A/N: Hello my lovelies! It's time for a new update! Hope you all enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of the wonderful world of Harry Potter, just the story line.

Chapter 13: Upping the Stakes and An Anticipated Game

Something unbearably soft gently tickled the soft skin of Hermione Granger's collarbone and pulled her from pleasant dreams. She squinted against the sun streaming in through the windows and lifted her hand to scratch the persistent itch.

Hermione let out a sharp gasp as her palm connected, not with her own skin, but with soft strands of platinum blonde hair. Fully awake, Hermione glanced down and saw Draco Malfoy's head resting lightly on her chest and his arm slung over her waist.

Her cheeks flushed and she shook Malfoy's shoulder to rouse him from his deep slumber. "Malfoy. Wake up!" she pestered. A low groan was the only reply to her ministrations. "Malfoy! Wake up…now," Hermione said, once again punctuating her words with shakes to his shoulder.

He finally cracked an eye open and stared up at her with his silver depths. "What Granger? Jeez…let me sleep," he said, annoyance coloring his tone.

"Um Malfoy. I can't get out of bed until you move," she said, rouge once again coloring her high cheekbones.

"What are you talking about, you crazy witch? Move your legs to the side of the bed, put your feet on the floor and stand up. It's really not that hard," Draco drawled.

"Seriously, Malfoy. Look at where you are," Hermione said, patiently waiting for him to wake up enough to realize.

Draco reached a hand up to brush his bangs out of his eyes and his hand unexpectedly came in contact with a woman's breast. In this case, it happened to be Hermione Granger's breast.

This jolted through the sleepy haze in Draco's mind and both of his stormy eyes snapped open. He saw Hermione's blushing, slightly angry face above him and slowly slid off of her. "Sorry Granger. That was completely accidental," he said, attempting to lighten the tensions.

Sure enough, the anger slowly melted from her visage and the blush faded to her natural creamy skin tone.

Draco hopped out of bed and made his way to the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder to ask Hermione if she wanted anything for breakfast.

"Just a pot of tea and some scones please," came her muffled reply.

Draco quickly prepared a hot pot of tea and with a simple flick of his wand, an assortment of morning scones sat in the center of the modest table. Draco grabbed two teacups from the cabinet in the corner of the cheery room and set them down on the table. Running his fingers through his hair, Draco sighed and sat down at the table, a copy of the Daily Prophet in his grasp.

Midway into an interesting article about new promising businesses, Malfoy heard a gentle scrape, signifying the chair opposite him had been occupied. He glanced up at said person, the corners of his lips involuntary turned up into the slightest of smiles. Hermione's glossy curls were messy and disheveled from a night of restless sleep.

"What?" Hermione asked, taking a scone and munching on it thoughtfully.

Draco offered the sleeping beauty a cup of tea and methodically poured the correct amount into her cup after her acquiescing nod.

"Nothing at all, Granger. How did you sleep last night?" Draco asked, beginning the conversation.

"It was alright, thank you. I'll admit not the best night of sleep I've ever gotten. How did you sleep?" she replied, her eyes scanning the book she was reading.

"Just fine, thank you," Draco amicably replied.

Suddenly, a smirk creased Draco's cheek. "Do you know what today is Hermione?"

Shocked by the mischievous tone in his voice, Hermione's eyes snapped up from her book and onto the man in front of her.

Her reply was careful and calculated. "No. What is today?"

His smirk grew as he replied. "The Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch Game. I really am looking forward to showering with you tonight."

The baffled look on Hermione's face quickly morphed into a smirk of her own. "Right. Well you would have to win first and we both know that's not going to happen. Hope you enjoy wearing women's undergarments!"

"Nice try but I am definitely going to win. I've trained all season for this game. Bring some scented body wash, won't you?" he returned in his signature drawl.

"Haha. Harry has trained harder and longer, therefore he is for sure going to beat you, AGAIN. Do you prefer pink or yellow lace?" Hermione bantered back, sipping lightly from her tea.

"On you, either," Draco returned. "Guess we'll have to wait until tonight to find out for sure."

"I guess," Hermione sighed.

"Never 'the patient one' are you Granger?" Draco said.

"Absolutely not and you're not so patient either."

"True," Draco conceded.

A slight pause later, Draco's eyes brightened. "Hey Granger, what do you say to upping the stakes?"

Hermione chuckled. "I'm going to win anyway so sure, why not. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Well if I win you have to take a shower with me, completely naked, AND I get to soap you down," Malfoy said, his smirk growing more pronounced by the second.

"Fine. If I win you have to spend the day wearing my underwear, bra and thong, AND you have to take a Wizarding picture and send it to every one in our year," Hermione returned with a smirk of her own.

"You've got yourself a deal Granger," Malfoy said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

Hermione clasped him hand with her delicate fingers and shook, the thrill of a challenge running through the air.

HHHHH

Many hours later and after a long day of classes, Hermione sat in the Gryffindor stands on the Quidditch pitch with Luna Lovegood. The cold wind whipped at her chestnut curls, turning the tip of her nose and cheeks pink.

"Gosh it's freezing!" Hermione commented, waiting for the game to begin.

"True, Hermione. I think the Snorklacks are at work!" Luna declared, turning to her friend.

Hermione chuckled under her breath and was about to reply as a shrill whistle pierced through the air.

She could just make out Madam Hooch's form in the center of the pitch. Her voice rang out through the crowded stands.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! The most highly anticipated match of the year is about to start! Slytherin vs Gryffindor! Would both teams please join me out on the pitch?" Madam Hooch bellowed.

The two teams, clad in their Quidditch uniforms and brooms in hand, walked out from separate sides of the stadium with their heads held high.

