The Wall

by AmaliaIR

Hermione and Draco's Head common room has an unexpected and uncomfortable problem. 7th year AU. One-shot.

The Wall

Hermione looked around her new, perfectly arranged bedroom and smiled to herself. The room was pretty much identical to the girl's dormitories on Gryffindor Tower; after all, it was on the same building. Apparently they changed the location of the Head's quarters every year, rotating between the houses, and lucky for her, this time it was Gryffindor's turn. It would be like she never even moved at all, but now, the room was all hers. She had never appreciated the high ceilings, the beautiful sturdy furniture or the bright sunlight entering through the windows as much as right then. But there was something above everything else that would make this the best year for her.

The silence.

Hermione stepped out of her room and into the Head's common room. It was spacious but cozy and had every house's color represented. It was a nice change from all the red and gold; not that she didn't love it. But best of all, it had a nice bookshelf that she had already filled to the brim with her own books. It wouldn't substitute the Hogwarts library, but she had a feeling this was going to be her new favorite place to study. If only she didn't have to share it with…

"Granger," Malfoy's voice rang through the entire place. Hermione sighed and turned around. He had just walked in and was slamming the door shut with his foot. The portrait on the other side screamed in protest.

"Malfoy," she replied in a bored tone and turned around again to face her books. She wasn't sure they were arranged the correct order.

"What have you done?" He asked alarmed. "There's no place for my books!"

"You can put them in the shelf in your room," She tried to dismiss him but could hear him getting closer. She closed her eyes in mental preparation for an argument. They had been back to Hogwarts for a mere two hours and they had already fought five times. But to be fair, she had started the first one.

"Why don't you put some in your shelf?" He said as he stepped right in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest and his nose high in the air.

"I already did," She replied, frustration bubbling up inside her. She copied his posture and narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Didn't your parents teach you how to share? I'm taking my rightful space in this bookshelf," He paused and with a flick of his wand, half of Hermione's books flew from the shelves and landed on the floor. "Whether you like it or not."

Her jaw had dropped with indignation. "How dare you? You're just an uncultured ferret with no respect whatsoever for books! I'm certain you don't even have enough books to fill half of this!" She waved in the direction of the bookshelf and he smirked.

"Not right this second, you don't expect me to carry them around, do you? But mother will be sending them as the term progresses," He was now walking towards his room. "The Malfoy library is an extensive and beautiful one, with originals and lost editions that would make you drool with jealousy. You probably think you're the only one who can read, don't you Granger?"

And with that, he locked himself in his room.

Hermione balled her hands into fists and closed her eyes, trying to breathe mindfully. She flicked her wand at the pile of books in the floor and floated them over to her room. She will need to put up more shelves tomorrow over her free period.

Her mind kept coming up with ways to get revenge. She had promised Mcgonagall she will try to work things out with Malfoy, but so far he had proven himself to be even more ridiculous and aggravating than before. He was constantly pushing her every button and her patience was wearing thin.

But at least he wasn't calling her a Mudblood anymore.

She knew he had changed, at least in some fairly fundamental ways that made her stop being his target anymore. There had been some big blow up last year when Harry had been sure Malfoy was up to something but eventually Dumbledore had vouched for him and nothing else was said. Rumor had it that he wasn't allowed to leave the castle, or that he was a double spy, or that he was a Death Eater under polyjuice. Harry had tried to ask Dumbledore but all he had said was: 'That is between Mr. Malfoy and myself.'

Hermione had accepted this but remained cautious. Eventually, she was pleasantly surprised when Malfoy had stopped being his own bigoted self. He was still mean and annoying and couldn't stop taking jabs at Harry, Ron and her, but there wasn't the same hatred behind it and the word 'blood' seemed to have vanished from his vocabulary. It couldn't have been an easy thing to do, and Hermione appreciated the effort.

With a sigh, she resolved to forget about revenge (for now) and go back to her room for the day. It was still a bit early, but she couldn't wait to sleep on her new, king sized bed.

Hermione was studying by the fire on the common room, her eyes running up and down the pages rapidly. Two more books were spread open on her lap and Crookshanks was sleeping on the headrest of her armchair. With just the sound of his purring and the crackling fire, Hermione was completely content and undisturbed. Malfoy was on Quidditch practice and that meant she could read in the common room without wanting to plaster his face all over the walls. She smiled a little to herself.

After a while of reading, she was startled by a bang. She looked up, trying to figure out where it came from. When it didn't come again, she shrugged and went back to her book. A minute passed and the sound came again. It was like someone knocking on the wall. She thought it was probably just the old castle adjusting some of its magic.

Bang.

Another minute.

Bang.

Bang.

Hermione shut her book loudly, waking up Crookshanks who meowed at her for disturbing him. She stood and tried to follow the noise. It was getting louder and more repetitive and eventually she realized it was coming from the far wall, next to the bookshelf. She listened for a second to see if it would stop. When it didn't, she pulled her wand from her from pocket and pointed it at the wall.

She had been trying to practice her non-verbal spells. She concentrated really hard and did the appropriate wand motion. Nothing happened. She tried again.

Sigh.

"Silencio," She called, giving up. Obviously her non-verbal silencing spell was not very good yet.

She frowned when the noise continued.

"Silencio," She did the spell again, with more force now. Nothing. She groaned out loud and walked over to the bookshelf, determined to do some research as to why her spell wasn't working.

After just the first page, she knew she was getting a headache.

It was almost midnight when Malfoy walked through the door. Hermione was sitting on the floor, rubbing her temples as she tried to read. Crookshanks had taken her place on the armchair. She looked up to see Malfoy, sweat and dirt covering his clothes and arms, but his face was as white and impeccable as always. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Finally embracing your animal side, are you?" He teased as he levitated his equipment to his room and then his eyes fell on Crookshanks.

"Why on earth are you letting that beastly cat sit on the furniture? Do you have any idea how much hair I have found in my personal things? And it's not all his," He pointed an accusing finger at Crookshanks. "For weeks I have been pulling your bloody curls out of my clothes!"

His voice was drilling holes in Hermione's brain, combined with the constant banging. It had stopped for a while but now it was back with full force, and no amount of spells had managed to quiet it.

"Malfoy, shut the hell up. I don't care what happens to your clothes or where my cat sits. You deal with it," She spat and then closed her eyes.

Malfoy frowned. "What's got your knickers in a twist? I've never heard you swear before."

"Hell is not a bad word. And can't you hear?" She waved her arm, signaling the wall. "That awful banging has been driving me insane and I can't make it stop!"

Malfoy looked at her like she had lost her mind, and maybe she had. He walked over to the wall.

He studied the wall for a moment and without looking at her, he asked, "Have you tried to Silencio it?"

"You can't Silencio something when you can't see the source of the noise, didn't you know that?" She asked condescendingly, while trying to hide the book she just learnt that from. She knew she was being dramatic and unfair, but she didn't like to be bested and even less by a stupid noise.

Malfoy did turn around then, sneering at her.

"And what's is the source, if you're so clever?" He asked slowly.

Hermione hesitated. "I don't know, something on the other side of the wall, obviously. Sounds like they're bouncing a ball against it, or making a prank, but what I'm sure of is that they hate peace and quiet and me," She complained and started to pick up her books from the floor.

Malfoy was leaning the side of his face against the wall and trying to hear. He suddenly straightened up and turned to look at her. She looked back. He stared for a while and when Hermione frowned, confused, he burst out laughing.

He threw his head back and then hugged himself as his whole body shook with laughter. Hermione stood, shocked and slightly amused, though she refused to admit it. She wouldn't have even imagined that he was capable of such a thing.

Eventually, his laughter died out. "What's so funny?" She asked when he looked apt for talking.

"Oh, Granger, I can't believe you're so naïve," He answered with amusement as he shook his head.

"What?" She said with frustration and started to walk closer to him, her books under one arm.

When she was close enough, Malfoy put his hand on her shoulder which was something she thought he would never do on regular circumstances, but he seemed to be in such a good mood that maybe he forgot he hated her. Hermione stared at his hand and then up at him. He was smiling.

"That's the sound of people fucking," He explained very slowly and then started to laugh again when Hermione's whole face turned bright red. She stepped back and swatted his hand from her shoulder.

"That's not… that is completely…I couldn't…" She didn't know how to answer because now it was painfully obvious that it was exactly that, and she didn't know how she missed it.

His laugh stopped being amusing and started to irritate her. "Stop laughing!" She finally said and he did, a little.

She fumed and stomped off to her room, closing the door behind her loudly. She could still hear him outside.

"Oh don't be so sensitive, Granger. You were right, after all. It's only a lot of banging," He laughed again. She scoffed loudly, feeling completely silly for letting him and this whole situation get to her. She should have been relaxed and aloof and maybe she wouldn't feel so embarrassed.

So, what if they were people on the other side of the wall having sex? She could understand it, she could even ignore it. She wasn't going to let Malfoy make her feel like a fool.

When all the noise quieted down and she was able to sleep, her cheeks still felt a little hot.

The next day came as a glorious and noiseless relief. Hermione woke up early in hopes of avoiding Malfoy and any annoying comment he may have. She walked carefully through the common room and just as she was leaving, she could have sworn she heard him snore. She smiled a bit to herself.

She had made a plan to check Gryffindor Tower after class to find out what was beyond their wall so maybe she could do something about it. If it was a broom cupboard or an unused classroom she could lock it or make it inaccessible so people would stop going there. After thinking about it she was almost certain that last night there had been two different couples at different times so maybe it was a popular meeting place that she was just hearing about.

Literally hearing about.

She had History of Magic with the Slytherins that day. For some reason the thought of seeing Malfoy made her feel uneasy, like he would divulge what had happened yesterday and ridicule her, but in reality she knew that Malfoy would behave like he always did in front of the other Slytherins; like their royal prince.

