Author's Note: Hey guys. I know this took forever and I apologize. I'm afraid I'm going to have to use the school/work/Twilight Series excuse...heh. But here it is, in all it's glory, Chapter 36. A little fluffy, but there are dark times ahead. Enjoy!

February

Their first day of class passed normally and their Animagi transformations were unsuccessful, per usual. After an hour and a half had passed, Draco set down his wand and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Hermione, let's stop for the night. I'm beat," he said with a yawn.

She got up from the floor and nodded. "Sounds good. I still don't understand why we're not getting it…"

"Who knows?" Draco shrugged, snapping for a House Elf. A minute passed and another elf appeared with a pitcher of ice-cold water, two glasses, and a tray of fruit, which was set on the table near the couch.

"So do you remember your promise?" Draco hinted. Hermione threw him a sideways glance and sighed almost imperceptibly.

"Yes," she said compliantly. "I'll be right back."

Draco settled himself on the couch, quite content that he had gotten his way. 'Not like I can let her know that,' he smirked, thinking of her undoubtedly angry reaction. He bit into an apple and chewed contentedly.

She came back down in a minute, clutching a file and several loose pieces of parchment in her arms.

"This is everything," she said. She dropped it onto the table with a soft rustle and sat down next to Draco.

He raised an eyebrow at her uncharacteristic lack of organization. "So where do we start?" he asked skeptically, flipping through some of the pages. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the writing. It seemed to morph and twist before his eyes, transforming into several different languages all at once. There was English, French, Gobbledygook, some ancient Rune script and…were those hieroglyphics? He blinked once, twice, to rid his eyes of the swirling black ink, but he could not.

"Encoded writing," Hermione explained, noticing Draco's distress. She waved her wand over the pile and immediately the writing stopped moving and turned legible.

"Clever," he remarked as Hermione sifted through the sheets.

"My first assignment was to find out if you were still working for Voldemort," she started. "Needless to say, I found nothing. I thought that was going to be it when Channing gave me another assignment, and quite an interesting one at that." She emitted a small "Aha!" as she spotted the appropriate paper and handed it to Draco. "I was to study Harry and find out his weaknesses so that he could better prepare himself for his fight."

Draco nodded in understanding and perused the list. "This is it?" he asked, furrowing his fair brow.

She nodded. "As I've worked, I've modified it. The other pages are an in-depth analysis of each of his so-called 'defects' and what can be done about them."

He looked at the parchment again and frowned: there were only two items on it. "It isn't very long."

"He isn't very weak," Hermione retorted, sending him a stern look. Draco rolled his eyes at her and continued reading.

"Magically weak – that makes sense, but you crossed it off."

"He's learned a lot," said Hermione.

"But against the Dark Lord? Hermione, everyone is magically weak against him." She gave him a deadpan look that threatened silently to take the research away before he could look further into it. He shrewdly decided to move onto the next item. "You crossed off mentally weak as well."

"He has good instincts and sharp reaction time. He's a pretty skilled Occlumens now too. And he can entirely resist the Imperius Curse."

"And what about the Cruciatus? Can Scarhead resist that?" he said bitterly.

"No," Hermione said in a whisper. "No one can."

"You'd be surprised," he said flatly.

Hermione winced and looked at him compassionately, making Draco feel incredibly self-conscious. He turned back to the list, his cheeks acquiring a light pink hue.

"Well, I already know that I'm going to help. I've spotted one that you've missed."

Hermione looked incredibly surprised. "What are you talking about?" she asked, shuffling through papers, as if looking for a misplaced idea. "Harry has everything he needs to win."

"Nope," said Draco confidently.

Hermione shook her head again and continued to search the pell-mell pile.

"He's a terrible liar."

Hermione was silent for a moment. "You're right," she said quietly. "He can't lie to save his life, which may end up happening…Nice catch."

Draco mock-bowed from the couch. "And for my next performance, I'll let you guess."

"Next performance?" Hermione asked with a quizzical look.

"The next flaw I found," he elaborated.

"There's another I missed?" Draco nodded. Hermione, ever incredulous, shook her head. "No way. No, I couldn't have missed two!"

"Sorry, but you have. He cares," he said simply. "He cares too much."

Hermione looked at him, completely confused. "What are you talking about?"

