Disclaimer: No, I still do not, nor will I ever own Harry Potter.

A/N: A round of applause to everyone who submitted reviews! I was so nervous that you all would not like the last chapter (why I was nervous I do not know, but whatever) So thank you all so much for your support!! And now to those who reviewed the last chapter . . .

RelientKroxmysox721 - I'm so glad to hear that you like it! I hope you continue enjoying it.
rock-and-roll - Wow reading your review made me so happy thank you! And don't worry I will definitely finish the fic.
zuvalupa - aww thank you so much for your support, I'm glad you think I wrote the romance part well.
Aeriel Ravenna - lol, I'm happy to hear you like the way I'm portraying Draco (he's really hard to write a love story about while trying to keep him in character!)
Amy85 - Glad to hear you like the story, and I hope you had fun on your holiday!
Chamei - Thanks for the review, I tried really hard not to rush the romance cause I wanted to keep it at least somewhat realistic, so I'm glad you think I've been doing a good job.
Phoebe Telumetar - LOL I don't think I'll be able to put ALL schoolwork on hold, so I hope this update came quick enough for you!

Thank you all again, and now that I've bored you enough with my thank yous, on with chapter 11!

Chapter 11: Mounting Emotions

The week before break went by much too slowly in Hermione's opinion. She and Draco met every night to work on their potion. They had to continually adjust the temperature of the flames, add ingredients at the right time, and stir it according to specific instructions. As each day passed it grew more difficult for Hermione to concentrate when Draco was around. She found herself growing hot and sweaty when she was near him, and the desire to have him hold her and kiss her was almost unbearable.

Draco seemed better able to control himself, he wanted to kiss her and touch her as well, but he had been conditioned all his life to hide his emotions, so he knew how to ignore them. He noticed the changes in Hermione, how she seemed to grow more nervous and excited the closer he got to her. He liked making her nervous; it gave him a sense of power and excitement. He loved to tease and tempt her to the point where she would make the first move. He would gradually move closer to her as they were working, allow his hand to brush past hers, sending chills down her spine.

The Wednesday before break, the prefects helped the professors decorate for the Christmas holidays. Harry and Ginny hung out and watched Ron and Hermione, laughing at their frustration. Draco was busy levitating decorations onto the trees with professor Flitwick. He looked up when he heard a group of voices laughing across the Great Hall. There she was, hanging everlasting icicles around the fireplace; she looked so beautiful with her face lit by the firelight. He tried to turn his attention back to levitating ornaments, but then he saw something that made his blood begin to boil. Weasley, that pathetic excuse for a wizard was flirting with Hermione! He seemed to be trying to tickle Hermione while she was attempting to hang the icicles. A feeling of complete hatred swept over Draco and he suppressed a strong desire to go punch Ron's lights out. As it was, the ornament he was levitating fell out of the air and smashed into tiny pieces on the floor. Everyone looked towards him; he was wearing an extremely angry expression, which grew worse when Harry, Ron, and Ginny started laughing at him. Hermione didn't laugh, but looked more concerned, she quickly returned to hanging icicles. Draco meanwhile repaired the ornament and turned his back on the Gryffindor's thankful that they hadn't seen him before he lost control.

Little did he know that someone had seen him. Ginny had noticed that Hermione was glancing in his direction extremely often, and she had been looking almost worried when Ron had been flirting with her. Ginny had looked to see if Draco was doing anything and was astounded to see that he was looking extremely jealous when Ron began flirting with Hermione. Ginny was almost positive that something more than the potions project was going on between Hermione and Draco, but she did not want to believe it. She kept her eyes on Draco, but he seemed to be determined not to look towards the Gryffindor's anymore.

Draco couldn't take watching the four Gryffindor's laughing together all night, and even worse was Ron flirting with Hermione. While he was pleased to see that she didn't flirt back, or appear to even enjoy it for that matter, he couldn't stand to see it anymore. It seemed to Draco that the more Hermione ignored Ron, the more persistent he became. Draco was afraid that if he stuck around he would snap and attempt to beat Weasley into a pulp, so as soon as he was finished decorating, he sped out of the Great Hall and retired to his dormitory for the night.

