Hope you enjoy the chapter, more coming soon! Thanks to all who have read and reviewed, I love to know what you think of the story so far!

The four of them shared a carriage on the way back, watching the castle appear over the hill in the fading twilight. Draco was hungry and looking forward to dinner, although not the stares and hostility of the other students. He didn't get a chance to speak to Granger alone before they were heading off to their dormitories and then down to dinner, although she did ask "Library?" at their moment of parting so he knew that the interrupted conversation of earlier had not been forgotten.

Draco couldn't stop himself from searching the Gryffindor table for her as he slid into the space next to Theo at dinner, spotting her next to Potter and the Weaselette. She was chatting animatedly and he couldn't help but smile as he wondered what information she was imparting to them.

"How was the break?" asked Theo glancing up at him. Then he burst out with; "You scored with Granger!"

"What?!" said Draco, shocked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar!" hissed Theo, mercifully lowering his voice. "I can see it in your face as you're watching her. You and her got together!"

"How the hell can you tell that just by seeing me look at her?" said Draco, letting his lack of denial act as affirmation of this statement.

"What was she like?" asked Theo eagerly. "I want details!"

Draco gave him a withering look. "I'm not telling you anything."

"Well if you're not going to give me anything to put in the spank bank then at least tell me how you managed it. Give me something I can use to get some myself!"

"You really are disgusting. You do know that don't you?" said Draco scathingly, but couldn't help but grin.

"Yes. Do you think this is why I have no luck with women?" Theo deadpanned, making Draco chuckle.

"I think you are going after the wrong women." He told him. "There are three other houses in the school, why don't you try getting to know some of the girls from them?"

"You mean I should try and get into some Gryffindor's little white panties? You might be on to something…" he grinned lewdly at Draco, who rolled his eyes.

"I think we might be seeing the problem right here…" They both laughed, and Draco reached for the dish of steak and kidney pie to his left, glad that he had at least one friend in this wretched place.

"Seriously though," said Theo, turning towards him. "How on earth did you get her to sleep with you? You two hated each other for six years!"

"In all honesty I have no idea!" replied Draco. "I just started speaking to her I guess."

"And that's all? You started speaking to her?" asked Theo incredulously.

"Well it obviously depends largely on what you say." Replied Draco waspishly, then added "oh, and shared some mutual humiliation that neither one of us spoke about. That seemed to help."

Theo looked at him like he was unsure if Draco was serious or not. "I really have no idea what you are talking about right now!"

Draco laughed at tucked into his pie. "So what have I missed here?"

"Absolutely nothing. Oh, Harper got hit in the head by a bludger during practice; he's in the hospital wing with concussion so we have one less in the dorm. Urquhart is now panicking about him being fit for the match on Saturday and scrabbling to find a replacement, it's rather amusing to watch."

"Well, good luck to him. Potter has put together a good team; Urquhart will need a miracle to win the cup this year!" Draco looked down the table to where Urquhart sat deep in discussion with the two Beaters Malcolm Baddock and Graham Pritchard. As one, they all turned and looked at him then carried on talking heatedly.

Draco gave them a sneer before turning back to his dinner; what were they looking at him for? He finished his pie with relish; the food was the best thing about going back to school. He piled a bowl with sticky toffee pudding then smothered it in custard, feeling full and rather sleepy, looking forward to a quick tryst with Granger in the library before bed.

"Right," said Draco to Theo once he had finished eating. "I'm off to the library for a while."

"The library?" asked Theo incredulously. "You've only been back two minutes…" Then, realisation dawned. "Oh, the library. Well, you and the library have a nice time."

"We will," drawled Malfoy with a grin, getting up from the table and making his way towards the doors. He had a quick glance over at the Gryffindor table and saw that Hermione was still there, chatting to Longbottom now.

Draco sauntered towards the library feeling more at ease in these corridors than he had done for over a year; was he just imagining it or were the other students less hostile towards him?