"He cares too much," Draco reiterated. "If one of you or one of the Weasleys were in danger, he would give himself up for your lives."

"He's already going to do that," Hermione said heatedly. "That's what he's doing in the battle – he's prepared to sacrifice his life for all of us, even for those he doesn't know."

"You misunderstand me, Hermione. If one of you, one, ever got into the Dark Lord's hands, Potter would give himself up so that the hostage would live." Hermione's face fell and she looked blankly at the paper. "Do you deny it?"

"No," she said quietly. "You're right. He would give himself up for us, which is incredibly noble."

"Foolish," Draco said simultaneously.

Hermione looked at him appraisingly, an odd, mixed expression. Draco could only imagine what was running through her mind.

"Foolish," she said quietly. "You think so?"

"Yes. Potter's duty is to 'save the world'," he said with scorn. "He can't do that while constantly worrying about if his friends are alive or not."

"So he has to focus," said Hermione.

"Or forget. No matter how much he focuses on his task, what would he do if one of you were to die in battle?"

"It'd either kill him or make him stronger."

"That's a chance you can't afford to take, though. He needs to dissociate himself from his friends while fighting. It's about him and the Dark Lord, no one else."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Ginny…" she whispered. "What about Ginny?"

Draco gave her a strange look. "What about her?"

"They're going out." She said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which, Draco supposed, it was. "If Voldemort got his hands on Ginny, I don't know what Harry would do..."

"Anything," Draco answered for her. "If he loves her, he would do anything..." He said the last quietly, almost to himself.

Hermione, despite Draco's far-away look, allowed herself a warm smile, then got back to business. "I'll Floo Channing tomorrow and give him the news."

Draco gave a satisfied smirk and leaned back against the couch. "See? I can help you. You should have told me sooner. Who knows how many more brilliant ideas I could have come up with?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and hit him playfully on the arm. "Yes, absolutely stunning ideas, Draco. Now if you could just put your intelligent mind to your homework, perhaps we'll get something else done tonight."

Draco groaned, but nevertheless grabbed his books. For the rest of the evening, Draco worked on Astronomy while Hermione concentrated on Ancient Runes. At about midnight, they headed to their separate beds for the evening.

XOX

Hermione fed Channing the information she and Draco had discovered. He was most pleased with her progress. Moody continued to send her updates from the Order every week. She did not talk to Draco about these matters, though that did not stop him from asking. But Hermione held firm in her decision to stay silent. It was business for Order members only. And even though she trusted Draco, she did not want to break the promise she had made at her initiation into the prestigious group.

A month passed. Valentine's Day was just around the corner and looming over Draco's head. He wanted to do something special, but he could not think of what. There were the ridiculously normal things – flowers, chocolates, sweet yet empty promises – but the thought of something so simple made Draco cringe.

All day it bothered him and, as Hermione slid into his arms on the couch that night, Draco felt distracted and absurdly worried. Hermione noticed his tension almost immediately and asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing," Draco answered quickly. "Just tired is all."

Hermione looked at him for a second then nodded and lay her head back down on his chest. "I won't keep you up for so long tonight, then," she said. Draco chuckled and lifted her head with his finger. Although a second ago he had a witty retort, words failed him as he met her eyes. He kissed her instead, a welcome alternative.

The task of Valentine's Day weighed even heavier on his heart. For a moment, he entertained the notion of simply asking her what she wanted. 'But that takes the fun out of everything. And I want this to be a surprise.'

Suddenly, he had an idea. He started with the genius of it, jolting Hermione.

"What was that?" she asked him, sitting up.

"Um, nothing," said Draco, sitting up now as well. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I've really got to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." With a quick peck to her lips, he quickly mounted the stairs and entered his room, feeling the need to make the proper arrangements immediately.

XOX

February 14th arrived. In fact, it had almost left. The Great Hall had been entirely decorated with garish pink and red hearts, causing young girls to giggle and boys to pretend to retch into their hats. Hermione sat at dinner with Ron and Ginny, her head resting on one hand while the other played with her mashed potatoes. She had a far-off look in her eyes, which bordered on tears every once in a while.

Ron was oblivious to the entire situation. He was much more fascinated with Lavender Brown, with whom he had reconciled and was once again dating. Ginny, though, noticed Hermione's melancholy and reached across the table, placing her hand comfortingly on Hermione's arm.

