Hehe…small cliffie!…well heres chapt 4 b4 I start rambling….

Chapter 4:

Harry was shocked and confused. Very confused. "What are you talking about Malfoy?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"Malfoy, I really don't know what gave you that idea, because I'm completely confused"

"I meant exactly what I said, Potter. You.will.not.be.leaving.here.anytime.soon. and we will make sure of it."

Harry couldn't believe it. He should have known not to do any of this. What had compelled him to think that Malfoy was trustworthy in any way? For the past five years, Malfoy had done nothing but make things difficult for Harry. Yet, somehow, Harry had thought that Malfoy had changed. Now, that idea seemed like pure nonsense. There was nothing in the world that would make Malfoy change. At this moment, Harry felt as though he was the most foolish person in the world. There had to be a way to get past Malfoy and leave.

"Sure, Malfoy. I'm leaving." And Harry started walking towards the small tunnel to exit the common room.

"Crabbe, Goyle, it's time." Malfoy smirked while Harry hadn't taken notice of what was being said while his back was turned.

Just as Harry had gotten near the enclosed tunnel, he felt two forces grip him tightly. He turned his head, only to discover that it was Crabbe and Goyle. Harry tried as hard as he could to fight them off, but their grip was unbelievably tight. Someone got stronger over the summer. No matter how tight their grip may have been, Harry was determined to escape it. However, if life, you don't always get what you want. And today definitely wasn't Harry's lucky day.

Within a few seconds, he felt a sort of shock go through his body. In no time at all, Harry had been flung onto a chair and secured by ropes around his wrists, feet and a little below his shoulders.

"Well, Potter. Who shall save the day now?" came and icy voice from behind him.

"Malfoy, let me go. Dumbledore will find out you know."

"Of course. Go running off to Dumbledore. He's always happy to see his favorite student save the day, yet again."

"Just let me go now and I wont say anything." Harry was a little surprised at what he'd just said. Was he actually offering to protect Malfoy from the series of severe punishments he would suffer?

"And why would I do such a thing, Potter? What have you ever done for me? Have you ever skipped a chance at getting me in trouble? No. Have you ever skipped a chance of accusing me of something I haven't done? Of course not. I even offered to be your friend in first year. But I wasn't good enough was I? I'm thinking Potter. I cant think of a single reason why I should.

"I never thought we'd come to this Malfoy, I-"

"Of course you didn't. all of your thoughts end with you winning. They all end with Potter saving the day, or Potter getting even more publicity. I'm sure my fellow Slytherins would agree."

"Oh, of course, Dracy." Cried Pansy.

"Shut up Pansy. I wasn't talking to you." Then he turned back to Harry. "So, Potter. I'm afraid that I really have no reason to let you go. Not a single good reason," he drawled.

"Malfoy, we really don't have to do this-"

"Oh, but we do Potter. We definitely do."

"What are you talking about ?!"

"For the past five years, everything has always been about you-"

"No it hasn't!"

"No interrupting now, Potter. Who's in control here? Anyway, like I was saying before. Everything has always been about Potter and the Dream Team. All you've ever done is hog every ounce of limelight you could find. And all that is about to change."

"Wha-"

"Goodnight, Potter. Sleep well!"

And with that said, Draco left to go to the boy's dormitories, leaving Harry in the dark common room....alone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day at breakfast, a certain Gryffindor girl was very confused. Hermione rushed down to where Ron was stuffing his face and exclaimed, "Where's Harry?!"

"I thought he was with you." He replied absentmindedly.

"Oh, Ron. You aren't still mad are you?"

"I dunno. Am I? Don't I have the right to be mad?"

"Well of course you do….but…well…" Hermione didn't know what to say. She was really hoping that Ron and Harry wouldn't hold grudges against eachother.

"Well, what? I don't think there's anything wrong with me being mad at him. And just so you know, there's nothing you can do about it!"

Tears started welling up in Hermione's eyes. She couldn't stand it when any of them were mad at eachother. Ron had always cared so much about Harry. Now, he was acting as thought he couldn't care less. Deciding that she didn't to stay, she ran out of the Great Hall.

Wanting to take hr mind off of the situation, she decided to take a walk. She walked towards the entrance hall, and within minutes, she found herself on the Hogwarts grounds.

