Within ten minutes of her getting to her room there was a loud knock on her door. She thought about ignoring it but the second knock was louder so she reluctantly opened it. Draco was standing there, holding a large bag which obviously contained the dress.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"It was too expensive."

"I don't mean the dress," he said. He flung it into her hands and she stared at it.

"I'm just tired - I might be coming down with something. I need to rest before the party..." Hermione rambled. She forced the dress back into his hands. "I can't accept it, sorry."

Draco looked down at the bag that was back in his hands and then back at her for a moment. "Are you mad at me?"

"No - I just feel out of sorts."

Draco pushed the dress back into her hands. "In which case, please accept the dress."

"It was too expensive."

"No it wasn't." Draco looked her up and down, obviously not convinced by her protestations. "If you promise that your just tired then I'll leave you to rest." Hermione nodded. "Okay - have a rest and stop worrying about how much the dress cost." Draco did another double take at her and then walked away slowly.

Hermione shut the door and then went and collapsed onto her bed. She lay on her bed for a long time - her mind racing. She wasn't sure what was happening but this morning's events had made her really think.

So, she'd seen Draco with a woman? So what? He had every right to be with anyone he wanted. They were supposed to be friends so, if he wanted a girlfriend that should be okay. So, why hadn't it felt okay? Some of Hermione's upset was because she felt like Draco had been deceiving her - meeting someone behind her back and being sneaky but that wasn't what created the horrible, sickening feeling.

Hermione sat up and plumped up her pillows before throwing herself back onto them. That horrible, sickening, painful feeling had a name and she forced herself to admit it. She was jealous. She wanted to be with Draco to exclusion of everyone else. The bubble that the competition had created had allowed them to spend so much time alone without interference from the outside world and now the outside world was intruding and Hermione didn't like it.

She sighed because she really didn't want to fall out with Draco and in his defence, he hadn't actually done anything wrong - whatever his relationship might be with the woman at the coffee shop. That would be the official line but the fact was, unofficially, they were now so close and he was opening up to Hermione so much, that him meeting another woman and not telling Hermione about it, wasn't nice.

She tried to gather herself because she would need to start getting ready and forcing herself into a party mood soon. She could definitely not start the conversation about this morning with Draco - she didn't trust herself to remain level headed about it and to not end up letting emotions get the better of her. So, she would have to pin a smile on her face and pretend. She'd try to keep making excuses for Draco and hoping there was a reasonable explanation. Nevertheless it was time to use her limited acting abilities.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

She finished pinning up her hair and then surveyed her reflection. The dress was lovely (and so it should be at how much it had cost!) and now she had on some silver sandals, a silver chain and bracelet and her hair pinned up to one side with some silver accessories she was very pleased with her appearance. Not bad for someone who's heart really hadn't been into getting ready.

Knock knock.

Hermione snatched her small bag and went to open the door. She pinned a smile on her face and tried to force herself to be upbeat.

"Hello," she said as she opened the door to Draco.

"Good evening," he said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Really?" Draco sounded incredulous. "I'm calling for a women who's ready on time?"

"You are," Hermione gave him a smile, not having to force it too much. She stepped out into the corridor and locked her door.

"You look lovely," Draco complimented her. "The dress is beautiful."

"Thank you," Hermione said. This all felt very strange and awkward. "Where are the children?"

"They're already down there with the other competitors."

They walked down to the Great Hall and Hermione tried desperately to put her feelings to one side. It just felt so right when they were together...she stopped her train of thought, knowing it was now a dangerous one.

They entered the large hall,which had undergone a transformation. The lighting was low with several large, round tables to one side and the raised stage at the back had several chairs and a stand on it. There was music playing and it was already quite full.

Hermione saw Harry and Ginny waving frantically at her and she turned to Draco, wondering if he'd be willing to sit with them.

"Can we sit with Harry or will that blow your mind?" she asked.

Draco shrugged. "I don't care - he's harmless enough in small doses."

