When Hermione returned to the Head Dorms the next night, she was quick to rush to the shower. She shed her dirty clothes to the white tile floor and hopped into the shower. She turned it on, letting the hottest of the water run over her tensed muscles. She wished it could clean her inside and out, but even the strongest chemicals wouldn't be enough to blanch the memories of her encounter with Malfoy.

Things were easily getting out of hand –she could see that. She wondered if anyone else had noticed his odd behavior towards her. She shivered, and in her mind she could still feel his long fingers in her skin. She had had bruises at first (just another thing for her to be angry about) but they healed over quickly leaving no evidence behind except for the memories she wished she could forget. She scrubbed at her skin with the soap leaving raw places in every inch of skin he had touched.

He might think he can break me like this, but I won't let him win. He can't win.

Brown muck splattered the beautiful white tiles beneath her as the dirt was rinsed from her hair and skin. She ran her fingers through it, enjoying the feeling of the water in her freshly cleaned hair. Her wet hair clung gently to her back and shoulders as the last of the dirt left it.

She held a hand to the side of her head and closed her eyes as the water soothed her. For once she almost felt as if she was at peace. She wanted to relish in it, but she knew that the feeling never lasted long. While it was here, she would enjoy every second of it.

She could hear sounds within the room suddenly and she tensed. She crept to the edge of the curtain and peered out to see Malfoy was sitting on the bench against the wall, clutching a towel.

"Malfoy! Get the hell out!" she screeched. "What happened to your "no bathroom or bedroom" rule!?"

He ignored her hysteria as he stood to his feet. "Those rules left a while ago, love. We share these dorms, and I think that means all of them."

Hermione closed her eyes, wishing she had thought to hex him before getting in the shower. She hated the idea that he seemed able to get through every locking spell she could cast.

"I just want you to know that I'm watching you, Granger. I know you're up to something. You might think you have me perfectly distracted, but I know you still have something to tell me."

Hermione curled the curtain around her body as she stared at him outraged. "I'm not up to anything, you prat! If anything I'm trying to remove the layers of skin that you touched."

Draco scoffed and shook his head as he took a step closer to her. He observed the way her hair ran down her shoulders and his eyes traveled further down, dying to see the bits of her body that were hidden behind the curtain.

"Always hiding, huh?"

Her face scrunched up in confusion.

Draco gestured to the curtain. "It's just like you, hiding the truth of yourself. Even though that curtain is see through, you still think you can hide behind it."

"I'm not hiding anything," she said through gritted teeth. Her grip on the shower curtain tightened. "If anything, you're the one hiding something with whatever this sick infatuation is."

Draco took another step closer to her so that only the shower curtain separated them. Hermione instantly took a step backwards, her back was pressed to the wall, and like the other encounters she was preparing herself to fight.

Draco stared at her as he ripped the shower curtain out of her hands. She stared at his looming figure as he pressed his body against hers, his hands on either side of her head. He was so much bigger than her that his shadow engulfed her. She whimpered as she felt the point of his erection rub against her thigh.

"You may have fooled everyone else, but you won't trick me. I know you've been avoiding doing patrols with me every chance you get. I've seen the mud you've tracked in here late at night every night for the past week. I don't know where you've been, but damn it, I'm gonna find out," he threatened her, his breath fanning over her lips.

"What does my life matter to you?" she hissed.

"I'm hoping one day to have a part of it."

"I hope that by that you mean you're hoping I'll be the one to end it because if you keep this up, I can assure you that's how this will end."

"Well, pet, think again. I guess I have a little secret I'm keeping from you," he said.

Hermione was speechless. "What secret?"

"Tsk, tsk, you first, pet," he said.

"I'm not exposing anything to you," she said and she was seething as she tried to seem defiant despite the quivers that were running across her skin.

Draco broke the eye contact to glance down her body once. "You're exposed now."

"Get out!" Hermione growled, trying desperately to cover herself with her hands.

"I'll leave for now, but this isn't over yet," Draco said, gray eyes filled with lust.

He thrust the towel at her and hurried out of the bathroom leaving a confused and worried Hermione in his wake.

