Chapter 17

Hermione Granger had feelings for Draco Malfoy. This was an irrefutable fact that she could no longer ignore or pretend that she didn't feel. Not after the Library and definitely not after the Forest. She wasn't exactly sure when they had started, but they were here now and she had to face them. And at some point, she would have to face Malfoy himself.

She was even having trouble focusing in classes, which was very unlike herself, because her eyes kept drifting to the windows, looking at the dark stretch of trees and imagining sneaking off into them again. The patches of daylight had lit up the darkened Forest he had flown her into and Hermione still felt the warmth over every inch of her he had kissed and marked.

She couldn't stop thinking about it. Being with Draco, yes Draco, had been amazing. He had been nothing like the boy who she had known for years and for the first time she had felt like a girl just being able to spend time with the boy she liked. And who maybe liked her? He had been drunk and had only said that he didn't dislike her. But coming from Draco that was probably as good as it was going to get. Still… when he was looking down at her his smoky eyes had shown her a glimpse into his depths. Depths she was both apprehensive and eager to explore.

Draco had been… wow. That whole day had been wow. From him touching her while they soared through the sky to what he had done with his mouth… just wow. Hermione had been in a daze all Sunday evening, not even listening to Ginny as she talked about how the Weird Sisters cancelled their tour because of the increased number of incidents and attacks. Even though his mouth had been her 'reward' for agreeing to fly with him, it felt like he had almost planned that whole day to be for her.

She knew it wasn't really true but still, that's what it felt like. He had been amicable, playful, and mischievous; even answering her questions about his past sexual history. She had felt a little strange asking about it, but wasn't able to stop her curiosity from getting the better of her. She had braved the risk of him getting angry with her for the chance to get to know him a little better. After all, she had lost her virginity to him and barely knew anything about him.

"Ginny, can I ask you something personal?" Hermione interrupted her.

"What is it?" Ginny asked, her tone changing from annoyed to interested.

Hermione looked around and then leaned in a little. "Have you and Dean ever… you know?"

Ginny blushed up to her ears. "We've done… stuff. But not that."

"Oh." Hermione wasn't entirely sure why she was asking, but maybe if she could talk about it with someone else she could figure out if these feelings were caused by the physical acts or something more.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just… just wondering."

"Did Ron tell you to ask?"

"What?" Hermione gasped. "No!"

"Harry?" Her voice softened.

"No one told me to ask."

Ginny sat with her thoughts for a little while, playing with a lock of her long copper hair. "He's hinted at it, but… I just," She took a breath. "Dean's a nice guy and all, but I don't want him to be my first."

Hermione bit her lip, still a little tender as where the spots where Malfoy had marked her. The ones on her neck she covered up with a glamour charm, but the ones under her clothes she let be. She hid them, but she liked them being there. So did he. And she liked that too.

"I understand," She murmured. There was nothing wrong with waiting for the right person to come along. She didn't regret giving hers to Malfoy, but wondered what it would have been like to lose her virginity to someone who actually cared about her. Even Malfoy had that with Pansy. He had said he didn't really care about her, even then, but he had at least cared enough to actually date her for a while.

Is that what she wanted? To date Draco? No, it couldn't be. She just wanted… she wasn't sure. She just wanted to know she wasn't crazy for feeling like this. It burned with a cool heat. Like… like mint. Like him. She didn't know how to stop it at this point. She had played a dangerous game with him, but… this didn't feel like losing. Not right now at least.

"I'm going to break up with him soon," Ginny admitted, pulling that lock of hair again.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out." Hermione gave her a sympathetic smile. Ginny had vented about Dean enough times that she didn't need to ask why. She had told Hermione that she did still care about him and didn't want to hurt him by breaking up, but at this point didn't know what else to do. The relationship had run its course.

"It's fine." Ginny shrugged sadly and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "It's for the best."

