A/N: As always, a big thank you goes out to my beta and to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Enjoy the update! :)

Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters.

Chapter 21

February - The Head Boy's Dungeon

Draco's wand alarmed and he quickly reached out to silence it. He was getting up way too early for his liking; it was still dark outside. But he had a full day of travel ahead of him on his way to Newcastle. Professor McGonagall was using her powers as Headmistress to Apparate him off of the grounds of Hogwarts and to London. From there, he would be taking a train. His tryout for the National Quidditch team would start at exactly six o'clock tomorrow morning, so he needed to leave today.

He slowly slipped out of his bed and glanced at Hermione who had managed to sleep through his annoying alarm. He watched her sleep for a moment before he headed to the shower. He really was dreading being away from her for a weekend. They had been so hot and heavy the past couple of weeks, barely managing to keep their hands off of each other. Intercourse still eluded them but they had now done everything but. As he shampooed his hair, Draco smirked widely while thinking about how her mouth felt around him. She was absolutely incredible.

After his shower, he shaved and began to dress quietly. He had packed his trunk and laid out his clothes for the day last night. Since he was travelling mostly by muggle transportation he had decided on a pair of black trousers, a simple white, button-down shirt and a black tie. He picked up his Malfoy family ring off of his dresser and examined it closely. It was silver with emerald jewels. The design on the face was the Malfoy crest and his full name was engraved on the inside. It was a Malfoy family tradition to be given the family ring the day that you receive your letter from Hogwarts. He remembered being so excited when his father had given him his own ring because he had been admiring his father's since he was a young boy. He twirled the ring back and forth before slipping it on the ring finger of his right hand. It was one of his most prized possessions, and he looked forward to giving one like it to his son one day.

He picked up another one of his most prized possessions off of his dresser, the watch that Hermione had given him for Christmas. He liked that no matter where he was he could look at it and know where Hermione was and whether or not she was safe. It made him feel a tad bit better about being away from her. 'Maybe when I'm older I can get my children added on,' he thought to himself. He paused in strapping the watch to his wrist. He was getting very sentimental about his things, and he was repetitively thinking about children. Sure, he wanted to have the manor full of kids but it wasn't something that he thought about often.

The direction that his thoughts had carried him had caused him to turn and look at Hermione's sleeping form in his bed. He decided that he would contemplate his future while he was alone in Newcastle. He needed some uninterrupted time to himself to think more about his desired career, children, and Hermione. He was very serious about her; he just wasn't sure if she realized just how serious he was.

He slowly walked towards his bed and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "Hermione, wake up," he called softly.

She turned so that she was lying on her back and quickly opened her eyes. She was a lot easier to wake up then he was. "Good morning," she mumbled. "You look nice."

"Thank you," he smiled. "I have to leave soon," he stated forlornly as he walked towards his desk. He grabbed his long, black coat off of his chair and slipped it on, along with his scarf. "I have to meet McGonagall."

"Well good luck, I know that you'll be great," she said encouragingly.

"Thank you," he said again. He moved back to the bed and sat down next to her. "I'll miss you," he grinned seductively as he leaned forward for a kiss.

She gave him a quick, closed mouth kiss and when she pulled back she laughed softly. Draco was pouting dramatically, he wanted a real kiss. "Oh come here, you big baby," she teased. She placed both of her hands on his face and pulled him towards her. He kissed her hungrily, with tongue, and she reciprocated.

"Better," he smiled in satisfaction when their kiss ended. "Love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she smiled shyly.

He kissed her again before he hopped off the bed. He took his wand off of his bedside table and walked to his closed bedroom door. He turned the doorknob and with a fluid movement of his wand, he levitated his trunk off of the floor, through the door, and up the stairs. "See you Sunday night, babe," he smirked.

