AN: Thank you all for your kind words. Writing is one of the joys in my life. Reading your responses is another.

This is the end of part one. Enjoy!

Lost Souls of Nott Castle

Chapter 24 - NEWT's

Monday morning Hermione, Draco, Theo and Blaise all gathered in the sitting room bright and early. One by one, they apperated to the gates outside of Hogwarts.

Professor Flitwick checked off their names as they arrived, then they filed through the gates along with other students from their year.

Draco walked next to her, with his hand resting on the small of her back. Around them, they could see their former classmates giving them curious looks and whispering to each other.

"Some things never change," Draco muttered under his breath.

"Ignore them," she said with a bright smile.

Her smile dimmed when she saw Harry and Ron standing on the front steps. Harry's eyes locked on hers and her steps faltered. His face hardened. She could feel the anger rolling off of him.

Ron visibly grimaced at whatever Harry said to him.

"You okay?" Draco asked her. A flashback from six weeks earlier hit her hard. The first time he had asked her that question, when the answer was a resounding no.

"I'm good." She took a deep breath and turned to smile at him. He smirked down at her, then leaned in and kissed her. She laughed against his lips.

"That was not necessary." She scolded him.

"Oh, but it was." He took her hand in his. "Come on, I'm starving."

She took a deep breath. Then they walked up the steps together. Neither of them said a word to her former best friends as they walked past on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Mione." Harry said just as they were about to walk through the doors.

She hesitated, then half turned towards him.

"Unless your next words are an apology, I don't want to hear it." She waited for five full seconds with no response, then turned her back on him. Together, she and Draco entered the castle and the Great Hall.

As soon as they walked in, all conversations stopped as their classmates turned to watch them. She glanced up at him as she realized they had never discussed one major detail - were they going to sit together at either the Slytherin or Gryffindor tables, or were they going their separate ways to sit with their respective houses.

It seemed that everyone in the room was holding their breaths waiting to see which way they would go.

They seemed to make their decision together and moved towards the Slytherin table. There was a collective gasp around the room as they sat down at the end of the table, slightly removed from the other students.

They purposefully avoided Theo and Blaise. No one knew they had been staying at Nott Castle and they intended to keep it that way.

Food appeared on the tables in front of them exactly on time and they filled their plates. While they ate, they blocked out the stares and the whispers and talked quietly amongst themselves, mostly about the tests they were getting ready to take.

When they were finished eating, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"Welcome back, all of you," she started. "Over the next four days you will be administered your NEWT exams. Each of you was given a schedule along with your study guides. Today's exams will include Transfiguration this morning, Potions after lunch, and Divination this evening. Tomorrow will be Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy. Wednesday will be Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Ancient Runes. Thursday will be Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, and your individual practicum. On Friday, you will receive your scores and officially graduate from Hogwarts.

Any of you that wish to stay at the castle during this week, you are welcome. We will have rooms available for you. This is not required though. We only ask that you check in and out as you leave the grounds.

Now, if you will all step out into the hallway, we will prepare the Hall for the Transfiguration exam."

Hermione and Draco joined the group of former students in the hallway. They stood off to the side by themselves while Hermione took the last few minutes before their test to review the study sheet one more time. Draco was only half listening to her as he tried to keep an eye on everyone else in the hallway at the same time.

"Draco," she had to say his name three times before he looked at her. "Are you even listening to me?"

"What? Oh. No, not really." He let his eyes sweep across the hall one more time before returning to her. "Potter is glaring at you. Longbottom and Weasley are arguing and looking over here. Pansy and Daphne are glaring daggers this way."

"I. Don't. Care." She punctuated each word. "This is important."

She held up the study guide, her test anxiety starting to get the best of her.

"You can pass this test in your sleep, Granger." He resumed his vigilance.

She stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then she smiled. Her smile turned into a small giggle, which then turned into a full laugh.

His lip twitched. She could tell he was trying not to laugh. She couldn't help it though. It was all so ridiculous.

She put the study guide away and leaned back against the wall next to him. Together they watched over the other students, especially Harry and Ron, until the doors opened and they all filed into the room.

Hermione and Draco chose the last table, neither one of them wanting anyone behind them during the tests.

When Professor McGonagall gave the signal, Hermione took a deep breath then opened the test packet in front of her. For the next two hours she answered question after question. When she was finished, she turned the test in and left the Great Hall. Everyone else was still working, with another hour available in their session.

She went out to the courtyard to enjoy the fresh air until Draco finished. He joined her twenty minutes later.

One by one their classmates joined them as they also finished their exams. Mostly, they were regarded with a wide berth, stares and whispers. Neville, however, chose to walk over to where they were sitting on a railing.

"Hermione. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." He looked very uncomfortable and stuttered through the words.

Draco eyed her curiously.

"Don't worry about it, Neville," she said with a sad little smile. "Water under the bridge."

He looked like he wanted to say something else. Then he simply nodded at her, and turned and walked away.

"What was he sorry for?" Draco asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"When the Weasley's threw me out, I checked with some of our...friends...to see if I could stay with them for a few days."

"He said no? Longbottom? That surprises me, actually."

"He was Harry and Ron's friend. Not mine." She swallowed. None of them had been her friends. Not really. "Anyway, it didn't take long to realize that I was wasting my time."

"So much for Gryffindor loyalty," he scoffed.

A few minutes later, Pansy came over and stood in front of them with her hands on her hips.

"Draco. We need to talk." She demanded. "What do you think you are doing?"

He raised his brow.

"Waiting for lunch to be served. You?"

She glared at him, then turned her stare towards Hermione.

"Do you mind?" She asked snippily.

"Not at all. Carry on." Hermione gestured with her hand that she should get on with it.

