Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to that utter genius J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I am not J.K. Rowling and have nothing to do with Warner Brothers, so as you may have guessed I don't own the copyright. I'm not making any money from this, but will love you forever if you review. (But no flames please.) - Dramaqueen

The Secret

Chapter One: How it Began

"Is that the time?" Hermione asked the world in general as she got a glimpse of a sundial that stood in the middle of Hogsmead.

"Probably." Replied Ron through a mouthful of the chocolate frog he had just bought.

"I've got to be somewhere but I'll see you back in the common room in a few hours." With that, Hermione turned and hurried away.

"Where's she going?" Ron asked Harry.

"Probably back to school to get a head start on revision." He suggested.

She'd been doing things like this a lot recently. Disappearing for hours at a time with no explanation; leaving in the middle of something; arriving at the common room in the evening with a look on her face that suggested both happiness and guilt.

"I told you we should have brought the invisibility cloak in case she went off again." Said Ron.

"Because that worked so well last time?" Harry asked rhetorically; reminding his friend of the time a few weeks ago when they'd decided to follow their best friend under the cover of Harry's invisibility cloak. They hadn't been walking for more than a minute when she had turned around and told them she knew they were there and reminding them that it was her whom had put the Body-Binding curse on Neville in their first year. It wasn't that they were scared of her; they had just decided that she probably wasn't doing anything interesting anyway so had gone back to Gryffindor tower and not followed her since.

"Good point. And chances are you're right about the revision. My guess is she's spent the last couple of months doing extra homework and memorising old N.E.W.T. papers." Of course Ron still wanted to find out for sure what Hermione was doing, but as he didn't have a burning desire to spend the rest of the afternoon completely paralysed he had decided it was best to just leave it alone for the time being.

(BREAK - EVIL FANFIC EDITOR WON'T LET ME SET THIS OUT RIGHT - FOLLOWING = NEW PARAGRAPH)

Hermione hurried down the corridor towards the Head Student study room/office that Dumbledore had created from a disused classroom the previous year. Like the dormitories and Dumbledore's office, the room could only be accessed by those who knew the password. Only five people knew it; Dumbledore, the Head Girl and Head Boy, and their house heads. Hermione was Head Girl.

"Sugar lumps." She said as she arrived at the correct door, having first checked that there was no one within earshot. The door swung open and head boy Draco Malfoy was sitting inside.

"And where have you been?" He asked, looking straight at her with piercing eyes.

"Hogsmead. I lost track of time. Sorry." She said, shutting the door behind her.

"You mean you were too busy with Potter and the Weasel to remember to meet me?"

"I'm here now aren't I? And don't call Ron a weasel." She sat down next to Malfoy on the two-seater settee which (like the rest of the room) was a bizarre combination of the Gryffindor and Slytherin house colours.

"Or we could just not talk about those losers you call friends."

"Malfoy…" Before Hermione could finish speaking Draco put his arm around her waist and his lips on hers. He began to kiss her but after a few seconds she pulled away.

"Harry and Ron are not losers!" She said sternly. Then she kissed him. They wrapped their arms around each other, kissing passionately and tugging at each others robes.

"You'd better not tell anyone about this Granger." Draco mumbled as he began kissing Hermione's neck.

"I have no intention of letting anyone find out what we get up to in here." She said as she lifted up his robes and pulled them over his head.

If, when they were made Head Students at the beginning of their seventh year, anyone had told either Draco or Hermione that within a matter of months they'd be regularly meeting for these types of rendezvous', neither would have believed it. Yet here they were. It had all started with an argument and progressed to a passionate kiss before either party could stop themselves…

THREE MONTHS EARLIER:

"How do you manage it? Seriously Malfoy. How do you keep getting the credit without doing any of the work?" Harry yelled in Hermione's defence. Hermione had spent a lot of time and effort organising a fundraiser on behalf of Hogwarts (since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returned, Dumbledore and the governor's had decided it best to use the majority of the schools funds on protecting the castle and improving DADA and ADADA classes, leaving little money for the other departments;) and both she and Draco had just received twenty-five house points each and a thank you speech, despite the latter not having done anything to help.

"Don't get so wound up Potter. It's not as if your little mudblood friend didn't get mentioned in Dumbledore's 'aren't you so wonderful' speech." Draco said. Or at least, that's what he would have said had Harry and Ron not pounced on him the second he had called Hermione a mudblood.

"That's enough." None of them had seen Professor McGonagall approach them, but now she was there, the boy's sprang apart.

