A/N: DAMMIT! Dammit dammit DAMMIT! I wrote this WHOLE chapter, and then lost the WHOLE thing! I was on the last PRF!!! And this is the longest chapter yet! You guy's better be glad I like you or this wouldn't be out for a week, haha....it is really annoying to write something three times....haha. NOTE:: this chapter, as well as a few others, has scenes that are portrayed twice, in two different angles. One for each D and Hr. I hope this is not too confusing, but I don't think it will be.

I NEED A BETA! E-mail me if you're interested, or wanna know what that is....ha.

~Mandy

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the sweat and blood that went into getting this typed up and remnants of the plot that were not otherwise subconsciously derived.

(I was gonna call it the chapter from hell, but I'm changing it to...)





CHAPTER FOUR: The Coincidental Realization.

A tapping sound broke Hermione out of her thoughts. She looked to the window to see Hedwig, and smiled. A letter from Harry, or Harry and Ron. Both boys had requested to come to school early as well when they discovered Hermione would be spending most of the extra summer at Hogwarts. However, the Dursleys had known how much Harry would enjoy it and had forbidden him to leave. Ron's parents had insisted he stay home with Ginny, seeing as they would be away and all of the other Weasley boys were, conveniently, long gone from the burrow.

Charlie was still in Romania, Bill, somewhere for Gringotts. Percy had an undercover job in the Ministry of Magic, causing him to travel, and the twins had opened their own joke shop in the states. Dumbledore would not allow them to return early regardless, and all of the protest on both Harry's and Ron's part were lost cause.

Hermione quickly went to the window and let Hedwig in. The letter answered a few of the immediate questions Hedwig's arrival had conjured.

"Hermione,

Enjoying your time spent with Malfoy? Harry is staying in the burrow for a while; I think the Dursleys are afraid of my parents. We miss you 'Mione! We will see you after Christmas, but perhaps we could meet in Diagon Alley the weekend before school. Dumbledore has to allow you to go and get some supplies and what not.

Write soon, Harry and Ron

P.S. If you need us to beat up Malfoy when we get there, don't hesitate to ask!"

Hermione smiled. Thinking of Harry and his gorgeous green eyes and Ron's adorable way of blushing always made her happy. She missed her friends dearly, but she was also glad they had not been allowed to come to school early. Their intentions were good, but Harry and Ron acted more like overbearing big brothers than friends.

For reasons she did not understand, Hermione WAS enjoying her "time spent with Malfoy".

She made a face, surprised at the use of his last name. Hermione never called him that, and hadn't since 5th year when his new identity had become more apparent. She had had a fight with Harry and Ron over her calling him Draco, however. Harry, always the mediator, tried to convince a stubborn Ron that Hermione could call whomever she wanted whatever she wanted, and Hermione was grateful for that. She was a little ticked at Ron, however, and stormed out of the Gryffindor common room, leaving a stale statement behind.

"Harry's absolutely right! You should try listening to him, Weasley..." Hermione left a shocked Harry and a slightly hurt, but furious Ron.

She and Draco had never really become friends, and Hermione assumed Ron was happy about that. They were merely acquaintances on a first name basis. These last two months alone together, so-to-speak, had brought them closer. Hermione considered Draco her friend, possibly more, but she was almost sure he did not feel the same way. Despite the fact that, with the exception of the teachers, they were alone in the school, they really didn't see that much of each other. They were together for breakfast and lunch rarely, what with Hermione having an early breakfast and late lunch, and Draco having a brunch and small afternoon meal.

Always they were together for dinner; it had become a form of ritual. One night, by accident, they had entered the great hall minutes apart, and the few house elves not on vacation had cooked them a large meal. Since that night, Hermione had made sure she was in the great hall by 630 sharp, and Draco was always there. She told herself she was not there to see him, nor he her, but she knew that wasn't true.

After dinner, they would traditionally walk back to the common room together, and sit by the fire and talk, or just read. Hermione never knew Draco liked to read nearly as much as she did, and it had been more than once that he had asked to borrow one of her muggle books. She had let him, of course, despite the fact that he too owned an enchanted bookcase.

* * * * * * * * * *

Hermione was standing y the window smiling, petting Hedwig distractedly, and thinking of Draco. A loud, but not harsh, noise brought her back to reality, and Hermione looked out the window to the balcony. She saw a very sleepy looking Draco, his blonde locks strewn about his face, coving his eyes from view.

