Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

A/N: One long chapter coming up!

Hermione had long finished reading the last letter, but she and Draco continued to sit there on the floor, having abandoned their armchairs, simply because neither wanted to go away from this sanctuary they had found.

"So why didn't you ever answer my questions?" Hermione asked him, "You know… about where you lived, the school you went to…I felt really silly thinking I knew you so well but I didn't even know these basic facts about you…"

"I don't know… I didn't think you'd believe me about Hogwarts," Draco said, abashedly.

"I would have… Funny things had started to happen with me as well…"

"You mean, magic?"

"Yeah… when I was about ten and a half… there was this boy at school…" Hermione's face screwed up with sudden contempt which Draco, for some reason, found rather endearing.

"And…?" He prompted.

"His name was Ben… He teased me about my hair all the time, called it a raccoons nest…Do raccoons even have nests?" she added as an after thought.

"I don't think so… But go on about Ben."

"Right… He took every opportunity he got to make sure my life was a living hell. He told on me all the time, and actually stole my homework… How outrageous is that?"

"I can't imagine," said Draco, amused.

"Chased me around with ink, threatening to spill it all on me…He was always trying to share my lunch… And one day, I'd had enough! I don't know what exactly happened, but Ben was running after me with pink ink, and I could swear, out of no where there was an invisible obstruction which tripped him and…" Hermione had started laughing now, "And… oh, he dropped the entire bottle on himself!"

"No!" said Draco, grinning widely.

"Yes! The stain didn't come off for days! And after that, well it was disaster after disaster for him…" Hermione said, smiling, "The lunch he took from me turned spoiled, so he got food poisoned right before some game he wanted to go to."

"I feel sorry for him… having also been a victim of your wrath."

"Not my fault I was born a witch…!"

"No, that was luck," Draco said, looking serious all of a sudden.

For some reason, Hermione didn't know what to say.

"You know what, Hermione?"

"What?"

"I reckon this Ben guy had a crush on you."

"Draco…" Hermione said, with the air of explaining that one and one equals two to a toddler, "Haven't you heard a single thing I've said? He-hated-me! He was always picking on me…!"

"But maybe…" said Draco, looking thoughtful, "That's just how he showed it… Boys that age aren't capable of ­–"

Hermione snorted, "Spare me the lecture, okay? Anyway, you pretty much bullied me for practically half your life… You never had a crush on me!"

"Crush…? What are we, eleven?" said Draco disdainfully.

"We used to be."

"And I didn't bully you," Draco said, looking affronted.

"Stop avoiding the question."

"What question?"

"The one about how you made my life hell which proves that you never had a…. that you never liked me! And so, in conclusion, nor did Ben!"

"That's not a question. More of a statement, really…"

"Draco!"

"Okay, okay…" he put both his hands up in surrender, "I just think that Ben may have harbored more than platonic feelings…"

Hermione rolled her eyes, but Draco continued, ignoring her.

"…towards you and you were pretty attractive back then… in a ten year old bookworm kind of way… so…who wouldn't like you?"

He had spoken softly, but every word seemed to ring loudly in Hermione's ears as Draco came closer and closer with each word he spoke, with almost catlike grace.

Hermione's breathing was suddenly uneven as he came so close that his breath fanned across her face. Draco tilted his head to one side and frowned, considering her.

She couldn't move, all her senses had failed her, when he spoke, "You know, we've been here an awfully long time…We should probably go."

Hermione nodded mutely, and immediately felt stupid. She shook her head, attempting to regain composure, and said, "Yes, probably."

He grinned, and stretched out his hand behind her to pick up the letters, his eyes never leaving her face. Draco stood up, and gave her one last fleeting smile before leaving the room.

It was only a whole minute after he was gone, that Hermione realized he had never actually answered her question.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Draco went back to the deserted Slytherin common, a small smile playing on his lips.

He sank into a chair in front of the fireplace, and almost immediately, he caught a flicker of something vaguely familiar from within its flames. Draco focused on the fire, and suddenly, Narcissa Malfoy's slender face appeared in it.

"Mother?" he asked, bewildered, as her face became clearer.

"Draco…" she whispered, and Draco saw that she had been crying.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"Everything…" she said, brokenly.

"What can I do?" asked Draco, desperate for some way to help her.

"You must go to the Death Eater initiation," she said, her voice stronger.

"No!" Draco yelled, automatically.

"Please… For me, Draco…"

Draco appeared to be against her request and so she said, "Do not join them, do not follow him… Simply be there on the thirteenth of July."

"Why does Voldemort want me there?"

Even through the floo network, Narcissa flinched, and said, "He will explain everything."

Draco remained quiet, and his mother said, "Its only days away now… will you go, Draco? Will you do it for me?"

There was a long silence, and then he nodded, reluctantly.

Satisfied that she had secured her son's life, at least for the time being, Narcissa said, "Don't forget. And don't breathe a word of it to anyone."

And her face dissolved into the flames, leaving Draco to stare hopelessly into the fire.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Hermione went back to the Gryffindor common room, to find very few people there.

