I don't condone slut shaming in any way, shape, or form. I'm simply saying this because I feel like this chapter focuses on that a bit and I just want to put it out there that these are not my sentiments.

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing


"…entertainment…check. Okay, so it appears that we have everything in order for this weekend then. Are there anymore suggestions? Anything else that needs to be clarified? No?"

Hermione looked around the circle of Prefects and gave a satisfied smile as they all shook their heads. She set her notepad down in her lap.

"Okay, then. Well, you're all dismissed and please, do try to remember that Headmistress McGonagall is the one who heavily suggested this. That means that it needs to go off without a hitch," she said, sighing when they all gave halfhearted, disgruntled affirmations, hightailing it out of the door.

She shut her notebook, placing it and her quill back inside of her schoolbag before looking at the chair beside her where Draco usually sat at these meetings. She closed her eyes, heaving another deep sigh as she thought about the previous week. After Draco had aggressively confessed of his…struggle with their little agreement, she had avoided him like the plague. That was easy to do in the corridors and during meals. Avoiding him during class and in their dorm, however, was a completely different story.

He'd made it his mission to always sit one row behind wherever she sat during their classes, his heated gaze focused on nothing but her, often distracting her from her notetaking. In their dorm, whenever she had no choice but to leave the comfort of her room, there he would be, walking around nearly as naked as the day he was born as if he had a built in radar that told him when she was getting ready to come out. The worst part was that he never said anything suggestive or with double meanings, he never had to, her mind always took care of the rest. Of course, there was that one time. Hermione could still recall the incident from a few days ago…

...

Hermione walked down the stairs, deciding to take a break from her studying and get something to eat. Even though Draco was out she still had not wanted to take any chances. Besides, she needed to take a break and stretch her legs anyway. She shook her head at her cowardice as she walked into the kitchen. She was Hermione freaking Granger and look what she had been reduced to because what? That thing in Draco's pants had decided that she was the only girl it was going to work for? She shook her head again. I don't think so, she thought.

Besides, that sounded like a personal problem anyway. Hermione seriously doubted that she was even that good in bed. She'd been a virgin with zero experience, for crying out loud! She suddenly stopped chewing. Maybe that was it. Maybe Draco had never been with a virgin before and was so used to girls with porn star like talents. She frowned, highly doubting that sudden theory of hers. Draco struck her as the type who liked porn star like talent. She turned around, ready to put her plate in the sink when she heard his room door open.

Her eyes widened as the plate clattered into the sink, making the loudest noise she was sure she'd ever heard in her life. She had thought that he was out! As a matter of fact, she was positive that he was out! She'd heard him leave and had yet to hear him return. Or had she mistaken the sound of his return as the sound of his departure? She kept her eyes downcast as he came into the kitchen, the sound of his footsteps heavy in her ears.

This had to have been the most awkward silence that she'd ever encountered. Neither one of them spoke as they both went about their business. He knew that she knew he was there and she knew that he knew that she knew that. She finally decided to just concede defeat and high tail it out of the kitchen, putting her out of her misery. She spun around, prepared to all but run back to her room when she bumped into him.

Her eyes widened as she stumbled back, feet tripping over one another when he reached out to steady her. She swallowed as his hand practically burned a hole into her shirt, pressing into her waist. Her chest grazed his as he slowly removed his hand.

"My fault," she quietly said.

She swallowed and held her breath as he suddenly reached past her, the length of his arm brushing against her shoulder as he grabbed something on the counter behind her. She leaned back, her back pressing into the counter, his hips hotly pressed against hers. Per usual, he wasn't wearing a shirt and Hermione was convinced that he'd burned them all just for her torment. She glanced up to find him gazing down at her from beneath his lashes as he brought his hand back, but not before dropping it and brushing it against her hip and over her thigh.

She reached down to slap his hand away when he surprised her and snatched up her hand instead. She sharply inhaled as he slammed it down onto the counter, his intense gaze trained on her. She was just about to open her mouth and curse him out when he brought his other hand up to gently brush his thumb against her bottom lip. Her words were caught in her throat, her chest heaving against his as he leaned in closer. He licked his lips and Hermione found her eyes following the movement of his tongue, transfixed. He parted his lips as he bent his head and Hermione felt her eyes fluttering close. She waited…and waited…and waited.

