Alright, here's the next chapter. I never really gave any good hints about what this story was about. I suppose you'll all just have to figure it out!


It was finally Friday. Thank goodness. Hermione had made it through her first week of Seventh Year. So far she had managed to settle into a somewhat comfortable routine… if she could just erase her nightly banter with a certain Head Boy, that is. She was, of course, doing wonderfully in her studies and had the majority of the weekends' homework complete. The only thing that could possibly disturb her was Blaise Zabini! He was always lazing about the Common room, half naked, like he hadn't a care in the world. And when he wasn't doing that, he and Malfoy would mysteriously vanish for extended periods of time. Yet Malfoy was second in their year and Zabini third. How did they do it? And where were they going? Hermione sighed. She was sitting on the couch in the Common room, sipping a cup of tea and reading Hogwarts: A History again. She loved it. There were so many fascinating things about the ancient castle, either in the book, or things that she, Harry, and Ron had discovered on their own.

"Fuck man, we're a mess." She heard the door open and Malfoy's voice floated through. Wonderful. She looked up to see them entering the room swiftly, covered in soot and mud.

"What the..?" She stammered in disbelief. "Where have you two been?"

Zabini raised an eyebrow. "As if it's any of your business, Granger. Go back to your books."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "As Head Girl, it is my duty to report any suspicious activity. This certainly looks suspicious."

"You can take your duties and shove them up your tight a-"

"Draco!" Blaise cut his friend off.

"Right." Malfoy nodded, taking a deep breath. "Mind your own fucking business, Granger."

"This is my business. You're both parading through my Common room with the evidence all over you." She pointed out, getting more and more irritated as the seconds passed. She and Malfoy were face to face, glaring daggers at one another. She was tempted to reach out and smack the arrogant look off his pale face.

"Evidence of what, exactly?" He asked in a low voice, still glaring.

She glared right back into his silver eyes. "I haven't got a clue, that's why I asked. You can't just bring your filthy selves in here and not expect questions…"

"You forget something." He was smirking at her now. Yes, she definitely wanted to hit the little snake.

"And what is that, Malfoy?" Was it hot in here? She felt hot.

"We're not the filthy ones." He spat, turning on his heel, towards Zabini's room.

She stared after him in disbelief before turning to Zabini, who had watched the whole exchange. "Surely you can't mean to name him as your assistant?"

"I do. We're to name an assistant by Monday and mine will be Draco. You have a problem with it? Piss off. You're supposed to be mature and responsible. Act like it." With that, he too, left her standing there, fuming.

Shaking, Hermione sat down on the couch once again and picked up her tea. As she was taking a sip, her fury spiked. She squeezed the porcelain handle of the tea cup until her knuckles turned white, and then hurled it at the wall. She jumped up, still shaking, with her fists balled at her sides.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Malfoy yelled down.

"Fuck yourself, prat!" She snarled, stalking out.

Outside in the hallway, she struggled to regain control over her temper. What had gotten into her? Throwing teacups and shouting vulgar things? It was completely unlike her. Now, she had a serious problem. What was she going to do? It was past dinner on a Friday evening and she'd just completely humiliated herself. She couldn't bear the thought of going back in there and hearing their taunting remarks. Some Head Girl she was. No control, whatsoever. She needed a walk. Yes, a walk would help her think straight. At any rate, it was getting dark and no one would see her.


In Blaise's room, Draco paced angrily, fists balled at his sides. "Has that bint lost her bloody mind?"

"Mate, you gotta come see this." Blaise called from the Common Room. Draco rolled his eyes and walked out to see what he wanted. "Someone has a temper."

There was a giant wet spot on the wall and on the floor beneath it were the shattered remains of Granger's teacup. "Oh, I am never going to let her forget this. "

"She's been acting odd." Blaise pointed out.

"We were told to expect some kind of different behavior from her. She still wearing the necklace?" Draco asked, looking slightly worried.

"Yeah, or at least I saw it on her the first night."

"Should we tell Him?"

"No, let's watch her a little longer. See if it's just stress, or more." Blaise said, pulling out his wand and vanishing the mess Granger had made.

"I hope your teacups can handle her newfound temper." Draco laughed, though he still couldn't help but wonder about her strange behavior. Yes, he had been present when she was held prisoner. He knew the majority of what had happened. Not all of it though and what he hadn't seen was what now intrigued him. He and Blaise were ordered to watch her throughout the year. They weren't told what to watch for, but it was becoming obvious. Something was changing in Hermione Granger and it was changing fast.

"We're still covered in dirt." Blaise said. "I'm going to shower."

"What am I supposed to do?" Draco asked, slightly irritated. He didn't want to go back to the Slytherin Common Room looking the way he did.

"Use Granger's bathroom." Blaise smirked at him, "I'm sure she won't mind."

