Author's note: Well here I am, 2:01 AM, frantically trying to post chapter 10 of my story before I go on break, and without mom realizing that curfew has passed. Well...HERE IT IS. The famed 'romance' chapter is now up. It's really long, but i think you guys won't mind... I also think you will be pleasently surprised. i hope Anyways, my rating has changed, now that i'm adding the romance stuff in. I've changed the genres a bit, and I also edited the summary. It now not only talks about Hermione, but Draco as well. Anyways, enough talking...here u go.

A few of the sun's beams peered on Hermione's face. She gently stirred. Birds were already twittering softly in the background while the crickets died away. The last of the stars extinguished from the awakening, blue sky. Fresh, crisp air filled with smells of sparkling dew and luscious grass flowed in from the open window, filling Hermione's room with pleasant aromas. The air blew tenderly against her wind chimes. The soft tingle aroused her from her light slumber. She had a dream last night, about Draco. They were dancing or something. For no particular reason, a small smile appeared on Hermione's lips. She remembered the strong hold he held on her, his hands were at her waist. In the dream, her head was pressed against his warm chest, and they swayed slowly while the most beautiful music played in the background. He had been whispering softly in her ear. Hermione let out a small giggle; her ear was tingling almost like the dream was real. But it was just a dream. A small, comfortable, happy, loving dream, that left Hermione wishing she felt that way everyday.

CRASH

"AHHGHHHGH!" Hermione's arms went flailing. Her legs slipped from under her body and she landed hard on the marble floor. A large tray of keish flew into the air and splattered all over the walls, while a serving of brown pudding landed right in Hermione's lap.

"I'm sure glad I made extra helpings." Came a voice from the open kitchen door. Hermione and Olfie looked guiltily up at Terrah, Tinky's grandmother. They both grinned sheepishly and got up. Today was the day of the big party, and they weren't nearly as ready as Hermione hoped they would be.

Smiling her thanks when Terrah cleaned up Hermione's apron, she quickly grabbed more trays of food that the house elf had prepared. Almost running in her heels, she ran and placed the food on the long, elegant table in the Ball Room. Running back to get more food, she almost collided into Tinky, who was levitating some decorations on the ceiling. "Sorry!" She gasped, and darted back out the door. Hermione stopped in the hallway. "This is ridiculous!" Bending down, she took off her black high heeled, open toed shoes and dropped them in her room. She had put on her dress and shoes early, knowing that later she would only have time to put on her make-up and do her hair.

"Coming through!" She called up the stairs. Her wand, perfectly poised, was directing a large white, beautifully designed, sleek cake. It rose high in the air, above her head. Draco, who was at the top of the stairs, watched amusingly as Hermione concentrated on getting it to the ballroom.

"Nice apron." He gestured to the white apron on her body.

"Not now, Draco." Hermione warned, throwing him a furtive look.

"Come on, compared to the rest of your clothes in your wardrobe, this one looks pretty good!" Draco laughed.

"And this is coming from a guy whose clothes consist of only green and silver?" Her eyes sparkled as she gave a small wink.

Hermione continued into the ballroom and placed the large cake on the center of the table. She eyed the clock and gave a loud yelp. "It's already 6:30! Oh no! I have to get ready! Ok Tinky, Perfin, finish the decorations. Quickly please." Hermione told the house elves. "Don't you guys need to warm up or something? The guests will be arriving soon!" The string octet immediately began tuning their instruments."Shanof, you need to continue cleaning. Don't forget the gardens!" Hermione called after her shoulder. "Oh yes, and Terrah" she stopped in front of Tinky's grandmother, who was levitating a large punch bowl up the steps, "nice cake." And with that, Hermione flew down the stairs and headed back up to her room.

Hermione tore of the apron and looked at the mirror. Her reflection showed a dark green, shimmery dress that flowed past her ankles. It had a straight line at the top, which was attached to spaghetti straps around her shoulders. Contrary to the front of her dress, the backside of her dress was bare all the way to the small curve on her waist. "Just wait until Draco sees this! Comparing my wardrobe to an apron, psh!" She grinned a bit and looked at her hair. She took her wand and swirled it around her head, leaving her hair in a fancy up-do, piled on top of her head.

She spent the rest of the time sitting quietly by her vanity, Appling makeup on her face. Hermione left the eyes neutral, only applying mascara and eyeliner. Her cheeks were now a light, soft pink. She then put on a deep red color on her small, delicate lips. She checked the clock and winced. 6:58. Thrusting her feet inside her shoes, she quickly went out the door and went straight to the Ballroom.

Hermione gasped. Never had the ballroom looked so beautiful before. The large, glass, extravagant chandelier was lit, casting marvelous lights and shapes around the room. The food table lined one whole side of the room. The cake stood magnificently next to a beautiful miniature water fountain. Round, white tables with flower centerpieces dotted the area. Hermione gave her nod of approval and headed back out the door again.