When nothing came she finally opened her eyes to see him gazing down at her with that stupid smirk, his head tilted in amused curiosity. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what he had just done. She watched as he stepped back before crossing his arms over his chest. They stared at one another for a while in silence before his smirk eventually grew. He gave an amused chuckle and turned, leaving the kitchen.

It wasn't until his room door had closed did Hermione realize that he'd never actually taken anything from the kitchen to begin with.

...

She was not afraid to openly admit that his desires frightened her, simply because dealing with his desires would force her to confront her own. That was possibly the last thing that she ever wanted to do. What had happened a few days ago only proved that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her and she didn't know how to feel about that. Besides, she had enough on her plate already.

She stood, swinging her school bag over her shoulder with a groan as she thought over the past week. Not only had she avoided Draco like the plague, but his blackmailing housemate as well. Every time she thought about the incident at breakfast all those days ago, she felt herself getting angry all over again. Blaise knew! He knew about her and Draco and that scared her so much. She honestly didn't know what to do and she knew that she was going to have to deal with this sooner or later.

Blaise had yet to confront her. As a matter of fact, it seemed that he hadn't even attempted to. Hermione was no idiot. She knew that he was simply biding his time and it wouldn't be long before he demanded something of her. Hermione didn't know what she was going to do when that day came. Blaise was…he was…he was a sleaze ball! He could demand anything of her and Hermione hoped that it wasn't going to be another public kiss or anything of the sort. Ron and Harry's harsh words had been on a constant repeat in her mind, along with the climax of the argument that had officially terminated any chance of her and Ron ever being friends again.

...

Hermione all but ran out of the classroom, like she did every day since the incident at breakfast. She had avoided Harry and Ron's eyes all week, refusing to even acknowledge them. After all, Ron was supposed to be still mad at her anyway for ruining his relationship with Lavender. Apparently, his anger didn't keep him from seeking her out to chew her out…again. She turned down an empty corridor, heading for the next set of stairs when she dropped her books.

"Crap," she hissed, bending down to grab them.

A set of hands suddenly came out of nowhere and picked them up instead and Hermione sighed. She reluctantly stood, avoiding Ron's stare as she took her books from Harry. She clutched them to her chest, shaking her head as she waited.

"Do you have nothing to say?"

Ron's words came out harsh and venomous and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye as if he were a bug.

"I'm sorry. Aren't you supposed to be ignoring me," she spat.

Ron fumed, folding his hands into fists as he glared at her.

"Ron's right, Hermione. Have you nothing to say?"

"What do you want me to say? Last time I checked, I didn't have to explain anything to the two of you," she said, her eyes landing on Harry.

Despite the current animosity between the three of them, Hermione did want to explain everything, but she couldn't. Harry huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We're your friends, Hermione-"

"Oh, you are, are you? The two of you have a really funny way of showing it," she said, interrupting him.

"Hermione…what are you even…," Harry trailed off.

"I am fed up. The two of you have been treating me like crap for a while now, long before any of this mess even started. Now, you act like you actually have a right to question me about anything I do when weeks ago you guys would act like I wasn't even in the same room. You completely ripped my head off the other night, Harry, and for no reason. I wasn't concerned about Ginny, you moron, I was concerned about Dean. You immediately assuming the worst about what I was trying to say was your own guilt eating you up," she spat.

Ron looked between the two of them with a frown as Harry sent her a threatening look.

"What happened the other night?"

Hermione looked at him.

"Oh, that's right. Harry didn't want you to know. He accompanied Lavender and I to the party in the Slytherin Common Room," she said.

Ron rounded on Harry as Harry glared at her. Hermione shook her head as she felt herself breaking.

"I don't care anymore. The two of you are not my friends and you haven't been my friends for some time now. I am done trying to please you," she said, eyes watering.

"Did you enjoy the party, Hermione? Did you screw Zabini there? What about Malfoy?" Ron spat, stepping towards her.

