Authors notes: If these chapters are too small feel free to tell me. i love the reviews so far. i love to hear all of your thoughts on the story. thank you again. Enjoy!

Hermione turned in her sleep a week after the second kiss. She felt like he was following her. She couldn't get away. Every morning she would walk to breakfast...he would be there...at potions class...he would be there...no matter where she was he was there. He seemed to know what she was thinking and she didn't like it. She didn't want him to know that she still tasted him in her mouth...she didn't want him to know that she longed for his arms around hers. But he seemed to know. She didn't know how but his expressions said it all.

She had to avoid him. She had to stop looking at him...stop dreaming of him...stop anything that remotely had to do anything with him.

She looked over at the big clock on the left side of the dormitory. It read 10:00 AM. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then got out of bed. She got her shower and made her way downstairs. Harry and Ron were on the couch looking at a Quiddich book that they had recently checked out of the library.

"Good morning, Hermione." Said Harry looking up from the book.

"Good morning, Harry, Ron." She said in reply.

"You ready to head down to breakfast?" asked Ron without looking up from the book.

Hermione nodded and all three of them headed down to the great hall. They sat at their table and Harry and Ron continued their discussion about Quiddich. Hermione rolled her eyes. She began to eat her breakfast when she heard her name.

"Hermione, this Quiddich book needs to go back to the library and me and Ron have to head to Quiddich practice...would you mind returning it for us?" asked Harry.

Hermione looked up into his eyes and nodded. She didn't mind returning the book. She had nothing better to do anyway. When she was done with her breakfast she got the book for Ron and Harry and bid them good-bye before heading down to the library. She walked up to Madam Prince and returned their book. When she was done with that she looked down the isles of books until she found the one book that she never got tired of reading.

She pulled down Hogwarts, a History from the shelf, found a place to sit, and began to read. She put herself into a trance by reading the words that she didn't even notice someone sit at her table with her. It wasn't until she looked at her watch and was getting ready to go that she noticed him, the one person she wanted to avoid.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy. I'm tired of you following me." She said with ice in her voice.

"Well that's not a very nice greeting." He said leaning back in his chair.

"It wasn't meant to be nice. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to my common room." She said leaving him alone to sit at the table. What she didn't know was that he followed her to where she was putting the book she was reading back on the shelf. She turned around and almost ran into him again. He was so close. She could smell his cologne. His eyes had a sparkle in the gray that she didn't notice before.

"Please stop following me." She said in a small whisper.

"Oh, you said that so politely. But I don't really want to go. You see I only do what I feel like. And I feel like being here right now." He said as he took a strand of her hair in between her fingers.

"Well, I want you to leave." She said still in a whisper.

He moved a little closer to her but she backed away. She stared at him. She was confused, scared, hopeful and pleased all at the same time. She stood there for what seemed like forever. Her legs began to fall asleep and she felt like she couldn't stand anymore. She thought she was going to fall.

He laughed a hollow laugh. "Don't tell me that you're afraid of me, Granger. After all, aren't Gryfinndors supposed to be brave?"

She didn't say anything she just tried to walk by him but before she could get by he grabbed her arm and made her look at him. His grip was so tight that Hermione was sure that she was going to have a bruise there in the morning. Malfoy bent down to whisper in her ear.

"I know you like the feeling of me kissing you. Why are you running from what you want?" he asked.

"Because I don't like the feeling of you kissing me." She said in anger.

Her arm was in pain and she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Let go of me, Malfoy." She said.

Malfoy loosened his grip. But he put his other arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her. She was prepared this time, however. She pulled away quickly and ran from him. Not knowing exactly where she was going...just so long as it was away from him.

A few weeks had gone by since the library and Hermione had so far avoided Malfoy. She hadn't spoken to him; she hadn't looked at him, or anything. She could have celebrated. She didn't know what had gotten into Malfoy. She just knew that it was a problem.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry asked as he, Hermione and Ron made their way to potions class.

"Yeah. Just thinking about how horrible it is that we have double potions with the Slytherins again." She said. And this was true. She didn't like the fact that she had to sit for two hours with Malfoy in the same room. He notice her avoiding him and he didn't like it.

"Yeah. Bet Snape is going to set us up with some real winners as partners today." Said Ron sarcastically.

They made their way to the dungeons and sat in the last row so that they didn't have that good a view of Snape.

When Snape entered everything got quite as he began to talk.

"I will be setting up all of you in pairs of two for your potions assignment. You will have it finished by the end of class or I will be taking points away from your houses. Understood? Good. Now...POTTER! You will be partners with Mr. Goyle. WEASLEY! You will be partnered with Mr. Crabbe.... and ...Granger," he said a little too calmly "you will be partnered with Mr. Malfoy."

For the first time in three weeks Hermione looked Malfoy in the face and saw his ever-famous smirk. She closed her eyes and sighed in pain. This was the last thing she wanted.