She gave him a small smile and wave as she watched him walk out the door. She hadn't felt this anxious about being away from him when they first parted for the Christmas holiday. For her, that just showed how much their relationship had grown and blossomed. He had told her that he loved her just now, but the meaningful phrase wasn't one that he said often and she actually enjoyed that. If he said "I love you" all the time then she knew that she would begin to question his sincerity. But he always said it in just the right moment so it meant so much more.

She reluctantly got out of Draco's bed. His silk sheets made her want to stay in bed all day; it was very dangerous. She made his bed before leaving his immaculately clean room.

She walked up the stairs, crossed the common room, and trudged up the flight of stairs that led to her own bedroom.

She took a long shower since she had the time to kill and then spell dried her hair. As she was brushing her teeth in the bathroom mirror she noticed the marks that Draco had left on her neck and collarbone last night. He affectionately referred to them as love bites but she knew that part of it was because deep down he was possessive and territorial and hoped that she wouldn't cover them up. But she had to go to class so she covered them up with a simple Concealment Charm.

After she was fully dressed in her Gryffindor uniform, she grabbed her bag and wand and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. She took a seat at her house table next to Neville and smiled. "Good morning Neville," she greeted pleasantly.

"Morning Hermione," he responded distractedly. He had his nose buried in some book about Herbology, like usual.

But everyone else at the table was fixated on Hermione. People around her were whispering and shooting odd glances at her. They still gossiped about her and Draco like it was breaking news, even though they had been a public Hogwarts couple for a month now. Sure, her openly cheering for Draco during the Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin match had rocked the boat a little, but it was to be expected, wasn't it? She certainly thought so. And they still received shocked looks from people when they were relaxed in each other's presence walking the halls together. She did realize that the idea of Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger being civil to each other was unbelievable to the majority of Hogwarts, so obviously the fact that they were in a relationship was going to take a long time for everyone to adjust to.

This morning, however, Hermione realized that the reason for all of the hushed whispers was in today's edition of The Daily Prophet. When an owl delivered her faithful morning read, she couldn't have been more stunned by the front page. The headline read Gryffindor Golden Girl Caught by Slytherin Prince, and below was an intimate photo taken of her and Draco. They were sitting alongside the lake, talking with their heads close together and he casually reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. They were both smiling uncontrollably. She remembered the moment clearly. The picture had been taken a mere two days ago. Someone from Hogwarts had followed them, snapped the picture, and sold it to the Prophet. She shoved the newspaper angrily into her bag and stormed out of the Great Hall. She had barely touched her toast.

-()-()-()--()-()-()--()-()-()-

Heads' Common Room

Later that day, after classes, Hermione found Ginny and dragged her back to the Heads' private quarters so that she could vent. "Listen to this," she huffed before she began to read from the article. "War hero and sweetheart of wizarding England, Hermione Granger, has added another name to her long list of famous suitors. Are you kidding me? This is rubbish!" She squeaked. "Draco Malfoy, sole heir to the Malfoy fortune and the anticipated future CEO of Malfoy Enterprises, is her newest beau. 'Their relationship is public now,' a source tells me." Hermione stopped reading abruptly. "I wonder who this source is," she pondered angrily.

"Probably some jealous Slytherin girl," Ginny offered quietly.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "You're probably right. This source also goes on to say, 'They're all over each other all the time, its disgusting.' Again, rubbish!"

Ginny laughed lightly as she pried the paper from Hermione's hands. "I think that its time to stop reading the article for now."

She gave her friend a grateful smile and willingly gave up the newspaper. "Thanks, I think that you're right. But Lucius Malfoy is going to lose it when he reads this," she stated seriously.

"Ron is going to lose it when he reads this," Ginny added.

Hermione smiled sadly and ran a hand through her hair. "How is he doing? He hasn't returned any of my owls." She had tried to reach out to Ron since returning to Hogwarts but so far he was unresponsive. But she really did miss his friendship and she wanted it back.

"He's having a hard time with it," Ginny answered honestly. "He wants to be your friend, he really does, but he doesn't know if he can." She laid a hand supportively on Hermione's knee. "At least not yet. But I know that he wants to," she smiled. "So," she moved to change the conversation towards a lighter subject, "tell me all about Draco."