Halfway through Binns' introductory lecture, some incessant tapping started to come from behind her. For a second, Hermione thought she was going crazy, as it was the exact same rhythm as the noise last night, but when she turned around she let out the breath she had been holding.

Draco Malfoy was tapping his foot against the leg of the table and looking at his book with innocence. Hermione stared at him for a minute trying to see if she could set his hair on fire by just thinking about it. No luck.

Finally, she cleared her throat loudly. Malfoy looked up but continued to tap.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a perfectly polite tone.

"Would you stop that?" She looked down at his foot and then back at him.

"Why?" He asked and continued to look at her as if nothing was wrong.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him trying to tell him that she knew what he was doing. He placed both elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands.

"Because it's distracting," She whispered, aware that Binns was still talking.

Malfoy did smirk then. He leaned forward and whispered back; "Do you get distracted easily, Granger?"

She felt her whole face getting hot and she knew she must look really affected so she tried to compose herself. Malfoy continued to tap his foot.

"Stop doing that!" She practically screamed. Apparently she didn't know how to compose herself.

Ron, who had been nodding off next to Hermione, woke with a start. Some other students were looking at her as well. Malfoy continued to make noise.

"Woah you're red with fury, Hermione. Come on just ignore him, he just wants to get you going," Ron pulled her by the arm as he shot a disgruntled look at Malfoy. He in return looked at Hermione with a knowing smirk. Hermione turned around again, trying to listen to professor Binns but all she could hear was Malfoy's ridiculously expensive shoe tapping against wood.

"It's the noise that gets her going," Malfoy spoke from behind her and she tried really hard not to break her quill in half for the rest of the lesson.

She stormed into the common room that evening, fully expecting a parade of moans, bumps, rattles and any other bloody noise that could issue from two human beings living it up in the next room.

But to her surprise, everything was perfectly quiet.

She took this opportunity to make some tea, settle comfortably into a chair and read a novel she had been neglecting in favor of school work, but she figured she needed to relax before something or someone ruined everything again for her.

The more she read the more she calmed down and realized that the only way to fight Malfoy was with maturity. If she pretended not to be bothered by any of this, she would make him look like the child he was and never have to hear from it again until she figured out a way to make it all stop.

Hermione took several deep breaths to concentrate on being serious when she heard the password being whispered outside. His voice was unmistakable to her now and she hated it.

"Oh, look who's here already, Hermione Jean Granger. Finding a good seat for tonight's show?" Malfoy was so giddy and pink and if she didn't know any better she'd think he just beat Harry at Quidditch.

She raised one eye brow. "How do you know my middle name?" Was all she said.

Malfoy shrugged and levitated his books to his bed. Since Hermione had been around him she didn't think she had ever seen him move an extra finger if he didn't absolutely have to. His hands were probably unbelievably soft.

That thought surprised her and made her squirm uncomfortably on her chair. She hid her face from his view so he wouldn't notice. She was so bad at this.

She went back to reading her book as Malfoy headed for the bathroom. He took one of his unnecessarily long showers that she so badly wanted to criticize but had held her tongue because she knew it would lead to nowhere. Sometimes that didn't stop her, but this time it had.

When he came out of the shower, she noticed the cloud of steam and mint shampoo scent following him, but she didn't look his way once. She knew he never dressed in the bathroom like she did; so she avoided having to know what Draco Malfoy looked like half-naked. It felt too surreal.

Just before he crossed the threshold to his room, he turned around with a smirk.

"You know, I found out something interesting tonight, Granger," His voice was full of fake innocence.

Hermione sighed loudly for dramatic effect before lowering her book.

"Yes?" She asked but still didn't turn to face him.

He walked towards her and she could actually smell how close he was getting. Suddenly, he was right behind her arm chair, leaning with one hand on the headrest.

"I did some asking around, and I discovered what's behind our wall," The smirk was implied in his tone.

"I know," Hermione said, trying for a perfectly neutral tone. "I found out as well…" She paused, remembering her plan of being the grown up one in this conversation.

"It's the seventh year Gryffindor boy's dormitories," She said nonchalantly and shrugged as well.

Malfoy started laughing almost immediately and Hermione's knuckles were getting white around the book.

"So, how does it feel to listen to your friends' sexual endeavors while reading your weight in romantic novels every night?" He asked, his voice light and high from the laughter.

"I do not read romantic novels! And certainly not every night!" She protested and he shook his head.

"Yes you do, Granger. I've been eyeing your collection and if that's not romance, I don't know what it is."

She turned around then. Malfoy's hair was combed back and he was smiling. She never thought making fun of her would bring him this much pleasure. She stared at the droplets of water on his collarbone before answering.

"That is classic Muggle literature, not that you would understand any of that, and stop touching my books!"

Malfoy walked away still smiling. "You can't tell me it doesn't bother you, seeing as you only have eyes for Potter and the Weasel," He reached his door and then looked back at her. "But it's not like they know, do they? You're too scared to tell them," He flashed her one more smile before disappearing into his room. Hermione grunted in frustration.

To highlight this wonderful evening, it wasn't long before the banging started again. She inhaled deeply and counted to 10 several times. She could ignore it. She could ignore it. She could ignore it.

A female moan.

God, at least the last ones hadn't been vocal.

It took Malfoy about a minute to get dressed, compared to his usual half hour, which meant that he was in a rush to annoy her.

Hermione could feel his eyes on her, but she resolutely ignored him and continued reading, even though she wasn't understanding anything. He was trying to break her first, but she wouldn't give. He cleared his throat. Hermione turned the page. He sat on the other armchair. Hermione sipped her tea.

"So…" He gave up. She counted this as a victory. "Do you think that's Potter? Or Weasley?"

Hermione didn't give any indication of hearing him.

"Or Potter and Weasley…"

That mental image took her by surprise and she felt her face get a little red.

"I bet Weasley's the one who sounds like a girl. Or it could be Weasley and that Lavender girl he traded you for."

She kept breathing steady and kept her eyes on the book. She didn't care about any of that anymore, but it still brought back bad memories.

"It must be hard for you not being the one making Weasley do those pathetic noises," He scrunched up his face. "It must feel like fucking a goat."

Malfoy was purposefully getting cruder and she was starting to feel self-conscious with how much he was staring at her. She didn't think he had ever looked at her for so long.

A loud mix of male and female moans ripped through the air and with one final bump…it was quiet again. Hermione buried herself deeper into book to hide her red cheeks.

"Already?" He scoffed. "That was most definitely Weasley."

"Why? Does Harry last much longer in your daydreams?" She didn't know what caused her to do it, but it was out of her mouth before she could stop it. Malfoy's face was stunned and confused at the same time and for a second she thought he might get aggressive, but then the faintest blush started to dust his face and suddenly Hermione was so glad she had let her mouth speak on its own.

She started laughing slowly but surely as Malfoy's face turned from shocked, to embarrassed, to annoyed.

"Get over yourself, Granger, you're not nearly as funny as you think you are," He said while standing up.

"Oh yes, please Malfoy, please teach me something about the subtle art of joke-making, since you're so wonderfully good at it," She retorted, a smile still plastered across her face. She stood as well to leave her book on the shelf.

"It's a natural gift. You're just bitter because you wish you could be the one behind that wall making boys choke on that increasingly growing mane of hair."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I hate to break it to you, but we're in the exact same situation. I don't see you bring any girls over. Which I appreciate, because I would rather rip off my own ears than listen to you for a second."

"Just because I don't bring them here, Granger, doesn't mean anything," She noticed how his comebacks had been lacking and laughed again. She had finally succeeded in getting to him.

"Whatever Malfoy, you're just too infantile to get over this little…inconvenience." She picked up her mug of tea. She would warm it up later.

"You're just pretending to be okay with this. I can read you as easily as one of those silly Muggle books," He waved his hand in the direction of the bookshelf.

"Don't make me laugh, you wouldn't understand Muggle literature even if I explained it with stick figures!"

Malfoy's face hardened and Hermione instinctively took a step back.

His voice was graver somehow. "You need to get off your ridiculously high horse. I read one of them last night while you were sleeping; I finished it in three hours."

Hermione's shoulders slumped. She wasn't expecting that. "I…um…" She couldn't come up with anything.

Malfoy looked like he regretted telling her. "Yeah, well, if you don't want me touching your books, you should take them to your room."

Hermione felt a small pang of guilt. It wasn't like she actually thought his touch was poisonous or anything.

He turned around and started heading for his room.

"Malfoy…" She called, unsure of what to say next. He looked back at her, his face trying to hold its usual arrogant expression but failing.

Hermione just stared at him for a second and then, conveniently enough, another sexual encounter made its way to their ears.

Suddenly, she felt like her eyes were glued to Malfoy's. She noticed the way they had grown wider; the pupils a little blown, making the grey look darker, and how he didn't seem to be angry like mere seconds ago.

She didn't feel her face get hot. Not this time. But she did feel the air around them get thicker and her mind went blank for a few seconds. She forgot why she had called his name, the memory of it still on her tongue.

But then Malfoy looked down at his shoes and she clicked back into motion.

"I'm sorry," She said. "You can touch anything you want," Her brain caught on immediately and she stammered, mortified. "I mean, you can touch my books. The books. You can read any book. I…" She shut up before making it any worse.

Malfoy looked back at her and, as if in slow motion, she noticed the way his lips were slowly curling into one of his dreaded smirks. But before he could finish it, she turned around.

"I'm going to bed now. Goodnight." And she left in a flash.

For the rest of her time awake, she couldn't figure out if that had gone better or worse than expected.

It was Saturday the next day, and Hermione usually allowed herself more time to sleep and read on her bed. She had lost track of time and then noticed that breakfast was almost over.

Malfoy was sitting in the common room, apparently writing an essay.

"Good morning," She said.

"It's almost noon, Granger. You missed breakfast," He informed her without looking at her.

