stood.

She faltered for a moment. "Er..Hello Zabini."

He shook his head and made a tutting noise. "Hermione, we're all adults now, you can call me Blaise."

"Um..."

"Now then," He slung an arm around her shoulders, ignoring the wide eyed stare she turned on him or the looks Crabbe and Goyle sent their way. "Since we are now full fledged adults and as such are not bound by that old Gryffindor, Slytherin rivalry can you please answer me this: just how close do you think that lovely little fiery red head friend of yours is with Potter."

She stamped down the urge to laugh and settled for a small grin. "Are you...drunk?"

"Unfortunately only slightly so, but I assure you I am trying my hardest to remedy that. Care for a shot?" He motioned into his previously occupied seat in the compartment where she could now see a near empty bottle of Firewhiskey peaking out from under his discarded robe.

She gaped at the boy for a moment before shaking her head. "Thanks but no thanks."

He shrugged lazily. "So... do you think I have a chance? With the little Weasley I mean."

Hermione scoffed. "Perhaps that of a snowball's in hell."

He made a tutting noise and feigned a look of hurt but she could see the mirth that remained in his eyes. "I had feared as much, but I am a persistent man." He sent her a wink. "Now to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Hermione glanced behind him at the other occupants of the cabin before dropping her voice to a near whisper. "Do you know where Malfoy is? I've been through nearly the entire train an-" Blaise held up a hand to silence her and gently ushered her out of the compartment by her elbow, closing the door behind him on Crabbe and Goyle's curious eyes.

"Hermione," He let out a small puff of air, the joy fading from his eyes as a more compassionate look took them over. "Draco had to leave yesterday-"

"But-"

"He had special arrangements made with Dumbledor." He continued. "He had to attend to some urgent business at one of his father's companies."

She nodded slowly, "So, he's already back in London? Can you give me his address, I need to speak with him about a very import-"

"Hermione, he's not in London." He had never been fond of doing someone else's dirty work and Blaise couldn't help but curse his long time friend at the moment. He took a deep breath and decided to just get it all out in one go. "The company is based in Russia...and he has no plans of returning."

"Oh." It was almost as if Blaise had delivered a blow straight to her gut when the words reached her ears, yet the only response she could possibly think of was "Oh." Her mind was reeling and that annoying suffocating feeling was coming back.

Russia. He moved to Russia?

"He left me this," Blaise's voice drew her back to reality. "I'm guessing it belongs to you." He riffled through his pants pocket for a moment before he pulled out a silver charm bracelet.

Draco's Christmas present.

She accepted it mutely, her mind not really taking note of what it was. "For what it's worth," Blaise began, his voice sounding as remorseful as she felt. "I really am sorry. I thought things would have worked out... differently." She offered him a weak smile that she was sure looked more like a grimace before she turned on her heel and strode back down the isle without a farewell.

She was too late. He was gone for good and she was left looking like a fool behind him.

She was too lost in her head to take note of her surroundings until a warm hand grasped her elbow and gently tugged her into an empty compartment.

"Hermione-" Ginny broke off, unsure of what to say exactly.

"He left..." Hermione stated as calmly as if Ginny had asked her the weather. "Merlin, I'm such a damn idiot." Her eyes remained locked onto the red carpeting of the compartment. "To- to think that Malfoy and I could-" Tears pricked the corners of her eyes but she blinked them away.

"I was trying to tell you before you went to look for him, but you wouldn't stop and-" Ginny shifted uncomfortably before her. "I'm just so sorry Hermione. I-I don't know what to say."

"It's not your fault Gin," She sent her friend a watery smile. "Can you just give me a minute though."

Ginny nodded and slid open the door. "I'll go get Crookshanks, we should be arriving soon." The door slid shut with a small bang and Hermione was left alone with her thoughts once more.

She glanced down at the bracelet that she still held firmly in her hand. There were two new charms added, a snowflake and a heart. They were probably what was in the box he had attempted to give her on Valentines day. The thought made her scoff. God, she was an idiot for thinking that maybe they could have worked out.

Maybe this was a sign. Not that she believed in that sort of nonsense, but it just seemed a bit too coincidental. She had always made it a point to think through all of her actions and they had all worked out in her favor. But with Malfoy she threw rational thought out the window and look where it got her, alone and trying desperately not to cry. It was bloody pathetic.