She took a step forward too.

"Screw you, Ronald."

Ron's face contorted into something ugly.

"No, screw you. It won't be long, now before everyone in that house has had you, I reckon," he hissed in her face.

Hermione inhaled, resisting the urge to slap him. Instead she chuckled, wiping her cheek with the back of her fingers.

"Wow, a Slytherin Slut, huh? Like I haven't heard that one all week. Real original, Ron. You want to know what your problem is? You're just throwing a hissy fit because I'm not waiting around for you," she said.

She took another step forward until she was about half a foot away from him.

"For the record, I'd rather be a Slytherin Slut than a sloppy, Gryffindor wannabe version of Draco Malfoy," she spat.

The words had barely escaped her mouth when Ron shoved her, a tad too hard, and she landed on her bottom in a heap. Ron blinked in surprise, as if just realizing what he'd done, but he offered no apology. Harry swallowed, eyes wide, before reaching down and helping her up.

"I think you should go, Hermione," Harry finally said.

"With pleasure," she hissed, walking past them.

"Please don't take your anger out on us just because we actually want to enjoy our last year," Harry said as she passed him.

She stopped with a disbelieving scoff, tempted to turn around and say something she would probably regret. She simply shook her head and walked up the stairs.

...

Hermione slowly walked down the corridor, refusing to waste anymore thoughts on Ron and Harry. Never in her wildest imagination would she have ever dreamed that the three of them would end up here. She shook the thoughts from her head, instead wondering what Lavender was doing.

Hermione had been at war with herself for about a week and a half now, trying to decide if she should tell Lavender the truth. On one hand, knowledge was power and it would give her a better idea of what Blaise was really like. It would make her cautious around him, protecting her. On the other hand, from Hermione's understanding, Lavender was only involved in this because she showed up at the right place at the right time. It seemed that Blaise didn't have any vendettas against her. From what Draco had told Hermione, she was the one who had threatened to tell.

Hermione decided that for now, the best thing to do would be to not say anything. It seemed like it would do more harm than good and would only serve to put Lavender back on Blaise's radar. This way only Hermione had to deal with him which was something that she could handle…for now anyway. As Hermione walked down the corridor, walking towards their shared dorm, she heard a loud high pitched giggle. She frowned in confusion as she approached the portrait and stopped in her tracks.

She watched as Daphne Greengrass ran her perfectly manicured hand up Draco's arm as the Head Boy pinned her to the wall, his face pressed against the crook of her neck. The blonde witch had a teasing smile on her face as Draco apparently whispered something that she liked. Hermione clenched her hand around the strap of her bag, taking a step back as she blinked. She swallowed, finding that her throat was surprisingly dry as she forced herself to glance away. She took a deep breath before returning her eyes to the scene only to find Draco's head tilted in her direction, his piercing gaze trained directly on her while Greengrass was none the wiser. He whispered something in the Slytherin girl's ear before saying the password, the two of them walking inside. Hermione sighed as the portrait shut.

She shook her head. It was blatantly clear what Draco was playing at and Hermione was not going to fall for it. He was trying to get a rise out of her, make her jealous. Well, it wasn't happening. Then why do you want to barge in there and do everything you can to ruin his night? Hermione blinked, realizing that that was exactly what she wanted to do. The thought of Greengrass underneath Draco, where she had been, made her feel some type of way.

Of course, who is to say that Draco will be able to even get it up, she thought with a satisfied smirk. She immediately shook that thought from her head. No. She was not supposed to take satisfaction in the fact that she was currently the only girl in this school who could get him going.

She winced, looking down and realizing that she had been digging her nails into the palm of her hand. She stretched out her fingers with a sigh. She didn't care what or who Draco did in his spare time. At least…she shouldn't. She didn't mind a week ago so why did she mind now? She heaved another sigh and shook her head again. Draco could screw this entire school for all she cared.

"Ouch. That was brutal…"

She spun around, sharply inhaling at the sight of Blaise Zabini leaning against the wall. His button down shirt was open at the top, his Slytherin tie hanging loosely around his neck. His arms were crossed over his chest as one foot was placed on the wall, knee bent. His brown skin glowed in the light, obsidian eyes trained on her.

