A/N: Hello readers. I am now begging for your forgiveness. I'm so sorry this took forever - 6 months! But I do have a very vaild reason and that is...school (even if its done now) and of course some other stuff. But anyway I apologize for making you all wait for so long...but not any longer. Here it is...the long awaited confrontation with the man Draco and Hermione feared most. Dun dun dun... Let's see how it turns out, shall we?...

Disclaimer: Own nothing but plot.

Hermione was walking down a darkening corridor alone with nothing but the occasional wisps of the breeze to disturb her thoughts. She'd just come from a meeting with the astronomy professor to discuss her latest paper: how Galileo was actually a wizard and used his powers to observe his celestial discoveries that made him famous. Of course, Professor Vector completely agreed with her, "No muggle could possibly be that brilliant!". Now that she was finally free from the freezing tower he calls an office, she was able to warm up and be alone with her thoughts.

It has been a week since Draco said the three little words to her. Its also been a week since she'd been keeping it a secret. This is not what I should be doing, she reminded herself, I should tell them the truth. This could only create more problems.

But Hermione didn't know how. She couldn't imagine Harry and Ron embracing the fact that she loved the boy who once tortured their school years. Harry will never forgive her and Ron…well, Ron might kill her. Just as well, she thought, if someone's going to die, it might as well be me.

Hermione was rounding a corner when all of a sudden she hit something hard and cold. The impact was so hard and surprising that it caught her completely off guard and caused her to stumble back, falling to the stone cold ground.

Letting out a yelp, she looked up to see who or what she had hit. Raising her eyes slowly, she came face to face with the one person she'd been more scared and anxious to meet.

Lucius Malfoy looked down with disdain, curling his lips into an evil smirk, his eyes projecting nothing but emptiness and pure hatred.

"Where could that girl be?" Ron asked out loud in impatience. "She asks us to wait on her, saying she'd only be a few minutes and it's now been an hour and she'd still not here."

"Ron, relax. What's wrong with you?" Harry asked in a calmer voice.

"Nothing, I think it's this damn report Snape is making us do. A four foot long report on some potion that fixes people's headaches? I mean how useless is that? She said she'd help me once she's back."

"Then wait for her."

"Well, I'm getting sleepy."

"Then sleep."

"I can't."

"Then don't, wait for her and quit whining."

"Woah…" Ron cried, "no need to get upset now, mate."

Harry looked up from his book, "I'm sorry."

"Is something the matter?" Ron could sense something was bothering his friend and he was almost sure exactly what it was.

"Don't you think Hermione and him have been spending a lot of time together lately?" When they ever talk about this topic, they never mention his name, always referring to him as him.

"Harry, mate, remember what we said. We have to let it alone."

"I know that and I am. But what if something happens to her? Do they always have to meet at night? What about after classes or meal times when the sun is still up."

Ron shrugged. "I don't know. But what I do know is that we can't keep bugging Hermione about her relationship with him," and then he added, "that's her business. Not ours."

"But, wouldn't that make it our business, too?" Harry asked, wondering how Ron suddenly became the rational one. "She's our friend."

"Yes, but its a girl thing. They need their privacy, or space, or whatever they call it." Ron answered.

Harry considered this for a minute. "I guess you're right."

And so the two young men waited on for their bestfriend...not knowing a thing.

"Oh, I am deeply sorry," came a deep, drawling voice that seemed to pour venim with every word. "I didn't quite see you there."

Lucius Malfoy looked down with the slightest concern with whom he might have trampled over. "After all, it isn't uncommon for people to overlook those that are below them. Isn't that right, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione got up tensely from the stone floor, never losing eye contact with the man that stood before her. She was not afraid of him. Hermione figured there were enough people who feared him that someone had to show him that he couldn't intimidate everyone.

"That's quite alright, Mr. Malfoy." She answered back, with the same amount of disconcern. "The bruises will clear up by tomorrow."

The older man cocked his eye brow. "Are you mocking me, child?" His voice becoming icier and his expression more open with the hatred he obviously felt.

