A/N:

Sorry this has taken so long! As for those who read and reviewed the last chapter… well somehow it had cut off about a paragraph so re-read the ending of the last chapter. And I want to thank KivaidensGirl for helping me clear my mind about this story!

"Thank you so much! You are the best! I love you!"

Ch7: Are You Ready?

As the weeks wore on, Hermione noticed that the work seemed to get longer yet easier. She was now used to getting up at 5 am to start preparing for her lesson that day, then leaving to go to breakfast with the other three at seven. It was easy for Hermione to fall into this pattern, easier in fact, than working with Draco.

His sudden bursts of niceness were killing her. Over the years she had gotten used to the snobby, pushy, evil Draco. And the fact that he had been mean to her had helped her hide her feelings extremely well. But now that he was being civil and even nice to her, she was forced to face her feelings.

She hadn't wanted to like him this badly, she mused as she poured over her notes for that day. Nor had she expected it to be more than physical.

He is actually pretty smart… she had told Ron and Harry earlier that week, only to be met by their shocked stares. Now, whenever she had something good to say about him, she just kept it to herself. For it seemed that even Harry and Ron had fallen under the pretense of evil that Draco portrayed. In truth, he was just as normal as any other boy his age. He enjoyed music and even the occasional book.

Even as she began to think about him, Draco walked into their "work space", for they had recently begun calling it that. His hair was still wet from the shower he had taken, and the smell of soap drifted through the air.

"Hi," he greeted as he sat down on the floor next to her.

"Hey," she sighed. She took two seconds to over at him, then continued with her work. Draco just continued to look at her.

"What?" she said after a minute. She hated when people stared, especially when she was aware of it.

"Do you know what today is?" he asked, smiling at her.

"No," she said, hoping that it wasn't his birthday.

"It's our two week anniversary, sweetheart." Hearing this, she looked over, surprised that he had remembered. For she had totally forgotten.

"Two weeks…" she echoed, she had not noticed that time had flown by so fast. It only seemed like yesterday when she had helped Draco in the library…Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she got up and went to go get ready.

As she left, Draco smiled to himself…Tonight… he mused, knowing that she would never expect what was coming. He continued smiling to himself as he went over his notes for the day.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Dumbledore's voice boomed across the Great Hall.

"I have an announcement to make. It has been two weeks since this new student-teacher program has begun. I would like a round of applause to each of our teachers for they are doing a marvelous job!" After Dumbeldore's words a round of applause erupted from the Hall. Hermione turned bright red and even Draco, who could usually keep his cool, was a little embarrassed.

After the little bout of applause Dumbledore said a few words, raised his hands, and food suddenly appeared. The students chatted and laughed as they ate their dinners.

Hermione, however was not hungry.

"Herm,"Ron commented through mouthfuls of food,

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she responded,

"I'm just not that hungry." It was partially true, she told herself. The other part of it was that she had caught Draco staring at her again. The third time in the last hour. And she knew it wasn't just the normal hint of recognition that she had seen in his eyes, there was something… different. And she was completely caught off guard when he smiled at her. She was so shocked that she had to break eye contact and began studying her food. The next minute he was talking to Crabbe and Goyle like nothing had ever happened.

Hermione didn't have a long time to think about this before an owl floated into the Hall. Hermione soon recognized it as her own. She picked up the letter and fed her owl. Then watched it as it flew back to the owlery. She was happy that she had chosen to get an owl…so much easier to get mail, she mused.

She turned over the letter and her mouth fell open when she saw who it was from. Not wanting to open this in public, she abruptly left the table, which gained curious looks from both Harry and Ron. But she didn't care, all that mattered to her at the moment was what the letter contained.

She waited until she was on her bed to open it, then she read:

Dear Hermione,

I miss you so much. These past few months have been so lonely with out you. I had even come to like your bloody bird interrupting me at meals just to receive your letters. I know that I hurt you, and I am sorry. I hope that you will forgive me. I know that I cannot live without your love, it hurts too much. I don't know, maybe it was because we were each other's firsts… Can sex tie two people together that much? All I know is that I miss you. Can we start over?

~Love, your dearest~

Krum.

Hermione just stared at the letter in utter disbelief. How the hell can he expect me just to pick up and start over, just like that? she asked herself.

Maybe he is right, maybe we can start over… a voice told her, but it was soon replaced with another. How can you even think that! He dumped you! For a blonde bitch! He used you, then trashed you! Hermione continued to think over this, only to get more confused than ever. She was so involved in the letter, that she didn't even hear the knocking at her door.

"Hermione!" Draco shouted through the door.

"Are you ok?" Awakened out of her state of shock, Hermione shook her head and answered,

"Yeah, I'm fine." She had meant for that response to get rid of him, but he only walked into the room and stood in front of her.

"Good." he said, nothing the letter in her hand. Not wanting to pry, he let the contents of the letter go.

"I gotta surprise for you." he smiled with that same seductive look in his eyes that she had seen before.

Hermione noticed the gleam in his eyes, and knew what was going to happen.

Oh Merlin! she mused, He's gonna sleep with me… Standing up, she walked towards the bathroom.

"Hold on" she told Draco and she shut the bathroom door. Once inside, she slid to the floor. Krum's words kept echoing in her head.

'Can sex tie two people together that much?' If she slept with Draco, which she was sure that she wanted to do, will she be able to let him walk away? Letting go of Krum had been hell. It would have been easier, she confessed, if she had not slept with him… so much easier…

As Hermione gathered her thoughts in the bathroom, Draco sat on the bed, impatiently waiting for her. What the hell could be taking her so long? he asked himself. He looked around the room, trying to find something to do, when he spotted the letter. Silently, he picked it up and read it. His hand tightened over the paper. SO much that he had to let it go, for fear that he would rip it.

So that Krum scum had been her first… he mused viciously as he thought back to his first time. And he silently wondered whether Krum was right… Did sex tie people together? If it did then he was screwed…And he almost laughed at the irony. Well, whether or not it did, Draco knew that he wanted to sleep with Hermione more than he had ever wanted anything else.

Hermione came out of the bathroom a minute later and said,

"Ok, I'm ready."