He suddenly pushed away from the wall, the perfect vision of pureblood aristocracy as he strode towards her in all of his glory. She took a few steps back, her eyes never leaving him.

"Trouble in paradise?"

She glared at the snooty smirk on his face as he looked down at her. The infamous Great Hall kiss came to the forefront of her mind and she felt her face heat up with poorly concealed anger. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had given him a right hook, right in his smug, pretty face.

She took great pride in the fact that his head had whipped to the side, a few drops of spit flying out of his mouth. She took another step back as he reached up to touch his face, adjusting his jaw before slowly straightening up. Hermione was so mad that she could hardly see straight.

"There never was a paradise, you filthy swine," she spat.

He chuckled, moving his jaw around again before resting his eyes on her.

"Your memories beg to differ," he said, tapping his head with his index finger.

She crossed her arms over her chest, revisiting the urge to punch him again.

"What do you want," she asked in exasperation.

She had known that this was coming. She had known that it would only be a matter of time before he finally came to take full advantage of this situation. He slid one hand into his pocket, tilting his head.

"Well, I've been hearing all about this Halloween Ball you Heads are putting together for this Friday," he began.

Hermione's heart dropped straight to her stomach.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"Why would I kid? I want to go and I want you to accompany me. What's so funny about that," he questioned with a shrug.

Hermione gave a humorless laugh.

"Let me guess…if I don't go, you'll tell everyone. Right?"

"You're not the top student in this school for nothing," he said, sending her a dazzling smile.

"What makes you so sure that people will even believe you? Huh," she demanded.

His smile dropped, a menacing expression falling over his face.

"Don't toy with me, Hermione. One, you and I both know that people will believe it simply for the fact that they want it to be true. They want to see little miss perfect Hermione Granger fall from grace. What better way for that to happen than you allowing the 'enemy' to take your innocence? They'll be eating it up. Even if they didn't, it makes for a lovely little rumor, a nice source of entertainment for the rest of the year," he said.

He stepped closer, lips pulling into a smirk at the defeated look on her face as everything he said rang true.

"Besides, do you really think that Draco is going to deny it?"

Her heart skipped a beat as he raised an eyebrow, daring her to disagree. Hermione's shoulders slumped. No, if it ever got out, Draco wouldn't even utter a word of denial. He continued, taking her silence as agreement.

"So…I guess I'll be seeing you Friday then," he purred in triumph, turning around and walking down the corridor.

Hermione looked up towards the ceiling, exhaling in frustration.


Friday arrived much faster than Hermione would have liked. The rest of the week had flown by, consisting of looks, whispers, and the cold shoulder from her dorm mate. It seemed that Draco was sticking to that tactic of trying to make her jealous by simply opting to ignore her and instead focus all of his attention on Greengrass who was just licking it up. She would be all over him during meals, sometimes hanging on his arm as they walked along the corridors. Hermione couldn't care less. Really, she couldn't.

It wasn't long before she found herself staring into her bathroom mirror, adjusting the flowers in her hair. She heaved a sigh, dropping her arms as she stared at her reflection. She had chosen to go as Titania, the fairy queen from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The glamor charm she had used made her wings sparkle in the light and her sheer, tulle dress stopped just above her knee. She fingered the numerous leaves and flowers attached to the dress with a small smile.

Ginny would have gone crazy getting Hermione ready in this. She imagined that Ginny would have made the costume much more elaborate. Go big or go home, was what she'd always say. Hermione shook her head, walking out of the bathroom and out of her room. She stepped into the empty common room, throwing a glance at Draco's door. She'd heard him leave a few minutes ago, Greengrass' voice trailing after him.

She tucked her wand into the bosom of her dress, mentally preparing herself for this night. It was going to be a long one and she was not ready. She could just imagine the stares and whispers now as she walked into the Great Hall with Blaise Zabini on her arm. She released a long, drawn out sigh before stepping out of the entrance, the portrait closing behind her as her eyes rested on Blaise standing on the opposite side of the corridor.

