The Yule Ball brought many surprises for Hermione. Boys started to notice her, including the Slytherin Prince himself. Three years and war later, Hermione and Draco keep up their relationship, but secretsy is tearing them apart. When a second chance at an education without Harry or Ron emerges, will it give her the strength to come out with her affair with a former Death Eater?

A/ n: This is the first chapter, and I just want to start off saying that I don't have a beta. I try my best with the grammar, but I would greatly appreciate it if someone volunteered to be a beta reader for me…pretty please with cookies. Anyways enjoy!

Disclaimer : All Characters and Events belong To the Wonderful Jk, and I only own the Plot-line.

The Yule Ball - Fourth Year

Hermione stalked down the halls of Hogwarts after her quarrel with Ron. Her hair was beginning the come out of the clip that held her potion tamed locks, but she didn't care. She wanted to get as far away from Ron as she could before she hexed him into oblivion. All she wanted was to go to Yule Ball with him, but not as his last resort. She waited and waited for him to ask, but he didn't to her dismay. Viktor Krum soon started to pursue her, but she really wanted to go with Ron, so she held him off for as long as she could. After weeks and weeks of begging, Viktor finally convinced her to go with him, so she gave up on Ron. After four years of being her best friend, one would think he would notice that she was a girl.

Surprisingly she truly did have fun at the ball with Viktor. The Weird Sisters blasted their music for four hours straight, and she danced the whole time with Viktor. She swayed her hips against his, but he had obviously hadn't had much practice dancing. He stood there awkwardly as Hermione danced. She was having fun, and he was having fun watching her body sway against his while her aura illuminated the entire room; however as usual Ron had to ruin her night. She had to keep the thought that Ron had his chance in her head throughout the whole night. She wouldn't allow herself to run back to him after he hurt her. She was through being his puppet. She couldn't let his lapse in judgment spoil her fun after all, but she really did hope he ate his heart out while trying to keep his eyes in his head while watching her dance with Krum.

"Fraternizing with the enemy my butt," growled Hermione before the tears streaked her face. The hair, the makeup, and the dress was all for him, not for Viktor as one would assume. What Hermione did not notice that half the male population at the school was staring at her, including a very annoyed Slytherin. She may have dressed up only for Ron, but even if he didn't notice, the rest of the school changed their opinions of her drastically. Hermione didn't hear their whispers, but she felt their confused stares on her back all night.

Draco watched Hermione when she descended down the steps of the Great Hall, but he was anything but pleased. She was a mudblood, and a mudblood wasn't supposed to look like…well like that. Her hair, her makeup, her skin, everything was perfect. She wasn't supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful. Just staring at her made his blood boil.

Draco's anger continued to augment, but he was more irritated with his self. Malfoys weren't supposed to be attracted to mudbloods; especially not know-it-all freaks like Hermione Granger. But yet, he couldn't keep his eyes off her. The way her dress flowed around her hips as she danced made Draco blush, but that big oaf Krum looked like a knot on a log. If Draco had a dance partner like Granger, he wouldn't just stand there like an idiot.

He started dancing with Pansy in an attempt to get his mind off Granger, but Pansy became increasingly insufferable as the night wore on. Draco only was nice to her when he wanted something, and he knew how to use her to get it, but she never got the hint that Draco was not interested. He probably never would be even if his father used the Imperious Curse on him to force him into marrying her. She had her perks though. When he wanted to be alone, all he had to do was bring Pansy and her horrendous pug face near him; a natural social repellent.

Pansy hung onto his arm all night long, and even tried tempting him into the nearest corner at some point during the night, but Draco was relentless. His mind swirled with images of Hermione in her semi-revealing, periwinkle-blue dress. His eyes stayed glued to her body as she danced with Krum, and he couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy. Draco mentally slapped his self over a hundred times throughout the night albeit not hard enough apparently.

After Draco caught sight of Hermione leaving the Great Hall in a dispute with Weasley, he followed them but stayed hidden in the shadows until he was positive Weasel and Saint Potter were gone. While he dodged her sight by hiding behind statues and pillars, he listened to her ranting about the red headed weasel. He spotted the tears running down her cheeks, but he realized for the four years he had attended Hogwarts, he had never seen the famous Hermione Granger cry. She always held her own, considering her best friends were guys, but tonight was the first night he really noticed her. Her usual confident statue was let down and he finally saw the Hermione probably no one had ever seen. Her guard was let down, but she was no longer the bushy haired little twelve year old girl from first year. Even through the tears and make up she still looked beautiful. Draco ducked deep into the shadows of a stone pillar, and held his breath while Hermione started her tirade again.

