(For a good mood setting for the story, read it while listening to Regina Spektor's song "Lady". Yes…the inspiration for the story but no, not a songfic. bleh.)

I have walked this road so long

There ain't nothing right

Ain't nothing wrong.

"Granger…" he whispered with a smile in his sleep.

She looked at him from her safe place against the wall. She was cold, but she didn't dare go for her clothes than rested near his sleeping place on the bed. She resorted to pulling his shirt and socks over her naked body and huddled in the corner that was nearest to his trunk. The empty room seemed to be shaky it's head at her, as if she didn't belong. Draco had chased his roommates out for the night, of course not telling them who he'd be with. The room was colder than Ron's, at least she thought it was. It had been so long since she had been with Ron that it was hard to remember.

She shifted her weight and watched him sleep. He was unlike Ron and practically everyone else that while asleep he never looked peaceful. He looked tense and on edge, as if anything might arise at any moment and he'd have to fight it off. She used to tease him that he practically slept with one eye open. That was until the night that she learned what the effects of surprising him could be.

"Draco! Don't!"

His hands clamped down on her throat before he fully realized what he was doing. Her brown eyes glimmered with complete and utter terror as he yanked his hands away, turning his back to her.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean…" he stammered as she rubbed her own hands against the painful red marks from where his had been.

"What did Bella do?" she asked suddenly, causing him to whirl around with wide grey eyes.

"Where did you hear that name?" he demanded harshly. She shrunk back, making him regret the hard tone he used to loosely.

"You said, Dammit Bella, you won't hurt me again. Then you…" she looked down.

They both knew. It was then that he attempted to choke her, even though he had no recollection of moving at all until he awoke with his hands already at her throat.

So she let him sleep. It was in his sleep that she assumed he did most of his thinking. She sometimes wondered if dreamed about her or if his dreams were simply the nightmares of his past. She glanced at a mirror, slightly taken aback by her appearance. Her bare knees were pale, not slightly tan like how they used to be. Her straightened hair was tasseled and rebelling, waves were taking shape.

She had let her hair grow longer since they'd broken up. She also kept it straight. It was the way he liked it. Ron had adored her loose curls, treasured them even. Their touches were different, their kisses were different even the way they felt to her was different. Nothing was the same for Hermione Granger, not since she'd stopped crying.

She'd made a promise to herself not to cry for anyone since the night when she'd cried for him. It was then that she found Draco. Mysterious, disturbed, lonesome Draco Malfoy. Draco had taught her about true dominance and about sticking to your convictions. She learned to keep her feeling inward, where they were private. When she was with Draco, it was easy to hate Ron. But when she was apart from him, Ron just kept coming back to her mind.

"Granger? What are you doing?"

She glanced up to see Draco sitting up in bed. The blankets had fallen around his waist, his pale torso almost glowed in the moonlight. She shrugged and peeled off his socks and stood, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked to the end of the bed. She balanced her fingers on the fine ebony of the footboard, staring at him through chocolate brown eyes.

"Come here," he said softly, a look of mischievousness in his eye.

She pulled herself over the footboard, crawling to him. She met him face to face, inches away from the eyes that thought they knew her. She was straddling him, an act of promiscuity she didn't normally pull. He leaned towards her neck, his smooth lips parting to suck on his desired spot while his hands skillfully undid the buttons of his shirt that she was wearing.

She moaned slightly and slipped her hand below the blankets to grab his waist for support. He came off her neck and met her mouth with impatience, sliding his tongue in skillfully. She was completely naked again pressing her body against his, a situation she was finding herself in more and more.

Draco pushed the blankets back, allowing her a brief moment to slide below them. Not even seconds afterward he pulled her roughly to him, pushing his pelvis to her.

"Draco…" She protested but he quieted her with a long hard kiss.

She grabbed his shoulders as he rolled on top of her. He was on her neck on, moving down to her collarbone. She ran a hand through his blonde hair, practically hyperventilating she was breathing so hard. He kissed her again, nibbling on her lower lip as she gasped in response.

They lay quietly for a moment, their sweaty arms holding each other. Hermione then sat up, grabbing for her clothes.

"Where do you think you're going?" Draco asked, eyeing her face for any sign of suspicious emotion. He was paranoid, she told him practically every day.

"It's getting late, people will be wondering where I am," she replied, pulling her shirt over her head.

Draco lay back, stretching his arms across the bed. "What are you going to tell them?"

She finished dressing and headed towards the door. "That you wouldn't leave me alone and I practically had to punch you in the bloody face to get away."

She could hear his laughter as she slipped out the side door that led to a private bathroom. Luckily for them in also had an entrance leading to the hallway. She slipped out of it, making her way down the hall to her own common room. She pulled her messy hair into an elastic, attempting to make herself look more presentable.

It wasn't until she watched her own portrait open that she broke into a genuine smile. She broke into a run and flew into the strong arms of a ginger-haired boy.

"I've missed you, my lady," he whispered in her ear, calling her the name that sent shivers down her spine.

She wrapped her arms tighter around him, squeezing her eyes shut. She hadn't been happy in what seemed like forever, and whenever she was with him, she was happy.

"Let's go," she said firmly, holding her hand out to him. He grinned, wrapping his fingers around hers as she led him up the stairs to the dormitory where he would no doubt send countless shivers down her spine.

She slipped her shirt over her head, smiling at Ron as he admired her figure. She pushed Draco from her mind and crawled over the footboard of the bed, acting like the lover she really wasn't, acting like the lady that she really wasn't.

Lady lights a cigarette Puffs away No regrets Takes a look around

No regrets, no regrets…