Hermione watched Draco leave, noting that he looked exceptionally angry; she had been desperately wishing that Ron would stop flirting with her all night. Yet, the less she paid attention to him, the more determined he seemed to be. When they finished decorating, Hermione pretended to need to stay behind to ask Professor McGonagall a question, but after she was sure they had left, she raced to the library and into their private room expecting to see him there waiting for her. She opened the door, "Draco, I . . ." she was stunned to find that the room was empty, and showed no signs that anyone had been in it all day. She was incredibly disappointed, and worried that he was mad at her. As she made her way gloomily back to the common room, she thought to herself 'he must be really pissed, I was sure he would be there. But there's no reason for him to be mad, I didn't do anything!' No matter how she tried to convince herself that everything was fine, she couldn't get over how angry he had looked when he left the Great Hall.

The next day, Hermione could barely concentrate through her classes, and everyone noticed that she wasn't raising her hand to answer questions at all, which was quite unlike her. Over lunch Ron and Harry brought up the subject with Hermione.

"Hermione, is something wrong?" Ron asked.

Ginny looked over with interest, waiting for Hermione's answer. Hermione looked at all three of them in turn, "what? I haven't done anything!"

"Exactly!" said Harry. "You haven't answered a single question all day, you've barely taken any notes in any of our classes, and you seem to be on another planet or something!"

Hermione blushed slightly, because she hadn't realized how different she had been acting. "I guess I'm just impatient for break to start" she lied.

The others looked at each other suspiciously; they had never known Hermione to look forward to a break from class. Ginny grew more determined than ever to discover what was really going on, and she prayed that it had nothing to do with a Slytherin git names Draco Malfoy. Ron rested his arm around Hermione's shoulders, "You would tell us if something was wrong, right?"

Hermione's heart raced, and he tried her best to suppress a look of panic when Ron touched her, she turned out of Ron's grasp and pretended to laugh off his concern like it was nothing. She then glanced over at the Slytherin table to see if Draco had seen anything. What she saw made her stop short and stare. Pansy was trying to sneak her arm around Draco's waist. He continually removed himself from her grasp with growing annoyance. Ginny saw Hermione's face looking disgusted, "what are you looking at Hermione?" She, Ron and Harry turned their attention to the Slytherin table as well, where things were growing heated. Pansy was now not only trying to hold onto Draco, she was moving her face closer to his as if she was going to try to kiss him. Draco was growing angrier and angrier by the second. When Pansy placed her hand dangerously on his thigh, he snapped. He jumped up from the table, and shouted, "For God sakes Pansy! Leave me alone! How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not going out with you!" With one last disgusted glance at her, he stormed out of the room completely ignoring the fact that all eyes in the Great Hall were upon him..

"I can't believe Pansy's so interested in going out with Malfoy," commented Harry. Hermione clenched her teeth and began to blush as she turned her attention completely on her meal.

"Who would find Malfoy at all attractive anyway? He's just a greasy, arrogant, heartless, ugly git," spat Ron, "Only a desperate, worthless, brainless airhead could like him. . . "CLANG! Hermione's fork fell to her plate, stopping Ron in the middle of his rant on Malfoy. Her cheeks were pink, she seemed to be breathing hard, and she was desperately trying to calm down.

"You know what, I think I am feeling a little under the weather," said Hermione quickly as she packed up her things.

"Do you want to go to the hospital wing?" asked Harry concernedly.

"No, no that's ok, I just need some sleep. I'll see you guys in the morning." Hermione got up and left them sitting there. She didn't know if she wanted to go to her room or to the library. She began making her way to her room thinking to herself 'no, he wasn't there yesterday, he won't be there today, I just need to go get some sleep, that's all.'

