March 1996

Sitting on the Quidditch pitch with a blanket spread underneath them, with their hands loosely intertwined as they flick through the pages of their respective tomes, Draco and Hermione are heavily surrounded by books on either side of them. Both are heavily entrenched in studying for their upcoming O.W.L.'s. So far, they had been together for two months, and no one had been any wiser to it.

Today, they had an excuse to be thrown together on the pitch. Professor McGonagall, bless the woman, had given them a joint Transfiguration assignment. Much to Harry and Ron's chagrin, they had all three conceded together that it would be easier to finish said assignment if the pair actually worked together. However, the couple, both being the two smartest students of their Year, had already finished the assignment.

Separately, each are reveling in the time they are able to spend with one and other out in the open, owing thanks to the Transfiguration professor a hundred fold for the excuse. Despite the fact that outwardly neither could come right out and ask, the pair were under the heavy suspicion that if anyone in the castle knew of their relationship, it would be her. At the moment, neither is too upset about this fact.

Umbridge, being the nosy woman that she is, had almost caught them on multiple occasions. Luckily, their brains could be put to good use on each of those encounters, leaving her none the wiser. Her favorite student couldn't possibly be lying to her, despite the fact that his preferred study partner happened to be one of her least favorites.

" This is bloody frustrating," Draco yells out, throwing his current book down, making Hermione jump slightly.

" What is Draco?"

Reminding himself to rein in the anger, he stands up and begins pacing.

" Half of the spells I've seen are going to require a practical, and Umbridge has refused to allow us to use most of those spells even in a classroom setting. How does she expect us to pass our exams?"

" Think about the statement you made for just a moment, and you'll have your answer,"

It only took a moment for him to stand there, and then explode again.

" What the bloody hell?"

" I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out. Even with being on that Inquisitorial Squad of hers, you have to realize that she is as batty as they come,"

" My only question is why. What could possess her to want to leave students academically underprepared?"

" Many reasons, from what Harry, Ron, and I have gathered. Her and Fudge believed that Dumbledore was using the students to create an army to take over the Ministry. Their paranoia brought her here,"

" That's ludicrous,"

" Try telling Umbridge that,"

Silence envelopes them both once again, and leaves each to their own thoughts. Sitting down and resuming their previous position, Hermione takes the opportunity to massage his left hand in a calming motion. Slowly, some of the anger dissipates, the more he focuses on the pleasure he is receiving from his girlfriend's ministrations.

" I can't imagine the Golden Trio taking this lying down easily. How does Potter deal with this? He nearly split a blood vessel when he found out we aren't allowed to use magic in Defense Against The Dark Arts at the beginning of the year,"

At this, Hermione seizes up. She isn't sure what to say. She knows Harry would want to murder her if he found out she told Draco about the D.A. He was the head of the Inquisitorial Squad. However, he was also her boyfriend, who had proved trustworthy so far. He clearly didn't agree with Umbridge's methods either, but his father made it quite clear he was to support whatever silly decrees she passed. They had only been together for four months though. Hermione wasn't sure what to do.

" I know you're hiding something. You aren't very hard to read when it comes to body language and facial expressions. As long as your secret does not happen to include you snogging Wonder Boy or his oaf of a best friend, I don't care,"

" Thank you Draco," Hermione says, as she breathes a sigh of relief.

" So the rumors are true then,"

Cocking her head to the side, she gives him a questioning look.

" Please don't get caught. That's all I ask," he asks quietly while pretending to be looking at a book.

Realizing he knows, Hermione looks at him for a moment, contemplating what to do. Somehow, he knew about the D.A, which was one problem in itself, because that meant others suspected as well. The other was that now he knew for sure, and under Veritaserum he could confirm the truth.

" We weren't planning to," she admits, resignedly.

"Good, now let's get back to studying, or someone might actually think we enjoy each other's company," he says with a smirk.

Leaning over quickly, she sneaks a kiss on his cheek, before returning to her spot on the blanket, as if nothing had happened at all. Reaching across the space between them, Draco grabs her hand and protectively grips it tighter than before. Quietly, they continue studying together, knowing that they had just entered a new stage of their relationship.