– Fourth Year

Hermione often wondered whether she preferred Halloween to Christmas. She loved the snow, the twinkling lights and hot chocolates, the smell of pine and spending time with family playing games and laughing. However, she also loved Autumn.

The leaves falling from the trees, the smell of pumpkin spice roamed through the castle, jack-o-lanterns floating at every corner, spending time with friends and eating from a never ending pile of sweets.

As she wandered around the castle on Halloween, she confirmed to herself that it was in-fact this Holiday she loved the most, although it would likely change once Christmas rolled around.

She made her way, along with Harry and Ron, towards the great all for the annual Halloween feast, after which Dumbledore planned to announce who the contestants were for the Triwizard Tournament.

She took a seat between both boys and placed her book down in front of her, Ron rolled his eyes as he saw the book replace her plate as it had every day since their first day back to school. He didn't dare comment on it, he just simply shook his head and turned to Dean Thomas to discus more theories on what the tasks in the tournament where going to involve.

"You are eating though aren't you Hermione, you're eating something at least?" Harry asked, growing concerned at the lengths his friend could go to in her mission.

"Yes, just not food that a house else has slaved over to cook." She responded, all Harry did was nod as he waited patiently for the feast to be announced.

~X~

"Hermione, it's happening!" Ginny squealed as she poked her friend to get her attention.

Hermione looked up from her book feeling disorientated, she hadn't realised she had missed all of their evening meal and half of Dumbledore's speech.

Closing her book, she turned to the front of the hall and watched as Dumbledore moved closer to the Goblet of Fire, standing just an arms reach from it he held up his arm. A small piece of parchment, just about visible from the distance Hermione sat, landed in the head masters hand.

"Fleur Delacour." Dumbledore spoke clearly as he read the first name out.

Students from Beauxbatons cheered wildly as their school representative stood from her seat and blushed at all of the attention she received. Hermione watched as the beautiful blonde girl made her way to the front of the hall, everything about her was captivating, the way her hair flowed as she walked with haste, eager to get out of the limelight. The way her uniform sat elegantly over her curves and bounced as she walk. Hermione understood the appeal and no longer blamed Draco for looking the way he did at her, even she would struggle to resist.

"Victor Krum." Dumbledore spoke clearly once more.

The students form Durmstrang cheered and banged their fists against the table in unison, their headmaster stood and clapped fiercely as Victor Krum walked towards the front of the hall and followed Fleur to the champions chamber. Hermione caught eyes with Ginny who wiggled her browns suggestively whilst nodding her head towards the Durmstrang champion.

Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes before looking back to the front to watch Dumbledore announce the Hogwarts champion. The flames in the goblet grew wild for the last time as the parchment with the name of a Hogwarts student flew out and landed onto the palm of Dumbledore's hand.

"Cedric Digory." Dumbledore announced, a small smile creeped onto his lips before he looked over his half moon glasses towards the Hufflepuff student that rose from his seat.

The hall erupted with cheers as the Hogwarts students supported Cedric, his friends shoving him towards to the front of the hall between their claps. Once Cedric walked through the doors and entered the Champion Chamber, the hall began to quieten down as Dumbledore turned to continue his speech.

"Now that the Champions have been chosen, the Triwizard Tournament has officially begun. Over the next few days, the champions will be being prepped, as will the first Task which-"

Dumbledore stopped mid speech as the flames inside the Goblet of Fire began to grow wild for a fourth time. He turned towards the Goblet, his back towards the students and watched as a fourth piece of parchment flew from the fire and landed in his hand.

Students from each school waited in anticipation for Dumbledore to read the name from the parchment. The Hogwarts headmaster eventually turned to the students and spoke as clearly and loudly as he had with the other champions.

"Harry Potter."

Hermione turned immediately to her friend, his face drained of all colour as he stared blankly towards the front of the hall

"Harry…" She spoke his name softly, he didn't respond or even show acknowledgment that he had heard her.

"Harry Potter." Dumbledore spoke once more, the whispering that travelled throughout the great hall grew louder as accusations started to be thrown around.

"Harry!" Hermione said sharply as she nudged him.

