A/N: Hi!

You'll realise I quoted from the book the Goblet of fire, and of course it's only that bit, everything else is my imagination. Reserved rights to J.K. Rowling for that part btw.

I'm sorry if this chapter is just too long, and it was going to be longer, but I can't do that to you. I'll try to make shorter chapters in the future. I was actually going to split this one, but the continuity... (see it as a gift from me to you, for not uploading on time)

If you have ANY opinion of WHATEVER I'll be very happy to hear you out.

That's it! Read Enjoy and Review :*


"Can't wait to beat Hufflepuff in the first game of the season. We are so winning the Cup this year!" Ginny said beaming at Harry, who was sitting beside her at Gryffindor's common room.

The only reason Harry was staying at Hogwarts was merely because his N.E.W.T.s, and having lost an entire year, it wasn't a surprise he wasn't Gryffindor's Quidditch team captain anymore. Or in the team whatsoever. Although he missed the rush of air and adrenaline he would get every game, he felt content with the fact Ginny was now the team captain.

November was drawing nearer, and Quidditch training had begun as well as the new season of the year. Even though he wasn't on the team anymore, Harry helped Ginny with tryouts at the beginning of the year. He could see some of the younger players he had a chance to play within his Quidditch years, and helped Ginny with specific tactics and talents he thought of past players. And he, alongside some other "eight" graders, would fancy a Quidditch match when the pitch was alone every now and then. How many occasions will I have the time to play when my Auror training starts? Harry sometimes wondered with worry, fearing he won't ever play again.

"But, of course, it won't be an easy road, now that our best Seeker is gone." Said Ginny taking Harry out of his thoughts kissing him on the nose.

"But you're an excellent Seeker! You've been doing just fine in training" Harry said softly kissing her on the lips.

"But I'm not and will never be as good as you ever were though. Besides, I believe Natalie McDonald is a better Seeker than I am. When she recovers from her arm we'll most probably change places. I'm a far better chaser than a seeker." She sighed.

"The fifth year?" Asked Harry and she nodded, continuing

"I doubt we'll have another seeker this year. Ritchie Coote will probably be team captain next year, and he'll have to worry about a new seeker then." She said falling backwards into Harry's lap.

After silent, comforting minutes passed, Harry could hear Ginny's soft chuckles coming from his lap. "What is it?" He quietly asked her, stroking her hair.

"It's just… I was remembering when I was younger, how I would daydream all day about you, imagining all type of situations in which you would pay attention to me. Mostly in my first and second year." She smiled with pink colour on her face. "I don't know if I ever told you Harry, but, the diary… I used to tell it how much I wished I could be with you. And how little the prospects of it going to happen were…"

"I knew." Harry blurted out, and Ginny looked at him with a blank red face.

"Not that I ever read anything you wrote. There wasn't a way for me to actually see what you had written in it; the words were gone forever." He quickly added, and he could see the relief on her face.

"But, Tom, he- told me," Harry said avoiding Voldemort's name. He never used the name "Voldemort" and the words -diary, feelings, and second year in the same sentence when talking to Ginny. He knew she tried to avoid the reality that she had been, in fact, confiding her deepest feelings with the darkest wizard of all times, for almost a year, in that diary. The thought still disturbed her and made her squirm to the day.

"It doesn't matter anymore. My dream came true." She said sitting up and kissed him with all her might on the lips. Or maybe my dream came true thought Harry, remembering in his sixth year when his thoughts would wander from time to time and think about Ginny. He was yearning to taste her lips without triggering Ron's fury over him back then. Wondering how he could get the redhead's attention, and hope she would break up with her then-boyfriend, Dean.

"Ahem." They both separated at the sound and could see Ron, with a somewhat purplish face, clearing his throat and visibly trying not to snap.

"Did you lose something, Ron?" Ginny said, annoyed they were interrupted. He hesitated a bit before answering, "No, I am in my right to walk wherever I want. It's a free country." He said putting his hands behind his back and whistled as he paced around the room, avoiding them with his eyes. He was looking up at the ceiling as if it was the most exciting thing in the world.

"What do you want Ron?" said with gritted teeth, Ginny, who was now angry.

