Recap of Chapter 10

A minute later the silence was broken by Hermione's return. 'Hello,' she smiled, clutching a pile of books to her chest. Theo swiftly stuffed The Modern Witch's Guide to Pleasure down the side of the armchair before returning her greeting.

'Just in time for lunch. May I escort you to the Great Hall, princess?' Draco placed her books on the table and took her hand to lead her downstairs to eat. Hermione held his hand tightly and took a steadying breath, she could do this, even if the butterflies in her tummy disagreed.

A/N: okay so I missed doing the shout-outs last chapter, it made me sad so I'm starting them up again, hurrah! Shout-outs to repeat reviewers Dutchess of the Depraved, Snowflake Dazzle, Virginie Cires, Lena2244, SlythKris, Nichole87, pgoodrichboggs, GeekMom13, , riaroo400, Green Eyed Lana Lee, BritishTonyDinozzo, coyg81, Meuba and ZoeyOlivia.

Special shout-outs to new reviewers Marissani, MahallieMacKenzie and my anonymous guest.

Today's story / author recommendation is This Curse to Bear by frostykitten. It's a Draco-Veela fic and you know how much I love those (I'm planning one in the near future, having been given an amazing prompt by GeekybyNature!)

Chapter 11

A minute later Hermione stopped suddenly, causing Theo to bump into her. He held her tightly to his chest, only to keep her from stumbling he told himself. Blaise found himself in a similar position with Draco and laughed loudly as his friend jumped away as if he'd been burned.

'What's wrong little mouse?' Theo breathed into her ear, causing her to tremble a little, luckily she couldn't see his resulting smug expression.

'The article in The Prophet, everyone will be talking about it,' cried Hermione. 'How can I show my face when everyone thinks I'm a rubbish girlfriend and that I'm… I'm… a total prude?' Tears started to well in her eyes and Draco squeezed her hand tightly.

'Anyone who thinks that is an idiot, but I promise you that it's Ron who comes across badly in that report, not you. People will see him for the dickhead that he is,' he said firmly. 'Now classes begin tomorrow and you're going to have to see the rest of the school then, might as well start now. We're with you, we won't leave your side,' Draco said kindly but firmly.

A few people looked up as the Slytherins entered the Great Hall, then the whispers began as they realised who was with them. The snakes flanked Hermione and steered her to their house table. Draco seated her at the end, startling her by chivalrously pulling her seat out. She honestly couldn't remember the last time someone had done that. He sat on her left with Theo beside him and Blaise took the place on her right. Theo served her a bowl of potato and leek soup from the tureen in front of them and Blaise buttered some bread before passing it to her, 'eat,' he urged gently. It felt alien to be taken care of like this and the butterflies in her tummy fluttered like crazy.

Hermione's face was pink and she could feel people staring at her but she chose to concentrate on her soup and the conversation gradually returned to normal. When she dared to look over to the Gryffindor table Ginny gave her a cheery wave and a bright smile; Hermione strongly suspected that yesterday's shopping trip had melted her animosity towards the Silver Trio and she grinned back.

The other occupants of the Slytherin table presented a mixture of glares, wary glances and looks of interest. The little group ignored them and the men kept the conversation flowing on light topics. Draco glanced up at the High Table just as Snape turned to speak to McGonagall, giving the distinct impression that he had been watching them just moments before.

'Did you hear that Snape's going to be taking the advanced NEWT class this year in addition to his headmaster duties? Word is he doesn't trust Slughorn with it,' remarked Draco.

'Oh really? That's news to me,' Hermione responded. 'I hope he might be a bit nicer now that he's not under the strain of being a spy,' she added optimistically. Theo scoffed and Blaise snorted, 'I doubt it, cara. I expect he'll be the same miserable bastard as before.' Hermione attempted to shoot him a disapproving look but the twitch at the corners of her mouth ruined it.

Ten minutes later Luna wandered over to them and sat beside Blaise. 'Hello Blaise, Draco, Theo,' she said airily. 'I see you've been making new friends Hermione, I like them,' she said in that honest way of hers that tended to make people feel awkward. The men looked surprised for a second before recovering and greeting her courteously. They knew Loony Lovegood was a friend of their girl and by unspoken agreement they were going to make an effort to be nice to her.

'Hi Luna, it's good to see you again,' Hermione smiled. 'I'm glad you approve of my new friends, they've been very kind to me, so far,' she added the last words in a stage whisper and threw in a wink for good measure. The Slytherins tutted in mock protest but were secretly pleased that she felt comfortable enough to tease them like that.

'I think they'll treat you like a queen, or a princess,' Luna replied in a dreamy voice, glancing at Draco before saying goodbye and drifting out of the hall. He felt rather disconcerted, how did she do that, act like she was on another planet yet be perceptive as hell? Blaise swiftly changed the subject and the awkward moment passed.

Later that afternoon Hermione decided to make a head start on her reading for Potions, she was stressing out a bit because of essentially missing a year of schooling. While her skills in Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Charms and DADA had been used on copious occasions, she was bound to be rusty on Potions and Arithmancy. She curled her legs up beneath her in the armchair when something poked her thigh, looking down she pulled a book out that had been wedged down the side. Her eyes widened as she read the title, The Modern Witch's Guide to Pleasure. Bloody hell, was one of the boys brushing up on his technique in preparation for a year filled with shagging? And if so, which one?!

She started guiltily as Draco sauntered over with a book, obviously intending to join her in an afternoon of reading. 'Um, is this yours?' Hermione asked, cheeks blazing.

'Absolutely not, princess. I don't need any assistance in that area,' he drawled. 'Theo,' Draco called, 'you might want to come and explain your recent purchase to Granger.' With a wolfish grin he sat back and rested an ankle over the opposite knee, he was going to enjoy this.

Theo came down from his room and realised straightaway what had happened. 'Don't be put off little mouse, I got it for you. There's a chapter on solo pleasure that I thought might be helpful,' he spoke softly, trying to ease her embarrassment.

'I knew I should never have played that stupid game,' she groaned.

'It wasn't my intention to make you feel awkward, Hermione. It just seems an awful shame to get to 18 and never have experienced an orgasm. They're pretty damn good you know,' Theo gave her a mischievous wink.

'Um, right, er, thank you, I suppose,' she stuttered. 'I'll put it in my room,' and with that she fled.

'Well that went better than expected,' Theo rubbed the back of his neck.

'I owe Blaise 50 galleons,' Draco grumbled. 'I was convinced she'd hex you.'

'I'm lucky she didn't,' Theo said wryly.

Once in her room Hermione began to flick through the book. Her face was still flushed with mortification but she couldn't deny her interest in the contents. She noticed the marked page, turned to that section and began to read the chapter on masturbation.