"There you are!" She jerked out of her reverie and turned to the opened door where Ron stood with a wide grin on his face, she had been too wrapped up in her thoughts of self-pity to even hear the door opening. "I've been looking everywhere for you. We're about to be back home." He took a seat across from her and closed the door behind him.

"Ron-"

"Wait." He held up a hand to stop whatever she was about to say. "Harry sa- I was thinking maybe I didn't do this right the first time and maybe I kinda... put you on the spot." One hand reached up to brush through his bright red hair before he took both of her hands in his larger ones and leaned forward, his grin still in place.

"What are you-"

"I just want to make sure this gets done properly." He mumbled, cutting her off again. "We've been through a lot together Hermione and not everything has been fun or easy between us, but I know that you're the woman I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with. I love you Hermione Granger, so...will you marry me?"

* * *

Ginny's blue heels clicked loudly as she paced through the still kitchen of the Burrow. She wrung her hands nervously and glanced between the window and the enchanted grandfather clock, both of which assured her that all of her family and friends were safely home. So far it seemed everything was right on schedule and even from inside she could hear the loud din of conversation from the yard.

She temporarily stopped her pacing to steady her mounting nerves with a deep breath, her hands unconsciously wiping sweat onto her blue bridesmaid dress. She couldn't help but be happy that -as shocking as it may sound- Hermione had more fashion sense than Fleur... when it came to picking wedding colors at least. She let out her breath in a huff and resisted the urge to run her hand through her hair. The last thing she wanted was to have to get another touch up from her overly frustrated mother now.

"Ok," She gasped another quick breath and turned to face the forgotten woman in the kitchen.

"Are you calm now Ginny?" Hermione asked with no small bit of sarcasm. "I understand how stressful this can be for you."

Ginny sent her a half hearted glare, "Oh sod off Hermione, I'm not against a hex just because it's your wedding day."

Hermione scoffed, "Molly would be on you before you even had time to draw your wand." They shared a smile at the thought.

Silence reigned in the room once again and they both heard the echo of someone's laughter from outside. "It's almost time Hermione," Ginny's eyes glanced at her friend's hands that were currently clutching tightly to the sides of her pearl gown. "Are you sure about this?"

Hermione's lips twitched up into a small smile that crinkled the skin around her eyes. "More than anything."

Ginny's lips parted into a wide grin, "Alright then." her eyes darted from Hermione's hair to shoes in a quick once over. She looked positively radiant in the sleeveless gown and after all of the painstaking months spent searching for it she better have.

The young bride had definitely matured a lot in the three years since her graduation from Hogwarts. After finishing her second year of the healer training program at Saint Mungo's just four months ago, she finally deemed it time to call an end to her prolonged engagement with Ron.

"OK, " Ginny grabbed Hermione and pulled her into a tight hug, "I just had to do that." She muttered when they parted, her hands immediately flying to her eyes to wipe away the accumulation of moisture. "Now then, lets get this show started!"

"What?" The outraged bellow resounded through the empty halls of the Burrow, originating from Ron's fourth floor bedroom. "What do you mean?" Ron's heated blue eyed glare fixed itself on the younger girl standing in his doorway.

"I meant what I said Ronald." Ginny began, her temper also flaring up to match her brother's. "Hermione. Is. Gone." It took nearly all of her willpower to keep her voice even. "In other words: she is not present, missing, absent, alluding detection, away from here. Is that a good enough explanation for you Ronald?"

Ron's cheeks flushed crimson as he turned an accusing eye on his sister. "And you didn't know about it until now!"

Ginny's eye's flashed and in an instant she was standing mere centimeters away from her brother, unshaken by his towering height. "Is there something you're insinuating Ronald?" Her voice dropped to a near deadly calm.

Harry's eyes shifted nervously between the two siblings, this standoff proved to be the moment he had been waiting for to make his break out of the room. It had been apparent that his presence had been forgotten the moment of Ginny's announcement, the only problem had been getting past the girl and out the door without being pulled into the soon to be epic battle that would surely ensue. He had survived enough wars for his time and the last place he wanted to be was between two of the most short tempered people he knew.