"Oy! Don't you go talking to me like that! You stole my best friend!" Said Ron pointing the finger at her, now looking their way.

"I did not do such thing! Tell 'im, Harry." She said to the black haired wizard, who was trying very hard to hide and hope they didn't notice him.

"I-I-" Before Harry had a chance to speak, Ron berated "Yeah you did! Every time I want to talk to him I see you snogging his brains out! Not a nice view, mind you." He contorted his face and looked at the fuming redhead and the wizard who was blushing furiously.

"It's not our fault that since Hermione left you, you and your arse have an obscene amount of free time." Sore spot. Ginny had pushed the button in Ron that said "CAREFUL: MAY EXPLODE". She saw the different shades varying from red to purple in Ron's face, and she knew she had hit a sore spot. She didn't regret it.

"Harry and I have been acting the same as always. But ever since you're single, your favourite sport, besides Quidditch, is nag Harry and me whenever we're alone."

"Harry was my friend before he met you!"

"Ron, you of all people should understand that sometimes couples want to be alone." She said with a softer tone and sighed, "Ron look- I know these past weeks have been hard for you, but you must speak with her. You're friends. You need each other. And it's not fair that you keep ignoring her. I know she's tried to speak to you, but you just pretend she's not even there! It's been over a month, and you haven't even looked at her way." Her words stabbed him like icy daggers.

"I don't believe you even bothered saying happy birthday to her did you?" He shook his head with a hard face and lowered his eyes. Of course, telling Ron Hermione's feelings may have been with Malfoy ever since sixth grade won't help at all… Nor the fact there is another wizard after her, and it doesn't look he's going to give up anytime soon…

She shook her head and continued,

"Anyway, even though you may not get back together ever again, you shouldn't be too hard on her. Just grow some pants and accept you weren't made for each other!" She said, and Ron knew the words already. The same words had slipped through Harry's lips. He narrowed his eyes at her, opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say more, but thought better of it, closed it, and he stepped out of the common room.

She turned and stared at Harry, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "And you," She narrowed her eyes at him, and she reminded Harry of how Mrs Weasley looked seconds before she almost hexed the twins for stealing the Ford Anglia. He gulped. " Some backup you gave me there, huh?" She scolded him.

"I-"

"For being the boy-who-lived, sometimes your bravery amazes me"


If there were any non-veela being who would know every single piece of details about them, it would be Hermione. She had spent the last days engrossed in the library, researching everything the books would let her know about veelas. She kept returning from the library almost until midnight, ate very little, and fast. She made sure she could have enough time to do homework and research about veelas. Although Harry still didn't know about the veela or Professor Snape, he had commented about her fast eating habits over the past days.

"Are you back doing your S.P.E.W thing?" He had asked her when she was on the brink of leaving the table, one day at breakfast.

"No… Why?"

"Well, you're acting kinda like when you were doing your house-elf project. You're skipping meals, eat very fast, and I would bet my life you're spending the double of the time in the library than any other normal day." He asked out of curiosity more than suspicion.

"I'm not back to that project." She said with disappointment, remembering her almost fiasco she had with the elf society she made. But remained her posture and said "But I'm studying for our N.E.W.T.s. If I want a position in the Ministry, I simply cannot expect less than "Outstanding" in them. I assure you, even though Kingsley has your position as an Auror guaranteed, you should start studying too. And if you ever want to work outside of the UK in the future, good marks in your N.E.W.T.s will surely do well in your curriculum." Hermione knew she wasn't an excellent liar, but it was half a lie. While she had indeed started studying for the N.E.W.T.s, she wasn't frequenting the library these days for that purpose. But she wasn't ready yet to break the news to Harry.

He looked at her as if another head had suddenly grown in her neck while she looked at the watch her father gave to her as a present when she was the only student in her entire generation to get 10 O.W.L.s. "If there's anyone who has enough time to spend with her friends and get high marks on their exams at the same time, it is you." He'd told her and gave her the watch. It was transparent, with dark blue straps, and it had dark blue roman numbers. Gods, she missed her parents.

"Hermione -you do realise our exams are more than 6 months away? Live a little! There's no Voldemort here to threaten us anymore. You should relax a bit more."