"Where is everybody?" she asked Harry and Ron, who were playing wizarding chess, and Harry was losing miserably.

"Classes have been cancelled… Teachers meeting or something," Ron told her.

"Where have you been, anyway?" Harry asked.

"Room of Requirement…"

"What were you doing there?" Harry pressed. Hermione froze; she had spoken without thinking.

"Just… thinking," she said, lamely, not knowing exactly why she was lying.

"Right," said Harry, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm going to go read…" Hermione said quickly and retired to the girl's dormitory.

She reprimanded herself for being careless and began sorting through her books for something to read. She pulled out a novel, and with it fell out a folded parchment.

She picked it up curiously, and with a jolt remembered that it was Draco's, and had fallen out of his pocket the other day. She had meant to return it and forgotten.

She pushed it back in the bookcase, but remained unsatisfied. The innocent piece of parchment glared at her, mocking her, until she finally picked it up and began to read, unable to bear the suspense,

Draco,

The Dark Lord is recruiting once again. As I am sure you were aware, last year you declined the offer of joining the Death Eaters and thoroughly disgraced me. Do so again, and you will be punished. It is a privilege to be on equal terms with the Death Eaters. We, who have served the Lord so faithfully all these years, are most trusted. The Malfoys, son, are one of these trusted families.

Do not again taint our name. Because if you do, I won't hesitate as I did last time, and I will readily hand you over to the Dark Lord. You would then suffer whichever fate my Lord wished to bestow upon you.

Do not disappoint me, Draco. I await your response. The initiation ceremony is on the 13th of July. Be there.

Lucius

Hermione shivered, marveling at the formality with which a father had spoken to his son. She frowned, realizing that the letter had obviously been sent before Lucius had died…So, would Draco still have to go?

Suddenly she was struck with overwhelming fear, at the thought of Draco being amongst… murderers, and Voldemort himself!

"No, no, no…!" she whispered frantically.

She had to ask him if he would go. It didn't matter if he hated her for reading his private letter. She wouldn't rest until she knew.

Hermione grabbed Harry's invisibility cloak, stormed out and made her way toward the Slytherin common room, where she was sure he would be.

On reaching the entrance, she covered herself and waited for someone to utter the password. After a long wait, an unsuspecting blonde girl game up to the portrait.

"Bloodshed," she said clearly, and Hermione scurried after her through the portrait hole.

The common room was empty, except for Draco who sat by the fire. The girl went up to the girl's dormitories. Hermione glanced around and recklessly took off the cloak.

She came up behind him and whispered, "Draco!"

He turned around swiftly, "Hermione! What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you… I have to ask you…" she said, stalling a little.

"Good thing you're so specific. It would've been quite irritating if you were unclear," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I found a letter… of yours," she said and thrust it out to him.

He took it and ran his eyes through it, "You found it?"

"It fell out of your pocket the other day… I meant to return it to you; I've only just read it… I'm sorry I…"

"Hermione, its okay that you've read it," he cut across her, "Just… forget about it."

"You aren't going are you?"

"I have to," he snapped.

"You don't have to do anything!" Hermione said, hysterically.

"You don't understand."

"Then help me to."

"My mother…" he muttered, and then fell silent.

"Draco…" Hermione began, softly now.

"Can't you just let it go?"

"I can't…please, just… are you sure you're going?"

"Yes," he said wearily.

"He'll put you under the Imperius! What will you do then?" she cried.

"I don't know yet."

"Why does Voldemort want you to come so much?"

"I don't know that either."

"Draco… Let me help you…" she said, beseechingly, "Tell Dumbledore, he'll know what to do."

"No."

"Please…" she said again, "I can't let you go there. You can trust Dumbledore…"

Draco didn't answer.

"Draco, if this doesn't work, you can go," she said fiercely, and with such conviction, that he saw that she really believed that Dumbledore would get him out of this.

"Okay," he said finally, "Okay."

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and hugged him, "Thank you. I couldn't bear anything to happen to you."

Hermione drew back slightly and smiled at him, her arms still around his neck. He stared at her, and gently brought his palm to her cheek, not sure why he was doing so.

His thumb traced circles there, tantalizingly, and she lowered her gaze. Draco held her face up with a single finger, and acting on a sudden, burning impulse, he brought his lips to hers.

Hermione froze, feeling his warm lips moving slowly against hers. She felt weak, shivering against his chest and it was lucky that he had his other arm behind her for support, or she felt sure she would have sunk to the ground.

She began to kiss him back, and he growled in response, pulling her closer still.

Soon, they broke their embrace and gulped in air, they hadn't even noticed that they'd been deprived of oxygen.

"Our first kiss," Hermione said, still feeling heady.

Draco smirked, "The first of many."

A/N: That was really satisfying to write. I've pretty much figured out the Voldemort part of the plot now, but feel free to offer any suggestions which I will be extremely glad to take. Thanks for reading!

DracozMudblood~