Hey everyone!! I've got 20 reviews now! Woo hoo! Hey, its good for me okay? lol! Thanks to my wonderful friend Monica for helping me sporadically through this chapter. Your little bits of ideas every so often really helped make things flow. I love ya Mon!!! =) Okay, enough of my mindless babble. Enjoy chapter 3 and please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!! It really does help to brighten my day! =D

Thanks to Plastic, envision, .:Avri:., Hai, Sam, gabbygoose, TriGemini, and babmidnight for reviewing!

disclaimer: all Harry Potter related stuff goes to the lovely JK. The D'Evereuxs, manor, and the plot are all mine.

Chapter 3:

Draco Malfoy was startled with the sudden outburst from the young woman in front of him. He didn't even want to be there in the first place. There were only two reasons why he came. The first was that he had been told that this couple's daughter was a very gorgeous girl. Needless to say that made him show great interest in the night's events. The second reason was that...well...he was forced to go. He would have had to come either way, gorgeous girl or not. He was instantly attracted once he set eyes on this girl, and he noticed that she looked very familiar. This attraction, however, came to an abrupt end when he saw her face contort into one of utter despisement...a face he had come to know all too well...

"MUDBLOOD?!"

The two glared at each other, each with a passion of deep hatred for the other. Hermione turned to her mother.

"What the hell is he doing here?" she demanded.

Lucius interjected. "I suggest you watch your tone, Miss Granger. It's not proper for your type to speak to us like that," he said coldly.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here?" Draco sneered.

It was Gregoire's turn this time. "Excuse me Lucius, but this is my daughter, and I don't want you to EVER talk down to her like that, ever again."

Hermione turned back to face Draco.

"I am here because I just found out that the people I have been living with my entire life aren't really my parents, but Giselle and Gregoire are," she said motioning to them, her chocolate eyes still burning holes into Draco's brilliant silver ones. "I am a pureblood witch."

"Pureblood?" said Draco astonished.

"That's right," said Giselle. She had been watching Draco, Hermione, Gregoire, and Lucius bicker and decided that she should speak up. "Now, I don't want to hear another word uttered about this subject tonight. Hermione's had a lot to deal with in such a short amount of time, and I don't want to put any more stress on her than there already is. Now let's go eat."

Hermione smirked at Draco before following her parents into the dining room.

Draco looked up at his father, still at a loss for words. Lucius glanced down at him before muttering "Come, Narcissa," and ajourned to the dining room.

Draco stood in the sitting room alone for a minute or so, gathering his thoughts. 'Who does she think she is, speaking to me as if I'm her inferior?' He stopped in front of the fireplace, its golden glow made his eyes glint as if they held specks of diamonds in them. He decided to try and not let it get to him. Besides, she had always acted like that towards him. Ever since they first met on their very first day at Hogwarts. And, with friends like Potter and Weasley, there was no way she was going to act any different. Taking a deep breath, he ran his hand through his now spiked slivery-blonde hair and made his way into the dining room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The dining room was just as pretty as the sitting room. It had wooden floors, forest green wallpaper, and yet another dazzling crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling. The table was made of black marble with what looked like tiny mother-of-pearl serpents at each corner of the table. The chairs were painted black with high backs and matching suede cushions. Hermione decided that, after seeing the beauty that just the dining room contained, she would go exploring the entire house after dinner.

Gregoire and Giselle were seated at opposite ends of the table with Lucius and Narcissa on the right side, much to both Hermione's and Draco's chagrin. With the two Malfoys sitting together on one side, that only left two seats next to each other on the other side. As Hermione took her seat, she attempted to scoot her chair as far away from Draco's as possible without being too noticeable. Thankfully for her, it worked.

The first course (which was tomato soup) was brought out right as everyone was seated. Now was time for the small talk.

"Hermione, dear, why don't you tell us about yourself? We'd love to know all about you since we have only known of your name and birthday for the last 17 years," said Gregiore before taking a mouthful of soup.

