Chapter Ten: Season ... Finally

The last show of the season had wrapped and they'd had a party and everything. Most of the actors had secured their parts, but a few had been cut. Vienna and Draco's salaries would be increased for the next season because they had become a bankable pair. They had become household names in one season. It was something that hadn't happened yet in the wizarding world and the cast and crew were proud.

The scene at the end of the party was lazy and dismal. So many people who had never known each other had developed attachments to each other and would truly miss not seeing them almost every day. The sadness only elevated when Vienna made a small speech about how much the part meant to her and how much the support she'd gotten from some of the cast really helped her along.

The last two people left in the room were Hermione and Draco. Draco was left behind because he was waiting for Blaise to come and get him and Hermione was still cleaning up the few pieces of rubbish left behind. She hadn't realized that Draco was even in the room until she bumped into him.

"Draco, what are you still doing here?"

"I'm waiting for Blaise. He's taking me out for drinks with the other blokes we know."

"Oh. That sounds fun." Hermione said, putting the rubbish bin down.

"Aren't you and Ginny doing anything?"

"Harry and Ginny are leaving for their week-long holiday tonight. It's supposed to be the usual husband's gift to the pregnant wife. So, I'm alone tonight. I'm okay with that, though. It's normal."

Draco looked bothered. "It shouldn't be. Don't you have other friends?"

"Of course I do. They just have lives of their own. Lavender's at a party for some famous muggleborn heiress. Parvati and Padma went home a couple of days ago for a few weeks. Luna is with Ron somewhere, planning their auror missions and talking about how to keep their engagement safe from Weasel bows or something. Neville is off on another 'herbology discovery' trip. Dean is busy at St. Mungo's and who knows where Seamus is. I think, but I'm not sure, that-"

"Whoa! Information overload." Draco laughed and Hermione laughed, too, but it was weak. "You're coming with me."

"What?!" Hermione almost screamed. "No, I wouldn't want to intrude on your 'boys night out' thing."

"You wouldn't be. Just come and have a little fun. I bet you'll like it." Draco took ahold of her hands, as if begging her to come out and have a life for once.

Hermione didn't say anything, just let Draco hold her hands. Then she sighed. "Okay, I'll come. Your friends won't mind, will they?"

"Who cares if they do? It's a celebration for me. I can bring whomever I please." Draco let go of Hermione's hands and got his leftover piece of cake. "Get your stuff. Let's wait outside."

A black limo drove up and Hermione looked to Draco. Draco instantly got that Hermione didn't travel by limo very often and might have been a little confused and even embarrassed by it. He gave her an ensuring smile and waited for the driver to get out and open the door for them.

Hermione was the first to enter the limo and she noticed the look on Blaise's face. He obviously didn't expect to see her and he couldn't hide it, at first. She sat down in the farthest corner, feeling like she was intruding on Draco's night out. Draco followed and then the door closed behind them. All were silent for a moment, until the car started moving.

"Granger, nice to see you." Blaise said, looking more at Draco than at her.

"Nice to see you, too." Hermione said, shifting as the dark Slytherin's eyes fell on her. His brown eyes were piercing and she could see why witches used to say, while they were in school, that his gaze could turn them into melted chocolate. "I hope I'm not intruding. Draco said I could come."

"You're always welcome, especially if Draco invites you." Blaise chuckled deeply. "I'm just surprised. I didn't even think you liked to drink."

"I don't usually. Just a little wine or champagne every now and then. And a little whiskey in my tea when I'm really sick."

"Yeah, Hermione's a real drunk." Draco said, being sarcastic in a good-humoured way.

"Don't tease." Hermione gave a little pout. "I thought you said your friends were taking you out. Is Blaise your only friend?"

"No. We have to pick them up." Draco turned his eye to Blaise. "Who are we picking up?"

"Well, Theodore certainly wanted to come, and Adrian. Marcus said he would come, but that he'd get their on his own. And I didn't ask anyone else."

"Good group. I just hope Adrian doesn't get ... you know how ... when he gets pissed."

