Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter, and I never will. That is beacause the wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling!

A/N: Greetings to all my wonderful reviewers! I am so glad to hear that you are all enjoying my story, I hope this chapter is no different. Anyway, please continue to review so I can know what you all are thinking about it. Anyway, enough of my chatter . . .

On with the story!

Chapter 8: Revelations

Hermione felt lighter than air as she walked to the common room. She didn't even realize where her feet her carrying her, and only noticed that she had arrived at the common room when The Fat Lady barked at her for the password. Very few people were in the common room, Hermione glanced around for Harry or Ron, but it appeared as though they hadn't returned from divination yet. She put her bag up in her room, and then returned to the common room still lost in thought. She could not erase the elated feeling she had gotten when Malfoy's hand touched hers, or the way her breath seemed to both speed up and stop at the same time when she looked into his eyes. As she sat by the fire, she suddenly could not wait to see him again the next day. Her insides fluttered at the thought and a small smile snuck onto her face.

"What are you so happy about?" Ginny had appeared in the chair next to Hermione.

"Nothing," Hermione answered defensively, "why?"

Ginny smiles suspiciously, "Well I've been trying to get your attention, and you are like off in another world smiling about something, so what was it?"

"I guess I was just thinking about how glad I am that class is over today that's all," Hermione lied.

"Sure you were," Ginny answered disbelievingly. "Come on Hermione, I know you better than that, you don't ever look like that because class is over, so what's up?"

Hermione stared at Ginny, unable to think of anything to say, and was saved by the fact that Harry and Ron entered the common room right then, "Harry! Ron! How was divination?" she asked a little too enthusiastically.

"Boring as always," replied Ron, "hey I'm starving, what say we drop off our bags then head down for some dinner?"

"Sounds good to me," Hermione answered.

Harry and Ron headed up the stairs to their room, and Hermione turned to Ginny who was still examining her curiously, "What Ginny?"

"You never answered my question," Ginny pressed on, "what were you thinking about."

"I don't even remember now, seriously you're looking much too deeply into things," Hermione said hoping to convince Ginny to drop the subject.

"If you say so" replied Ginny sounding entirely unconvinced.

Draco arrived in his common room, and was greeted by Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle who were sitting by the fire. "Draco! There you are," cried Pansy enthusiastically, "we were just heading down to dinner."

Draco sighed as if he really wished he could go with them, then responded, "you go on ahead, I'm not feeling really well so I'm gonna take a nap."

"Oh, okay then," Pansy replied not bothering to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Draco watched them leave the common room, and then made his way up to his room. In truth, he felt just fine and was hungry, but the idea of spending time with his brainless housemates didn't appeal to him at the moment when his mind was on someone else. He dropped his bag by his bed, pulled out his journal. He closed his bed hangings around him to ensure complete privacy and began to write about the days events. As he reflected on his time spent with Hermione, he realized that he wanted to spend more time with her, and feel the softness of her skin once more.

The four Gryffindor's were enjoying their dinner when the doors to the Great Hall opened and Pansy Crabbe and Goyle entered. Hermione and the others looked up, at them, very surprised to see that Malfoy wasn't there, for though they often saw Malfoy alone, they didn't know the others had the brains to do anything without Malfoy's leadership. The Slytherin's walked past the Gryffindor table to their own table, each shooting the Gryffindor's nasty looks. "Strange, I wonder where Malfoy's got to," questioned Harry. The other three shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders. "Speaking of which," continued Harry now facing Hermione, "how is your potion coming? He hasn't done anything to you has he?"

Hermione flushed and her heart rate sped up, "Oh it's coming fine, and no he hasn't done anything." Hermione quickly began eating again and turned her attention down toward her food.

"You would tell us if anything happened right?" asked Ron concernedly.

"Of course," answered Hermione with a little too much conviction.

After dinner, no one was in the mood for starting their homework, so they stayed in the Great Hall and talked instead. They ignored the Slytherins as they got up and walked past them making catcalls, for some reason none of the other Slytherins could get underneath a Gryffindor's skin the way Malfoy could. Eventually, the four students succumbed to the fact that they had an entire nights worth of homework ahead of them, and got up to leave. The door to the Great Hall opened just as they reached it and they found themselves face to face with Draco Malfoy. The four stopped, Harry, Ron and Ginny wore looks of hatred, and Hermione's face turned pink and looked nervous, and her breath had caught in her chest. A fleeting look of surprise passed over Malfoy's face, but it was quickly replaced with his usual scowl. "What are you doing Malfoy?" challenged Harry.

"Getting dinner Potter, since when is that a crime?" answered Draco sarcastically.

"Well then keep moving."

"Get out of my way and I will," Draco countered, as he pushed past Harry.

"He's up to something," Harry whispered as he watched Draco make his way to the Slytherin table alone.

"Let's just get out of here," Hermione breathed as she led the way back to the common room.

Draco ate quickly, and then returned to the common room, he sat on the couch by the fire and just stared into the flames. "Oh Draco, there you are," Pansy called with a girly air that made Draco sick. She sat next to him on the couch, so close in fact that she was practically on top of him, "your owl came and delivered this earlier, I thought I would hold onto it for you" she smiled seductively at him, but he took no notice.