"Harry I know. I'm relaxing, I really am! But- I was just finishing a Transfiguration book and Mdme. Pince doesn't allow it to be taken out of the library. And you know how much I hate leaving a half-finished book." She hoped Harry would fall for her lie, and after a suspicious look he gave her, he finally let her go. I'm sorry Harry, I know you're my best friend, but I need a little more research before I break anything to you. She wanted to tell Harry before Ginny, but situations made it the other way around at the end. Although, Ginny still didn't know who the veela is.

Going through the books in the library, she sat in the furthest and most solitary place of the Legal Section of the library. Being the most unpopular area of the lot, she didn't want to be surprised by anyone and having to answers questions like "Why are you reading "Coping with your Veela", "Unusual ways Veelas sometimes think", "Veela powers and everything you must know about them"?" Or things like "Are you secretly a veela?". No, Hermione didn't feel like raising any question about her reading habits.

She also felt sorry she wasn't spending as much time with Draco these past days as she used to. She wasn't only just busy with her new schedule (which consisted of waking up, library, eat, classes, library, classes, library, eat, library, library, sleep. repeat). She was also feeling slightly guilty about how would Professor Snape react to all of this. Ever since she told Draco, she noticed how he would sit furthest away from Professor Snape in the classes (and made sure she did as well). And although Draco understood if they made any contact at all while on his watch was a bad move, he would send death glances at him when Draco thought he wasn't looking. He also kept asking her about him. "Did he speak to you?" "He didn't cause you any trouble did he?" "How are you handling things?"

She knew he was trying to help in some way ( she knew he was beyond jealous), but he couldn't accept with a warm hug the fact his godfather wasn't only a veela, but his mate was none other than the girl he fancies. It bothered him the most when she had politely asked him if they could stay "just friends" for a little longer, not because she didn't want to be with him or she didn't want the title (they acted pretty much like a couple). But she would feel terrible not only for Professor Snape but for Ron too. Their break up had been barely over a month, and he would just accuse her of hypocrisy if she started dating Draco right away (despite the fact she already felt like one). She sighed. All of this is so messed up right now. I don't even know what to do! She froze. She, Hermione Granger didn't have a plan. None at all. What if I give..? No, Hermione THINK! The thought had been taunting her ever since she found out who the veela was.

She had considered the possibilities of ever saying yes to give it a go with Professor Snape, and when the thought had merely touched her mind, she discarded it with furious speed and blushing cheeks. She didn't only felt already too attached to Draco, but it was…Snape. He doesn't even like me as a person! His human side must feel just as repulsed by me right now as when even before he knew I was his mate. It's just magic and chemicals! Nothing more. She thought about it somehow like Amortentia. But in a more cruel and ungodly way.

Hermione left the library a little after dinner, already exhausted from being sitting reading all day about veelas. Her head was about to explode, and all she wanted to do was get some rest. Several days lacking sleep were getting to her, and she accidentally stumbled into someone on her way out almost knocking her over. "S-Sorry!" She said and made a mental note about stopping bumping with other people.

She looked up and saw a mass of red hair and blue surprised eyes, looking at her. Ron.

"Ron." She said composing herself. "How are you doing?" She politely said. She realised this was the first word, they had exchanged since their breakup. He looked at her, and then sideways, deciding whether keep walking as if nothing had happened and ignore her or stay and finally acknowledge her. He finally settled on the latter.

"Hermione." He said with a quiet, rigid voice, avoiding her gaze at all costs, ignoring her question. Well, at least it's an improvement Hermione thought.

"How've things been going? Have you had any matches of Quidditch with Harry and the boys?"

"I s'pose so."

"Have you received any letters from your family? And what about the joke shop?" She said trying very hard to keep the conversation going.

"Not much. And the joke shop's been the same as you last saw it." He said sourly. So much for keeping up the conversation She sighed.

"Ron… look. I know this is hard for both of us, but we can't keep ignoring each other. You're one of my best friends. I need you. Can't we try to overcome all of what happened and return to how we were before?"