She rushed down the hall, and as she passed a statue of a famous wizard a hand reached out, grabbed her and pulled her into the shadows. She started to scream, but another hand covered her mouth. After a moment of panic, she realized that she recognized those hands, their soft, firm, comforting touch. She lifted the hand covering her mouth off, "Draco," she whispered. She turned around, and without warning kissed his lips.

When she broke away he spoke, "you're incredibly predictable you know." He smiled at her questioning glare before he continued, "I knew you'd follow me, am I really that hard to resist?" He smiled and silenced her protest by again kissing her. She kissed him back, amazed at how every kiss felt like their first. She reveled in how it felt to have him hold her, how it felt to have his lips pressing strongly against hers, then reality hit her and she pushed him away.

"What's wrong?" he asked with amusement in his voice.

"Draco!" she whispered with panic in her voice, "we're in the middle of the hall, what if someone sees us!"

"No one's gonna see us, they're all eating dinner," he answered swiftly.

"Someone could still see," Hermione responded.

"Would it be that bad if someone did?" Draco asked.

"Come one Draco; think about what would happen if anyone found out about us! Would you be able to show your face in your house if they knew? Because I certainly wouldn't!" she said, remembering what Harry and Ron had said at dinner.

Draco reflected on these words, "point taken, so what do you say we go to the library and study a bit."

Hermione smiled, "I like that idea," she teased, leaning her body into his a little more. "Meet me there in five minutes." She kissed him on the cheek, and ran through the hall practically skipping towards the library. Draco waited, smiling to himself slightly; after a moment, he followed her to the library himself.

She was waiting for him, positioned by the fire. She looked so beautiful, he could barely restrain himself. He came up behind her, moved her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. She closed her eyes and let him kiss her. She turned and kissed his lips, then got up and led him to the couch. She sat down; Draco ran his fingers through her hair. She closed her eyes and smiled as he touched her. She carefully lay her head down on his chest, allowing him to continue stroking her hair. He rested his chin atop her head and pulled her into a hug. Then, to make himself more comfortable, he moved back so that he was leaning against the arm of the couch. Hermione allowed him to pull her with him, when he had finished moving, she rested one hand oh his chest, and looped the other around his waist.

Together they remained holding each other for quite a while, neither wanting to move or let go. Draco gently kissed the top of her head and felt her breathe deeper in response. After that, Draco contented himself with listening to her breathing and feeling her body resting against his. Eventually, Draco realized that it must be very late, long past curfew, "we should probably get back to our rooms," he whispered. Hermione made no response, "Hermione," he whispered a little louder, and shaking her a bit, but still nothing, she apparently had fallen asleep.

Draco smiled as he lay his head down on the arm of the couch, he felt more peaceful than he ever remembered feeling as he lay there with Hermione resting on him. Yet his insides churned with fears of what would happen is anyone found out, anger at Lucius for making him become a Death Eater, even more anger with himself for allowing Lucius to control him his entire life. He closed his eyes to think, and his thoughts gradually melted into dreams.

He was in a circle of dark hooded figures. He felt lost and confused; he had no idea where he was. Lucius stepped out from the circle smiling cruelly at him. Lucius tortured him with the cruciatus curse, causing the circle to laugh ferociously. "Perhaps this will teach you to have feelings for a mudblood!" Lucius spat above Draco's cries of pain, "now come here," Lucius pulled Draco towards him after lifting the curse, he tore away Draco's left sleeve and held his wand to Draco's arm. There was a flash of light and a sharp needle-like pain and . . .

Draco woke with a start; he was breathing heavily and sweating. Hermione continued to lay sound asleep on his chest, she was smiling slightly and Draco hoped that was because she was having pleasant dreams. Draco felt another needle like pain on his arm, and saw to his relief that it was just his eagle owl, Aries, pecking at him, a letter attached to his leg. Draco carefully lifted Hermione, and lay her back down on the couch where she continued to sleep soundly. Draco then tip-toed over to the firelight to read the letter,

Draco,
I have some new business to discuss with you that I believe is of the utmost importance. Meet me in the entryway on December the 24th at 6pm.
Lucius

Draco scowled at the letter, positive that there was no business with Lucius that he could possibly want to discuss. Draco looked at his watch, it was 6:30am, and he knew there was no chance of getting back to sleep. He decided to go take a nice long shower, then get ready for classes. He tore Lucius' letter in half, threw the written part into the fire, and used the second half to write a note to Hermione. He glanced at her from the doorway, smiled to himself, and then carefully made his way to his dormitory carrying Aries on his shoulder.