"How does he get?" Hermione asked, sounding a little worried.

"He already likes to flirt like mad, but when he gets pissed, he practically humps the leg of any witch he sees. In a way, it's sort of funny." Blaise answered, shaking his head.

"I remember that first night after the war was finally over. That witch who didn't want to go home with him." Draco started laughing and Blaise did, too. It took a moment, but then Draco continued. "She had to literally water him down to get him off her. But Adrian turned it around and still ended up taking her home. Only thing is, Adrian woke up the next morning and saw the witch gone and she'd left a note. 'I thought you were sweet and I didn't want to do this to you, but you forced me to. Maybe you'll see me again one day.' Of course, Adrian didn't know what she meant until he looked in his mirror and could see she'd gone through his chest of drawers and found that she took a few pieces of jewelry and a small bag of galleons he'd taken out that morning. It was sad, but funny as hell."

"I guess that's funny." Hermione laughed, but it was fake. She was actually a little worried about the Adrian bloke. She'd never really met him, but she just felt he'd get hurt or in trouble if he just picked up women, not knowing anything about them.

"Oh, look, there's Adrian's place right over there."

Hermione looked out of her window. They were approaching a dark-looking house. It was small, probably just two bedrooms, at most. Hermione always thought the Slytherins she went to school with would live in huge mansions and such, but then remembered that most of the houses the Slytherins would have inherited went to payments and such to the Ministry and families. So, many of the rich Slytherins had half their wealth and not-so-grand houses. The house Adrian lived in was black and almost disappeared against the dark night sky. The door was light-coloured. A bright grey with black trim. The garden was manicured to perfection. Not a leaf out of place, not a fruit on the ground.

The limo stopped and they felt the car move. The driver was getting out to announce their arrival. Hermione watched the short, round driver walk up the walk of the house and knock lightly on the door. It was only about two seconds later that a wizard stepped out of the door. He followed the driver down the walk and there was a pause as the driver let him in, and then the wizard entered the car, staring at Hermione.

"I didn't know we'd have a female companion tonight." He said, holding his hand out for Hermione to shake. "How are you tonight?"

"I'm well." Hermione said. She studied the wizard for a moment. He was tall, not as tall as Draco, but he wasn't too much shorter. His medium brown hair was cut short and his face had chiseled features. Stronger than both Draco's and Blaise's. Hermione thought he was rather good-looking, so she figured he could definitely get away with flirting.

"Good to know." Adrian said, settling into his spot some more. "You look awfully familiar, but I can't place you."

"It's Hermione Granger. From school." Blaise said, a touch of amusement in his voice. He still held onto his beliefs that halfboods and muggleborns were inferior, but he didn't think they needed to be exterminated as Voldemort had thought. Blaise thought that maybe he could get along with them ... as long as he didn't have to come in contact with actual ordinary muggles. He seriously wondered if Draco really fancied the witch or if this was just another conquest.

"Hermione Granger?!" Adrian said in surprise. He couldn't believe it. Not only was he riding in a car with a muggleborn, but she actually looked sort of nice. She'd changed a bit since school. Her hair wasn't as bushy, but it certainly wasn't tame. Her teeth were smaller than he remembered and she'd slimmed down a bit. She'd lost her baby weight or it just went to the right places. He looked at her chest. It wasn't the largest he'd seen, but it was sizable. Her backside, which he couldn't really see, looked firm, but only seeing or touching it would confirm that. "What a surprise. Are you accompanying one of my associates, here?"

"Draco said I could come." Hermione said, noticing Adrian's straying eyes. She scrunched down a bit, wishing he'd stop looking at her like a hungry man looks at his first food in weeks.

"I'm glad he invited you." Adrian said, a chuckle in his voice. He and Blaise shared a look.

The ride was quiet, Hermione staring out the window, Draco and Blaise whispering quietly, and Adrian still staring at Hermione, trying to figure out why she was coming with them. The road outside was clear. It seemed no one was on the streets, but then again, Hermione didn't travel the streets this late at night and she wasn't sure what area they were in anymore.