Hermione looked at his profile and suppressed a giggle as she swooned sarcastically for Hedwig's viewing pleasure. The owl clicked heartily. Hermione turned back to the half-asleep blonde who graced her balcony. She watched as he plopped down into a seat, and she saw him yawn before tuning back to the annoyed-looking snowy owl.

"Okay, okay..." she whispered, and took a quill from the vanity. On the back of Harry and Ron's note, quickly wrote a reply.

"Harry and Ron,

Glad to see you're enjoying your summer, as am I. It's not so bad here, and Draco's presence in not as unpleasant as you may think. I'll write a longer reply with a school owl later, I am rather busy as it is, and I don't want to keep Hedwig waiting.

Love always, Hermione"

Hermione opened the door to the balcony and pretended to ignore Draco as she walked around to the window and gave Hedwig her letter. She watched him fly off before turning to Draco, who looked away quickly as their eyes locked.

* * * * * * * * * *

Draco woke up after only a few hours of sleep. He knew when he went to bed that he would, but warm thoughts of a certain brown eyed girl had led him to do nothing but slip into sweet dreams. Draco realized this and sat up with a start. He rarely dreamed, and whenever he did, they were never good dreams. He shrugged it off and climbed out of bed. Looking at the bedside clock, he was informed that it was presently 710. Earlier than he had thought, but what did it matter?

Draco opened the drapes of his window and took in the November sunshine. Without a thought, Draco opened the door to the balcony. He smiled at the rush of crisp autumn air that ruffled his hair. Draco braced himself as he placed each foot onto the stone ledge, expecting a chill. What he felt, however, was the exact opposite. Then he remembered the night before, and recalled the warming charm he had placed on the ledge after Hermione's slip.

Suddenly, his thoughts were back on Hermione. In a sleepy daze, Draco shut the door behind him, a little harder than he had meant to. He cursed himself as he heard the slam. **Hermione! I'm so inconsiderate... even THESE blasted walls could keep out that horrendous sound!**

He hoped he hadn't woken her, but just stood there, not daring to look in her window. Draco had noticed long ago that Hermione left that side of the bed curtains open, and he did not fancy seeing her in such a vulnerable position.

He plopped down in a chair and stared out into the hazy morning fog. Minutes later, Hermione stepped out onto the balcony. Draco noticed she had donned heavier pajama bottoms, but still wore her black tank top. Her felt a surge of emotion as he watched her tie a letter to the leg of a large snowy owl and watch it fly off. The feeling was not of jealousy, (who was he to tell her who to write to?) but more of longing. Draco shook it off without another thought as she turned around. He averted his eyes from her as quickly as possible, staring into the vast space between himself and the ground below.

"Did I wake you?" he asked, sounding regretful. Hermione smiled, and sat in a chair that was very close to him. He tensed a little, but relaxed as she spoke.

"No. No, I was already awake." A pause, " Draco, if you don't mind me asking..." she tuned to face him, " why are you? I would expect you to sleep for at least three more hours." She finished sweetly. Draco felt a little nervous, **Does she know about the restless nights? The planned, but seemly coincidental, meetings? The endless hours filled with thoughts and dreams of none other than herself? She couldn't possibly know, and I'm not telling her.**

He turned to her smoothly and looked at her mock-suspiciously. She giggled, he really was attractive with his hair like that...but how she longed to brush a stray lock behind his ear, hold his face in her hand. There was an awkward silence, as they both looked away from each other. Draco noticed her discomfort and, not wanting her to leave, spoke.

"Writing to Potter?" he inquired, innocently. She looked at him, puzzled. "His owl." Draco continued, nodding toward the direction of Hedwig's departure.

"Oh....yes. Harry and Ron, they're still a little angry that Dumbledore wouldn't let them stay here the extra vacation." Draco nodded, turning to look at a leaf on the landing near his bare feet.

"Are you?" he whispered, almost inaudibly, before he could stop himself. **Why not ask her? No turning back now...**

"Am I angry they couldn't come?" she hesitated, then, "No, strangely - I'm not." She felt Draco's eyes fly directly to her face, and a tinge of red crept into her cheeks. She would not look into his eyes, not now. He saw this, and went back to examining his leaf. After a moment, he spoke.

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?" He asked, not looking at her, but not for any particular reason. Now, she looked at him.