He finally turned to her and Hermione could see the fear in his eyes, her heart sunk as she looked at her friend, it was clear from his expression that he had not entered his own name into the Goblet. She nodded towards the front and rested her hand on his arm before she spoke once more.

"Just go Harry, It'll only be worse if you don't." She told him, he managed to force himself to nod and rose from his seat. Before he made his way towards the front, his eyes landed on Ron, his best friend, who didn't look to be that anymore as he scowled at Harry and turned away in disgust.

Hermione watched as her close friend headed past Dumbledore, his walk towards the Champion Chamber was much slower and more scattered than the other three champions. Once Harry was no longer in site, her eyes travelled around the hall to all of the angry and confused faces until they landed on the Slytherin table.

"What a fucking surprise." Draco mumbled as he turned to his friends, Theo's eyes were wide and he was shaking his head in disbelief.

"I just knew he was going to find someway to involve himself, he's so desperate to be the centre of attention." Blaise added as he threw down his fork in annoyance.

"Maybe he'll get himself killed in one of the Tasks and we wont have to worry about him being the centre of attention anymore." Pansy added, her face was of pure disgust as she picked a piece of food out of her hair that had flown off the fork Blaise had thrown.

"That's not a bad idea." Draco said as he smirked.

"More fool him, he seems to be a danger junkie, it was bound to bite him in the arse one day." Blaise said as he pushed himself away from the table after Dumbledore had dismissed everyone.

"Honestly, it must get tiering." Pansy drawled as the Slytherins made their way towards the dungeons, "Being the centre of attention all the time." She added.

"I thought that was what you aspired to be, was it not, Pans?" Draco teased, causing Pansy to scoff and slap his arm before storming ahead.

"Go easy on her mate." Blaise said lightly.

"Why? She's your girlfriend, not mine." Draco said, Theo gave a short laugh through his nose and shook his head at them both.

"She's not my girlfriend." Blaise said defensively.

"No, you just wish she was." Draco added, causing Blaise to scowl at him. "You're awfully quiet over there Theo, don't you wanna get in on this?"

"He's probably thinking about his next meet up with Greengrass." Blaise said, deflecting the attention onto his friend.

"Which one?" Draco said through laughter, causing Blaise to hold out his fist to Draco who stared at him blankly.

"You're supposed to bump it."

"To what it?" Draco asked as he raised an eyebrow, he watched as Blaise held his other first up and quickly tapped them together.

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Draco asked as he entered the Slytherin common room, Blaise shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's just what mates do when someone says something good, like someone dishes out some good banter or does something cool, its like a high five."

"I don't think I've high fived someone since I was about 8." Draco laughed, causing Blaise some more distress.

"No, exactly, because that is what children do – it doesn't matter!" Blaise huffed as he watched Draco continue to laugh at him.

"Would you like me to 'fist bump' you Blaise."

"Fuck off." Blaise said through a huff as he walked off to his dorm room.

Draco continued to chuckle for a few more moments before turning to Theo.

"You are being uncharacteristically quiet. Was Blaise right? Are you thinking about your next conquest?"

"Is that all people think of me? That I'm just some player looking for my next target?" Theo asked, his serious tone taking Draco by surprise.

"Theo mate, you haven't exactly lead anyone to believe any different. You've always been the first person to pull at parties, charming all the girls, flirting at any opportunity." Draco laughed, trying to keep his tone light hearted, "You flex your muscles when you reach for a drink for crying out loud. You always have been and always will be a ladies man. Is this not the way you wanted people to see you?"

Theo didn't know how to respond, what Draco had said was right, he did only have himself to blame.

"I just…" Theo began, "I just don't think I'm that interested in them anymore."

"In who?" Draco asked, "In… girls?" He said sceptically, unsure whether he had just crossed a line with his question when he saw the colour of Theos cheeks turn a deep shade of red.

"No! I mean yes! I am interesting in girls of course," Theo said quickly, "Just not the ones I've been there with already." Draco eyed him for a little longer before giving him a firm pat on the back that shook him slightly.

"In that case, you just need to find your next one. How about someone from Beuxbatons?"