Hermione was too stunned to move even after Malfoy left. Without thinking she reached out and wrapped the curtain around herself again. All she could think of was the look in Malfoy's eyes…and the words that had left his lips. She couldn't decide which was worse. He was onto her, and enjoyed the feeling he got by toying with her. He assumed that in all the confusion of his mood swings, he would've given up on her secret.

I gave myself false hope.

Hermione felt as surprised now as she had when he had put the Crucio curse on her the first day.

She swallowed heavily as she stood in the shower, curtain wrapped around her as the water from the faucet began to run cold. She watched the direction that Malfoy had disappeared into, part of her expected him to come back. After a minute he didn't, and she rushed to get herself dressed. Very cautiously she picked up her wand and made her way to the common room.

Malfoy was relaxing against the couch. Hermione wasted no time storming up to him with her wand outstretched. He gave her an amused look as she approached him.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?" she asked.

"I'm stuck in an ignorant school with a bucktoothed mudblood as a roommate," he said shrugging. "What's your problem?"

"You know what my problem is, ferretface. All the inappropriate touching needs to stop. There are some things that can't be ignored. Whatever it is that you're trying to do to me better stop. If you ever- and I do mean ever- come into the bathroom while I'm in there again, I will hex you," Hermione said.

Malfoy smirked at her. He knew that he was getting under her skin, provoking her beyond her control. The fire in her eyes was shining, and he wondered how much he could stoke it. "I don't see the Head Girl doing something like that."

Hermione gritted her teeth. She did a lot of things that no one knew she was capable of. "Don't push me."

Malfoy stood to his feet. "I can do what I want, Granger."

Hermione lifted the point of her wand so that it was aimed at his throat. "Don't make me do it, Malfoy. You've put me through more than enough. No one would blame me."

Malfoy stretched his arms out. "Hex me then. Let's see you explain to McGonagall what happened to the Head Boy."

Hermione pulled back her wand to start a curse when a voice in the back of her mind woke up. Instantly it screamed in her ear that he wasn't worth it. If she hexed him, McGonagall may not believe her story again. Merlin knew she didn't want to believe it last time, and Hermione had nearly been pleading with her. The entire time she had attended Hogwarts she hadn't ruffled any feathers and she had contributed as much as she could. It had helped her maintain her place in the school that she loved so much. It didn't make sense that McGonagall would hesitate even a moment to helping her. No matter what, Malfoy's immaturity wasn't worth throwing all of that away. Malfoy wasn't worth getting tossed out of Hogwarts and abandoned. He wasn't worth losing her trusted position in the Order. Hesitantly, she pulled her wand down.

Malfoy raised his eyebrows as he looked at her. Triumphant glee was apparent on every feature on his face. "I knew you wouldn't do it."

"You aren't worth it," she growled turning to storm up the stairs to her room. It took a lot of effort for her to bark out those words, but the thought was behind her as she focused on the safety of her room.

His laughter followed her the entire way. Hermione tried her best to block out the sound as she threw on her school robe and picked up her bag. Without wasting a second she made her way back down the stairs. Malfoy had re-positioned himself on the couch. When Hermione made her way to the portrait hole, his eyes followed her. The triumph couldn't hide itself.

Later that day, Hermione was in the Head Common Room, reading a muggle book. The familiar thoughts and words made her think of home, and if she pretended she could be at peace for a moment as if she were there. Malfoy was gone for the day (much to her relief), and she was left to have some time to herself.

She focused on the book, forcing herself to read, but her eyes scanned the pages without really picking up the words before her. Her mind kept drifting back to that morning, to the humiliation that Malfoy was ensuing. She could still feel the way he had pressed his body against hers, and she wanted to vomit at the thought.

He was getting beyond her control, but she knew there wasn't a single person she could tell about it. It would rip a thread that would unravel everything…including her secret. Hermione pursed her lips and closed the book.

Why is he choosing now of all the years to target me? she wondered.

He had told her that he had a secret as well. Had he been referring her to the mission that he had no doubt been sent to do? Once again she wondered why he was at Hogwarts instead of being pulled away like a majority of the school had been.

What was Voldemort hoping he would achieve by being at the school? Was he to gather information on Harry and Ron?

Why wouldn't he be sent to do field work then? That would make the most sense.