"No, sir." She responded innocently. "Just speaking the truth."

Lucius Malfoy stayed silent. His cold eyes piercing into hers with such force, that invisible it might be, Hermione could almost feel it. It was dark and the man's attire did not help ease the eeriness she was surrounded with.

Being so rich, one would think that they can afford some real, nice clothes. But it seemed to Hermione that Lucius had only one look going for him. The traditional, long black cloak, the black, leather shoes and the the black, wooden cane with a snake head protruding from the top that he was never seen without.

As the silent between them grew hallow and the darkness deepened, Lucius Malfor spoke for the first time in what seemed like ages. "Truth, you say?" he said, "Are you sure you always tell the truth, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione stared at him, keeping in mind that he was both an incredibly powerful wizard, no matter how evil, a "former" Death Eater and most importantly, the father of the young man who had now carved a very special place in her life.

"I'm not quite following you." She anwered with the only response she could think of.

"Hmmm," Lucius Malfoy hummed, "You see, I don't buy your innocent facade, young girl. Actually, I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I am talking about." And then he added, "More than I would ever want to know."

Hermione stayed silent, not letting him see the sudden changes in her body; the sweat on her forehead, the clamminess of her hands, the uncontrollable shaking all over and her heart beating furiously. Does he know? How could he know? I haven't told him, Draco wouldn't have told him without telling me... Why is he here anyway? He can't possibly have any business with the school at this hour.

Her heart was beating so fast she was sure she was going to pass out. Hermione felt panic take over her body. For once in her life she was put in a situation she didn't know how to handle. What was she going to do. More over, what was he going to do? Surely, he wouldn't dare attack a student within the castle. It was much too risky. And it wasn't like he could kidnap her. There were hundreds of different spells protecting her from outside harm. That little bit of information gave her the tiniest sense of relief, not a whole lot but enough to get her mind going and her body calm.

She took a deep breath. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Malfoy. Sounds to me like someone might have been feeding you with foolish information because there is absolutely nothing going on in my life that could or would ever concern you."

Ok, she thought, that was over. Now, to get out of here. "Now, if you don't mind, I really should be getting back." Hermione tried to pass him, trying to escape the man's deadly presence. But it seemed Lucius Malfoy was more unrelenting that she thought.

He spoke before she could get out of earshot from him. "You wouldn't do that if I were you, Ms. Granger." He warned. "I know you to be quite the know-it-all, incessant little mudblood who wants to get her way everytime, but I tell you...this is me you are dealing with, and I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The words, though spoken calmly and quietly, shot chills up her spine. He sounded as if he'd already performed the spell with which to curse her, or worse, kill her.

The panic was back but this time, it as accompanied with ultimate fear. Throughout her years at Hogwarts, security has never been a guarantee. No matter what danger seemed to follow her or rather it seemed to follow Harry and since she was his closest friend, she was also put on the pedastal. She had been in grave danger before and had come across some of the deadliest of all magical creatures. But she survived. And she was never truly ever afraid.

The main reason being was Harry and Ron. She always had them there with her, the three of them facing the unknown, the unevitable. The three of them surviving it all; and the Dark Lord.

Which was why she was so afraid. She didn't have them there with her this time, she was alone. And no amount of wizarding knowledge could calm her senses now. All she could think about was getting through the night alive.

"Mr. Malfoy," she began, trying to lie her way out, knowing that it was no use. Lucius Malfoy was not stupid. And it was then Hermione was sure he knew of her relationship with Draco. And he wasn't happy about it. "I already told you, I don't know what - "

The man cut her off. "You are doing something that I am most deeply disappointed of, Ms. Granger." He said. "You are having a...charade, may I call it, with my only son."

"A charade?"