Theo nodded at Draco and gave him a smile that didn't quite touch his lips. Something about the vibe his friend was giving off unsettled Draco, he had been friends with him long enough to know that something was wrong with him but he wasn't quite ready to tell him what. He understood what it meant to have a secret that he just couldn't bring himself to admit.

"By the way, before I forget. Why were you shouting earlier?" Draco asked, moving from the sofa he was sat on with Theo across to a single seater chair to put up his feet.

"When?"

"When you were coming out of the corridor, before you turned the corner and found me?" Draco continued, curious as to whether or not Theo knew what Draco was up to.

"Crabbe and Goyle asked where we were going, I was catching up to Blaise and they, to no surprise, were trailing behind. I don't think Blaise realised this, so when I spoke loud enough for them to hear he thought I was shouting at him."

Draco nodded his head and accepted the reasoning, he wasn't sure if he was ready for another person to find out about his relationship with Hermione.

~X~

"I cant believe him! Its so selfish!" Ron ranted as he climbed the stairs before entering the Gryffindor common room.

"I don't think he meant for his name to be in there, Ron."

"Hermione, come off it. Of course he did! And he didn't think to even involve his best friend."

"Did you look at him? Did you see the sheer panic in his eyes?"

"That's probably because he never thought his name would actually get pulled out."

"He doesn't want this Ron, I can tell." Hermione said as she took a seat in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, Ginny moved to sit on the floor and rest her back against Hermione's chair.

"Mione, I'm telling you. This is exactly what he wanted, he loves being the centre of attention." Ron said as he sighed and landed on the sofa beside her.

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione and Ginny said in unison, causing the whole common room to silence.

"Take a hard look at yourself right now, because I think you'll find you're the one being selfish!" Hermione said through a raised voice.

"Stop being such a prick and get over yourself, we don't know anything yet, lets just wait for Harry to get back and find out." Ginny said in her own attempt to calm a very heated Hermione and Ron.

Ron huffed as he folded his arms across his chest, scowling into the fire and ignoring his little sister and best friend. Hermione shook her head at him and scanned the room, observing faces of other Gryffindor students who seemed to think the same way as Ron did.

She sighed and walked quickly up to her dorm room to grab her cloak. Once fastened around her, she bounced down the stairs and headed for the portrait before Ginny called her and she paused.

"Where you off?"

"I'm going to find Harry, I should Imagine he needs a friend right now." She said to Ginny, her eyes switched to Ron afterward and she watched his eyes roll before she turned quickly and left through the portrait, tired of his attitude.

~X~

Hermione moved through the deserted corridors, outraged at Ron's reaction to the situation. She had no idea where exactly she was heading, she just knew it must be somewhere near the grate hall that the Champions where being debriefed. As Hermione turned the corner to the corridor that lead to Dumbledore's office, she felt as though she had walked into a brick wall as she hit something and went tumbling backwards, landing onto the cold hard floor.

Hermione winced as she hit the floor, thankful she had been wearing her thick cloak. She saw a hand held out before her, offering her assistance to get up off the floor, which she gladly took. Once stood she brushed down her cloak and adjusted herself before turning to the person responsible for her fall in the first place, when her eyes landed on Victor Krum.

"My apologies." Victor spoke with a considerably deep husky voice for his age, Hermione shook her head quickly before responding.

"No, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Looks like we are both at fault then." Victor said, Hermione smiled politely at him, it didn't take long before she felt the silence between them become awkward.

"Are you excited about being one of the chosen?" She asked casually, Victor raised one of his eyebrows at her as he looked her up and down.

Being a professional quidditch player meant that certain things were a given, Victor Krum was used to people babbling around him. Fumbling over their words and stuttering whenever he spoke to them, in some instances they were incapable of saying nothing at all. It was clear to him that Hermione was not one of those people. In the few times he had spotted her around the school, he had witnessed her maintain focus on her studies around a gaggle of students doing quite the opposite. He had watched her read and get drawn into a book so intensely that he was almost convinced she was in the world of her story on some astronomical level.

