Sorry that took a while! You see, I had this story all written and ready to go the day after I uploaded chapter 8... but... I just forgot to upload this... SORRY!

I was going through my emails and looking at all the review I received from this story and I was like EPPP! They made me so happy! Thank you! All of you! You guys are bloody fantastic!

Now I'm thinking of naming my chapters. The last one is called 'Breeding Like Rabbits' and this one is called 'Apparently Rumours Spread Fast'

Ok, enough of this AN! Time to go on with the story! PS. This a sort of lovey dovey chapter!

DPOV

When we had finished in the kitchen *cough cough* we were suddenly hungry again. But because of the egg fight etc. There wasn't much nice food left so we decided to go down to the Great Hall... that is after Hermione got changed...

We walked down the halls slowly not to bothered by the people looking at us and our intertwined hands. I also had a lot of glaring to do because apparently rumours spread fast. After McPerve and his friends saw Hermione in a compromising amount of cloth around her this morning some things had gone round. Some bad things apparently. But I vowed to protect Hermione from these rumours, after all I hated when people spread rumours... ok not true, because I have done my fair share of starting rumours but this was different! I cared about Hermione and was going to do as much as I could to stop her from getting hurt in any way.

We were almost at the doors of the Great Hall when Hermione pulled me into a small corridor and began speaking "Draco, are we you know..? Going out?" she asked, though I barely heard her, I was too entranced by her big, beautiful, chocolate brown eyes and her plump red lips "Well Draco?" she asked snapping me out of my trance.

"What?" I asked confused as to what she had been talking about.

"Are we going out? Or am I just another notch on your bed post?" she asked, apparently angry that I hadn't listened to her the first time.

"You could never be a notch! Ever. And I'm not sure. It's up to you" I said making sure not to upset her.

"Are you asking me out?" she whispered happily. I could see her lips moving upwards, but she tried to hide it. That's one of the things I loved about her. (Though she tried) she didn't hide her feelings. As my mother always said 'she wore her feelings on her sleeve, for all to see'. I had always been taught to hide my feelings no matter how I felt, and most other purebloods had been too (with a large exception to the Weasley family!), so 'being with' someone who didn't hide them was a big difference. And a difference that I liked.

"I believe so. Yes! It appears that I am" I smiled at her, but continued talking and also got down on one knee "So will you, Hermione Jean Granger make me the happiest man in Hogwarts and possibly the world and accept my hand in datingaige?" (AN: Dating/Marraige (he not asking her to marry him! But he got down on one knee... so yeah...)) I looked up at her hoping.

"Is that even a word, Mr. Cheesy?" she smiled at me in a way that I knew she was saying yes. I got of my knee and picked her up by the waist and spun her around happily while she yelled in surprise and happiness. Today had been such a weird day! I went from being... well a prick in the morning by paying her out in front We-Ginny to asking her out in the cheesiest way ever! But it was a good day. I had realised that I liked Hermione and asked her out and she said yes, in her way, so I couldn't be happier.

"So, sweetheart" for the first time ever I said it like it was supposed to be said, to someone you like "Where do you want to sit?"

"Maybe we could sit with my friends, seeing as they already know about... us whereas the Slytherins don't therefore probably would even let get my butt on the seat before I was kicked away..?" she half asked me.

"Whatever makes you happy" I smiled at her and we walked out of the corridor and stood in front of the door that led to all our friends. We both took deep breaths and prepared ourselves for whatever was coming "Ready?"

"Ready" we both put one of our hands up and pushed the large door open. Only a few people looked, as it was usual for people to come late during breakfast. But those few people were all that was needed for everybody to look. They quickly told or nudged their friends signalling for them to look and then they told their friends etc. Soon even the professors were looking our way and there were various gasps and whispers from all over the rooms "Come on, Ginny is calling us over" Hermione was right, over in the middle of the Gryffindor table was a small red head waving her arm frantically to get our attention.

We walked over and sat across from Ginny "Gin, I think the Slytherins are going to kill me! Look at them" Hermione whispered. I look over to my usual table and true enough most Slytherins were looking over with eyes of disgust, pity or anger. Blaise, though, didn't seem all that worried. Well except for the fact that he was sitting next to a very distraught Pansy...

"Uh, Mione, you might want to keep your wand with you at ALL times, look at pug-face over there!" Ginny said pointing at Pansy. It was true, she did have a pug like nose...

"Yeah, ALWAYS! But I will be there to protect you, don't worry" I said, giving her a winning smile "I think she was under the impression that we were going to the ball together"

"Oh yeah! I've had an idea for that! It could be a masquerade ball and you have to dance with as many people as possible, then at the end you have to find a partner, and when you do you take of your masks! And you have to try and find the person you want" she babbled, smiling.

"That'd be so cool! So you pick a person, but you don't get to know what they look like that night or what they are wearing and at the end of the ball you have to find a person who you think is them and reveal your selves to each other, and what happens if you don't get it right..? Or if you do?" Ginny grinned.

"Well, I was thinking that the people who got it right must really like their partners to be able to pick them out, out of hundreds so they could get something good, and the other people have to stay and cleanup..?" they continued talking about plans until they had everything done then Ginny started talking about dresses and that they needed to get masks, so I zoned out. Until I heard my name "Draco? Are you all there?" I heard the sweet voice ask.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm all here" I was brought back to reality soflty.

"Well... I was wondering if you would like to be my revealer at the ball?"

"I should be asking that! I am the boy! So, Hermione, will you be my revealer at the Winter Ball? (AN: I KNOW I AM MAKING UP WORDS!).

"I would be honoured!"

"What about me?" the nasally voice that I had heard for years came from behind me.