"Oh yeah? If you're so lonely as you say you are, you're not showing it. I've seen you how cosy you look around Malfoy. And don't lie to me. Even though Harry swears he hasn't seen a thing, I know he has. And so do I. So don't go saying things with false remorse, when I know your relationship with the bouncing ferret is anything but platonic." Hermione felt her ears and cheeks go pink. Even though he has a point, I can't lose my relationship with Ron.

"He's still my friend, Ron. And so are you! Please don't go rubbing in my face how my relationship with Draco is when he has been my friend from a long time ago! He was there for me in sixth year, when your relationship with Lavender left me emotionally to pieces. Yes, I trust and rely on him a lot, but don't go saying I had false remorse when there was nothing false in my relationship with you! I broke up with you before it could turn that way. You know I love you. As a brother. And I would appreciate it very much if you would accept it as it is."

"Hermione… I'm sorry that you don't love me. I know you have all your feelings resolved; I still have some problems figuring out my own, but also, you hurt me. And I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive, even less to accept the fact we may never be together again." Hermione tried to look at Ron in the face but saw a flash of dark eyes luring over them. She could see Professor Snape, who from a safe distance, was watching her with a glare that might break glass from the intensity of it. She guessed he was trying to hear their conversation, and knew, she had to stop ignoring him as well.

"You're wrong, I don't have my feelings resolved as you might think. I know I've wronged, but I wasn't the only person in the relationship, the fault is not all mine you know. I also know I've hurt you and I don't want to lose you, Ron. But anyway, thank you, Ron. I understand. And I think that with a little time, things will go back to normal." She smiled. But could not shake those black eyes still watching her.

"Y-yeah. I'm just not quite ready yet. But I don't like your relationship with Malfoy still. Makes me think about how you acted around him when we were still dating-"

"-Ron," Hermione cut him off. "I know, there's so much we have to catch up with and believe me when I tell you I had eyes for no one else than you. But I must go." She said not bearing anymore the black eyes, and she practically jogged from where a blank-faced Ron stood and made her way towards a far hallway.

"Hermione! We were talking! Come back!" Ron's yellings muffled by the time she reached the deserted hallway.

Just as if Severus knew, he followed her into the hallway where she knew they wouldn't be heard.

"I don't know if you think eavesdropping in a conversation is okay, or if it is a habit of yours, knowing you were a spy, but I can't stand-" "Shhh!" He silenced her. "Into the classroom. Your tendency to raise your voice is very noticeable by others." He directed her into the nearest empty classroom, and she complied, entering the room.

After putting up wards and silencing spells, they finally talked.

"So, Miss Granger has finally spoken from her long, silent coma." He said bitterly, stepping away from her.

"I was not in a silent comma! I was just thinking things over. I told you I needed time." She said without caring she didn't use the word sir. She wasn't expecting to have and speak with him so soon. She still wasn't finished reasoning what will happen with anything about the situation!

"Oh? And what are your conclusions regarding… our situation?" He said with a sneer, and she felt a shiver go down her spine when the last words left his lips. A dead silence fell upon them until she spoke before he grew more impatient and attacked her again with another cynic response,

"I'm still thinking things over." She repeated, and before he could reply she added, "But, I believe I will have an appropriate answer by Halloween. It's merely a week away, and I believe it would give me enough time to sort out… our situation." She said, lingering on the last words with difficulty. He seemed to be deep in thought and stared at her for a full minute, without saying anything. After a pregnant pause, he said in his quiet, velvety, nasal voice, "Very well. I shall see we meet before the Halloween feast without fail." He said in a low pitch, and she took this as her cue to leave. Halfway through the door she heard him,

"And Granger, when talking about the relationship you have with Malfoy, you can't fool anybody with the fact it is anything but platonic. Not even Weasley believed your lie." He said, and her blood turned to ice. She decided not to give him the pleasure of looking back and knowing his eyes were probably onyx by now, she continued her way out of the classroom.


"Granger, the number of books you've brought in the common room has already given me a headache. And I consider myself a literate person!" Draco said after walking into the room. He could see Hermione curled up in the couch, absorbed by a book, next to Crookshanks, and a pile of books that went from the floor up to her shoulder. She jumped to the surprise of his arrival and gave him a small smile before turning her head back to the book. He sighed and went up to her.