Here she was, a witch 3 years his younger, not fumbling, not stuttering, but instead initiating a conversation like he was an ordinary person like anyone else. It felt refreshing to him to be in her presence.

"What's Durmstrang like?" Hermione asked, her last attempt to converse with the tall Bulgarian that towered over her.

"I'm sorry. Are you not… intimidate by me?" He asked her, more seriously than he had intended.

"Why would I be intimidated by you? Because you a professional Quidditch player? Or is it the fact that you're older than me and from a different school? Perhaps it's because you are a Pureblood and I'm a muggleborn?"

"Nobody said anything about blood status." He said with a frown.

"No? I'm trying to figure out why I would be intimidated by you."

"Are you always this fiery?" He chuckled, his laugh was deep and echoed through the corridor. Hermione couldn't resist laughing in return, quickly realising she was taking her anger our on the wrong person.

"I guess so." She said through a smile as her laughter settled.

"What're you doing wondering the corridors then?" He said as he folded his arms across his chest, a small smile remained on his lips.

"I'm actually trying to find the room the Champions were taken to, I'm looking for me friend, Harry Potter"

"Ah, you're friends with the cheat." He said, as a statement and not a question.

"He's not a cheat, he didn't ask for this!" All humour had left her as she snapped at him once more.

"Hmm, if you say so." He said with a smirk, amused by yet another outburst, answering his earlier question.

"Hermione?" Harry said her name quizzingly as he rounded the corner and spotted his friend over the broad shoulders of his Durmstrang competitor, his back towards Harry as the approached them.

"Hermione…" Victor Krum hummed her name before he slowly walked passed her and headed towards the dungeons.

"What was that about?" Harry asked her, his eyebrows still creased together in a frown.

"I honestly don't know" She answered, her eyes still fixed on Victors back until he went out of view, "Anyway, how are you? What happened?"

Harry's face dropped slightly and for the first time since his name had been drawn from the Goblet, Hermione truly looked at him. He looked exhausted and stressed, but more importantly, he looked scared.

"I don't know what happened, I don't know how my name ended up in there, I swear I didn't put it in there, you have to believe me Hermione-"

"I believe you Harry, don't worry about that." Harry sighed at her words, relieved that someone believed him.

"But others might not. What did Dumbledore say?" She continued as they started to walk through the castle, heading out to the main courtyard.

"He didn't say much. Once he asked me if I did it and I told him no, he said nothing further to me. Crouch told him that it was legally binding, the magic involved in the Triwizard Tournament meant that despite me clearly not putting my name in myself and being underaged, I have to go through with the contest."

"But that's insane! You're 14! Your magic isn't advanced enough for you to compete in something as dangerous as this, never mind being able to compete with students older and more experienced than you, how're you supposed to survive?!"

"Thanks for the reassurance Mione," Harry let out a small laugh as he took a seat on a bench in the court yard whilst Hermione remained stood, pacing around in front of him, unable to find the humour in this situation.

"It just seems ridiculous that the Ministry would allow someone so young to compete. There must be a way out of it, a loop hole somewhere." Hermione said, more to herself that to Harry. She stared firmly at the ground as she walked in circles in front of him.

"Hermione…" Harry called her name softly, when he gained no response from her he spoke more sternly until she stopped and stared at him, "Come sit down, you're making me dizzy."

Hermione listened and sighed heavily before sitting down next to him and rested her head against his shoulder, his head fell naturally against hers and they sat there for a while in complete silence.

"Are you scared?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence.

"Not really. I just want to know what is happening, what we are expected to do in these tasks." Harry answered, Hermione knew her friend well enough to know that he wouldn't have admitted he was scared even if he was.

She nodded against his shoulder and continued to watch the night sky in silence. She knew this is what he needed right now, not to be in the common room having to explain himself to people who wouldn't listen, not to be talking at all, just to be sat with his thoughts, knowing that someone else was there with him.

~X~

Draco entered the Slytherin common room, tired and irritated that he was coming back at 3 o'clock, alone after having not seen Hermione. Thankfully he had missed the Halloween festivities entirely. He knew they hadn't arranged to see one another, but he had grown so spending at least an hour with her each day, that it felt wrong when it didn't happen.