At 7:30, freshly showered and dressed, Draco sent Aries down to awaken Hermione so that she wouldn't miss class. Aries flew threw the open window, landed on the couch and pecked at Hermione.

"Hmm," she said sleepily, her eyes still closed, "what?" She opened her eyes, "Ahh!" She jumped at the sight of Aries, "Where am I?" It took a moment for her together herself, but when the memories of the previous night flooded back to her, she panicked. 'What time was it? Where was Draco?' As she looked around the room, she spotted a piece of parchment with her name carefully scrawled on it.

Hermione,
Good morning! I hope you slept well. I'm sorry to not be there to see you wake up, but Aries here woke me up rather early and I didn't want to disturb you. See you in class!
Draco
P.S. Has anyone ever told you how beautiful and peaceful you look when you're asleep?

Hermione smiled as she read the note, savoring the memory of the night before. Yet as she did so, a horror swept through her, she had to get back to the dormitory before anyone realized she was gone. Hopefully no one would be in the common room if she hurried. She scurried out of the room, and raced through the halls.

She considered herself very lucky not to run into anyone in the halls or common room, and her roommates were still sleeping when she crept into her dormitory. She quietly got her things together and went into the bathroom to shower. By the time she finished, the other girls were up and getting ready, none of them paid any particular attention to Hermione, which was not unusual. She went down to the common room without a word to any of them, still in a daze from the previous night. She was smiling and practically humming to herself as she went down the stairs to wait for Harry, Ron and Ginny to go to breakfast. She stopped short when she entered the room to find Ginny sitting in a chair, staring at her with an accusatory look on her face.

"Hey Ginny," smiled Hermione, trying to act like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Where've you been?" Ginny asked innocently.

"Sleeping of course," Hermione replied coolly.

Ginny got up and marched towards Hermione, "don't lie to me Hermione, I know you didn't go to bed last night when you said you did. I came up to check on you so I know you weren't there. And don't tell me you went to the library either, because I looked all through it and you weren't there either. So where were you?"

Hermione did her best not to look surprised or caught off guard by this news. She looked at Ginny like she was offended at her lack of trust, "I took a walk alright, I've been stressed and I needed some time alone."

"Hermione, why won't you tell me what's going on? I thought we were friends," Ginny said sadly.

Hermione suddenly felt very guilty for hiding everything from Ginny, but she still couldn't tell her, "Nothing's going on Ginny, I swear."

Ginny opened up her mouth to respond, when Harry and Ron came running down the stairs, "Hey guys," smiled Harry, "let's go eat!"

Hermione had a harder time than ever concentrating in classes. It didn't help that Draco seemed totally indifferent to her and the rest of the Gryffindor's. She didn't understand how he could be one person when he was alone with her, and completely different the rest of the time. However he managed it, she desperately wished that she had that ability as well.

During Arithmancy, Draco slipped a note to Hermione as he walked past her desk on the way to his own seat,

Meet me in the library at 7pm, we need to add the next ingredient to our potion.

Hermione pocketed the note, looked to Draco, who was watching her, and nodded.

Hermione rushed through her dinner, and much to her friends surprise, jumped out of her chair and muttered that she needed to go to the library.

"Hermione," Ron said grabbing her arm before she could get away, "You've been saying all week that you can't wait for break, now break is finally here, and the first thing you're doing is going to the library!"

"Well yes" answered Hermione freeing herself from Ron's grasp, she tried not to look worried, but it was already past 7 and she didn't want to miss Draco. "I realized that I have something quick to do, and I don't want to forget about it, so I need to do it now. I'll meet you in the common room." Hermione didn't wait for a response; she just turned and left at a near jog.

