Three days had passed since the potions incident. Hermione was still blissfully unaware of any mishap, and only Snape, Draco, Pansy and Blaise knew what had happened.

The last thing that Hermione remembered was the Mistletoe incident with Malfoy, and she had believed that Snape had ended potions early for some personal reason or another.

She had also successfully avoided Malfoy for three days now, only seeing him in the great hall for meals, and classes, where she would sit as far away from him as possible, and leave before he even got near the door.

Something was bothering her however. She had the feeling she was being watched wherever she went, with the exception of the Gryffindor common room. That seemed to be the only place she felt like she wasn't being watched. It was a very creepy feeling. On more than one occasion, she swore she saw a shadow, or heard something behind her when the corridor should have been deserted, but she'd turned around to catch whoever it was, but there would be no one there.

She shrugged it off and put it down to mild paranoia as she walked to potions with Harry and Ron.

"Transfiguration was boring!" Ron whined "I wanted to do some…y'know…transfiguring! I can't believe we got stuck with taking notes today!"

"Yeah, well, cheer up Ron!" Harry told his downcast friend cheerfully "We have potions next, and you never know…Snape might just test a potion on Malfoy this time!"

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen!" Ron grunted.

They arrived at the potions room, taking great care to avoid the mistletoe that hung in the doorway. Hermione shuddered as she went through. That confounded Mistletoe was the one that had caught her and Malfoy beneath it's green and white self!

Surprisingly, and to her great relief, Malfoy had not yet arrived.

Cheerfully, Hermione made her way to her seat and set up her cauldron.

Snape was waving his wand around in front of the blackboard at the front of the class, casting onto it the day's potion instructions.

Everyone knew the routine, and started copying the instructions down.

Snape turned to begin the class, but Pansy's hand went up in the air.

"Miss Parkinson?" Snape enquired.

"Please Professor, where is Draco? Shouldn't we wait for him to arrive?" Pansy asked, sounding worried.

"Mr Malfoy will be here soon, I…sent him on an errand." Snape said dismissively.

"Now, today's potion is a complicated one, so pay attention. I don't expect many of you will get it right, however, I do expect a certain level of intelligence from you all. Get started." Snape instructed.

Malfoy arrived just as they were starting and dashed to his seat. "Sorry Professor, got held up a little." He said wincing and wiping his mouth.

"Let me guess, the mistletoe?" Snape said quietly.

Malfoy made a face. "mmyesss! When is that crackpot old fool going to take the bloody stuff down?" he whined.

Snape shrugged. "How should I know?"

Malfoy sighed and got to work on his potion.

"Anything to report?" Snape's voice suddenly said in Draco's head.

"Well, I found out that she likes to sing when she's alone, or thinks she's alone!" Draco replied in his head.

There was a snort from Snape. "With regards to the Lucas boy." He prompted.

"She met him yesterday on the way to charms. She had the same dazed expression the minute he was in her vicinity. He seemed a bit adgitated about something, and Granger seemed to be resisting something too, she had that same pained expression as she did three days ago in here right before you smacked her in the chops. Other than this, nothing." Draco replied.

"Very well, thank you Draco." Snape said before walking off.

Malfoy got on with his potion.

The class worked quietly, they knew better by now than to chat in Snape's class.

Halfway through her potion making, Hermione reached for the crushed unicorn horn and grabbed the vial, tipping it into her potion, but none came out. Taking her eyes from the potion, she looked at her vial of Crushed unicorn horn, and sighed when she saw that she was clean out.

She put up her hand to Get Snape's attention.

"Yes Miss Granger, what is it?" Snape asked irritably.

"Please Professor, I have run out of Unicorn Horn, may I go and get some more from your stores please?" Hermione answered.

"Very well." Snape sighed waving dismissively at his store cupboard.

Hermione got up and went into the store cupboard and began her search for the missing ingredient.

She had trouble focusing however, as Malfoy kept popping into her mind, replaying the scene from three days ago beneath that confounded mistletoe.

She shook her head to clear it and continued her search. But a few seconds later, there was the scene again.