"Malfoy!" A voice barked behind him, shattering that comforting notion. He turned, drawing his wand in a fluid motion to face the adversary; Vaisey was hurrying down the corridor after him.

"Shit Malfoy!" He said, seeing the wand pointed at him. "I only want to talk to you."

Draco let his arm drop but still held his wand tightly in his hand; there was no guarantee that it wouldn't come to curses. "Ok, so talk." He replied haughtily.

"I want you to play seeker on Saturday."

Of all the things Draco thought he might say, that was not one of them. Eventually, he replied. "Why?"

"Because you know as well as I do that everyone else who tried out for the team this year can't fly half as well as you, Harper included, and to have any hope of winning the cup this year I need you on the team." Vaisey spoke dispassionately but Draco knew it must be killing him to be so pleasant to him.

"There's no chance of winning regardless of whether I'm on the team or not. I haven't flown for over a year, I'm horribly out of practice, I don't have a broom, and let's not forget I have never beaten Potter to the snitch." Draco had to say it, it was the truth, but there was a little flame of excitement being lit inside him at the thought of playing Quidditch again.

"That doesn't matter." Said Vaisey. "There is a nimbus 2001 for you to use in the broom shed, and I'm sure that you don't forget how to fly! Come on, show some house spirit!"

"House spirit?" Draco laughed bitterly. "So I'm to do this for the people who hate me and have done their best to make my life a misery for the past year?"

"Alright forget house spirit!" Vaisey was getting annoyed now, and it pleased Draco to see it. Of course he was going to play, but that didn't mean he was going to make it easy for him.

"Please, just come to practice tomorrow night, there isn't anyone else who can play."

"Alright." Said Draco, glad that he had made Vaisey beg. "What time tomorrow?"

"Seven," said Vaisey, seeming rather taken aback at Draco's sudden capitulation.

"See you then." Draco turned and walked off in the direction of the library; this day was definitely going better than expected! He had forgotten that technically all the brooms that the Slytherin Quidditch team used belonged to him after a generous gift from his father in order to get him on the team in his second year. Ironically, he was one of the best fliers even then but Flint was determined to just keep his mates in the team regardless of their abilities. Odd for a Slytherin, mused Draco, who are usually more likely to ditch their friends in pursuit of success rather than care for loyalty.

Once in the library, Draco positioned himself with his back to the door so he could not keep checking to see if she had arrived every two minutes. He was eager to see and speak to her alone; to find out what she had been going to say earlier and also express his excitement about being back on the Quidditch team, albeit for just this one match!

He didn't have long to wait until a light touch on his back announced her presence, and she slipped into the seat across from him.

"Hi," he said, feeling inexplicably shy with her now they were back at school under the scrutiny of their peers.

"Hi," she replied, also seeming a little discomforted. "How has it been getting back?"

"Strange, fine, better than expected." He smiled at her perplexed look. "It is going to be strange not being able to see and speak to you alone, I forget that everyone else will just carry on as normal when I feel everything has changed between us. My one friend is fine. He somehow knew that something had happened between us, apparently by the look on my face. And finally, I was just approached by Vaisey, and I'm playing Quidditch on Saturday."

He watched her process each of these facts and wondered which one she would respond to first.

"You're playing on Saturday? How come?"

"Well Harper has concussion, and apparently there is no one else who can do it." Said Draco with a shrug.

"That's great!" She said encouragingly. "You said you wanted to fly again."

"Although I haven't flown for over a year, I'm pretty excited." He tried not to show just how excited he was, but she obviously saw something in his face as she reached under the table and squeezed his thigh.

"I'm sure you'll be great." She assured him, then addressed his second statement. "Theo could tell something had happened? So did Ginny; I think she was quite scandalised!"

"Are they horrified?" He asked with a touch of scorn.