Hermione nodded and picked up Crookshanks who had come sauntering down from her dormitory. He purred loudly and made a bed in her lap. One day, that would happen to her and Malfoy too. Their… arrangement would come to an end. It might be the next time he snapped at her and she stormed off or it might be when Malfoy got tired of her like he did every other girl. How many times had she walked into the bathroom to find some girl crying in there and wailing out his name?

She promised herself, right then and there, she would not be one of them. No matter what happened between her and Malfoy, she would not cry over him. Not him. He might have gotten her virginity, but he wouldn't get her heart. Even with these smoldering feelings deep inside, she would keep her heart well above the flames.

"At least he's not on the team anymore," Ginny went on. Hermione had to stop her eyes from rolling. Ginny talked about Quidditch just as much as Harry and Ron. "I talked to Katie after practice the other day and she said they tried to retrieve her memories to see who cursed her, but they were gone. Whoever cast the memory charm knew what they were doing."

Hermione's brows pulled together in concentration. Thankfully there had not been another attack since Ron had accidently been poisoned, but maybe that just meant whoever was behind the attacks was getting smarter, more careful. More dangerous.

"It's awful, isn't it?" Hermione said softly.

Ginny nodded solemnly. "It's only going to get worse."

Thinking about the war to come certainly made her own issues pale in comparison. She wouldn't have time to worry about boys once she had graduated and joined the Order. And the war might start before then. She knew she wanted to fight alongside Harry and-

Goodness… Hermione blinked her eyes open. She never considered what Malfoy might do after he graduated. Would he follow in his Father's footsteps and become a Death Eater? Those silver eyes behind the metal mask flashed dangerously in her mind. Would there come a day when she saw those same eyes in the same mask when she wasn't dreaming?

He had stopped calling her that name, but had no problem sharing his views on Muggleborns to her face. He had always said this wouldn't change anything between them and he didn't seem conflicted between his beliefs and lust. Of course not; Malfoy was always in control, always in charge even of himself. The only time he had let that slip was the other night in the Library when he had let the liquor talk for him. That didn't mean he had stopped hating Muggleborns. Hermione looked down at her lap and frowned. How could she have feelings for someone who hated what she was? But also, did he?

"I don't… not… like you."

"You don't know what you are to me."

Would he still call her Mudblood if she had told him it was a… what was it? Hard line? What exactly had she gotten herself into? Things with Malfoy had gone farther than she ever thought they would. She hadn't planned on conducting this secret affair with him for so long. When it started, it was just a way to distract her from Ron really, but now Ron was back and she… she didn't want to stop.

In fact she wanted more.

It was risky, fanning the flames of her affection for him in order to feel the cool quiet that he gave her when she let him take over. Because that was the best way to describe their interactions. Her first time she had told him to take her and take her he had. But more than that, she let him. Every time she gave herself over to him and let him have control. No one and nothing had ever made her feel like that before.

In those moments she didn't worry about anything. She didn't think about her strained relationships with her friends or her study schedule. She didn't think about the attacks in the paper or the ones here at school. She didn't think about the war that was coming and the parts they might both play in it. Just him. Only him.

Crookshanks stretched, spreading out his clawed paws and then settled back down. Hermione stroked his back softly, running her fingers through his ginger fur. Life for him was simple. She was a little envious.

"Sorry," Ginny said quickly, shaking her head so that her curtain of hair moved around her face. "I zoned out there for a moment."

Hermione gathered herself back up. She hadn't even noticed because she was too caught up in her own thoughts.

"No problem," She smiled and watched as Ginny glanced over to where Harry was sitting. "It's late, I get it."

"Yeah I should probably get to bed. No use studying if I can't keep my eyes open."

"How are you doing with your O.W.L. preparations?" Hermione asked as they gathered their things and headed towards the girls' dormitory.

"Uh," Ginny was trying to buy time. "Good."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Have you even been using the outline we made?"

"Things have come up," Ginny's voice went up a little at the end.

Hermione opened her mouth to reprimand her friend when Ron's voice made her turn.

"Goodnight, Hermione," He called.

Hermione glanced back at him, a little confused as to why he was making an effort to wish her a goodnight.

