A/N: I really hope you liked the surprise in the last chapter, the fact that in my story Sirius lives and that he's been cleared of all charges. Getting justice for him was something I've been dreaming of for ages, so it was great writing it. However, apparently not everyone liked it, but be that as it may, I really can't see the point in saying nasty things about someone's work. Constructive criticism that might help writers come up with better stories are always welcome, like I've said before, but useless mean comments are not welcome and I find it especially cowardly to write mean things anonymously. I'll take this time to thank those who wrote signed comments, and nice ones at that, thank you very much, and know that it's appreciated. I'm just sorry I've taken so long to update the story again... Finding motivation to write was a challenge given the negative anonymous comments and the day to day problems that inevitably appear in a person's life. At least it's a pretty long chapter, once more, so hopefully it'll keep you guys busy for a while until I can post the next update.

This chapter is about Draco's struggles, both with his task from Voldemort and his feelings for Hermione, and as the story advances we'll see more shades of both good and evil inside of him that shape a different future for the wizarding world than the one we know.

I want to take a moment to honor the memory of Robbie Coltrane, who portrayed Hagrid magnificently. May he rest in peace! He'll remain forever in our hearts!

Now, without further ado, I'll let you enjoy reading.


Chapter 8 – Our time is running out

(Draco p.o.v.)

Draco was feeling extremely frustrated, and worse, he felt scared. He'd had a bit of peace and quiet with his mother at Malfoy Manor during the Christmas holiday, but once he got back to Hogwarts, his problems were still there, waiting for him.

He'd tried ignoring them for a while longer by meeting with Hermione, giving her the jumper which was complementary to his. He'd ask her to wear it the next time they met... But when that would be, he didn't know. He still hadn't managed to ensure a functional passage through the Vanishing Cabinet, and there wasn't a lot of time left until the Dark Lord would ask for results and he was nowhere near completing his mission.

Or rather, the Dark Lord had already asked for results, as Snape had so 'kindly' conveyed, the first chance he got. Draco needed to fix the cabinet soon, or finish off Dumbledore if he and his family 'wanted to go on living', as the Head of Slytherin house has informed him were the words Voldemort used.

There just didn't seem to be a way out of the hopeless situation he was in... the best he could hope for was to fix the cabinet and then perhaps things would be out of his hands and whatever happened wouldn't be his fault. But most likely he was simply wishful thinking that he'd get away that easily.

Grim thoughts weren't helpful though so he doubled his efforts in making the passage between the Vanishing cabinets work. He was making progress, that much was clear, but he had to complete his work soon, before it was too late.

"Could you be more broody, Draco?" Blaise asked, snapping him out of his inner world. "You should really hang out with us more and bring some order to the school, because since Umbridge was sacked and the Inquisitorial Squad dissolved, Gryffindors, first years and all sort of other low-lives have gotten cheeky. You're Prefect, so that's one more reason to put them in their place!"

They were at breakfast in the Great Hall, and Draco realized he hadn't touched his plate of food yet.

He took a bit of omelet, using the time it took to chew it to come up with an appropriate reply.

"It sounds like you lot have been doing a good job of that without my help."

Draco drank some pumpkin juice from his goblet.

"And just like you pointed out, I have Prefect responsibilities that I am taking care of, on my own."

His fellow Slytherins didn't look convinced, but he couldn't risk telling them what he was doing with Granger. Nor did he want to share his plans for the Vanishing Cabinet. They shouldn't have questioned him in the first place, because he'd already hinted on their ride on the Hogwarts Express that he had more important things to take care of that year. For a bunch of Slytherins, they sure were slow to get a clue.

The only ones he did include in his plans were Crabbe and Goyle, but not because he placed any trust in those dimwits, but because they could do his bidding and pose as little girls to guard the entrance to the Room of Hidden Things while he was in there... and even that was becoming an issue as they'd started challenging his authority of late.

Apparently since his father had fallen from grace with the Dark Lord, Crabbe and Goyle felt like they could argue with Draco about their assignments. He'd put them in their place for now, but how much longer would he be able to do that?

He felt like he was losing control over every single aspect of his life and that was only feeding the darkness inside him.

School was definitely the last thing on his mind, which is why he could almost hex the Ministry wizard, Twycross, for blathering on about 'Destination, Determination, Deliberation!' when apparating. Sure, apparition would be a useful skill, but right now, his focus was somewhere else, and he didn't fancy getting splinched so he wasn't even really trying, going through the motions just enough as not to be admonished.