"Oh. Are you sure? I thought I still had some time," She was pretty hungry by now. Malfoy looked up then and watched the hand she had placed over her stomach. She self-consciously dropped it.

"No. I missed it too," They both stared at the space between them in silence for a while, until Malfoy broke it.

"We could ask the house elves to bring some," He suggested and she frowned like it was completely unheard of. Malfoy rolled his eyes. "We're Heads, Granger. We're allowed to summon house elves if we need to, remember?"

"Of course I remember, but that is for emergencies, not for a late brunch on the weekends!"

"Whatever, I'm going to do it. You can either join this irresponsible abuse of power, or watch me eat scones and eggs while you devour the rest of your cat's food."

He stared at her in a very familiar way. She knew he was challenging her. Always confronting her, always contradicting her, always provoking her, always trying to find her most brutal side that made her want to implode and explode at the same time.

She balled her hands into fists as she stared back, trying to find any weakness, any way to fire back that would make her win this one. She felt the frustration bubbling up inside her as she finally slumped her shoulders and looked away, basically admitting defeat.

She knew a lost cause when she saw one.

Hermione stared mesmerized at the odd image of Malfoy pouring sugar into his tea. Or more accurately, tea into his sugar. She shook it off and proceeded to lightly butter a scone.

"That's all you're having?" He asked behind his plateful. They were eating at his desk, after a long fight about whose desk they should use, resulting in an unfortunate coin toss for Malfoy.

She shrugged. "Why?"

"No reason. It just seems to me like you don't live life to the fullest in any aspect of your life," He took a huge gulp of his tea.

She sighed. She couldn't believe it was on again, after only a few minutes of peace.

"I just don't feel the need to stuff myself beyond reason. Or to give myself cavities," She sipped her plain tea, just like her mom used to make.

"I have been curing my own cavities since I was 13 years old, there's no need to fear those here. Come on, try some of this," He was holding out his tea cup. "You won't go back to that bitter old water you're having."

"You're a child, you know that?" She raised her eye brow at his cup. "Immature and addicted to sugar."

"Me? Who's the one that claims not to like something they haven't even tried? Come on Granger, is just tea. You saw me drinking it, you won't die," He pushed the cup further into her face.

"Fine, okay, but after this you let me eat in peace and stop criticizing everything I do," She looked him in the eye and he nodded once.

She took the cup from his hand and stared at it. She knew Malfoy was watching her intently.

It was only after her lips had touched the rim of the cup that she realized she was in contact with Malfoy's germs, with his saliva, almost with his lips…and then all her thoughts switched to the insufferably sweet liquid that was flowing into her mouth.

She scrunched up her face in disgust and heard Malfoy chuckle.

"This is an absolute disrespect for tea," She managed as she returned the cup to him. He was smiling and shaking his head. Hermione took a bite out of her scone to get rid of the taste.

"You must be one of those 'no dessert' sort of boring person. It figures, actually, since you're a cat person too."

"Liking cats doesn't automatically make me a cat person. I also like dogs, they're just not allowed at Hogwarts. You just hate all living things except for yourself."

He finished chewing before responding. "I am very much a dog person, and if it were allowed, your cat would have been my dog's dinner the first night."

"I'll have you know that Crookshanks is half Kneazle and therefore very smart and fast. He could fool any dog of yours in a second," She could see that he wasn't upset or threatening at all, he was just discussing this lightly and almost amicably.

"You obviously aren't familiar with my magical training abilities. And you're wasting the potential of a Kneazle cat! Look at him, all fat and lazy, always lying around,"

"Hey!" She interrupted him "He is a happy, independent being and can do whatever he pleases, how would you feel if someone tried to train and control your every behavior?"

Malfoy opened his mouth to answer when the lamentably recognizable noise from the last couple of days started up again. His mouth was now a thin line and for the first time, he didn't seem to be finding this amusing in the least.

Hermione almost couldn't believe her own ears. They were absolutely shameless, going at it nearly all day and passing the room around to the next in line, almost as if they were renting it or something.

"For the love of God this has got to be a bloody joke!" She slammed her hand on the table and Malfoy flinched, surprised. "Is this the way it always is in every boy dormitory? Have I just been living too far from any of them to actually hear this? Does this happen in the Slytherin dormitories too?"

Hermione looked at him curiously and he was quiet for a while.

"Is not like I've been there this year, have I? I've been here with you listening to your friends shag each other like wild animals," His voice had changed back to snarky and angry and she wondered if it was something she said. She was still curious about the boy's dorms but decided not to push his temper.

She continued to eat quietly while Malfoy quite literally brooded, staring down at his food.

"Are you alright?" She asked after a while and he didn't even look up.

"Malfoy…" She tried again, waving her hand in front of him.

He looked up with narrowed eyes.

"No, I'm not fucking alright, Granger, because I have to sit here and listen to the disgusting noises you uncivilized Gryffindors make!" He was almost yelling at her and she would take none of this.

"What is wrong with you? Last night you were jumping at the opportunity to making me feel uncomfortable by pointing out those same noises!" Suddenly she lost all her remaining appetite and left the table. He did the same.

"Well now I don't give a shit about making you feel anything!"

For some reason she felt a knot tying in her throat and leaving her speechless.

"Who the fuck do they think they are, making me listen to this while I'm stuck here with you," He pointed at her accusingly, as if she was the one to blame.

His face wasn't red with anger as she expected, but he was paler than usual and his eyes undecipherable.

She gulped down and took a deep breath to steady her voice before answering.

"No one's forcing you to be here! Just go! Leave! Nobody cares if you do!"

She ran to her room before even seeing his reaction and locked herself inside. She felt the tears pricking her eyes and she tried to force them back. He didn't deserve her tears but she couldn't help them when she was this angry.

"That's right! Run to your little room, Granger, Merlin only knows what you're doing in there while listening to your friend's pornographic performance!"

And then he slammed the common room door. Hermione stood still for a moment, trying to see if he was really gone. She found herself in complete solitude and silence.

Silence.

She hadn't noticed that the banging had stopped, or when.

She threw herself in her bed and let the tears dry. She felt absolutely humiliated, just when she thought they were making some kind of progress, he goes and makes her feel like shit, for lack of a better term. And the worst part was, she had actually been having fun with him. Her trust felt betrayed.

She had drank out of his freaking cup, for crying out loud!

His voice played on repeat on her head, and she cursed herself for letting her brain try to find meaning behind some of his words, when clearly, he just didn't care about anything.

Specially her feelings.

That was it for Malfoy. She was done believing he could change, because she was just going to end up like this again.

Hermione fell asleep without noticing that Malfoy didn't come back for the night.

The next few days Hermione did everything she could to avoid running into him. She woke up early and left immediately, and she returned only very late or when she knew he was in class or practice. She started spending more time in the Gryffindor common room with Ginny and slowly she realized that he was actively trying to seek her out. He tried to find her eyes across the Great Hall, attempted to run into her in the halls and more than once she had found him fast asleep on the couch, presumably waiting for her.

Hermione packed her books and started to leave the Gryffindor common room when she noticed that Ginny had fallen asleep studying next to her. She thought about Malfoy snoring in her own common room and was glad he was a heavy sleeper.

She didn't want him to say whatever it was that he wanted to say, because she wanted to remain upset and cold and indifferent and she could only do that if she didn't have him right in front of her. That manipulative, ridiculous, elitist, evil…

Her train of insults stopped when she opened the portrait of the Fat Lady to leave and immediately tripped over something. For a split second she panicked, thinking she would fall down the very high stairs, but then she was caught mid-fall by two very (unfortunately) familiar arms.

Her heart was beating wildly and she was certain of who was holding her even before looking up to see him.

"What the hell are you doing here? Are you trying to get me killed? I tripped over your stupid leg because you're creeping about like a snake! And just let me go already, get off me!" She didn't mean to yell at him, really, it's just that everything happened so fast and she didn't understand anything. Mostly, she didn't understand why he was holding her for way longer than necessary and it infuriated her.

"You're welcome," He said bitterly as he let her go and heat rose to her cheeks.

"Welcome? It was your fault in the first place! What are you doing here?"

"I think that's obvious…" He rolled his eyes.

But nothing was obvious with Draco Malfoy, so she pressed on. "Well I don't, so spill it, Malfoy."

She said his name with poison, as if it physically pained her to do it. He looked hurt, but only for a moment.

"I was waiting for you, wasn't I? Do you think I like sitting in the bloody Gryffindor Tower just for kicks? But you've left me no other choice!"

Hermione was about to reply when a new voice interrupted her.

"What kind of example is this from two Heads? I expect you to take this elsewhere immediately, I will have no screaming near my entrance, no sir!" The shrill voice of the Fat Lady admonished them and Hermione sighed, picking up her books and hurrying away quickly. She heard Malfoy's footsteps not far behind her.

"Granger, just wait!" His voice was still irritated, but she wasn't about to discuss again in the halls where a teacher could hear them. She entered the common room quickly and once inside she turned to look at him. He closed the door and walked over to her, his eyes alive with energy and his hair messy from running all the way here.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Was the first thing he said.

She shrugged. "Didn't feel like seeing you."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Why do you think, Malfoy?" There she was, spitting his name, again. And there he was, looking hurt, again.

"No!" She cried, stomping her foot down. He jerked back in surprise.

"No, you don't get to look like that, you don't get to make me feel bad for you when you've done nothing but torture me all year, all these years! And you don't get to be nice and cute and then turn around and treat me like garbage again! So make up your fucking mind because I won't stand for it anymore!" She had rambled and screamed and almost cried but after she got it all out she felt completely relieved.

Malfoy looked shocked and it was understandable since no one had ever seen her go off like that, using words like 'fucking' and losing her temper.

"I…" He started but lost his words. He looked down at his shoes and then back up at her. He smirked.

"You think I'm cute?" Hermione's jaw dropped open at his words.

