Sorry this took so long (yet again) but I barely have any time during the week to write. Plus I'm lazy. I promise I'll try and update faster next time!

JK Rowling owns everything, including my soul.

Chapter 6

Hermione pulled away from the kiss and looked at Dobby. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she was positive that the creature in front of her could hear it.

"I…" She wasn't even sure of what to say. What could she say? She had just made the boldest move of her natural born life. She kissed a house elf on a whim. It was incredible, really, that he didn't pull back in disgust. He actually returned the kiss.

"Erm…" The awkward tone of Dobby's voice brought Hermione back to reality.

"I'm sorry, Dobby. I was sort of…daydreaming, so to speak. My mind's all scrambled."

"Oh! Miss, Dobby apologizes. Dobby should have never done this…" He started looking for another item to punish himself with. Hermione realized that Dobby thought that she regretted the kiss…and oh, how wrong he was!

"No - Dobby - stop! My mind is scrambled because I'm so happy. I can't believe that just happened…I'm glad it did, mind you."

"Really, Miss?"

"Absolutely, Dobby. It was…incredible." She gave the little elf a quick peck on the cheek, making both of them blush.

Dobby smiled. "Miss should get back to her friends, now. They'll be most worried, especially Wheezy."

"Oh no, I almost forgot! Oh, I'm so late…"

"It would probably be best, Miss, if they don't see us together. Dobby doesn't want anyone bothering Miss with questions. But Dobby will walk far behind you, Miss, so Dobby knows Miss gets back to her friends safely."

"Dobby, that's really not necessary. I can handle myself-"

"Dobby must insist."

Hermione smiled at his protective nature.

"Okay, let's go then."

She started back towards the center of town, fully aware of Dobby trailing behind, and fully aware of the stupid grin splashed across her face. She made a mental note to wipe it off quickly, or else people might be a little suspicious.

She was passing Zonko's when she heard a whisper come from behind her.

"Dobby will see Miss in the Gryffindor common room later."

Hermione heard a 'pop' and knew Dobby had Disapparated.

Out of nowhere, something big rammed right into Hermione and embraced her. She felt like she was being crushed to death.

"Let - me - go - Ron-"

"Oops, sorry…" Ron had been the culprit.

"Hermione, where were you?! One minute I'm fighting Draco, the next minute I look over and see you're gone. Where did you go? What happened? Are you alright? Oh, I feel like such a git, I should have been protecting you. I was so worried, and so were Harry and Ginny. We were looking for you all over the place and-"

"Slow down, Ron. Slow down!" It was just then that Hermione realized that Ron had mentioned something about 'protecting' her. Yet another awkward slip of the tongue on his part, she imagined.

"Ron, you didn't need to be protecting me, I can handle myself."

"It looked like you needed help, and I just felt so protective of you-"

"Thank you, Ron, for doing that, but I really don't need you to protect me. I don't want you to feel like it's an obligation or something. I'm grateful, but it's not necessary."

There was a pause. Then, Ron spoke.

"But…where did you go?"

"I just sort of…you know, I got away."

"But we looked all over for you, and you can't have gone far in such a short amount of time…where did you go that we missed?"

"Well you mustn't have looked hard enough, then!"

Why oh why was Ron deciding to be persistent and observant now? How do I avoid his question without being overly suspicious?

"Erm…"

Oh no…I'm going to have to play a really bitchy card. But it's the only way…

"What does it matter to you? It's not your business anymore, Ron. I can go where I want on my own terms, and I don't have to explain myself to you."

It was harsh, yes, but necessary. She couldn't have Ron poking around her personal life, and she knew that using this excuse, it would both hurt and stun him. She really, really hated hurting him, especially since they had made so much progress, but it was the only way to protect her and Dobby.

Ron's face showed so much hurt and shock in it. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes wider than usual. Hermione could see the pain behind his eyes, and she had to look away. It was too much. She begged for some sort of distraction or interruption, but none came. There was an awkward moment that seemed to last an hour, when Harry and Ginny stumbled to them.

Ginny ran and gave Hermione a huge hug. "Hermione, we were so worried, we didn't know where you went! Don't run off like that on us again, you hear? Ron was terrified, and so was Harry, and -"

"Calm down! Ron already told me, I'm fine, no need to get so upset."

"Yeah, Ginny, she's fine." Harry chimed in.

Ron was pushing snow around with the tip of his toe, when Harry noticed his anti-social behavior.

"What's wrong, mate?" Harry asked his friend.

"Nothing…" Ron replied in a tone that was filled with hurt.

Harry got the hint and didn't press it any further, when Madame Rosmerta came outside.

"I should have never allowed this, I can't believe what happened out here! Who knew, a riot would break out! Hermione, dear, are you alright? I heard what those horrible girls did to you! I'm not letting them in here, and that wretched Malfoy boy, either."

"I'm fine, Madame. I just feel so terrible; I promised nothing would happen, and it was such a mess."

"Well, I must say that I'm not going to be hosting any protests in front of my pub again, but I'm just glad that you're alright."

"No problem. I have to get back to Hogwarts. I'm sorry again, Madame."

She waved goodbye, and the four students took off to the carriages.