She took in his suit, black cape billowing behind him as one eye gleamed at her from behind the mask. The phantom mask covered half of his face, giving him an even more threatening aura as he tilted his head to the side, taking her in. she stepped towards him as he did the same, the two of them sizing each other up.

"Well, your costume certainly suits your two faced personality," she sweetly said.

"You are a proud so-and-so, so I guess your costume does fit even though the innocence of your appearance no longer does," he spat, lips curving into a smirk.

Hermione briefly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she did something she would regret. The two of them walked towards the Great Hall in silence. The silence wasn't awkward, just filled with tension. Blaise seemed to be buzzing with excitement while she wanted to fight him and puke all at the same time. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, studying him before deciding that she couldn't take him. Besides, would it really be worth it?

She mentally shook her head. No, it would most definitely not be worth it. As they walked down the stairs, Hermione could hear the music, the doors were open and she swallowed, so very tempted to take off. She stopped when Blaise did, looking at him as he held his elbow out to her. With a purse of her lips, she reluctantly looped her arm through his, clasping her hands together.

As soon as they stepped through the door, eyes everywhere immediately sought them out. She felt her face heat up, as the two of them walked towards a table on the other side of the room. The thick fog that covered the floor bit at her feet, forcing a shiver down her spine. The two of them sat down, the floating chairs sinking with their weight. The table still hovered over the floor by a few inches and Hermione looked around to see that all of the tables and chairs were like that. Bats and ravens flew around the room, their screeching and cawing could be heard every now and then. Her eyes focused on the blood dripping down the walls, spider webs hanging from just about every crevice and corner. The lights were low, eerie shadows casted around the room as the live band sang a slow, much more eerie version of I Put a Spell on You.

Hermione spotted a long mane of red hair and got up, walking over towards her. They hadn't spoken in quite some time, but Hermione didn't care. She was far too relieved to see Ginny actually out of her room for once. The younger girl gave a sheepish smile as Hermione took in her costume. She pulled at the white dress before flicking her veil behind her shoulder.

"Cliché, huh?"

"Not at all. You look great," Hermione said.

Ginny nodded in thanks.

"You too. You and Zabini make quite the stunning pair. I'm…surprised to see that you came with him," Ginny said with a frown.

Hermione was confused by the concern on Ginny's face. Did she know or at least have an idea about what had happened? Draco never said anything about her telling Ginny.

"Yeah, well. Is there a groom…or…?"

Ginny suddenly blushed, looking down.

"Dean asked me," she quietly responded.

Hermione found herself smiling.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

"I figured...why not, you know," she said with a shrug, glancing over to Hermione's right.

Hermione followed her gaze, eyes landing on Harry and Ron on the other side of the room with their dates, their eyes trained on the two of them. Hermione looked back at Ginny, deciding to cut the awkward chit chat.

"Look, I know that it probably isn't my place, but…Dean really likes you. I mean…really likes you. He cares about you and I believe that if you let him…he can make you really happy," Hermione said.

Ginny stared at her for a while before nodding.

"You're right. It wasn't your place, but thank you. I…I'm really sorry about our last conversation. It's just…it's Lavender, you know? I can still remember you crying about her and Ron sixth year, just bawling your eyes out. I don't like her. I probably never will, but I should be happy that the two of you patched things up. I should be happy that you have someone to talk to while…," she trailed off with a sigh.

Hermione felt her blood boiling, angry with Harry all over again for what he had turned Ginny into. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest.

"Excuse my language, Ginny, but I just want to say that Harry…isn't worth shit."

Ginny's eyes widened at Hermione's rare use of foul language.

"He's changed…him and your brother. Even if things start to look better, they will never be the same. Lines have been crossed and I don't think we'll ever be able to pretend like nothing has happened," she said.

Ginny frowned.

"Did something happen?"

"You could say that. Please, try to enjoy the rest of your night, Ginny."

Hermione walked back to her table ignoring Blaise's curious gaze.

"Are the two of you besties again?"

Hermione didn't appreciate his mocking tone and was just about to let him know that when she was interrupted.

