I got the most amazingly sweet reviews last chapter (you know who you are!) so I am updating prompty. I also promise I will have the entire story posted by Sunday evening, January 8th (two more chapters after this one). You snarky little buggers are lucky too, as I should be doing Government homework right now, but no worries. I'll do it tomorrow morning before class. Must satisfy you wonderful readers! Enjoy, and keep those lovely reviews coming!

Chapter Ten: Nothing to Lose

There's something about you now
I can't quite figure out

Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right

Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

-"You and Me": Lifehouse

"Hermione?" came a gasp of a voice, and she spun around to see Ginny looking at her in surprise. The brunette smiled and swept her hands over herself.

"What do you think?" she asked, and the younger girl broke into a grin.

"It's fantastic! Really, Hermione, blue is definitely your color."

The night of the Halloween Ball.

Hermione was dressed early, putting the finishing touches of her costume on when Ginny came in, on schedule, to put on her Jean Grey costume in Hermione's room.

The Head Girl had decided to wear a "uniform" of Kitty's from her Excalibur days, a billowing sky blue tunic and pants (matching) that accented Hermione's feminine side, unlike the Gryffindor robes. She and Ginny had worked together a little bit on both of their costumes. Ginny had finally decided on the tight green outfit that Jean had worn in the late eighties comics. It complemented her flaming hair, and her fit body nicely.

Hermione helped her friend into the costume and they giggled a little, putting on a bit of makeup and making sure their hair would stay in full volume. The tangled mass of curls that Hermione had had been tamed slightly, but the character she was portraying didn't call for much change in the hair department. Neither did Ginny's. They got ready to go out and meet Harry and Ron.

It had taken awhile, but Hermione had convinced Ron that she wanted to go to the Ball on her own. He had insisted on walking with her "as a friend" though. Which was a load of crap, but she didn't fight it.

"Oh…my…god…" were the first words out of the astonished pseudo-Kitty's mouth. Ginny started laughing hysterically, before she rushed up to a handsome Harry in navy blue and pale yellow with a visor, giving him a tight hug and a little kiss.

Ron stood pitifully, and Hermione tried to stomp down her mirth, managing to choke out, "Did you think to ask for help? I would have gladly assisted you. Even though I told you not to attempt it!"

"Well…Harry lightened his hair slightly…and it worked fine…" Ron said miserably, and Hermione smiled, walking closer and giving him a sympathetic look.

The redhead certainly had black hair now.

Burnt black hair.

Well, it wasn't even truly black, as there were still some parts that were half red. Burnt red. Apparently a spell had gone awry. And everyone found it quite funny. Especially Ginny, and Hermione suspected her kiss to Harry had been brief not because of her lipstick, which was "unsmearable" because of a wonderful charm that Hermione had discovered three years ago, but because she couldn't stop laughing. Her date still looked fabulous, even with almost brown hair.

Ron was wearing silver and red, and Hermione shook her head. The shinning silver just made his hair look all the worse. And she was pretty sure he had lost part of an eyebrow. She sighed, and moved to the other side of the room to grab some papers she would need, tucking her wand in its special pouch she'd made.

"Sweet Merlin, Weasel! Did you get turned down by a dragon?" came a sneering voice and Hermione rolled her eyes without even turning around. She could faintly hear both Ron and Harry griping back at Malfoy, and she slowly straightened up.

There was a sudden silence and Hermione was about to ask who killed who when she heard a low whistle.

"Well well, Granger. Mind turning around so I can make sure it's really you in that amazing attire?"

She obeyed dazedly, and was met with darkened grey eyes that were a mere three yards away. It took her a moment to take in his entire costume.

He was breathtaking.

Wearing a white dress shirt with black tie and blazer-like coat that went almost to his knees with matching dress pants, he had managed to do what Ron had failed at.

Dye his hair black.

And it was the sexiest thing Hermione had ever seen.

She looked him up and down a couple times before someone cleared their throat. Glancing up, she saw Harry glaring at Malfoy, Ginny grinning at her, and Ron giving her a baffled expression.

"So…Malfoy," said Ginny conversationally, "You seem to have changed your hair color perfectly."

"Yes. Without eyebrow loss…" murmured Draco, though he wasn't really listening. He was staring at the vision in front of him. She looked fantastic. Almost edible.

He tried very hard to curb his appetite. Two of his enemies were in the room, and it wouldn't do to shag their best friend in front of them. Especially if Draco wanted to keep his life…or balls.

"Hermione, are you ready to go?" asked Harry flatly. The girl looked at him in confusion, shaking herself slightly before she pasted a smile on her face.