"Do not play fool with me." His voice was thunderous and echoed against the damp corridor walls. Hermione knew she was testing his patience. "You know exactly what I am talking about you incompetent girl. Who do you think you are, Mudblood? How dare you get involved with my son?" The words were hard to speak, as if talking about it out loud was the most difficult thing Lucius Malfoy had ever done. "You are not worthy to even be in the same school as Draco, or even half the students in this school. You have done nothing to earn such an honor to come and join our world. You are not, I repeat Ms. Granger, not nor will ever be one of us."

Hermione was taken aback by his boldness. Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't that. He was so direct and his opinion of her was so low and ignorant that Hermione couldn't stop the tears that were threatening to break free from her eyes.

"Let's make something clear right now. If it wasn't for this horrid school which is out to ruin the entire wizarding humanity, with that bat of an old man showing his foolish and quite pathetic devotion to your filthy kind, you would not be here. And that, I believe, is the ideal goal for any wizard wishing to maintain the purity of our world." Then looking down at the young girl in front of him even more, wanting her to truly realize the message of his speech, "And that is also what Draco believes in, no matter how you have tried to get him into thinking otherwise."

"Draco," Hermione answered, her voice quivering and her throat suddenly dry. "I think is old enough to make his own mind and form his own opinions." Then, looking up at him wanting him to realize the message of her speech, she added, "And certainly old enough to make his own decisions, with or without your consent."

Her response elicited a different reaction than what Hermione was expecting, or at least for a second. Lucius Malfoy's lips curled into a smile, a menacing smile. "You are truly as stubborn as they come, aren't you? And quite brave, too. I mean, you would have to be to test me like this. You must be looking for trouble."

"I'm not looking for trouble, Mr. Malfoy. I am simply explaining that Draco is not a little boy anymore. He's grown so much and he deserves so much more respect, trust and faith in him than you ever give him." Hermione didn't know what she was talking about, if it was the right thing to say or not but she didn't know how else to get to him. She was scared, that much was true, in fact, she was terrified. But she also knew that she and Draco had come too long a way for it to end so soon, especially over something they might be able to prevent.

"HOW DARE YOU!" His raised voice would've made even Snape tremble. "You are in absolute no place to tell me how I treat me son, you filthy little mudblood. You are nothing and worth nothing and I will never let anything like you destroy the life I have built for him. I will not let the likes of you ruin my plans for him; his future." The older man stepped forward, so close that Hermione could feel his breath on her skin. His skin was pale and hollow, his eyes were a sharp grey but hinted none of the softness Hermione saw in Draco's eyes. "You are to stop seeing Draco from now on, do you hear me?"

Her world was falling apart. This is it, she thought, its either I die or I follow his instructions and really stop seeing Draco. Neither one seemed fair. Not one to give up, she gave it one more go. "I can't promise you that." She asnwered, lightly shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

The answer made Lucius Malfoy double take. It was going to be harder than he thought. Just as well, he found this kind of appealing.

"No, you say?" He asked. "I demanded you leave my son alone and you say you can't? And may I ask, why the hell not?"

Taking a deep breath, she answered with an honest response. Trying to maintain a cool facade, an attempt which took every fibre of her being. "Because...I care about him."

Lucius raised his eyebrow in silent suprise. "Care about him?" He laughed a cruel laugh, as if mocking her stupidity. "Oh, you silly girl. You care about him?"

"Yes, I do." Her voice was quivering, she was almost sure she was going to lose it, right there and then.

"If you truly cared about him, Ms. Granger, you will do as I say and leave him."

"I already told you, I can't."

The older Malfoy straightened his back, tilting his chin up, looking like an employee who had just finished a long and grueling office meeting and is getting ready to leave. He took a deep breath, preparing for his last warning. It as either she obeys him and no one gets hurt or he would have to try a little harder, in which there might be some trouble for certain people. Speaking in harsh and hollow voice, he said, "Then he suffers at your expense."

"What do you mean? What are you going to do?" The words were out before she could even process it in her mind. What he'd just said scared her even more than the threats he was aiming at her. What would he do to Draco? He wouldn't hurt his own son.

But then again, Lucius Malfoy was one man you could not afford to underestimate.

