"I swear my intentions aren't as evil as you think, but temptation's always pushing people to the brink," G-Eazy.

Chapter 10 Intentions Part II

"That's a long way to walk with food," she said carefully, hoping that his next statement wouldn't be what she thought it would.

"We'll just have the house elves bring it up." Blaise shrugged. "They don't have anything better to do." Hermione almost hexed him for saying such an insensitive thing. She was sick of being the only one who cared about magical creatures. Does anyone care about them besides me?

"They have lives outside of serving students and cleaning up after them Blaise," she chastised, putting her hands on her hips. "Why can't we just eat dinner like normal? I quite liked the kitchens."

She missed the point completely. Blaise wasn't sure how you asked someone on a date twice, especially after asking them the first time had somehow insulted them. Instead of asking again, he played along. "Fine. I just wanted to make sure we are having dinner together."

"Sure," Hermione said, giving him an odd look. She wasn't sure what he had meant by that, but she turned and left for Herbology.

That was an utter failure, Blaise thought. She just had to miss the meaning and focus on that one small detail. He'd never had trouble asking girls out before, but Hermione just had to be different. He turned around, and saw Draco leaning casually against a wall in a connecting hallway behind him. It was more than annoying that he had witnessed the event, and by the way Draco was smirking, there was no mistaking that he had seen it.

"That went well." Draco chuckled, kicking himself off the wall.

"Hmm." Blaise hummed, not allowing him to see his anger. He hated when Draco listened to his conversations. Instead of reacting, he turned the attention away from himself. "She reacts interestingly when you're around. Did you know that?" Blaise attempted to read his reaction, but couldn't tell what he was thinking. He was almost sure that Draco wasn't into Hermione, but it never hurt to make sure.

Draco scoffed, "The bossy girl with wild hair that you're so infatuated with?"

Blaise kept his face as still as stone, willing himself not to give his feelings on the matter away. Draco didn't need to know how he felt about the girl.

Unlike Blaise, Draco hadn't noticed anything off about her. She was still loud mouthed and passionate to the point where he wanted to strangle her. She looked the same as she always had, which is why Draco couldn't figure out what Blaise saw in her. She was still just annoying, plain Jane Granger. He hadn't seen her act oddly, and he was almost positive that the comment was to get him to react... which he wouldn't.

Instead of denial, he responded passively and added an insult for good measure. "She can react in whatever way she wants. I wouldn't touch her with a 50 foot Basilisk."

Draco knew the comment would bother him. Soon he will- Draco thought, while Blaise turned on his heal -just walk away. Draco smirked and followed. For someone who thought they were in complete control of their every move, his actions were always predictable.

After dinner with Hermione, Blaise offered his arm. Dinner had been nice. It started with a heated disagreement, which they hadn't been able to compromise on, about the treatment of house elves, but ended with the normal conversation and teasing she was used to. They walked to the seventh floor together, arm in arm, to study group.

"I should probably ask for the room this time," he said, letting her hand fall and winking at her.

She moved out of the way, smiling and bowing slightly, giving him the go ahead with her hand.

The thought of coming back to the group should have made her feel anxious, but his nonchalant attitude was soothing, and she couldn't help but giggle. He walked slowly by the room-less wall, but turned on his heal sharply at the end of each march. All the while, grinning and never letting his eyes leave hers. Hermione couldn't help but smile broadly at his flirtations.

When the door appeared and Hermione walked through first, stopping only far enough in to let Blaise through. The room was not what she would have ever expected for a study group. The lighting was dim, with two plush red couches, a coffee table, and a small fireplace. The coffee table had two small cauldrons with only one stirrer, a mallet, and a knife. There were no vials or lab desks, and the corner had a small table which held a bottle of red wine and a bottle of Firewiskey. This had to have been the most relaxed study room she had ever been in.

Hermione knew the room could not create food or drink, so she assumed it was left over from a previous study session. The room's atmosphere was like a force field against any awkward feelings she may have had before. She sat on the couch facing the fireplace, and took out two large, cloth bags and set them on the table in front of the utensils.

Blaise opened the first bag, and grabbed a flower off of the top.

"Moly?" he asked, presenting it to Hermione as if it were a gift. Her nose scrunched at the pungent smell. She grabbed the flower from his hand and threw it back into its bag while Blaise opened the second one.

"Ah, the wonders of Dittany," he said, as Draco walked in with the Ravenclaw behind him.

"Back to normal I see," he said, approving the room.