It was only about twenty minutes until they arrived at the next place. This place, Hermione noticed, was much brighter than Adrian's house. It had a white outside and brown shutters. The garden was very sparse; just grass and one fruitless tree. The limo came to a stop and the driver once again made their presence known. A tall wizard followed him to the car and he came and sat down, not saying anything, at first.

The other wizards didn't say anything, just nodded slightly and went on about their business. Hermione knew this was Theodore. She'd seen him a few times before. He was usually alone and didn't say very much. He was cute with his boyish features and ear-length black hair. Hermione stared for a moment and planned to look away, but he caught her before turning back.

"Is there something I can do for you?" He said, his voice a little gravelly. His eyes dark and hypnotic.

"No. I'm sorry for staring."

"Don't be. If anything, I should be staring at you. Here's a little lion hanging around with serpents. I would ask what you're doing here, but it'd be rude." Theodore said before quickly turning and saying something to Adrian. Both seeming to quickly forget about her.

"Draco. Maybe I should go home, now." Hermione whispered to Draco.

"Gods, Hermione. Don't let these blokes scare you. They're only like this because they don't know you. Once they know you, they'll change, I promise." Draco said, not actually looking at her. She looked around, none of the wizards were really paying her any mind. Maybe she was just paranoid.

They arrived at, what looked like, an old abandoned building in the middle of the woods that they were now in. The limo bumped and shook as they rode over the sticks and dirt clumps on the ground. The car slowed, but didn't stop. Hermione looked at Draco and saw that he was staring out the window with bugged eyes. What was going on, she wondered. The car finally came to a stop and the door opened a moment later. The driver stood, watching as the wizards climbed out and then moved to help Hermione out, but Draco stopped him and helped her himself.

"What is this place, Draco?" Hermione asked, letting go of his hand.

"Not a place you should be." Draco said, giving Blaise a look. "If I had known we were coming here, I wouldn't have brought you."

Blaise laughed along with Theodore and Adrian, who obviously knew what the place was. "Draco, she's a grown woman. I don't think a few dancing women will bother her much. I'm sure she's quite familiar with what she'll see."

"What is this place, Draco?" Hermione repeated.

"It's a pub ... and sort of ... a gentlemen's club." Draco answered, not moving even though the other wizards were halfway to the building already.

"I've never been to one of those before." Hermione said, slightly amused. "Come on, let's go."

Hermione pulled Draco along behind her, watching as the other wizards stepped up to the door and said some words to the man guarding the door and walked inside. Hermione stared back at the guard, who was giving her a hard look. They stepped inside and the place was smokey and seemed surreal. The other wizards walked up a flight of stairs, followed by Hermione and Draco. They sat down around a table in a private box. They could see the stage clearly, sitting above the crowd and bar below. Everyone got comfortable and settled in while a tall, black-haired wizard walked over with a woman on his arm.

"I see you blokes made it."

"Yes, we did, Marcus." Blaise said, looking at the woman hanging on his friend's arm. "Who's the blonde?"

"I'm not exactly sure. She was standing by the bar when I got here and she's just been following me around. I decided not to question it." Marcus said, taking the girl's hand and sitting down, then allowing her to sit on his lap. "I might ask how Granger appeared here?"

"Draco invited her." Adrian said, looking at Hermione for a moment, then turning to look for a waitress.

"Hermione Granger. I haven't seen you in ... three years?"

"Yeah, I guess you're doing well for yourself." Hermione said, a little uncomfortable amongst the five wizards and the girl. She'd never been in a place like this and didn't really know why she hadn't asked Draco to take her home, but Ginny had said she needed to get out ... and that was certainly what you would do here. Plus, Draco's friends had brought him here to celebrate and he'd invited her, she wouldn't feel right asking to go home, especially now.

"Yes. I am doing well. Adding to the family fortune and many other things. How has your business been going?"

"Very well, Marcus, as I'm sure you know. Draco does work for me."

"Yes, I must have forgotten. I've already had a few drinks, waiting, and I must not be completely in my right mind."