Even so, Draco felt drained as he took a couple of minutes to rest down in the Slytherin Common Room before he had to go work on the Vanishing Cabinet again. Peace evaded him, as Pansy saw it fit to interrupt his thoughts.

"You didn't look like you were very interesting in apparating, Draco."

"Just like Blaise observed in the Great Hall, our friend seems to have other things on his mind these days", Theo told her.

"Well, Nott, you weren't there, but Draco did warn us on the Hogwarts Express, all mysterious-like, that he had better things to do this year than school", said Blaise.

Draco tried to ignore them, although the fact that they were talking about him as if he were not present did kind of irk him. He felt disconnected from everyone, but these were his friends - or as close as he'd ever gotten to having friends, even if he couldn't picture a future where they'd all live happily after, so he needed to make an effort and find out where they stood, given that their parents were involved with Voldemort and the Death Eaters - many of their parents Death Eaters themselves.

"Better isn't necessarily the word I'd use, but rather more important things."

He was intentionally vague to see whether anyone would 'bite', while his thoughts stayed with the few people gathered there. Theo and Blaise were not very friendly with each other, but that was probably only because Theo usually kept to himself, being more of an introvert, so the only time when he was actually verbose in classes like Potions where he was partnered with Draco. But lately he'd spent more time with Draco's gang, even if he usually only listened, not actually joining in the conversation unless it was a topic he had strong feelings about.

Pansy was more of an annoyance these days, and she only hung around hoping that Draco would take back his decision to 'break up with her', which was delusional, because they'd never been officially together in the first place, but he let her go on hoping because he didn't care enough to let Pansy know otherwise, plus he did occasionally enjoy her adoration of him as long as she didn't start acting possessive or jealous. As for Crabbe and Goyle, who weren't present at the moment, they were too dumb and mean to be considered friends, although having grown up by their side did make him have a sort of fondness for them - kind of like you'd have for a pet, and not even your own pet, someone else's...

There was also Daphne Greengrass, who often joined their group, especially when Pansy was around too, although from what Draco noticed, it wasn't because the two girls were particularly friendly, but more because Daphne didn't like being the only girl among Draco's gang. Personally, Draco thought she might fancy Theo, but whatever the reason, at least Daphne was a better conversationalist than Pansy.

As if she felt him thinking her name, Pansy interrupted his musings.

"If you're talking about prefect duties, don't forget I am one too, Draco, and I don't let my responsibilities keep away from my friends", Pansy reproached.

Not that she was fulfilling her responsibilities as prefect - he'd never seen her patrol the corridors, although he was fairly sure she took dozens of points from Gryffindors and other students, albeit none from Slytherin despite the fact that the members of their House were usually the ones who needed reprimanding most.

"That isn't what I'm talking about - a war is coming, I'm sure you realize that from what your parents have told you", Draco said, making it clear now about the topic he wanted to discuss.

"It's unavoidable at this point, that much is clear", Theo spoke up unexpectedly and gravely. "My father is in Azkaban now, the same as yours, so I don't have the latest updates, as I haven't been visiting. But I don't need anyone to tell me something strong is brewing, and I'm not talking about potions."

Theo wasn't the type to be interested in the Dark Arts and Voldemort's agenda, which meant he wasn't on very good terms with his Death Eater father who probably expected more support for the 'cause' from his son. As for his mother, she'd died several years ago, so it made sense that he was out of the loop.

"My mother doesn't trouble herself with such stuff and neither did any of her seven ex-husbands", Blaise commented casually. "As for me, I think there are better things to do with my time than worry about such dark stuff. For instance, did you notice how hot that fourth year Hufflepuff from our common History of Magic class is?"

Pansy let out a screeching sound of frustration.

"How can you have such a cavalier attitude?! My parents have no interest in such things either, and oh, how I wish they'd be more involved! Can you imagine our status if we helped the Dark Lord regain power?"

"First of all, how much help do you think we could be to the Dark Lord? Theo asked. "And secondly, is that a world we'd want to live in, where the Dark Lord rules once more?" he continued gravely.

"What kind of talk is that?" Pansy asked, outraged. "I wish the Dark Lord had asked me to become a Death Eater, he'd see what I can do!"