"Thanks," he replied carelessly taking the letter from her. Pansy then attempted to move her arm around his waist, but Draco got up and moved to his dormitory stairs.

"Draco, where are you going?" Pansy whined, "We have barely spent any time together lately."

"Sorry, but I have to go," answered Draco, though he was not sorry at all. He made his way up to his room, entered without saying a word to anyone, pulled the bed hangings around him and opened his letter. As he expected, it was from his father,

Draco,
I hope you have had time to reconsider your options and have finally settled on the right direction. If not, I'm sure I will be able to convince you once and for all, of the path you should choose. Send the date of your first quidditch match so we can meet afterwards to discuss matters.
Lucius

Draco tore the letter to shreds and threw it away; the last thing he wanted to think about was Lucius and the Death Eaters. However, knowing that it would be easier to comply than to fight, Draco replied to Lucius' letter telling him that the first quidditch match was on November 22 against Hufflepuff. He then dispiritedly watched as his owl flew off into the darkness. With nothing else to do, he pulled out his homework and worked long into the night, long after Crabbe and Goyle had filled the room with their noisy snores.

The next day Hermione awoke well rested and ready for class. She didn't know why she was in such a good mood, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she had dreamt something in her sleep, yet could not remember what it was. She went down to breakfast with her friends where she was approached by professor Vector. "Good morning Miss Granger."

"Good morning professor," replied Hermione curiously.

"Now that the rest of the class has caught up with where we are supposed to be, you and Mr. Malfoy will no longer be able to use Arithmancy classes to work on your potion, I'm sorry but you will have to find time for it outside of class," explained Professor Vector.

"Oh, that's fine professor, I will see you in class then," assured Hermione.

"I look forward to it, now I must go inform Mr. Malfoy as well," professor Vector left Hermione sitting at the table.

That afternoon, Care of Magical Creatures was their last class, and after an interesting lesson about manticores, Harry Ron and Hermione stayed behind to talk to Hagrid, but as they were walking to him, Malfoy stepped in front of them.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry whispered threateningly before Draco had a chance to speak.

"Relax Potter, I just need to talk to Granger for a second," Malfoy answered coolly.

"What for" Ron challenged as he moved between Malfoy and Hermione to protect her. Hermione tried to look around Ron to catch Draco's eye to prevent him from retaliating, but amazingly enough he didn't retaliate at all.

"Calm down Weasley, I was just suggesting that Granger and I meet after the prefects meeting tonight to work on our potion, since we can't do it during Arithmancy classes anymore" explained Draco coolly.

"That's fine," interrupted Hermione before Ron or Harry could speak.

Draco nodded his head and stalked away without another word.

The trio headed toward Hagrid's hut, and Harry spoke again on the way, "I don't trust him."

"Why not?" asked Hermione.

"Because he's Malfoy," answered Ron simply, "hey, do you want me or Harry to come with you tonight, you know to make sure that he doesn't attack you or something?"

Hermione admired the fact that Ron wanted to protect her, but it seemed to her that they would get much more accomplished if left alone, "Thanks, but no Ron, I'll be fine, I swear. I can take care of myself."

"If you change your mind, let us know, ok Hermione?" assured Harry.

Hermione smiled at the pair of them, as they reached Hagrid's front door, but now her mind was on the upcoming night, and one boy in particular, a thought that strangely enough, brought a small smile to her face and made her heart feel light.

"Wonder what that is," Hermione asked reflectively as she stood up from the Gryffindor table. Malfoy's eagle owl had flown to him with a letter attached to his leg. It was not unusual for Malfoy to receive owls, but they usually were never delivered at night. Draco opened the letter, read it and stuffed it angrily in his bag.

"Who cares?" Ron replied carelessly. Ron then leaned down and whispered to Harry, "I may not be back after the meeting, I'm gonna try to convince Hermione to let me come with her to keep an eye on Malfoy."

"That's a good idea," agreed Harry, "See you later!"

Hermione, waited impatiently at the end of the house table, "Ron! Are you coming? We're going to be late!" Ron gave one last glance at Harry then caught up with Hermione.

By the time they arrived in the prefects lounge, all the other prefects were already there, the only people missing were the Head Boy and Girl. They entered at the same time, and the Head Boy, a Slytherin seventh year named Brandon, who had the strange look of a hawk, addressed the group. "Good evening everyone. This meeting is just to get general reports from each of the houses, to make sure everyone is getting along well together. Allison will be leading the discussion," he said motioning to the Head Girl. "Meanwhile, I need to have a word with Malfoy," he continued shifting his attention to Draco.

Draco frowned so slightly that it was almost unnoticeable; for once he had not been abusing his prefects' powers so he didn't understand what he was being singled out for. He got up without a word and followed the Head Boy out of the room. "Do you know what this is in reference to?" Brandon questioned as soon as the door had closed behind them.

"Actually, no" Draco replied smoothly.