Noticing the bags on the table, Eileen complained, "Hermione, I thought we told you last time that this is a social gather-"

"Enough," Draco said, glaring at Eileen. "I approved it this time," he added, raising his nose in the air.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She didn't need his approval to do anything. If she wanted to come here every week with a new potion, not even the 'great' Draco Malfoy would stop her.

"What have you prepared for us this time?" he asked while throwing himself backward on the empty couch.

Hermione pulled a cylindrical tube with a red-grey hue that held the last ingredient from her bag along with a stack of small plastic bags.

"Sloth Brains?" Eileen inquired.

Hermione was excited they knew all the ingredients and without asking her for help!

"Do you know what we're making?" she asked Eileen, who shook her head. She looked at Blaise who also shook his head. Lastly she looked at Draco. "Dittany, Moly, and Sloth Brains. Simple, we're making Burn-Healing paste," he informed in a bored tone.

"Do you know how to form it, Malfoy?" Hermione challenged.

Draco snorted. "Do I know how to form it," he mocked. Snatching the Moly and mallet from the table, he began crushing the flower until it was a powder. Hermione watched intently, making sure it was made properly.

He asked her for one of the plastic bags, which she offered willingly. After he snatched it from her hand, he went to add the Dittany. "You're doing it wrong," she interrupted in a singsong voice, already peeved from how rudely he had taken the bag from her.

Draco glared at her but waited for her to continue, knowing she was right. He hadn't been sure about the order in which the ingredients went, but he wasn't going to tell her that if he could have gotten away with it.

"You add the Dittany last. If you put it in before the brains, it will weaken it and make it almost useless," she said, wanting him to know why it wouldn't work. At her wordy response, he rolled her eyes. Draco found it incredibly irritating that she always deemed it necessary to add more information than required. It would have been enough if she had just told him how to do it, but Hermione just had to add a bunch of extra nonsense.

Huffing, he grabbed the sloth brains and began mashing it with his hands. It wasn't incorrect, but when Eileen and Blaise both turned to her with horrified eyes she couldn't help but burst into laughter. After straightening up, she wiped the tears on her sleeve and reached into her bag, handing him a pair of gloves.

His face was a barely-tinted red, probably the most colour she'd ever seen on it. He looked down at his hands that were now caked in a thick red mixture of brains and powder. He was only trying to prove that he knew how to make it, but she had somehow made him so mad that he forget to ask for gloves. Merlin,that bloody woman made him look like an idiot.

He threw his hands in front of her, making Hermione gag at the smell. "Care to clean me off, Granger?"

She completed a quick Scourgify on his hands. The salve wouldn't lose its horrendous smell until they added the Dittany, and even then it still smelled, just not enough to induce vomit. She quickly wrote down the instructions for everyone, and gave them each a pair of gloves, so there would be no more mishaps.

After using almost all of the ingredients, they all gave up. It went by much faster than the potions Blaise had helped her with. Having two extra people really sped up the process. It also helped that she knew there were only four people so she could plan accordingly.

Hermione was now sipping on a glass of red wine, while Blaise, Eileen, and Draco all chose Firewiskey. "I think I'll be heading back to my dormitory now," Eileen said, looking hopefully at Draco.

"And I'll be finishing my drink," he said, lifting his glass to emphasize his point.

Eileen looked around the room, and gave a brittle smile, hoping no one had been paying close attention to the snub. Blaise downed his whiskey and stood from his spot on the floor. "I'll walk you back," he said.

Blaise leaned over Draco and said something Hermione couldn't hear, before walking out the door Eileen was holding him. Whatever Blaise said, it had obviously annoyed Draco, because his grip tightened around his glass and his eyes shifted away as if he were listening to a parent complaining about his behaviour.

The door closed silently, and Hermione wondered if she should also leave. She probably shouldn't be spending time alone with him. He seemed to be in a foul mood, but it would probably be a bad idea to stay even if that weren't the case.

Instead, she stayed glued to her spot in front of the table on the floor. She wondered why he hadn't walked Eileen back to her room. She also wondered what could possess him to willingly stay in same room alone with Hermione, but she quickly thought about how stupid it was to assume she was even part of the equation; He already said that he wanted to finish his whiskey.

"You're spending an awful lot of time with Blaise," Draco said, interrupting her thoughts. The lighting formed dark shadows underneath his eyes, making him look menacing, as if he was going to know what she was thinking by simply looking at her. Well, he would just have to get used to being disappointed, because Hermione was not going to allow him to intimidate her.