Careful what you wish for, Draco whispered under his breath.

He wondered whether Pansy would still want to become one of Voldemort's most trusted minions if she knew she'd have to kill for it.

Having failed to get the cursed necklace to Dumbledore, Draco had come up with another idea. He'd ordered a special, undetectable poison from Borgin and Burkes, which he'd received at Hogwarts cleverly disguised as a bottle of Otter's Fizzy Orange Juice among many other bottles of beverages and home-made sweets that supposedly were sent to him by his mother, but came, in fact, from from Mr. Borgin. By that time he'd already received the very expensive bottle of oak-matured mead he'd ordered especially for the 'occasion', so he'd mixed the two. He'd sent the poisoned drink to Slughorn, as he was the best choice of 'messenger' to deliver it to Dumbledore, given how the Potions professor was so eager to be on good terms with anyone of importance, which the Headmaster of Hogwarts certainly was.

Draco had used one of his compulsion spells on the wrappings of the bottle, to make sure Slughorn didn't just keep the bottle to himself - which was a distinct possibility. He didn't want to risk using something very powerful on a teacher, but he hoped that Slughorn's natural inclination to curry favor would do the rest.

Draco also hoped that the poison wouldn't be strong enough to actually kill the Headmaster, but he had to prove to Voldemort that he'd tried to fulfill his mission, because if the Dark Lord as much as suspected his disloyalty, not just his life, but his parents' lives would be in danger... Although, who was he trying to fool? With Voldemort around, everyone's lives were in danger, whether they were loyal or not. The Dark Lord's moods could be terrible, and being a follower didn't guarantee safety.

He didn't think Pansy would have it in her to do even as much as spiking someone's drink with such a dangerous poison or sending a cursed necklace, but then again, the girl had surprised him on sever occasions with her nastiness - given time and the 'proper' (or rather 'improper') guidance, she might be Death Eater material after all.

"I have it from a reliable source that the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters are meeting at Malfoy Manor. Is that true, Draco? Because if the Dark Lord is in your house, then surely you can put in a good word for me, yes?" Pansy purred, which Draco found sickening. Both her attempts to gain favor and what she wanted were repulsive.

"I don't care to confirm or disprove such rumors, but even if the information were true, I wouldn't 'put in a good word' for you, Pansy. It doesn't work that way, and you'd know that if you had half a brain."

"No need to be mean", she pouted. " If you're going to act like that, I'm leaving!" she said and practically ran across the Slytherin Common Room to join Millicent, who was watching Daphne and Tracey having an intense conversation by one of the fireplaces.

Draco was happy to watch her go, but he kind of envied her for being next to the fireplace. He should have found himself a warmer place to rest in, as during the winter the cold was particularly biting in the dungeons, and their Common Room was no exception, regardless of having several fireplaces which glowed green due to being partly beneath the Black Lake.

He felt cold in more than one way but at least now that Pansy was gone, he could probe further into his Blaise and Theo's minds, and figure out what they really thought about the Dark Lord and his plans.

"So you two are not that interested in what will happen?"

Theo looked furtively around, to make sure no one was close enough to overhear what they were saying, before replying to Draco's question.

"If anything, I rather think it'd be safer if the Dark Lord was defeated."

Draco raised his eyebrows, but said nothing, looking instead to Blaise, to see his response.

"You've got that right, mate. Somehow I get the feeling that a wizarding world ruled by the Dark Lord would be much less fun than it is, and much less free... And I don't quite fancy that. But I'd rather stay back and watch it all unfold - I'm too young to die in battle, especially one that is not of my own making. Although one perk of the Dark Lord ruling would be that mudbloods and blood traitors would be out of the picture, wouldn't that be nice for a change? We wouldn't have to put up with seeing them all over, like we have to do now, at school."

Blaise may not have been into the Dark Arts, but he'd been raised as a pureblooded wizard, with a 'healthy' distaste for muggle-borns and what he considered were wizards and witches who associated wit them.

"I'd argue that the outcome of the incoming war concerns us all, doesn't it? I mean, we all have a say in it, no matter how small we are in the bigger picture", Draco said, but before Blaise and Theo could answer, Crabbe and Goyle entered the Common Room and headed their way, identical smug grins on their faces.

"Well, this conversation is getting too serious for my liking, so I'm off in pursuit of more leisurely activities... more exactly, to find... Heather, I think her name is."