"I know how you feel, Hermione," she said with a weak smile. Hermione noticed that glitter of tears in her eyes as well. She sighed and nodded.

"I know, Ginny. Thanks."

With a friendly squeeze, Ginny turned back to her potatoes which, Hermione noticed, were piled similarly to her own. 'Obviously I'm not the only one hurting today,' she thought. She had not seen Draco for the entire day. And the days before that, he had been distracted and distant, giving Hermione an odd and not at all friendly feeling. It was ironic: on the day entirely devoted to couples, Hermione had been studiously ignored.

She glanced at her watch and sighed again. Deciding that just sitting at the table messing with her food was doing absolutely no good, Hermione excused herself and headed back towards her dormitory. As she approached, she found the portrait empty and frowned. Just then, a hand gripped her shoulder.

Hermione screamed and turned towards the wall where the hand had touched her. Out stepped Draco, looking quite pleased with himself for getting Hermione to elicit such a high-pitched exclamation.

Already not in the best mood, Hermione's day was not brightened by the scare. 'And the maniacal grin on his face isn't helping either,' she thought, thoroughly annoyed.

"I was hoping you would come back soon," he said, taking hold of her hand. Without explanation, he pulled her through the passageway and started to twist and turn through the castle walls. Hermione did not recognize the path he took and was growing more suspicious and anxious with each step.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously.

They finally exited the tunnel in front of the Room of Requirement. Hermione gave a reluctant smile. "Draco, what have you planned?" Her heart immediately felt lighter.

"Oh, nothing really," he said while walking in front of the room three times. A door then appeared and Draco pulled her towards it.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Hermione," he whispered into her ear as he shut the door behind him.

She gasped at the grandeur before her. A delicate and intricately wrought iron table covered in a cream table cloth sat in the center of the room, with two similarly fashioned chairs on either side. Upon it sat a vase with a single red rose. Light violin music came from an invisible source, making the candlelight from the ornate candelabras sway gently as if in a soft breeze. Tiny lights flitted about in the air with no discernable pattern. They seemed to be accompanied with the faint sound of bells. "iFaerie/i" Hermione breathed.

She turned to Draco, smiling radiantly. Tears of happiness filled her eyes as she hooked her arms around his neck. "Draco, it's beautiful." The small bit of worry that he wormed its way into his gaze left immediately at Hermione's words. "Thank you," she said, kissing him. "It's too much."

"With a Malfoy, it's all or nothing," he replied with a smile against her lips. With that, he took her arm, genteelly escorting her to the table. After seating her, he snapped his fingers and ordered for them both. They passed the meal with relatively little spoken conversation. All the words either had to say were more effectively transmitted through their eyes: gentle gazes, amused half-glances, and even a few smoldering, lust-filled looks.

After dessert, Draco passed a red velvet bag across the table. In it was her gift: another charm for the bracelet she received at Christmas. This time, it was a dragon, "To always remind you of me," Draco said with a charming smile. He nimbly attached it to the delicate silver chain and took her hand, helping her up. As she stood, the table disappeared completely and the floor shifted beneath her feet. She stumbled a bit, holding onto Draco for balance.

"What's happening?" she asked, looking at the floor. It changed from wood to exquisitely spiraled marble. In the corner, a bureau appeared, as did a changing screen. She looked up at him, raising one of her fine brows. "Draco," she said with a smile, "what the devil is this all about?"

He said nothing, but led her to the bureau. He opened it slowly, guarding the contents from her view for a moment before moving away. Hermione gasped as her ball gown hung before her, complete with mask, shoes, and gloves. Her soft eyes brimmed with tears once more as she turned to him.

"How long have you known?" she asked.

"Since the first time we kissed," he said in a low whisper. "No one else ever kissed me like you did that night. It had to be you." They relived the moment and he ushered her towards the wardrobe. Taking the hint, Hermione changed into the exquisite gown and did her hair and makeup as best she could. When she exited, Draco was already waiting for her on what she now realized was a dance floor. He was dressed as Don Juan and looked just as debonair as the first time.

The music started; Draco and Hermione's night had just begun. Until late into the evening, they danced, whispering subtle devotions into each other's ears and leaving only when the candles had burned down completely.