CHAPTER 2

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, I really appreciate the feedback! And if you've read my other fanfics, you'll know that I update MUCH sooner when I get lots of reviews! And Draco/Hermione is just so awesome, what's with all the Ron/Hermione rubbish anyway? But I like Ron, he's cute and sweet so he's going to play a major part in the plotline of this fanfic. Don't forget to review!

"Mr. Finnigan!" Madam Pince's voice rang through the silent library.

Hermione and Draco jumped apart just as Seamus Finnigan came around the corner holding a book, which promptly fell open in his hands and repeated the strangled cry.

"The book you requested," the librarian told him in an annoyed whisper, "is NOT in the Restricted Section."

Seamus blushed and fumbled with the book's clasp as he headed back to the bookshelf.

Draco knew it was too soon for anyone to know about his "relationship" with Hermione. Focusing his mind as if performing Occlumency, he watched Hermione pick up her books and leave the library. But, as he had expected, she was waiting for him in the corridor.

Dinner was over, so the corridors were full of students returning to common rooms. Draco allowed Hermione to mix with a small group of Gryffindors, while he joined the throng of Slytherins heading for the dungeons. Meet me in the third floor corridor, he whispered, pointing his wand at her. He was seventeen, but he'd never used the Imperius Curse before. He'd seen Death Eaters perform the curse many times, and he himself had used the Cruciatus Curse on occasion. But Draco wasn't sure of the circumstances under which the spell would lift, and he wasn't going to take any chances. Unfortunately, a dark-haired Slytherin girl heard Draco and turned to face him with a grin.

"Not you," Draco said roughly, pushing past his friends and feeling annoyed that he hadn't thought to test the stupid curse on someone else first. She'd better be waiting there, he thought angrily.

He didn't even notice when Blaise Zabini high-fived him (no doubt for his disdain for the dark-haired girl) or when two Hufflepuff girls sighed dramatically as he passed. The third floor corridor was the only thing on his mind.

Hermione stood in front of the wall, so still that she might have been a statue. She had that dreamy look on her face again, and Draco pointed his wand at her with a grin, making her slap herself.

"Room of Requirement," Hermione said in her usual cheery tone. Draco began to walk back and forth along the lonely stretch of wall, mentally ordering Hermione to do the same. The door appeared, and Hermione held it open for him.

"Welcome to hell, Granger," Malfoy said with a sneer, and with a wave of his wand, he lifted the curse as the door closed behind them.

Hermione was thrown to the floor by an unseen force, and Draco didn't even flinch as he took off his tie and stepped over her to examine their sleeping arrangements.

"Where am I?"

The room was an extravagant living room, but there were only two couches and no doors along the walls. The extravagance was found in the detailed carpets and the crystal chandelier.

"Not even a little food? What about my midnight snack habits?" Draco said to the room at large. As soon as he said it, a corner of the living room completely transformed into a tiny kitchen, complete with an oven and three stocked cupboards.

"Malfoy?"

"Granger," he said, smirking. "Welcome to your sleeping quarters for the foreseeable future."

Her eyes widened. "What've you done?" She bared her teeth as if Draco was prey, but the boy merely looked amused.

"You may want to sit down, Granger," he told her smugly, gesturing to one of the couches. "Or rather, don't. I wouldn't mind watching you fall again, either."

Hermione glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Just tell me what I'm doing here."

"You're here because I brought you here," Draco informed her, taking out his wand to lock the door.

"That doesn't answer my question," Hermione persisted. She reached for her wand, but Draco grabbed it from her on his way back to the living room.

"Granger, this is where we'll both be sleeping for the next few months. I don't like it either, but I don't have a choice. I don't fancy holding that Imperius Curse over you all night, every night."

"The Imperius Curse? THE UNFORGIVABLE ONE?"

"As far as I know, there's only one kind," Draco replied smoothly. "Your boyfriend cursed me, Granger. If his precious 'Mione' started dating a certain handsome Slytherin seeker, he'd be finished."

"And what makes you think I'm going to agree to stay here all night?"

Draco, who had apparently been expecting this response, waved his wand at the couches. They moved closer together and finally melted into a large king-size bed.

"Would you prefer this, Granger?" he asked in a dark tone. "My arms around you all night, holding you so you can't get up?" He shuddered at the thought of actually touching the Mudblood, but he had to conceal his disgust if his plan was going to work.

Hermione recoiled, stepping back against the wall. "You touch me, Malfoy, and I'll make sure you never touch anyone again."

Draco wasn't bothered by threats, but neither did he want to do this the hard way. "Granger, you don't have a choice. I can curse you so you won't wake up until morning. But is that what you want?"

They stood in the silence for a moment, Draco watching her and Hermione staring at the floor. "Dumbledore's going to know. He's going to find out about your Imperius Curse. Malfoy, you can't do this!"

"I can, and I did," he said quietly, and he reached up to touch his left forearm.

Hermione didn't see the movement; she sat down on the couch a short distance away and hugged her knees to her chest, as if she was that nervous eleven-year-old again.

"I'm hungry," she said suddenly, realizing she'd skipped dinner to study. She grabbed a box of cookies from the tiny kitchen cupboard and plopped back down on the couch. "You don't have to curse me," she said quickly, noticing that Malfoy still had his wand out. "I'm not going to cause trouble. But I'm not going to break up with Ron."

"I'll take care of that."

"And you're not going to use that Unforgivable on me again!"

"Try and stop me."

It occurred to Hermione that even with her wand, she was powerless next to Malfoy. He could make her do whatever he wanted.

Draco moved to the other couch and lazily pointed his wand at it, causing sheets and blankets to appear.

"You're going to bed?"

"Obviously," he said shortly.

"What if I curse you in your sleep?"

"I'll take your wand."

"You don't need a wand to perform magic."

"Mudblood, you could make this a lot easier for yourself."

"Don't call me that!"

"I'll call you whatever I want to."

Hermione threw herself into a sleeping position, hitting the pillow so hard her head hurt.

"What's your ingenious plan, Ferret?"

Hermione thought she saw his face contort for a fraction of a second at the name, but he quickly regained his composure.

"You and I are going to start dating. Only to make Weasel jealous, of course." He laughed bitterly. "I'd rather date the giant squid, but the beast isn't interested in Weasel."

"What about Pansy Parkinson?"

"What about her?"

"Isn't she your girlfriend?"

Draco threw her an annoyed glance. "She used to be. We both felt the sparks going away last year. We were more like friends. I love her like a sister, and she loves me like a brother. Nothing romantic about it."

"So, what happens when I wake up in the morning?"

Draco sneered. "You get up, get dressed, brush your teeth, and go down to breakfast."

"All without the Imperius Curse?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"Jeez, Granger, is it that hard to figure out? If you cooperate, I won't have to curse you until you're ready to meet Weasel."

There was another uncomfortable silence, which was interrupted by Draco yawning loudly. "I'm so tired." And he rolled over to face the inside of the couch.

Hermione drifted into a restless sleep in which Malfoy and Ron dueled fiercely, catching Hermione between them and trying to avoid hitting her, but each time she'd crumple to the floor as they continued shouting.