"I'm not sure yet. Ginny was in shock I think, and I'm sure she will tell Harry the moment she gets a chance. It doesn't matter what they think anyway; if they are truly my friends then they will stand by me regardless. And if not, then I guess I will just get on with it." Hermione's face held a determined look that Draco had seen before; usually when she stood up to him in the past. It seemed rather ironic that it may now be directed at Potter.

"And yes," she continued. "It is going to be strange to be under scrutiny when we are together, but I'm sure we will be able to find somewhere to be alone occasionally…" she tailed off with a look that spoke straight to his groin; they needed to find somewhere private immediately!

"Come on." He said, standing and holding out his hand. "There isn't a huge amount of revision we can do tonight."

With a slight hesitation, she stood and took the proffered hand and allowed Draco to lead her from the Library into the fourth floor corridor. Halfway along, he pulled them into the secret passageway that led to the second floor and was kissing her before the concealing tapestry had fallen back into place.

After a couple of minutes of increasingly heated kissing Hermione gave him a light shove. "Draco stop! Anyone could walk past and find us!"

Reluctantly releasing her, Draco stepped back and leant against the opposite wall until his breathing was more under control. "We have got to find somewhere private so I can touch you Granger. Seriously, I can't go these next two months without you."

She looked at him coquettishly. "You managed alright for the past nineteen years, so I'm sure you would survive!"

He loved it when she teased him like this. "But I didn't know of the joy that is Hermione Granger, and now I have tasted that ambrosia I can never go back!" He grinned impishly at her.

She huffed at him but couldn't hide her smile at his ridiculously over the top compliment. He took her hand and gave her a very chaste final kiss before ducking back out from behind the tapestry. "Don't worry," he said. "I will find somewhere for us to spend some time alone." He would make sure of it!

It felt odd to Draco to be traversing the familiar hallways hand in hand with Granger. They were heading, in a roundabout way, towards Gryffindor tower rather like Draco was walking her home. They passed a few other students as they got closer to curfew who all stared in disbelief at the couple, but as none of them said anything he just ignored it.

"This isn't as strange as I thought it would be." Said Granger as they neared her common room.

"How so?" asked Draco, unsure of what she meant.

"Well, I thought I would feel awkward and unsure about being back here with you. I was worried that the last couple of weeks had been so good because we were cocooned by isolation from others that knew us, but now we are here and you are still you… and its ok." She blushed slightly, and Draco wondered if that was quite how she meant to finish that little speech.

"I'm glad it's ok." he said, rather bemused. "I too, am ok…"

She gave him a look of exasperation. " You know what I mean!"

"Yes, I do." He replied, deciding to stop teasing her for tonight. They had reached the portrait that covered the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, where the fat lady was watching them with unconcealed interest. Draco turned Hermione to face him and kissed her softly, loving the feel of her body pressing against his.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow." He murmured, reluctantly releasing her.

"Yes, you will." She said, smiling demurely.

He turned and walked down the corridor, smiling to himself; so it was ok being with him, was it? He had a feeling that it was more than ok if her awkwardness and embarrassment were anything to go by! He would ask her as soon as they had finished their exams, he decided.

Draco made his way down to the common room quickly, using the shortcut that he had just been kissing Hermione in, and arrived at the dungeon with a couple of minutes to spare before curfew. He entered the common room, glancing over to the fireplace and the cluster of chairs surrounding it. Vaisey was sitting in one of them, accompanied again by Baddock and Pritchard, and he nodded in acknowledgement upon seeing Draco. How things have changed already, Draco mused, searching for Theo's stringy form and messy dark hair in the knot of students warming themselves by the roaring blaze.

"Draco!" He turned to see Theo curled up in one of the less comfortable arm chairs furthest from the fire. He glanced over at the students who had the best seats with a slight feeling of nostalgia; at one time he would have been in the centre of them holding court.

Instead, he turned and slung himself into the seat next to Nott, wincing as the carved knobs on the chair dug into his shoulder blades. "Hey."

"So, how come you're back so early?" asked Theo with raised eyebrows.