She did a quick look inside the library and the other rooms for the guests. Hermione then heard a large WHOOSH. Panicking, she rushed down to the main entranceway and stood next to Narcissa, who was wearing a lovely golden dress. "You look really nice," Hermione whispered to Mrs. Malfoy. Narcissa turned and gave her a startled smile.

"Welcome, welcome Olivia!" Narcissa's attention had turned back to the tall woman who had entered the fireplace. Hermione quickly brought out her wand and 'scourgified' the couple. "Ah yes, Hanson, such a long time!" WHOOSH. Another pair of adults appeared, followed by three other guests. Hermione hurriedly 'scourgified' them all, while Narcissa welcomed each of them and beckoned them upstairs to the ballroom. It wasn't until 7:35 when the last of the guests arrived, "Good evening Polly. Good evening Urstice," finally allowing Hermione to head upstairs to the party.

Hermione did a quick peek in the library. Several adults were looking intently at a book, while others were laughing at a small paperback. She smiled at the people who were mingling in the hallway; champagne glasses in their hands. In the ballroom, Hermione could see all the people were chatting and blending together. The butterflies that had erupted in her stomach several hours ago, slowly settled at the happy faces and content expressions.

"Hermione Granger! Oh, Hermione Granger, a word please?" Hermione turned from fixing a flower centerpiece, to come face to face with Mr. Pelum Florish.

"Mr. Florish!" She smiled and shook his enthusiastic hand. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Oh, I must say that this has got to be one of the grandest social gatherings I have ever been to!" Hermione beamed. "You have really outdone yourself. Of course, HOLF has gotten wonderful feedback from Narcissa these past few weeks, but I just had to see it for myself! You should be proud! I myself would love to book this string octet for my brother-in-law's birthday. Tell me, where did you ever get the idea to make an appointment with them?" Mr. Florish grinned as Hermione launched into a large story. They continued to talk for another 20 minutes, sitting on one of the white tables.

"Now then, dear Hermione, I must say I have to go grab myself another one of these marvelous pigs-in-a-blanket. If you'll excuse me," He gave her one final nod and headed towards the food table. Smiling, Hermione stood back up and continued a large sweep of the ballroom, stopping several times to talk with interested guests.

Darkness fell around 9:30. The string octet had taken quite a few breaks and was now restarting again. Large speeches, toasts, introductions, and pleasant chatter were made. Guests walked aimlessly around the ballroom, library, sitting rooms, small portrait gallery, and other rooms on the Guest Floor. Hermione busied herself cleaning and making small talk. By the time she finished talking to Gregory and Dolly Hermson, her feet were begging for a rest.

Hermione re-entered the Ballroom and crossed the main floor. She slowly stepped out onto the gorgeous balcony and headed down the stairs towards the gardens. She could see several of the visitors commenting on the flowers and gardens. Choosing a bench next to her 'mother's water fountain', she gratefully sat and rested her feet.

Draco

Draco lightly drummed his fingers on his desk, bored out of his mind. The party had started hours ago, and from the sounds of it, it was still going strong. He always hated these parties, because they were always so boring. Well, of course they were boring to him, since he spent most of the time in his room, trying to avoid all the annoying relatives. True, he made appearances every 30 minutes, to make everyone happy. But for the majority of the time, Draco stayed in his room and kept to himself.

Dragging himself up, he slowly made his way back to the Guest Floor.

"Draco! There you are! I have been looking all over for you! My, my, you're getting more handsome every year!"

"Ah, there's the man of the hour! Draco! Ralso and I were just talking about you and your Quidditch skills."

"Who is that stunning man, surely that is not Draco? DRACO! YOOHOO! OVER HERE!"

"Draco, where have you disappeared to? One minute I was showing you my book and the next you were gone!" Draco merely nodded and gave several incoherent responses, smiling meekly and shaking countless hands.

"Finally! I got rid of them!" Draco quickly walked out of the ballroom and out onto the balcony. The stars were out tonight. Sighing with relief, he leaned on the railing and looked out, only to find the familiar sight of brown hair. Grinning, he descended the steps and walked in the gardens.

"Hey," was all he said, sitting next to her on the bench.

"Wow, look at you." She said mischievously. "All dressed up in your black suit and looking all handsome like."

"I look nothing like you." Draco said, honestly. Frankly, the dark green dress had taken him quite off guard. It sparkled every time she moved. He looked up at her smooth, and almost elegant-like brown hair. Her silky skin stood out in the summer night, giving a soft glow. Draco eyed her small, delicate lips. He smiled warily.

Hermione

"Hey," a deep voice behind her, said. Hermione turned, slightly taken aback. There stood Draco, tall and lean in a black suit. His piercing eyes stared right back at her.

"Wow, look at you." Hermione raised her eyebrows. "All dressed up in your black suit and looking all handsome like."

