Hermione walked at a snail's pace, still in a fuzzy fog from her encounter with Malfoy. Dragging her feet back up to the common room, she muttered the password and gingerly perched down on the couch once again. Harry and Ron were still engrossed with their game, but they still acknowledged her presence.

"Where'd you run off to Mione?" Ron asked. When he didn't get a reply, he looked up from the chess board. "Hermione?" He tried again. She seemed to snap out of it then.

"Huh? Sorry, what?"

"I asked you where you ran off too." He repeated.

She thought for a second, not wanting to tell them the truth just yet. "I forgot something in my last class."

"Oh. Well where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"The thing you forgot?"

"Oh." Her heart pounded harder at all of his questions. "I couldn't find it."

"Perhaps someone took it. What was it?"

"What was it?" She gulped.

"Yeah, it wasn't too valuable was it?"

"Uh, no, it was nothing. Just some… um, just a bit of parchment." She stuttered nervously.

"You ran all the way back for a bit of parchment?"

"Yes?"

Ron raised his eyebrows at her. "You are more into school than I ever imagined 'Mione." Hermione breathed a silent sigh of relief at Ron's extreme density.

"I think I'll just go have a lie down for a moment." Hermione said, standing up and heading to the girl's dormitories. Harry and Ron grunted in response, as she climbed the narrow stairwell. Entering the room she shared with four other girls and grabbing her day planner and a quill off the nightstand, she flopped down on to her bed and pulled the curtains closed. Flipping the planner open to the present date, she marked the twenty first small black X in the bottom right hand corner. She didn't know why she had been keeping track of the days since Malfoy covered his retched mouth over hers, but for some reason she was. Twenty one black X's, twenty one days of being harassed, twenty one days of being stalked, twenty one days of pure relentless torture, all for a reason which she could not understand. His hard eyes had wormed their way in to her mind since that day. Where ever she was, what ever she was doing, they would find her, and make her feel tremendous unsettling guilt in the pit of her stomach. She had betrayed her friends by kissing him, and she could hardly look either one of them in the eyes anymore. Just Malfoy's mere presence was causing her to change, for what appeared to be, the worse. Snapping her planner shut and placing it back on her nightstand, she lied on her back with her head resting comfortably on the fluffy pillow. Sighing deeply, she allowed her mind wander to the forbidden places that terrorized her.

FLASHBACK

She was walking back to her dormitory after her very first encounter with Malfoy, her hand still delicately caressing her lips in a dazed manor. For a girl that could never stop thinking and calculating events and equations in her head, her mind was eerily empty. Not a thought crossed it as she climbed staircase after staircase up to the Gryffindor tower. She was numb, mentally and physically. But wait… no, she could feel something… her lips tingled and her arms ached from being held so tightly in his viselike grip. Neither one of these sensations were very reassuring to Hermione. In fact, they were only causing her to fear more because they were the only ones she could feel. Pain and pleasure coming together to create a title wave of conflicting emotion.

Pleasure… there is no such thing when it comes to Malfoy's. The two words should never be associated with each other. She thought once her head had cleared somewhat and she was back in her dorm, tucked snugly in to her bed.

As she fell asleep that night, she had no idea that the following days would be some of the worst she had experienced in a long time. For in the days to come, Malfoy would be doing everything he could to get another taste of that particular muggle born. Another kiss from Hermione. He wouldn't get it, for she wouldn't allow him to have the enjoyment of getting his every want and desire at the snap of a finger, however saying "no" to the Slytherin Prince was going to be more difficult than she could dream it to be.

END OF FLASHBACKISH THING

Hermione rolled on to her side to look at the clock on the wall of the dorm. It was 6:30. Dinner would be starting soon. She got up and entered the bathroom. Splashing some cool water on her cheeks to freshen herself up, she tied her hair back with an elastic hair band and walked downstairs. Harry and Ron were, to her great surprise, doing homework. On their own. Without her having to push them to do it. i Wow, perhaps they are finally growing up. /i She thought hopefully.

"Shall we go to dinner?" She proposed. The boys looked up with relieved grins and hunger written all of their faces. Ron practically leapt out of his seat and dropped his work, letting it fall carelessly to the floor.

"I couldn't think of anything better." He said with a goofy grin, and Hermione could guess that his mouth was watering at the thought of food. "How 'bout it Harry?"

"Sure." Harry agreed, he too getting up and leaving his work in an untidy pile on the couch. He headed out the portrait hole first, with Ron and Hermione close on his heals.

"May I escort you to dinner this evening Miss Granger?" Ron offered Hermione his arm in a very gentlemanlike voice. She did her best to crack a smile at him, and she looped her arm through his. Hermione saw a tinge of pink creep up around Ron's neck and his ears turned scarlet. She secretly wondered how he had gotten up the courage to put forth such a gesture, as he had always been utterly shy, but she looked at it as a personal achievement for him. Maybe he was maturing all by himself.

They proceeded to dinner and took at their usual seats at the long Gryffindor table. As Ron and Harry piled ludicrous amounts of food on to their plates, Hermione simply pushed around a few boiled potatoes.

"Ay arhn oo eahing Mioe?" Ron asked with his mouth gorged with half masticated food.