Hermione placed her spoon in her bowl and looked up at her father, carefully avoiding the eyes of Lucius Malfoy who sat directly in front of her. Ever since meeting him in her second year at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley, she hadn't exactly felt comfortable around him.

"Well, I attend Hogwarts, I'm at the top of my class, and I was a prefect last year. I'm hoping to be accepted as this year's Head Girl."

"Really? We attended Hogwarts as well! That's where we met. Which house are you in?" asked Giselle.

"Gryffindor."

Gregoire snorted in his soup. "Excuse me?"

Hermione suddenly became very nervous, and a bit angry at the same time. "Gryffindor," she replied in a shaky voice.

"Hm," muttered Giselle.

"What? What's wrong with me being a Gryffindor?" Hermione asked hotly. "I'm proud of being a Gryffindor!"

"We were Slytherins. Our entire family was. You're the first to be a Gryffindor," replied Gregoire.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

'That's odd,' Draco thought to himself. 'Her entire family was in Slytherin. There's got to be a major reason for why she was put into Gryffindor.'

Little did Draco know that his father knew the answer to his question. But all the while his father stayed silent, listening to the conversation between the former mudblood and her parents.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione didn't know what to say. What would her friends think? What would Harry think? Oh Harry, she hadn't even thought of him since that morning, before everything changed. Before her whole life changed. What would he think if she told him that her real parents as well as her entire family were Slytherins? She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. 'I need to be alone,' she thought to herself.

"Excuse me," she said and dashed from the table, her emerald green dress flowing behind her.

"Hermione wait!" Gregoire called out.

"I need to be alone!" she shouted.

Everyone at the table was silent. "Perhaps we should continue with our meal. I shall speak with Hermione later tonight, when she's calmed down a bit."

The five people finished their meal, Draco staying silent mostly, and Lucius, Narcissa, Giselle, and Gregoire discussing matters at the Ministry. Afterwards, while Draco and Hermione's parents went back to the sitting room for brandy, Draco decided to roam the house.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione was sitting Indian-style on her bed wearing scarlet plaid pajama pants and a large solid scarlet shirt with the word "Seeker" written across it in gold. She felt like wearing the outfit for two reasons: one, she felt like wearing the Gryffindor colors at the moment, and two, the shirt was Harry's. She had taken her hair down while she was soaking in the bathtub, and it was now down framing her face.

'Merlin! Why did this have to happen to me?' She thought. In just a few short hours, her life had changed drastically and she didn't know what to do. Her parents are Slytherins and are friends with Draco's family. That in itself was enough to make her frightened to tell anyone, especially Harry. She was contemplating owling him a letter, telling him everything to him in detail, but she hadn't done so. She was still holding a quill in her hand, staring down at the blank piece of parchment on her head. 'What will he think if I tell him everything?' she wondered. 'Will he still think of me the same way? Will he still love me?' Sighing, she got up from her bed. 'Maybe a walk around the house will help me clear my thoughts. Besides, I was planning on exploring earlier.' She put on her fluffy white slippers and matching robe and set out to peruse the manor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco knew his way around the house very well. After all, he had played there when he was little, and had stayed there many times when his parents had to leave on business. He sometimes had to go with them when the D'Evereuxs were leaving on business also. He didn't know at the time what they were doing, but he knew now. They were Deatheaters, and on many occasions they had to go and visit the Dark Lord. Why they had to see him, however, he did not know. Most likely it was to plan their uprising. Draco shuddered at the thought. He didn't want to become a Deatheater at all, but he knew it was imminent. If Lucius wanted him to he would...it was very difficult arguing with his father.

He had went straight to his favorite place: the library. No one knew he liked the library, not even Crabbe and Goyle. It was something that he chose to keep to himself so that he may keep the intimidating persona others had made for him over the years.

