A/N: Hey guys. I'm so sorry this was so late but my computer is messed up but I promise next time won't be as bad. So thank you again for your reviews. Keep on at it. -lol- Ok. That's all. I hope you enjoy this as I did!! Voila...

Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter. Only plot.

Hermione stood there, in the middle of the common room, thinking that the best parts of her life were suddenly taken away. Her heart was numb, her mind was blank, and her body was paralyzed.

How could all this have happened? She asked herself. Why were you so stupid? You knew they were never going to take this well. You knew how they were going to feel. And yet, just an hour ago you made a deal with Draco that you would try to make them civilized with each other. Fat chance! How could you have possibly thought this was all going to work out? You're supposed to be the smartest witch in the school.

Hermione's tears had dried but in her heart, she'd only begun to cry.

What am I going to do now? Our friendship can't be over yet. Harry said he could never hate me. And I know Ron still cares. Oh Merlin, I hate myself.

And as if in a trance, Hermione walked slowly to her dorm, opened the door quietly, crept into bed silently, put her head down softly and a tear fell before she even knew it.

The next few days were monotonous. Harry and Ron avoided Hermione and she tried to butt out and give them the space they both needed and wanted. So many times through out the days she wanted to run to them down the corridor and apologize, or sit beside them in class where Ron wouldn't be able to explode and tell her to bugger off, or visit Hagrid just when she knew they were there also.

It was Wednesday, the night of the Christmas dance and when everyone would set off for home for the holidays. It was two days before Christmas. Hermione was eating her breakfast dully when she remembered that she and Draco had a date. No matter how much she loved spending time with him, she wasn't up for it. She was still so depressed about Harry and Ron. She hadn't told Draco about them and she didn't know when she was going to.

After Hermione cleared her plate, she set off for the library. There wasn't anything else to do. Harry and Ron were at Hagrid's so she decided to visit him later once they were gone.

Hermione was walking alone down the corridor when someone suddenly grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her to an empty classroom. It was Draco. Once they were safely inside, he quickly kissed her and then pulled back on the sight of her sad expression.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just feel a bit sick."

"Are you sure? There isn't anything else?"

"I'm sure."

Draco studied her one last time, "Do you still remember about our date tonight?"

"Of course." She said with a smile, trying to look more excited.

"Right, well, I have to go to practice. I'll see you tonight then." With a last kiss, he rushed through the door.

Draco was flying through the air like a bolt of lightning, fans whooping from the bleaters and his mates congratulating him once again for capturing the snitch so fast. He was smiling and answering, but his mind was occupied by something else.

He'd noticed how strange Hermione had been acting for the past several days. Anytime he asked about it, she'd just brush it off, saying she must've gotten the flu. He knew something was wrong and it sucked that Hermione wouldn't tell him. But tonight, he was determined to find out because whatever it was that took away the zesty quality in his girlfriend must be something to look into.

"Are you sure you're not coming, 'Mione?" Parvati asked through the bed curtains that concealed her from the other girls. She was lying down and all she wanted was to go to sleep.

"Yes, I'm sure. You guys go on ahead without me. Have fun. I'll be fine right here." She answered them. She heard whispers and after a pause, her curtains were cautiously pulled aside. She sat up to see both Parvati and Lavender looking down at her with concern.

"What's wrong, 'Mione?" Lavender asked.

"Nothing. I told you I just feel a bit off these days."

"You're not sick and you know it."

Hermione grumbled, "Please guys, I'm not in a mood to talk."

"Something is going on, tell us Hermione."

Hermione sighed deeply. "You're being ridiculous, the two of you. I said I'm sick so I must be sick." She put her head down. Her back was turned so she didn't see the two girls give each other a she-doesn't-want- to-talk-about-it-so-let's-bug-her-later look.

Parvati and Lavender got off the bed and Parvati whispered, "Sorry, 'Mione. We'll leave you alone now." And then she added, "If you want to talk about anything at anytime, just call. Ok?"

Hermione didn't answer. Her throat felt tight and she didn't want to risk being seen crying. She simply nodded and the two of them went on their way, closing the door silently behind them.

Harry entered the Great Hall with Ron beside him. They didn't ask anyone to the dance because they forgot until the very last minute when all the 'good' girls were already taken. But to Harry personally, he knew he didn't want to ask any another girl besides the one who was now crying in her bed.

He looked around and saw the whole school population dancing, sitting, talking and eating. The room was decorated magnificently, with the sky the color of deep blue that it looked almost purple, it also had fake snow falling down but magically evaporating before it reached their heads. There was red and green everywhere, from the windows to the tables. The Christmas tree was full of beautiful ornaments that glittered and danced. There were candles and mistletoes floating above. It was stunning.