"Oh, yeah! Sure, sorry!" she said with fake cheerfulness. Ginny sighed, and pulled Harry's arm sharply towards the exit. Ron lingered, waiting for Hermione to join him. Malfoy caught her arm as she passed and leaned over, whispering in her ear.

"You better save me a dance…"

She didn't even stop to ask him how the hell that would look before Ron snatched her arm and dragged her out of the room, glaring heatedly at the now black-haired Malfoy.

Draco and Hermione kept their gazes locked until the painting slammed shut behind the brunette. Then she shook herself, pulled away from Ron, and rushed to catch up to Ginny. Ron was about to hurry after them when a voice stopped him.

"Well, partially redheaded suitor of our Head Girl."

Turning, Ronald Weasley saw Apollo standing, arms crossed, a frown on his face.

"Have you figured out your position yet?" asked Apollo, his eyes narrowed in strange agression. Ron blinked, perplexed.

"Excuse me?"

"The current affections of Miss Granger, and who they belong to?"

"Oh, and who's that?"

Apollo didn't get to answer as the painting swung open sharply and Draco climbed out gracefully, giving Ron an annoyed look before continuing on after Hermione. The redhead paused a moment, waiting for Apollo to finish, but the moment had been lost and Apollo flatly refused to say anything more, and Ron was forced to also make his way to the Great Hall.

Hermione walked into the Great Hall, which had been transformed into a black and white expanse of a dance floor, a corner for refreshments and a stage up front for the band. Cute little café-like tables were scattered around the edges and the Head Girl surveyed it all with a critical eye. Her group of friends had already picked out a table, and were gathering four chairs for them to sit at.

"Nice job, Granger." said a voice in her ear. She turned her head slightly to smile amiably at Draco.

"Oh, but Malfoy, this was all your doing. After all, you're so much better at decorating than me."

"I think we should make a visit to my bedroom to test that theory. Right now." He replied heatedly, his mouth by her ear and she shivered.

"Come on, Hermione, let's go dance…" Ginny said sweetly, grabbing the girl's arm and looking at Malfoy warily. "Careful, Malfoy, you're not in the best place for showing that stuff…" she murmured, and glanced back at Harry and Ron. Harry was glaring at Draco, in between saying something to Ron, who was blinking and shaking his head, then glancing at the natural blonde with suspicion.

"Weaselette, let me tell you something. I'm really tired of pretending. And Halloween is a night for lifting veils…right, Hermione?" he asked quietly, looking at her intensely. She gulped slightly.

"I don't know…if…" She paused and then whispered, "I'm scared…"

"If they're really your friends, they'll understand that it's your choice." He responded, perceiving her fears instantly. Ginny looked between the two with surprise.

"Wow…you two…I'm jealous…." She said in reference of them percieving each other's emotions, before she glanced at her date again and how angry he was becoming. Then she tugged on Hermione's arm, saying loudly, "You can talk about Heads' stuff later Hermione, just enjoy the Ball!" Then she pulled the blue costumed girl away, with an apologetic look to Malfoy.

Hermione never knew that "girl dancing" could be so fun. Luna, Parvati, Lavender, and a couple others joined her and Ginny in a large group dancing that had pretty much the entire room's population of males watching them.

As a slower song came on, most of them dropped out to go dance with their dates, until it was just Luna and Hermione. Then, amazingly, Luna's date, Neville, came over. He stood, scuffing his feet a bit.

"Um…Luna…would you, um, like to dance?" The blonde broke into a dreamy smile and nodded.

"Oh yes, I would love to!"

It was sweet, as Neville had been coerced by Harry, Ron, and Seamus into dressing as Warren Worthington, aka Arch Angel. Luna was dressed as the blonde Paige Guthrie (Husk), and the two were a cute couple, even though they weren't the best dancers.

"Hello, Miss Pryde. Mind if I dance with you?"

Hermione blinked at the blue costumed male in front of her, before she smiled slightly.

"Sure Dean. I'm impressed you knew who I was."

He put his hands on her waist and she loosely rested hers on his shoulders as they started to revolve in place.

"Of course I know. I am the X-men freak of Hogwarts. And I would recognize Kitty Pryde anywhere. Know who I am?"

She looked over the electric blue costume with a large white circle in the center of his chest.

"Hmmm…I'm going to have to say…Havok?"

"Wow! We'll make an X-freak out of you yet!" He said, laughing gleefully. Hermione smiled back. "You did a very nice job with turning the Great Hall into a Ballroom..."

"Thank you, it wasn't all me, actually." She said, giggling, "I mean, the Head Boy helped too."

"Malfoy?"

"Yes."

"Right…how is your relationship with him?" he asked, his eyes piercing. Hermione blinked, but answered,

"He isn't really that bad. We have a sort of truce, since we share dorms and have to work together."