All he received were blank stares, he added "The fourth year from the History of Magic class?"

Several 'tsk-s' were his only response, so he rolled his eyes, sighed, and exited the room with a spring in his walk.

"Where's he going then?" Goyle asked as he took Blaise's vacated seat, while Crabbe sat on a nearby armchair.

"Oh, he's on the prowl for a new conquest", Draco replied. "A better question would be where have you two been? Not in the Great Hall, still eating?!"

"We don't have to answer to you", Crabbe said snidely, "but no. We've been dealing with a Ravenclaw git who thought he could bump into me and get away with it."

"Time to break up this 'party', although that's not the best word for it", Theo remarked, ignoring Crabbe and Goyle's threatening growls.

Draco smirked, enjoying Theo's defiance of the two bullies, who were each three times as big as he, at least! For all of Theo's thin and weak look, he wasn't afraid to stand up to people when needed.

"Sounds about right", Draco agreed and got up at the same time as Theo. "See you boys tomorrow!" he added as he retired to his bed...Or he let everyone think that's what he was doing, when, in fact, he waited for everyone to go to sleep and then sneaked out and went up to the seventh floor and into the Room of Hidden Things to work on the Vanishing Cabinet.

His work proved useless as he still couldn't get the damn thing to function properly.

Tired and miserable, he finally went back to bed a long time past midnight, having to sneak around secret corridors so that Peeves wouldn't see him and denounce him to the entire school as per his habit.

Once he was in bed, he stayed awake for a long time, troubled by the discussion he'd had with Blaise, Theo and Pansy, and by the fact that apparently his second attempt on Dumbledore's life had failed. Slughorn had received the bottle of poisoned mead months ago, and yet Dumbledore was doing just great... well, perhaps not great, because the Headmaster seemed weakened this year - his hand had been blackened at the start of the term, and had since regained its original look, although rumor had it that it was something created through magic.

Regardless of the mystery of Dumbledore's hand, Draco wondered if he should just give up on Slughorn ever gifting the poison to the Headmaster. Christmas had come and gone and with it, the perfect occasion for Slughorn to give Dumbledore the 'gift' had been wasted. What if the fat professor decided to drink the mead himself? Or share it with someone else? The poison might kill both Slughorn and whoever else he might share it with, which would be horrible, because then he would be responsible for one or more deaths and yet be nowhere safer from Voldemort for failing to kill the target, Dumbledore. He'd almost gotten the Bell girl killed with the cursed necklace and the guilt was starting to eat at him, adding to the already existing darkness.

And say the professor did give the mead to the headmaster, could Draco live with himself if he'd kill the old goat?

The grim answer came to him just as he was falling asleep: him living with a death on his conscience was better than living with the guilt of his parents getting killed by Voldemort because of him.


It was the first 'official' day of spring - as in, the first of March, although the weather in Scotland was still wintery - when Draco finally found out the outcome of his second attempt on Dumbledore's... well, if not life, then certainly his wellbeing. If the rumors were to be believed, that fool, Slughorn, had decided Potter and his sidekick were worthy of drinking the pricey oak matured mead and as a consequence Weaselbee had gotten poisoned - not fatally, but he was in the Hospital Wing and Draco imagined that Granger was glued to his side, despite the fact that the Weasel had Brown for a girlfriend.

Regardless of his intense dislike for Ronald Weasley, Draco was glad that the ginger hadn't died - if that would have happened he'd probably never be able to look Granger in the eye ever again. She would have probably been devastated and knowing that he was the one to cause such tragedy in her life, he'd have to give her up, which Draco wasn't sure he could do.

Rumors abounded, but Draco needed an accurate update about the situation, and he knew the only way to get it was to ask Granger herself, which is why he used the charmed paper snake to send her a message, saying that he'd expect her in the Prefects' bathroom at 8 P.M. For his personal entertainment, he added the condition of her wearing the jumper he'd given her for Christmas - under her robes, of course, it the school would be scandalized if she'd wear it on display.

Draco himself went to the Prefects' bathroom with 15 minutes to spare, because he feared he might run into Moaning Myrtle there but it turned out he'd worried for nothing: as luck would have it, the ghost was nowhere to be seen, although Draco looked long and hard to make sure that she wasn't hiding or something - the room was softly lit by beautiful candle filled chandeliers that cast little light over the marble walls, floor and the huge tub that dominated the room.