Despite his tired state, Draco moved towards the sofas in the common room and took a seat, not quite ready to go to bed. His thoughts were buzzing around as he tried to figure out the connection between the Death Eaters plans and Harry's name being entered into the Goblet.

The sound of the portrait door opening startled Draco, but he quickly collected himself once he saw the familiar frame of Theo Nott entering the common room. It was clear to Draco that his friend had not yet spotted him as he watched Theo adjusting his shirt slightly and pull his bobble from his hair before neatening it and tying it back again.

"Out for a midnight romp?" Draco asked, causing Theo to jump backwards.

"Mate, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Theo said as he laughed, heading over to sit opposite his friend.

"Am I the second person to get your heart racing tonight then?" Draco winked at him, through the dim light in the common room he could just about make out Theo rolling his eyes at him.

"What're you doing up so late?" Theo asked, deflecting the subject Draco tried to stay on.

"Couldn't sleep, you?"

"Hmm, same." Theo said, both boys mirrored the same smirk at one another.

"Nice night for a stroll anyhow." Draco commented, gaining a nod from Theo.

"You don't usually come back from yours though do you, Draco." Draco considered this statement from Theo a checkmate and said nothing further but instead, nodded at him and caused Theo to smile at his win.

"You seem in a much better mood than you were in before." Draco analysed, Theo looked down towards his feet in a trance like state before smiling to himself and getting lost in his thoughts.

"That good?" Draco's voice brought Theo back to reality before he nodded quickly.

"Well, I shan't ruin your high, I'm going to bed." Draco announced as he stood tall and stretched, Theo nodded once more in agreement and followed behind his friend as they headed for bed.

Draco wanted to tell him about his theory, he wanted to explain how and why he had come to the conclusion Igor Karkaroff was the person responsible for entering Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. He wanted to say how he thought it was a plan to get Harry along, without the aid of Aurors or Dumbledore so that they could finally finish the job.

However, he stopped himself. Draco cared about his friends, even if he didn't want to admit it or view them in the same light the Gryffindor's view their friends. Seeing Theo act so out of character earlier in the evening had concerned Draco, so whatever had shifted his mood, Draco didn't want to ruin.

~X~

"I bet you love it don't you, all the attention, everyone will be chanting your name as you enter each round," Ron said bitterly to Harry over the Gryffindor table at breakfast.

"Don't be stupid Ron," Harry said effortlessly. He hadn't slept much the night before and dealing with Ron's misplaced jealousy was something he had very little energy for.

"Now you're calling me stupid!? I thought we were supposed to be best friends."

"So did I!" Harry snapped as he twisted his legs to climb out from the table, "But then again best friends believe each other when they tell them they didn't do something, best friends listen to each other when they are concerned or need someone, BEST FRIENDS don't turn their backs on each other!" He finished, panting as he neared the end of his rant.

Ron sat speechless as he stared at Harry in disbelief. Harry had never snapped before, not towards him at least. It was a side Ron had never experienced first hand and he wasn't sure whether to be scared of pissed off.

"So I thought." Harry said in defeat before leaving the Great Hall.

"You can be an a royal prick sometimes Ron." Hermione told him as she shifted across into Harry's vacant seat.

"Oh I see, so you're taking his side then?"

"There are no sides, Ronald. I have one friend who has been put in a potential fatal situation against his own will, and another who's being a jealous little boy. Believe me when I say there are no sides." Hermione said before she bit into her apple, the stock of her own bought food was beginning to dwindle and the food in front of her was beginning to smell so tempting.

"I'm not being-" Ron had started, his voice raised higher as he became frustrated by people telling him he was jealous of Harry.

"Ah-" Ginny interrupted him mid sentence, holding her hand in the air to stop him from continuing.

"But I'm not, he's-"

"Ah-"

"Gin, please-"

"Ah-" Ginny said once more and finally her brother gave up and glared at her.

"You have been put on a time out, what was it mum used to always say? If you don't have anything nice to say, shut up and eat your dinner - in this case, breakfast." Ron continued to scowl as he turned to his food and did as he was told by his younger sister.