"Oh for goodness sake girl, it wasn't that good of a kiss anyway!" She scolded herself.

"Your reactions proved otherwise." Came a voice.

Gasping in surprise, she whirled around to see Malfoy standing there.

"Malfoy! You startled me…I was just…" Hermione stammered, backing up as he moved toward her.

"Just what?" Malfoy questioned "Talking to yourself?"

"N..no! I was trying to find the unicorn horn for my potion!" She replied in a shaky voice and blushing furiously.

Malfoy stared at her for a moment, before looking around at nothing in particular and there was an uncomfortable silence.

"Why are you in here?" Hermione finally asked, trying to sound un-fazed.

"I ran out of powdered chrysanthemum." Came his reply.

"I think I saw it here somewhere, hang on." Hermione said turning back to the shelves and retracing her search.

"Ah!" She exclaimed turning back to him "Here it – Oh my!" she gasped. Malfoy was mere inches from her, his silvery eyes fixed on her.

For a moment Hermione stared back, her mouth open in a surprised 'oh', unable to look away. She finally found herself again and backed into the shelf.

"Um…here it is." She finished timidly, holding the jar out to him and looking down at her shoes.

She felt Malfoy move closer. Her heart was threatening to beat its way out of her chest. She had to escape. This was too scary!

She sidled to the side, trying to inch her way to freedom, but he put a hand out and leaned on the shelf on either side of her head, preventing her escape.

Hermione still avoided his eyes, fixing her eyes on the door. How could she get there? What the hell was Malfoy doing? Please someone, anyone, come to her rescue!

Malfoy placed a finger under her chin and made her look at him.

She looked at him, there was something she had never seen before in his eyes, and she couldn't quite place what it was. They were soft, yet firm and intense.

She was quite literally helpless. Trapped. She wanted to run away, back to safety and where things made sense. None of this made any sense to her! But yet there was a small part of her that wanted to see what was going to happen…but it was a very, very small part.

"Wh…what do you want?" she said in a scared whisper.

As if to answer, Malfoy leaned in.

'Oh merlin no!' Hermione's mind screamed 'kick him where it hurts then book it! It's our only chance of survival!' She was trembling violently now, and she was sure that Malfoy could feel it.

He was inches from her, his breath playing on her lips.

Hermione was so scared she dropped the jar she was holding and it smashed on the floor.

But it didn't interrupt anything. Malfoy merely paused to glance down at it, before resuming his agonizingly slow descent.

Just when Hermione thought her fate was sealed and she squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable…

"What the – "

'Professor! I've never been so happy to see you! Now there, Hermione, is a clever spud of a man!' Hermione's mind cried.

Hermione felt weak with relief as she saw Snape standing there, looking at Malfoy questioningly.

Malfoy turned his head to look at Snape and Hermione stared at him over Malfoy's shoulder.
Snape jerked his head in the direction of the door.

Hermione didn't need any more prompting. She bolted out under Malfoy's arm and squeezed past Snape, desperate for freedom. She'd thank him later…maybe buy him some new potion related stuff, or something.

Snape let the door close, as he stared at Malfoy.

"Draco what were you doing?" Snape demanded.

Malfoy put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know!" he replied, frustrated. "I came in here for a potions ingredient, and she was here looking for the unicorn horn…I… I don't know why I did it!"

"Okay, let's just calm down for a moment and think about this." Snape said trying to calm his godson.

Malfoy took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind.

"Now, could it be that you are a little jealous of this Mr Goldwater, and this is your way of obtaining victory over him?" Snape suggested.

Malfoy looked so offended, Snape didn't press that one further, but he knew he was getting close to the truth.

"Then what was that I just walked in on?" Snape demanded, getting angry.

"I don't know!" Malfoy insisted, running a hand through his hair. "Oh great! Look what you made me do!" he snapped, "Now my hair is messed up!"

"Forget your hair, I think it's your head that's messed up!" Snape pointed out. "Were you going to kiss her Draco?"

Malfoy hung his head. "The thought did cross my mind, yes!"