"Bloody hell! That was almost a compliment - on your scale at least!"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Granger," Draco said but he willingly followed Hermione to sit with Harry and Ginny.

"Well, that seemed painless!" Ginny commented with her usual bluntness.

"What did?"

"You, managing to persuade Malfoy to sit over here!" Ginny flashed Draco a grin. "What exactly did Hermione offer you to sit with us?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Weaslette?" Draco could give as good as he got. Ginny raised her eyebrows and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"If you two are going to carry on like this then I'll be moving tables to sit on my own!" she said and she heard Harry laugh.

Ginny touched Hermione's dress. "This is lovely, Hermione. Where did you get it?"

"Errr..." Hermione stumbled over her answer knowing that if she told Ginny the truth, she would wonder why Hermione was suddenly being so extravagant. She didn't really have much choice though as Draco was also sitting right here with her. "I got it at Warp and Weft."

She saw Ginny's expression change and got herself ready for the obvious question. "Wow! I'd love to shop there..." Ginny stopped and did a quick glance at Draco. "Well, as I said, it's beautiful."

Hermione tried to not look surprised that Ginny hadn't asked her about how much it cost. She obviously didn't want to bring it up in front of Draco. By asking her about how much it was it implied that Hermione was struggling for money and Ginny wouldn't want to do that in front of Draco.

Ella came into Hermione's line of vision and she realised she hadn't even asked Draco how she was after his confessions yesterday. That would be a nice normal conversation to start with him and maybe act as a reminder for him how they had been working so well together.

"How was Ella this morning?" Hermione asked.

Draco turned to look at Hermione properly. "Great," he said, his voice deep. His eyes softened as they met her own and Hermione felt the tingles again. "She was great, Hermione." Draco sounded totally astounded that what he was saying was true. "All down to you." These last words were said quietly and Hermione stared at him. Why was he doing this? Surely even Draco Malfoy wasn't this heartless. Buying a gift for one women in the morning and then this tender, sweet appreciation being show to her this evening - he was sending her emotions into turmoil!

"I told you it wasn't down to me." She tried to sound abrupt.

"Yes it was."

"Draco..." She didn't get to finish her sentence because an announcement was being made by Professor Wayburn who was standing on the stage.

"Welcome to everyone here. I hope you all have a wonderful evening and everyone involved should be proud of how successful this entire competition has been.

The tests tomorrow will be a much less formal affair than the previous tests. We will lay the tests out on the field at the back of the castle. We will allocate each competitor an event to start from and then they will move around at their own pace, until they have completed them all. Each test will challenge the competitors in a different way - some using physical attributes, some mental and some both. Some tests it won't be obvious what we are testing for, but each one will add to the final decision. As they progress around the field, we will be speaking to them and asking them questions.

You will be free to wonder around and watch any competitor you wish but you must not speak to them when the test is in progress.

Tonight we have some special guests who will be judging the tests tomorrow and helping with the final decision. They will also be the people that the winner can chose to help him or her.

So, without further ado, I would like to introduce our special mentors."

"Ooh! I am excited!" Ginny said, and Hermione gave a little laugh at her enthusiasm.

"It'll probably be some boring old wizard who's invented a new spell, or something," Harry said, acerbically.

"If you would welcome our first mentor. For many years he has been guiding young wizards in the ancient art of spell writing. He is responsible for the infamous Thunder spell and wrote new spells to protect some ancient wizard buildings from detection. Please stand up for Professor Clarius Hoult."

An elderly wizard with a very tall hat and small glasses stood up on the stage and waved around the room.

"Told you," Harry said, joining in the applause. "Old and boring."

"Harry - he's written some of the most famous spells of recent times! I'd love to be mentored by him," Hermione admonished him but Harry just shrugged.

"Our second mentor has spent his life helping to heal and look after the sick. He has previously been in charge of the most advanced and famous healing houses across the wizarding world and has worked on cures for many deadly wizard diseases including Boil and Itch syndrome. Please welcome Raymond Walters."