He turned on various faucets so that the tub would fill and the scented soaps would perfume the air, then he got comfortable by removing his robes and loosening his tie. After considering it for a few moments, he also removed his shoes and socks, soaking his feet in the tub, which had already been almost completely filled by foamy water. He turned off the faucets then, making sure the water was only about a meter high.

Draco was starting to relax for the first time in quite some time, so now the only thing that was missing was for Granger to arrive - she was pushing her luck, as it was already 8 PM. If she didn't hurry, her skin would get burnt by the enchanted necklace. He wondered whether she might be foolish enough to refuse leaving Weaselbee's bedside, but she was more rational than that... probably.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard the door open and Granger came in, her face pale, but her expression fierce, although underneath her clear fury, there was also worry and suffering.

Draco cast an Colloportus on the door, just to be sure no one would intrude, then though he'd open hostilities by speaking first, and therefore take the wind out of her sails.

"Are you wearing the jumper?" he asked and watched her face get even darker than before.

Granger dropped her robes to the floor, revealing that she was, in fact, wearing the jumper.

"As per request", she said between clenched teeth. "Don't you think it would be more appropriate to ask about Ron's welfare than about a stupid article of clothing?"

Draco ignored the 'stupid' part of her sentence and showed a slightly remorseful expression to pacify her, because Granger had stopped near him, looming over him, her hands at her waist in a confrontational posture.

"That was going to be my next question. So how is Weasley? I assume you're coming from the Hospital Wing. Oh, and how come he got poisoned? There are many rumors around Hogwarts, one wilder than the next."

The truth was that he was more worried about her, but asking about Weasley would reveal her state of mind as well.

"He would have died, if Harry hadn't been quick to find a bezoar in Professor Slughorn's office and shove it down Ron's throat... Madam Pomfrey says he'll have to stay a week or so in the Hospital Wing, taking essence of rue..."

"What were he and Potter doing in Slughorn's office? Having another party, only for the select few?"

Draco could almost see flames coming out of her nostrils as she leaned down toward him.

"No, of course not! Ron had accidentally ingested a love potion and Harry took him to Slughorn for an antidote... and instead Ron got poisoned!"

"Sounds like something Weasley would do", Draco commented, ignoring her increasing anger.

"I don't suppose that's news to you, because I have an inkling about who might have used poison. At first, I didn't want to believe Harry when he kept saying that you're a Death Eater working for Voldemort, but now I know better, and I can only imagine what horrible things you're up to."

Draco saw her chest heaving, and wondered whether it would be wiser to give her an answer or simply to let her cool off completely. He chose the latter option, because sometimes saying nothing at all was the best thing to do.

"I've never heard silence quite so loud", Granger said. " Is that an admission of guilt?"

Granger gave an almost inaudible sniff.

"This incident is very similar to the one with the cursed necklace. Like I told my friends, both incidents could have been fatal but through sheer luck they weren't, and neither seems to have reached the intended person, which means that the one responsible is extremely dangerous, because they don't seem to care how many people they hurt in the process of getting to their target."

Draco was upset she referred to 'her friends', a group of people he was clearly excluded from. Then again, he did force her to submit to his will, his 'attentions' an basically tortured her, which weren't exactly grounds for the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

"If you're implying that I am that person, I can assure you, I don't give three knuts about Weaselbee, so I wouldn't go to the trouble of trying to kill... nor can I think of anyone else who might harbor such strong feelings towards your... friend. Weasley simply isn't that important."

"Like I said before, Ron was probably just an innocent victim, the target must have been someone else!" Granger said, tapping her foot next to him, which got his attention - his eyes moved up and down checking out her shapely leg.

But he figured Granger wouldn't be pleased to catch him checking her out so he quickly averted his eyes - he'd let her get the anger out of her system, then it would be time for him to get the darkness out of his.

"The real target was probably Harry or Professor Slughorn... I mean, the professor had the mead, so there was a high probability he'd drink it... but then again, everyone knows he favors Harry out of all other students..."

Her voice trailed off for a moment, and Draco could tell she held a grudge for some reason. Granger wasn't the type to resent someone for being better than her, rather she'd be motivated to study harder, which told Draco that Potter didn't get to be so good at Potions and Slughorn's favorite on his own merit... there was something there that was worth investigating.