"I'm just doing a little bit of research, that's all." She said when he proceeded and sat on the loveseat next to the couch.

"And I just want to spend time with the girl I fancy. Is it too much to ask? What are you reading now anyway?" He said grabbing the book from her hand before she could protest (he knew it annoyed her) and read "Poisons and antidotes you should know before dealing with Beasts". He felt gloomy every time he remembered the nature of his godfather and the fact it involved Hermione. Why couldn't his mate be I don't know… someone his age!? He knew she was very stressed by all of it too, but he felt slightly rejected when she asked him to stay friends longer.

"Granger, stop mortifying yourself and stop reading this! This is all rubbish!"

"No, it's not! And I'm not mortifying myself, the more I read, the more relaxed I become."

"You won't be relaxed anymore when you know the information you're trying to reach. You're distracting yourself, and I don't like seeing you being this… exhausted." He said taking her hand in his and looked at her. She was wearing Muggle clothes, and even though her hair didn't look as bushy and dishevelled as other times, he could see she had done a bun, probably in the morning, but half of her hair was now falling to her sides. She reminded him of how she was dressed in the Yule Ball in their fourth year.

"Your hair reminds me of your hairstyle in the Yule Ball." He whispered, and she blushed.

"You -you remember that? It's been almost four years! I didn't know you would remember the knot I was wearing that night."

"Of course I do. I even remember the periwinkle-blue dress you wore, and how you were easily the prettiest girl in the whole room. I still think you're the prettiest girl, muggle clothes and everything." She was now blushing not only from her face but also her ears and he continued, "Besides, how could I forget the night we began our…friendship? That time we may have only formed a truce, but it was the beginning of well…this." He said as he raised their hands showing their intertwined fingers.

"Even though I must say, I didn't know how to feel for quite some time, for I thought you had only taken pity on me just because I was wearing costume and filigree." She said narrowing her eyes but didn't stop smiling.

"How could you say that?" He said feigning an offended tone. "Hermione," he said using her first name, "you don't know how much I regret all those things I said to you. I even remember perfectly in my head the time I called you a long molared mudblood." He said the word with difficulty and Hermione knew then how much he had changed ever since.

"It's okay Draco. You know I've forgiven you for all of that." She smiled at him, and he looked up into her eyes.

December 1994

It was beginnings of December and Draco couldn't be more bored. His jokes about 'POTTER STINKS' were dying out, and he was to stay during Christmas for the Yule Ball. It's not like he wasn't excited about the ball, well, more or less. But the fact that he had to stay all holidays for just one day wasn't on his desires list.

It seemed everybody was with the frenzy of finding a partner for the ball. He, of course, wasn't worried in the least. He had already been asked to the ball by at least a dozen of girls, but he knew he was going with Pansy. She had told him three days before she already had a date, some pureblood Ravenclaw from fifth year, but he also knew, she would dump him the second he asked her. But he didn't want to seem desperate or anything, so he decided to wait two weeks before the ball to ask her.

In the meantime, his only hopes before school ended were to reject still further invitations skinny girls from third and second year to the ball and make fun of Potter. He almost said yes to a sixth-year girl from Ravenclaw, she was pretty enough and was half-blood. But he wasn't going with any girl that decided to invite him. It had to be he the one to ask a girl. As proper pure-blood traditions stated, the wizard was always the one to woo a witch.

He was walking down the hall with his newfound friend, Blaise, who hadn't had a chance to speak until recently. He didn't know why until now, but Draco found a friend who had the brains like him to talk finally talk. A thousand times better than the scum Crabbe and Goyle always made of themselves. Not that he would stop talking to them, of course.

"So I was telling you, a girl, a Hufflepuff from third year was brave enough to ask me to the ball." Blaise only sniggered, and he continued, "But not only that, she was a mudblood. Of course, I told her I couldn't even think of being seen talking to her, so she ran away crying." He finished as he and Blaise laughed. They were passing behind Potter when he overheard Weasley say,

"Hermione - who you are going to the ball with?" he almost stopped his tracks. Hermione Granger, a Mudblood, with a partner for the Ball? He almost burst out laughing but remained his posture, wanting to keep listening who was the poor soul that had to go with Granger.