Slowly he crept out of the room and made his way down to the main floor unnoticed, quietly thanking whatever powers that be that allowed him that one lucky occurrence in his life. He was near the kitchen door when he heard an echoed yell of expletives so imaginative they could only come from the mouth of his Ginny.

With a small shake of the head he opened the door to the tented backyard where the wedding was to be held in just a few minutes. He was positive Ginny could handle her own against Ron, unfortunately that left him with the task of breaking the news to everyone waiting anxiously for the happy day to begin.

Oh, joy.

* * *

Draco groaned loudly and pulled the black sheets over his head but it still wouldn't stop the incessant pounding on his front door. Seconds passed, then a minute, two... but still the visitor was steadfast in their dedication to drive him to the point of murder.

With a noise somewhere between a growl and a groan he threw off the sheets and glanced to his nightstand clock. "For the love of Merlin's underpants!" 3:30 pm. He swung his feet onto the cold wooden floor and stomped to the door of his newly purchased flat, clad only in a pair of blue pajama pants.

Was undisturbed rest really so much to ask for?

There were very few people who knew of his return to England, as it had been only 13 hours ago and only_ one_ who knew the location of his new place of residence. After over three years away from his homeland to undertake the very tedious task of finding out the cause of disappearing company funds _and_ _then _a near twenty hour flight back to England, Draco really and truely did pity the foolish man who dared to come disturb him from his much needed slumber.

He wrenched open the door, angry scowl already in place. "Zabini, you had best be on fire to be inter-" ...Oh, hell.

He hated to be caught off guard.

"I see the Malfoy manners are still firmly intact after all these years, hm Draco?"

"Granger?" He was positive he looked like a bloody fool with his jaw wide enough to catch flies but at this point he was much too tired and confused to care. And to top it all off he was sure he felt the throbbing pains in his head that signaled a migraine in the near future.

She sent him a small unsure smile, "Um... may I come in?"

His head tilted in a jerk of a nod before he stepped aside to allow her entrance. His wide eyes drank in her image like a man dying of thirst. She looked so different than when last he saw her, surely the makeup and straightened hair had something to do with it but even her body language was different. S-he seemed so unsure and cautious; two very un-Granger qualities.

"Why are you here?" The words came out much ruder than intended but the time for niceties with this woman was long since past.

Either way she brushed off his crude question and instead scanned the entry way to the large flat with feigned nonchalance. "Well, I heard that you'd just returned... and I just wanted to welcome you back to London." She could have groaned at how pathetic that excuse sounded, even to her ears, but he seemed to accept it with a slight nod.

"Care for a drink Granger? I have a feeling liquor will be a necessity for this." He walked past her and further into the apartment, she wordlessly followed him into the large kitchen. "How did you even know I was here?"

"Ginny told me, I guess she and Blaise have kept in contact after all the years." Draco nodded and fished out a bottle of Firewhiskey and two small glasses from a cabinet.

Of course Zabini would have a hand in this, after-all it wasn't like the wanker had a job and life of his own to deal with. _'He's probably sitting at home right now having a good laugh about this one.' _Draco handed the glass of auburn liquid to her.

They stood silently sipping their drinks, neither knowing what to say and both wracking their brains for some topic of conversation.

Draco cleared his throat, first to break the silence. "Well you look..." His brow furrowed in confusion as his eyes roamed over her frame slowly for the second time that day. "What in the hell are you wearing anyway Granger?"

Hermione closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to stop the scathing retort on her tongue, she was dimly aware of the throbbing sensation in her head that so often accompanied a conversation with the man before her. "It's called a wedding dress, you blind prat." Well, at least that was nicer than the other reply she had in mind. "Today happens to be my wedding day."

For a moment he swore he saw red as years of suppressed rage bubbled back to the forefront of his mind. "To the Weasel?" He practically choked on a laugh. "Well congratulations Granger. And I do preemptively wish your children the best of luck finding a way to dilute that genetic booby-trap you two have set them up for." He downed the last of his drink before he brushed past her, his shoulder bumping into her's with unnecessary roughness. "Now unless you're here to extend an invitation, I'm sure the brightest witch of our age can remember her way to the door."