"That's what you got from everything I said?!" Her voice was shrill and she could see him grimace.

He sighed audibly and ran a hand through his hair. "Fuck, I'm sorry, Granger, alright? I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you, it's not like you're the one banging her head against the headboard in the other room," He looked uncomfortable but she liked seeing him like that.

"No, I'm not. I have to endure this as much as you," She replied, relaxing her posture.

"I know," He nodded and they stood in awkward silence for a while. When Hermione went to leave for her bedroom, he spoke.

"I went to the Slytherin dormitories the other night," She turned around and he took a few steps closer, his hands buried in his pockets.

"Oh?" She frowned.

"Turns out, your friends aren't the only ones getting busy in the boy's dorms. I had to hear Pansy with,"

"Ew," Hermione interrupted him. "Don't tell me. I don't want to imagine Pansy with anyone doing anything. But why now? Is it because it's out last year? What changed?"

Malfoy was well within reach. She could have touched his hair if she wanted to. She didn't know if she did, but it looked soft…

He looked at her and smiled. It was very subtle, but very real and suddenly she wanted to touch his lips too.

"A lot has changed, Hermione."

Her eyes widened and she unconsciously licked her lips. She had absolutely no idea how to respond. All the possibilities of his meaning raced through her head and then she was simply astonished at the way he had said her name; like he caressed and savored every letter; like he had been waiting the longest time to say it; like a relief.

He probably knew she was too shocked to answer, so he turned around eventually, murmuring a 'good night' and closing his door behind him.

Hermione dropped her head back and covered her face with her hands. She was feeling too many things to process just now so she gave up trying to understand and forced her legs to drag her to her bed, where she probably would stare at the ceiling for hours, wishing she had had the courage to just ask him to say her name, again.

The next day when she woke up, Malfoy was gone. She was usually the one to leave first, but this time she was thankful because it gave her some time to think without having to face him.

She made herself some tea and sat in her usual arm chair and replayed their whole conversation the night before. Every word, every voice tone, every sign of expression on his face that she could remember. And she knew, she had already known for a long time that he had changed, but now it was the only thing she could think about.

And he had said her name. Was she supposed to call him 'Draco' now? Will he continue to call her by her first name? What did it mean?

Crookshanks settled by her feet and she bent to pet him. She imagined his hair all over Malfoy's bed. She imagined her curls on Malfoy's pillow…

Hermione stood up abruptly at the sudden noise.

"It's eight thirty in the morning!" She complained to herself, staring at that damned wall, wishing she could blast it to the ground.

That'd be very uncomfortable.

She packed her things as fast as she could and headed for the door. She had a feeling this was going to be a very long day.

Hermione returned to the common room that afternoon after what indeed was a very long day. She had back to back classes, plus homework on the library and settling a ridiculous fight between some 3rd years who just learnt how to magically dye each other's hair. She had a green streak across the right side of her head as a result.

She dropped her books carelessly on the coffee table and then threw herself on the couch. She barely had time to rub the bridge of her nose before being interrupted.

Malfoy appeared on the doorway of his bedroom. They locked eyes for a moment and then he stared at her hair as if fascinated by it. Hermione looked down at her shoes.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for the rebellious type, Granger," He spoke as he walked over to the common room. She noticed he was back at using her last name.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking up at him. He stood right in front of her, then. She was suddenly very alert, her senses heightened in fear. Malfoy reached out and grabbed a lock of her green hair between two fingers, but she was paralyzed. She realized she was more nervous than afraid.

He raised one of his blond eyebrows at her.

"Oh. That. I got caught in the middle of a 3rd year duel. I'll take care of it later."

Malfoy smiled very faintly and then sat down next to her.

"Did you finish Snape's essay?" He asked, leaning back and putting his feet up on the coffee table, making sure not to accidentally kick any of her books.

School work? That's what he wanted to talk about?

"Nearly. I meant to write the conclusion today but I'm too tired," She admitted.

"I suppose you read Viridian's work while you were writing it?"

Hermione looked at him, then. He looked too comfortable, too at ease, and she envied him.

"Yes, I had read him before but I revised it again for this essay. Why? Do you want me to help you with it?" She asked. He had been staring at the ceiling, but he turned to look at her after this question.

"No. I finished it yesterday. I wanted to see if you agreed with his view on the element's terminology change of the 18th century."

Oh. She had not been expecting that.

"Um, I think he was merely recounting the events leading up to the changes, I don't know if he was passing judgment, though."

"I think he was, I mean, the way he talks about the elite of alchemists in those times makes me a little suspicious," He reasoned.

"Are you implying that he agrees with the changes? Because although we still use that same terminology, it's generally agreed that it was a big mistake."

Malfoy sat up straighter, his feet leaving the table. "No, I'm taking it a step further; I think he was involved in the committee that made the changes."

She noticed the way his eyes never stayed focused on hers, but strayed to look at other parts of her face. She wished she looked less tired and disheveled.

They launched onto a long conversation about the elitist's influence on modern chemistry and potion-making, something Hermione hadn't even considered before, but Malfoy seemed to have given it a lot of thought. She had no idea he was that interested in Potions.

"Yes, well, Severus had an interesting point to argue about that, because I used to have the same opinion as you and," Malfoy stopped talking at the look on her face. Hermione was frowning but smiling at the same time.

"I'm sorry, it's just that…It's really strange hearing Professor Snape's first name like that," She giggled a bit.

"Oh, I guess I got carried away. He is friends with my family and I'm used to calling him that when we're alone or outside of Hogwarts. He'd kill me if he heard me doing it in front of other students."

Hermione smiled at that. Although she disliked the professor, it was nice knowing Malfoy had a good relationship with him. And it was funny imagining them outside of Hogwarts.

"Don't look at me like that, Granger. It's not like we're best mates or something," He scoffed.

"What? I wasn't looking at you like anything," She feigned innocence.

"Yes you were, like…" He then mocked her, copying the face she'd been making. He opened his eyes wide and clasped his hands together, faking a dreamy smile.

Woah, had she really been looking at him like that?

"I was not!" She defended herself and then Malfoy's eyes were on her hair, again.

"Does this bother you?" She asked, touching the green on her hair. "You keep looking at it."

His expression changed and he shook his head.

"No, no. It's just…distracting."

Hermione swallowed uncomfortably. She didn't think it was that big a deal, but it must look really hideous if Malfoy was noticing it so much.

She took her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at her hair.

"No, wait!" He quickly said, grabbing her by the wrist before she could speak the incantation. "You don't have to-" He was abruptly interrupted by some very loud and obnoxious banging.

He dropped his hand. They looked at each other for a second too long.

"Well, it was only a matter of time," He stood up. "Good night, Hermione."

Her stomach dropped and her heart raced.

"No!" She jumped to her feet. Malfoy stood frozen, frowning.

"No, I mean…they can't just kick us out of our own common room! We can't even study or have a conversation because they're doing…that," She was rambling and Malfoy just shrugged.

"I can't stay out here, the noise will drive me insane."

"I know me too, but we have to do something! They can't get away with it anymore!"

"Like what? No silencing spells that I know of have worked. We could ask Professor Flitwick but that'll be an uncomfortable conversation," He grimaced. "Plus, we could get them in trouble. Although that doesn't sound too bad."

Her mind raced with possibilities. "Maybe we can…trick them or something. Disturb them back!" She walked briskly to the other side of the room and stood right in front the wall, her wand twirling in her hand.

"I think I could make it rain on the other side of the wall…" She trailed off, thinking.

Malfoy stood behind her, his head tilted in curiosity and a small smile softening his features.

"Or we could mess with their heads!" She turned around abruptly, only to find Malfoy there, staring at her.

"How?" He asked, entirely too amused by her behavior.

"Well, we could…" She turned around again and knocked on the wall three times with her hand.

The noise stopped.

She smiled proudly and Malfoy emitted a low chuckle.

But then they started going at it, again.

Hermione knocked again, even harder. They stopped. She looked up at Malfoy with a smirk. He seemed mildly impressed, but she knew he wouldn't admit it.

The banging started again, this time accompanied by human voices and moans. Hermione tried her best not to blush and started banging her fist furiously against the wall, but apparently they had decided to ignore the sound.

"That was a nice try," Malfoy said, the smile heavy on his voice.

Hermione cursed internally. She will not let herself get bested by her inconsiderate classmates.

She leaned in as close to the wall was possible, cleared her throat, and then spoke loud and clear:

"Students! This behavior is absolutely inexcusable!" There was a gasp from the other side of the wall, followed by silence. "An outright disgrace to the good name of Gryffindor! If this foolishness doesn't cease, consequences will be most severe!"

She had tried her hardest to do a good impersonation of Mcgonagall. And it must have worked, because there were hurrying steps and hushed conversation coming from the other room. She smiled to herself in victory and then she was startled when a familiar but unusual laughter erupted behind her.

She turned around to see Draco Malfoy, Slythering Prince Extraordinaire, rolling in the floor with laughter.

His face was a brilliant red, making his teeth and hair seem even whiter. His eyes were closed tightly and his hands clutched his middle for dear life, as his entire body shook without stopping. The sounds he was making were completely unrestrained and Hermione felt like she was experiencing a once in a lifetime opportunity; the chance to see Malfoy lose control.

Crookshanks was staring at him curiously and Hermione couldn't stop the small giggles escaping her lips. She felt proud and a little embarrassed at the same time and a whole minute passed before Malfoy's laughter died out. He pushed himself to sit, resting his elbows on his tucked knees in a casual manner while shaking his head; a smile still plastered across his face.

"I can't believe you did that; that was hilarious, Granger," He declared and she felt something on her chest expand. She grinned like a fool and stood before Malfoy, extending her hand out to him.

"I told you I could put a stop to it."

He accepted her hand and she helped him off the floor. It might have been her imagination, but she thought Malfoy squeezed her hand lightly before letting go.