"I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me." So she did have a dance partner. Unbelievable!

"You're joking Weasley!" He said behind them "You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long molared Mudblood?" He said now laughing with Blaise at his side. But stopped his tracks when she said, "Hello, Professor Moody!" He went pale and could only help but look behind and find… no one. His face was flushed with anger, and he turned when she told him "Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" She said flashing her, now normal sized, teeth to him as she left with Weasley and Potter, laughing.

"C'mon Draco, we'll wait for the ball to see who is this partner she says she has. I bet the trio had to ask third grades because no one wants to go with them." He said nudging him to move. Had Granger the same size of teeth before I hexed her? And she didn't even seem to hesitate to come back at me even though I called her a Mudblood. Draco couldn't help but think the newfound confidence she had was a consequence of the slap she gave him last year. And he did not like that at all.

Christmas came, and it was already the day of the Yule Ball, with everybody waiting outside the Great Hall, for the clock to announce it was finally 8 o'clock. He had Pansy by his side, who ditched his former partner the second Draco asked her. She was wearing pale pink robes that made her hair look even darker, her eyes greener, and her skin paler. He looked at her, and she blushed for a second, before putting her attention to other girls. What I like about Pansy, is how quickly I can reach to her. Maybe I don't see her as someone I would want to spend my life with (she talks too much about clothes for my liking), but she is a great friend, pretty, pureblooded, and loyal. And is also someone with whom I can keep myself entertained for a while. He, on the other side, was wearing from head to toe black, elegant, velvet robes which were a gift from his father.

At the time when everybody had to welcome the champions for their big entrance, Draco had already forgotten all about Granger and her unfortunate dance partner. That is until he saw her.

He was glad Pansy was also gaping at her, when in fact he couldn't take his eyes off the witch grasping Viktor Krum's arm. Her hair was not the bush and knots it always was, but it was shiny, and her curls were all in place in an elegant knot. Her dress, made with floaty periwinkle-blue material, was floating elegantly every way she walked. Draco thought it was very well made, for it was just her size. But the thing Draco couldn't believe wasn't the fact Granger had somehow managed to bewitch Krum into asking her (it astonished not only him, but everyone else), but the fact she looked - pretty. No, scratch that, she looked beautiful. Hermione Granger looked as if she was the only decent-looking girl in a room full of trolls. She even looked prettier than Fleur (it was debatable). As she passed in front of them, all words of hate, disapproval and insults never left his mouth. Because there were none to say. For the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy was left speechless.

The ball went on, there was dinner, and then almost everyone stood and began to dance. Pansy, of course, was thrilled with all the jealous looks some girls were giving her because she was with Draco Malfoy, but the looks they gave her were minimal compared to those given to Fleur and Hermione. Draco found himself being part of the crowd giving looks at them. Not to Fleur, but to Hermione.

Dancing with Pansy, he would sometimes catch a glance at the brunette with the blue dress, and he could even swear her laughter could be heard miles away. He hated the feeling it caused him, not being able to tear his eyes from her and the queasy feeling he had in his stomach. I'm getting paranoid Every time he would steal a glance her way; he made it so that Pansy wouldn't notice, and of course, neither did Hermione.

At midnight, although many were still dancing, many others had already left to their dorms to get some sleep. Like a reliable dance partner, he escorted Pansy to the Slytherin common room, but he didn't enter it.

"You go on; I still have something to sort out with Blaise." He lied to Pansy, and she didn't reply as she entered the common room, giving him a goodnight chaste kiss on the lips. In fact, he didn't know why exactly he was returning to the Great Hall. Almost everyone he knew had already left, and he wasn't up to dance anymore. His thoughts wandered to the minor possibility the brunette bookworm was still there without Krum but stopped abruptly to the soft sounds of someone crying. He didn't even have the time to slap himself mentally for his thoughts when his feet started dragging him towards the quiet sobs.

He stopped abruptly when he recognised the witch with the periwinkle blue dress sitting on a stone bench, stuck to the wall, crying. He had stared at the witch for full two minutes before he cleared his throat, and she stopped and looked up at him. Her face was slightly pink from all the crying, and she had bloodshot eyes. But the moment she realised who was looking at her, she wiped her tears, sniffed and frowned at him.