"I was with Granger remember," said Draco sarcastically, "she's not going to stay out after curfew."

"Oh I forgot," said Theo equally caustic, "the pitfalls of dating a good girl! Although I'm sure the benefits outweigh the…"

"Are you really doing this again?" snapped Draco, hearing the lewd tone that had crept into Theo's voice. "I'm not telling you anything about her, ok?"

"Fine! You can't blame me for trying though; the nights are long and lonely… Anyway, looks like everything is coming up 'Malfoy' at the moment!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look who's back on the Quidditch team after being back here half an hour? Who has the girlfriend whom half the school wants to shag? I would say that Lord Malfoy is back!" Theo said derisively. "I would also say that there are a couple of people who are rather unhappy about it."

"Besides you, you mean?" Draco drawled.

"Look," Theo inclined his head to where Pansy was sitting sour faced, and then to where Vaisey was sitting next to Urquhart looking mutinous.

"Well, if they are the only two who hate me then I would say that I'm doing rather better in the popularity stakes than I was before!" They both chuckled at this.

"Seriously though," continued Theo, "watch out for Vaisey. He is a total knob."

"Don't worry; he and I have already had a run in. He should know better than to try anything."

Theo nodded. "So, are you excited about the match on Saturday? Do you think you will finally beat Potter?"

"Yes, and No. I haven't flown for over a year, so there is not a chance in hell that I will beat Potter, but it will be good to play one last time before we leave." Although, Draco admitted to himself, if he could beat Potter it really would be the icing on the cauldron cake!

"It's gonna be weird, not coming back here again." Said Theo wistfully, looking over at the carved stone fireplace and the snake motif above.

"You are going to miss this? After everything that has happened?" Asked Draco incredulously.

"Yeah. Aren't you? Everything is certain here, all planned out for us. Once we leave we have to fend for ourselves, and personally, I have no idea what I'm going to do." Theo was being unusually serious. "It all hinges on my NEWT results. If they are shit then I am screwed."

"I guess when you put it like that..." conceded Draco. He found himself wondering just how bad it was for Theo at his aunts; at least Draco knew his mother would make sure he had somewhere to live and enough to eat should the worst happen.

"Anyway, enough about that." Theo's mask slid firmly back into place. "Back to the issue in hand; do you think it is worth trying to speak to that red-haired Ravenclaw 6th year, Tamsin something?"

"Well, you should probably find out her name first, but why not?" Draco was rather pleased at the change of subject; he was ambivalent at the thought of leaving Hogwarts. Some days he couldn't wait to be free of the censure of the other students and teachers and given a chance to redeem himself somewhere that he didn't have any history. Other days he felt rather hopeless about what waited for him outside of full-time education; would his past ensure he couldn't find employment regardless of how impressive his NEWT results might be?

Happy to loose himself in Theo's mix of lewd humour and unveiled insults, they passed the time until they went to bed. Lying behind the green and silver hangings, Draco turned his mind to finding somewhere for trysts with Granger. He wondered if the room of requirement had been rebuilt when the castle had been repaired over the summer; would it have repaired itself after the Fiendfyre had torn through it? He would have to go and find out between lessons the next day. The only other option he could think of was the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor. In fact, maybe he should suggest the prefect's bathroom anyway… It was these happy imaginings that finally transported him to sleep.

Draco fell back into his usual habit of getting up before the others straight away, and was one of the first in the Great Hall for breakfast. He sat eating toast and glancing over periodically at the Gryffindor table, unable to stop himself looking for her even though he knew he would see her in Transfiguration in less than an hour. She appeared not long after him, shooting him a quick smile before sitting down with a 4th year boy, that little Creevey kid who's elder brother had been killed in the battle for Hogwarts. The Great hall was filling up, so Draco finished his breakfast and made his way slowly towards the Transfiguration classroom, knowing as usual that he would be the first one there.