Hermione was left standing in the empty kitchen with her glass clutched so tightly in her hand it was a wonder it didn't break. She attempted to calm down -took deep breaths and everything- Merlin help her she was trying her hardest not to turn and throttle the mood hopping ferret. _'Oh, but he makes it so very hard.' _After-all murdering the little rodent would be counter-productive and she didn't come all this way to land herself in Azkaban.

"Malfoy-" She whipped around and followed the echo of his footfalls through the large flat. Dammit she had lost the man in an _apartment_, did everything have to be so bloody extravagant with him! "Would you wait up!"

"No!" The petulant shout came from a room down a corridor to her left. She rolled her eyes heavenward but followed the noise further into the unbelievably large flat.

She wandered past what appeared to be his bedroom, a bathroom, a den, some other miscellaneous room and still no Malfoy. With an exasperated sigh she pulled shut another door and turned to give up, for all she knew the cretin could have had hidden rooms built into the damn monster sized flat and she wasn't in the mood to wander around looking for him for days. _'Would it really be too much to ask for him to have somewhat of a normal sized flat? I need damned bread crumbs to find my way out of this maze.' _

"Granger," She whirled around at her name to find the object of her search leaning casually against the frame of another room further down the hall. "I'm pretty sure I've already told you to get out of my home. In court this can count as trespassing." He arched a brow in that careless oh-so-Malfoy way that just made her blood boil every time she was on the receiving end of it.

She nearly scoffed and fought the urge to roll her eyes, like any court would take his word over hers. She stomped towards him, her heels clicking loudly on the polished wood. "Now see here Malfoy-"

"No, you see here Granger," He cut her off quickly, sensing the beginnings of one of those long winded, round about, high pitched rants she was so very fond of giving. "I am running on very _very_ little sleep, I have not rested in a non-hotel bed in _years_. I well and truly do not care for or about your impending unholy matrimony to Potter's sidekick, nor do I desire an invitation to it. I am slowly but very, very surely getting a massive migrain -which by the way I one hundred percent accredit to your presence here- and the last, and I mean the very absolute _last_ thing I want to hear right now is that shrill and rather harpy like wailing that comes out of your mouth whenever you are miffed at me." He paused for a breath and looked her over. Merlin, she was practically spitting mad. "So, if you insist on speaking with me, kindly keep it short and at a pitch that is not reserved solely for mandrakes. "

He almost wanted to pat himself on the back at the cleverness of his words, but he was no fool he knew that his little rant had just figuratively landed him in the den of a very angry lioness. Still he couldn't completely fight the smirk that tugged at his lips at the sight before him.

Hermione was practically burgundy with the ill-suppressed fury that glinted malevolently in her brown eyes. Her hands were planted firmly on her hips while her feet were spread shoulder width apart. All in all she had taken on that "severely pissed off woman" pose to a tee. He was sure that had her once bird's nest of hair not been gelled and, in all likelihood magicked into submission, it would have been poofed up and crackling with her rage.

Despite the fact that he too was smoldering with years of pent up jealous fury, Draco couldn't help but feel a small swelling of pride at the thought that he was possibly one of the only people who could invoke such a violent reaction out of the woman before him.

She inhaled deeply and he fought the urge to raise his arms in defense at the verbal onslaught that was brewing behind her closed lips. In retrospect maybe he had been a tad bit too loose with his tongue.

"Listen here you putrid little festering wart," Draco couldn't help but arch a brow, she had surely gotten a bit more imaginative with her insults in his absence. An influence of the Weaselette, he was sure, "I will say whatever I wish to say, whenever I wish to say it and at whatever tone I wish to say it at!" He winced slightly at the rise in her voice. Did the woman have no sympathy for his aching head? "And if that displeases you in any way, well that's just an added little bonus for me!

"Now I did not just travel all the way over here _on my wedding day_ to listen to whatever asinine, moronic or just plain whiny things you may have to say, so _kindly _shut the bloody hell up and listen carefully." He opened his mouth just for the sake of being a prat, but the icy glare she shot his way made him quickly rethink his decision.

"Now then," She let out a long breath and allowed her body to sag down from the rigid stance of anger into a more docile pose. For an instance Draco swore he saw a flicker of uncertainty in her face. "Three years ago, when we were in school, you were an irksome, infuriating, self-absorbed little-"

"Enough with the adjectives Granger," He cut her off with the wave of a hand, "I get that you're insulting me."