"Erm, yeah," She said awkwardly and started up the stairs.

Ginny and her laughter followed Hermione around the curve as she jumped up the stairs two at a time.

Draco stood in front of the Vanishing Cabinet with his heart pounding. He had come here tonight to work on it again, but once he opened it up, all he could do was stare into the empty darkness and think about the weight of his task bearing down on him until he couldn't breathe.

"Count to three, Draco. Inhale then exhale," His Mother coached him. He had suffered under these fits before. Sometimes getting so intense that he felt like his chest was caving in under the pressure and his heart wouldn't slow down for the life of him. He tried to breathe. His lips were shaking. He was failing.

He had to do this. The Dark Lord would kill him if he didn't. His Father would rot away in that cold prison and his Mother would fade into a slip of a person, waiting for him to come home, come back to her. If she made it that long, that is.

How could it have come to this? He was sixteen years old. Other guys his age were worried about exams or Quidditch or girls. And he was plotting a murder so that he would not be murdered in return.

What would it feel like? Death. Would it hurt? Would it be quick?

Maybe he could ask Ghostie.

Draco ran his hand over his damp face. He had to calm down. He had to get back in control.

"You're weak, that's why," His Father had told him. "You must master yourself or you will fail at everything you attempt to achieve."

One.

Two.

Fuck.

Draco stumbled back, pulling the sleeve of his shirt up and staring down at the bruised brand on his arm. Heavy gasps made his chest rise and fall, but no matter how much air he sucked in his chest, he couldn't get any oxygen from it. His heart was racing, pounding, slamming itself around his chest cavity; screaming to get out. To run. Run. Run. Run.

The mark burned deeper and he winced, holding his arm tenderly. It knew when he was fighting it and punished him for it. He leaned back against the base of a statue and slid down to the floor. He gritted his teeth, sucking air in between them until it passed.

He was lightheaded. He couldn't focus on anything and all his muscles were straining under the skin against the invisible pressure crushing him, pushing him down and holding him there. He tried a few times before he hauled himself back up to his feet. The skin around the mark was an angry shade of red.

Fuck this mark.

Fuck this Cabinet.

Fuck it all.

Draco slammed his fist into the stone base he had been leaning against.

It hurt. Good.

He did it again.

Draco drove his fist against it three more times before he roared out, looking down at his hand- bruised, bloody, and broken.

The pain centered him and he could breathe again. Draco filled his lungs and blood with the sweet oxygen again, his chest expanding for what felt like the first time in ages. He focused on the ache in his hand, the knuckles sliced open, the blood running down his fingers.

It looked just like hers had. He didn't like that. There should be a clear and distinct line between them. One that he could walk. Instead, it was all muddled and complicated and he had these wretched feelings and couldn't stop thinking about how she tasted and how she looked and that little smile she had made just for him when she laid in the sunlight.

"Focus, Draco!" Bellatrix had scolded him. "Push everything out of your mind. Make it blank. That should be easy for you," She sneered.

His training with his Aunt had not just been torturing Muggles, it had also included lessons in Occlumency. Surprisingly, Draco had done quite well. So well in fact, when he had been able to repel her from breaking into his mind, Bellatrix had said he was ready for advanced lessons.

Then she had cast the Cruciatus curse on him to see if he could keep her out then. She had almost seemed disappointed on the day before he left for school again and was finally able to do as she asked. It seemed Draco was a natural at control.

He took a sharp breath and found himself in front of the Cabinet again. He looked down at his hand. He wasn't a Seeker anymore so it didn't matter as much that he had busted it up. He wasn't a Prefect anymore either. He wasn't anything but what this mark on his arm made him. Draco cleared his mind, putting up walls and locking doors.

One.

Two.

Three.

Draco tapped his hand with his wand and a simple splint wrapped around his hand. He'd get it tended to later. Blaise was actually fairly talented when it came to healing charms and he never asked questions when Draco presented him with his latest self-inflicted injury.

The Cabinet loomed over him and Draco, mental walls in place, wiped his sweat beaded brow with his good hand and set himself to work.