The door was open but there was no sign of McGonagall, so Draco went and took his customary seat at the back of the room. Other students trickled in, Granger arriving with Hannah Abbott and taking her seat towards the front. A couple of minutes later Weasley appeared and something in his posture had Draco gripping his wand. He stalked across the room towards his desk, but before he reached it, turned to Granger with a snarl.

"So it's true then?" He hadn't raised his voice, but Draco could hear every word clearly.

"What?" asked Granger, looking up in surprise.

"It's true then?" he repeated. "That you fucked him?" He shot Draco a malevolent glare.

"That really hasn't got anything to do with you." She replied coolly, turning back as if to continue her conversation with Abbott.

"Yeah right! Nothing to do with me? I know what you are trying to do, Harry told me what you said when you went out with McLaggan, you chose the person who would annoy me most. Well, you really screwed up this time, because if you think any decent wizard will go anywhere near you after you opened your legs for him, you have got another thing coming!"

Draco was on his feet and halfway across the room before he knew what he was doing; Weasley was going too far. Hermione glanced in his direction and caught his eye, giving him an almost imperceptible shake of the head to stop him getting involved. He halted his advance, but kept a tight grip on his wand. Although he knew that Granger was ten times the witch that Weasley was if it came to a duel, it went against his instinct to stand by and do nothing.

"And I suppose when you say 'decent wizard' you are including yourself in their number?" said Hermione calmly. "Well, if decent wizards think it's perfectly acceptable to lie and cheat when they don't get what they want then I am rather pleased that they will be avoiding me in future!" Disdain dripped from her features and Draco was reminded forcibly of his mother's icy façade, causing him to inwardly grin at the irony.

"You fucking whore!" snarled Weasley, seeming to be totally losing control.

"Mr Weasley!" The strident tones of Professor McGonagall came from the doorway. "Ten points from Gryffindor for your foul language!" She walked across the room towards her desk. Seeing that Weasley was still standing glaring at Hermione she added curtly, "and I suggest you take your seat before I take ten more!" Noticing that Draco was also standing she said, "you too Mr Malfoy," but her tone was rather less brusque. Obviously she was aware of what this confrontation was about; Draco had the feeling that Minerva McGonagall knew a lot more of what went on than the students realised.

Draco sat back at his desk, watching the back of Granger's head looking for any sign that the confrontation with Weasley had upset her, but there were no outward signs of discomposure. Potter appeared a minute or so later, almost late, and Draco had a feeling that he had known something was going to happen therefore made himself scarce so he wouldn't have to take sides. For someone so brave he was certainly being bloody cowardly about the situation between his two best friends, thought Draco.

The lesson began with the continuation of Human transfiguration to animal characteristics, nothing too challenging for Draco, so he could easily listen in on the buzz of conversations going on around him; "so she has been sleeping with him." "Do you think that is why they split up?" "What is he angry for anyway? He's got Lavender now…"

Every so often one of the whispering students would glance at Draco, as if the truth of the matter could somehow be gleaned from observing him transfigure his hair into feathers. Keeping his expression neutral, he kept an eye on Granger, determined to make sure she was alright after class.

The bell rang and Weasley was one of the first out of the classroom, lumbering past Draco like an engaged Erumpent followed by a mutinous looking Lavender Brown. Turning his attention back to Granger, he watched her packing away her things looking supremely unaffected, chatting to Hannah Abbott. Potter stood nearby waiting for her to finish looking rather sheepish.

Uncaring of how much gossip it would fuel, Draco waited until the trio got next to his desk and fell into step beside them. He didn't say anything until they were a little way down the corridor away from the other students prying ears.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, ignoring the presence of Potter and Abbott.

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied, rolling her eyes. "He always did have a temper…" she was putting on a brave face but he could see the strain around her eyes.

"You are better off without him Granger." Said Draco stoutly, earning a glare from Potter, who didn't seem inclined to comment one way or the other. Their next lesson was Defence Against the Dark Arts, and they made their way there in uncomfortable silence.