But nothing made sense. Her situation seemed upside for reasons that she never would've forseen. With a huff, she tossed her book onto the end table just as the portrait hole opened.

"Angry, Granger?" Malfoy taunted, looking at her through shining gray eyes as he wandered into the Common Room. Blaise was right behind him.

Hermione instantly stood to her feet, glaring at both of the Slytherins before she turned on her heels to go up her stairs without a word.

"Aww, I thought we'd spend some quality time together!" he called after her causing her pace to speed up as she went into her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Well, I could cut the tension in here," Blaise said pointedly, turning to look at Draco. "Can't say I blame her though."

Draco shrugged as he plopped down on the sofa. "She'll get over it."

"So what was your punishment anyways?" Blaise said, folding his arms across his chest. "I don't think you bothered to tell me."

"That old bat made me take a truth serum," Draco said, curling his lip.

Blaise's eyes grew wide. "You didn't say anything…did you?"

Draco looked up at him through scathing eyes. "Of course not. Father's been teaching me tricks to get out of situations like that since I could walk."

"So you got out scot free?" Blaise asked.

"So it seems," Draco said. "She doesn't suspect a thing."

Hermione sat on her bed, letting out a long sigh before she decided to tidy up her room. Hermione hated the idea of being trapped in her room, but the thought of hanging in the Common Room with Zabini and Malfoy made her sick. She decided to write a letter a home instead. She tied her thick hair into a ponytail before she went in search of parchment and a quill.

She sought out her ink bottle when she realized she had left it on the kitchen table. She sighed and gathered her belongings in her hands before she opened her door. The Common Room was silent and she worked up the nerve to creep down the stairs.

Malfoy was lying across the sofa, staring into the fire with an absent look on his face. The flames were reflected in his grayish eyes as he stared without seeing, lost deep in the maze of his thoughts. At the sound of Hermione's footsteps on the last step, he glanced over the back of the couch.

Hermione ignored him, avoiding even looking his way as she went straight to the kitchen table, stretching out her parchment as she focused on the letter home, completely blocking him out. Malfoy sat up, turning to look over the back of the couch at her. He studied the way her long brown curls fell over her shoulder and her lips pouted in concentration.

He turned back to the fire as he relaxed against the couch. "Writing home, Granger?"

"None of your business who I'm writing to," she retorted, and he could hear the scratching of the quill as she went to work.

Draco laughed quietly to himself. "Telling someone about our little encounters?"

"As if," Hermione said. "That's the one thing I'd rather forget about this year," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she continued to write.

"We're compatible in so many ways. Don't tell me you've never thought about what it'd be like, Granger," he said coolly as he crossed his legs over one another.

Now it was Hermione's turn to laugh. "Of course I've never thought about engaging in an abusive relationship with a pureblood, Slytherin, Death Eater ferret," she said.

Draco could feel the rage bubbling up inside of him. He knew there was a time where her comment wouldn't have bothered him, but for some reason it did. He was the pinnacle of the Wizarding world: smart, rich, handsome, and most importantly Pureblood. The thought that anyone could be opposed to his presence made him angry. He stood to his feet and stormed over to the kitchen table, anger making his every step tense.

Hermione glanced at him through wide eyes as he pushed her parchment and ink bottle to the floor where it shattered with an ear splitting crash. Hermione was instantly on her feet, wand ablaze.

"What the bloody hell is your problem!?" she demanded.

"You would be lucky to be with me," he said, taking a threatening step towards her.

Hermione recognized that look in his eyes. Instantly she shot a jinx at him, shocking him all the way up the arm before sending him flying backwards to where he landed on the couch, knocked out of breath.

"You'll do well not to touch me again," Hermione said, panting as she thought of the incident in the shower.

She rushed to gather her papers into her bag as Draco regained himself. Before he stood to his feet, she had already disappeared out the portrait hole.

When Hermione got to the Great Hall for dinner she was still storming. Ginny skipped up to her, the small redhead unaware of the bitter mood of her dear friend. She sat down beside Hermione as she chewed on an apple.

"Hey, Hermione," she offered.

Hermione glanced at her half-heartedly.

Ginny instantly knew that something was wrong. "What did he do this time?"