Everyone clapped and again and Harry sighed. "I've heard of him but do you think they'll be anyone young and interesting as well?"

"Stop moaning, Harry," Hermione said, impatiently. "As long as they can mentor the competitors, what difference does it make how old they are?"

"If you would now welcome our third mentor - a familiar face to most of you by now, I would imagine," Proffessor Wayburn announced. "Despite her youth, she has taken the wizarding world by storm - not only gracing the cover of many famous magazines but also being awarded genius status by the Potion Masters Society for her amazing skills when creating her own range of beauty products. Please welcome Miss Gabrielle Delacour!" Everyone applauded and the young wizard they all recognized as Fleur's sister stepped onto the stage. She had grown up and was undoubtedly beautiful with long, blonde hair and equally long legs.

"Bloody hell! Look at Fleur's sister!" Harry said, unnecessarily. Ginny slapped his arm viciously.

Gabrielle was surprisingly familiar to Hermione not only because she looked like her sister but also because her face was regularly featured on the front of Witch Weekly and other prominent magazines. Not that Hermione read many magazines but she saw them in shops and restaurants. Gabrielle's range of her own beauty products, including wizard perfume (which smelt of whatever you wished for when wearing it) and make-up (which covered blemishes and wrinkles magically) were top sellers. She even had eye shadow that could temporarily change the colour of your eyes. She invented the formula's for these items herself and was an amazing potions mixer, hence her honour of genius status with the Potion Masters Society.

Her fame for her looks and her skills was immense, and in equal measure and despite her young age, Hermione understood completely why she had been chosen as a mentor.

"Our fourth mentor has been chosen for a slightly different reason to the others. She is no less talented but her talent is newly discovered. She hasn't a history of invention and, in fact, she wasn't even trying to invent anything. We have chosen her so that she can pass on her advice about finding sudden fame and her inspiration for her ground breaking idea."

"Mmm...can't guess who this might be..." Harry said.

"I'm sure the name of her wonderful potion, that has changed the way we can produce other potions, will already be on your lips and if you haven't used it already it won't be long until you do..."

"Oh no..." Draco said, with a groan.

"What? What is it?" Hermione asked.

Professor Wayburn continued. "Some of the best ideas can seemingly come from no-where and therefore we have chosen our fourth mentor as an inspiration to the young minds taking part here. Please give a warm welcome to Miss Pansy Parkinson -Inventor of the wizarding world's newest spell - The Elixir Mixer."

Pansy had become the flavour of the moment, having invented a new spell. Brand new spells were very rare and usually they were an adaptation of another ancient spell. However, Pansy had managed to create a totally new spell and also one that was very useful. It could be used to mix potions - some called it the cheat spell. You gathered the ingredients for the potion, said the spell and it mixed them for you. It was banned at Hogwarts but very useful to anyone wanting to mix large quantities of potion identically. Pansy had become an overnight star but some doubt had been cast over exactly how much of the potion she had invented herself.

"Oh!" Hermione gulped and looked at Draco who was shaking his head in dismay.

"Why have they picked her?" Ginny demanded to no-one in particular. "She was lucky enough to come across the spell, that's all. She has no real talent."

"She has the talent to make everyone believe she invented it!" Draco said, acerbically. "And the talent to lap up all the attention and play along! There goes Scorpius and Ella's chance of any points!"

"I don't suppose she'll be handing many points out to Albus either!" Harry said.

"Well, she is only one of the mentors. It won't be entirely down to her," Hermione said. She stared at Draco's ex girlfriend malevolently. She'd never liked her at school and she still had the same surly look on her face now. She glanced over at Draco who looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Professor Wayburn was continuing. "Our final mentor is someone we have all admired and who has consistently proven to us what an amazing sportsman he is, both as a player, and now as a coach as well. This was a simple choice for us because no-one can pass on his expertise in the sporting field like this gentleman can. Our final mentor is Viktor Krum!"