Suddenly a waitress came up. She was dressed in a suit-type outfit. A dress shirt and jacket, cut to be tight and short. Then, little tuxedo-cut shorts. It was cute, really, Hermione thought. Then Blaise ordered drinks, which were obviously expensive, and Blaise told the waitress to keep the drinks coming until he commanded them to stop.

Hermione grabbed a small shot of something green in colour. She didn't feel very adult asking what the drinks were. The wizards knew, though, and were drinking them down as if they were water. But Hermione noticed that Draco was drinking a bit slower then the rest. He seemed to be watching her more than drinking.

Hermione downed the drink as music filled the place. She noticed everyone's eyes turn to the stage. She quickly took another drink from the round platter and downed it before looking herself. The stage was lit with floating candles. A young witch, probably around Hermione's age, danced sensually out onto the stage. She twirled, as if she was a ballerina, and flew down into a split. Then brought herself back up by holding the pole in the middle of the stage.

Hermione had never been a person to watch adult movies or care about any adult entertainment, so she couldn't help the blush that was slowly creeping onto her face. She looked around the table. Everyone's eyes, including Draco's and the girl's, were on the witch downstairs. Hermione wondered if this was the sort of place were the women got completely nude or if it was more of a teaser type show. She brought the question up to Draco.

"No, they don't get nude on stage." Draco said, barely looking at Hermione while answering. "If a wizard wants something more, he's got to go to the private rooms. Usually only rich wizards go there because it costs quite a lot."

"Oh." Hermione said, blowing a sigh of relief. She reached over and downed another drink, knowing this wasn't really like her at all. Maybe it was the atmosphere or the people she was with, but she felt that she could let loose and not care what anyone thought because they were doing the same things. It was actually freeing, not having to be proper and completely ladylike.

As the witch onstage completed her dance to a room of applause and whistles, Hermione slid closer to Draco. He looked over at her, but didn't question the action. He was slightly pissed so he wasn't really thinking that Hermione would never get so close to him if there wasn't a professional reason behind it.

Another witch came onstage dressed as a mediwitch. She'd seen the costume before. Only it was much shorter and tighter. And the witch had heels on. Hermione couldn't help but let out a giggle over the similar entertainment of wizards and muggle men. They loved when women dressed up in a costume of their fantasies. Hermione remembered overhearing that Harry would've loved Ginny to dress up as a muggle cheerleader, but Ginny had refused. Mainly because she had never seen a cheerleader before and wasn't as serious with Harry then, as she was now. Hermione had shown Ginny a cheerleader a few weeks ago and Ginny had said she'd sort of understood Harry's attraction to them, but still wasn't sure if she wanted to do it for him, especially now that she felt so fat and ugly being pregnant ... which, as Hermione and Harry constantly said, wasn't true.

Hermione was starting to get itchy, just sitting there and watching. She was never the sort to get aroused in public and never thought she'd ever be aroused by watching a woman dance onstage. But something about being so close to these wizards and knowing they were thinking about naughty things, made her feel naughty. And then, it came.

"Are there any girls out there tonight who'd like to enter our contest? You could win 100 galleons." An announcer called from the area near the stage where the witch was finishing her dance.

Hermione wasn't sure what had hit her. She got up, ignoring the shocked and curious stares coming from her companions. She followed the few other women who were walking towards the stage, too. Most were dressed in jeans, tank tops, and skirts. She was the only one in a suit and simple heels. She wrote her name down, as the other witches. She was number four. The very last one. She didn't go to sit back with her companions. She still had a little fear of what they'd think.

The first witch went up and she was obviously very pissed. She could barely stand up straight, let alone dance. It ended with a few boos and a request to take her home. The second witch was better. She didn't have much on to begin with, so it was a short dance, but very active. The witch right before Hermione was a very tall, very skinny witch. She knew how to move, sort of. She swayed and swung, gaining a few yells and growls. Finally, it was Hermione's turn.