"So the culprit might have guessed Professor Slughorn would share the mead with Harry."

"That's a long shot and you know it", Draco countered.

"Why don't you tell me who you were after? It was you who gave Professor Slughorn the poisoned mead, wasn't it? The professor can't seem to remember who gave him the bottle, just like Katie can't remember who cursed her and gave her the necklace."

"Why don't you let the Headmaster and the professors worry about who the culprit is?" Draco asked. "It's not really your concern, is it? Nor should Weselbee's welfare be, at least not that much, I mean, he has a girlfriend, right?" he continued, hoping that by pushing her buttons he'd provoke her into erupting one way or the other.

"Someone going about cursing and poisoning people in the school should be a serious concern for everyone! As for Ron, he's still my friend... besides he..."

She was about to say something, but then caught herself... However, Draco was now curious so he wasn't about to let her off the hook so easily.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"It's nothing!" Granger said, and turned her back to him.

Draco wasn't about to have it. He grabbed her calf, making her yelp in pain.

"Think again!"

"Fine! He said my name in the infirmary, when he was unconscious!"

Surprised, Draco released her calf.

He thought that through as he watched her massage the spot he'd previously latched on to.

Apparently no matter how idiotic the conscious Weasley could be, deep down he knew Granger was a thousand times better than Brown or any other girl at Hogwarts.

"Really? So what do you make of it?" he fished.

"I'm not sure what I should make of it, but I guess it's safe to say I occupy more of his thought than the girlfriend you referred to earlier. And I'd venture a guess that this fact, in turn, means that he cares more for me than her."

Draco didn't like the where the conversation was headed.

"Are you sure you're not just wishful thinking?" he added nastily. He was starting to feel particularly annoyed which meant nothing good for Granger, although she seemed oblivious to the danger looming in the air.

"No, because to be honest, while it makes me sort of happy, because for a long time I've wished Ron would see me that way, it took him too long and now I no longer see him as anything other than a friend… or rather, even if I do feel something more at times, I simply don't see a relationship working out between me and him on a long term".

Either she was blushing or the hot, humid perfumed vapors in the air were getting to her, but either way, Draco didn't like the pink hue of her face - or rather, he thought she looked particularly fetching, but didn't like to think it was thoughts of the Weasel that made her look that way.

"Merlin's pants! Why am I even telling you all this?!" she suddenly exclaimed. "All these vapors must be getting to me. I think I should go before I faint or something. I'll leave you to your bath."

She turned to go, but Draco caught her calf again, almost causing her to fall.

"Not so fast, Granger!" he said and in a fluid motion he was up, and had gone around her to stand right in her face, grabbing her arms and pushing her back a few paces, toward the edge of the tub.

"Why don't you join me?" he asked sweetly, but apparently his tone wasn't to her liking.

"No, thank you!" she replied vehemently, uselessly trying to remove herself from his grasp.

"Oh, I insist!", Draco said, his tone taking on a more seductive tone. He wondered whether Granger could hear the annoyance he was trying to hide underneath the 'come-hither' voice.

He kissed her hard, his teeth dragging sharply over her bottom lip, then nibbled along her chin and finally he used his tongue to lick the side of her neck, feeling her hectic pulse, heightened by the protests that were firing rapidly out of her, now that he'd released her mouth.

He pulled her skirt down and pulled her closer to the tub, which forced her to step out of the fallen garment unless she wanted to trip and fall - right into the tub.

"Look, I thought you were done playing these games!"

"You thought wrong!" Draco said as he forcibly removed the jumper from her upper body, leaving her only in her white shirt and dark opaque stockings.

"Under no circumstances am I getting naked with you into that tub!"

"And under normal circumstances I'd remind you I can make you comply. Obfoco!" Draco chanted and was pleased to see her wince in pain as the choker he'd tricked her into wearing tightened around her neck. "But luckily I have mixed feelings today so I'll let you off easily - you don't have to get naked, you keep your lingerie on, but everything else must go."

He poked her straight in the chest with his wand, then making an up-down motion to convey that he wanted her to unbutton her shirt.

She was turning redder in the face now, the skin of her neck also flushed, but Granger still resisted.

Instead, she was pulling at the choker, although her rational mind was probably telling her it was pointless to do so.

"You'll have to do it yourself, I'm going to cooperate as little as I possibly can if at all!" she spat, which was remarkable given the fact that the constriction of her neck must have made it very difficult for her to be so articulate.