The library was huge. It was covered wall to wall and floor to ceiling with books. Latters were scattered everywhere so that the books on the topmost shelves could be reached, and there were mahogany tables and oversized maroon chairs that sank when you sat in them. He walked over to one of the many shelves and grabbed "Mysteries of the Forbidden Forest" and sat down in one of the chairs. After about an hour he was asleep, his head leaning against the back of the chair and his legs propped up on one of the tables.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After an hour Hermione had seen nearly everything: the living room, the kitchen, the study, the gardens, countless rooms and hallways, her parents' bedroom, the ballroom, and the front lawn. Now, she was looking for a library. She thought that with a house that big, how could you not have a library?

Ten minutes later she was opening the door in the west wing of the house that led her inside to the library. Her voice caught in her throat when she looked up and saw rows upon rows, hundreds upon hundreds of books. Without hesitation, she ran up to the shelves and started digging through the books.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco had been watching her since she walked in. He'd been awake for ten minutes before she walked in the door, and doubted that she even saw him in there. 'Wow,' he thought. 'Granger has changed a lot.' Indeed she had. She was no longer the skinny, bushy-haired, know-it-all girl he'd known since they were first years, but a very beautiful woman. Her form had filled out more so instead of being stick straight she had curves. Her hair was no longer bushy, but instead shiny and very wavy. But, despite the physical difference, she was still Hermione Granger, friend of the Weasel and girlfriend of Potter the Boy Wonder. He doubted that would ever change. He remembered earlier that evening, when she had looked at him so coldly, with so much hate and anger.

He chuckled as he stood. 'Time to make Granger regret how she acted earlier tonight.'

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione was skimming through a copy of "The Life and Times of Nicolas Flamel" when she felt a pair of lips brush up against her ear. "Remembering the good old days with Scarhead and the Weasel?" Draco asked, his hot breath cascading down Hermione's neck.

Hermione turned around only to come face to face with her enemy. She had to lift her head up just to see him; at 6 '1, Draco towered over her 5 '6 frame.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy." Hermione pushed past him and settled herself on one of the maroon chairs.

"Granger, Granger, Granger," he said, making his way towards her. "Where are your manners?"

"I have none when it comes to speaking with you," she replied coldly, not even glancing up from her book.

"Ouch, that hurts," he said sarcastically. "You know, I'd watch it if I were you. I'm very close to you parents."

"So?"

"I'm practically the son they never had. I know all about them....their family history....Do you want to know about their past? I'm sure if Potter found out he'd think very differently of you."

Hermione snapped her book shut. "Don't you dare try to bring Harry into this, Malfoy."

"Aw, why not? Trying to protect your little hero are you?" he snickered.

Hermione got up from her seat and advanced towards Draco. "Stop right now, or I'll...I'll-"

"You'll what?" Draco interrupted. "Send Potter and his group of goody two shoes after me? Ha!"

Hermione stopped. "Why do you always have to do this? You're always harassing us just because Harry wouldn't become friends with you six years ago."

Draco's smirk faded from his face.

"That's not true."

"What is it then?" Hermione pressed on. "Is it because his name's been down ever since he was born for defeating Voldemort? Is it because everyone, except you Slytherins, likes him? Is it because you know he's a much better seeker than you'll ever be?"

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you?" he sneered.

"You don't exactly hide it very well, do you? He's beaten you in everything, and it just eats you away inside, doesn't it? You can't stand the fact that he's better than you," said Hermione, sauntering up closer to Draco. She had him cornered, and she knew it.

Draco didn't reply. Hermione was less than a foot away from him staring coldly into his eyes.

"What's wrong, Draco? Cat got your tongue?" Hermione teased. "Well, if you're not going to say anything, I'm going back to my bedroom. I could have a more intelligent conversation with a rat." Hermione picked up her book and walked to the door. She stopped when she got to it and turned around. "Goodnight, Ferret Boy." Hermione smirked, opened the door, and walked back to her bedroom with an air of newfound confidence at just making a complete fool of Draco Malfoy.

Oh snaps, Malfoy got told! Hee hee!!! Now make my day and click on the little button that says "GO" at the bottom left of your screen and review. =)

**Emerald Smoke