"Well, we're Head Boy and Girl, it was our job to come and..." Draco cut her off.

"Yeah, but how much work have we done? Our days here are spent roaming the halls or reading. I haven't seen Dumbledore in almost a week, much less have him ask me to do something Head Boy related." Hermione thought about this. Draco was right, how could she not see it before?

"You're right...You don't suppose there's another reason do you?" Hermione was becoming flustered, and a bit hysterical. "Do you think we're in danger? But why us? Who would be after the two of us? Each separately I could almost understand, but together?"

"Hermione....Hermione!" Draco attepted to attract her attention, but to no avail. He rolled his eyes as she continued rambling.

"Voldemort is dead though, is there a new dark prince? Or an upset death eater? Or..."

"HERMIONE!!!" Draco shouted, hearing his voice echo across the grounds. Hermione stopped rambling abruptly and looked at Draco, noticing the annoyance on his face. She attempted to suppress the laughter that was threatening to come out, but Draco had said nothing more, and that only caused her to break out in hysterics. Through teary eyes, Hermione saw the look of shock on Draco's face, making her laugh harder.

As Draco stared at her, a thought crossed his mind. **She's crazy.** He smiled, and watched her laugh. When her girlish giggles had subsided, Draco spoke.

"You're bloody insane, you know that?" He laughed, a little nervously, not wanted to set her off again. She nodded and laughed too, yet not as hard as she had before. "But really, Hermione, you're overreacting. No one's trying to kill us, or at least I highly doubt it. I do think something is going on, however."

Hermione nodded, wiping tears from her face. Draco looked at her, and couldn't help but smile. He liked her, and he knew it. A small part of him wanted to smack himself. **This is Hermione Granger! Father would kill me if I even thought about....** then he remembered something, and the memory caused a warm sence of happiness to flood his veins.

Lucius was dead. His mother had never been better, and everyone who had known the older Malfoy seemed to think his death was the best thing that could happen to Drcao and his mother. He was strangely happy at the thought of being allowed to love Hermione, evn if it meant his father was gone.

**That was inevitable.** he told himself, **I knew he would die soon, what with Potter and all....Potter** Draco had forgotten about him and Weasley. How could he have her with them there? Not that he was contemplating a way to rid the world of them or anything as drastic, but they would never allow such a relationship.

What they thought didn't matter in the least to Draco, but he knew it mattered to Hermione. He couldn't beat them without Crabbe and Goyle anyway, and both goons had been transferred to another school. Their fathers wouldn't allow them to say which, but Draco suspected they didn't even know. They weren't exactly the brightest of 7th years.

And who's to say Hermione would have him? Her heart must belong to one of those friends of hers. He sighed, it was hopeless. She was too good for him, and he knew it. But one can have dreams. **The dreams....** he remembered that he had had dreams of her, but couldn't quite pictue them clearly. He had been on the verge of remembering something, when his thoughts were interrupted by a warm hand on his cheek. He turned to Hermione, surprised by her hand, but also the look of concern on her face.



A/N: The end of this chapter! Hope it wasn't too confusing, I tried to make it as easy to figure out as possible....anyway, here are the new PRFs!

Prgdsmk - Thanx, and here....now you know!

Guardian Storm Demon - Thanx, and I appreciate you signing in! I agree that Draco's dad is a real ass....that's why I killed the bastard! Haha! I also agree that Draco is very cute....have you seen the new movie? That kid is gonna be h-o-t-t hott in a couple years!

Mai - Thanx, but I think they ARE OCC. That's ok though, I like them that way. And here's the more you asked-ed for!

Poopookacho - Interesting name, I must say. Thanx for reviewing, and not to spoil it, but there will be a "descripted snog" In the next chapter!

Rach - Well thanx! I wouldn't want you to literally die for whats coming, but it is pretty good! Haha. I know it's discriptived, and I too like it that way....but it makes for a long story. All four chapters add up to one night and morning. Harry and Ron are NEVER gonna get there!

Brenna - thanx, I didn't even know you knew my sn

Shadowviolet212 - thanx, and I'll try ;o)

Ashy!!! - HEY! Wazzup, girl? Haha. You better believe that's what I'll be doing...when else do I have time to write that doesn't involve typing previously written material? Hehe. BE MY BETA!

THANX to all who read and double to those who reviewed, I can't believe I have 15 on the second day....that rocks!