"Viktor Krum! You've got to be joking!" Hermione felt the world stop for a moment. She had still been thinking about Pansy and had only been half listening to Professor Wayburn. It wasn't until his last sentence that she began to sit up and take notice. His description made a name pass through her mind but she didn't believe it until she heard it. Viktor Krum! She hadn't seen him since school and their romance (if it even qualified as that) had been short lived and had ended abruptly. He had always given Hermione the impression that he would have willingly let it continue but, after the initial attraction, it didn't take Hermione long to work out that they had absolutely nothing in common.

"Bloody hell!" Harry said, non too quietly. He was staring at Draco and Hermione. "Who could have imagined it?"

Hermione stared at the man on the stage and sighed. He had been harmless enough, just not right for her but that didn't mean she wanted him here at Hogwarts again and worse still mentoring the children! She realised she'd have to speak to him, with her being the children's professor and it made her want to run screaming from the room.

"Pansy Parkinson and Viktor Krum!" Draco's voice sounded astonished and melancholy. "I can't believe two of my children's mentors are Pansy bloody Parkinson and Viktor bloody Krum!"

"You and me both!" Hermione agreed. Draco was right! One of them would have been bad enough but both? At once?

Harry turned round to face Hermione and grinned. He reached his hand over and patted her knee. "You've been given a second chance, Hermione!" he said. "Maybe you're love life will finally sort itself out."

Hermione glared at her friend. "How would you like to spew up slugs for the next few hours, Potter?"

Harry chuckled and patted her knee again. "Come on! All the women like him, so he must be good looking and he's a brilliant sportsman. I bet he has a few galleons to his name - he'd be quite a catch!" Hermione took her wand out and waved it at Harry who drew back, still grinning. "You wouldn't."

"Don't tempt me, Potter!" Hermione warned. "I can think of worse things than slugs!"

Harry laughed again and turned back to the stage again. Hermione turned to look at Draco, who had watched her exchange with Harry closely.

"Pansy hates me. My children stand no chance of getting any points from her!" he said, miserably. "She's going to be after my blood!"

"What did you do to her?" Harry asked.

"Mind your own business, Potter," Draco said.

"Well I always thought you and Pansy were a match made in heaven," Harry was grinning again. "I might point that out to her if I get a chance."

"Very funny, Potter."

"But what did you do to her to make her hate you?" Hermione asked.

"You can mind your own business as well, Granger," Draco answered. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest defensively.

Hermione turned to Harry."All we need is Cho Chang and we'll have a full set!"

"Don't even joke about that!" Harry said.

"No don't!" Ginny agreed.

"Shouldn't you be hurrying over to the stage to face up to your deep, dark pasts?" Harry asked Draco and Hermione, chuckling at his own joke.

Hermione glared at him again."You need to shut up now, Harry!"

"I can't believe this!" Draco said, again, eyeing the guests on the stage morosely.

"This is a nightmare!" Hermione agreed.

"I mean -both of them! Pansy and Krum! It's ridiculous!"

"I haven't seen Krum since we left school..."

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same about Pansy."

"Well, you'll just have to ignore her, for the sake of the children."

"Somehow I have a feeling that Pansy isn't going to let me ignore her," Draco commented. "And you shouldn't ignore Krum."

"Why not?"

"Flutter your eyelashes at him, tell him how much you like my children and I'm sure it'll influence the outcome." Draco shrugged.

"I have no intention of fluttering anything at him!"

"Seriously, I hope this doesn't affect the scores," Draco said. "I'd hate something I've done to affect my children's chances."

"Well, if bloody Parkinson or Krum cause a problem, then they might get to taste slugs as well." Hermione said, forcefully. She was enjoying Draco's company despite the horrible confusion and upset that were lurking in the background. Right now, she could really not imagine that Draco's meeting this morning had been anything she should be concerned about. She also knew, from bitter experience, that life wasn't always as simple as that...

More next...