Hermione walked to the stage and a song came on. It surprised her that it was a muggle one, and one she knew. Welcome To The Jungle. She had heard the song a few times, but had never known the words. She did know the melody, though. She walked to the very middle of the stage and leaned forward, her hair coming out of it's bun and falling to cover her face. She arched back up, slowly, seeing that a wizard in the front row had picked up her hair scrunchie. She moved her leg out in front of her and twirled around, walked to the pole and walked around twice, unbuttoning her suit vest as she went. She got it off and twirled it around her head, then wound it around her wrists, dipped to the ground and slowly came back up, poking her ass out.

Hermione pulled the vest over her head and turned, earning a few protests, but she surprised them all when she grabbed onto the pole, spread her legs and spun around, her legs opening slowly as she spun to the floor. She pushed her legs together and got up, undoing her skirt zipper and letting fall to the floor. She was now in her underwear and a tight shirt. She walked the perimeter of the stage, blowing kisses as she did. She fell to her knees and leaned forward, her hair covering most of her body. She let her hands flow down to her waist and pulled her shirt over her body and head. She heard a few howls, but it really didn't register. She was more pissed then she'd ever been in her life and if it wasn't for the drinks, she would have never gotten up on the stage. She rolled around on the floor as the song came to an end, then got up and gave a small bow. She picked up her clothes and got off the stage. She asked where the bathroom was and went inside to put her clothing on.

"What the heck were you doing?" Draco asked Hermione when she came back to the table. He was slightly pissed himself, but he knew this was not normal behavior for Hermione Jane Granger.

"I'm a big girl, Draco. I was just having a little fun. Weren't you the one who said I needed to have more fun?"

"No."

"Oh, well, someone said it." Hermione sat down, noticing waitresses walking around, taking small pieces of paper from all the people in the place. She leaned over onto Draco and grabbed another drink. Draco stopped her.

"I don't think you should be drinking anymore."

"Stop bothering the little lion. Let her have some fun. At least we were here to enjoy it." Adrian said, smiling even more at Hermione. He slid closer to her and touched her leg. Normal Hermione would have certainly blushed and then slapped his hand away, but pissed Hermione just moved his hand even farther up her leg. Draco saw and jerked Adrian's hand away, earning a smirk from Adrian. "Sorry. I didn't think you were so serious about her."

"She's not in her right mind, Adrian. I'm sure you've noticed that. Don't take advantage. I'm the one who has to answer for anything that happens tonight." Draco said, frowning as the wizard was walking back onstage to announce the winners.

"We've got two winners, as usual. The runner-up and the winner." The wizard opened the paper in his hand. "Our winner of twenty-five galleons and a free lap-dance is ... Katie O'Malley." The room heard a quick burst of applause.

The witch that went on before Hermione bounced onto the stage. You could tell she was a little angry, but she wasn't a sore loser. She stood to the side and waited for the winner to be called.

"The winner of one hundred galleons is ... Herminny Granger."

Hermione jerked her arm out of Draco's hand and made her way to the stage. She would have tripped, but Katie O'Malley helped her, whispering that Hermione should take it easy on the drinks next time. Hermione just smiled and went to get her galleons from the wizard. He handed them over and the room filled with applause again. Hermione beamed and both witches bowed. Then made their way back to their respective places.

Hermione held her bag of galleons over her head as she sat back down, her wizard companions clapping for her. She smiled. Draco downed a drink, not sure what to do with the pissed Hermione. He considered telling the boys to take him home, but what would he do with Hermione, would she even be able to take the wards down at her flat?

"Hermione? Can you take down the wards on your flat?"

"What flat?"

Draco had his answer right there. He just decided not to let Hermione drink anymore. He got the drink she'd pick up and spell it into water. She seemed not to know the difference, well, until Marcus picked up one of the shots that were supposed to be for her.

"What's this? This tastes like water. I swear, if those people have started sending water up-"

"No, Marcus. Those are Hermione's drinks." Draco winked, but Marcus was too far gone, along with everyone but him.

"Why are you giving her water?"

"Dracos, you've be-en giving me wahhter?" Hermione slurred a bit. "Gi-give me a real dri-nk."