Weasley was standing by himself, face like a slapped backside, whilst Lavender stood talking to Parvati several feet away looking equally unhappy. Wanting to twist the knife a little, Draco casually slung his arm around Hermione as he had once seen Weasley himself do, hoping that she wouldn't shrug him off. He felt a small thrill when she, seemingly unconsciously, leant into him pressing the length of her body against his.

It wasn't long before Professor Muldoon called the class into the room, and they all quickly found their seats.

"Homework!" He barked, and several rolls of parchment flew from desks and bags to land neatly on his desk.

"Right, so we have covered the imperius curse and how to fight it. Next is the Cruciatus curse." He looked around the room at the avid faced students.

"I understand that Bartamius Crouch showed you this first hand a couple of years ago, and since then I'm sure many of you have witnessed it used in other situations." His gimlet eyes alighted on Draco for a few moments, before he turned away.

The lesson was good; Professor Muldoon delivered information in his typical straightforward style, neither glossing over the unpleasant details nor sensationalizing them. Draco took notes and watched Hermione as usual, impatient to get through the day and spend some time alone with her.

They were given homework to research methods of counteracting the Cruciatus curse by Thursday. Draco wasn't too worried; there weren't very many defences against it so the essay wouldn't be too long! They had a free period next, and Draco thought he would take a trip up to the seventh floor to see if the Room of Requirement had survived. He had thought to go alone, but now though maybe he would see if Hermione wanted to go with him so she could talk about (or avoid talking about) Weasley's meltdown.

He caught her eye as she made her was to the door at the end of the lesson, cocking his head to indicate that he wanted to speak to her outside.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" He asked her, falling into step beside her down the corridor.

"Why not?" she replied, taking his arm. "That essay is the first bit of homework we have. It can easily be done tonight." They walked along in silence for a while.

"It's not true." She said suddenly, turning to face him.

"What's not true?" he asked, bewildered.

"It's not true that I'm seeing you just to annoy him."

"I know." Said Draco, rather bemused; He hadn't even considered such a ridiculous statement could be true.

"You see, it was true with McLaggen in sixth year, but it really has nothing to do with what is between us…"

"Granger," He said, cutting off her rambling. "Of course you are not seeing me to get back at Weasley. If it was that easy for you to throw away your virginity in revenge then surely you would have slept with him in the first place!" Draco really didn't understand what went on in her head at times!

"Yes. Well, of course." She said awkwardly, cheeks colouring at the mention of 'virginity'.

"Relax Granger. I know we are back at school, but nothing has changed between us." He steered her towards the stairs up to the seventh floor. "I thought we would go and see if the room of requirement was working."

"Room of requirement?" she asked with a frown. "But you can only use it if you have need to?"

"Trust me, I have a need to be alone with you." He said with a grin. "Besides, I have no idea if it even still exists after the damage the fiendfyre did." He said it casually, but his mind immediately conjured the image of Crabbe's struggling form being engulfed in the flames as he desperately tried to reach him. Hermione remained silent, and he wondered if she was also thinking about the last time she had been in the magical room.

They were silent whilst climbing the stairs and Draco wondered if this was such a good idea. He had just wanted to find somewhere that he could get into Hermione's knickers without fear of discovery; he hadn't considered that the room might hold disturbing memories for them both.

"Well, here we go." Hermione murmured when they reached the stretch of wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. All of a sudden, Draco almost hoped the room would not appear. The idea that somewhere in there was the body of Crabbe wouldn't leave his head. They made their third pass along the corridor and Draco had to force himself to turn and face the wall.

The unobtrusive iron- banded wooden door stood where there had previously been a stretch of blank wall, looking exactly as it had all those times before. He and Hermione looked at each other.

"I guess it was fixed?" she said, taking a step towards it. "Or maybe it can fix itself?" She reached out a hand to open it, and Draco sucked in a breath; what would be on the other side?