Chapter 4

Hermione woke the next morning feeling extremely embarrassed. She had thoughtlessly looked to Malfoy for comfort when she was scared. She tried to convince herself that it was only a reflex reaction that made her reach out to him.

It wouldn't have been such a huge deal if it hadn't been Malfoy. He had been her enemy since first year. She was irritated that she had set herself up for more torment.

As she considered what happened, Hermione realized that she wasn't sure what she had expected him to do after the initial shock of her grabbing his arm had worn off.

He certainly wasn't going to comfort her. She should've guessed that he would mock her.

Malfoy had learned one of Hermione's weaknesses and she was positive that he was going to use it against her. She sighed as she imagined the endless jokes Malfoy was sure to dish out.

Hermione dressed in her school uniform in a daze. She knew that she was going to have her room soon or else she'd be late for breakfast.

Sighing again, she picked up her school bag and stepped into the common room. She felt her cheeks burning as Malfoy looked up at her from his spot on the couch.

"Morning," he said with a smirk.

"Morning," she mumbled, looking down.

"I'm sorry about last night," she stated after an awkward silence.

His only response was a slight nod so she made her way over to the bathroom and tried to avoid his eyes.

"Granger," she heard his silky smooth voice drawl.

Hermione stopped in the bathroom door and turned halfway to him, wary of the sly tone he used. She waited for him to continue as he closed his book and placed it on the table.

"I just thought you should know," he continued with a serious expression on his face. "That you can feel free to grab me if anything else goes bump in the night."

He winked at her and his smirk came back, even wider than before. Hermione could feel her cheeks burning again and turned around, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

Draco made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. He found Blaise and Pansy at the Slytherin table and made his way over to them.

"Morning," Blaise grumbled as Draco sat down.

"What's your problem?" Draco asked, immediately suspicious of his friend's bad mood.

Blaise sighed. "Nothing. I just wish you were still in the common room. I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with all those idiots by myself." He scowled at a group of boys at the end of the table.

Draco chuckled. "Sorry about that," he replied.

"So how was your first night as Head Boy?" Pansy asked.

"Fine," Draco shrugged. "I had to patrol with Granger."

"What's so funny?" Blaise demanded as his friend's face twisted into a wicked smirk.

"Nothing," Draco replied, the smirk becoming more pronounced.

"Seriously Drake," Pansy pipped up. "Why do you have that stupid grin on your face?"

Draco scowled at her. "Don't call me stupid," he growled. "Seriously, its nothing."

Blaise shrugged and Pansy rolled her eyes but they finally dropped the subject and returned to their breakfasts. The three of them then made their way to Herbology in silence.

Draco was consumed in his own thoughts. He wasn't exactly sure why he had wanted to keep his little encounter with Granger a secret.

He figured that he would be able to hold her fear of the dark over her head. That wasn't why he didn't tell, although he knew he was going to use it against her anyway.

Draco walked into Hebology behind Blaise, smirking again.

Hermione waited for the portrait door to close before she came out of the bathroom. She could still feel her cheeks burning from his comment.

He had done exactly what she had expected. Sighing, Hermione picked up her bag and headed to breakfast.

Ginny and Luna tried to make conversation with her, but after a few one word responses, they had given up and left her to her sulky mood.

Hermione glanced across the hall at one point to find him smirking at his friends. He glanced at her before turning his attention to Pansy with a scowl.

Oh great, she thought bitterly. He's already told his friends. News would reach everybody by lunchtime.

She rose from her seat and made her way to Arithmancy and through all of her morning classes in a daze. Dreading the whispers she was sure to receive, she made her way to the Great Hall for lunch.

Nobody had even looked at her twice as she walked. She took this as a good sign and sat down with Ginny again. This time she was in a slightly better mood so Ginny tried to make conversation again.

"How was patrolling last night?" Ginny asked. "Wasn't Micheal supposed to patrol with you last night? Were you by yourself?" She said this all very quickly as if in fear that her best friend's good mood would burn out soon.

"No," Hermione said, a sharp edge to her voice. "Draco had to come along."

"Ohhhh, that's why you were in such a sour mood this morning," Ginny replied with a knowing look. "How bad?"

"It was fine," she lied. "We didn't speak much."

"Well that's good," her friend said. "Why were you so angry then?" She asked with a look of confusion crossing her features.

"Its nothing," Hermione lied again. She didn't feel like discussing it and they had to make their way to Potions with the Slytherins.

Internally groaning, Hermione stood up and made her way to class with her friends.

Draco made his way to Potions with yet another smirk plastered on his face. When Blaise questioned it, Draco just shrugged and shook his head.

All through class, he would glance at Hermione and smirk evilly at her. She would stare back, unflinchingly, with a glare to rival his own.

He kept replaying last night in his head. The look of terror on her face when the turned out was priceless. Twice he was called upon by the teacher, who demanded to know what was so funny.

Smirking down into his cauldron instead, Draco resumed thinking of how she had futilely tried to deny his accusation. He was a little disappointed when the hour was up.

Potions was still his favorite subject and he hated to have to wait the whole weekend before he had class again. He leaned over to get his bag and was checking that he had all his supplies when he felt someone standing standing behind him.

"What do you want, Granger?" he asked in a bored tone despite the flash of amusement in his eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you to be back at the common room early tonight," she said with a Slytherin-worthy sneer. "We need to create plans for the Christmas Ball and a patrol schedule for over the holidays due to the fact that most of the prefects will be leaving."

"Alright," Draco said, brushing past her. "See you tonight."

A/n: I hope you all liked this chapter and that it lived up to your expectations. I've been kinda busy so it took me a little longer than the other chapters to publish. I'll probably have chapter 5 up in a few days or so. If anybody has any questions or ideas don't be afraid to send me a message. I need all the help I can get so anything is appreciated. Enjoy! :)