Without reacting, she kept her eyes on his and said, "If you can recall, you refused to help with the potions, so we were forced to spend a lot time toge-"

"I don't think so," he interjected, not allowing her to give him that excuse. "You had dinner with him tonight, and I know you weren't working on potions." He put the glass on the table and leaned back in his seat, giving her that smug look she hated.

"Unlike some people," she argued, sitting up straighter, "he wants to help the people who need it."

Draco laughed a short, humourless laugh. "Oh really? How sweet of him."

"Don't mock him for being a better person than y-"

"Blaise doesn't do anything that isn't self serving," he growled. "You'd best to remember that, Granger. The world isn't full of helpful Hufflepuffs. He asked Eileen to invite you here because he wants to fuck you," he said, emphasizing 'fuck' with a sneer.

She was taken back, not because of what he had said, but how he had said it. She suspected that Blaise had been the one that wanted her to join. However, what bothered Hermione was the sickly sweet smile Draco was wearing for being the one to deliver the news. Hermione felt ill from Malfoy's pleasure for being the one to tell her something that was obviously intended to make her feel bad.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, set her wine on the table, and attempted to sound just as rude as him. "Was that an attempt to hurt me?" She laughed. "You're just confirming what I already suspected. If he fancies me, that's his prerogative. He's nice, smart, and sincere. What about you, Malfoy? Do you think you have any of those traits? This is the second time in a row that you've left Eileen to walk back to her room alone. And both times Blaise had to step-"

"She's not my responsibility," Draco growled. "If she wants to walk back, she can do it-"

"She likes you!" Hermione burst out. "She doesn't want to walk back alone, you git. She wants you to go with her, or at least act as if you give a damn!" she hollered. She blamed her out burst on Draco. If he hadn't been so bloody happy at trying to see her to be miserable, then none of this would have happened.

"Shut the fuck up, Granger," he warned, balling his fists and leaning forward.

Hermione lifted her chin, refusing to feel threatened. The way he was acting towards people was going to ensure a friendless life. She didn't want him to go through what he had in the future, but she also knew she shouldn't let him know he cared. So she settled somewhere in the middle, a friendly warning. Calming her voice, she advised, "If you continue to treat people the way you do, you will find it's a very lonely life without friends."

"I don't need anyone at this forsaken school," he said, grabbing his drink and taking a large swig before leaning back into his chair. He could feel his anger dissipating as the alcohol set in. His brain was starting to get a tad fuzzy, but he felt he needed to finish the conversation, and said, "Good riddance to anyone who thinks that I need them."

Hermione shook her head, knowing that her words would fall on deaf ears, but wanting to get her point across. "Malfoy, you are the only family that hasn't spoken to the news about your remorse. Sooner or later, you're going to need a good support system. No one's going to accept monetary sums as an apology for what you did in the war. Eventually, you're going to need the people you're carelessly disregarding."

"How do you know about our donations?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. So far, none of the papers had written a single article about it. It seemed as if no one cared that they were shelling out buckets of Galleons to numerous organizations, so how did she know?

Hermione looked at the armrest on the couch where he was resting the glass within his grip. Trying to think of a lie, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Through the grapevine." That could possibly be the most plausible, yet vaguest lie she ever told.

Draco's lips quirked up in the corners. He was hoping that people would start to take notice of his family's donations soon. He was glad that even if the papers didn't cover their charity, word of mouth would work just as well.

Hermione was surprised at how well her lie had gone over. At least I can lie to this Draco. Sure, she might not be a good liar, but Draco didn't know her that well, so she could get away with it. Plus, he had seemed happy at her response, so it wasn't such a terrible lie.

When silence fell upon them, Hermione wondered if she should leave. She didn't think her intentions were anything but friendly, but there was always the chance she was here for subconscious reasons. Why did things have to be so complicated? If she had never tried the spell in the first place she wouldn't be so worried about leaving Malfoy's company. Although, she probably wouldn't even be sitting in the same room as him if it weren't for the spell.

Hermione decided to leave. She needed to meet Harry and Ron before they left anyways. She gave Draco her goodbye, needlessly explaining her reasoning for leaving.

"I'll walk you there." He stood, but noticed the action had put him much to close to Hermione. However she didn't seem disturbed, and he didn't feel inclined to move. He thought it was odd that she didn't take a step back. It made him think of Blaise's comment earlier. This was definitely something that Draco thought could be classified as 'acting interestingly'. Even if she wasn't exactly doing anything, not moving was strange in and of itself.