It seemed like an incredibly long ride back to Hogwarts, with the awkwardness between her and Ron, yet again, and then Harry and Ginny being all…cute. The chill in the air whipped at Hermione's face, and she stared out the left side of the carriage, thinking about the occurrence in front of the Hog's Head earlier in the day. Dobby had been worried about her, and had saved her from Pansy. He followed her, making sure she was okay, and though it sounded creepy at first, the feeling turned immediately to affection. She knew he was doing it for her well-being, and it felt so good to be taken care of, and to have someone worry about her. It was a feeling she'd never gotten from Ron. It was either snogging or jealousy from that boy. Hermione shifted in her seat a little and thought about where the relationship, if there was one, between her and Dobby would go. She definitely didn't think about him in a sexual way, like she sometimes thought of Ron. No, it was more…adoration. The sweet holding hands and cuddling sort of thing. She did adore Dobby with all her heart, and, if she was right, Dobby felt the same way.

"Hermione!" Harry waved a hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her thoughts and realized they were in front of the school already.

"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry…I guess I got lost in my thoughts." She smiled and jumped down from the carriage. Her heart thumped lightly as she realized that Dobby had said he would meet her in the common room later. But…how much later? When should she be in there? Wouldn't people see them together? They definitely had to talk before they could go public, and she wasn't even sure if that time would come. No one would understand, and although she didn't care what others thought, she didn't want Dobby to get hurt, and she just knew the cruelty that would come from some, especially Malfoy. She sighed at the realization that she would have to wait in the common room most likely all night, until everyone had cleared out and Dobby came, which would probably be after midnight. No one ever goes to bed at a decent time anymore…

She became aware of where she was when the Fat Lady asked for the password.

"Tapeworm," said Hermione, and she led the rest of the gang into the common room.

It was half past seven, and most of the Gryffindor House was in the common room. Ugh, thought Hermione. She had a feeling it wouldn't be easy getting this lot to go to bed.

Hermione went up to the dormitory and did some of her homework. She had an essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and some problems out of her Arithmancy textbook. Not a very heavy workload, and it would be a great way to pass the time.

She arrived back in the common room around ten, and there were still quite a few people. Most of them talking quietly in a small group, some reading books, and there was one girl by the fire place sewing what looked to be very odd looking socks. Hermione smiled as she thought of Dobby's strange attraction to socks like these, and made a mental note to buy some for him the next time she was in Hogsmeade. She walked over to one of the comfy armchairs, and sat down and began to read a book she had checked out of the library. It was very interesting, it was all about court cases involving house elves and their place in the wizarding world. The day's events started to take over her, and Hermione became very tired. Her head started to bob, and her eyes began to close. In a few minutes she was asleep, and her dreams started to overtake her subconscious.

She was standing in a crowd of people, all pointing at her, with shocked looks on their faces. She kept spinning and spinning and all she could see were the blurry figures of people pointing and looking disgusted. What's going on?! She was spinning faster and faster until the floor disappeared and she was dropped into empty room. At least she thought it was empty. At one end, there was Dobby. And on the other end, were her family, friends, classmates, teachers, etc. Basically everyone she knew. She suddenly felt the urge to walk over towards her peers and leave Dobby behind, but then she got another urge to run over to Dobby and leave the rest. She continued with this until the scene changed and she was at the bottom of the Black Lake with ropes around her body, and she was struggling to get them off, screaming and shaking and drowning until Dobby swam over and started to help her frantically. Hermione's screams started to get less water-logged and she was suddenly very aware of hands on her shoulders. It was indeed Dobby, but it wasn't in the dream. She fully woke and sat straight up in a cold sweat, panting. She looked around and saw she had fallen asleep in the common room, her book on the floor. No one was there except Dobby. She looked at him, and the concern in his eyes. She had obviously been freaking out due to her nightmare, and he had come to meet her and found her in this state of subconscious turmoil. Dobby quickly brought Hermione a glass of water, and after her first sip, he spoke.

"Miss? Miss, is you alright?"

"Yes…oh, Dobby, I had the most horrible dream! People were so angry and disgusted and hurt about our situation, whatever that is, and I was drowning and I thought I was going to die! But you…you were there, you were trying to save me!"

Dobby took Hermione in his arms, and gave her a close, sweet, hug. He pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"Dobby will always save you, Dobby will be there for Miss no matter what."

"Thank you, Dobby. You have no idea how much that means to me."

There was a couple second pause, then Hermione brought something up that had been in the back of her mind all day.

"So…what exactly, you know…is going on with us. Is there an us? It's been driving me mad all day and I just need to know what is going to happen from here on out."

"All Dobby wants is for Miss to be happy. Whatever makes you happy, Dobby will oblige."

"I feel like if I want to be with you, you'll just go along with because it make me happy. I want to know that you want to be with me, too."

"Nothing would please Dobby more than if you would let me love you. Dobby so hopes that you choose him, but will let you go if you wish."

Hermione's chocolate brown eyes lit up with excitement.

"Dobby…I want you to be a part of my life. I don't care what anyone else says. We can get through it. All I know is that I need you by my side. I can't really explain the feeling, but it's there, and I know it's real."

"Dobby is so glad!"

Hermione kissed him once lightly on the cheek, and she slumped next to him on the couch, as they both drifted off into a dreamless, peaceful, sleep.

There it is…finally. As always, review please! They make me happier than Hermione and Dobby staring into each other's eyes :]

I'd like to take a second to plug this story I'm working on, called "A Friendly Deception." If you're a fan of Twilight, I'd really appreciate you guys taking a look at the intro I have up, and reviewing/PM-ing me with your insight and whatnot. This is a story that I've really wanted to start writing, but I'm a little unsure as to how to go about it.