"There's a lot of people wearing your badges Hermione." Ginny told her, changing the subject as she moved her head in the direction of a group of first year Slytherins.

"Slytherins…" Hermione mumbled, confused at the unlikely candidates, "Surely that's a joke."

"Not everyone in Slytherin is a douche," Ginny gave her mock judging eyebrows and Hermione shrugged her shoulders before turning back to her apple and book.

"Looks like there's trouble in paradise." Pansy observed over the Slytherin tale as Harry left the Great Hall.

"There's always drama where there's Gryffindors, especially when Saint Potter is involved." Blaise added.

Draco nodded absentmindedly as he watched Hermione's little outburst at Ron, he scowled at the red haired boy as he took for granted what Draco would do anything to have, a relationship out in the open for the world to see.

"That Weasley is a fucking baby." Draco said before he turned to his right to discover Theo was no longer sat next to him. His eyes moved along the hall as he spotted his friend leaving through the doors.

Draco scrunched his eyebrows together, confused and unsure whether or not to be concerned when he felt his ring burn slightly. His eyes darted across to Hermione who looked up through her lashes at him as she stood up from the bench and headed out of the hall.

"Does anyone need anything from the common room? I'm going to nip back before class." Draco announced as he stood up from the table. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle shook their heads and when Blaise opened his mouth to speak, Draco turned and walked off.

"You know he had absolutely no intention of bringing whatever you would've asked." Pansy stated from beside Blaise.

"I know, I just wanted to delay him, didn't think he would just walk off and not even hear me out though, dick."

"You sound like Weasley sometimes y'know."

"Excuse me, and why's that?" Blaise said, clearly outraged at Pansy's choice of comparison. He waited for her response whilst staring at the side of her face as she continued to paint her nails so calmly as she spoke.

"You're clearly jealous of Draco, you're always trying to rile him up and push his buttons, he'd be a better friend to you if you wasn't like that."

"Pans, that's just how we are with each other. There's no bad blood between us in anything that we say to each other, don't worry about it."

"I don't think you realise how much you overstep your boundaries sometimes."

"And you think its all because I'm jealous?"

"I do. You want what's his, you always have."

"Oh yeah?" Blaise said before itching closer to Pansy who was still looking down at her nails as she spoke to him, "Who says I can't just take what he has, he doesn't appreciate it as much as I would anyway." He whispered agaisnt her ear before pulling back slightly.

Pansy turned her face a fraction towards him and looked out of the corner of her eye, Blaise gave her a wink as his tongue ran over his right fang before he too left the great hall towards class, leaving Pansy speechless.

~X~

"Do you make a habit of wondering around the castle on your own?" Hermione heard Victor Krum's voice as she climbed off the seventh-floor staircase, she twisted around quickly to face him as he remained calmly leant against the wall beside a window that overlooked the lake.

"I'm not aimlessly wondering, I'm heading somewhere." She said quickly, with little patience as she was aware Draco was waiting for her and lessons where about to start.

"Heading where?" He asked, pushing himself from the wall and standing tall before her.

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"It's not, call me curious." He said with a smirk on his lips.

"Aren't you supposed to be heading to lesson?" Hermione said as she narrowed her eyes at the boy before her.

"Aren't you?" He chuckled as he answered back, matching her stance as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I won't keep you much longer from the place you are heading to." He told her and stepped aside for her to walk past him.

Hermione nodded at him and passed him sceptically, just as confused by her second encounter with the Durmstrang Triwizard Champion as she as in the first.

"Why are you always alone? The other students seem to worship you, and yet you chose to be alone." She said, stopping him in his tracks as he started to walk away.

He didn't completely turn to face her, instead he looked towards the floor through the corner of his eye before he responded.

"You can be surrounded by people and still be alone, Hermione," He spoke firmly, pronouncing each syllable in her name and yet with his accent and he deep pitch of his voice, it made what Hermione consider to be quite a dull name, sound more beautiful.

"Hermione?" She whipped around to find Draco stood before her, his face perplexed as his brows knitted together.