Hermione sent him a dark look, but continued in a more subdued tone, "Well, you were an annoying little git; but you said something that's stuck with me all these years." She bit her lip nervously, "You told me that it was foolish for me to run away from everything that didn't go my way-"

"Actually Granger," He interrupted again in a bored tone but dropped his eyes to his pristine nails in an effort to ignore her glare, "I told you that not everyone would search for you when you run away from everything, because life isn't one of your little muggle movies, sometimes the right guy ex-"

"I know what you said Malfoy!" She snapped, "I was there. Now will you please let me finish?"

He huffed, "That depends on if you will continue to misquote me."

Hermione let out a strangled noise as she forced herself not to hex the man before her, surely a conversation this difficult was taking minutes off of her life. She sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, what you had to say finally sunk in and as much as it physically pains me to say it, you were right. And so help me God if you open your mouth again I will make sure it stays shut permanently." Draco sent her a disbelieving look, but his opened mouth shut with a click of teeth.

"So, I went looking for you but I found that you had left England and no one knew when or even if you would be back. That's when I knew that the loss I felt could have been avoided if I had put aside my fears and disregarded the expectations everyone had for me." She paused and her hands twisted into the sides of her dress, crumpling the material. "I was a coward when it came to matters of the heart. I agreed to marry Ron because it's what everyone wanted, because Ron was stable, whereas you are practically a force of nature by yourself."

Her eyes dropped to the floor, but he still saw the glassy sheen of tears. "So, when Ginny came to me today and told me you returned I didn't have to give a moments thought to coming here because I'm done running, Malfoy.

"My wedding started an hour ago... and I couldn't go through with it because I just had tell you that even though you are a complete bastard and a total egomaniac with a God complex so large that some times I really think you believe yourself omnipotent, I've actually found myself missing you. And, well...and-" She looked up to him sharply, her eyes squinted into a pathetic attempt at a defiant glare. "And for some unfathomable reason I can't help but love you."

The look she sent him practically dared him to make a snarky retort. The fact that she could still manage to make a confession of love sound like a threat caused a smirk to pull at the edges of his lips. "Well it's good to see you haven't lost that fondness for long winded round about speeches, Granger." He drawled in true Malfoy fashion, but couldn't hold back the smile in his voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes heavenward, the sheen of withheld tears glimmered especially bright in the light, "This has been a very long day Malfoy and I swear I am one sarcastic comment away from-" Her empty threath was quickly muffled and cut off underneath the pressure of his warm mouth as his lips covered hers in a three year overdue kiss.

She practically fell into him as his arms snaked around her waist. "You really are just terrible at courting a man Granger." He tisked lightly into her ear after they parted, "Though somehow, your odd charm has inexplicably caused me to fall rather deeply in love with you too. My sweet little harping shrew."

She felt him smirk against the skin of her neck as he trailed little kisses up and down her flesh while his hands fiddled lightly with the back of her dress. "Stupid ferret." She whispered through her contented smile.

With a soft swish her dress slipped easily off of her frame and onto the floor. Draco stood to his full height, his eyes locking with her's and sent her one of his Malfoy smirks. "Come now Granger," He easily lifted the half naked woman out of the puddle of fabric at her feet, "Save such words for the bedroom where they rightly belong."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the admonishment as he carried her through the flat, all the while planting little kisses on whatever flesh his mouth could access."And what makes you think that I'm just going to sleep with you as easily as that, Malfoy?"

He scoffed loudly and rolled his eyes. "It's been over three years since last I saw you Granger and you come in here announce your devotion to me-" He ignored her indignant scoff "Looking quite amazing by the way, and expect this to go any other way?" He snorted. "And for the record my sweet banshee, I am not fond of panties or bras and I refuse to have my girlfriend wearing any such constricting garments. Especially not in my presence."

Hermione sent him a half smirk. "I'll keep that in mind Malfoy."

His eyebrows nearly shot into his hairline, "Really?"

She laughed loudly again as they crossed the threshold into his room. "Not in the slightest."

**The End**

* * *

**Well, there you have it... but please do expect an epilogue...sooner or later **


End file.