Hermione was brushing her teeth when Parvati and Lavender walked into the bathroom the next morning. She pulled her robe up around her neck a little since she hadn't had time to cast another glamour charm yet and although Draco's marks had begun to fade, they were still visible. She smiled at herself in the mirror. She'd have to show him.

Lavender started the small shower and turned back to Parvati. "He's been acting very strange lately." Her voice was low and the water loud, but Hermione was still able to pick up bits of it if she didn't brush too hard. She let her brush slow and watched the two girls behind her in the mirror.

"I think you should dump him." Parvati was clearly as fed up with their waning relationship as everyone else seemed to be. Hermione knew she shouldn't be listening in to yet another conversation, especially one about Ron and Lavender's relationship, but… she leaned over and spit into the sink before lifting the brush back to her mouth.

"No, no," Lavender countered. "I think… I just need to show him that we are good together. Remember how sweet he was when he got back from the Apparition lessons?"

Hermione fought her eyes as they tried to roll. So after he had spent the day with her and tried to flirt with Madam Rosmerta, Ron had come back and been a wonderful boyfriend to Lavender. After all his complaints and comments about how he was annoyed with her and wished their relationship was over, it hadn't stopped him from going back to her.

Hermione rinsed her toothbrush off and tapped it against the side of the sink. But then again, she had flown off with Malfoy and let him… Hermione blinked at herself in the mirror, looking at the little bruise like marks running down her neck. She shivered, remembering the feel of his mouth when he made them.

"And that night," Lavender's tone turned excited. "I, uh, you know," she whispered, grinning while she piled her blonde hair up on top of her head and kicked off her slippers.

Parvati gasped. "You had sex with him again? I thought you said you weren't going to anymore until he started to treat you better!"

Hermione gripped the sink to steady herself. She had… assumed that Ron and Lavender had progressed to that level long ago. It was pretty obvious, really, but somehow still a shock to hear it so blatantly. Would she feel the same if it had been Harry? Would Ron be shocked if he heard she had slept with someone? Of course he would.

She didn't feel the same about Ron anymore, but… this was all just a reminder of why he had chosen Lavender over her in the first place.

"I didn't sleep with him," Lavender continued and pulled back the shower curtain. "Just a little blow job."

They fell into a fit of giggles and Hermione felt something clench uncomfortably around her stomach. At first she wondered why she felt odd about this when the feelings she had for Ron didn't feel like the ones she had for Draco then she realized that these weren't for Ron at all. They were for Lavender. She felt bad for Lavender.

She was here, thinking that there was a future for her and Ron and had no idea that he had spent the last two weeks talking about how he didn't want her anymore. He had let her go down on him when he knew, he knew, it was ending.

Lavender pulled the tie around her robe and let it slip from her shoulders. "He'll have to earn it if he wants this again." She swung the tie a little and shook her shoulders.

Parvati giggled. "You're so bad!"

Hermione had enough. She tucked her toothbrush bag in her bag and closed it tightly. She stalked out of the bathroom and threw her bag on her bed, pacing beside it a few times. Her eyes kept cutting over it and then she sighed, took it off the bed and put it in its proper drawer like she always did. She did slam it close though.

She was mad at Ron. He could be careless sometimes with other people's feelings and she knew what that felt like. It had cut into her, seeing Lavender still excited about him when the only reason they were still together was that Ron didn't have the… balls, yeah balls, to break it off with her.

She didn't talk to him in Potions, choosing to focus on Slughorn's lecture on Dreamless Sleep Potions. Maybe she should consider brewing some; it might take care of those pesky nightmares about the Department of Mysteries. She still had some Moly left over and could probably sneak some Sopophorous beans from the supply cabinet when no one was looking. Oh my, when had she gotten so flippant about stealing?

Probably around the same time she decided to have sex with Malfoy.

Hermione tried not to think about Ron for the rest of the day. And instead, Malfoy slithered in. He always did. Anytime she had a free thought, it found its way back to him. Just like she did.