When Harry looked sideways, he noticed Ron was gone but found him instantly after a few head turns. Ron was talking with the rest of their housemates and Harry walked up to them. However, before he reached them, he felt a hand touch his arm.

"Hi, Harry."

"Oh hey, Hannah." And then added because it sounded polite and gentleman like, "You look nice tonight."

"Thank you, so do you." She said with a faint blush. "Would you like to dance?"

Harry was hesitant, he wasn't really up for dancing but he knew it wasn't good to turn a girl down when she asks you to dance. "Sure," he accepted, offering his arm.

Hannah took them to the middle of the floor where she led him gracefully in a slow dance. It was a while before she spoke up. "Can I ask you a question, Harry?"

He looked at her, realizing how pretty she actually was. "I don't see why not."

"Well, its quite personal, I suppose. You might not feel comfortable. I don't want you to feel as though I'm intruding."

"The answer is boxers," Harry said with a smile.

Hannah giggled. "I wish that was the question, but its not."

"What is it?"

With a deep breath, Hannah said, "Its actually about Hermione."

Harry had to swallow before he answered, "What about her?"

"I know you guys got into a fight."

"Really,"

"Yes, and she's really upset. She wouldn't tell me anything at first but I seem to know how to get stuff out of people and I just wanted you to know that whatever she did, she's really, really sorry." Hannah knew perfectly well what the cause of the fight was, of course, but she didn't think Harry had to know this. She'd never seen Hermione this upset and all she wanted to do was to try to fix it as much as she could.

"I didn't say-"

"Look, you guys are so lucky to have each other. I wish I had friendships like you three. Hermione loves the two of you more than you know."

"I know that-"

"And I just feel bad because I don't want you to let something ruin what you have. It's too priceless."

"Hannah, I know. Believe me, I know."

"So why are you still ignoring her? She can't take this anymore, Harry."

"And you think it's easy for us, too, because it isn't. Right now, we just need some time. To think or something. Hermione knows that."

"How long are you going to take?"

Harry paused. He was wondering just how much Hermione had told Hannah but he wasn't up for talking about it, no matter how rude it may be. "I don't know. But can we please stop talking about this because you were right, it is a bit personal."

Hannah looked down, feeling ashamed. She'd always liked Harry and she didn't feel good saying this to him because she knew he was going through hell, too. But she didn't want he and Ron to have the idea that Hermione was not suffering just as much as them. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Hannah. Thanks for your concern and caring about Hermione so much though."

She smiled, thinking how cute it was that Harry thanked her for caring about Hermione. It was so thoughtful. "No problem."

"You're late," Draco announced as Hermione entered their little library. He was sitting comfortably on the couch, his legs spread coolly in front of him.

She smiled. "Sorry. Parvati and Lavender took long to leave." She walked over and took a seat next him where he opened his arms for her.

He kissed her forehead lightly. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"Can we just sit and rest? Just talk or not talk at all." Truthfully, Hermione wasn't up for anything. She just wanted to relax and hope to find the comfort she'd been looking for in Draco.

"Anything you want." He answered softly with a lace of concern.

His voice was so deep, so sweet and so tender that Hermione couldn't stop but feel awful. She was reminded of the last time Harry or Ron had spoken to her at that manner because at the present moment, that wasn't likely and before she could stop it, a tear fell unwillingly.

When Draco heard Hermione sob, he knew it was time to finally ask her. Slowly, he placed his hand gently on her chin, lifting it, forcing her to look up at him. What he saw made his heart twinge. Her eyes were dark and the pain and trouble was apparent. He brought his mouth down t hers for a consoling kiss. "What is it?"

She didn't answer; instead, she shook her head.

"Hermione, tell me. You've been acting strange lately." No answer just more quite sobbing. "For someone who was willing me to open up about my life, you don't seem to take your own advice." He said as a last attempt to her to talk. It worked.

Hermione looked up with apologizing eyes. "Sorry," She said with a feeble voice.

It touched his heart and he tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer, hoping to make her feel better. "It's ok and I'm sorry, too. I just want to know what's going on, Hermione."

"It's a long story and it's one that you're not going to like."

"Why?"

"Because it concerns you," she said with fear in her voice and eyes.

"Just tell me."

"Harry, Ron and I got into a big fight. They haven't talked to me since the night we went out into the lake. They're so angry and upset and hurt. And I don't know what's going to happen to us. They said they needed time but five days is too many, don't you think?"

Draco didn't necessarily find it a loss if Hermione finally got rid of Potter and Weasley. It would set her free from people that weren't as high in the standards as she. But he also knew that she had a big heart, which was one thing he really loved about her, and how much they mean to her. And so, on her behalf, he tried to be as concerned as he could. "Oh, I didn't know. What happened anyway? What are they mad about?"