"Ronald. Harry. I'm very disappointed in you. Fighting at your age. Ten points from Gryffindor. Each. And as for you Draco," McGonagall turned her attention to the Slytherin, "we expect more from the Head Boy. I'm taking ten points from Slytherin and I want you and Miss Granger to go to your study room and make a start on the plans for the Leaver's Ball. I know it's quite a few months away yet but it takes a lot of organising." To ensure that they did as instructed (partially at least) Professor McGonagall led Hermione and Draco to the private study room, uttered the password, and told them she'd be along in an hour to see how far they'd got with their planning.

"Harry was right back there. You do claim the credit for other people's work. You're never going to get anywhere if you let everyone do your work for you." Hermione stated once the door was shut.

"Get off your high horse, Granger." Draco sneered, collapsing on the sofa.

"I am not on a high horse! And besides, we are supposed to be talking about the Leaver's Ball."

"As if it's going to be different from any other ball they through in this place. Cheap decorations, boring food and music that was old when my father came here."

"Firstly, none of those things are true; and secondly, the reason why it's our job to organise the Leaver's Ball is so that it's what our year wants. If you don't think you're going to like it then now's your chance to make sure that you will."

"Why are you so bothered about whether or not I'm going to like the Leaver's Ball? Anyone would think you were in love with me or something. Not that they could blame you for it."

"In love with you? The only person in love with you Malfoy is you. You're the most malicious, conceited, lazy and spoilt man I know!"

"Well at least I'm a man. Mature, good looking, not to mention filthy rich."

"I meant boy. Immature and forever crawling to daddy to buy you out of trouble."

"But you do think I'm good looking? I didn't realise you had such good taste."

"You're the one who said you were good looking Malfoy."

"But you didn't disagree with me. Face it Granger. You find me attractive. It's only natural."

"Find you attractive? I'd rather go out with Neville!"

"Tut tut tut. That's no way to talk about someone who's supposed to be your friend." Now standing, Draco folded his arms and shook his head in mock disapproval.

"What would you know about friends? All you have are cronies."

"At least I don't follow The-Boy-Who-Just-Won't-Die around like an attention seeking puppy."

Hermione didn't know who to be more angry for – herself or Harry.

"I do not follow him around. He's my friend. And the reason he just won't die is that…"

"I don't actually care why he's alive Granger. All I know is my father wouldn't be in prison if it wasn't for him."

"You're father is in prison because he's a death eater. All Harry did was help to stop him from killing any more innocent people."

"You know nothing about my father!"

"I know that he's…" Hermione was unable to say anymore on account of Draco kissing her. What she soon realised (much to her surprise) was that she was kissing him back.

After about thirty seconds they pulled apart and just stood there staring at each other in complete shock. Then they started kissing again. Neither teen knew what had got into them, but what they did know was that, despite themselves, they liked it.

When they heard McGonagall say the password forty-five minutes later, they quickly smoothed down their clothes and moved to opposite ends of the room.

"How are the plans coming along?" She asked as she entered the room; either not noticing or choosing to ignore the fact that the Head Boy appeared to be wearing smudged tinted-lip gloss.

"We need more time." Hermione said quickly. "To finalise who's going to be in charge of what."

"Is that so? Well, you can decide on that tomorrow, but now it's nearly time for dinner." McGonagall said.

"I suppose that means I'll have to spend tomorrow evening in here on my own with Granger." Said Draco, trying to sound as if he thought that was a bad thing.

"Of course we'll have to be on our own. We'll meet in here after last lesson and I guess we'll just have to stay here as long as it takes." As Hermione spoke she realised that her bra was undone.

"I'm glad to see you're both taking this seriously, but remember that you do have exams coming up. They should be your priority at the moment."

"They are Professor."

"If you expect us to study as well as organise the ball we should be allowed an extended curfew." Draco suggested, and then added, "Please," as one look from McGonagall told him she wasn't particularly impressed by the way he'd phrased his request.

Catching on, Hermione came in with, "We could come back after dinner. That way we can sort out what our responsibilities are tonight, and work on the details tomorrow."

"Well I suppose it won't do any harm. But you must both be in your rooms by eleven, and I'll have to clear it with Professor's Snape and Dumbledore first. Come to my office after dinner and I'll be able to give you a definite answer then."

They got the extended curfew, but not once used the time to discuss the ball.

A/N: So, what do you think? I'm going to start writing chapter two just as soon as I know there's at least one person who will read it, so if you want to find out more please review.

Dramaqueen