"Maybe I should sober you up, Hermione."

"Don't you dare. I'll kick your ass." Hermione said, getting another drink. This time, a real one.

Finally, when it seemed Blaise had had enough to drink, he declared it time to go. Marcus decided to stay and so did Adrian and Theodore. Draco and Blaise practically had to drag Hermione to the limo. She was up for a few seconds, then fell asleep.

"What are we going to do with her?" Blaise said, directing the driver where to go. "I don't think she'd know how to get into her flat."

"We'll just go back to my flat. Hopefully, she won't kill me in the morning." Draco said. The rest of the trip was in silence.

"Never thought I'd see the day when the lioness would lie down with the serpent." Blaise joked as he watched Draco get a sleeping Hermione into bed and then climb in behind her, trying to keep a little distance between them. It wouldn't help if she thought he was trying to molest her. If that happened, he very much doubted she'd want to be in a relationship with him.

"Ha Ha, Blaise. You can let yourself out, I'm sure. Thanks for the ... eventful night."

"No. Thank you. I never thought I'd ever get to see Granger in her undies. Looks right fit."

"Blaise, if you don't leave, I'm going to kick you in the ass."

Blaise sniggered. "Alright. I'll see you soon, I'm sure."

Draco watched Blaise leave his bedroom, still laughing silently. Blaise was pissed, just like most of them had been. It was only luck that Draco remembered that Hermione had never really drank and that he needed to stay sort of sober to watch out for her. He pulled the cover over himself before falling off to bed himself. Dreams of Hermione on stage making his dreams sweet for a change.

"What the hell?"

Hermione woke up with an arm around her. She looked around the room. Red walls. Pictures of people she didn't know. She looked at the bed. Black covers and white sheets. This wasn't her bed. Then she looked at the arm. A pale arm. She was almost afraid to look at the owner of the arm. She did after a second, and her reaction was much bigger than her first one.

"Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you doing here?!" She screamed, throwing the sheets off of her, and hitting him in the process.

Draco quickly woke up and stared at Hermione. His mind was obviously still registering how Hermione got into his bed. When it hit him, he laughed. Of course, Hermione saw nothing funny about it because she didn't remember what happened yet.

"What are you laughing about? What's so damn funny?"

"You don't remember what happened last night, do you?" Draco said, a smile trying to mask his laughter.

"What happened? I didn't sleep with you did I?"

"No. You came with me last night and you got pissed." Draco left out the stage dance. He felt it'd be too much right now.

"I did? Well, I guess that would explain my headache." Hermione sat up in the bed. "Why didn't you just sober me up?"

"You didn't want me to. Believe me, I would have if you hadn't threatened me."

"I threatened you? Gods, I can't remember anything." Hermione closed her eyes. "Where are we?"

"You're in my flat."

"Ah, that would explain the ... flashy, dark decor."

"I like it. I live here. It's fine." Draco got up, a hangover not bothering him very much, as he didn't drink much last night. "In fact I just bought the cover and sheets you're lying on. They took most of my last two checks."

"What?! What are they made of?!"

"Silk, suede, and goose down feathers for the cover. Silk thread and Egyptian cotton for the sheets."

"Rich. My bed stuff is only cotton and some sort of jersey material. Didn't cost me more than 75 galleons."

"Well, you want some coffee to help?"

"Sure. Is there a bathroom I can use?"

"Yep. That door, right there." Draco pointed and walked out of the room to fix some coffee and breakfast. He might not be the best cook, but he could get a little breakfast on the table. Living by himself had taught him lots of things. Cooking and cleaning being the biggest.

Hermione got up, surprised that she was still in her clothing. The only thing that had been removed was her vest, and that was hanging on the chair near the door, and her shoes, which were next to the door. She yawned and walked over to the door Draco had pointed to. She opened the door and walked into it. It was decorated pretty well. Black stone tiles covered the walls and emerald green ones on the floor. She used the toilet and washed her hands, wishing she had a toothbrush, but then remembered she could just cast a mouth cleaning charm. She hardly ever used it because she was so used to brushing. Her parents, being dentists, didn't really think the charm was as good as an actual brushing, so she'd done it until she'd moved out and it just stuck with her.