Draco was lying on his back on his four-poster bed with his legs crossed on the ankles and his arms placed on his stomach. There was no one in the room but him, his fellow Slytherins were in the common room mercilessly torturing an unfortunate 2nd year who accidentally blasted a Zonko firecracker on Blaise Zabini's face, causing his usually smooth olive skin to grow numerous zits. The older Slytherin was so angry that he rounded up his "gang", including Draco, and a few more menacing students to help him teach the poor, stupid boy a lesson.

Draco, on the other hand, denied the not so tempting invitation. He couldn't explain it but he just didn't find those past times amusing anymore. In fact, he felt almost sad knowing that he once found the misery of others as his joy. There was nothing more pathetic than making yourself feel better by putting others down. That only made you even more pathetic.

That was the reason Draco concluded with when he thought about the reasons why he was so cruel to other students, particularly those who were younger and couldn't defend themselves against him and his cronies. It wasn't because Draco had no self-esteem or lacked anything substantial in his life, it wasn't as if he was emotionally instable. It was his father, that was the reason.

All his life, he'd always been put down by his father, telling he wasn't doing anything good enough, that he should try harder otherwise he'd be a disgrace to the whole family. He was so used to it that he didn't even realize that that particular quality was passed down to him, making him the bully he was now. Draco suddenly had a moment of clarity about these aspects on his life. He didn't want to sound arrogant or conceited but he truly felt that he was learning more about himself and slowly becoming a better man. Of course, he still had a long way to go, after all, he still had many negative qualities about him that needs working on, his uncontrollable temper, for example. But he knew he was making progress and that to him was enough to get through the day.

None of this would be possible if it weren't for Hermione. She was slowly allowing him to realize who he really was as a person; as if she knew him better thanhe did.Draco didn't believe that people can change. He didn't believe that anyone can change into something that wasn't in them. Instead, people grow. People do and people learn. And he's learned more about life from Hermione than any other person he'd ever come acrossed.

Just the thought of her made him smile. Its been a good week, he quietly said into the empty room.

Thinking back on the night Hermione accidentally blabbed her true feelings for him made Draco laugh. It was so out of the blue. One minute she was ranting about nothing, the next she was professing her love for him. He remembered how adorable she was when she suddenly realized what came out of her lips. She even tried to deny it but Draco knew. He knew because it was how he felt about her, too. Except he probably didn't know it until the moment she said the words to him unintendedly.

Even if it was by accident, even she hadn't planned on telling him that night, he knew he'd never been happier than he was at that moment and the days that followed.

And the many more days to come, he thought.

Harry and Ron sat on the comfy chairs of the common room beside the dimming flames of the fire place. Their eyes getting heavy from sleep and their heads slowly falling into their chests from exhaustion. It wasn't until the final crack of the wood in the fire indicating its last burn did Harry wake from his sleep and realize that they were not in their dormitory rooms. They were in the comon room and supposedly waiting for Hermione.

Harry straightened up when this realization dawned on him. He started to nudge Ron on his side to wake him but all he got was a loud snore and the occasional drool. After scrunching his face at the disgusting sight of his best friend, he tried one more time with more force. "Ron!" Harry slapped his hand across Ron's face while crying his name out loud. It worked. Ron jumped up with a yelp that might have woken up the rest of the students in the castle.

"Oy Harry! What was that for?" Ron cried, rubbing his face, which now burned bright red that could match his hair.

"You weren't waking up." Harry answered with a shrug.

"And you couldn't think of any other way of waking a person up other than causing them physical harm?"

"I think something is wrong?" Harry answered, trying to get to the point.

"Oh," Ron looked around the room and his eyes growing larger. "Oh," he repeated. "She isn't back yet?"

Harry shook his head. "No, and even if she has gone upstairs, I don't think she would have missed us lying here even if it is dark."

"So what do you think is going on? You reckon we should go out and look for her?"

"I don't know what else we can do. What if something did happen? It isn't like her to be out too long like this." Harry's voice hinted the growing concern he felt inside.