He started unbuttoning her shirt while he quickly chanted a 'Finite' to release her from the choker's grip - he wouldn't want her to faint, and she'd already said the vapors were getting to her.

"You like to play with fire, Granger, but I suppose that's a quality I admire", Draco smirked, as he admired her simple, but elegant beige bra.

He reached for her stockings but she slapped his hand away and pulled them off her legs herself, revealing matching beige panties.

"Happy now?" she said, crossing her arms in what he imagined was a veiled attempt to cover the top of her breasts which had been on display for him to feast his eyes upon.

"Extremely", Draco said, as he made short work of his own clothing, and he was down to the last article of clothing, his dark green briefs, when Hermione's shrill tone stopped him in his tracks.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, outraged. "I thought we weren't getting naked."

"Correction, Granger: I said you wouldn't have to get naked. I said no such thing about me."

With an impish grin, he removed the briefs.

Granger instantly closed her eyes, but Draco thought she'd still caught a glimpse, which was his intention all along.

To make sure she'd open her eyes eventually, he made sure to make a big splash as he got into the foamy tub.

"It's safe to look now, Granger. Though I have to say, I'm disappointed. I thought Gryffindors were brave, so how come you're afraid to watch me? Or are you just a prude?"

She slowly opened her eyes, but otherwise remained put, arms crossed, lips pursed.

"I think you're afraid you'll like what you see", he teased.

"I'm not afraid, Malfoy!"

"If you say so. Now come here!" he ordered and although she hesitated for a second, Granger slowly advanced to the very edge of the tub, where she got down on her knees and soaked her hand in the water.

Then she sat on the edge of the tub, her legs inside, and finally lowered herself completely into the water.

Just as he'd planned in not letting the tub fill completely, the foamy water only came about mid waste level in her case, while for him it barely covered his middle. The tub had different depths depending on how close to the center one was, but Draco didn't intend to let Granger wander too far away from the edge.

He cornered her against the tub wall, by placing his arms on each side of her, effectively trapping her, knowing he had Granger right where he wanted her.

"Maybe give me a little space?" she requested, and tried pushing him by placing her hands on his naked chest, which for Draco felt divine.

He was pleased she'd touched his naked form out of her own accord, even if it was in an attempt to put some distance between them.

"There's plenty of space", he said as he leaned into her and kissed the side of her neck down to the shoulder, slightly biting down.

"My point exactly", she said, her voice trembling slightly. "So find your own and let me have my space!"

Draco loved that he was having such an effect on her.

"But I like this space just fine", he said, as his head travelled lower to lick, kiss, nibble and bite the exposed roundness of her breasts... Her bra wasn't much of an obstacle as he teased her nipples through the dainty material.

"Since you've invited me, might as well let me use the Prefects' bathroom to its full potential - I'd rather enjoy a swim in this lovely scented water", Granger reasoned - logical arguments were, after all, her forte, everyone knew that.

As an acknowledgement, Draco let her go and stayed put as he admired her nimble form swimming around.

But soon he felt the need to do more than just watch, so he started swimming after her.

"You have enough room to swim, you don't have to follow me!" she said, and Draco heard a bit of panic in her voice.

"But it's more fun this way, isn't it?"

He continued coming after her, but she increased her speed and soon a race was underway.

To those who didn't know better, it might look like the Gryffindor spirit who couldn't say no to a challenge was getting the better of Granger and she simply wanted to win this one, but to Draco it was clear that she simply wanted to escape him.

By the time he finally caught her ankle and managed to stop her, they were both breathing heavily.

Granger was refusing to turn around to face him, but he had no problem with that. Draco made sure to keep an arm across her bare stomach to keep her pinned to him, while he used the other hand to turn her head to the side so he could kiss her deeply.

Of course she fought him, but she couldn't break out of his grasps, nor escape his lips and searching tongue.

"That was just my reward for catching you, wouldn't you say I deserve a small award?" he asked her.

"Since it was not 'awarded' by me but rather forcibly taken, you can't honestly be asking me that!" she spat.

Draco could not get enough of feeling her skin against his, the feeling was exquisite, she felt perfectly right in his arms, like it was where she belonged.

So it was with great reluctance that he let her go. Whether he liked it or not, this was just a stolen moment of peace and bliss, but reality awaited, and so did Voldemort.