Draco was looking at her queerly, as if she were a puzzle to figure out. Hermione wondered what had caused him to look that way but didn't bother asking. She needed to see her friends before they left. Getting there before they left for good was all that mattered right now.

While on the way there, he asked why they were leaving school. She relayed the information to him. After all, she doubted Harry could drop out of school without people finding out his reasoning. Although Hermione thought Draco would be indifferent, he actually seemed worried. It was odd that Malfoy cared at all, but to actually get a reaction from him was very strange indeed.

They began descending the staircase from the seventh floor hurriedly. Their wands held in front of them, illuminating light on their surroundings, for it was almost midnight and would be impossible to see without them. The portraits on the walls would either groan or yell when they passed, but Hermione paid them no mind, because at the top of the staircase, Draco had breached a subject she was hoping to avoid.

"So you promised someone you'd stay away from me, huh?" he asked, trying to seem casual about it, but still making sure that it was interpreted as a question.

Hermione was surprised he hadn't mocked her for it. After all, promising to stay away from someone usually indicates some extent of fear towards the person. It also would mean that the person is either a problem or dangerous. She decided he was both to her- he was her very own dangerous problem she couldn't seem to stay away from. Instead of ignoring him, which would have definitely been the simpler option, she decided to sate his curiosity with a somewhat-truth.

"I promised someone I hold very dear to me that I would stay away from you." It was you! "He didn't like the idea of me talking to you." Because I want to be with you! "He- Well, he thought you were a danger to me." Probably because you are.

She glanced at Draco who was holding his wand towards the lower floors in order to watch the direction the staircases were moving.

She almost thought he hadn't heard her, but his entire body was tense and held the darkest look she'd ever seen from him, his eyes almost black from anger. She hadn't expected that reaction. Annoyance, perhaps, but anger? No, she definitely hadn't expected that. He usually did well to cover his emotions, but not this time. When she determined he wouldn't be commenting on her response, she commented in hopes that he would give insight. "You look upset."

He didn't want to tell her that it made his blood boil to think that people were making promises to avoid him, and even more so her. He wanted respect, not for people to avoid him. What if that's why people barely talked to him anymore? Were people making promises to stay away from him? Even people from his house were treating him as a leper lately, save Blaise. Only a handful of people talked to him this year at all.

It made him want to seriously harm whoever Granger promised. He didn't know why he was so bothered that Granger had vowed to keep away from him, but it did. Maybe it was because he was trying to be seen in a better light with the muggle-born community. Maybe it was because she was the one person who had the gall to stand up to him since the war, or perhaps because she was the only one who seemed to notice that he has been on a downward spiral these past few months. Whatever the reasoning, he wasn't going to tell her.

Instead, they walked in silence until they stopped short at the end of the hall, right before entering the room. They were still a good deal away from all the commotion, and no one seemed to notice their appearance. There were already a handful of people crowded around the exit. The older weasel was laughing with the professors who had their back towards them, and a semiprivate moment was shared between the Weaslet who was crying into the shirt of the Boy Who Lived. It was everything he hated about them.

He hated how close they all were. He hated that they could express their emotions so clear for everyone to see and not have to worry about ridicule. It made him sick.

Hermione looked at Draco, who was looking at the room with utmost distaste. Hermione wondered if he could ever have the same relationship with them as he had in the future. She knew he didn't know that they had all been friends in the future. He'd laughed at old times with them just as Ron was doing. He'd consoled Hermione just as Harry was. By the look on his face however, she had a feeling that he's never had these kinds of relationships in his life, and she felt so very sorry for him.

When Ron looked beyond the group of professors he was entertaining, his face fell and morphed into a red that was almost the shade of his hair. Draco almost laughed at his reaction. Almost, only because when he turned to leave Hermione looked as white as a the Bloody Baron.

Whatever promise she had made, she was with him now, and there was nothing the red-head could do about it. If she was scared about Weasley yelling at her for being with him again, he would give him an actual reason to yell. He heard him make a quick excuse to leave the group, but before he could reach them, Draco decided to give Weasley a parting gift.

Draco put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, guiding her in front of him, before he leaning down and whispering goodnight. Grabbing both her hands, he moved from her ear to her cheek and placed a barely-there kiss.