Just as Hermione sat down under a tree, she heard and icy voice.

"Cutting class?"

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She was not in the mood to deal with him at the moment.

"Nothing. Have you been crying?" He asked suddenly.

"Well…I don't know…maybe…."

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"If you must know. It's just odd seeing the mudblood know-it-all like this…unhappy, I mean."

"Really?" Hermione was quite amazed.

"Yes, really." He answered sincerely.

Hermione didn't know what to say. It felt weird having Malfoy actually act…well….nice. It was different. Yes, different. But she couldn't say it was a bad feeling.

"So, are you cutting class?" she asked trying to break the awkward silence.

"Yeah. But so are you."

"No. This is my free period."

"Oh."

Hermione suddenly realized that Malfoy was sitting next to her. She could smell his cologne and feel his deep blue eyes looking at her. His presence was, in a way, comforting. He was the only person who didn't seem to act like her mother. Harry and Ron were always overprotective. The professors were too. Sure, Malfoy always made fun of her. But at least he wasn't like everyone else. He wouldn't stop her if she decided to break even more rules or do something "dangerous". Nope. He wouldn't care if she were in danger.

Neither of them said a thing. As the swift, cool breeze played with the leaves that had fallen down, Draco and Hermione just watched silently. Then, after a few minutes the silence was broken.

"It's beautiful outside, isn't it?" Draco asked very quietly.

"Yeah. It is." Hermione smiled. The grounds were always pleasant to look at in the autumn. The leaves turned beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. With all that had happened, just sitting here had made Hermione feel at peace.

"So…" Draco trailed off not really knowing what to say.

"This is nice."

"I guess nice might be the word."

"Oh shut up!"

Draco just smiled.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"You've changed, Granger."

It was true. Hermione had changed. Her once bushy hair was now replaced by tamer, slightly straighter hair. She had definitely grown in height and didn't look like a little girl anymore. Her body held a slim figure with curves that made her look very different from the previous year.

Hermione thought for a second. "Yeah. I guess I have changed, haven't I?"

"Not just you're looks, you know. You have attitude now."

"Sure, Malfoy. Well, it's not like you haven't changed yourself."

"And how exactly have I changed?"

"Oh stop smirking! And, you've changed a lot. You look a lot older, and you aren't short anymore. Then there's your hair-"

"What about my hair?"

"Well, it's not gelled back anymore. You look different."

"Hmmm….maybe I do look different." He remarked, smiling.

"Yeah." Said Hermione, sounding mesmerized.

"You okay, Granger?"

"Your eyes are really creepy."

"Well…it was nice of you to notice."

Hermione laughed. And now that she thought about it, she didn't really know why she had done so.

"You're strange, Granger."

"It was nice of you to notice," she replied, mimicking Draco.

"Nice job, Granger."

"Why thank you." She said in mock gratefulness.

"Well, I think it's time for me to leave now."

"Is the period over already?"

"Yes it is. Time passes by fast when you're having fun, doesn't it Granger?"

"Sure."

Draco got up and looked around for a second. Then, he started to walk towards the castle. Suddenly, Hermione jolted up.

"Draco, wait!"

Draco stopped exactly where he was, not bothering to turn around. Hermione had called him by his first name. He had felt something...well...different, hearing it in her voice.

"I just wanted to say….thank you."

This confused Draco a bit, but he just nodded and kept walking. He soon realized that this thought was keeping him very pre-occupied.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: so, how was it?….this chapt. Originally had a huge long talk btwn ron and hermy..but when I was typing this chapt, I read it, and it sounded kinda unnecessary…and now its not in the chappy anymore….it wouldve been like 7 pgs in word if I had kept it….this chapt is about 5 pages…not a very bad length, right?….

PS….IM REALLY REALLY REALLY!!!! SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THIS SOONER!!!….I REALLY AM….IVE STARTED WORKING ON THE NEXT XHAPTER. AND I PROMISE I WONT TAKE LIKE A MOTNH TO UPDATE!!…..the thing is that I get the chapts written, but then get too lazy to type them up…..well…that's all for now!!

Please review!!! I reallllly appreciate them a lot!!