Snape shook his head, trying to make sense of it all. "Being forced to kiss her under the mistletoe is one thing Draco, but to do it willingly….I don't know what to think of this!"

"Well that makes two of us then doesn't it." Malfoy sneered.

"Don't you take that tone with me boy, you aren't too old for a good whipping." Snape warned.

Malfoy grunted in response.

There was a moment of silence before Snape spoke again. "Do you feel something for her?"

"Why are you so worried about this!" Malfoy demanded, flaring up. "What does it matter if I kissed her?"

"It matters greatly Draco!" Snape replied, also getting heated. "Your father would avada himself if he had witnessed what we all just did when you were under that damn mistletoe! Don't think for a moment that no-one saw what your reaction was! And what's more! She's a Gryffindor! Slytherin's and Gryffindor's do not have any kind of relationships! They don't even grunt at each other in the school corridors!"

"Who said anything about a relationship?" Malfoy squawked, his eyes bulging in indignation.

Snape blinked in surprise. "You were going to kiss her, I assumed you were looking for some sort of relationship with her."

"Well you assumed wrong! You saw her reaction, she didn't want me!" Malfoy said turning away from Snape and punching the shelf, and managed to hit a glass jar full of something slimy, watching with some sort of satisfaction as it hit the floor with a squelch.

"Please do not assult my ingredients, Draco…it took me months to collect those mermaid scales." Snape said wearily, flicking his wand and everything went back into the jar which repaired itself.

Snape studied his godson, recognizing the family resemblance between father and son as Draco stood, his shoulders hunched and in a brooding stance. Lucius had reacted exactly the same way when Narcissa had rejected him rather brutally while they were at school. And even then, Snape had been there to pick up the pieces, put him back together and give dear Lucius the strength to try again.

But this was different, Lucius had at least fallen for someone in Slytherin, and equal to his class. Narcissa was a pureblood, from a rich family, and Lucius had fallen head over heels after just one kiss beneath an enchanted mistletoe.

"Draco, I know what you are feeling right now. Rejection is never pleasant, but it must smart worse coming from a muggleborn Gryffindor." Snape said quietly.

Malfoy snorted. "Yes, how pathetic is that?"

"Very." Snape answered.

"Thanks, you really know how to make a bloke feel better!" Malfoy quipped sarcastically.

"Draco, what are you so upset about? There's plenty more fish in the sea." Snape offered.

Malfoy was silent for a moment. Snape saw a flicker of something in his eyes, but it was too quick to name.

"That's true, and I am young." Malfoy agreed.

Snape nodded. "Yes."

"And I am handsome, and rich," Malfoy went on, starting to cheer up.

Snape hesitated before agreeing.

"I could have any girl I want." Malfoy declared.

"Yes you can." Snape agreed again.

"But that's the problem." Malfoy said darkly, drooping again.

"Problem?" Snape questioned.

"Yes, problem." Malfoy repeated.

"Care to elaborate?" Snape sighed.

"How long have you got?" Malfoy snorted.

"Hold that thought." Snape instructed, turning and sticking his head out of the door.

"Alright, class is ending early, get out!" He snarled at the class.

They didn't need telling twice, leaving everything where it was, they all got up and herded out of the door.

"Now I have all the time you need." Snape told Malfoy, smirking.

Hermione was still shaking when she had reached the Gryffindor Common room. She shouldn't have run out of class like she did. Snape was going to be furious! But she just had to escape. Malfoy had surprised her and she didn't like surprises, especially of that nature!

She had reached the Fat lady in a state of despair.

"Whatever is the matter dear?" the portrait had asked soothingly.

"Draco Malfoy just tried to kiss me!" Hermione had squeaked out in reply.

"Oh that's so nice!" The fat lady said cheerfully. "It's just like Romeo and Juliet! Each of you from two warring houses!"

"It's not nice at all! It's awful! Please just let me in!" Hermione cried desperately.

"Oh alright!" Snapped the portrait before swinging open. "But you should know that there's a lot of girls who would love to be in your position!" she added.

