Hey guys! I want to thank you all for the wonderful reviews that I received. They really made my day. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did 'Bella Donna' (Ch. 19)!

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"Don't you cry tonight. I still love you, baby. Don't you cry tonight. Don't your cry tonight- There's a heaven above you, baby. Don't you cry tonight."- Guns 'n' Roses, Don't Cry

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He didn't know why he did it. When he saw her standing there, he almost didn't recognize her. This wasn't the mousy brunette bookworm that was his servant for a month; she was a forest nymph, a little fairy. She had just stood there, one hand holding the tent flap, the other dangling by her side. Her hair was pulled back into a soft braid, a few strands framing her face. She was wearing a peach colored nightdress that he had never seen before. The thin and silky material hung down to her knees and, Draco had noticed with an inward smirk, he could see the color of her knickers through it. The dress hugging her thin figure, her hair, curly and wild, the innocent look on her face, all of them lead to him standing up, walking to her, enclosing her in his arms, and sealing her lips with his own.

There wasn't time for thought. No time to ask what would happen if Harry and Ron found out. No time to think that there may be another battle tomorrow that could leave them both dead. All that mattered right now was that Draco was kissing her, and not because of a stupid game of Truth or Dare. She did admit that her wardrobe may have had something to do with it, but that didn't seem important when she came walking to his tent. She wrapped her arms around him, letting the tent flap close behind them.

He kissed her fiercely, as though hungry for her. His hands were working wonders- running them over her arms and her back; he fingers were tangled in his hair. There was no pattern to his kissing. He had begun kissing her hungrily, but for certain intervals he would slow down and softly kiss her neck and jawbone.

Putting a break into his hand on her back, he brought his left hand down to her thigh and wrapped her leg around him. Doing the same with the other, he picked her up and laid her down on his cot. Her skirt had ridden up slightly, so he could see the bottoms of her underpants. "Pink," he smiled to himself. "I was right."

Hermione looked up at him, an innocent smile playing on her face. Draco grinned back. He pulled off the white undershirt he had been wearing and climbed onto the cot; he began kissing her with the same fervor has before, only this time, his hands were more focused on her legs, hips, and stomach.

"Wait," Hermione said to herself. "This isn't supposed to happen." The fabric of her nightgown was inching upward.

"Well what did you expect when you walked in here?" said the inner voice in her head, "For you to come, have some tea and lovely discussion about Quidditch?" The fabric was around her hips, but his hands were farther.

Shutting her eyes tight, she pulled away. He did not seem to notice and began to kiss her shoulders. Untangling her hands from his hair, she, for the second time, put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. Draco looked at her, clearly surprised, but stopped and sat up on the cot.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Hermione straightened her nightdress around her and said, "It didn't feel right."

"What do you mean it didn't feel right? You were kissing me back. It wasn't like you just laid there."

"No, not that. I just think we're going too fast."

"You define that as too fast?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Why? What do you define as too fast?"

He smirked at her.

Hermione gave him a look of disgust, "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"Yea, I like to go slower," Draco agreed. "Make it last longer."

Hermione was angry now, "Is that what you think I came here for? To sleep with you?"

"If it wasn't for that or a good snog session, what was it for? Honestly, Granger, I thought Potter was your best mate. Why didn't you go hang out with him? Why did you come to me?"

"I don't know!" Tears gleamed in her eyes. "I couldn't sleep. I thought it was because of what is going on with me and my mother. Maybe we could talk about it or something? And if you want to know, I haven't told Harry or Ron about my mum yet."

"There's more to life than the fact that your mum lied to you! Can't you talk about something else?"

Hermione stood up, the tears flowing freely now. "You're one to talk. Why don't you just kiss someone for the moment, not for what may come later!"

"I wasn't thinking about that! Heck, I don't know what I was thinking when I stood up to kiss you."

"Come on. You must have been thinking about something."

"So maybe I was. Maybe I was thinking of how there would be House rivalry, your friends would hate it, you may never speak to me again, but all the time you were looking so damn beautiful, and the most natural thing to do seemed to be to kiss you."

Draco sighed and looked over at the watery-eyed girl. "Come on," he said, putting his arm around her. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Hey, look. I'm sorry too. We don't spend the night together until you're ready okay?"

"Okay," she said quietly. "But don't expect me to be ready for a long time." She showed him a simple ring that hung on a chain around her neck.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Draco quizzically.

"It's a promise ring. I promised my parents I wouldn't sleep with anyone until I'm married. A baby or something like that could screw things up considerably."

Draco smirked at her. "Prude," he said.

"I am not!" she argued. "Just modest."

"Oh yea, that outfit of yours is real modest."

She slapped him playfully on the arm. "Well, since you can't contain yourself, I'm going back to bed."

"Suit yourself."

She leaned over and kissed him chastely. Walking toward the tent door, she turned around. "Draco?" He looked up.

"Don't tell Ron or Harry or anyone about this, okay?"

"Why would I? Who would I want to tell? Well, it would be fun to make fun of Weasley's snogging skills since I think you enjoyed mine more than his."

"Draco!"

"Alright! I won't."

Hermione smiled and exited the tent.

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The moon shone bright over the campground as Hermione walked back to the tent she shared with Lavender and Ginny. Originally, she had been happy walking back from her encounter with Draco. She touched her lips, feeling his warmth still on them.

But as the butterflies in her stomach began to subside, fear began to take its place. The words of Narcissa were ringing in her memory.

'His father had many mistresses that were constantly in the manor. During Christmas holidays in his fifth year, he was given the gift of a young lady for the night for his birthday. Draco, somewhat afraid, refused the gift. Lucius wasn't too happy about that. From then on, Draco has had a thirst to prove himself.'

Hermione covered her mouth with her hand and shut her eyes tight. "Please let that not be it," she prayed silently.

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Mithle sat silently next to Cordelia in the tent with the Hogwarts teachers.

"We must decide what we will do," said McGonagall. "I believe we should continue toward Beauxbatons."

"No," Mithle said quietly. "I believe in the strength of our troops. As of now, your battles have ended stalemate. Our troops will push us into victory. That will keep the Dark Lord off of us for a while. Then, we may move towards Beauxbatons for safety."

"I don't want to lose any more of the students!" said McGonagall. "Another battle will cause that."

"This is war, Minerva," Snape stood up. "Casualties are inevitable. No matter if we keep on moving or face him, we are still going to battle again. You know... Sybil, are you alright?"

Trelawny's had gone wide and glassy, her mouth slightly open. She was breathing heavily, but before anyone asked her if she was alright again, she spoke:

"In the body of the Aztec Sphinx,

Pure and half will collide;

A pure shall die at the hands of the others.

Merge together, they shall force out the other.

The body composition of a Sphinx-

The final weapon of our time."

After saying this, she collapsed in a chair. All in the tent were quiet until she awoke. "Sorry," she said cheerfully, "What did I miss? I seemed to have dozed off for a minute. These late night meetings are really starting to catch up with me. Did you say something, Severus? What? Why is everyone staring at me like that?"

"Err, it's nothing, Sybil," said McGonagall. "I suggest we all go to bed now."

With a sigh of relief, the teachers stood up to go to their separate tents. The Veela royalty were the last to leave, walking to go to their tent, arm in arm.

No one had noticed a tall figure standing off into the woods.

His red eyes gleamed in the dark. "So, we have Veelas too, now?"

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Hope you liked!

Note: I invented the Aztec Sphinx, so don't think you need to start researching to see what that is! I promise I will explain it. But it isn't the Egyptain Sphinx- lady's head, lion's body. Close, but no deal. I will be telling you what it is.

R&R, please!

Dragonfires