"Didn't get any luck with Krum tonight?" He said before he could stop himself. Marvelous going there, Draco he mentally cursed himself. Her lip quivered, but she gave him an angry look.

"What do you know Malfoy?" She said and then as if realising something she continued, "Why are you here anyway? Come to taunt a crying Mudblood? Well, I'm not giving you that pleasure!" She said standing up and tried to pass him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could get away.

"Why are you crying?" He said with a softness he didn't know he had.

"It's none of your business! And let go of me! Or do you want another slap?" She said trying to break free from his steel grip. Draco seemed to have left out his body for somebody else to manage because the next thing he did was walk further into the hallway away from the noise dragging her along with him.

"I'm not here to attack you or anything of the sort. I just happened to see you, and well, one of my least favourite things in the world is to see a girl crying. Also, I was curious because, you seemed very happy at the ball, and that was less than an hour ago when I last saw you! And now -" He looked at her, and she stopped trying to break free and saw him. " -now you look, well as if someone had told you your parents died."

He looked at her, and she sighed and sat again, on a nearby stone bench. He followed and sat at her side. She didn't complain but sat a few moments in silence, mentally trying to decide if she should tell him about her tears.

"I don't trust you and I still think you're an idiot, also I don't owe you any explanation." She sighed, "But if you're dying to know, it wasn't Viktor the reason I was crying tonight." She finally said, and he looked up to her. "I… had an argument with Ron just before you came in and found me. Not only was I accused of treason, but I was yelled at, and humiliated." She told him and seeing his confused face, she explained. "Ron ruined my night with his temper. I know it's no big deal but, I appreciate his friendship a lot, and I wouldn't even think to do the same if he went with a Beauxbatons girl to the ball. I believe the hatred towards the other competitors it's not mutual."

"Hermione…" He said, using for the first time in his life, her first name, "Weasley is a git. And I believe he was only jealous of Krum, because believe it or not, you were easily the prettiest girl in the room." He said before he could even process the words slipping through his lips, and saw her face was the same colour as Pansy's dress. They stared at each other, neither knowing what to say next.

She broke the silence first, seeing his face was blank.

"I… thank you, Draco." She said carefully, also using his first name for the first time, still blushing furiously. He recovered at the sound of his name.

"Granger I know we have had our misunderstandings in the past, and I also know we may not like each other. At all. And it also doesn't take away the fact my views towards Muggle-borns are totally changed… but I think I can make an exception with you." He said warily, swallowing all of his pure-blood pride he had. She seemed to have understood what he meant for she said. "Yeah, I know I'm still a stubborn know-it-all, and you're still a blond prat. But I think we can at least be civil towards each other." She smiled a bit.

They were silent for a few moments, each looking into the other's eyes. Brown and Blue. Looking past all the prejudices society had planted each other since they were born. But for the first time, looking at each other for whom they really were. Each with hundreds of questions in their heads, but with one predominantly in both's heads.

What in Merlin's beard just happened?

October 1998

Halloween came, and Hermione was nervous all day long, nervous about her conversation later with the potion's master. It was Saturday, and the day before in their Potions class, without even Ginny noticing it, he'd slipped a note to her hand that said:

Meet me in my Potions office at 6 o'clock sharp. Make sure you're alone.

She'd burned the note immediately, and as 6 o'clock began getting nearer, she began to freak out about the meeting she had. She had told no one of her reunion, not even Draco. Although they did spend their day together (they went off to Hogsmeade in the morning) in the afternoon, to her great luck, Blaise had come and told them he wanted to speak to him. After Draco had told him to sod off, Hermione told them she had some studying to do before the feast, so she didn't have any problem. And now she was there, pacing in an empty hallway close to the dungeons, waiting for the moment she had to go in there and confront Professor Snape.

Looking at her watch, the seconds clicking, she decided it was time to go before she was late in Professor Snape's knocked at the door, and he soon emerged from the door, looking down at her, and without a word he let her step inside of his office.

His office was dark, cold, and full of potions as she last remembered it. Nothing had changed much, besides for the fact, some of his personal stuff had been removed. Being he was now, half- the headmaster, he had two offices already, and by that, two bedrooms. So he'd moved some of his stuff to the other one.

