Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Harry Potter universe, nor do I claim to. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. This story contains some details and dialogue borrowed directly from the text of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I reiterate that I am making no money off of this, and that it's all in good fun.

Chapter 12

A single beam of light had moved its way up Hermione's figure, and was now threatening to cast itself upon her face. She shifted, and the aforementioned shaft of light began its attack on her slumber. Her eyes fluttered open in response, and she set herself up on her elbows.

"Oh," she murmured, taking in her surroundings. She was not in her bed in the girls' dormitory. She wasn't even in Gryffindor Tower. The events of the previous night came flooding back to her. The Quidditch match. Ron sucking on Lavender's face. Me sucking on…

"Malfoy!" she gasped, her gaze meeting with the form next to her in the bed. In sleep, he looked innocent as could be, especially with his light hair splayed out around his head like a halo. Hermione snorted ungracefully. Angelic, my arse! Letting her eyes linger on him for a moment, she basked in the warmth of the rising sun and memories of last night.

After a brief meditation, she sighed and pushed herself out of bed. As she began collecting her clothing from around the room, she noticed that it was later than she had initially thought. What will people think when they realize that I never made it back to the tower last night? An excuse, I need an excuse… Her heart sank as it occurred to her that she could probably just say that she fell asleep in the library, and nobody would bother to question it. No one would ever assume that I had been doing anything interesting at all… Though perhaps it's for the best anyway.

Pulling on her rumpled skirt, Hermione glanced around for her tie. The tip of it peeked out from underneath Malfoy's trousers. She groaned inwardly as she liberated it from its hiding place. As she tied it around her neck, she realized that it smelled of him. A clean, crisp, masculine scent met with her nostrils. There was a hint of leather and sweat mixed in with the odor of some expensive cologne. Probably the wizarding equivalent of Armani or something, she surmised. She inhaled again. It was heavenly. Ugh, there I go again, comparing him to something ethereal. I have to stop that.

Something sounded behind her. Hermione froze. Slowly, she turned around. Malfoy was shifting in his sleep. He wrapped his arms around a pillow and murmured softly into it, "Mmm… Granger…" Hermione's eyes widened. She stood staring for a moment, and then, grabbing her robes off of the floor, she made a beeline for the door. She made haste down the corridor and down the stairs. It occurred to her then that she could still catch the end of breakfast, so she headed toward the Great Hall.

Only the sound of voices filtering out of the Great Hall and echoing up the marble staircase was able to slow her pace. Taking one final glance down to make sure her clothing was at least somewhat presentable, she marched into the Great Hall resolutely. Everyone at the Gryffindor table was so engrossed in their breakfast that she was able to slip into a spot between Ginny and Harry without catching much attention.

"Good morning," she announced as a general salutation.

"'Morning, Hermione," responded Harry. "What time did you make it back to Gryffindor last night? I didn't see you before I went to bed."

Hermione hesitated, and Lavender spoke up from next to Ron. "She didn't."

"You didn't come back last night? What happened? Are you alright?" Harry questioned, a crease forming in his brow, and concern filling his green eyes.

Lavender giggled as Ron nuzzled what was apparently a ticklish spot on her neck. Hermione gagged on the bacon she had just taken a bite of. After clearing her throat, she started, "Oh… It's nothing to worry about, Harry…"

"Yeah, she probably just fell asleep in the library or something," interjected Ron.

"Doing next month's homework," Lavender snickered.

Sighing dejectedly, Hermione said, "Yes. I fell asleep in the library."

Harry looked relieved. "So you're alright, then?" he asked quietly.

Hermione forced herself to meet his eyes. "I'm fine, Harry. But thank you, really." Turning then to the plate in front of her, she picked at her eggs until she felt Harry's gaze subside. She deeply appreciated his concern, but she had no desire to tell him that instead of studying in the library, she had actually been rage-fucking Draco Malfoy because she was jealous of Ron and Lavender. That would go over so very well, she thought, shaking her head, as if to drive away the unpleasant thought.

"You fell asleep in the library, huh?" a soft voice whispered in her ear.

She looked up, startled. It was Ginny. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Ginny began, "the mark on you neck tells me a different story." She gestured toward the area just above Hermione's collarbone, and waited expectantly.

Reflexively, Hermione's eyes widened as she put her hand over her neck. "The mark on my… I have a mark on my neck?"

Ginny looked amused. "You sure do. And if I didn't know better, I'd say it was a hickey. But since you were in the library studying all night, I'm sure it's just from sleeping in an awkward position on top of a book." She paused, using her cocked eyebrow to tell Hermione that she held no stock in that theory. "Unless, of course, you weren't sleeping on top of something, but rather someone," she said, emphasizing the last word.

"Don't be silly, Ginny," Hermione said after a long pause.

"Am I being silly?" Ginny asked frankly.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Ginny studied her friend's expression for a moment. "Fine. I'll let it go," she said, getting up from the table. "For now."

Hermione watched Ginny's retreating back morosely. Great. I'm going to have to start being more discreet about these meetings with Malfoy. She nibbled on a piece of toast for a moment, until she finally registered the thought that had just passed through her head. Am I acknowledging that this is, and will continue to be, a regular thing? What am I doing? What kind of bizarre relationship is this? Are we fuck buddies? Friends with benefits? No, that implies that we're friends. Well, we're not really enemies anymore, I guess. But friends? Definitely not. What the hell am I doing?

Taking a hiatus from her mental analysis, she watched Ron and Lavender for a moment. Lavender was tucked up under Ron's arm, and Ron grinned down at her goofily. Hermione's nose wrinkled in distaste. What I'm doing is having fun. I'm doing something that I want to do and I like it, damn it! I shouldn't be bothered by this. I'm nearly of age. I'm nearly an adult. All of my life, I've worried about what other people expect of me. It's time to accept the fact that it's okay for me to do things just for me, just because it makes me feel good. She smiled to herself.

She resumed her breakfast in a much better mood. A few minutes later, she was finished. Rising from her spot at the table, she bid farewell to her friends. Harry spared her one last concerned glance, and she smiled reassuringly at him as she walked away. Hermione made her way to the exit, daydreaming of the hot bath she was going take as soon as she got back to Gryffindor Tower.

Stepping into the entrance hall, the eerie sensation of being watched immediately washed over her. Malfoy was descending the marble staircase, apparently on his way to breakfast. She froze and stared back. His eyes never broke contact with hers as he strutted his way across the hall. Hermione decided to take a risk. She grinned suggestively at him as he passed her. Malfoy started, but recovered quickly. He winked in return, and disappeared into the Great Hall.

Exhaling loudly, she shook her head and headed up the stairs toward her much anticipated bath.