"All pointless. All of it," cried Hermione. She took her hair down and threw the clip at the wall breaking it into tiny pieces. Her hair fell into ringlets around her face, and only by the moonlight shining through the windows could Draco see her makeup streaked face. Had his insults ever made her whimper like that? He immediately felt guilty for all the things he had said to her over years, but only just. Old habits die hard. He wondered how he had never noticed the beautiful creature that was in front of him.

Hermione continued to wail and Draco debated whether or not to reveal his self. Her presence began to draw him closer and closer. When it became too much, Draco stepped out from behind the pillar and walked slowly towards the crying fifteen year old. She didn't even notice his attendance, and before he could stop his self he whispered, "Tu sei bella." Hermione bounded off the floor and began to wipe the black streaks of mascara off her puffy red cheeks.

"What the hell do you want Malfoy," asked Hermione while grabbing her wand expecting a duel. She was already mad, and she really didn't need Malfoy's normal, overused, idiotic insults.

"Geez mudblood, can't you take a compliment?" Draco smirked at this remark because he knew that she probably had never been called beautiful by the opposite sex in her whole life. He may only be a young man of fourteen, but he knew beauty when it was in front of him. And this definitely wasn't the most revolting thing he had ever seen, even with her red eyes and black streaked cheek.

"Wipe that stupid smirk off your face Malfoy. What do you want?" Hermione shifted nervously on one hip, and stared at the floor. No one was around, and if he tried something, she would be on her own.

"I said, Tu sei bella. It means you are beautiful Granger," said Malfoy before he lost his nerve.

"Ok, so Malfoy jokes up. Where is your goons waiting to take a picture of me crying like a baby and looking like a mess," Hermione articulated, but Draco just laughed.

"Oh my dear Hermione," whispered Draco in her ear, "it's only me tonight." Draco nibbled on her ear, but surprisingly Hermione didn't hex him away. Ron didn't notice her, Krum wouldn't touch her, and now here was her worst enemy showing her the affection she so dearly yearned for.

"Malfoy what are you doing," uttered Hermione. "Malfoy did you drink the punch? Maybe it was spiked?" Hermione twirled nervously on the loose ends of her dress, but tried not to pay any attention to the many things Draco was doing to her ear and neck. The smell of lavender vanilla perfume scent filled his nostrils. He breathed in trying to savor the moment.

"Granger, can't you learn to shut up for once, and enjoy the moment. You may have had a horrible evening, but I can make this night memorable if you let me," expressed Draco. He took his fingers through her mousy brown hair, and almost pulled away as she leaned into his touch. He touched her soft skin with his palm. That was defiantly not expected.

"I'm a mudblood Malfoy. Do you really want germs of the likes of me on you? I'm sure Malfoy senior wouldn't like that too much," argued Hermione as she tried to pull away from his grip.

"You know, tonight I'm not Malfoy and you're not Granger," rationalized Draco, "we are no body. Agreed?"

Hermione almost agreed instantaneously, but her gut made her think back to all the horrible things Malfoy had done over the years. Could she really forgive him…even if only for tonight? "What makes you think I could trust you Malfoy. You've done nothing but torture me for four years!" Hermione began to walk away, but Draco easily followed close behind.

"I'm not asking for forgiveness Granger, I'm just asking for your time. We both know that tonight…well tonight you turned a lot of heads. Your façade may have been forWeaselbee, but I couldn't help but stare. I am only a teenage boy after all." Draco grabbed her arm and made her face him. His eyes pleaded with her to believe him, but he knew it would take more than talk.

Draco pushed Hermione up against the wall and gave her a simple sweet kiss. She didn't object, and only kissed him back. At least someone noticed she was a girl…even if it was her enemy. Hermione looked into his pleading eyes and saw pure honesty and want. No one was around, no one would know, and no one missed her. What did she have to lose? Just because she lived in the library didn't mean she couldn't be spontaneous at times too.