"Well, it appears as though you are a top contender in the run for Head Boyship next year. Accordingly, I am alerting you so you can be sure to demonstrate your best leadership skills this year. As you may have already guessed, Potter is the other top contender, and he has somewhat of an unfair advantage, being who he is. Yet, I don't see that as being a problem for you as long as you don't lose your temper around the Gryffindors," Brandon paused to let this news sink in.

Draco was amazed, if it wasn't for the fact that he never showed any emotions, he would have been bouncing off the walls. As it was, he reacted as if this information was of little concern to him, "I'll keep that in mind."

Brandon, looked upon Draco with the closest thing to pride he allowed himself to show, "I'm sure you will do Slytherin proud." With that they returned to the prefects meeting.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that most of the houses are getting along well, and I encourage you all to promote cooperation between your house and the others." Allison was saying, "Lastly, if anyone does encounter a problem that you can't seem to solve, please refer it to either Brandon or myself, and we will talk to the students in question of course. Do you have anything to add?" She asked Bradon.

"No, I think that's all, we'll see you al for another meeting after the winter holidays." Brandon finished.

Brandon and Allison exited, followed by most of the prefects. Ron stayed behind to talk to Hermione, "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you, it's really no problem, and it would make Harry and I feel a lot better." He and Hermione looked over to Draco, who was rummaging through his bag while Pansy appeared to be trying to coax his attention onto her. They watched Draco whisper something to Pansy, then saw her walk out of the room with a disappointed look on her face. She cast Hermione an angry glance as she passed, but did not speak.

"Really, Ron, I will be fine, I assure you," consoled Hermione.

"Alright," Ron conceded against his will and better judgment, "Where are you going to be?"

"Just in the library," answered Hermione, she thought about telling him about the private room, but something stopped her. For some reason she liked it being a secret.

"Well, if you're not back by like 10:30, Harry and I are going to come get you," said Ron in a tone that told Hermione that his decision was final.

"Fine, I'll see you in the common room later" she assured. At that time, Draco had walked over, caught Hermione's eye, and headed out of the room to the library, she followed slightly behind, and Ron watched them until they were out of sight before turning the other way to the common room. He debated following them, but knew he would never hear the end of it if Hermione caught him.

Neither Draco nor Hermione spoke until the reached the private room in the library. "So what did you want to do?" Hermione asked, realizing that she had no idea what kind of work they were going to be doing so late.

"I just thought it would be good to divide up the tasks for preparing the ingredients. Since we don't have class time anymore, we will get more done if we each have jobs that we can do alone, so we don't have to always be here together," explained Draco.

"Oh," Hermione was rather impressed that he had obviously given this some thought, and she hadn't considered it at all. "Okay, then" she pulled out her ingredient list, some parchment, and a quill. Draco did the same, unnoticing as he did so that the letter he had received at dinner fell out of his bag and onto the floor.

They spent about a half an hour dividing up the ingredient list, and double checking to make sure they both agreed on what they were doing. When they were done, they packed their bags, and Draco was the first to reach the door. As Hermione walked across the room, she noticed the fallen letter, "What's this?" she picked it up and read it;

Draco,
It was very wise to respond so quickly to my last letter. Perhaps you have given some thought to matters after all. However, I shall remind you once again the danger of rebelling. I would hate to have a repeat of our Hogsmeade meeting. See you on the twenty-second.
Lucius

"What are you talking about?" asked Draco with annoyance in his voice. He had a lot on his mind with his father's letter and the news about perhaps becoming Head Boy next year, and he wasn't in the mood to be delayed. But then he noticed the handwriting on the parchment Hermione was reading. He raced forward and wrenched the parchment out of her hands.

"That's none of your business!" he shouted. But it was too late, Hermione had read the whole letter, and she was wearing a look of complete terror on her face. Draco turned and tore the letter to shreds, he then whipped out his wand, pointed it at the fireplace and shouted "incendio!" Immediately flames sprang up from the empty fireplace and Draco threw the bits of parchment into the fire. He then turned to glare at Hermione.

"Tha . . . That was your father who did that to you in Hogsmeade?" she choked quietly.

Draco's anger doubled upon hearing her question. What business was it of hers who had done anything to him? He certainly wasn't going to tell a stupid mudblood like her anything in his personal life. "Do yourself a favor Granger, and don't meddle in things that don't concern you!" he spat at her, and then stalked out of the room, leaving Hermione alone to contemplate what she had read.

She sat alone in the room for a long time, just thinking. She could not imagine a parent ever hurting their child the way Mr. Malfoy had hurt Draco. Then again, she reminded herself, his family were all Death Eaters. But Draco wasn't, he had been very intent on expressing that to her. But his father was, vaguely Hermione wondered what it must have been like for Draco to grow up under his father, and she found that no matter how rich he was or how arrogant he seemed, she did not envy what his life must be like at all. At 10 pm she reluctantly left the room, she would have loved to ponder her thoughts for longer, but she didn't want to worry Harry and Ron.

Hope you all enjoyed it! And remember more reviews = faster updates! So please review!! Thanks