Hermione was now to be found, twenty minutes later, curled up on the sofa hugging a cushion and staring into the fire wondering how she was ever going to face anyone again.

She heard voices approaching the portrait and thought it wise to duck out of site, so she ran and hid behind a curtain.

Suddenly the portrait opened again and Lavender and Parvati came rushing in, babbling excitedly.

"I think Malfoy went in there on purpose!" Lavender said excitedly.

"Of course he did, he needed to get an ingredient!" Parvati said level headedly.

"Oh yeah right!" Lavender scoffed. "He went in there to finish what he started three days ago! Don't you tell me that he didn't know Hermione was in there!"

"Yeah, well, whatever happened in there, Hermione obviously didn't like it. Did you see the way she ran out of there!" Parvati said sympathetically, "I've never seen her look so…I don't even know how to describe it!"

"That could be because Snape intervened, you know. Or perhaps…he tried his own luck with her!" Lavender gasped.

Parvati looked horrified. "You have a horrible imagination Lav! Poor Hermione!"

"Okay so maybe I took that one too far, but I really do think that Malfoy was finishing what he started under that mistletoe!" Lavender said waving a hand around.

"Well we don't know for sure, I'm still willing to believe that it's all innocent and Hermione just so happened to be in there when Malfoy went to look for his ingredient." Parvati said firmly.

"Then what took so long?" Lavender challenged.

"Maybe Malfoy couldn't find it!" Parvati answered.

"And Snape?" Lavender added.

"Went to see what was taking so long and decided to help them look for their ingredients." Parvati replied, looking rather pleased with herself for meeting the challenge and beating it.

"Ah ha, then why did Hermione run out of there like a bat out of hell?" Lavender smirked.

Parvati couldn't answer that one really. "Maybe she really had to pee." She suggested lamely.

Behind the curtain, Hermione winced. What kind of answer was that!

Lavender laughed. "Yeah, okay whatever! She was running from Malfoy's luuuuurve!"

Parvati giggled.

Even Hermione tried not to laugh. It was just the way Lavender said that made it funny, but the situation was really quite serious.

She heard Harry and Ron enter the common room.

"Hey have you two seen Hermione?" Harry asked, sounding concerned.

"No, we thought she'd be with you!" Parvati replied.

"Nope, not with us." Ron said sarcastically.

"There's no need to be rude!" Parvati said reproachfully.

"Just ignore him, we are trying to find Hermione, she ran out of potions looking upset. We just want to know why and if we can help." Harry continued.

"Yes, we have a few theories on that." Lavender said, smirking.

Hermione's heart leaped into her mouth. If Harry and Ron heard Lavender's theory, which was technically true, they would have a fit!

"Lav No!" Parvati gasped. "You mustn't!"

Hermione shook her head in agreement with Parvati

"Tell us!" Ron urged. "Any info helps!"

"Okay, you'd better sit down boys, this is going to shock you!" Lavender said gleefully.

Hermione heard Harry and Ron sit down.

"Okay, so, " Lavender said sounding very 'valley girl' "Here's what I think happened in that store cupboard…"

Hermione covered her face with her hands in woe as Lavender repeated her theory to Harry and Ron.

When she was finished, Ron immediately began ranting.

"Wait until I get my hands on him! That slimy ferret! How dare he do that!" Ron bellowed, throwing cushions around.

"Ron, Calm down, that's ridiculous Lavender!" Harry stated.

"I beg your pardon?" Lavender said, looking offended.

"Well it's just that it's Malfoy! He wouldn't voluntarily kiss Hermione, they hate each other! It doesn't make any sense!" Harry explained.

Hermione thanked Merlin that Harry was willing to look at it that way, but she felt guilty that he was wrong. But she was just as confused as he was about it. She would confide in him later, when they were alone. She could trust Harry with her life, he would listen! She would tell him everything, and he would help her get out of the mess she found herself in.

There was a knock at the portrait hole, interrupting the discussion and Harry got up to answer it.

"Hello, I'm looking for Hermione." A familiar voice said.

Hermione felt a shock go through her. Lucas.