The three Gryffindor's looked at each other with confusion. "Do you think something I'm doing is scaring her away?" Ron asked. It was common knowledge among Harry and Ginny that Ron fancied Hermione.

"I don't know man, she's been acting really strange lately," commented Harry, "maybe she fancies you too."

Ginny reflected on these thoughts, "no offence Ron, but I don't think that's it, but I'm gonna go find out what's going on." Ginny frowned at the look of extreme disappointment on Ron's face, but decided that Hermione's peculiar behavior recently was a more pressing matter. "I'll see you guys later," without another word Ginny got up and left the Great Hall just as fast as Hermione.

She raced to the library and began scanning it inch by inch. She started in the back, creeping through the shelves of books searching for Hermione. But Hermione was already in the private room with Draco. He had been writing in his journal when she arrived.

Hermione closed the door silently behind her, and stared at Draco working intently, his face lit mysteriously by the fire. Hermione felt a stronger desire than ever to be in his arms and to feel his lips pressing against hers. She walked over to him, moved her head next to his, and flirtatiously whispered in his ear, "What's that you're working so hard on?"

Draco, who had not heard Hermione enter, bolted out of his seat with a jolt, and immediately closed the book. He was breathing very hard, "Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said taken aback by his reaction, "what is that?"

"It's nothing," assured Draco, sliding the journal into his backpack. "So do you want to change the temperature of the fire, or add the ingredient?"

"I'll add the ingredient I guess," decided Hermione, still unsure of what had just happened, and dying with curiosity about what Draco had been writing.

The two tended to the potion, Draco carefully increasing the temperature of the flames as Hermione added the powder to the cauldron. "There, all done," said Hermione once she had emptied all the powder, "You know, we really should be researching what that last ingredient is."

"Yeah I know," agreed Draco, "I was thinking about that earlier. But we don't need to do that tonight," he whispered moving toward Hermione and stroking her hair.

Hermione smiled and held his hand, and closed her eyes willing him to kiss her and touch her like she so desperately wanted him to. But then, the heard a noise like something had been knocked over outside. Hermione's eyes snapped open, and she sighed in disappointment and frustration that the moment was ruined. Draco was feeling the same way, though he tried not to show it. "Well, I should be going anyway, I told Harry, Ron, and Ginny I'd meet them in the common room, I don't want them to worry."

"Yeah," Draco said distractedly, moving away from Hermione and grabbing his bag. He walked past her and held the door open for her. The desire to kiss him burned in her stronger than ever. She began to walk past him towards the door, but halfway there she turned around and rushed back to him. He had locked the door by the time she returned. He turned, and she pinned him to the door and kissed him passionately on the lips, holding his head to hers with both hands. He was surprised at first, but quickly recovered, he dropped his bag as he kissed her back, holding her head to his with one hand, and drawing her body closer with the other. Ginny, who had been replacing the book she had knocked over back to the shelf, stared at the entire scene wide-eyed, yet hidden from view by the towering bookshelves. She could not believe her eyes, Hermione had just thrown herself onto Malfoy, and he was kissing her back!

Draco broke the kiss, and smiled at Hermione sweetly, "I'll see you around then." She smiled as she gazed deeply into his calm cool gray eyes; he kissed her forehead, and then walked past her out of the library. Hermione, smiled at him as she watched him leave, then leaned against the door, closed her eyes and smiled in complete bliss.

Hermione was in a complete daze as she made her way towards the library door, so much so that she didn't even notice Ginny stepping out from the shadows and moving urgently towards her. Ginny came up behind Hermione and grabbed her arm. Hermione yelped and turned with fright, she stared frightened into Ginny's accusing eyes. When Ginny spoke she did so at a whisper, she did not sound angry, but Hermione felt as though Ginny were screaming at her, "We have to talk, NOW, and no more lies."