Draco's mood turned dark again.


"Would you like to play some more or should we call it a night?" he asked Granger, anticipating the answer.

"I do NOT want to play with you!"

"All right then", Draco drawled.

He quickly swam toward the edge of the tub and got out, sitting down on the edge of the tub and offered Granger his hand, which to her probably looked like a gallant offer to help her out of the tub - the exact reason why his trap worked and she let him pull her out.

What she didn't anticipate though was that he didn't release her, but rather kept on pulling on her hand until she was across his naked lap, her backside in reach so that Draco was able to slap her hard.

Her surprised shout was music to his ears, because she was probably still oblivious at how annoyed he'd been with her about talking so much about Weaselbee with him. That, combined with the grim remainder that he still hadn't managed to obtain any results that would prevent Voldemort from killing him and his parents, made him want to take out his frustration on her, Granger being just one more source of frustration... although she was also a source of delight, but the delightful moments had already passed.

"What are you doing?!" she shrieked.

He gave her another slap, ignored her whimper, and made sure he held her in place by keeping his right arm to pin her over his lap.

Granger's attempts to get free were providing delicious friction over his groin.

"You're smart, Granger, what does it look like I'm doing?"

She spluttered indignantly, not managing to get anything rational out of her mouth.

"If you wanted to ask me why I'm spanking you, it's because you've been naughty."

Before she could find her words, he gave her another resounding slap, and continued explaining.

"Although this was our time together, you kept on blabbing on and on about Weasley, and you kept accusing me without any proof, both of which can't go unpunished, so if that's what you thought, you have another thing coming."

He applied another slap to her tender backside, which was now an appealing shade of red - at least the part that wasn't covered by her beige panties.

Draco was surprised she didn't let out any other yelp of pain even though he gave her two more hard slaps.

"Good to see you're accepting the punishment", he commented.

"I'm not accepting anything, but you don't leave me much choice what with being able to strangle me or burn the skin off my neck at will. So I won't give you the satisfaction of hearing me cry out anymore!"

He admired her for that but he wondered if she'd be able to keep quiet.

Just for kicks, he slapped her slightly harder, again and again, but she remained mostly quiet, though every and now and then Draco thought he heard a muffled sound escape her.

He finally felt he'd exorcised his darkness enough, so he helped her get back to her feet.

Granger's face was reproachful and her lower lip was slightly bleeding, a sign that she'd been biting into it to keep from screaming.

Her eyes never wandered lower than his face, despite the fact that he was standing in front of her in all his naked glory... should have been bloody irresistible for her to look down, but then again, Granger wasn't most girls. She was special.

"Can I go now or are there any other humiliations you want to subject me to?" she asked stiffly.

"Don't tempt me, Granger! Yes, you're free to go... for now."

She didn't waste a single minute to go to her discarded pile of clothes, retrieve her wand and used the Hot air charm to dry her undergarments.

"Our time is running out..." Draco mused, and it was only when Granger stopped for a moment from dressing that he realized he'd said the dire words aloud.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she seemed to ask despite herself.

He'd been thinking about Voldemort and the fact that he might not even long enough to fight in the war that was surely coming - not if he failed to show some results concerning his dark mission.

So moments like these, that he could spend with Granger, being close to her, tasting her, tormenting her... they were precious because he didn't know for how much longer he'd be able to enjoy them... He only had until the end of the school year to show results to Voldemort; after that, it was game over.

Still, Draco had no intention to impart such grievous things with Granger.

"Nothing that concerns you... for now. Rather, you should consider telling me what Potter is up to with Dumbledore, that way you might not have to put up with these meetings of ours... or are you starting to like them?" he teased.

"I most certainly do not like them and therefore I can't say it's been a pleasure"...

She started heading towards the door of the Prefects' bathroom.

Draco muttered 'if you say so' - he was under the impression that Granger had actually enjoyed some of the things they'd done that day - the kissing, surely, even the nibbling and perhaps the biting too. Probably not the spanking, but that was an acquired taste, so perhaps it wasn't too late for a change.

He got dressed as well and exited the bathroom, with the full knowledge that now that he'd had his 'fun', it was time to redouble his efforts to make the Vanishing Cabinet function properly, given that, like the cursed necklace, the poisoned mead hadn't reached Dumbledore.

His time was running out indeed.