The dark haired witch huffed and jutted out her hip.

"This is a joke, right?" She motioned between Hermione and Draco. "A way to get back at Potter and Weasley by seducing and then dumping their sidekick?"

Hermione had never even considered that as an option. She felt her stomach drop.

"What? No! What kind of person would even think to do something like that?" Draco sounded horrified, which made Hermione feel slightly better.

"Uh...a Slytherin?" She answered. "What the hell happened to you? Did she brainwash you?"

"Look, Pans, there is no plot afoot here, okay" He squeezed her hand a little tighter. "We are together. That's it."

"And what is your father going to think about that?" She smirked at him, thinking she had played her trump card.

"Really, could not care less what he thinks." Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"You are completely mental." She shook her head. "You will lose everything."

"No, that's where you're wrong." He put his arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her against his side. Then he looked down and met her gaze. "I have everything I need, everything I have ever wanted."

His lips met hers in a lingering kiss. When he pulled back, Pansy had thrown up her hands and stomped off.

"That was the cheesiest line I have ever heard, Malfoy." Hermione teased him.

"Every word was true." He told her.

"You aren't really with me just to piss off Harry, are you?" She asked. Her tone was teasing, but deep down the seed had been planted.

"Don't let Pansy in your head like that. You know better." He shook his head and smirked at her. "Pissing off Potter is just a happy side effect."

She rolled her eyes and laughed at him. Still, she couldn't help but wonder.

Soon after, they were called back into the Great Hall for lunch. This time they sat at the end of the Gryffindor table. No one sat near them, but the stares were still present.

After lunch, they went to the dungeons for their potions test. Again, Draco and Hermione shared a table at the back of the room.

He finished his test before she did and waited in the hallway for her to finish. When they were both done, they left for the day as neither of them were taking the Divination test that evening.

Later in the evening, Hermione stood on her balcony looking over the lake. Her mind kept coming back to what Pansy had said earlier.

What if Draco had only gotten closer to her in order to use her? What if he planned to break up with her at a time when it would most benefit him? But when would that be? And to what end? It didn't make any sense. How would using her and discarding her hurt Harry or Ron in any way?

"You let Pansy get in your head, didn't you?" Draco asked from behind her. She turned and saw him standing in the doorway, leaning against the door jamb.

"No. Yes. I don't know." She sighed in frustration. "I don't think you are using me like she suggested, but I can't figure out her logic."

"Listen to yourself. Her logic was to get into your head. Make you think that there was something nefarious going on here. Make you doubt me, doubt us." He crossed the distance between them and caged her against the railing, putting his hands on either side of her and pressing her back against the stone ledge.

She put her hands around his neck and stared into his eyes.

"Well, she did a terrible job at it. If I were going to doubt you, it would need to be a more plausible plot than you somehow using me to get to Harry. I mean, how would that even work?"

He lifted her up on the stone railing and slid his hands under her shirt.

"What would be a plausible enough plot that it could make you doubt me?" He asked as he drew small patterns on her bare skin.

"Hm. Maybe using me to get back at your father. Rebelling against him declaring you as a blood traitor by hooking up with a muggle born. When he realizes that instead of shaming you he has risked his pureblood line, then he'll welcome you back into the family as long as I'm out of the picture." She blinked quickly as she realized that was an actual possibility.

"Wow. Now that is devious and plausible. Maybe you should have been a Slytherin, after all." He smirked at her.

She held her breath, waiting for him to deny it.

He stared off into the distance.

"Actually, that isn't a bad plan at all." He told her after a long moment.

She smacked the back of his head playfully. He chuckled, then leaned in and kissed her.

"It's a horrible plan," she told him.

"So you have nothing to worry about, then." He agreed before kissing her once more.

She melted into him. She wasn't worried at all. In fact, she didn't give it another thought. Instead, she focused on the feelings he brought out in her as he touched her and kissed her all over.

She relished in the way he reacted to her touch. The look on his face when she took him in her hand. The way his voice became rough against her ears. The sounds he emitted as he buried himself deep inside her. The way he maintained his control until she was ready to come, then he let go and drove them both over the edge of ecstasy.

The way he held her afterwards, protective and loving.

Tuesday, the stares from their classmates continued. Pansy in particular seemed to be very curious. Hermione smirked at the girl and laced her fingers through Draco's as they walked up the steps towards the charms classroom for their first test of the day.

It was not the reaction that Pansy had expected. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at them until the classroom doors opened.

Once inside the room, Hermione put thoughts of vindictive Slytherins and jealous Gryffindors to the back of her mind. Charms was arguably her most important NEWT that she would be taking, and she needed it to be perfect.

She took a deep breath before opening her test packet. Then she got started. Each question seemed to be easier than the last. She flew through the test, answering questions on theory, practical uses and dangers of casting various charms. She wrote as quickly as she could to maintain good penmanship. When she was finished with the last question, she put down her quill and rolled the kink out of her neck.

A quick glance around showed her that she was the first to finish. She reviewed her answers, then turned her parchment into Flitwick.

"How is your project coming along?" He asked her quietly as he accepted her test. "Do you have any questions?"

"Actually, I'm done." She smiled proudly. "I cast it last week."

His eyes widened.

"Splendid! You will make a brilliant Charms Master some day." He beamed at her, no doubt proud that his student could accomplish something so advanced.

"Thank you, Professor." She accepted his praise graciously, then stepped out of the classroom to wait.

The rest of the day and the next passed by in much the same manner. Snide comments by classmates in the halls. Glares or curious stares during meals. Stolen kisses in the hallways. Then when they finally returned to Nott Castle in the evenings, they helped each other release all of the tension they had built up during the day.

AN: These two are so blissfully happy. *sigh*

Until next week. -mezy