"Please do not speak with your mouth full Ronald. Your mother would be appalled, and I can't understand a word you are saying with it full to the brim like that." Hermione lectured. He finished chewing and swallowed.

"I said, why aren't you eating Mione." He clarified.

"Oh." She gave the minuscule pile of peas a poke. "I supposed I wasn't as hungry as I thought I am." She replied, trying not to sound troubled.

"Alright, well, are you going to finish that boiled potato?" Ron asked, greedily eyeing the seasoned spud. She shook her head bleakly, and handed her plate to him across the table. She sat staring blankly in to her goblet of pumpkin juice for five minutes while the boys ate, but after that, the discomfort was becoming too much for her to just sit still. He was looking at her. He wasn't just looking, but burning holes in to her with his harsh gaze. He was ruining her appetite, and causing her to squirm under his surveillance.

"I will see you two back in the common room. I'm going to see if the library has a new book in that I wanted." She glanced up at Malfoy briefly before getting up and leaving the table. Ron caught her arm and she was forced to turn and face him. His eyes looked desperate and pleading.

"But- but Mione I need to talk to you about… something. You know… alone. " He said. She pulled her arm back.

"I'm sorry Ron, I really need to go now, and I'm sure whatever it is can wait."

"But-"

"Bye!" She turned on her heal and sped off and out of the Great Hall.

"But I needed to ask you to Hogsmeade." He finished dejectedly, knowing she couldn't hear him.

"You'll see her later mate, don't worry." Harry reassured.

"Yeah." He hung his head low, and dug in to his roast beef.

Hermione had no need to turn around when she heard footsteps behind her. It was prearranged, this thing that was about to go down. No words were spoken about the meeting, where or when, but one look gave away all the fine details. Hermione walked down the chilly corridor to the trophy room. Opening the door, she stepped in and shut the door behind her. She stood with her arms crossed across her chest, and an unreadable expression set in stone on her face. A few seconds later, the door opened, he stepped in, and closed the door behind him just as she had. He looked at her and mimicked her by crossing his arms and setting his face.

Her foot began to tap, growing impatient with theses little meetings that seemed to be getting them nowhere.

"You made me loose my appetite Malfoy." She said tonelessly.

"That's no loss; you're wide enough as it is." He sneered. His remark threw her off, and she unfolded her arms to quickly look down at her body apprehensively. He chuckled at her self consciousness. Sure, she had grown curvy, but she had simply filled out, nothing that could ever be compared to obesity. She glared at him and huffed.

"So what did you call this little meeting for Granger? I haven't got all night."

"Oh is that so Malfoy? What better have you to do? Shag Pansy in the astronomy tower? Terrorize innocent first years?" She pretended to think hard. "No, no, I know now. You need to go stare at yourself in the mirror for a few hours to get in your nightly ego stroking." She narrowed her eyes at him as he glared menacingly at her. "You will have as long as it takes me to get what I want from you." She said strongly.

"Granger, I know you want to have your way with me, but unfortunately I have a little problem getting it up at the sight of something as ugly as you." He retorted.

"Malfoy, one day you will get yours, and you will deserve every bit of it."

"And you still don't deny it."

"Deny what?" Hermione demanded, getting fed up with his ridiculous smart-ass remarks.

"Deny the fact that you want me." He said with a confident smirk.

"I don't want you! I am repulsed by the sheer thought of intercourse with you!" She screamed in defense. He raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged.

"Whatever gets you off Granger." She gawked at him in shock at what he had just said.

"I do NOT touch myself!"

"Yeah, uh huh okay." He said in a disbelieving tone.

"I only wanted to ask you why you kissed me! I only wanted to know why you are afraid of me!" She screamed in frustration, finally getting to her original reason for luring him here.

"Why!" He asked, stepping closer so they were almost nose to nose. "You want to know why!"

"Yes! I do!"

"This is why!" He grabbed her face and pulled her into a rough kiss. He held her to him for a moment, and then pushed her away. "That is why! Don't tell me you didn't feel that Mudblood!"

She felt it. Oh boy did she feel it. What was that? It was so… strong. She though, baffled at the feeling that had ignited within her. It was hatred and lustful desire, and something else… something that kept drawing them to each other.

"I…" She tried to start, but could seem to find the words. It was Malfoy. Malfoy. The bloke who scared the living daylights out her in the corridor the other day. The one who had repeatedly tried to be smart and use reverse psychology on her to get her to fancy him. The one who wanted her to risk everything for him, while he kept her his dirty little secret. This wasn't allowed to happen. Not to her. Not with Malfoy, and not after the way he had treated her.

"You what?" He snapped. "What have you go me under Granger! What the in the bloody fucking hell did you do to me!" He yelled, gripping her shoulders.

"I don't have you under anything you insignificant prick. It's called a crush. Get over it, and move on." She attempted to walk past him and out the door, but he still held her shoulders.

"Why don't you just admit you have feelings for me?" He stared into her warm brown eyes with his own cold blue ones.

"I won't. I don't."

"Yes you do! I know you do!"

"No I don't!"

"Damnit Hermione!"

They were both quiet and avoidant of one another's gaze, yet they thought the same thing. He just used her first name.