By afternoon, the sun had gradually burned away the hanging fog of the morning and Hermione walked confidently down to Herbology, a small skip in her step. Spring was starting to take back the ground from the cold grip of winter with patches of startling green grass cropping up and multicolored birds darting back and forth overhead. She watched as the fog rolled back into the dark confines of the Forbidden Forest and bit her lip. Her thoughts followed it into the strong branches of the silent trees.

She took a place between Harry and Neville and slid her gloves over her hands; pulling them up over her wrists firmly so she would be ready the moment Professor Sprout started her lesson. Harry was struggling with his, as they had grown a little tighter since last year. He grunted as he pulled them further onto his hands.

"You should just order some new ones," She chided.

"I've been meaning to," Harry growled. "I just keep, uh! Forgetting with, urg, everything else going ON!" The gloves finally slipped the rest of the way on and he flexed his hand a few times, stretching them.

"Well you really should," Hermione lowered her voice. "You remember what Diagon Alley was like last summer and it was even worse when I went back over break. You might not be able to get them soon."

Harry stared down into the empty pot in front of him. "I don't think I'll be doing much gardening in the near future." He sighed and his green eyes darkened behind his glasses.

Things had been getting worse as of late. Reports of attacks in the Prophet to the point where almost every student at the school seemed to have a family member or friend who was affected by them. And Harry most of all. Hermione's heart went out to him. She knew he took every attack, every death, as a personal responsibility.

She placed her gloved hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Harry," She said as gently as she could.

"Yeah, right." He picked at a loose thread in the stitching at his wrist.

"She's right, mate," Ron chimed in from Harry's other side. "You'll get that memory from Slughorn somehow."

"How?" Harry snapped. "I'm all out of ideas."

Ron opened his mouth then closed it. Harry sighed again and turned back to his empty pot. Hermione ignored him, turning back to the front of the class.

As she waited for Professor Sprout to start Hermione felt a strange burden of guilt. Maybe if she hadn't been so occupied with Malfoy she would have been able to figure out how to help Harry with this. He was counting on her.

She looked out over the greenhouse and let her mind wander. Maybe Harry could get Slughorn a gift; he was certainly open to flattery. Although, Malfoy's attempts at appeasing him had failed from the start. But while Slughorn liked talented students, he did not seem to play favorites among the houses like other Slytherin Professors had. And no one in the Slug Club had parents who were affiliated with the Death Eaters either.

Death Eaters… Her dream of the silver eyes in the metal mask flashed in her head again. But it was just a dream. Malfoy wasn't a Death Eater. He was so young… but both Harry and Ron had wanted to join the Order ever since they found out about its existence. And her too. Whatever the future held for her, the Order was certainly part of it. Was it possible that… No. It was just silly. Hermione shook her head to clear it. Draco wasn't a Death Eater.

But there was someone dangerous at the school or at least with access to it. Someone who had cursed Katie and poisoned Ron. She glanced over to Ron who had somehow managed to get Harry laughing at something that looked like an angry potato with fangs. Of course Harry thought that Malfoy was behind the attacks. Had he discussed any of that with Dumbledore, she wondered? Both incidents had been attempts to harm the Headmaster. But when he was present in the Great Hall, he looked just as serene and calm as he always had.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even realize when Professor Sprout started her lecture. Hermione jumped and quickly tried to catch up, following the rest of the students to large crates on either side of the room where the fanged potatoes were lying in heaps.

"It fucking bit me!" Goyle howled, holding his finger up.

Harry and Ron laughed a little behind her and Hermione found that she had cracked a smile too. She felt a tingle start on the back of her neck and trickle down her spine.

Draco.

Her toffee eyes found his like she had known where they were the whole time. He was slouching against the wall while Goyle grabbed two of the potatoes with a scowl on his heavy features. Malfoy's mouth twitched with a threat of a smirk and he nodded towards a corner on the far side of the room.