Lingering only for a moment, he leaned back, looking at her for the first time he'd ever truly looked at her. She had freckles strewn about her nose and cheekbones. Her eyes were a deep chocolate colour with full, long lashes. He'd definitely seen prettier women in his life, but there was still something very alluring about the way she opened her mouth slightly, as if she were inviting him for more.

The thought was preposterous. Crazy even. 'Granger' and 'alluring' shouldn't even belong in the same sentence. Dropping her hands, he walked away as quickly as possible. The lanky Gryfindor had almost made it to them, and he didn't want to stick around for that part. He was almost down the hall before he heard yelling, but his thoughts were on something else entirely. All he could think about was Granger's silent invitation, and trying to think of a plausible reason for it.

Hermione's heart was beating double time. What had just happened? He kissed her. Albeit, on the cheek, but she didn't think they were friendly enough to warrant a kiss.

Oh, how she wanted it though. When he had whispered in her ear, she felt as though her knees were going to buckle, but when he kissed her? She felt as if she were floating on air. She couldn't even form the words to say goodbye. The proximity itself had her brain completely blank on how to form words.

However the Draco induced mush-brain only lasted a moment longer before Ron burst out, "Hermione, please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing!"

Hermione stared emptily at Ron. "I've been extra careful not to give anything away, yet he still kissed me. He walked me here, and then he kissed me," she mumbled, mostly to herself. "Ron, do you think this means something?"

She looked up at her friend hopefully. She couldn't help but think this meant something. Maybe this meant that she still had a chance of happiness with him. Before she could reach another conclusion, Ron wrapped his arms around her and gave a bone-crushing hug.

"Mione, for both of our sake, please stay away from him." He let her go and grabbed both her shoulders, his face showing the most concern she had seen from him since, oddly enough, they were trapped at Malfoy Manor.

"I don't know what just happened, but your reaction proves that just being near him is dangerous," he said, letting go of her shoulders. "I won't be here to remind you anymore, and I can't keep you away from him, but you need to do it for yourself. You have to do that for yourself."

Hermione nodded her head solemnly. She knew she wasn't going to stay away from him. She was far past being able to do that, but she would remain calm about the situation. She would just continue on as if nothing happened.

When Harry walked over, he took one look between the two. Sensing tension, he asked what was wrong. Harry hadn't seen the kiss, or even Draco, so he didn't have a clue as to why they looked so upset. Hermione still hadn't told him about what had transpired during the Procul Futurae spell. She just didn't want anyone but her and Ron to know for now, but she also knew she wouldn't be able to get away with lying to Harry.

Much to Hermione's surprise, Ron saved her the trouble. "I'm just worried for her is all."

Harry smiled and began taking something from his bag. "Why you two decided to stop dating is beyond me," he said without much interest. Hermione and Ron both looked at each other guiltily for not telling him the whole truth of their break up. Harry took two items from his bag that she instantly recognized.

He looked at them fondly before confirming Hermione's prediction as to why he wanted her to have them. "In case we need you to do some research," he said, looking over his shoulder to make sure the Professors weren't listening. "You know, research in the part of library that you can't get to." Harry knew that Aurors were able to get their hands on any book they required, but he also knew no one can research better than Hermione.

Hermione took the map and the cloak. Promising to take care of them, and to help them however she could. She gave Harry a quick hug, told them both to be safe, and left.

Hermione was never good at goodbyes.

A/N: As I said, this update is sooner than usual, but the next two weeks are finals, so I am not going to allow myself to write until I'm done with all that, sorry. :/ Originally it was my intention for this to be one chapter, but if I had done that it would have been gigantic! Even now, it's almost double the size of part 1.

Again, thank you all for your continued support and thoughts on the story. If anyone likes looking at maps like me, I made a map for this story during some free time in class this week. I also noticed while making the map that this story would be shortened to AFU. Like, Ay Eff You. And I'm immensely pleased by that for some reason.

On to review responses:

1019: Well, she didn't exactly say no... ;) And you're right, there's no way he can be that Draco any longer. &&Thank you I'm glad you like the concept.

Reddhothead: You're too sweet. And I would say I'm not a quitter, but I am. I quit on half the things in my life. However, this story will be finished no matter what. I can't even begin to explain how much happiness this story has brought me these past few months. So, don't worry, it will probably be completed by the time I go back to college in February.

Also, thanks to, ASJS, AllyRose4129, and the guests who left reviews!

Sorry that I led some of you to think Draco was the one to ask Hermione to dinner.. but I couldn't help myself. ;)

Review, please -Lights