Coming to a stop before Madam Hooch, everyone mounted their brooms and hovered a short ways above the ground. Everyone that is, except for one Draco Malfoy and one Harry Potter.

"This year's Slytherin Captain is Draco Malfoy!" Madam Hooch pronounced, accompanied by heavy cheering from the Slytherin stands.

"And this year's Gryffindor Captain is Harry Potter!" Madam Hooch continued, quieting for the loud cheers from the Gryffindor stands.

"Captains please shake hands," Madam Hooch continued.

The two boys grudgingly stepped toward each other and shook hands.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch bellowed. "Let the game begin!" she shouted, releasing the various balls from their confines.

The crowd roared as the biggest game of the year started.

~/~

The wind whipped and the cold stung, but the players refused to stop. With quick turns, barreling spins, and death dives, the Quidditch players danced, red mixing with emerald green.

Goals were scored, first by Gryffindor then followed by Slytherin soon after. This was by far the most well matched game of the season.

HHHHH

An hour later, Hermione sat huddled close to Luna watching the game unfold. Her throat was sore from cheering and the cold had tinted her cheeks and nose red.

The score was 90 to 90, the two teams vying to gain the upper hand. Just as the Slytherins managed to gain control of the quaffle, Draco and Harry shot up further into the sky, the slightest glimpse of gold speeding ahead of them.

As they disappeared into the clouds, Hermione fervently prayed for Harry to catch the Snitch. Fingers crossed and eyes shut tightly, Hermione held her breath as the victor flew down from the clouds.

Cheers sounded as the man came into view and Hermione still kept her eyes tightly shut.

"DRACO MALFOY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" the announcer proclaimed, "SLYTHERIN HAS WON!"

Hermione's heart sank as she opened her eyes. Sure enough, Draco Malfoy hovered on his broom, the snitch grasped in his outstretched hand and a wide grin on his face. Catching Hermione's eyes, he winked at her and flew toward the ground.

Hermione put her head in her hands just as the world went dark.

HHHHH

Hermione opened her heavy eyes to see the polished white walls of the Hospital Wing. She groaned and rubbed her head as she gingerly sat up.

Immediately, her friends rushed her with hugs, telling her how glad they were she was okay.

Ginny, Luna, Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Lavender all stood there, smiling warmly at her.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, still groggy.

"Well," Luna said, "After they announced that Slytherin had won the Quidditch game, you kind of just fainted."

Hermione's eyes widened and a hand covered her mouth as the memory rushed back.

'The bet! Oh Merlin, the bet. Why on earth did I agree to that? Better yet, how am I going to get out of it?' Hermione worriedly thought.

"Hey guys? On a different note, is there a way to get out of a bet?" Hermione asked, hope coloring her voice.

Harry stepped forward. "If two witches or wizards make a bet and shook on it, then no. Not unless the winner allows the loser to back out. If you didn't shake on it, then it technically isn't a real bet in the first place and there is no actual winner or loser."

Hermione buried her head in her hands. 'Merlin, I am so stupid! What am I going to do?'

Her friends looked at her with concern. "Mione? What did you bet exactly?" Harry asked, taking her hand.

Hermione just glanced up at him and grimaced. "You don't want to know Harry, trust me…"

A/N: Hey every one! Hope it was enjoyable. Pretty please REVIEW! It makes my day if people review!

I would also just like to say thank you to:

AngelnDevil1: Thanks(: I'm glad I can keep you on your toes!

Navidandannie90210:Thanks so much(: Hope you like this one too.

Lingo10: Haha "Drake the Snake". I like that(: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy this new chapter!

IGOTEAMEDWARD: Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Syd-Shane22: Thanks so much(: The banter is probably the reason why I love Draco and Hermione so much. Hope you like the new chapter!

Writingdowndreams: Thanks so much for reading! I'm so glad you enjoy this story! Hope you like this new chapter as much as you liked the last one!

Written4u: Thank you so much(: Your review really made me smile. I hope you like this new chapter!

Carolrenae: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter(:

Katreenee: Thanks so much(: Hope you're happy with the winner of the bet! I promise to update at least once a week. My life is starting to settle a little(: Hope you like the newest chapter!

BelleBelles: Thank you so much(: Unfortunately the way it was planned, Draco had to win the bet! Although, I'll see if I can incorporate another bet later in the story.(: If you have any other ideas about what Draco could do if he lost a bet, feel free to PM me. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Cintiasnakeblack: Thanks for reading and thanks for all of your feedback! With the stars, I just felt like putting in another little sign that they were meant to be together. Hermione's subconscious will know that her and Draco are a great match before she does. Hope you like this new chapter! (: See you.

Justadreamer15: Thanks for reading. Hope the winner doesn't disappoint and hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Nieriel Nighthaven: Thanks so much(: I am terribly sorry about the typos. My life has been so hectic recently and I've just been trying to get a new chapter up as fast as possible. Soon I'll go through all of the chapters and fix all of the typos. Thank you very much. The characters of Draco, Hermione, and Narcissa are very important to me and I tried to write them as true to themselves as I could. I will definitely pick up the pace with their relationship soon, so thanks for the tip. As soon as Hermione's stubbornness abates, the rational side will set in and it will be a little smoother. Right now, Hermione doesn't really know how to feel about Draco, considering that he had tormented her for years and now she was stuck in an arranged marriage with him. Even if she does feel for him, she is very wary of him in general and worries about sharing her life with the one person she was taught to never trust. They are working on it but her stubbornness is her last defense against fully sharing her life with Draco. You can live with someone without letting them into you mind and heart. Thanks for the long review and I hope you like the new chapter! (: Thanks again fro the awesome review.