"Hermione!"

Hermione looked up as Lavender made her way over to them, a sly smile on her lips. Lavender's eyes flickered between her and Blaise, the latter sending the other girl a charming smile with a wave of his fingers. Hermione glared at him out of the corner of her eye, frowning even more when he turned his gaze to her and winked.

"You're an ethereal vision," Lavender complemented.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Hermione replied in appreciation of Lavender's costume.

She looked the perfect picture of a princess with her tiara and strapless ball gown dress. Her blonde ringlets were piled high on top of her head, the bright pink fabric of her huge dress almost glowing in the dark lighting. Lavender grabbed her arm and turned to face Blaise.

"Mind if I borrow her for a bit?"

"As long as you return her," he answered with a dazzling smile.

Lavender waved him off, dragging Hermione towards the refreshments table. A spotlight was cast over the table in the dark corner, making it easy for people to see what they were eating.

"So I guess its true then. I missed the infamous kiss, but you guys really are a thing," Lavender said.

"Please…don't."

Hermione was positive that she was going to be ill and Lavender frowned in confusion.

"Are you not?"

"It's complicated," was Hermione's response.

Lavender nodded in understanding, taking the hint to leave it alone.

"Well, I suppose that's a good thing then," she began.

"Why do you say that," Hermione asked.

"A certain dark angel has had his eyes trained on you since you first stepped into the room," Lavender said, nodding behind Hermione.

Hermione turned around and found herself inhaling at the sight of him. Draco stood on the other side of the hall with a group of Slytherins, nodding every now and then to something being said while his eyes never left her. The bottom half of him was covered in black, a striking contrast to the fair expanse of his bare chest. Hermione swallowed, raking her eyes over his toned torso and arms. Memories rushed to the forefront of her mind as she was reminded of that night, gazing up at him as he used his arms to hover over her, keeping his full weight off of her. She remembered running her hands up his chest and down said arms, raking her nails over his skin, eliciting shudders from his frame.

Her eyes finally rested on the large black angel wings that protruded from his back, casting a large and frightening shadow over the wall behind him. Hermione paid no mind to the blonde girl attached to his arm nor to the dark haired, blue eyed archer beside him whose eyes were flicking back and forth between her and Draco. She watched as Draco began to lift his arm off of Greengrass, preparing to take a step forward when the spell was broken.

"I'm stealing her back now," a voice purred.

She blinked, coming back to her senses and sheepishly waving at Lavender as Blaise all but dragged her to the dance floor. He roughly pulled her into him, his arms coming down to snake around her waist while the other held her hand in a tight grip. She clenched her jaw as he leaned down, his lips grazing the shell of her ear.

"Could you be any more obvious?"

His question came out as a whisper, amusement laced in every word.

"It's a wonder that no one else has caught on. It's…sickeningly sweet how gaga you two are for each other," he hissed.

She turned her head away with an amused scoff.

"Are you jealous, Blaise?"

He chuckled.

"No. Not likely and I will tell you why. When I decide that I want you…I'll have you," he stated with conviction.

She leaned in closer, tilting her head up so that her lips were right next to his ear.

"What makes you so sure? What if I suddenly decide that I just don't care anymore? Better yet, what if I out myself, then what will you have," she hissed.

He took a deep breath, pulling away before pulling her back in, spinning her around so that her back was to his chest with his arms around her.

"You're a horrible liar. You can't bluff for shit…don't ever gamble because you'd lose all of your galleons."

Hermione huffed, turning her head away.

"You and I both know that there will never be a day when you're all fine and dandy with this entire school knowing the truth. You care way too much about what people think. You've spent your whole life trying to be accepted, you're not just going to throw it away-"

"You don't know anything about me," she spat.

"Au contraire. I do know you and you want to know what else? Everybody in this bloody school knows you, Hermione. You're an open book, you wear your heart on your sleeve and that makes you so easy to read," he whispered, lips brushing against her ear.

She pushed away from him, the truth of his words getting to her. She looked over her shoulder at him with a venomous glare before storming out of the Great Hall. She didn't hear his footsteps behind her as she walked down the corridor and for that she was grateful. She was an open book. It had always been so hard for her to hide how she felt about anything.