Hermione looked at her friend. She would tell her anything, and part of her actually desired to tell her how much of a scumball Malfoy was, but after the ordeal that McGonagall had overseen, she didn't see much point in reaching out. A voice was quick to remind her that if she told her about the shower incident, she'd have to mention Malfoy's threat to uncover her secret. She didn't want to leak anything that would even mildly give Ginny a hint at what she was hiding. She was torn like she had been the day he had kissed her at Hogsmeade.

"He's just being a prat about showing up to the Head meetings on time," Hermione said.

Ginny's tension relaxed a bit. "Well, whatever it is be careful."

Hermione could hear the hurt in her voice. She knew that Ginny didn't believe her lie, but telling her the truth was just too risky.

"How's your burn anyways?" Ginny asked.

Hermione pulled up her sleeve to show her friend the worst of the area that had been damaged. The skin was still purple and looked sore to the touch but it didn't bother her. Ginny cringed at the sight.

"I'm healing," Hermione said as she pulled her sleeve back down.

Ginny took another bite of her apple and reached across the table to grab a bagel. She stopped mid-motion as she caught sight of something.

Hermione noticed her reaction instantly. "What's wrong?"

"Why is Zabini staring at you?" Ginny asked, turning to look at her with worried eyes.

"I don't know," Hermione said.

She watched the Slytherin at the edge of the Great Hall as he began to make his way over to her. Hermione steeled her face as she got up to confront him. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that Zabini was here because of Malfoy. She could remember him in the Common Room a few hours before and guessed that Malfoy had given him a mission.

"Granger," he greeted her.

"Zabini," she replied. "What do you want?"

"Malfoy's told me some things," he said tipping his head to the side.

Here we go, she thought.

Hermione's heart began to flutter in panic. What things had Malfoy said about her? Had he told the other Slytherins what he had done to her…what he was planning to do to her? Why was it that Zabini was the one to confront her about it?

"What things?" she asked sharply.

"A little bit of fun in the shower, perhaps?" he said, a suggestive smile on his face.

Hermione instantly felt color flush her cheeks. She was sure she could guess what kind of story Malfoy had told him…but why? Why was he going out of his way to torture her? Ever since first year he had made a habit of bullying her and putting her down. But this year was worse –far worse than any of the previous years had been.

"Why are you telling me this?" she snapped.

Zabini looked at her nonchalantly. "Your little secret has been driving the boy crazy."

Hermione's heart felt as if it was going to explode. How was it that the Slytherins noticed something was wrong with her, but the people she had shared a common room with for years never noticed that anything was off?

"What's your point?" she asked.

"I have a little proposition for you," Zabini said.

"You mean blackmail?" she guessed.

He tilted his head from side to side. "That's a way of putting it, yes."

"So what? Malfoy's too scared to take care of his own business now? He needs to get a puppet to do it for him?"

"No, I'm merely playing my part by delivering this message."

Hermione was silent as she waited for him to speak.

"Tell Draco your little secret, or he's gonna keep telling stories about you," Zabini said. "Possibly make some of them true too."

Hermione clamped her teeth together and stood as tall as she could as she faced him. "Why should I do that? Why should I have anything to do with conniving Slytherins? You all are the rot of this school. We all know who you really represent. I don't know why McGonagall allows you to continue schooling here, but I don't trust a single one of you."

"If you don't meet my demands, he'll make your reputation around here go down fast, which means saying goodbye to your Head position," he said, the biggest smile yet plastered on his face.

Hermione stared at him. The thought of losing her position seemed to be the least of her worries. Thinking through the past few weeks, she knew there were worse ways he could enact his revenge against her.

Zabini gave her a smug smile and she lifted her face towards him in defiance. The look was he gave her was maddening, and the ability to kill became very real.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I wanted to thank everyone that's left me reviews so far. The support is much appreciated! As for Hermione's secret, the chapter will present itself soon. If you were confused about this chapter, Blaise is tired of being at Hogwarts and wants Draco to hurry up and get Hermione to Voldemort. He's planning things behind his back, hoping that his friend will agree later on.

In the meantime, leave those beautiful reviews so I know what you think so far!

Thanks as always

~Wolfshine