"I look nothing like you." Hermione blushed at the surprising compliment. Those eyes were boring at her. Feeling slightly uncomfeterable, she faced the water fountain next to her.

"My mum loves water fountains." Hermione said, changing the subject.

"That one's from France." She could still feel Draco's eyes on her.

"My family and I visited France once. Several summers ago." Why was he staring at her like that?

Draco nodded, his eyes never leaving her.

"This one would probably be my mum's favorite." Hermione gestured at the fountain. "She loves the um, whole splash affect. She judges water fountains, um, by their sprays, and um, by their overall wetness, and um" Hermione's mind panicked. What in the world was she saying? She never felt so uncomfortable in her life. She kept her eyes away from Draco. "-she would especially love this one because of all the mist, ya know? See how it sort of goes up and then kind drifts away, but there's still kind of a trickle and-" Draco had gotten up and placed his hand on the fountain. He smiled playfully.

"Oh, you mean this trickle?" A sudden wetness was flicked at Hermione's face.

"Draco!" She hastily wiped away the water, silently grateful that she was saved the embarrassment from talking. Draco chuckled, spraying more water on her. "Draco stop! You're going to get my dress wet!" Hermione leaped up from the bench. Draco laughed as his hands went back to the water. "Oh no you don't!" She lunged for his wrists and grabbed them tightly. Hermione kept a tight hold on Draco; failing desperately as he tinkled some more water on her face. She let out a small cry as he placed his wet hands on her cheeks, slightly smearing her makeup. Draco grabbed hold the back of her neck, despite her protests and pulling at his wrists. He eyed her in the strangest way.

Hermione stopped. It was only then did she realize how close she was to Draco. She didn't dare look up in his eyes. She could feel his warm, uneven breath on her face. Hermione's eyes focused right in front of her. Draco's chest was closer than she had thought. She could even see it going up and down heavily. The wet hands on her neck stopped gripping so tightly. "Don't look up. Oh, Merlin! Don't look up. This-this isn't happening." Almost as if on cue, Hermione's eyes slowly rose, from his chest up to his neck, his chin, his lips, his cheeks, and then finally, his eyes.

Those ice blue eyes stared straight through her. She almost shivered looking at them. They were unreadable, those eyes. They, they were intense. Hermione let out a shaky breath, she couldn't think. Her mind was desperately blank. Her thoughts jumbled as she saw the eyes come slowly foreword. Her heart was racing, so was Draco's. Their bodies were pressed together. His muscular torso was pushed up against her body. Her chin slowly rose. His face was so close to hers now. They're eyes were half closed, no one was moving. Draco's hot breath was almost unbearable now. His lips lingered, they were too close…

The eyes disappeared behind closed eyelids. Hermione felt something warm and tentative on her lips. So light, so soft, so tender. Draco pressed harder. She let him. His grip on her neck tightened, she hung on to his wrists for dear life. Hermione's body lit on fire. A huge surge, an unrecognizable rush, penetrated her body. She kissed back fiercely. An unexplainable chill surged through her body as Draco's cool fingertips snaked their way down her bare back. A sickly moan escaped her throat that answered the tingles and shivers up her spine. Her hands groped for his neck, heaving him closer to her. She entangled her fingers in his hair, frantically holding onto Draco as hard as she could.

Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She broke contact, gulping for air. "No!" Draco growled and grabbed fistfuls of her dress, pulling her to him again. She clung to him, answering his questioning lips. Hermione opened her mouth and welcomed his aggressive tongue. Her head was a-buzz, she couldn't think. All she could do was kiss back as hard as she could. Hermione's body was more than on fire. It was a downright inferno. It wanted, needed more of Draco. She was frantic, she was crazy. Nothing stopped her desiring body-

A loud gasp echoed from her mouth as she pushed Draco away. Confusion, anxiety, worry, and mostly, fear all erupted into her head. Common sense and thoughts that had disappeared from her brain flooded back into her over-whelmed mind. She took a step back.

"No, Hermione, don't-"

"Oh no." She whispered. She stared straight into his eyes. "Oh no. Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no!" Hermione took another three steps backwards. Horror crossed her face as Draco stared helplessly at her.

"Please, Hermione-"

"I-I have to go." Hermione's mouth spewed words. "I-I, this can't, I mean, I wasn't, I-I have to go!" She broke free of his feeble stare and ran. Hermione ran out of his grasp and up the balcony stairs.

"HERMIONE!" She ignored him, running as far away as she could.

author's note: Ok, most likely this chapter won't be posted until after I go on vacation, so most likely i won't be a ble to read my reviews until next week, when I come back. Please sit tight, readers, I won't be updating for at least a week, but bare in mind that I love you all. REVIEWS make me happy. I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying this story. Hopefully, I'll come back from my vacation nice and tan, to a long list of reviews wink wink. Well, i hope you all enjoyed the chapter.