"Right, and Snape wouldn't mind me giving him fuzzy pink knickers for Christmas." He rolled his eyes again. "Fine, but I need new pants at least."

"Mate, I've been keeping extra clothes for you in my room since we were third years. We end up covered in muck entirely too often."

Draco headed into Granger's room, trying not to snoop around too much in his muddy state. If he was going to snoop, he wasn't going to leave evidence of it. In her bathroom, he frowned at the crimson towels, but was soon enjoying the hot spray in her shower. He was leaning back, eyes closed, when he realized something. He had no toiletries with him. Absolutely none. He glanced around the rather spacious shower. She had several different hair care products and some body wash.

Vanilla and Berries Body Wash

Shampoo for Curly hair: Sweet Berries scent

Conditioner for Curly hair: Sweet Berries scent

Sweet Salazar, he was going to smell like Berries for days. Better than sweat and mud, he supposed.

He grinned and grabbed her golden pouf, lathering up and scrubbing away the grime. He wondered why he had never smelled her before, considering that her products actually smelled quite nice. Draco was just stepping out and wrapping a red towel around his waist when he heard a familiar, furious voice.

"Malfoy, what the fuck are you doing in my shower?"


Hermione had finally managed to cool down and returned to the Common Room. Only to find Malfoy in her shower.

"Malfoy, what the fuck are you doing in my shower?" She snarled.

"Well, Granger, when one requires a good washing they generally use a shower. It's a lovely modern convenience." He smirked at her. He could see her getting angrier and angrier.

"I know what a shower is, you prick! Why were you in mine?" She yelled, taking a step further into the bathroom. Part of her couldn't help but noticed that he was half naked, in her bathroom and she was actually enjoying the sight. The other half wanted to break his arrogant face.

"I needed a shower." He stated simply, attempting to slide past her. She stepped in front of him and stood her ground.

"Oh, no. You are not leaving until you give me an explanation!" He made to move past her again and she violently shoved him back. "Start talking, Malfoy."

"Hands off, Granger. You're acting crazy." Since when was she so violent?

"I'm acting crazy?" She exclaimed, "You were in my shower! First you come in covered in shite and now this? What the hell is going on?"

"Exactly that. I was covered in shite, as you so eloquently put it, and needed to wash. Blaise is in his, so I used yours. It's actually very simply." He told her, once again trying to leave. Her arm shot out, barring the doorway. "Would you just let me leave?"

"I'm considering it." She snapped. "I'm also considering hexing your balls off!"

"Fine, Granger, we'll play this little game."

"What game?" Suddenly, it hit her how close they were and how much bigger he was.

""Care to tell me what's so interesting in this corridor, Granger?" Malfoy asked, smiling wickedly down at her. His abrupt change in topic flustered her.

"Been talking to Zabini, have you?" She returned, trying not to look intimidated. If he would just back away a bit...

"Yes, as a matter of fact I have. Now... go on then, let's hear it."

"Tell me where you and Zabini have been sneaking off to first."

He stiffened. "How did you know about that?"

"It's a bit obvious, I share a Common Room with Zabini, you know." She smirked at him, feeling quite devious herself. She understood now. This was a game, to see who could figure out the other's secrets first.

"We're done here, Granger. Let me by." He growled, shoving past her.

"Sure thing, Malfoy," She said sweetly, ramming her fist into his stomach as he walked by.

"Bloody fucking hell, Granger, have you gone mad!" He shouted, spinning around.

She didn't say anything. She simply stood there, glaring at him, then spun around and walked into the bathroom. He caught a flash of silver.

"Nice necklace, Granger!" He called. Bad idea. She came storming out and began shoving him towards the door, shouting obscenities. Her whole body felt hot and the world seemed to take on a red tint. She was so damn sick of Malfoy, and Zabini, and just people in general!

"You bloody prats; always talking about my damn necklace, get out! Get the fuck out!" She shrieked, giving him one last shove and slap before slamming the door behind him.


Outside the door, Blaise stood staring in open-mouthed shock. Never in his entire life had he ever seen something so hilarious, or disturbing.

"What the hell just happened?" He asked. Draco's torso was covered with red marks in all the places she had struck him.

"We need to go talk to Him. She's really losing it." He whispered. "It's definitely not just stress."

"Get dressed." Blaise nodded. Yes, something was very off. "We'll go now."

"No, we can't. Not for a few days. She suspects. Called me out when we were arguing." He protested with a shake of his head. He was still shocked. Granger was always the calm, level-headed one who stopped the fights before violence. Now she was throwing punches. What had He done to her?


I feel like I could have written this better, so I might end up editing this later, but for now I thought you all deserved an update. I hope you enjoyed it, please review and let me know what you think! –

Seleen.