Hermione wasn't sure how much Ginny had seen, so she wasn't going to immediately volunteer information. She tried her absolute best to keep her face expressionless, and she allowed Ginny to lead her to a desk in the back of the library. "So what do you want to talk about?" Hermione asked feigning innocence, but her voice was slightly too high and shaky to sound convincing.

"Gee I don't know," began Ginny sarcastically, "we could talk about the weather, what we're going to do over break, classes, why you were just practically making out with Malfoy in the middle of the library."

Hermione felt her heart stop, Ginny had seen, how could she have been so stupid to come at Draco like that out of the privacy of the secret room? After a long moment when it became obvious that Hermione wasn't going to speak, Ginny continued. "You know Hermione, I absolutely cannot fathom how you and Malfoy could possibly hook up, but I can overlook that for the moment. I just want to know why you've been lying to me all this time, especially since I asked you ages ago if anything had been going on between you two."

Hermione looked imploringly at Ginny, "Okay, yes I have been hiding the fact that Draco and I have, well . . . . feelings for each other, but I swear to you that when you asked me about it, there was absolutely nothing between us."

"Then why didn't you tell me about it when something did happen? I've always told you about my boyfriends," said Ginny sounding rather hurt.

Hermione was steadily feeling guiltier by the minute, yet at the same time she definitely enjoyed hearing Ginny call Draco her boyfriend, "I don't know, I guess I was scared of what people would say," a tear rolled down Hermione's cheek, "and part of me kinda liked having a secret that was just mine."

Some of Ginny's anger dissolved as she watched Hermione begin to cry, she moved over next to Hermione and spoke in a comforting voice, "Hey, Hermione, I'm your friend, and with a house full of brothers I understand better than anyone the need to have a secret all you own. But I also know that sometimes you need to talk to someone to help you sort through your feelings, particularly when they deal with difficult emotions like this. And I know you're not stupid and you wouldn't be involved with Malfoy if he wasn't making you happy. I'm not saying I understand you're feelings, but I'm always here to support them. And if you would talk to me about them, then maybe I will understand, then you won't have to be alone."

Hermione too a deep calming breath and looked at Ginny, "I know, I guess I just wasn't thinking, I've never felt like this before."

Ginny smiled, "so what is that room that you were in?"

"Oh, that's where we're brewing our potions project, it's easier to keep it out of the way, and we're the only two who have keys to it, so no one can mess it up."

"Or interrupt you when you're kissing," joked Ginny.

Hermione laughed, "Well, yeah that's an added bonus I suppose."

Ginny looked suddenly uneasy, "Hermione, I know that this is a very personal question and it's really none of my business, but how far have you gone with Malfoy?"

Hermione flushed immediately and found her throat blocked by some invisible force which prevented her from answering right away, "Just kissing, that's all." In reality that really was all they had done, yet in Hermione's imagination, and in her dreams, they had done much more.

Ginny smiled slyly, "So? Is he a good kisser?"

"Ginny!" Hermione was glowing red by this point.

"Well, I may not understand why you like him, but I won't deny the fact that he's the hottest guy in Hogwarts, so naturally I'm curious."

Hermione again found herself unable to respond, she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Ginny smiled, "oh alright then, you don't have to answer."

When Hermione finally regained her speaking abilities she addressed Ginny's question. "Well, it's just hard to say, I don't have anyone else to compare him to," Hermione felt rather embarrassed discussing Draco's kissing abilities, but found that it was rather fun too. "But, if the fact that I haven't been able to think straight since the first time we kissed, then yeah, he's a great kisser."

"Ahh!" Ginny began giggling hysterically, "I knew it!"

Hermione turned beet red after she spoke, and she too burst into a fit of giggles, but as soon as she relaxed a new fear entered into her mind, "Ginny, you're not going to tell Harry or Ron are you?"

"Of course not! They would have a heart attack, especially Ron."

"Yeah I know, and I feel bad hiding things, but I think it's better for everyone."

Ginny nodded, "speaking of those two, we should get back to the common room before they start to worry."

Well there you have it. I hope you all liked it, please let me know what you think by sending me a review!