Disclaimer: I own nothing in relation to Harry Potter.

Toxic Addiction

Chapter 3

Hermione was the first out of the carriage followed by Malfoy. Deciding that Ginny was old enough to take care of herself, she set off to find her two best friends in a huff, not even bothering with Draco with a goodbye.

Ginny came out a second after Malfoy and, with a nod, set off towards where Hermione was walking. Blaise then stepped out with a small smirk. He noticed his best friends pensive look and, knowing Draco, came to the conclusion of his thoughts.

"Quite the duo those two. Quite the attractive duo," Blaise said. His eyes were watching the two girls yet analyzing Draco out of the corner of his eye.

"Quite." Draco murmured, also looking towards the girls-especially the lean brunette- with intensity in his eyes. "Seems like she-weasel has taken a liking for you and you for her," he said, shifting his gaze onto his fellow Slytherin.

Blaise gave a small shrug and turned to face Draco as well. "She's not bad. Far from it actually. Her friend seems so also. I'm sure you've noticed. Wouldn't you say so Draco?" He said, turning the conversation from him onto Malfoy.

Draco gave a deep chuckle and rolled his eyes at a group of blatantly lustful girls that gave him sultry looks. "Nothing gets passed you, does it? She is very attractive. I'm surprised that you are just noticing it."

This caused Blaise to raise an eyebrow and give Draco a questioning look. Draco simply waved his hand implying the end of the conversation. Blaise, though, heard his unspoken words. Seems like his friend had an infatuation and maybe a bit of an obsession with the Gryffindor bookworm. He knew Malfoy enough to not push the matter but his unvoiced revelation explained a couple of mysteries within Draco Malfoy that he had not taken the time to analyze. This was going to be an interesting year.

Hermione was desperate to get away with anything that reminded her of her incident in the carriage that when she came across Neville Longbottom she immediately engaged him into a conversation. She had barely asked him how his summer was when she felt her arm being steered away.

"Oy! Oh, it's you Ginny." She saw her friend had a dreamy and content look. "I expect you are feeling smug and happy with yourself. You owe me big time."

At that, Ginny gave her an incredulous look and went from happy to annoyed. "You and Malfoy have too much tension. It was hard to keep Blaise entertained when you two were being so awkward. Especially you. C'mon Hermione, loosen up. I can tell you found him attractive. I saw you checking him out." By the end of this, Ginny was back to grinning while Hermione's mouth hung open.

"You could tell?" At this Ginny laughed and Hermione felt her face go hot once again. "Oh stop it. He's always staring at me and it makes me feel odd and out of place. Have you seen his pensive stares?" Ginny seemed to laugh harder at this. "Oh never mind." She said with a sigh.

"Lets get going or we'll miss the feast." Ginny added trying to hide her laughter.

Throughout the feast, Hermione felt uneasy from being watched. She knew Draco was watching her but she decided to ignore him. After a while though, she decided to have a bit of fun and experiment an idea that had just popped into her head. She began to flirt with the males around her.

"Hi Seamus. So how was your summer?" Hermione crossed her legs in a casual manner and leaned a bit into him.

He obviously noticed this but was somewhat bewildered that out of all the girls, that Hermione would be initiating anything. "Oh nothing much. Dean and I just decided to hang out at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Isn't that right Dean?"

Dean, who had like Seamus, turned quite attractive and had a nice build, was listening into the conversation and quickly nodded. They both then proceeded to explain to her about all of the new merchandise they had seen and the functions of each. When they got to U-No Poo, they began to laugh and tell a story about an incident with that product and Deans mother.

While Hermione was laughing, she looked up and saw the fury and coldness emanating from Malfoy's eyes. She immediately stopped laughing and stared back. 'Well I guess my experiment worked. He has feelings for me' When their eyes met, she saw him grip his fork in his hand tighter. She looked away, confused, and met Ginny's eyes. Hermione saw the knowing look on her face and felt her face grow hot.

Professor McGonagall walked up to Hermione a couple minutes later and told her to meet her outside the Great Hall once she was finished with her meal. Hermione no longer had an appetite since her "incident" with Malfoy and decided to head outside.

Once she stepped out of the Great Hall, she wasn't expecting what she saw. There stood Draco Malfoy, leaning against a wall.

"What are you doing out here?" She said before she could stop herself. She immediately regretted it for his eyes looked directly towards her and he raised a haughty eyebrow.

"I was old to come out here. I expect it has something to do with being Heads since you're here though." Hermione mentally slapped herself. 'Of course. Why hadn't I thought of that?' They then fell into an awkward silence while Hermione fidgeted.

McGonagall and Snape then stepped into the hallway and proceeded to hand out heir schedules.

"Now that you have your schedules for tomorrow, and have been informed of your duties, I will lead you to your shared common room and dormitories. " Snape said with a sneer on his greasy face.

Draco and Hermione proceeded to follow him down a series of hallways and passages. After a total of five minutes, they reached a portrait of a handsome man with brunette hair with clothes from the Victorian era.

"You have the choice this year of choosing your own password as Heads. You may do so now." Snape then left down the way they had come from and disappeared around the corner.

'I'm left with him again. Great.' Hermione looked at Draco then regretted it. He seemed to be entertained with her physique. To assure herself that her results from her previous experiment were accurate, she decided to experiment once again.

She ran her right hand through her hair and slowly leaned onto the wall near the portrait. She gave a wistful sigh and gave a small put. Yes, her results were accurate. Just as she had started moving, Malfoy seemed to have such a sultry look that made her lower stomach tingle with excitement. 'Whoa, that wasn't supposed to happen.'

Malfoy walked towards her while she forced herself to say in the same position. He stopped a few inches from her and whispered, "What do you suppose the password should be?"

She felt somewhat relieved and disappointed at the same time. "Toxic" she muttered huskily. She felt shocked at the tone of her voice and so did Draco. She never knew that she had the capability to sound so aroused. 'Maybe it's cause I am, genius,' she thought sarcastically. He simply gave her a smirk and went to the portrait.

Never leaving his gaze from hers he turned to the portrait and said "Toxic" loudly. With that, he left her in the hallway and stepped into the common room.

A/N: I was thinking of when I could update and since I can only write on Saturdays, I need two Saturdays to write a new chapter. But since I'm in a marching band, our competitions are on Saturdays. So I'm not going to be able to update as often. I had to brainstorm this chapter throughout my class, which is pretty hard with the classes that I have. Just wanted to let you guys know. I'm really trying so don't get mad! Anyways, read and Review please. They give me a lot of encouragement.