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AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's half-term, at last, so I'll have some more time to update and get to the good bits so try and bare with me a little longer. Thank you to those who have reviewed my last chapter. Here are some replies:

dreamingwater: Of course I'm going to eventual hooked them up together, I'm just working my way up to it at the moment.

miarae: Yes it would be fun to kill Pansy off *far off look in her eyes* but it wouldn't work with the plot I've got planned I'm afraid *shakes her head*

I'm looking for a new BETA. If anyone would like to take the position, please note it in a review along with a way in which I can contact you. ^_^

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Hermione and Harry stumbled down the creaky stairs in their nightwear, rubbing the sleep out of their bloodshot eyes. They, along with the other two, hadn't managed to get much sleep last night thanks to a certain pair of Slytherin's.

Neville, who was sitting on one of the couches with Lavender, turned his head round to greet them. "Morning'"

"Good morning Neville." Hermione mumbled as she sat next to him. "Could you please pass me an apple Harry?" He nodded and scooped an apple out of the basket next to him and tossed it to Hermione. "Thank you."

Draco made his appearance a few minutes later, humming happily as he jogged down the steps. His humming came to a stop when he noticed the other staring at him gloomily. "What?" They didn't answer. "Didn't get much sleep last night then?" Draco asked when he noticed the dark patches under their eyes.

"No we didn't actually!" Hermione spat as she turned to face the opposite direction.

"What? What did I do? It's not my fault you all can't get to sleep at night."

Hermione was about to protest when she was stopped by the sound of something tumbling down the stairs. Everyone's heads spun round to see Pansy in a pile at the bottom of the steps. Laughter filled the room as she tried to stand back up.

"Shut up, it's not funny!" Pansy spat. "Those bloody stairs are dangerous."

"No you're the one that's dangerous."

"OK, ok, ok…maybe we should go get dressed." Hermione said whilst clutching the stitch in her side. Pansy shot her a death glare as she made her way back up the stairs, followed by the others.

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Harry stood outside carving (with one of the carving knives) the end of a long branch he managed to snap off of a nearby tree.

"You wouldn't believe it was September would ya?" Draco said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead on his dark green sweater sleeve. He was also carving the end of a slightly longer branch. "How many of these do we need?"

"One for each of us." Harry replied as he placed his branch down onto a pile of three similar branches. "What's taking them so long?"

They'd been sat there with Neville and Pansy for about half an hour now and it seemed to them that the girls were taking more than enough time to get dressed.

"If their trying to make themselves look beautiful they might as well give up…"

"Ahem"

Draco's turned his head round to see who had interrupted him and tried his hardest not to let his jaw drop at the sight he saw. Hermione was standing in the door way wearing a tight pair of blue shorts, a matching baby-T top, and a pair of blue sandals. A few stray strands of hair managed to escape the confinements of her scrunchie, which tied her hair up at the back, and framed her face perfectly. Draco's eyes were drawn straight to her butt as she walked past him and he felt his mouth go dry. "Merlin…she's hot!!"

"You aught to be careful Malfoy," Lavender warned quiet enough for only Draco to hear. "you might attract flies to your mouth!"

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The sun shined brightly down upon the students as they stood beside the river with their homemade spears.

"Can't I just stand in the shade whilst you do the catching?" Pansy whined as she fanned herself with her hand.

"We're supposed to work as a team, so no." Harry replied. He rolled up the bottoms of his jeans and stepped into the cool river with Hermione by his side.

"Right. Do you all know how to do this?" Harry's eyes wandered over the rest and saw that the only person who didn't nod in confirmation was Pansy. "Typical!" "Do you wanna explain it to her Malfoy?"

"Why me?"

"'Cause you're the only other Slytherin and I'm sure you'll be the only one she'll understand."

"Fine," Draco sighed and grabbed her by her hand, yanking her into the water with him. "all you need to do is hold you spear like this." He held the spear in one hand, the sharp point facing downwards. "Then," His eyes scanned the water below for a fish and spotted one. "when you spot a fish swim past you, just thrust it into the water as hard as you can." Draco drove his spear so quickly into the water that Pansy didn't realise he had until he held it up. A blue-grey fish was stuck on the sharp, wooden point. "Oh, try not to kill us whilst your at it OK?"

Hermione's eyes met Draco's as he pulled the fish off and chucked it into the wooden basket they'd brought along with them. He held her gaze for a few moments before they were interrupted by Lavender's loud cough.

"What?" She smiled innocently ad they looked at her. "I've just got something in my throat."

"Are you three just gonna stand there or are you gonna give us a hand at catching supper?" Harry shouted over his shoulder as he rammed his spear into the water and caught a fish.

"We're coming Harry." Lavender said as she linked arms with Hermione and winked at Draco. "Come along Hermione!"

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They'd managed to catch 10 small fish that afternoon which were now laid upon a piece of parchment on the floor. The cauldron was hung above the fireplace and was happily bubbling with water. Hermione had recognised some herbs as they made their way back to the cottage and had chopped them up into small pieces and added to the water to give it some flavouring.

Harry passed Hermione a knife for her to prepare the fish. She held it in on hand which a fish in the other, contemplating whether to cut into the it or not.

"I…I can't do this." Hermione said as she dropped them back onto the piece of parchment. Just thinking about cutting the fish open and ripping out it's spine made her wanna puke over the floor.

"Give it here" Draco had gotten out of his seat and was kneeling beside her. As he reached over to grab the knife their shoulders touched and Hermione's breath caught in her throat. "I'll do it."

The flickering light from the fire cast shadows upon his face, making him seem angelic. She stared at his face as he cut open the fish and for some reason she wanted nothing more than to kiss his lips. "Bad Hermione, don't you go thinking about stuff like that. After all, it is Malfoy we're talking about here."

"So what are you making anyway?" Neville asked, interrupting her from her thoughts.

"Fish stew," Draco replied and looked at Hermione. "right?"

"Uh, yes…fish stew." Hermione cleared her throat and decided it would be better if she got as far away from him as she could. Picking herself up off the floor, she sat down beside Harry.

"Are you all right Hermione?" Harry asked after noticing the ting of pink in her cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hermione tried not to but her eyes kept drifting back to Draco who was also sneaking glances of her.

Want me to continue? Have any ideas for upcoming chapters? Leave me a review ^_^