Disclaimer: I own only the things that you do not recognize, i.e.- the plot, Erin, and Andy.

A/N- I'm sorry it took me so terribly long to update. I know all of you thought I died, and I'm happy to inform you that I am very much alive. Sometimes when real life gets in the way, it's terribly annoying, but in this case, it was anything but annoying...anyways, chapter 4 is here. Enjoy, and R&R

Erin: I am NOT jealous, but you have every reason to be...Pansy

me: I know, the uniforms thing wouldn't really work, but that's the point of fanfiction, right? I also updated my other chapters to get rid of typos. Thank you so much for the comments.

Santiva Potter: My best reviewer so far...Mia, that was just a name I saw in a few fics, and I thought it would suit her..this chapter's a little bit longer, but not by much.

Marie Fay: Sorry it took so long...

Eternal Sailor Darkness: Megan!...out.of.gutter.now! ok, I doubt it's too close, so don't even think about IT ;) I want my bday to be at another time so I can have an excuse 2 drag you over here...

Marauder4Ever: It's here, I know it took really long, but at least I didn't die, right?

A HUGE thank you to all the reviewers, and I hope to see more..these really make my day.

Chapter 4:

She managed to not trip on her heels all the way down to the entrance hall. As she was climbing down the last few marble steps, she glanced around and caught sight of one blond ferret waiting for her. He surrounded by what looked like at least half the Slytherin house, all waiting to see if the rumors that had spread though the school like wildfire the day before were true. Things were going well.

She reached the bottom and walked over to Malfoy-um-Draco with a huge smile plastered on her face. He swept her into a hug and continued on ignoring the rest of his "friends." Meanwhile, the Slytherins, especially Pansy and Erin, went off to tell everyone that the rumors were, indeed, true.

Herms and Malfoy entered the great hall holding hands after another ten minutes of being right in the middle of the entrance hall pretending they were madly in love with each other. He was thinking about the amount of soap it would take to wash off all the mudblood scum while she contained the little bit left in her stomach that was threatening to exit her the wrong way the next time she had to see the puppy-eyes he was giving her. They walked into the noise of about 500 people chatting during breakfast...but they all got quiet as soon as he got over the groseness of the situation and kissed her before they went to their tables. She walked to her usual seat and sat down as if nothing had happened at all. Harry got even paler. Ron looked as if he just received news that he was to have potions with Snape for the rest of his life. She was spooning out the last bit of milk from her cereal bowl when the retained control of their voices. Both at the same time.

"HERMIONE! You are such a traitor."

"How dare you?"

"We thought people were joking at first when they said you were going out with ferret-face."

"Please tell me this is not true, please!"

"Hermione, say something. Are you under Imperius, is he blackmailing you?"

She calmly replied, "I am not under any spell, except that of his beautiful silver eyes. He is not blackmailing me. He asked me out on Monday, when I went to the Quiddich Stadium to get some quiet time to think. He walked up from behind me and just asked me out. I don't understand why you both hate him. He is not like his father. He has grown out of that stage, he wants to be his own person. HE IS NOT DADDY'S BOY ANYMORE! Why don't you understand?"

"You are not yourself this morning." Harry said softly, "I'm not going to waste my time right now..."

"Please Hermione...Please?" Ron choked out, keeping back tears.

Though it broke her heart to do it, she replied, "I'm sorry Ron, Harry. It's my choice and you can't make it for me. I am my own woman now, and I have the right to decide who I want to go out with."

"Please?" Ron and Harry said simultaneously, but before she could reply, someone bent down over her shoulder and kissed her cheek.. She gathered her things and went with Malfoy-Draco, not glancing over her shoulder. Maybe this joke idea wasn't so great..

-(!)-

By the time Lunch rolled around, she was completely tired of the whole girlfriend with Malfoy thing. There was only so much time you can spend kissing your greatest enemy. Everyone was badgering her about it and Andy now had the impression that she finally found out Hermione's greatest secret. Oh, how wrong she was.

After another show to the school, she calmly walked over to her seat and gulped down as much food as she could.

"What's the hurry, going to the library to snog your BOYFRIEND for the rest of the lunch break?" Ron asked sorely.

"Not the library, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that as an insult." she responded.

"But you are going to snog him, aren't you?" He said in a voice even more hurt than before, though a great deal more angry.

"What I do with MY boyfriend in MY own free time is entirely MY business, not yours." She snapped back.

At this, Ron snatched up his bag and walked away from his unfinished plate. Harry soon followed, giving Hermione a glare meant to look angry, but all the hurt was still evident in his eyes. Oh, how she hated doing this to them. She had hoped that they would take it a bit better, but what was done was done. She took a sandwich and put it in her bag to eat later. Now, she had to go; Draco had just given her the signal that the game was about to continue.

-(!)-

At least their potions class was cancelled for today, due to the early Halloween feast. One less hour to spend with Draco. This was the only thought that kept her going through the day. Getting caught with him in every place the school had to offer and not kicking him in a place it would hurt most took up more energy than she could come up with. Harry had continued with ignoring her, and Ron was pleading with her every chance he got. She had to use all self control not to spill the beans, because it would completely destroy the prank. Was it still a prank now? And if it wasn't, what was it?

She had never looked forward to something and dreaded it so much at the same time. During the feast, she was supposed to "break-up" with Malfoy over something that was not yet decided upon. "Why can't I just disappear off the face of the Earth for once?" she thought to herself.

-(!)-

"Draco, this is not going to work." she told him right before the feast.

"Yes, it is, you just have to grit your teeth for a while, but everything is going to turn out fine." He replied.

They were standing by the huge oak doors of the great hall, five minutes before they were going to open. Needless to say, the entrance hall was crowded with all the hungry students and all eyes were on them. Hermione took all this in mind, and decided not to wait until dinner. She didn't have to wait until dinner to find an excuse to go talk to him, she could just get the whole thing out of the way right here, and be done with it. She did just what he told her to, grit her teeth and prayed that everything would work out.

A/N- I know, cliffie. I was planning on ending it a bit later, but I don't have time to finish writing it, and the chapter is getting a bit longer than it was meant to anyways. I'm hoping to get to work on this a bit more over the holidays, but if I don't, please do not hate me.

Merry Christmas (Hanukah, or any other holiday you may celebrate) and a Happy New Year! 2006, Hooray!

Oh yeah, now it's the time when you drag your mouse pointer to the little button down there and write a few words, constructive criticism is welcome...please tell me about the typos, I didn't have anyone other than Word spellcheck this thing...and I really like roasted marshmallows...