That was how the entire school had known about her feelings about Ron. That was how Draco had been able to rip her a new one, spouting nothing but the truth about her life the night before that day. It was how Ron had always been able to worm his way back into her good graces, knowing exactly what to say and how to act to appease her. It was the reason she was in this mess now. Blaise knew that she would probably rather die than have everyone know that she'd had sex with Draco Malfoy, officially eradicating her virgin status.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you are doing? You're my date and you owe me a few more dances."

"Leave me alone," she shrieked.

She turned around to face him, face twisted into a frown as he walked towards her.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to me? Isn't obvious by now that I'm not going to tell anyone about what you did," she breathed.

Blaise tilted his head, hands shoved into his pockets. He gazed at her as if she were an anomaly.

"I enjoy watching you squirm, Hermione. Besides, I want to see how far I can push you, the both of you," he said.

He chuckled, spreading his arms out.

"I want to see how long it will take before either one of you breaks. I'm hoping for him before you, though. Maybe then McGonagall will strip him of the Head Boy title that he doesn't deserve," he sneered.

Hermione blinked, gazing at him in shocked disbelief.

"Is that what all of this is about? Are you freaking kidding me? You're acting like a jilted lover because you didn't get Head Boy," she spat.

"I earned the right to be Head Boy. My marks were just as good as his," he hissed.

"Clearly they weren't."

"McGonagall chose him over me because he's Draco Malfoy. She's been pushing for house unity and nothing promotes that like Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy becoming besties! You honestly think it would have as much of an effect if it were you and I?"

Hermione took a step back, shaking her head.

"It doesn't matter. He earned the right to be Head Boy too. None of this gives you the right to-"

"Do whatever the hell I want? Yeah, actually, it kind of does."

"You…you…you have no morals. No conscience," she spat out.

"Just imagine if I were Head Boy. Your first time could have been an entirely different experience. I can still replace that memory with a better one anytime you like," he proposed.

"You think I'd let you lay a finger on me after what you did? Trying to force yourself on some fifth year? Practically a child compared to us!"

Blaise stopped walking, a curious expression on his face before a slow smile fell over his lips.

"Is that what Draco told you? This keeps getting better and better," he laughed.

"What are you on about?"

He walked towards her, shaking his head.

"He doesn't even realize how far gone he is…"

"Tell me what you're talking about!"

He smirked, eyes raking over her form.

"Sweetheart, I didn't try to force myself on some fifth year…Hermione," he purred, reaching out to touch her cheek.

She blinked, frowning in confusion before her eyes widened in realization. She smacked his hand away, stumbling back as she registered his words.

"No…"

He nodded, following her, a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Yes."

She frantically shook her head.

"No. That's not-"

"Possible? Why, because you're so smart, right? I'm Hermione Granger and I can easily tell when a situation is going south, so nothing like that will ever happen to me," he mocked, laughing at the look of terror on her face.

Hermione felt her heart speeding up and she backed up, dragging her hand along the wall, gasping for breath.

"You can be so arrogant sometimes, you know that. The best part of it all is that Draco warned you too. Oh, like the good little lover that he is, he warned you. All I had to do was feed you some half assed little lie and you dismissed his words so easily," he whispered.

She glanced over her shoulder.

"You were so desperate for some attention, so desperate to have something to do with your time besides waiting around for your friends to notice you again. You were practically begging for me," he said.

She snatched her wand out of her dress, a curse already on her lips when he smacked her hand upwards, the curse hitting the ceiling instead. She shrieked as he slammed her back into the wall, her wand clattering to the floor. She struggled against him as he brought one hand up to clasp around her throat.

"I couldn't wait to see the look of absolute horror on your face once you realized that Draco had been right. Let me tell you, it was worth it too. Almost as good as the one you have now," he laughed.

He brought her forward, slamming her into the wall again, making her wince.

"If it wasn't for that Gryffindor slut, you would have had two notches on your bed post. Where is she, anyway? Where is Draco? Where is your knight in shining armor, now? Huh," he demanded.