Hermione turned to see a small table pushed in the corner, covered in a multitude of long stems with lazy looking flowers hanging from them. She glanced back at Malfoy to see the smirk had grown. He looked tired and a little worse for wear. He had seemed mostly okay in the Forest. His rough appearance did nothing to take away from his attractiveness though and his tousled hair looked just like it had after she had run her fingers through it.

"If you want flowers I'll fuck you in the greenhouse."

The tingle continued down her body until it swirled between her legs.

"Hermione-" Ron called her name and she turned sharply, being pulled from her thoughts for a second time. Ron was holding out one of the fanged potatoes for her. She took it quickly and didn't say thank you.

Even though they were both wearing gloves, she had made sure her fingers did not touch his and turned away from him sharply. She was a good girl, after all. She glanced back at Malfoy, looking smug as he chewed on the inside of his lip. He gave her a sharp nod of approval. Maybe she'd get another reward.

The tingle intensified.

Harry and Ron sat on either side of her as they spent their free period in the Courtyard. The air was warm and the sky cloudless, which meant the Courtyard, was packed with students. They had gotten here early enough to get a bench and it was difficult, but all three of them had squeezed onto it. Her book was large enough that it took up her whole lap and spilled over onto both Harry and Ron's legs.

Harry pulled out a crumpled copy of the Daily Prophet from his bag and started reading, frowning darkly as he read about the latest disappearances. Ron was fiddling with a few frayed threads on his robes and glancing around as if he was waiting for someone to jump out and grab him. He was avoiding Lavender again and although she was glad that the curly haired blonde was not hanging out with them, she was less than pleased that she had to hear all about it anytime she was in her dorm.

There was a disturbance on the other side of the Courtyard and Hermione looked up just in case her Prefect duties were called upon when the voices grew louder. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Malfoy was the one causing it.

He was standing in front of a younger Ravenclaw boy, obviously wanting to claim the bench the boy was sitting on for his own. As usual, Crabbe and Goyle flanked him looming dangerously over the kid, looking up at them with large fearful eyes.

No… she didn't want to have to pull rank on him. Would he even listen to her? Would he… punish her? No, she couldn't think about that.

"I'm going to go over there," Ron said with a dark expression on his face.

Oh goodness.

"No, don't," Hermione stopped him and he looked at her, shocked. "Not yet I mean. Technically he hasn't broken any rules-"

Then Crabbe grabbed the Ravenclaw boy by the front of his robes and lifted him into the air before dropping him to the ground in a pile. The boy gathered himself up, scrambling to get away as quickly as he could.

"Are you okay?" She asked as the boy ran past them, not bothering to stop to answer her question.

"Prick," Ron muttered.

Hermione pursed her lips as Malfoy flung himself down gracefully onto the bench and Crabbe and Goyle took positions on either end making it look more like a throne. She rolled her eyes. He did always like to be in charge.

She did her best to ignore him, but no matter what she did, she still felt his pull across the Courtyard.

Harry stood up. "I've got to get ready for my lesson with Dumbledore." He had received another scroll letting him know that the Headmaster was back at the school and wanted to see him again. "Will you two keep an eye on Malfoy?"

She didn't like his obsession with Malfoy for several reasons, one being that he might find out what she had been up to the last couple of months and how could she ever explain that?

Hermione wished him luck and Ron clasped him on the shoulder before he disappeared into the covered stone walkway, headed back into the castle.

Malfoy said something that she couldn't make out and Crabbe and Goyle laughed loudly. She looked over, narrowing her eyes slightly, knowing that whatever he had said was probably something cruel about Harry. Malfoy's mouth twitched and his grey eyes gleamed in her direction. She shook her head and returned back to her book.

After a little while, she felt the hair on the back of her arms rise and the marks under her shirt tingled pleasantly.

"Hermione," Ron's voice was careful. "Why is Malfoy staring at you?"

She looked up. His storm grey eyes were trained on her, sitting on an impassive expression.

She tried to play it off, the last thing she wanted to do was to bring any more attention to Malfoy than he had already brought to himself.

"It's fine," She murmured. "I'm used to it."

"What are you talking about?" Oh no. Ron sounded mad.

