DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own any other characters in J.K. Rowling's original series. I merely am here to demonstrate a different approach to the plot, characters, and overall experience in the world of witchcraft and wizardry.

Author's Note: A fairly quick update, just like I promised! I've gotten nothing but positive feedback on this story, and I'd like to be a suck up for a moment to thank every single faithful reader of this story. If it wasn't for the endless amounts of emails I get regarding people reviewing my story, adding it to their Author/Story Alerts, or adding it to their favourite stories list, I probably would not continue to finish this story. Here's some inside information on the rest of the story, kind of like a sneak peek in as to what will happen:

1. Hermione and Draco will have one final fallout, regarding the most confused feelings to come into the story ever.

2. The story will end after the fifteenth chapter.

3. Hermione will lose contact with Harry and Ron for two whole chapters.

4. Neville will make things very awkward for Hermione and Draco in chapter ten.

5. Draco will go visit his mother in St. Mungo's – will he take Hermione with him?

And those are only a few of the things to happen! Without further ado, here's the ninth chapter. Continue reviewing please, I appreciate you guys and your thoughts more than anything.


Chapter Nine:
Dramonie

Draco opened one cool grey eye and flicked his gaze from the satin green sheets of his four-poster bed, to the walls of the Head Boy room. An enormous serpent was sketched on the wall to his right, its bright emerald eyes peering around the room almost eerily. On the window to the right of Draco's head he could clearly see thick sheets of white snow covering the windowsill outside and a hardened cover of frost hiding the view from the tall tower. The sheets were draped around his shoulders and he could feel the silky satin rubbing against his arm every time they moved. However, it wasn't him who was causing the sheets to move.

Rolling over onto his left side, Draco smiled as he saw Hermione's frame underneath the green sheets, her head resting in the Hippogriff-feather silver pillow and her hair framing over one eye and shoulder. She was still sleeping, her body rising and falling slowly underneath the blankets. Her lips were pursed and she was breathing softly, her cool breath scattering goosebumps over Draco's skin. He grazed one finger over her wrist, raising himself on one elbow and peering down at her. Very slowly, she opened both eyes and gazed up at him through her eyelashes.

"Happy Christmas. You're beautiful when you sleep," he murmured, bending down to press his lips very lightly against her forehead. Hermione tilted her head just at the right time so his lips missed her forehead completely to land on her lips. One of her hands slithered out from under her hair to rest on his cool cheek.

He pulled away and smiled sheepishly. "How did you sleep?"

Hermione sat up, raising her arms above her head and yawning widely. "Like a log," she croaked, her voice husky from sleeping. "I'm surprised I'm still fully clothed, to be honest with you."

Draco laughed throatily and wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist, burying his face into the side of her neck and laying butterfly kisses on her skin. "Is that how you think of me, Granger?"

Hermione grinned and rolled away. "You can't blame me for worrying, with your reputation going around the school. Which reminds me." She suddenly stopped smiling all together and crossed her arms over her chest, looking surly. "Why did I see you in the common room weeks ago with Gladia?"

"I was wondering when you were finally going to ask me," he said with a smile. "That was weeks ago, like you said. At the time, I was confused on my feelings of you. You should know now how I really feel, right?" Draco reached one hand over and ran his fingers over the shimmering scarf that still hung from Hermione's shoulders.

She looked sceptical for a moment, but shook the expression away with a shrug. "I suppose you're right," she said. With a smile, Hermione crawled over on her hands and knees to place a single kiss on Draco's nose. "Who would've thought we would end up having feelings for one another?"

" 'A Malfoy with a Muggle-born? When hell freezes over!' I'm sure that'll be the reaction you receive from your friends," Draco said with a laugh. However, his words made Hermione's smile once more.

"My friends." She looked out the window, lost in thought. "We can't tell them."

"Excuse me?"

"Not yet at least!" Hermione crawled over on her knees and placed two hands on his shoulders. "If they find out about us now, I'll never be forgiven. It has to be at the right time."

Draco grimaced and looked up at Hermione's hurt expression. Of course, he couldn't tell Crabbe and Goyle about his relationship with Hermione Granger – yet. He would also have to wait in order to find the right way to tell them without coming off as a traitor to the family. There was no way around it.

"Okay," he said finally. Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around Draco's neck.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear before pulling away. "Can I go get dressed now?"

"I'm sure I can help you with that." He grinned.