She spit in his face, watching in satisfaction as his face twisted into a look of disgust. She should have expected it. He brought his hand down across her face like lightning, making her see stars for a minute. He dropped her like a sack of potatoes and Hermione winced in pain.

"Oh, I bet you he's around here, looking for you. I know he saw us leave."

He chuckled.

"He's got it bad. Come on, Draco! We're over here," he yelled down the corridor.

Hermione shakily pushed herself onto her knees, vision swimming and reaching for her wand when Blaise's foot harshly came down, snapping the piece of wood and snapping her heart. She looked at her broken wand in horror, clawing and hitting him in anger as he yanked her up by her hair.

"Ssh," he harshly said.

"I'll kill you," she hissed, digging her nails into his arm.

He harshly shook her.

"Listen," he said almost gleefully.

Hermione did listen and she could hear the sound of footsteps, footsteps running in their direction. She shoved her hand in his face as soon as he turned her around and she let out a loud hiss as he slammed her into the wall again, his dark gaze trained on her.

"This is between you and me, Blaise!"

Hermione couldn't turn her head, but was more than relieved to hear Draco's voice at the end of the corridor. Blaise smiled before turning his head towards Draco.

"Not anymore, it's not. She threatened me, remember? It's about time that the Gryffindor Golden Girl learns that her big mouth will get her in a lot of trouble," he said, just before throwing her onto the ground.

Hermione smacked against the ground like a ragdoll and was just barely able to get out of the way as Draco threw the first punch. Hermione had never seen a fight like this. Even during the war, the fighting was brutal, but it had been done with wands. Draco and Blaise were using their fists, pounding into each other so hard Hermione was sure that one of them was going to break. Draco shoved Blaise against the wall, the latter giving him a bloody smile while Draco glared at him, nostrils flaring.

"Go on. Hit me, Draco," Blaise taunted.

Hermione shakily stood.

"Draco, don't…"

"Don't listen to her. Come on, send me to the infirmary."

"Draco-"

"I hit her, you know. Yeah, smacked her right across the face and boy did she go down," he sniggered.

Hermione reached up to cover the bruise that was already forming as Draco glanced at her.

"This is what he wants. Don't listen to him. Let him go and walk away… We need to get out of here," she said, looking around.

They weren't far from the Great Hall and it would only be a matter of time before someone stumbled upon them. Blaise leaned forward, as far as he possibly could, a nasty smirk gracing his lips.

"Just think…if Brown hadn't have showed up…or if she had come just a little later, I could have had her too," he whispered.

"Draco!"

Said boy had brought his fist back and let it snap right into Blaise's face, forcing the other boy's head to smack into the wall before sliding down the wall in a heap as Draco let him go. Hermione covered her mouth in shock, refusing to take her eyes off of Blaise's limp form. Hermione barely registered Draco shoving her broken wand in her hand before dragging her down the corridor. She fought to keep up with his speedy pace as he high tailed it back to their dorm.

"Is he…?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

Hermione winced at his harsh words, instead focusing her attention on him. He also had a nasty bruise forming on his cheek as well as his back from what she could see. He probably had some scrapes on his chest too. She looked down at his hands and saw that his knuckles were bleeding.

"Draco…you're bleeding," she said.

"I know," was his harsh reply.

"Let me-"

"Drop it, Hermione," he bit out.

She took a deep breath.

"I know that my wand is broken, but I could use-"

"I said drop it. I can't think straight with you yapping in my ear," he snapped.

She swallowed.

"Look, I just-"

"I said shut up!"

Hermione found her back pressed against the wall and his lips covering hers as he shut her up with a kiss. Hermione's eyes were wide with shock while she gripped his arm. He was careful not to let his hand venture onto her bruised cheek, instead resting it on the side of her neck as he tilted his head. He appeared to be attempting to suck her soul from within her body as he pressed against her, one hand gripping her back.

Before Hermione had time to process he had pulled away, glaring at her and chest heaving. He said nothing, simply gazing at her before turning around and continuing the walk back to their dorm.


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