"I'm sorry, I tried to get here sooner, I got stopped by a professor on the third floor and had to say I was going back to the Gryffindor common room. Then I made it all the way to here and…"

"And?" Draco asked as she trailed off and became silent, waiting for a moment for her to respond.

"And then I got stopped by Krum."

"As in Victor Krum?" Draco asked, his brows raised as his voice did in surprise, she hummed and nodded in response. "What did he want."

"I don't actually know… he's always really vague, like he's trying to figure me out. The first time I thought it was just because he hadn't met many muggle-borns-"

"This wasn't the first time he's spoken to you?" Draco asked, Hermione detected a hint of jealousy and wandered if he was in the mood for her to play on it.

"No. I saw him last night when I went to find Harry after the announcement. As I said, he was just as vague then. Didn't say a great deal, just wandered where I was going."

"Be careful of him Hermione, he's from a long line of purebloods and is constantly surrounded by the old ways, Dark Magic every day."

"Sounds like someone else I know." She smirked at him, Draco didn't return the smile.

"I mean it, I don't know what's going on this year, I can't exactly pre-warn you if I don't know. I don't want you to get into any more danger than you do every year."

Hermione's smirk transitioned into a warm smile before she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Don't mask your jealousy with concern."

"That's not what I'm doing." He protested, his hands moving around her waist as if by instinct.

"Draco, you're forgetting that I know. I know when you're being jealous. You have nothing to be jealous of I promise you."

Draco stared down into her eyes and allowed himself to get lost in the chocolate and tawny swirls before him. He knew she was right, she was always right of course, not something he would ever admit to her, his reaction had been purely out of jealousy. Now he held her in his arms he suddenly felt stupid for reacting at all.

He finally returned her smile before leaning down and pressing his lips to head. Once he pulled back slightly, the proximity quickly became intoxicating and he closed the gap between them once more, pressing his lips against hers. He felt Hermione embrace the tenderness of his kiss as one her hands started to stroke the back of her neck and she leaned in to him, faintly pressing her body against him.

It didn't take long before her priorities came flooding back to her and the thought of lessons invaded her mind. Slowly, she pulled away from him and continued to smile as her eyes fluttered open. She could get lost In his gaze for hours and consider it time well spent. But she knew Harry would be needing at least one friend in his classes right now.

Reluctantly she pulled away, running her hand down his arm and stopping at his fingers, entangling her fingers between his.

"Lets get going to lesson. We'll walk together until the seventh floor and then split." She told him, he signed and nodded before following as she pulled him along.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you." Hermione started, turning to him as they waited for their staircase connection to arrive, "There's a couple of first year Slytherins that are running around with my S.P.E.W badges on, you wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"

"Are you suggesting that I would steal a handful of badges from you, sneak them into the Slytherin common room, use my cunning and persuasive personality to pressure a bunch of first years to wear those badges?" Draco suggested as he tried to maintain a strait face.

"You are cruel, Draco Malfoy." Hermione giggled as she nudged into him, her little finger still wrapped around his.

"And you're laughing? I'm corrupting you, Hermione Granger. It's working!" The pair laughed together as the stepped onto the fourth floor corridor, exchanging in a short sweet kiss before parting ways. Hermione glanced over her shoulder to catch once more glimpse to discover Draco had also done same. She continued her route to class with a smile plastered across her face, nothing could change her mood today.

AUTHOR NOTE

Hey Guys! Ok so - I have a structure for the remainder of the year. We are already on chapter 35 and I haven't even written about the first task yet and as you know I'm trying to keep it to 10 chapters per year. This will mean that some of the next few chapters are going to be pretty lengthy, I'm sorry if you hate long chapters! I just want to make sure that I get some of the more important things that happen in this year from Dramione's POV without missing key parts of the original story.

I also want to point out that I'm terrible with writing accents. I don't struggle so much with Hagrid because he's got quite a rural UK Northern accent, which is basically how I speak. But the likes of Krum, I just cant do it, so I'm not doing it. I'm also enjoying building his character and I don't want to ruin that by using poor accent placement in his speech, so again, apologies if this isn't for you.