Hermione giggled and slapped his hand away, climbing off the bed and casting him a sultry look over her shoulder before leaving his room. Falling back on his bed with his arms behind his head, Draco stared up at the ceiling deep in thought. Finally, he had found the only person who gave him butterflies and made him nervous of saying the wrong thing whenever she was around. Hell, he had said the wrong thing whenever she was around. But she had still forgiven him for all the times he messed up before, and he wasn't going to be giving that up any time soon. He knew for sure that Hermione Granger was his first love, his first true love.

Rolling off the bed as well, Draco threw open his wardrobe and shed his pyjamas for some day clothes. He chose a thick black cable-knit jumper and a pair of dim grey pants with some casual sneakers, combed his hair away with his fingers – which didn't do much, since it fell over his forehead once again – and pocketed his wand before opening dormitory door and making his way down the winding stairs. Once in the common room, and with no sign from Hermione, he decided he should wait for her; it may be his last chance to bestow one more kiss on her full lips for the rest of the day.

A few minutes later, Hermione came down fully dressed in jeans and a white long sleeve T-shirt, her hair neat and smelling fresh and clean. Draco beamed at the sight of her, rushing to the end of the staircase to catch Hermione as she leapt off the last step. He spun her in a circle, his hands holding her waist as their lips met in their most passionate kiss yet. Fireworks erupted in Draco's head as he held Hermione close, the one true girl he had ever had real feelings for.

I can't mess this up; not again, he thought to himself as they pulled back, smiling at one another.

"I suppose we should go down for breakfast," Hermione suggested as she was placed on her feet once more.

"Alright," Draco said, taking her hand and leading them towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin. He had his fingertips pressed together and an angry glare in his eye as Draco reached over and tugged at his left ear. Slowly, the statue moved aside to show a narrow, winding staircase that lead downwards. It would have been pitch black if it wasn't for the torches on the walls that lit up when they neared them.

Draco, still holding Hermione's hand behind him, winded his way down the staircase for a minute, both of them in complete silence, until they came to a stone wall in front of them. Turning to face Hermione, Draco released her hand and reached over to comb a strand piece of hair away from her face.

"One more kiss, because I won't be able to until much later," he said coolly. Hermione knew exactly what he was thinking as he said it since her arms wound around his neck and she stood on tiptoe to press her lips against his. They kissed for a long minute, embraced in one another's arms, before Draco turned to face the wall again. He pressed his hand against a stone, and the wall slid aside to reveal the Entrance Hall.

Draco hurried out from the stairs first, his hands in his robe pockets and his face set in an unemotional gaze. He heard the stone wall close from behind him, his heart pounding in his chest as he looked around at the students. Would their relationship – if they ever built one – become nothing but sneaking around the school? Would he ever be able to drop his father's words of advice about being prejudice towards Muggle-borns in order to build something with the first girl he ever truly loved other than his own mother?

The thought of his mother brought tightness in Draco's stomach as he followed a group of giggling fifth year girls into the Great Hall. He had not forgotten about the letter he received from St. Mungo's regarding his mother's mental and emotional state. Why else would he be staying in the castle if he had a home to go to?

"Morning Malfoy. Happy Christmas," Pansy Parkinson cooed as Draco slid onto the bench at the Slytherin table. "Did you – um – get my present this morning?"

Draco had received Pansy's gift – a moving photo of her wearing a snakeskin wrap and attempting to look sultry and seductive, along with an invitation to join her in the same scene that evening. When Draco had opened it, he fought hard not to laugh hysterically.

Keeping a straight face, he began to pile food onto his place. "I might've," he said nonchalantly. Crabbe and Goyle chortled knowingly; apparently Pansy had told multiple people on her plan for his Christmas gift, saying it was her main reason for staying at Hogwarts for Christmas.

Pansy frowned and blushed deeply, turning away from them to finish her own breakfast. Draco, still fighting to keep his face straight, glanced up as he saw a flash of light bouncing off the head of a brown-haired girl. It was Hermione, who had a noticeable skip to her step as she sat down beside Harry and Ron, and he saw her wishing them Happy Christmas and give each of them an enormous hug. Draco quickly looked back down at his food in order not to be seen by her. The more he continued to stare at Hermione, the more suspicious Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy would be of him. He was not ready to tell them about his budding relationship. Luckily, Hermione didn't notice him, and he was able to continue finishing his food.

After breakfast, Draco hurried out of the Great Hall in order to avoid Pansy as much as possible before he couldn't help but laugh in her face. He made up some excuse about needing to stretch his legs and began making his way around the castle's corridors. Streams of tinsel lined the stone walls at random sections, and house-elves were seen for a brief second skittering around the grounds in hats with bells on them. Crabbe and Goyle came hurtling out of a corridor, laughing and shadowing Draco.