She took a breath and shook her head a little. "He's always… looked at me. Probably trying to mess with me."

"He's a creep."

"He's done it forever."

"Merlin, Hermione, how long has this been going on?"

"I… I don't know," She answered honestly. "Always?" And it had. For years she had felt his gaze on her, looking up in classes to see that same stoic expression on his face, only now, she knew what thoughts had been behind it.

"Always?!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione silently cursed herself. "Just… the past few years," She said in a small voice, turning back to her book again.

"Bloody Hell, Hermione… That's it. I'm going to set him straight. I know guys like him and he's not-" Ron's face was scarlet.

"What do you mean you know guys like him?"

Ron's blue eyes searched her face. "I've heard things. About him. And girls."

Hermione felt her heartbeat in her throat. She knew Malfoy had a reputation and she was suddenly very nervous about what Ron might have heard about him.

"Stay away from him," Ron said seriously.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't think that will be a problem." It wasn't a lie. It wouldn't be a problem. Because she had no plans to stay away from him at all.

"I mean it. You… You don't know what he's capable of."

"You sound like Harry."

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Ron who was glaring in Malfoy's direction.

"I can take care of myself, Ronald." Hermione shook her curls back.

"You don't know guys," He warned.

"And you don't know girls," She muttered.

Ron pulled back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hermione sighed and closed her book. If they were going to be friends again, then they had to be honest with each other, right? "You shouldn't lead Lavender on if you don't want to be with her anymore."

Ron's cheeks flushed with a red that rose into his ears. "You don't get it," He argued. Oh great, here we go. "You've never been in a real relationship before."

Hermione felt those words as if he had thrown them in her face. Of course, he still thought of her as the girl who wasn't girlfriend material, the girl that was too busy with her books to be interesting enough to date.

She stood up. "You're right," she said, voice louder than it needed to be. "I have been single my whole life, but at least I never dated you!"

Ron's jaw fell open and Hermione turned on her heel, storming out of the Courtyard.

She was so mad. Ron had no right to bring that up or use that fact as a way of saying she didn't understand relationships just because she had never been in one. Godric, he could be so frustrating sometimes! She made it to the second floor when she felt him grab her arm and spin her around.

"Ron-" She sighed.

Draco raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Wanna try again?"

"Draco." She smiled, brown eyes twinkling.

"Good girl." His smirk spread.

He pulled her into a bathroom, but not just any bathroom, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She was about to tell him where they were when he glanced around, looking for something.

"Ghostie? Are you in here?" He called out.

Ghostie? Was he talking about Myrtle? When no one replied he grinned down at her.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he walked her backwards against the row of stalls.

"That was quite the show you put on in the Courtyard."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It was your fault."

"Oh?" He seemed pleased at this.

"Yes," she snapped playfully.

"Well, I'm glad to cause discord between you and Weasley."

"Why's that?"

"Because he wants to fuck you."

Hermione choked on her breath. "What? Ron does not want… he's dating Lavender." But… there had been signs. She didn't need to tell Draco that though.

He pushed her hips back into the wall of the stall. "You hide it well, but you're hot, Granger." No one but Draco had ever called her hot before. It made her lower stomach clench. "Even someone as dumb as Weasley was bound to notice. Even if it did take him six years."

"He's not the only one," She grumbled. Malfoy hadn't shown any interest in her either. Even with his fantasies about her, he had never acted on them until recently.

Draco pulled back a little with a curious expression on his face. "Sweetheart," He cocked his head to the side and gave her a smart smirk.

She ignored it and rolled her eyes again. Ron had upset her and she knew she was taking it out on Draco right now, but… it was how she felt at the moment. Plus, she wasn't wrong.

"Other boys were interested in me." She stuck out her chin a little. Ron was right, she had never been in a real relationship. She had let things die with Viktor and Cormac… well she hadn't really wanted to date him, but he had at least asked her out.

Draco snorted. "McLaggen? Yeah, I'd have ripped off his dick if he tried anything else."

