Warning: this is very long chapter.

To all the people who read my story thanks for the compliments and sorry I haven't updated in a while I'm wither at work or to tired from work to do any typing.

Ruled by secrecy

Beep beep beep beep

Draco slammed his hand on his alarm clock and rolled over trying to block out the sunlight's rays with his eyelids.

"Draco" his sister's voice boomed from outside "Draco wake up. You've got school"

"Uhhhh" he shouted as he rolled off the bed and stood up

"Yeah love you too" she answered from behind the door

Draco walked over into the bathroom and stood at the toilet and did his morning ritual. After he had finished he washed his hands turned on the radio and went to the closet.

Ring ring

Draco's cell phone screeched at an alarming loud sound in his aching head. He reached out and pushed the speaker button.

"Lo?" He asked sleepily.

"Yeah it's me Gracella" Gracella answered a rushed voice.

"Oh…." He grumpily answered.

She huffed "Whatever I need you to pick up Hermione because I have some stuff to do I'll meet you at school"

Click

Draco groaned as he closed the phone and rolled over in his bed intending to go back to sleep when he heard a constant beeping coming from his desk.

"What in the seven hells is going on today" he bitched as he got out of bed to kill whatever was emitting that horrid noise.

He walked closer to the desk and saw his green and silver laptop was blinking on the side panel.

Curious, Draco thought. He bent down to look at it, pushed the button, and the laptop opened Hermione's face appeared on the screen.

"Well it's about time" she huffed "I thought you were still sleeping"

"I was trying to" Draco replied "but it seems I'm not allowed to today"

Looking at the screen, he noticed Hermione's hair was wet along with her skin he couldn't see her entire body because the screen only allowed him to see her face.

"Why are you soaked?" he questioned

"I just got out of the shower, not that it's any of your business"

Suddenly an image popped into Draco's head of him and Hermione kissing in the rain and a familiar yet unfamiliar rush of blood to his extremities made Draco realize that it wasn't a dream, it was a memory.

"Well…?" Hermione said looking at him quizzically, "did Gracella tell you to pick me up or not?"

"Yeah and I will at 7:45" he looked at his clock it was 7:15. Not nearly enough time for him to release some tension in his pants so he was going to have to take a cold shower. "I have to go get cleaned up"

In more ways than one, Draco thought.

"Yeah well I'm going to go get dressed I'll be outside when you get to my house" she said and with that the screen went to the desktop picture of Draco, his sister, and Hermione all laughing in front of six flags.

He stared at the picture, he looked at how her hazel brown eyes glowed, how her dark brown wavy hair fell over her shoulders, and also how he had his arm wrapped around her waist and she wasn't pulling away.

Draco walked to his bathroom turned on the cold water then began to get undressed. He stood in the blasting water and thought about how he was supposed to act around Hermione he had the feelings for her in his American life but he still remembered how much they despised each other at Hogwarts.

Seven years of hatred doesn't go away because of a memory alteration, he thought to himself.

He got out of the shower wrapped a black towel loosely around his waist and walked to his closet then pulled out a black t-shirt, a pair of low-rise jeans, and a pair of sneakers.

As Draco looked in the mirror, he would never admit to anyone that he looked good in muggle wear although he could already see the countless girls throwing themselves at him,

"Having fun staring at yourself," said Cory from the entrance of the bathroom.

Draco turned around not surprised that she didn't knock,

"Yes actually I was." He smirked and grabbed his leather black motorcycle jacket with one silver dragon etched on the sleeve.

His sister rolled her eyes, "you are so turning into a metrosexual" she went to his counter and grabbed a bottle, sniffed it "ugh" she groaned as she threw it in the trash.

"Why did you do that?" he asked as he saw her throw away his favorite cologne.

"Because it reeks" she answered nonchalantly "and because I bought you this as a welcome back present. I meant to give it to you last night but with everything that happened I didn't think about it"

She pulled out a small silver bottle that was shaped like an alcove leaf and handed it to him

"It's called an alcove leaf it's for good luck, and I poured some of my special love potion in it…" Draco looked at her trying not to laugh "I know…but it smells great." she looked at her watch "well I better go get dressed say hello to Hermione for me"

She walked out his bathroom and back out of his room. Draco twisted the cap off and as it opened a light blue cloud of mist emitted from it. He sniffed the contents

I guess it does smell good, he thought, like sandalwood and spicy scents wouldn't hurt to try some he dabbed it at his neck then slipped it in his pockets.

As he put on his jacket, he looked at the clock and saw it was 7:40.

Damn, grabbed his laptop shoved it into his messenger bag, grabbed his keys, and ran out the front door and towards the garage to his car, a Toyota matrix.

He unlocked the door, sat in the driver's seat, flung his bookbag in the backseat, and started his car.