"I second that mate. Even for school this is pushing it a bit. Even the professors wouldn't stay up this late to help us students."

The two boys got up and despite the exhaustion they felt and the temptation to walk up the welcoming stairs to their warm dormitory rooms, they walked through the portrait hole and began their search for their missing friend.

"What do you mean he suffers at my expense?" Hermione was standing in the cold and empty corridor, looking up at Lucius Malfoy, dread and fear spreading through out her body like poison. "What are you going to do?" Her voice was breaking, betraying her attempt of trying to look calm and collected and especially, unintimidated.

The older man snickered, indicating that he knew Hermione was slowly losing her courage. "All I meant, Ms. Granger, was that I want you to leave my son alone, to lose all connections you have with him or else he will pay the price for you insolence and disobedience." He took a step toward Hermione, making the young girl jump in surprise. Lucius began to walk around her, taking the sight of her in, sending goosebumps all over her skin. "If you do not do as I say, you will be forcing me to do something I'm sure you will regret - and something I'm sure will have a greater impact on Draco than you could ever imagine." Lucius Malfoy stalled, stopping right behind Hermione, shielding himself from her sight. All she can do now is rely on her other senses, not wanting to turn around in fear of discovering something she might never forget.

The man took another step toward her, closing the gap between them in one stride. Leaning down to her ear, he spoke in a low and venomous voice. "All I can say to satisfy your dying curiosity, Ms. Granger, is that Draco will soon be losing the one person he has depended on all his life, since he was so unable to rely on me as a child and indeed even now as grown man, as I expect he's already confessed to you." And with one last note, before disappearing into the unceasing darkness of the corridor, he said, "Take my warning into consideration, young girl. My word is not a toy to play with and my temper is not to be tested. Do not be selfish and foolish. If you truly care about Draco, you will know what you must do. Good night." And with that came a cold breeze that swarmed her body in its prickly arms. Hermione turned and Lucius Malfoy, the destruction of all good things, was nowhere to be seen.

Taking this as an opportunity to escape, she gathered her belongings that had fallen on the floor and ran faster than she'd ever ran before.

Harry and Ron were passing down a corridor, occasionally whispering Hermione's name into the dark when they suddenly heard footsteps. They were quick and even with just the click of the heels, they could already tell that the stranger was definitely running away from something. And then they heard it, the distant cries that accompanied the distant footsteps and knew instantly that it was Hermione.

Harry and Ron gave each other one knowing look and sprinted on into the dark to meet their friend. They called Hermione's name and within a couple of seconds, Harry caught the young girl in his arms. A young girl who was visibly shaken.

"Hermione!" Ron cried, as he watched her collapse into Harry. "What the bloddy hell happened to you?"

"Hermione, what happened? Where were you? Did someone or something do anything to you?" Harry tried shaking Hermione's shoulders when she didn't respond. "Hermione. Its ok, you're safe." Harry wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, soothing her hair from her face and wiping the tears that ran down her reddened cheeks.

It took a few minutes but with some encouraging words, they finally got her to calm down.

"Hermione," Ron tried once more. "Could you please tell us what happened?"

Hermione, still sobbing, lifted her head from Harry's chest. They could see the fear, anger and saddness in her eyes. Something happened, something bad. Hermione opened her mouth to speak but it seemed her voice was still quivering and talking might make her cry all over again. Not trusting herself, Hermione said one thing that exlpained it all. In a low and shaking voice, she whispered, "Lucius Malfoy."

Dun dun dun...what do you think. Who do you think is this person that Lucius Malfoy might have to hurt...or kill? I don't know. Do you? So there it is. I sure hope you guys enjoyed the confrontation between the older and meaner Malfoy and Hermione. What will happen now? Will Hermione do as he says and never see Draco again or will the lovers stand up for their relationship? WHAT WILL HAPPEN? AHH... -lol- ok I'm a dork, so what? Review! Review! Review! Toodles.

PS: Go get the new Harry Potter book...YAY! Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Get it NOW.