Hermione paused and studied his face, hiding truths he wouldn't speak. She felt a little guilty that she liked how possessive he was of her. She shouldn't, but… Draco was right; something in her nature matched his.

"And you'd never have let him. Because you knew you were mine. Even then." His voice was low and commanding again. Hermione's legs suddenly became unstable pillars under her.

In a bold move, she lifted her fingers up and undid two of the buttons on her shirt, exposing the fading marks he had left there.

Draco's grey eyes darkened as he saw them and he took in a sharp breath, trailing cool fingers over them and sending shivers down her spine.

"There they are…" His voice slid over her like velvet and he pulled her shirt open a little more to appraise his work. "You like them?" He asked and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Her eyes felt wide and dry, but she didn't want to blink and miss a second of the dark gleam in his eyes. "I like-" she stopped. "Them."

He cupped her face and brushed his thumb over her cheek. "Good girl," he cooed and something bubbled inside her.

"Does that mean I get another reward?" She whispered.

"Hmm," Draco patted his chin in thought. "I did like watching you snap at Weasley. You should have seen his stupid face when you walked off." He chuckled darkly.

She felt a little guilty at the bubbling now. Ron was her friend, her best friend. She shouldn't be praised for being rude to him, even if he deserved it.

"I think something can..." He grabbed her hips. "Be arranged."

"Tonight?" She asked eagerly.

Draco's lips pulled back over his white teeth. "Can't tonight, kitten."

Something heavy dropped inside her and popped all her bubbles. He was turning her down?

"Aw, don't pout." Draco leaned in so that she could smell the mint on his breath. "I've just got a little work I need to do."

"He's up to something in the Room of Requirement." Harry's voice sounded in her ear. "He's a Death Eater."

No, he probably just had homework. She knew he was behind in classes, even if he tried to play off that he didn't care, Malfoy always did want to be on top.

"Okay," She mumbled.

Draco dipped his head down to catch her eye again. "Are you upset?"

She wished that she could make out his expression, but he kept his face impassive. "No."

"Granger," His tone had a warning in it and he stood up a little taller.

"I'm not. I'm… disappointed."

His mouth twitched up into a crooked smile. "Poor little kitten… Do you miss my big cock?" Hermione blushed and Draco let out a low laugh. "Well I'll just have to think of a way to make it up to you."

"I've got an idea." The words came out before she could stop them. He raised a blond brow, intrigued. Her blood was warm under her skin, heating up her face and her thighs. "You said you used to imagine catching me out after hours when you were a Prefect," She rushed, trying to say the words while her courage still held.

"Yes," Draco drawled.

"I'd… I'd like to do that."

His rain grey eyes widened in disbelief. "You want to play out one of my fantasies?"

She nodded. "If that's okay?"

Malfoy suddenly frowned. What had she done? Why was he unhappy about this? Did he… not... want... that? She was so confused. "If you don't want to, that's fine." She quickly backtracked. Her mind spun, trying to read his marble face.

His frown eased, but his brows were still pulled together as he searched her eyes, looking for something there. "Is that what you want?"

She bit her lip, unsure, but nodded.

Draco's face broke into an expression of what she could only describe as glee. "Fuck working. We're doing that. Tonight."

A small explosion happened in her chest. "Really?"

"Be on the seventh floor landing at midnight." His grey eyes glittered. "I'll find you."

A/N: I am kind of obsessed with writing this fic, but at the same time I want to make sure that I am progressing the plot along correctly. We are getting close to a kind of large event. *coughdarkmarkcough* so it might take me a little bit longer to update the next couple of chapters because I want them to flow seamlessly together.

I know you all love that I update regularly so I don't want you to think that I'm not going to do that anymore, but I want the integrity of the plot to come through. And who knows? Maybe I'll have a break through and be able to get them out on time. Reviews always do inspire me…

And speaking of them… Guys. Your reviews. I don't even know what to say. You are so kind and wonderful and the best. It means so so much to me. Over a hundred reviews?! I mean, that's amazing. You're amazing. I am beyond grateful.