"For a second there I thought Mcgonagall had actually caught them red handed and was scolding them from the other side of the wall. They're probably still shaking in terror," His voice was laced with amusement and she impulsively decided she loved it. She loved that she had made him laugh.

"I hope so, that'll teach them."

Malfoy smiled at her and she smiled back. She didn't know what to do next, so she lowered her eyes and shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you want some tea? I can tell you more about my wizardry conspiracy theories," He offered and she nodded eagerly, for what she later felt embarrassed.

They had a pleasant conversation over a few cups of tea for her and sugar water for Malfoy. They talked and talked until Hermione couldn't suppress a yawn. Malfoy trailed off and cocked his head at her.

"I think you should go to bed, Granger."

"Oh, sorry I just, I really want to hear the end of this," She managed, though she was really exhausted.

He shook his head. "I'll tell you tomorrow. I should try and sleep as well," He stood up.

Hermione stretched her arms overhead and then rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Do you want me to carry you to your bed?" He asked, sarcastically she hoped. Her head cleared immediately and a bunch of nervous butterflies started flapping in her stomach.

"Don't be silly," She looked up at him with red cheeks and he offered her his hand, which she took.

"Thank you," They stared at one another for a moment and his eyes slowly trailed off towards her hair. She almost reached up self-consciously. Malfoy's pupils were slightly bigger and she could see the rigidness of his posture, which was weird considering how relaxed he seemed seconds ago. His eyes were back on hers and she heard a low exhale from his mouth. She almost released the breath she had been holding as well, when suddenly Malfoy was looking down and stepping back from her.

"Goodnight," He said, his voice a little strained.

"Goodnight," She replied, turning around and walking quickly to her dormitory, heart racing wildly.

Despite this, she was able to fall asleep almost immediately, a goofy smile tugging at her lips.

Hermione spent most of the next day in the library, so she didn't see Malfoy until she came back to the common room that evening. She had been reflecting on their conversation of the day before and had some ideas she couldn't wait to share with him. No one had ever wanted to talk about such interesting things with her before.

When Hermione was about to enter the common room she heard a voice on the other side. Malfoy's voice. She wondered who he was talking to.

She leaned in closer.

"How many times have I told you not to do that?" He sounded more frustrated than angry. "You only care about yourself, don't you?"

"Eavesdropping, dear?" Came an entirely different voice, entirely too close. Hermione jumped slightly.

"Oh, um…" The portrait of Irina Skadenberg; and exemplary Hogwarts student and then Head Nurse of the Hospital Wing for nearly 50 years until her death in 1789; stared pointedly at her, trying to suppress a smile. Hermione had completely forgotten that their door was a portrait.

"I'm sorry, I don't usually do this, it's just that…" Hermione couldn't think of an excuse.

Irina shook her head. "Don't worry dear, I won't tell. He spends the entire day talking to that cat when you're not here," She winked at Hermione and opened the door just an inch, so Malfoy's voice was clearer. She sent her a grateful smile.

"You just want me to rub your belly again. Well, guess what? I won't do it. Granger spoils you enough for the both of us."

Hermione was trying hard not to giggle as she pictured Crookshanks lying on his back in front of Malfoy, trying to get him to pet him. Her cat meowed whiningly and she could hear Malfoy sighing.

"Alright, just once more and then you get off the couch so I can read, understood?"

Crookshanks meowed again more enthusiastically. She knew he was understanding Malfoy perfectly well.

Hermione decided to walk in right then, to see if she could catch Malfoy petting the cat he claimed to hate. As soon as he heard her enter, his hand jerked away from Crookshanks and the cat left the couch to go greet her at the door. The entire thing was so perfectly timed that Hermione knew she would had missed it if she hadn't known where to look. She decided not to out their little secret.

"Hello," She scratched behind Crookshanks' ears as he purred.

Malfoy looked up from his book as if he had just heard her enter in that exact moment. That little snake.

"Hello, Granger."

"Hi, Malfoy."

He looked at her head with a weird expression and she realized he must have been noticing her lack of green hair today. He quickly adverted his eyes before she could read him properly.

She walked to her room to leave her over-stuffed bag inside and change into more comfortable clothing. When she came back, Malfoy was using his wand to heat water in a tea kettle. She noticed he had picked white tea this time.

"Don't let it reach boiling point, it could ruin white tea's delicate flavor," She commented as she walked closer.

Malfoy looked at her skeptically. "Are you telling me that you could taste the difference if I used boiling water instead of just under-boiled water?"

She nodded. "And you could too, just try it without the sugar," She smiled sweetly and he scoffed, filling her cup with steaming water. They let the tea steep in silence and Hermione was about to ask him to finish the story he had been telling yesterday, when they were rudely interrupted. Again.

She stared at him in disbelief, while his eyes had an amusing glint.

"I can't believe them. Didn't they learn their lesson yesterday?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Maybe they're not the same ones. Gryffindors are strange; if that same thing happened to me, I would tell my mates not to use that dormitory again because the old bat's on the other side. Then again, I wouldn't share a dormitory to that purpose with four other blokes, like those barbarians are doing."

Hermione felt a little heated. If it was from anger or something else, she couldn't tell.

"Well, is not like they have much choice, do they? Those are the private chambers they have. I just wish they were a little more considerate," She blew on her tea while Malfoy grabbed the sugar bowl.

"Of course they have a choice. There's the Astronomy Tower, an empty classroom, the Room of Requirement. I'm sure this old castle has a million options if you just get creative," Malfoy finished stirring his tea and brought the spoon up to his lips. His tongue darted out swiftly to catch a sugary drop before he popped the spoon into his mouth, sucking it clean and then pulling it out to rest on the edge of his plate. Hermione had a sudden craving for sweets.

"Is that what you would do?" The question escaped her mouth before she could think about it and she tried not to look as mortified as she felt.

Malfoy stood frozen and then slowly turned towards her with a completely serious face. His eyes were boring into her for just a second before he looked around the common room. His eyes passed over the entire space, from the entrance, to the couch, the fireplace, the desks, the bathroom, the bedrooms and finally, back to her again. His lips twitched with the beginning of a smile.

"I don't have to."

Her breath got caught in her throat and for a moment, she forgot there was some very incessant noise disturbing them. That is, until a loud female scream pulled her back to reality.

"Yes! Yes!"

Hermione shook her head twice before placing her tea down and practically sprinting to the wall with her wand in hand. She pointed it at her throat and with a non-verbal sonorus charm, her voice amplified.

"What in Merlin's name is the meaning of this? You have exactly five seconds to stop this nonsense before I walk in and take you to the Headmaster's office myself and in your current state!"

Malfoy had rushed to her side and was leaning as close to the wall as possible, trying not to laugh too loudly.

"Five!" She announced, still trying to maintain her Mcgonagall impersonation.

There was a terrified gasp.

"Four!" She locked eyes with Malfoy, which was a mistake because his smile almost made her lose her concentration.

"Three!" The couple on the other side were whispering frantically choruses of "go!" and "move now!"

"Two!" She warned and then everything went silent with the slam of a door.

Malfoy started laughing "Did you hear the," he cut himself off with more laughter "No you idiot! Those are my knickers!" He laughed even harder and Hermione joined him, removing the sonorous from her voice.

They were both resting their backs against the wall, trying to catch their breaths. Eventually, Hermione turned her head to look at him, still not able to remove the smile from her face. She stared at the long line of his neck, the way his Adam's apple moved with the remains of his laugh. And his eyelashes and how they matched the color of his hair perfectly, but not the darker shade of his eyebrows. His slim nose was entirely too symmetrical and she wished hers was half as perfect. And most of all, Hermione noticed how he looked like a different person, someone that her eyes weren't used to seeing, but someone that her body recognized as familiar.

So familiar actually, that her hand reached out on its own to remove an orange cat's hair standing out against his golden fringe.

Malfoy opened his eyes when he felt her fingers on his hair. His eyes were wide with surprise but he remained smiling. She held out the orange hair for him to see.

"Sorry," She told him and he shrugged.

"I haven't laughed like this in ages. When did you get so fun, Granger?"

It was her time to shrug. "Maybe I've always been and you never noticed."

"Not likely. I think I bring it out in you," He smirked and she scoffed.

"You wish, Malfoy."

They were quiet for a while and Hermione turned to look at him again when she felt him shift beside her. He was leaning on his side, his body now facing her. She copied his actions and they both smiled uncomfortably. Hermione was about to ask him if they should get back to their teas when, without a warning, he was leaning down. Her heart began racing so wildly she got a head rush, and the last thing she saw before instinctively closing her eyes was the way he was staring at her lips.

She inhaled sharply and prepared herself to feel…

Nothing.

A few more seconds passed and nothing happened.

She knew her cheeks were probably showing her embarrassment, as she had never dreaded opening her eyes more in her life. Malfoy was probably scowling at her from all the way across the room, disgusted by her actions. Or laughing at her ingenuity for actually thinking he was going to kiss her.

When she reluctantly opened her eyes, he was just a step away from her, his back slumped against the wall again, and his eyes closed tight.

Hermione took a deep breath and pushed herself off the wall.

"I think…I'm going to sleep."

She saw him swallow hard before he opened his eyes, not looking at her.

"Goodnight," She called awkwardly and he nodded.

"Goodnight."

Before closing her door, she turned around to find him still unmoving on that wall.

Hermione's apparently splendid impersonation of Mcgonagall worked so well that they hadn't been bothered in three days. It felt almost surreal to be able to relax in her own common room in complete silence.

It was Sunday and Malfoy hadn't been there all day. After what happened the other night, she got the feeling he was avoiding her, which could either mean that he had had intentions of kissing her or that he hadn't, and she couldn't decide which was worse. She couldn't deny she had been somewhat attracted to him as of late and her mind obviously was making things up.

She decided to keep her pyjamas on, sit down on the armchair with a cup of tea and a book and try to get Malfoy out of her head for a while.