"I thought the intention of this meeting was to discuss a matter of importance, not for you to stare at my office." He said from behind her, and she jumped blushing in the way.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just-" "Care for some tea, Miss Granger?" He cut her off, not minding her answer and led her to an adjacent room, with a small table with a set of fine-looking china. "Y-yes, thank you." She stuttered.

After sitting down in his dark wooded, velvety chair and drinking some black tea, she decided it was time to speak up.

"I think I have an answer for how to manage this… situation we have." "About time." She heard him whisper under his breath but let her continue,

"Well, I've reached a conclusion, and me letting you die is not something very human at all." "How considerate of you Miss Granger. It's so very, altruistic." He spat with sarcasm and sneered at her, "but let me say, I won't stand the pity of anyone. So I suggest, if that is your decision, you may very well get out from here and forget all of this."

"I-I never said I pity you! Yes, it is rather sad your misfortune, but I never said any of my acts, or future ones are or will be out of pity. My point here, is, that I would willingly get to know you." She said, and he looked at her, trying to decipher a puzzle. "Please do be more specific." She took a deep breath and exhaled before saying,

"What I mean, is, I don't want to care about the veela thing, I want to know who is Severus Snape. Because let's face it, yes you were my teacher for six years, and you fought on our side. But, that doesn't mean I know you. At all. I don't know your pet peeves, what you like, what makes you happy, nothing. Not even your past, for that matter. And I want to know you. I'm not saying that by knowing you I'll say yes or no right away, but before I can make a proper decision, a life decision for that matter, I can't make it blindly. I don't know what type of person you are. I don't care if there's anything chemical or magical that attaches us both, but I want to know who you are, on the inside. I don't know if that's specific enough for you." She said, realising she had scooted closer to him, and her voice had slightly raised from when she first got to his office.

They sat there, in silence and Hermione saw how different his eyes were from Draco's. His, instead of being a crystal blue, were quite the opposite, being onyx black. His were eyes that wanted to express so much emotion but held back as if they were afraid to lose something. She snapped out of her trance as he spoke.

"What I understand here is, you're saying yes to meet, to get to know each other. But you're not saying anything yet about… the future, correct?" She nodded.

"I suggest, you should go back before the feast starts. You don't want any of your friends missing you." He said explicitly adding vile to the word friends. Hermione swallowed hard, trying not to think about her future. In any form.


November came with a chilly breeze enough to give you a horrible cold, but not enough to freeze the entire castle. Though it wasn't yet snowing, students knew it might at any moment now.

Try as she might, Hermione just couldn't speak at all or think about the meeting she had with Snape on Halloween. She knew she had gotten herself into trouble, as Draco was also involved in all of this. It was on November the fifth when she finally decided to tell him about her meeting with Snape.

"You did WHAT?" He had tried to stay calm, but this news wasn't pleasant in the least.

"Hermione, I know you wanted to stay friends a little longer in the hope we'll be something more in the future. But you saying this, only means we'll stay friends forever. Period." He whispered to her one day after classes.

"Draco, don't say it like that. That's not true." She said stopping her tracks.

"You practically said yes to him!"

"No, I said yes into agreeing to know him better, nothing more."

"It's the same thing!" "No, it's not! And I just gave my word to know him more, it's not a binding spell. You're making a big hassle over nothing." She tried to calm him down. "

It's just that Granger-" he decided to stop mid-track on his words and kissed her full on the lips, feeling the softness of hers with his. She returned the kiss with the same emotion and fleeting moments passed before they finally broke away.

"There, you just matter too much for me Hermione. I just can't lose you. When we were in sixth grade, and all of this began, I never would have thought my feelings for you would be this deep. I care too much to just give up my hopes and stop fighting."

"Draco…" She said, and he took her cheek in his hand.

"Please just, don't go and leave me okay? I think my emotions are deep enough for me to sacrifice my life for you. Whatever your decision may be I... just don't leave me, yes?" He said before kissing her again and then left to his class.

I hope the same thing as you do, Draco she thought worriedly.


A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Please review for this story! I'll always cherish you! And please continue reading :*