"Can we see the picture, Malfoy? See how bad it is?" Crabbe asked, chuckling so much that he was red in the face.

"I'll show you later," Draco suggested, rounding a corner and turning to face them. "Thank you for the gifts." Goyle had given Draco a Sneakoscope, and Crabbe an enormous flask of Firewhisky.

Crabbe and Goyle stopped walking, looking at Draco with mixed expressions of confusion and pride. Draco knew he had never thanked the two in his entire life of knowing them, and the suddenness of the words had caught them off guard.

"Uh… you're welcome," Goyle said awkwardly. Draco folded his hands behind his back and smiled.

"I'm assuming you got my gifts as well?" he said. He had sent them each a box of sweets from Honeydukes along with a green and black striped scarf with their initials on it.

"It was, uh, really nice of you to send us some," Crabbe said, shuffling from foot to foot. Draco smiled and turned around to continue walking. He was determined to make Crabbe and Goyle become nicer towards others, so they would slowly begin to accept the building relationship he was planning to begin with Hermione Granger.

That evening, after shovelling the amazing Christmas feast into his mouth until his stomach felt like it was about to burst and everyone had left the Great Hall for the evening, Draco told Crabbe and Goyle to head off without him as he stayed behind. He had brought down his school bag with rolls of parchment, ink bottles and quills in it so he could write a letter to St. Mungo's regarding him coming to visit his mother at some point this week.

Moving several jugs of pumpkin juice aside, Draco spread out a sheet of parchment and scrambled in his bag to extract a bottle of ink and a quill. Dipping his quill into the ink, he paused to think for a moment before he began to scratch his letter on the yellowing paper:

Dear Mr. Longstron,

The news of my mother's unstable state is no surprise to me, as she has been very depressed since my father was taken into custody at Azkaban prison. However, the news of her having to be in custody within the hospital for at least ten years is almost as horrible as her death. I am being forced to stay within the castle for holidays, since there is no longer anyone available at the Malfoy Manor.

With your permission, I would like to ask if it would be possible for me to come and visit my mother. Let me assure you that no matter what state she is in, I will be able to get across to her somehow. I will also be able to ensure that I am strong enough to see her, despite her being in pain. You must understand how important it is for me to see my mother, as we have a very strong relationship with one another.

If this permission is granted, I would please ask you to send a separate letter granting permission to visit so I may show a teacher here at Hogwarts, and please notice me on the date and time I shall be picked up and leaving.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy

Draco picked up the parchment and scanned it over once, nodding briskly as he felt satisfied with what he wrote. He began to roll the parchment up and then turned to a school barn owl, which was sitting on the table beside his elbow and cleaning herself under her wing. She extended her leg to Draco, who tied the parchment to it and placed a gold Galleon in the little bag on her other foot. Extending her wings widely, the owl soared out of the Great Hall and out a nearby window.

Leaning back in his seat as he watched the owl soar away, Draco sighed as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Hopefully, the owl would make it through the night and return in the morning with a reply from St. Mungo's regarding whether or not he was allowed to visit her. He knew that it was a long shot, since his mother was probably in the worst state possible, but he just had to see her; he had to see what the damage his backstabbing father had done.

With no one else in the Great Hall and a lot on his mind, Draco decided to go down to the Slytherin common room; he had promised Crabbe and Goyle that he would spend the night, since he was now staying in the Head Tower all the time and rarely saw them out of classes. He slowly stretched his arms, yawned, and began to make his way down to the dungeons for the remainder of the evening. Hopefully, his mind would be clear by tomorrow and he would be able to continue on with his life, happy and carefree.


"Thank you so much for a wonderful Christmas," Hermione said as she wrapped her arms around Harry, then Ron. Both of them beamed back at her, though Ron seemed to be sweating and nervously glancing around the Entrance Hall. He had been acting this way for weeks, and Hermione had no idea why – he never told her anything.

"Are you sure you don't want to come spend the night with the Gryffindor's again? We miss you on the seventh floor," Harry said with a frown.

Hermione smiled. "I'd love to, but I think it will just be easier for me to go to the Head Tower. All of my things are there, you know?" The truth was, Hermione was desperate to get back to the Head Tower in order to see Draco once more. Neither of them had spoken or glanced at each other since this morning. She badly wanted to press up against him and kiss him for hours, like they had early this morning.

"Well, alright. We'll see you tomorrow then, yeah?" Harry said, bending to kiss her on the cheek before steering Ron towards the marble staircase and up to the seventh floor. Ron still looked extremely nervous and was sweating everywhere, which made Hermione cautious about what could be bothering him.