But of course, he walked in not two seconds later.

"Hey," She smiled, closing her book.

"Hello," He replied. He had green stains on his trousers, he must have been laying in the grass.

"Do you want some tea? I just made it."

"Sure. I'll just be a moment," He went over to his room and closed the door.

Hermione poured him the tea and waited for him at the coffee table. She surprised herself with how eager she was to talk to him.

He came back with different clothes and a book in his hand. Sitting on the other arm chair, he took the cup in his other hand. He nodded to her as a thank you and she watched intently as he took his first sip. His eyes shot up to hers when he tasted the ridiculous amount of sugar she had stirred into his tea. He was probably expecting her to use a sensible amount, or not to use any at all. She tried (and failed) not to smile and he did the same, casting his eyes downwards and clearing his throat.

"So…" She started "What are you reading?" She signaled at the book on his lap.

"Oh, it's just…well you probably know it," He showed her the beautifully designed cover. Alice In Wonderland. That was unexpected.

At the look on her face, he explained. "It's not mine. I was outside reading your copy of Oliver Twist, and Luna Lovegood came over and told me that if I was reading Muggle literature, I should read the best author. She lent me her copy and then left."

Luna and Malfoy? Having an amicable conversation? It was almost as weird as she and Malfoy having an amicable conversation.

"Well I can't say I'm really surprised that she carries that book around with her," She commented.

"She said it was her favorite. Now, I haven't read more than a few pages, but I would bet good money that this Carroll fellow wasn't really a Muggle. I'd hate to be the one to tell her."

"Then don't. Sometimes is best not to argue these things with her. Believe me," Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I do believe you. In your many years of arguing with every single living entity, you must have encountered someone who didn't let themselves be corrected by you," His smirk was positively devilish.

"I have not argued with every living entity! And what are you talking about? You're even more stubborn than I am!" She tried not to get too roused because that was exactly what he wanted.

"Granger, you'd argue with a wall if it could answer you," He leaned forward provocatively, daring her to argue so he could prove his point.

"I…" She bit her tongue and took in a deep breath. "So, are you liking the book?"

He smiled and leaned back again. "I am. Thank you for asking, Hermione."

She couldn't resist the urge to smile too. "You're welcome, Draco."

They both began reading their own books quietly, only the turning of pages and sips of tea as background.

Hermione looked over her book every so often, catching sights of Malfoy deep in concentration, and wondering why she couldn't concentrate like him. For some reason, hearing her name from his lips made her feel elated. Like a champion who just won a race or defeated a dragon. Like it was a trophy for winning the respect and appreciation from the Slytherin Prince.

Because, as much as she pretended not to care about other people's opinions, it still crushed her spirit a little every time someone disliked her, insulted her, mocked her, or hated her.

And against all odds, the person who used to hate her the most now seemed to esteem her, and even consider her someone worth talking to. And weirdly enough, she also considered him worthy of her time and affection.

She started chewing her lip worriedly. Had she really been thinking of Malfoy in affectionate terms? It's not like she would die for him this instant, but she had to recognize she definitively didn't want him to suffer or be sad. She could even say she wanted him to be happy.

"Are you okay?" His voice startled her. "You've been staring blankly at the wall for the past three minutes."

She cleared her throat embarrassedly. "Yes, I'm okay, just thinking."

"Alright," He went back to his book. She stared again at the beautiful cover.

It had been years since she first read Alice In Wonderland. It sure would be interesting to reread it again from a magical perspective, now that she knew she was a witch.

She wondered if Malfoy would be willing to read the book aloud to her…

Hermione shook her head slightly to herself. That would be far too intimate.

She focused again on her book and forced herself to read until she was caught up in the story again. Before she knew it, she sun was going down and the fireplace magically lit up. They both looked up at the noise and then at each other, smiling. She was feeling completely content. Even though she usually enjoyed reading alone, Malfoy had proved to be the perfect companion and his presence actually relaxed her once she got used to him.

With another sip of her tea, she returned to her book and heard Malfoy sigh softly before doing the same. She could do this for hours, and she had a feeling they would.

Bang.

Her head shot up.

Bang.

Malfoy's head shot up.

Bang.

They stared at each other with equally wide eyes and Hermione watched fascinated as his lips formed a brilliantly wicked smile. It scared and excited her to no end and her own smirk was almost as malicious.

They both jumped off their chairs, throwing the books on the table and sprinting across the room, Malfoy even leaping over the couch to get to the wall faster. Hermione almost tripped over Crookshanks who didn't understand what was going on.

"What should I do? Should I do Mcgonagall again?" She whispered to him trying not to be heard, but barely containing her giggles.

"Maybe, but I don't think it affects them that much, they've obviously come back," He answered.

"You're right. Maybe we could try something different, then. Do you know any spells?"

He bit his bottom lip while thinking and Hermione's giggles stopped when a breath got caught in her throat.

She turned away from him and focused her mind again to the task at hand.

"Oh, how was the rain one? I can't remember the incantation just now!" She raked her brains trying to remember that particular charm.

Malfoy, meanwhile, was staring at the wall in concentration and taping his wand against his thigh.

"It's such a ridiculous spell, that's why I never bothered to memorize it or even practice it that much," She rubbed her hands against her eyes, it frustrated her immensely when she couldn't remember something. Malfoy didn't move and she heard him take a deep breath. "I know it's on our second year charms book, maybe I can look it up…"

But before she could move a muscle, her whole body was paralyzed at the sound of a voice. And not just any voice…

Snape's.

"Evidently," Everything went silent. "You Gryffindors consider yourselves to be above rules don't you?"

Hermione couldn't believe her ears, she couldn't believe Snape had caught them, she couldn't believe…

She turned around abruptly and she didn't think her eyes could get any wider. She watched in awe as Malfoy held his wand against his throat and took a deep breath in preparation.

"Luckily, I am not as lenient as your head of house and have no qualms about handing out severe detentions to whoever dares to keep this up."

Hermione had to literally press both her hands against her mouth to try and keep her laughter under control as she heard the people on the other side of the wall almost yelp in fear. Malfoy's absolutely uncanny imitation of Snape had the walls shaking and floor creaking. She couldn't imagine the humiliation that her housemates were feeling in that moment.

"Your reckless endeavors will no longer be tolerated. Oh, and fifty points from Gryffindor."

A gasp, the slam of a door, and Hermione completely lost it.

She couldn't keep her eyes open as she laughed and laughed like never before. Her back it the wall and she felt Malfoy's shoulder against her own, shaking with unrestrained amusement just like she was. Her whole body felt light weighted and she realized she couldn't keep herself up anymore, so she let herself slid down the wall until she was sitting, hugging her knees to her chest.

When the laughs turned into giggles, she opened her eyes to see Malfoy sitting right beside her, watching her with a big smile, apparently having finished laughing before she did.

She took in a couple of deep breaths to try and gain her composure back.

"That was…" She breathed, trying not to fall into a laughing fit again. "How did you…"

Malfoy shrugged. "I always found his voice funny when I was a kid and I used to make fun of him. I've had a lot of practice since then, but I had never done it in front of anyone."

"Why not? It's brilliant!"

"Have you shown anybody your Mcgonagall impersonation?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Not really, but I didn't know I could do that. Oh and… fifty point from Gryffindor?" She looked at him accusingly and he smirked.

"It was the only way to make it believable," He defended himself.

"You're Head Boy, those points really did count!"

"I know, but I've never seen Snape talk directly to a Gryffindor without deducting house points."

Hermione couldn't argue with that.

"Well, it's okay. We're still way ahead of Slytherin even without those points," She teased.

"Doesn't matter, Hufflepuff has been leading all year, and as long as you cowardly lions don't win, I'm good."

She dropped her jaw in fake indignation. "Who are you calling cowardly? I'm not the one who was too afraid to let everyone know you're better at being Snape that Snape himself!" She poked him in the arm.

"Who is so naïve that they thought their friends having sex was someone bouncing a ball against the wall?" He asked condescendingly and Hermione scoffed.

"Alright, who is so prideful that they have a secret relationship with my cat behind closed doors but pretend to hate him when I'm here?"

She could tell his jaw drop was genuine.

"Yes, well…" He stammered "Who was so scared to confront their friends that they rather suffer in silence with me?"

"And who was so scared that the other night they didn't…." She cut herself off, cursing herself internally.

He looked at her, scrutinizing her eyes, unblinking. Hermione forced herself to break eye contact in case he could see the truth in her eyes. She heard him exhale.

"Didn't what?" His voice was softer than she had ever heard it.

"Didn't…" She stammered "Do their Snape impersonation."

Malfoy looked down briefly and smiled.

"Wrong answer, Miss Granger," He said imitating Snape again. "Five points from Gryffindor."

Hermione almost chocked on a very awkward laugh and turned to him again. He wasn't laughing, not even smiling. Instead he was staring at her smile and before Hermione could speak, his eyes flickered to hers and what she saw in them made her stop.

Stop smiling when his mouth crashed into hers.

Stop thinking when his hands cupped her face.

Stop breathing when he took her bottom lip between his.

Her own hands followed the path form his forearms to his biceps, to his shoulders, to his neck. She held him tight, closed her eyes, tilted her head and she was finally kissing Draco Malfoy.

He deepened the kiss and she opened her mouth, wanting to taste him. Her face was burning up with mixed feelings of embarrassment, confusion and want. Their tongues met and slowly, the embarrassment was fading into the background.

She felt the way he was slowly pulling her closer to him until his back hit the wall again and she was kneeling uncomfortably beside him. He broke the kiss suddenly and looked at her with hunger and blown pupils and there was no way she could come up with coherent thoughts right then. He let go of her face and gripped her waist with both hands before swiftly pulling her over his lap. She gasped and Malfoy rushed to kiss her again, probably afraid that she will question this idea if he let her think.