Hermione buried her face in her hands, knowing the question was going to come up but didn't want to answer it. Draco took her hands in his, revealing her tear stained face. "Why are they mad at you? And what does it have anything to do with me?"

She sniffed. Oh Merlin, I'm going to lose him, too. She thought. "You're not going to like it," she sobbed.

"Tell me and let me decide that for myself." He said but bracing himself for bad news all the same.

She looked up at him one more time before looking away to reveal the secret. "They know about us." She said simply in a whisper.

A sudden, almost frozen silence fogged the air. Draco's body became noticeably stiff and his muscles tensed. His arms tightened around her before it loosened, and that scared her very much. Hermione took his reaction as a sign that he didn't want to be there anymore, that he needed some space, that he wanted to let her go. So she did something that took a lot of effort, she moved away.

"They know?" he asked. His voice sounded hard, maybe angry.

She nodded even though he had his head down. "Yes," she whispered.

"How? Did you tell them? Why didn't you tell me you were going to tell your precious friends?" he accused.

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "I didn't tell them, Draco."

"No?" he said facing her, "Then did they magically guess? That might be it; Potter can do anything after all. Save the world, beat the dark lord, predict that his best friend would be snogging his enemy."

"I didn't tell them so stop blaming me already." She insisted angrily.

"Then how do they know!" he said, raising his voice at her.

"He saw us!" raising hers as well. She was not about to let Draco blame her when she was completely innocent. She was not going to let him treat her like this when she was feeling at her utmost lowest.

"He saw us?" he asked blinking, unable to believe it. "Which idiot? When?"

"The night we were at the Hospital Wing. Remember the sound we heard? It was Harry."

"Potter! Potter saw us?"

"Yes, he did. And...it might be all over." When he merely looked at her, his expression unreadable, she continued. "They're so upset. They feel betrayed and I don't know what to do." She looked up at him in the eyes, "I'm scared, I'm so scared I might lose them." She cried in agony and fear, covering her face with her delicate, shaking hands. She could potentially lose her friends and now she might lose Draco, too.

"So what's going to happen now? Are they going to blab it around school? Are they going to tell every soul they come across?" he asked heatedly.

"Dra-"

"Shit! What if this goes around school? What will they say? If my father gets word of this..."

"They won't say!" she yelled, wanting to stop him from talking. "They won't say anything because they know I wouldn't want anyone to know, but if you can't tell, that is the least of my problems." Her last words came out as sobs.

After several moments something unexpected happened. At least Hermione wasn't expecting it to happen. Draco got down on the floor, kneeling in front of her. He took her hands away and caressed her cheeks, wiping the tears away.

She sniffed, "You're not angry anymore,"

"I cool down pretty quick."

She chuckled emptily, "Don't joke."

"I'm sorry I yelled, I apologize."

Relief rushed through like water in a shower. "Thank you,"

"What's going to happen to you and the two gits?"

"I said no insulting." She said as strictly as she could.

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"I honestly don't know but I'm so scared. They've never been this mad."

"Do you think...that they'll stop being your friends? Just because you're with me?"

She shrugged. "I pray not. I can't lose them, Draco."

Draco's heart ached for Hermione. Even if he hated the idiots, Hermione adored them for Merlin knows why. And if losing them would make her miserable forever, then he'd have to do something about it.

"Once they do start talking to you, what will they do?"

"Probably persuade me to stop seeing you."

Draco paused, "Would you?"

She raised her head to answer him. "Even if I wanted, I don't think I could."

He pulled her up to her feet and brought his arms around her as tight as he dared. "Good," he said into her hair, "I was really hoping you'd say that."

"What can I say, I've grown quite attached to you."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. They still need time."

Draco nodded then kissed her cheek, sliding his lips down to her own and then kissed her fully. Hoping to give the solace she needed. Hermione breathed in heavily, wrapping her arms around his neck, hanging on to him for dear life.

Music blared against the walls; loud laughter can be heard from outside and the delicious smell of food was everywhere. All in all, it was a great night, but Harry couldn't seem to enjoy himself.

"What's with the grumpiness, mate?" Seamus asked, coming from behind Harry.

"I'm not grumpy, Seamus. I'm just not in the mood."

"If you don't want to dance, try some of these, they're to die for." He suggested, holding up some sort of strawberry tart.

"No thanks, I don't have much appetite."

"Is it because Hermione isn't here? It isn't your fault she's feeling ill. Have fun Harry – ah, Dean is calling me. See you around then, bye."

Harry watched as Seamus moved away. He wanted to get out of there, real quick.

Draco and Hermione were sitting down on the couch, finally calmed down after their little episode.

"How are you feeling?" he asked after a ten minutes of silence. He'd been kissing her and caressing her, comforting her.