Excitement flooding through her body, Hermione turned towards the stone wall that lead to the Head Tower. She pressed her hand against the stone with the small chip in it, and the stone chunk slid aside to reveal the stairs. She began to climb up them, waiting until she heard the stone close before advancing up the steps any further. Her heart was beating loudly, and she was very excited to spend the rest of Christmas with Draco, possibly the first boy she had really ever loved – if he kept up his ways.

Pressing her hand against Salazar Slytherin's back and waiting until the statue slid aside, Hermione jumped out of the staircase and looked around the common room. Her heart sank immediately as she saw no sign of Draco, and the fire was the only thing illuminating the room.

Maybe he's still downstairs, Hermione thought. This gave her an opportunity to surprise Draco. She beamed and made her way up to her dormitory, scrounging around for something to surprise him with. She decided to wait for him on the common room couch, wearing something… provocative. She stripped off her clothes and slid herself into a pair of black panties and a matching bra, both lacy, and opened the scarf so it was a little wider to hang over her shoulders and down her body.

Staring at her reflection, she began to tame her curly hair with Sleekeazy's Hair Potion until it hung in very soft, shiny waves. She muttered a charm to emit a lavender-scented mist from the tip of her wand and swirled it around her body. Satisfied with her reflection, Hermione rushed down to the common room, sprawling herself on the couch and covering her stomach and thighs with the scarf to not give too much away. She wasn't entirely sure if she was prepared to sleep with Draco, but a sneak peek was always good.

Hermione laid on the couch, waiting patiently as the crackle of the fireplace hummed through her ears. Taking a quick glance at the clock, she saw it was nearing ten o'clock – Draco had to be coming up any minute.

Ten-thirty… eleven… eleven-thirty… Hermione frowned as she glanced over her shoulder once more and saw that it was already midnight. Where is he? She forced her eyes to stay open as she slowly began to feel her eyelids grow heavy. You have to stay awake, Hermione! A loud yawn escaped her lips, the blanket hanging on the back of the couch became very appealing to her, and she grabbed it to throw over her body. Before she knew it, it was twelve-thirty and she was fast asleep…

The next morning...

The sound of the portrait hole swinging open awoke Hermione the next morning, her hair scattered over her shoulders and the blanket only just covering her from mid-thigh up. Peeking over at the clock, Hermione saw it was nine in the morning; she had fallen asleep.

"Shit!" she cursed under her breath, grabbing the blanket and sitting up on the couch. Looking over the top of the couch, Hermione saw Draco standing by the portrait hole… wearing the same clothes he had been wearing yesterday.

Hermione's heart sank immediately as she noticed his outfit. He had been with a girl last night; that was the only explanation for it. But still, Draco smiled at Hermione as she sat up and looked over him. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his jeans and his hair was tousled away from his face in a boyish way. He looked gorgeous, but he was still a liar, still a heartbreaker.

"Hey beautiful, did you fall asleep on the sofa last night?" he asked, but his smile faded as he saw Hermione's expression. Her eyes were watering and she clutched the blankets around her body as she stood up, making sure everything was covered.

"You bastard," she said in a voice much unlike her voice – squeaky and cracking. "You fucking bastard! I trusted you this time!"

Draco frowned. "What are you talking about –"

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL!" Hermione screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks before she could stop herself. "You are a lying dick! And to think, I was going to begin a relationship with you. But no." She shook her head and laughed at her own stupidity. "You're the same fucking Draco Malfoy that you have always been. This is the last god damn time I ever try to start something with you, Malfoy."

Draco frowned, staring at her with a confused expression. "What did I do?"

Hermione laughed again, more tears pouring out of her eyes. "What did you do? Do you need to be reminded of your disgusting act? Alright, well, what you did is you left me here to wait for you all fucking night. And what do you do instead? You go around in the middle of the night shagging some slut of a Hogwarts girl. I bet it was Gladia, am I right?"

Hermione stormed out of the common room and up to her dormitory, slamming the door behind her with a bang and falling face first onto the bed, tears pouring out of her eyes and choked sobs coming from her throat. She threw the blanket from the common room off her body and wrapped the silky sheets around her body instead, curling up into a ball on the top of her bed and letting the tears stream from her eyes.

"This is what you get, Hermione," she snapped at herself, tears staining the silk of her bed. "This is what you get for falling in love."


Author's Note: Kind of a short chapter, but longer ones will come! We all know Draco's side of the story, but will Hermione believe him? Find out soon! Reviews please!