"What's to tell?" Hermione laughed, "You already know everything."

Ginny's mouth dropped open. "So all the rumours are true?"

"Yeah," Hermione blushed furiously.

"Oh my God," Ginny squealed girlishly.

"You sound like Lavender," Hermione teased.

Ginny playfully scowled at her. "Come on, I've been seriously committed to Harry for a while now; I need to live vicariously through you for this!"

Hermione laughed but proceeded to shyly talk about Draco for the rest of the afternoon.

-()-()-()--()-()-()--()-()-()-

Malfoy Manor

Lucius handed Theodore Nott Sr. a glass of scotch on the rocks and took a seat on the sofa across from him. "How are you, Theodore?" He asked politely.

"Good," Nott answered before sipping his drink. "So what do you want, Lucius?" He asked impatiently. He was in no mood to entertain Lucius' dark thoughts. Lucius had unexpectedly called him over to the manor, claiming that they had important things to discuss.

"Avery, Mulciber, and Rookwood are too cowardly to come out of hiding," Lucius told him regretfully.

Nott sighed, "Maybe that's for the best." He had done a lot of hard thinking about Lucius' 'plan' since the idea had first been presented, and he had ultimately come to his decision. And it was one that he thought was best for not only his family, but the Malfoys as well.

Lucius furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that things in our world are just beginning to return to normal and we shouldn't interfere with it," Nott explained. "Do you realize how much we'd be risking if we went after the Order of the Phoenix? We're a much smaller group now then we've ever been, no one is positive about their numbers, and this thirst for revenge that you have is incredibly dangerous and reckless." Nott stared at Lucius intensely over the top of his glass. "You must remember, Lucius, that you only escaped Azkaban because Narcissa saved Potter's life." Lucius sneered at him, clearly not appreciating the comment. "All I have in my life is Theo and my business, and I don't want to jeopardize my son's future for the dead Dark Lord that accomplished nothing but death and destruction."

Lucius was quietly seething, if it was anyone else sitting in his study besides Theodore Nott then he would have pulled his wand by now. "I see what you're trying to get across," he said through clenched teeth.

"I have a son that I want to show the ropes of the family business too Lucius," he stated simply. "So maybe we should just continue to talk business from now on, old friend." Theodore downed the remainder of his drink and slowly rose to his feet. He shot Lucius a very meaningful look before slowly leaving the study.

On Nott's way out, he encountered the lady of the house. "Good day Narcissa," he smiled pleasantly.

"Good day Theodore," she smiled back before bustling into the study. "Lucius, we need to talk about Draco," she told her husband urgently.

"What did our son do now?" He sighed as he got up off of the sofa and moved to his desk chair.

"Have you been returning Draco's owls?"

He looked up at his wife and saw that she had several pieces of parchment in her hand. "No, I haven't even read them. Why?" He asked coldly.

"Because he's really reaching out to you," she replied sadly. She knew that her son was trying his hardest to communicate with his father and it was breaking her heart. She didn't expect Draco to be home for the Easter holiday.

Lucius raised an eyebrow; he figured that his son would be boldly rebelling against him, not trying to get back in his good graces. "What's he saying?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know," Narcissa answered. "He only wants you to read them. It's the least you could do," she muttered as she laid Draco's letters on his desk before leaving the room.

Lucius sighed in frustration. He honestly had never seen Narcissa so fed up with him, not even when the Dark Lord had taken over their home. He may be obsessed with money and power and harbour very ill feelings towards those who weren't of pure magical blood, but family always came first; he learned that from his father, and Theodore had reminded him of it today. He knew that if he didn't talk to Draco soon then he would lose his son and his wife. He reached for the parchment that Narcissa had laid on his desk and began to guiltily pour over Draco's words to him.

A/N: There are 291 alerts for this story, so wouldn't it be awesome if I got 291 reviews for this chapter? :) Review everyone! :)