"Sad but you've surprisingly made me feel better."

"I'm glad," he said, placing a tender kiss on her head. "But listen-"

"Don't worry, they won't say anything." She answered his unspoken question.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, with all my heart." And then she moved, gazing up at him. "But would it truly be that bad if people found out? We have been together for over a month." She waited but he didn't even have to answer because his response was written on his face. She moved away slightly, being confused. "Draco, were you even planning on ever telling anyone?"

Have I been the only one in this relationship who thought this was real? She thought unbelievably.

He sighed tiredly, raking his hand through his hair. He answered her question with one of his own. "Were you planning on telling them?"

"Of course," she said indignantly. "As soon as I was ready and knew this was more than some one time thing. But what bout you? Were you ever going to tell anyone about me?" She didn't really want to ask because she suddenly had the feeling that he might in fact had been leading her on for nothing. Hermione was feeling suffocated just being near him so she moved away, standing up.

"Of course, I was," he admitted unconvincingly.

"I don't believe you," she whispered. And then the tears came again. Her life was falling apart.

"I was, Hermione. But you must've known from the beginning that it was going to be hard. We're very different, you and I. My family...they won't understand, especially my father. Your friends hate me. We're worlds apart, Hermione." He told her.

"Yes, I know that!" she shrieked. "But just because something is difficult doesn't mean it's going to stop me from having something I want."

"You mean you were ready to risk what you have with Potter and Weasley?"

She took a moment, "I know in my heart I could never lose. And I know something will inevitably change between us, because I can't stop that but that doesn't stop me from fighting for what I believe in. If its something worth it."

"And so you were ready to risk that for us?" he asked, his voice softening, understanding just how brilliant a person Hermione truly was. She'd just said that she was willing to face the possibility of her best friends being mad at her if it meant being with him. It touched him deeply. No one had ever done anything remotely affectionate as the girl standing before him.

"I used to think 'we' were worth it, but I don't know anymore." She said in a gravely quite voice. She took a deep breath and moved to the door, wanting to leave more than anything. She just passed Draco when he grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Hermione-" he said but she cut him off.

"Let me go. I need to go." She said this without turning because she knew that once she looked into his eyes, she would break down and right now she didn't want him to see how much he'd affected her.

"Wait," he said compellingly, pulling her to him.

"Stop." She pleaded, the tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks and her shoulders shaking. Draco pressed her against him, holding her tight as she cried into his shirt.

When she calmed down, he lifted her chin. "Sorry,"

"Me, too." She said in barely a whisper.

"I didn't want you to go running out of here thinking the wrong way." He kept his voice just low enough for the two of them. "I wasn't planning to keep us a secret forever. I just needed time. I thought we'd already talked about this."

"We didn't say exactly when we were going to tell our friends about us. And you acted like you weren't going to say anything at all."

"I was, I just thought you wanted me to tell them now."

"Would it be so bad, though? Isn't sooner better than later?"

"Are you really ready to let everyone know? The whole school will think this is some sort of game or a joke. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Granger and Malfoy."

"It isn't a question of me being ready. I can take the heat. Its you who isn't sure what he wants or if he's ready."

"You're wrong. I know what I want." He caressed her cheek with his thumb. "And I want to be with you."

"So why can't we just tell everyone? It'd be so much easier."

Draco sighed heavily, "I know but..."

"Your father." She finished for him. "I know you couldn't care less what the school thought, it's your father you're worried about."

"You don't understand him, Hermione. He hates muggles. Especially you because you're friends with Potter. He isn't a Death Eater, no matter what people say but that doesn't stop him from having a grudge against the boy who lived. Also, because you beat me at everything. He despises the fact that a muggle born is the top student at Hogwarts."

"I see." I guess there's no hope then, she thought.

"But I suppose that'll have to change."

Hermione's head whipped up, "What are you saying."

"You've convinced me, Granger. I'll have to tell my family about our shameless affair." He said in a joking tone.

She smiled broadly. "Really?" she said with as much excitement as she can bear to show. "You'd do that for me?"

"Seeing as the other alternative is to let you go, I'll have to won't I?" he said with a grin.

"When will you tell?"

"Actually not for a while. My father is away on business. He'll be at Venice for a few months. Is that okay with you? We'll tell our families first then we can move on to the rest of the school. Can you wait a few months?"

"A few months is okay. It's perfect." Giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Its settled then. No more fights tonight? I can't stand arguing with you. You always win."

"No more fights." She repeated, "No more fights."

Ah...there you go. I hope I'm not disappointing any of you. I'm just writing this story the way I want to...Ok well please be patient for the next chapter. Pls review. I always want to know what you guys think...what exactly are you expecting? wink. C'mon...I seriously want to know. Well, I'll leave you right here...toodles.