AN: Ok, so this idea occurred to me last night & I just typed up the whole thing now. Ironically, I'm in the long process of writing another longer fic, but i guess this one-shot will be my first here on , not it.

I hope you forgive any discrepancies, if there are any, between this & the book. I just started college & couldn't bring my 7 HP books. So I was unable to fact-check.

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Shared Secret

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the slam of the door echo. Then, once again, it was quiet.

She was sitting on a table, feet on a pulled-out chair, in a back corner of the library. More importantly, she was crying.

It was the night of the Yule Ball and she had just been in the Gryffindor common room having one of the worst fights in memory with Ron.

Last year's rows had been pretty bad, but it wasn't the same this time. Everything seemed different. Last year Ron had been her friend, this year... This year she felt differently about him and she wondered he did, too. He certainly was more upset than Harry about Viktor--and Harry was Viktor's rival in the Tournament.

But Ron just had to go and screw everything up. Only he could make her this upset about something. Only he--

Hermione's ears pricked up again as she heard footsteps approaching. Apparently, whoever had opened the door was still in the library. Hermione was grateful that it was the footsteps of a single person, because she didn't think she could deal with any more happy couples tonight.

Well, it wasn't a happy couple. It was worse: Malfoy.

Hermione couldn't believe it. "What are you doing here?" she asked accusingly.

Coolly, he drawled, "I left my Charms essay here days ago." Malfoy walked to the seat next to her and extracted a roll of paper that had been on it. "In fact, I'm surprised Pince hadn't tossed it, considering her obsession with this place."

Hermione nodded and looked down at the tissue in her hand--an emergency tissue she had slipped in her bra for smeared make-up or spilled food... she hadn't expected to be using it in this capacity.

"So then what are you doing here?"

Hermione looked up to see that Malfoy was still standing in front of her and eyebrows raised curiously.

She sniffed, trying and failing, to keep him from seeing she'd been crying. "Can't somebody just want to be alone? Every other empty classroom and dark corner is filled with people snogging."

He chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure this is the first place you went. Pince isn't the only one with an unnatural love of musty books. Sooner or later, you may end up just like her."

Hermione heaved a sigh. Why wouldn't he just leave? Then something caught her attention.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked.

Malfoy smirked. "Not much."

"Enough to smell it."

"Yet I'm still coherent enough to remember my essay."

Hermione knitted her eyebrows together. "How come you suddenly remembered it now? With the Yule Ball and everything?"

He rolled his eyes. "Let's just say that it was a very uneventful evening. My mind wondered quite far."

"Well, it was probably a better time than I had," she muttered.

"What? Krum suddenly regain his senses?" he sneered.

"No," she narrowed her eyes at him, "Viktor was fine, it was somebo--... something else."

"Really?" This seemed to intrigue him. "Who? Potter? Weasley? Maybe Longbottom tried to make a move on you?"

Hermione stared back at him, wondering why he would possibly care. "Weasley," she answered faintly, having no idea why she did.

Malfoy smirked. Stupid, she thought. That's why he asked, he planned on spreading some vicious rumor around, using any made-up scenario that he could.

"Can't say it surprises me."

This startled her. "Why do you say that?"

"Because a stupid git and emotional pinings don't mix well. Especially someone stupid enough to pine after you."

"And what makes you say that?" she asked hesitantly.

"Because I have eyes, Granger. He's not very good at hiding it. I'm surprised you missed it."

Hermione looked back down at her tissue. "I didn't... not entirely..." Her voice was so quiet that Malfoy had to step closer to hear.

"So you turned Weasley down when he asked you. Then you had to go with someone better, so you bewitched Krum. How exactly did--"

Hermione's head shot up. "I turned Ron down because Viktor had already asked me! And I wasn't about to say no just to cross my fingers for Ron!"

Her outburst shocked the both of them, making Hermione so embarrassed she hopped off the table to run out--only to be blocked by an unmoving Slytherin.

Hermione was breathing quite heavily from being so whiled up, but felt uncomfortable moving her chest out so much while so close to Malfoy. He was only inches away, closer than she had ever been to him. Now, with the light coming faintly through the windows she could make out how unfocused his eyes were.

He was staring back at her, studying her face and almost unaware that he was being watched by her. She could better smell Firewhiskey on his breath. Maybe the alcohol was just now getting to him.

"You look good tonight," he stated simply.

Hermione blinked at him. "Th- thank you," she whispered, confused.

"Mmm," was all he grunted back.

Then suddenly he leaned in, causing Hermione to pull back. But Malfoy still managed to kiss her.

She didn't know what to do. The whole situation was too surreal and absurd for her to comprehend how it'd gotten there. He was strong enough that she had a hard time nudging him away, but she felt guilty about forcefully shoving the drunken boy off her.

Malfoy moaned a little before putting his hand at the base of her head and leaning it back. His teeth grazed her bottom lip, Hermione's reflex being to open her mouth. Malfoy took the opportunity to slip his tongue in between her lips. Hermione gasped, finding it hard to not react to this kind of physical contact, even from someone as vile as Malfoy.

She had never been kissed like this before--her only kisses from boys were the recent chaste ones with Krum. But this, ...this was felt unexpectedly good. It was only a matter of time before she was kissing him back, unsure and uncaring about the fact of who it was.

Her hands were resting on his chest, in all readiness to push him away, but soon clutching onto his robes. Hairs that had not already fallen during her fight with Ron were now coming loose in Malfoy's hands. Then one of his hands traveled down to rest on her collar bone, warm against her exposed skin. It slowly slid down, down to the open neck of her dress, slipping the sides of his fingers under the material and then her bra to rest on the top of her left breast. For some reason, Hermione let him, curious as to how far he'd go, however relieved when his hand paused where it did.

What had started slow became more and more urgent until they were both clawing needfully at each other. Their breathing was ragged now, their lungs daring both of them to pause but their minds knowing that if they did they might stop for good.

Malfoy pushed her backwards until her legs hit the table, grinding his hips into hers. Hermione made a sound of surprise, by his actions and the feeling his growing erection against her. Then his hand pushed farther down her bra.

For some reason, this was her breaking point. She suddenly pulled away from the kiss, leaving Malfoy with a surprised look on his face. She couldn't tell whether he was surprised because she had stopped kissing him or had been kissing her in the first place. Either way, he withdrew his hands and stepped backward.

Malfoy rubbed the back of his neck, on the verge of saying something and obviously embarrassed and confused by what they'd just done. Then he just turned on his heel and strode out, leaving Hermione feeling worse than before he had come.

--

Without speaking, Hermione and Malfoy had come to the understanding that it had 'never happened'. He had been drunk and she had been vulnerable, making for poor decisions on both their parts.

Publicly, they both acted the same as before. Neither of them knew how else to behave. But he didn't flash her dirty looks like he used to, so she didn't have to give dirty looks back. Instead, they were almost afraid of each other and if what had happened were to ever come out. It would have ruined them both, and that shared secret may have been the only thing they ever got along about.

Malfoy might never admit his attraction to her aloud, but an attraction had nevertheless stemmed from when he'd first seen her at the Ball. Even then, it was an attraction that he could never again act upon, sometimes that fact only made her more enticing to him.

And Hermione, well...the only feelings that remained were guilt and shame. She was so occupied with her confusion over Viktor and Ron, she refused to give Malfoy another thought.

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