And somehow he already knew how good he was at making her stop thinking.

Hermione worried briefly about how readily she was accepting all of his advances, even shamelessly straddling him without protesting, and whether that made her seem too easy. She quickly decided that she was bigger than that. And that Malfoy's lips were a bigger priority than that.

She tentatively licked his bottom lip and Malfoy tightened his grip around her, sending shivers all over her body and making her kiss him faster, deeper, more desperate. He tasted like tea and laughter and she hoped she tasted half as good and addictive so he'd never want to stop. She ran her hands through his hair as he caressed her back and waist, pulling her impossibly close to him. She complied, widening her stance on her knees and lowering herself to fully sit on his lap. She immediately felt his hardness against her softness, only separated by the fabric of her pyjama shorts, his trousers and their underwear.

Hermione squirmed spontaneously and let out a soft sigh inside his mouth, which made Malfoy attack her neck with a possessive grunt. When he kissed, nipped and then licked the soft trail from her jaw to her shoulder, she felt her body melting, dripping, all the pleasure pooling thickly on her lower belly and making her underwear wet. She moaned involuntarily and Malfoy slipped his hands under her shirt, feeling the bare skin of her back and pressing their chests together. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and Hermione felt as he inhaled deeply and then groaned softly before grabbing her face and kissing her again.

She didn't know how long they kissed for but she did notice that she was progressively and unconsciously rocking her hips to grind against him, and that she didn't know how to stop.

His hands slid to her hair, feeling it, caressing it, fisting it and even gathering it over her shoulders so it lay between them. He broke the kiss and buried his face on her hair this time.

"Fuck, Hermione. I love your hair," His voice was muffled but she still understood him.

Wait.

His words were like a portkey that pulled her from behind her navel and transported her back to reality.

She snapped her eyes open, pushing him away from her by the shoulders and staring at him in astonishment. He was a gorgeous mess of ruffled hair, swollen lips and ragged breathing. He began to frown in confusion.

"What?" She asked breathlessly. "My hair? I thought it drove you mad!"

He smiled charmingly. "It does. It absolutely does," He removed her hands from his shoulders and leaned forward. "The other day when you dyed it green, I could hardly control myself," He whispered in her ear and then placed kisses all along her temple.

Hermione had no idea that words alone could make heat spread from between her legs to her entire body so fast.

"R-really?" Her voice came out hoarse and she felt Malfoy nodding while continuing to kiss the side of her face and neck. Hermione relaxed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He slowly lowered his hands and placed them on her thighs. His touch was scorching, leaving every inch of her on fire, demanding more.

"Hold on tight," He told her and she did, securing her arms around him.

He grabbed the back of her thighs firmly, tucked his knees in and stood up while lifting her. She immediately wrapped her legs around him and wondered if the world knew that skinny-looking Draco Malfoy was actually pretty strong.

He turned them around so he could press her up against the wall and lost no time in kissing her again. She tried and barely succeeded in containing all the noises that wanted to escape from her mouth when he very lightly thrust his hips against her. Her hands were touching everything she could reach and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to magically vanish his shirt.

And from the looks of it, he wanted to do the same.

Malfoy pulled her bottom lip into his mouth, biting it with just enough pressure to make Hermione think she was going to implode. He let go of her lip and started kissing her neck again, up and down until he decided to stay on a particular spot. He nipped the skin between his lips before eagerly sucking on it. The sensation shot through Hermione like lightning and without thinking she threw her head back, banging it on the wall.

"Are you alright?" He had lifted his head from her neck and was now sporting a very unfamiliar concerned expression.

"Yes, yes," She placed a hand over her head. "I hardly noticed," She smiled embarrassedly.

He smiled as well and for a moment they just stared at each other. Their chests rose and fell in synchrony, both still a bit breathless, their mouths inches apart. She knew she should have been nervous, or at least confused, but Malfoy's eyes had a gentleness that made her stomach settle.

His eyes flickered down and suddenly he was laughing.

"What?" She asked and he shook his head.

"You're not going to like the bruise I left on your neck," He answered amused.

Her hand reached to touch it unconsciously. "Now I'm going to have to cover it up!" She reproached him jokingly.

"Except when you're here," He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Hermione wanted to giggle and blush, but all she did was roll her eyes.

"Aren't you tired? You can put me down," She suggested since they were no longer snogging.

"Not really, I could do this all day," He boasted and she sent him a dubious look.

"Alright, alright," He placed her down and she was still touching her neck. She wouldn't admit to him how unbelievably arousing it was that he had given her a love-bite.

She didn't want there to be an awkward silence so she tried to find something to say.

"You know, I didn't dye my hair. Some third-years did it," She explained.

Malfoy nodded, smirking slightly. "Sure, Granger," And then he turned around, walking to his room.

Hermione stood frozen, her jaw hanging open. How dare he?

"What? It's true!" She protested as she followed him.

"Alright, if you say so…" He walked inside and threw himself on his bed.

"I didn't! Why would I do that?!" She stopped by his doorframe, looking at him incredulously.

"Come on, it was the exact same shade of Slytherin green!"

Hermione stared at him, tilting her head to the side.

"It was?" She asked, confused. She hadn't even noticed what kind of green it was.

"I don't blame you for trying to seduce me," He winked playfully. "Don't play the fool, Hermione."

She looked down at her feet with a small smile. He was really something else.

"Can I ask you a question?"

He nodded.

"Why is it sometimes 'Granger' and sometimes 'Hermione'?" Her question floated between them for a few seconds. He was looking up at his ceiling. She took this opportunity to inspect his room. It was fairly neat, but not as perfect as she would expect. It smelled of clean laundry and broom polisher, and he didn't seem to have anything too weird or too personal. There were no quidditch posters, no dark artifacts, no family pictures. The only thing that caught her eye was a green apple on his nightstand.

He finally shrugged. "I don't know. I guess sometimes 'Hermione' slips out," He turned his head to look at her. "Do you like it?"

She thought about lying and she thought about faking indifference, but something wouldn't let her.

"Yes."

He smiled.

"Do you want me to call you 'Draco'?"

"Maybe."

She smiled.

"Well goodnight, Draco," She said as she turned to leave.

"Wait!" He called as he sat up on the edge of his bed. He looked her in the eye and slowly started lowering his gaze, roaming over her entire body and then back up again. He exhaled and her heart was dangerously close to beating out of her chest. She licked her lips, unsure of what to do.

"Goodnight," He repeated, and with a smile he leaned back down again.

Hermione turned around and prayed that her shaky legs would carry her to her bed without stumbling.

When she finally made it to her room, she closed the door and lied down, replaying everything that had just happened in the last hour. She wondered if Draco was doing the same. She closed her eyes and imagined him stretched in his bed, thinking about kissing her, touching her, licking her.

She already knew she was not going to sleep that night.

The next day Hermione felt animated despite the lack of sleep. She took a shower before heading out to breakfast, and there was no sight of Draco around. She had unwittingly memorized his schedule and remembered that he had a free period first thing Monday, so he was probably sleeping in.

She had no idea how she was supposed to concentrate on class that day if every time she blinked, she saw a different memory of last night's events replaying in perfect clarity.

She was one of the first students to arrive at the Great Hall, and as she sat down to eat she noticed that she was forcing herself to act normal, as if the way she was eating her eggs would give something away. She felt every word, every breath, every touch, marked on her skin, and she was afraid everyone would see it.

Her skin. Marked.

She gasped loudly, dropping her fork and covering her neck quickly. She cursed herself internally. How could she forget to cover the bruise? It was the most important thing to do before leaving the common room!

Hermione looked around to make sure no one was watching and then cast a Disillusionment charm. It would have to do for now, since she didn't have any make up on her, but the charm was bound to wear off soon. She sighed, relieved that none of her classmates had shown up yet.

After a while the tables started filling up and her best friends showed up, leaning against each other in deep conversation. Harry was frowning and Ron looked positively green as they whispered furiously and Hermione's heart started racing, wondering what sort of trouble lay ahead of them this time. After all, they were still mostly at war and she was always prepared for the worst. They made eye contact and walked over to her side.

"Hi, Hermione," Ron greeted her as he sat down.

"How are you?" Harry asked, sitting on her other side and serving himself a cup of coffee. Hermione frowned. Harry never drinks coffee.

"What's going on?" She looked at both of them, turning her head left and right so she could gauge their reactions. "Did something happen? Is it Tonks? Fred and George? Is it something Dumbledore showed you?" She directed the last question at Harry.

"Calm down, Hermione. Nothing's happening. Everyone is okay," Ron told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Then what were you discussing so somberly? And why are you drinking coffee?" She looked at Harry inquiringly.

"No reason, I just couldn't sleep very well and I wanted to be alert for Transfiguration," He adverted his eyes and she looked at him suspiciously. Then she turned her head to give Ron the same look.

"Alright, there's something you're not telling me. Why couldn't you sleep? And… oh Ron!" She gasped in surprise. Ron hadn't eaten anything since sitting down at the table and now she watched him as he carelessly nibbled on a dry piece of toast and then discarded it, looking slightly nauseous.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"We have been coming to this school for ten months a year for the past six years, that means we have sat in this same table three times a day for sixty months, that's roughly…" She closed her eyes for a moment so she could concentrate. "Five thousand times! And each time I have seen you devour everything in sight until you couldn't possibly fit anything else on your plate or your stomach. So, I ask one more time. What in Gryffindor's name is going on?!"

Her impressive rant had attracted a few unwanted stares from other students, but she was quick to ignore them. Harry and Ron looked speechless.

Harry cleared his throat. "Right. Well, we do have something to tell you. We were just waiting for the right time. But is nothing you have to worry about, no one is hurt or anything."

"Alright, so tell me," She insisted.

"Why don't we wait until after breakfast? On our way to class we can stop by somewhere more private," He suggested and Ron nodded in agreement. She looked at them again to see if they weren't hiding anything else, and then sighed.