Riiiiiinnng

He picked up his cell phone as he pulled out of the driveway.

"You're late" Hermione said flatly

"Thank you captain obvious I just got in the car" Draco retorted, "I'll be there when I get there" he hung up as he turned down Hermione's street.

As he pulled into the driveway, he saw a fuming Hermione. But his attention was quickly averted to what she was wearing.

A black fitted blazer over a red and tan spaghetti strap top and a tan mini corduroy skirt that went about two inches above her knees with a pair of black scrunched up boots. Her hair was in its curly state but smooth and glossy, falling all over her face.

He parked the car and Hermione opened the back door set her book bag on the chair, closed the door opened the front door and sat down then put on her seat belt.

"Thanks for hanging up on me" she huffed and crossed her arms across her breast making them seem bigger than what they were which made Draco's leg twitch.

"Sorry bad connection" he said as he backed out of the driveway

Hermione was fighting her own inner battles, on one side not only did Draco look good he smelt amazing. When she first opened the door and sat next to him, she wanted to sigh and snuggle like they used to do.

But on the other side Hermione knew that these memories were messing with her better judgment and that she had to keep herself in check.

"It's okay…you look nice" she said as she rubbed her hand against the jacket "didn't I buy you that for Christmas last year?"

"You look very nice too…and yes you did" Draco said keeping his focus intensely on the road. "its just supposed to get cold later and ya know…"

Hermione nodded "so should we stop for something to drink at The Bean. We still have 20 minutes to get to school"

"Okay" he made a left at the next light and went to the bean. As they pulled up they saw Gracella's car in the parking lot.

"I thought she said she had an appointment"

"Yeah she told me that too"

They both looked at each other, then Gracella's car.

"If we go in there she may think we were following her"

"Why would we need to follow her?" asked Draco "she's the guard she's supposed to be following us"

Hermione sighed "something's went down last night, some information that neither one of us knew" she began to tell Draco about all the information that was withheld from them how Gracella and who she was and how she didn't think this was a coincidence.

"So you think she might be betraying us?" Draco asked much more calmly than he felt

Hermione shook her head, "I think it may just be the opposite of that. She might be resigning from the case just to protect herself and us. All this happening is just too coincidental"

"Well she's just going to run out with her tail between her legs…good riddance"

"You asshole have you not been listening to a word I've been saying" Hermione suddenly yelled as she slapped Draco across the face. Leaving a swollen hand print on his cheek "she is protecting us because if voldermort found out that she is alive…I don't know what'll happen"

Draco sat there listening to stunned to do anything else. He sighed rubbed his cheek lightly then looked at Hermione "if you ever slap me again I'll throw you in the Hudson with out a second thought"

He turned on the car then drove up through the drive thru. Hermione ordered a double whipped cappuccino and Draco ordered a soy latte with foam.

"Okay so now what do we do?" Hermione asked as he parked his car on the side of the building

"We wait, ya see this what I like to call a stake out"

"Great plan but your car sticks out like a sore thumb"

"tsk tsk Granger" Draco chuckled as Hermione glared at him for calling her by her real name "did you forget that we have magic" he then pulled out his wand from the inner coat pocket of his jacket.

Draco said an incantation then transfigured his matrix into a grey blue minivan with tinted windows and a handicap sticker on the front.

Hermione stared at him, "I hope no one saw that"

"Don't worry so Herminnny" he teased in a voice that sounded so much like Vincent Krum that Hermione bursted out in laughter, "you look very pretty when you smile" Draco blurted out to his and Hermione's astonishment "aside from when you're scowling" he quickly added

Hermione quickly glared at him "you know it wouldn't kill you to act like a decent human being"

Draco turned to her "oh it wouldn't then what do you call all most being avada kedevra by my father" he scoffed "if I would have known this is what decency would get me I would have stayed put"

"Coward" Hermione said in a low almost hushed tone, but loud enough for Draco to hear.

They sat in an uncomfortable thick silence staring at Gracella's car.

Draco hurt and wanting to tell Hermione that he wasn't a coward, that he wouldn't have stayed on Voldermort's side if his life depended on it, that he was just scared.

Hermione wanting to strangle Draco because he was such a jerk and yet she felt bad for him, he was scared and she could sense it and she felt like she had to be strong for the both of them.

"Hey look," said Draco as he stared at Gracella walking out of the coffee shop distorted and pale.

The continued looking as Zack ran up behind her, wrapped his arm around her comfortingly, and then they both got in her car.

"What do you s'pose that was about" Hermione asked as she saw Gracella start her car and pull out onto the main road.

"From what you told be I'm guessing: us" he answered as he started his car. The car transfigured back into his Matrix and pulled out onto the main road.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"To school" Draco answered as he drove there.

A/N: Sorry for such a dull ending but I wanted to hurry up and close this chapter out.