It took a lot of willpower for Hermione to resist the urge to run to him.

"She's not here. I don't know where she is, none of us do. She got upset in Potions and ran out." Harry told him.

"Strange. I hope everything is alright." Lucas said strangely. "Well, thanks anyway." He said and left.

Hermione felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Well, we'd best go look for her again." Harry said decidedly.

There was a murmer of agreement.

"We'll check the girls bathroom." Parvati offered.

"Great. We'll check the library." Harry said.

With that, the search party left.

Hermione jumped up and ran up to her dorm room. She felt guilty that her friends were out searching for her, and she had been there all along, but she really couldn't face anyone yet.

She sat and thought about her situation. At first, Lucas had seemed sweet and gentlemanly, but after a while it started getting strange. She didn't like the feeling he caused in her, the way her mind went blank. It sometimes felt like she was trapped inside her mind and had no control of her body or what she said. It frightened her. She had tried to tell Professor Snape when he asked, but the words wouldn't come out, although she had been screaming the answer to his question at him with her mind, her mouth and voice refused to co-operate! She longed to tell someone about it so they could rescue her! But it was hopeless, Lucas had some sort of control over her and there was nothing she could do about it. She had spent hours in the library researching it, but she didn't know what it was he had done to her, so she couldn't find anything that would help.

Then there was Malfoy! What was his deal? Why was he so concerned all of a sudden? Yet when he had offered to take her to the ball, she desperately wanted to say yes, just to get out of going with Lucas, but again, her voice wouldn't co-operate, and instead, a stream of insults and brutal rebuffing came out instead.

She knew that Malfoy Suspected something weird was going on, that's why he had told her that he didn't trust Lucas and she shouldn't either. But he didn't know that she wanted to agree with him, but couldn't as she was practically a prisoner in her own mind.

And still she couldn't figure out why Malfoy wanted to help. Nothing made sense anymore!

She didn't know how long she had been lost in thought for, when suddenly she heard footsteps running up the stairs. The door burst open and Parvati entered.

Her eyes fell on Hermione and she looked relieved. "Oh Hermione there you are! We've been so worried about y-" Parvati stopped when she saw Hermione's tears. "Oh Hermione!" she said compassionately, and ran to sit beside her, hugging her.

Hermione accepted the friendly comforting hug, and cried even more.

"What happened?" Parvati asked, wiping Hermione's tears with a hankerchief she'd conjured up.

"I don't know!" Hermione sniffed. "One minute I was alone, the next thing I know, Malfoy's there!"

"Go on." Parvati said, urging her to continue.

"Then he…he tried to kiss me again!" Hermione said sniffling loudly, starting to tear up again. She hated being confused.

Parvati's eyes went wide, but then she relaxed. "It's not so bad. There are loads of girls in this school who would have given anything to be in your shoes!"

"I know, that's what makes it worse!" Hermione croaked. "I didn't want to be in my shoes at that time! Why didn't one of those girls step in!"

"Well, because they couldn't!" Parvati pointed out.

"It frightened me, Parvati. I didn't know what was happening! Part of me wanted to run, but part of me wanted to see what would happen!" Hermione said, her face flaring, then she looked ashamed. "Does that make me a horrible person?" She asked softly.

Parvati laughed. "No, silly! It makes you a girl! Of course you wanted to see what would happen, any girl would! Don't worry about that!"

This reassurance seemed to calm Hermione down, and she smiled back at her friend. "Thanks Parvati."

"Anytime Hermione." Parvati said, giving Hermione another hug.

"Oh, just one thing!" Hermione said, her eyes widening in fear again.

"What?" Parvati asked, her brow knitting in concern.

"Please don't tell anyone what I've said! If this gets out, my life will be officially over!" Hermione pleaded.

"Your secret is safe with me." Parvati said, crossing her heart.

"Thanks." Hermione said with relief.

"Now, lets go and let everyone know you are safe and sound."

Hermione wiped her eyes and used a freshen up spell on her face. Then she followed Parvati out of the Dorm room feeling as though part of the weight on her shoulders had been lifted.