Hermione nervously grinned and said, "I can forgive and forget if you can." Draco smiled back at her, and not his usual smirk. It was an actual genuine smile. Draco didn't expect Hermione to be so willingly about everything.

"Oh and Malfoy…thank you," whispered Hermione. Her cheeks blushed a deep pink thinking back to the first ever compliment she had received.

"For what," asked Draco confusion written all over his face.

"For calling me beautiful." Hermione's face went from pink to scarlet red. She mentally scolded herself for acting like a little girl in front of Malfoy. She didn't want him thinking she was a star struck ten year old.

"Well I'm a Malfoy, and Malfoys never lie," Draco thought about what he said, and then reworded it, "well this Malfoy doesn't." Draco kissed her once more before giving her a small brown leather journal. He wasn't planning on giving Hermione the journal, but he didn't regret it after it was in her possession.

Hermione gave him a small smile and asked, "What's this?" Draco only laughed and led her into the nearest deserted classroom.

"I thought you were supposed to be the smartest witch of our generation Hermione," Draco mused, "this is a two way journal. I have the other one in my trunk in my dorm. Anytime you want to write to me, just tap the lock 3 times and whisper 'aperto'. Anything you write, I will see in my journal when I open it. We can communicate in private, and no one ever has to know. It will be easier that way with everything that is going on. If you ever want to meet up somewhere just write 'incontro' and then the place you want to meet at. The best part is that we can still be enemies in public and keep up appearances."

Hermione felt Draco's forehead, and then touched his cheeks for fever. She searched his eyes for dilated pupils, but only saw the same honesty that she saw before. She put her finger to her chin, examining the boy that was in front of her. Could he be drunk….or is he just sick? Maybe someone put a curse one him. There has to be a valuable explanation of why Draco would be being nice to her. "Uhhh, Malfoy you're acting awfully strange. I'm not sure what kind of game your playing at, but I don't think I want to be part of your malicious plan to hurt me." She threw the journal on the floor and tried walking out of the door, but Draco ran and stood in front of the door.

"Look Hermione, I know it's hard to believe that I actually am being civil to you, but if I hurt you have my full permission to hex me into seventh year. This is a completely spontaneous suggestion on my part. I just saw you with Krum, and I don't know what came over me. You just looked so beautiful. I tried all night to forget about you, but I couldn't. I can't help that I have treated you bad in the past, but I promise not to torment you anymore, that is in private. We both have reputations to up hold."

Hermione didn't want to believe him, but she did. She couldn't help but look up in to his big grey eyes and see a guy who willingly wanted to change. "What about your family? How will you keep us a secret from them?" Hermione figured he would never give up his Malfoy fortune for a mudblood, but she underestimated him completely.

"We will just live everyday as we would normally. No one has to know, unless you want them to. I'm going to keep it a secret for your sake. If people find out that we have been conversing, they might try and hurt you…especially the Slytherins. I don't want you to get hurt. So if you do decide to tell someone, please make sure you trust them." Draco placed a kiss on Hermione's lips and picked up the fallen journal off the floor. He gently put the journal back into her hands. "Don't lose it. This can be dangerous if put in the wrong hands."

"You're talking to Hermione Granger here. You know that right? I never lose anything," teased Hermione.

"I know, but I just have to make sure." Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist, and kissed her neck. "We better get back before we are missed."

Hermione's face dropped. No one would be missing her in the Gryffindor common room tonight. "Ok, I guess. When you going to write me?"

"I'll make a deal. I'll write you when I miss you," Draco whispered. He kissed her before she could say anything else, and then walked out of the room. Hermione slid down against the wall with her mind swimming with the past hour's events. Could a future death eater really treat a mudblood like anything other than the dirt on the bottom of their shoes? She could feel it in her gut that Draco wanted to change, but she was also scared that she was going to get hurt somehow, some way in this relationship.

After pondering her thoughts for awhile, she opened the journal before leaving the classroom, and the first thing she saw was, "I miss you."

Story Image

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Thanks so much for reading this chapter. I really appreciate all my readers, and I really really appreciate reviews. They are my motivation, and without them it makes it hard for me to write. I love hearing what you all think, so leave your input.

XoXo – SmGp94

P.s- Anyone interested in being my beta reader, please P.M me.