She wondered if it'd be too much to take a shower, but did it anyway because she felt sort of grimy from the night before. It was a long shower, which helped her sober. She dried off and was met with Draco outside the door. He grinned at her wearing a towel and a blush.

"I kept your coffee warm."

"Thanks."

"Would you like me to cast a cleaning spell on your clothes or would you like to do that?"

"Could you? I really need to just sit and drink this coffee."

Okay." Draco grabbed her vest and collected the rest of her clothing from the bathroom, not once questioning that Hermione hadn't minded him touching or seeing her underwear.

"You didn't have to walk me home, you know."

"I know, but after last night, I'm not sure what you could do."

Both of them laughed because Hermione had finally remembered what happened last night. After recovering from her fainting spell, she hit Draco for letting her stay there and gave him a peck on the cheek for not bragging or making fun of her about the events that went on the night before.

Hermione opened her front door and was about to go in, but Draco stopped her. "You forgot your galleons."

Hermione accepted the bag of galleons from Draco and smiled. Both leaned in, about to kiss, but someone was opening their door and Hermione turned away, blushing. She nodded and then went inside, closing the door on Draco. Finally, he could tell, he was in a good standing in her eyes.

A/N: Hermione's obviously got a wild side. One we've never seen before ... she's never seen it either, apparently.
As I mentioned, Kelli helped me write this chapter, especially the part about Hermione's dance. She danced around to the song while I wrote down what she was doing. And a few lines were her's, which I will point out and give her credit:

1. "Yeah, Hermione's a real drunk." Draco said, being sarcastic in a good-humoured way.
2. "Is there something I can do for you?" He said, his voice a little gravelly. His eyes dark and hypnotic.
3. "The winner of one hundred galleons is ... Herminny Granger."
4. "Rich. My bed stuff is only cotton and some sort of jersey material. Didn't cost me more than 75 galleons."

Give Kelli a round of applause ... you don't really have to. It's not like she'll know.

Hermione has finally gotten quite comfortable around Draco, as she wouldn't get pissed around just anyone. And I included Draco's friends for a reason, but I won't reveal that yet. They will play a part in something. Well, I should just say they'll be mentioned again. Especially Marcus. Winson will also make another appearance and so will Kelli, his secretary. Then, they will never be mentioned again, for those of you who don't like them.

As for my little trip, it was quite nice. I spent the week in San Fran. It was something I've been planning to do for a while and haven't had a chance until now. And the strangest thing happened to me there, it sort of inspires a few of the ideas in my next chapter, which I'm still working on.
And even though I don't much beg you for reviews, it'd be nice to get more for the number of hits I get ... unless people are just clicking on my story accidentally. Thanks to me wonderful reviewers. You really keep me wanting to continue the story, because sometimes I just feel like stopping, but I look at my reviews and think, I should keep writing. These people want to read the story and hear the ending. Anyway, as long as I get reviews I will DEFINITELY keep writing.

A Little Something (I'm sorry for not including one last time):

Draco: You finally woke up in my bed, Granger.
Hermione: It's not like we did anything.
Draco: Yeah, you're taking a long time for us to get together. What's going on?
Author: Don't you want to take it slow, gain some trust between yourselves, build a strong relationship?
Draco: Lady, we're fictional characters. We don't care about that sort of stuff. We want the good stuff.
Hermione: Draco, sometimes, you are so single-minded.
Draco: What? Just because I think about sex? Don't you both?
Hermione: Every now and then.
Author: Most of the time.
Draco: See? Now there's a witch who can tell the truth. I want to marry you.
Author: I'm not a witch, Draco.
Draco: You're not? Merlin! And just when I thought I'd found my match.
Hermione: Do you see what I have to be paired with?
Author: Yeah ... how can you not just jump on him every second.
Hermione: Goodness. That is not what I meant.