"Okay. But Ron, really do try to eat something, you don't look very well," She declared as she returned to her own food.

After a very quiet and tedious breakfast, the three of them left the table and Hermione led them to an empty hallway on the second floor, knowing that no one should be using it for a couple of hours at least. Being Head Girl had its perks.

"We're here. Now, care to tell me what's got you so afflicted?"

They looked at each other one more time and then Ron started talking.

"We don't really know how to tell you this, Hermione, but, um…" He trailed off, his face going as red as his hair.

"It's just sort of an uncomfortable subject. You see, Seamus told us that he heard something weird the other night when we, um, weren't in the dormitory," Harry explained and suddenly Hermione's eyes widened. All the color drained from her face and her hands started sweating. She couldn't believe her ears. Could this be about what she thought it was?

"It added up with something I heard when I was in there another night…" Ron trailed off again, looking, if possible, more embarrassed.

Hermione had trouble breathing. This was it, they knew. She was sure of it. They had figured out it was her and Draco and now they were confronting her about it.

She had not been prepared for this.

Harry continued. "And then, Dean told us he heard something even weirder last night, and after we got back to our dormitory, we um…we're pretty sure we heard…"

Hermione closed her eyes. She couldn't look them in the eye when they said what they were about to say.

"Snape and Mcgonagall having sex!" Ron all but shouted.

Hermione pressed her eyelids tightly together in confusion and wondered if she had heard correctly. She could almost hear Ron's echoes bouncing from the walls.

She opened her eyes to stare at them, her mouth hanging open. Her eyes settled on Ron. Then on Harry, and then on the empty space between them. They looked at her expectantly, almost desperately as she stood frozen, truly speechless for the first time in her life.

"I know it sounds absurd, Hermione. But it's true! They were in the room next to ours in some other part of the castle and we heard these…noises and…ugh I can't think about it again," Harry declared, covering his face with his hands and groaning.

"I really do believe it's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I'm afraid of sleeping, Hermione! What if it happens again?" Ron lamented, looking completely miserable.

Suddenly, Hermione had only one thought and only one feeling.

She took a deep breath and started laughing.

Her body had become familiar with the feeling in the last few days, shaking involuntarily and without abandon. Harry and Ron looked at each other, puzzled and lost. The look on their faces made Hermione's laughter pick up again. She had to lean on Ron's shoulder for support and even in her current state, couldn't help but compare it to the way Draco's shoulder felt under her touch.

Oh, Draco. When she told Draco about this…

That thought made her emit a high-pitch chuckle that made her best friends look like they were seriously questioning her sanity.

Finally, she was gasping for breath as her laugher died out and she could stand on her own, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes, but still unable to talk.

"I'm not sure I understand the joke," Harry said, glaring at her.

"Yeah," Ron crossed his arms over his chest. "If you had been there it wouldn't seem so funny!"

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the smile on her face and voice. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" She swallowed and pursed her lips together, forcing herself to be serious. "It must have been a truly terrible experience."

"It was! You have to help us, Hermione! You can Obliviate us!" Ron pleaded.

"Ron, you know I can't do that, it could have very serious consequences! And oh please, please don't attempt it yourself. I'm sure you'll get over the trauma just fine eventually."

"Well, at least tell us how soundproof that wall, I can't risk my mental stability like that again!" He almost begged her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how. But I promise I'll look into it," She said, covering her mouth at the end to hide her amusement.

"Oh, great," Harry looked at his watch. "We have Transfiguration in less than five minutes. I don't know how I'll be able to look at Mcgonagall in the face now," Harry shuddered and they started to walk to class.

"Don't be silly, she's still our teacher. One incident shouldn't change that," Hermione told them.

"And if it happens again?" Ron asked, sounding terrified.

Hermione smirked. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be more cautious next time."

After a very entertaining day, Hermione returned to the common room with the best of moods. She left her books in her room and changed into more comfortable clothes. She came out just when Draco was coming in.

"Hello," He greeted her with a smile.

"Hello!" She greeted back, beaming

Draco raised one of his eyebrows at her. "What's got you so cheerful? Did Madame Pince retired and they've appointed you official Librarian?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Why are you always so cynical?"

He shrugged. "I don't know how to be anything else," He paused in front of her, looking down at her face and tracing a finger form her shoulder to her neck. Hermione shivered and her heart raced at the sudden contact. She didn't expect him to be so forward again so fast.

He stared at her neck. "I don't think this Disillusionment charm is working very well. I can teach you how to cast a better one," He was caressing the spot on her neck.

"Oh, it's just wearing off. I didn't recast it at my last break because I was coming back here…" She explained embarrassedly.

"Mmm…" He nodded, eyes and hand still glued to her neck. Hermione almost closed her eyes and leaned into Draco before remembering what she had to say.

"Um, so…Today Harry and Ron told me something that I think you'll find very amusing," She said, smirking.

Draco dropped his hand. "Everything they say is a joke to my ears," He teased.

"Well, I'm sure they wish this was a joke. They um…" Hermione had been so excited to tell him that she forgot she would have to talk about what they did.

"They sort of heard us, yesterday, through the wall and," She cut herself off when Draco threw his head back, laughing.

"I can't believe I missed Weasley's face! I was hoping to be there when he found out about us!" He chuckled, shaking his head from side to side.

Hermione made a mental note to think about what he meant by 'us' later on.

"Well, he didn't! That's the funny part…they thought it was Snape and Mcgonagall doing it against the wall!" She clapped her hands together, smiling brightly.

Draco stood, rooted and unmoving, with his eyes focused on hers. He wasn't laughing or smiling, he didn't even seem to be thinking. Hermione tilted her head to the side and wondered if this is what she looked like when Harry and Ron told her.

Suddenly, he turned around and sat himself on the couch almost mechanically, staring into space. Hermione sat next to him.

"Draco?"

"That is literally the funniest thing I have ever heard in my entire life, Hermione. I don't think I can even react to it. I wasn't ready for this," He explained, barely moving.

Hermione nodded and sat quietly, just looking at him. She was expecting a better reaction.

Slowly, Draco's body started moving, shaking. A deep and rich laughter erupting form his belly that made Hermione's insides light up, like electricity cursing through her veins. His face transformed from a blank exterior to a myriad of joyful expressions, the tiny wrinkles on his eyes, the soft coloring of his ears, the slightly out of place hairs on his forehead, the perfect outline of his lips framing the symmetrical lining of his teeth.

And Hermione thought she should be laughing, she thought she should find this hilarious and light and silly, but the feeling that filled her bones, her muscles, her organs, was not of mirth or humor; It was invincibility. She felt like she could do anything that she could ever want.

And so she did.

She grabbed Draco's head with both hands and pulled him to her, kissing him full on his smile.

He recovered quickly from his shock and started to kiss her back, moving closer and cradling the back of her head with one hand as the other went up and down her spine. Their lips and tongues moved confidently against one another now, feeling and tasting without abandon or shame and she had almost forgotten how good it was.

She pulled away to catch her breath and he seized the opportunity to go for her neck. She smiled, thinking he must have a thing for that.

"You know, maybe you shouldn't hide it," He whispered between planting kisses on her skin.

"What?" She gasped, entranced with the sensations that he was provoking on her body.

Draco came up to face her, their foreheads almost touching. "The bruise," He traced it with his thumb to empathize his meaning. "Maybe you shouldn't hide it tomorrow."

"But…everyone will see it. And they will ask questions…"

"So, maybe you answer them…" His thumb came up to her face, rubbing circles on her cheek.

Hermione caught onto his meaning and her heat beat started pulsing on every corner of her body.

"Do you…are you…?" Her voice quivered and he nodded.

"Yes. I am." His voice resonated on her ears, secure and confident like the banging of drums.

What was she to do? She wasn't one to throw caution to the wind and act on pure impulse. She had to consider every possible outcomes, weigh in the pros and cons, and analyze thoroughly the effects of each option on everybody's life.

She cleared her throat "I have one condition."

Draco looked a little taken aback but nodded anyway.

"You must never tell anyone that we were Snape and Mcgonagall on this side of the wall," She whispered conspiratorially. Draco smiled and nodded.

"I promise. With one condition," He replied.

"Yes?"

"I have to be there when you tell Potter and Weasley about me."

Hermione laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Draco immediately shot her a predatory look and started advancing on her with his hands on her waist, leaning forward until she was almost lying on the couch with him on top.

"I really like traumatizing Gryffindors with you," He smirked, kissing the corner of her lips.

"I think we have traumatized them enough for a lifetime," She said and he pouted.

"Not even one more time?"

Hermione kissed his bottom lip. "Yes. Tomorrow, when they see us enter the Great Hall holding hands."

"Alright, tomorrow then. Meanwhile…" He secured one arm over her shoulders and slipped the other under her knees. He stood and lifted her up, holding her tightly against his chest.

"You know, I've been practicing my non-verbal spells recently," He said as he walked them over to his bedroom.

"Oh, that's…good," Hermione answered a little disconcerted as to why he wanted to tell her that.

He lowered her to sit on this bed and stood in front of her with his hands on his pockets. He closed his eyes and then opened them, staring at her hard in concentration. Hermione suddenly felt a familiar tingle of magic over her head.

"Draco, what…" She lost her voice when she noticed the way he was now looking at her, with a smile that would have made Salazar Slytherin proud, and eyes that told her he was going to be all over her in seconds. She followed his line of sight until she realized he was looking at her hair, and she had to do a double take to make sure she was seeing correctly, because out of nowhere, she had the green lock of hair back.

Hermione touched it and couldn't help a smile.

"That was…impressive," She was all of the sudden out of breath.

Draco smirked as he slowly pushed her back on the bed, crawling over her, their faces inches apart.

"I've yet to impress you, Hermione Granger."

But his kiss promised that he would. Again and again and again.

The End.