"Uh huh…" Dean responded, disapprovingly. Hermione shook her head.

"It isn't like it's a sin for Gryffindors to be friends with Slytherins."

"Oh, I said nothing about that." Dean said, his voice clipped.

"Hey, Dean, boy, mind if I cut in?" asked a voice, and they looked over at Blaise Zabini, dressed as Remy LeBeau (Gambit), complete with the brown trench coat. Dean frowned at the taller man, but sighed, shrugging at Hermione who nodded that it was okay with her. Blaise watched Dean with narrow eyes before he put his arms slowly around the girl's waist and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"So…going to behave yourself?"

"Of course. I don't fancy losing my life…or anything else."

"Then why are you dancing with me?"

"Well, besides the fact that you are one of the few girls that will let me dance with her, I still need to talk to you." He said, waggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"I see." Hermione said stiffly. She glanced around quickly, and saw that Ginny was speaking angrily to Dean, Harry making his way over to defend his girlfriend. Ron was at the refreshment table with a couple of the Gryffindor Quiddich team members. In the corner by Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and some other Slytherins, Malfoy was watching her carefully, his expression dark.

"He's been watching you all night." said Zabini, catching her attention. She looked back at him.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. He was about ready to kill Dean. If you want to know another reason as to why I'm dancing with you, it's to show him that Slytherins dancing with Gryffindors isn't that big of a deal. No one really cares that I'm dancing with you. Except maybe that redheaded idiot of yours. But he doesn't count. And Malfoy. But let's remember how possessive he is."

"It would be different with Malfoy. He's Harry worst enemy." explained Hermione with some exasperation.

"No he isn't."

"What?"

"The Dark Lord is Potter's worst enemy. And he needs to learn that." Zabini said insistently, looking hard at Hermione, "If he's going to fight the Dark Lord properly." He continued seriously, before he grinned, "Especially if his best friend is going to be shagging Malfoy"

"Harry will do fine. And I am not shagging him!" she hissed, but Blaise just smirked. "Anyway, Ron and Harry will kill Draco if he attempts to do anything!"

"I don't think they really could…" murmured Blaise, before leaning down towards her. His lips were about to brush hers when there was a loud crack, and Zabini staggered back, holding his face. "Dammit!" he cursed, "I didn't think it was that bad!"

"Are you okay!" said Hermione urgently, as a crowd started to gather.

"What did you do, 'Mione?" asked Ron, appearing at her side.

"I-I…didn't do anything." said Hermione unsurely. Had she done something?

"Zabini was trying to put the moves on Hermione…" said Harry darkly, "She was just defending herself, weren't you?" He asked, stepping closer and glaring at Blaise furiously.

"Zabini, what's wrong? What did I do?" asked Hermione, stepping closer, and reaching out to move his hand so she could see his face. "Let me see. We'll have to get you to the Hospital Wing, come on." She said insistently, grabbing his arm instead and dragging him out of the room, and towards Madame Pomfrey's wing of the school.

"Blaise…" she whispered, stopping for second outside of the Hospital Wing's doors. "Please tell me what happened."

"Malfoy's…spell thing…I didn't realize…" he murmured, one hand still over his mouth.

"You mean the binding spell? How do you know about that?"

"I am a friend of the family…" he said, hurt, "Of course I know some things. I'm surprised Draco didn't realize earlier what was going on. I realized it when he appeared out of nowhere when Pansy grabbed you. Knowing when you're in trouble in one of the…perks." Then he pointed miserably at his face with his free hand, "This is one of them too."

"What?"

"The inability to cheat on him. Well, the Malfoy's would never want to hurt their own girl, so the male attempting to make the moves gets…" He paused and sighed, moving his hand out of the way.

"Oh…my…" gasped Hermione.

His lips were swollen and black. They looked awful. He sighed.

"Yeah, well, now you know. Don't try to kiss Weasley or anything. Unless you want this to happen to him. "Oh…and when you 'cheat' on him, there's a side effect. That's what I was trying to trigger. Have fun, Hermione" He finished with a chuckle, turning and started to go into the wing. Then he stopped and closed his eyes a moment, his face turning grave as he murmured,

"Hermione. Be very careful. Some you trust, you shouldn't, and some you don't, you should. This dance isn't going to end well. And not just because of you and Draco. Make sure you're prepared." He finished cryptically, before disappearing through the door.

She stood a moment in utter shock. Then she turned slowly, and started back to the Great Hall.

Confusion was certainly her main emotion at the moment. What side effect? And did Zabini just call her Hermione? And tell her to "have fun"? Before some damn enigmatic warning. That didn't comfort her at all.

If Blaise Zabini was telling her to have fun before an odd warning, she would bet he wasn't just talking about dancing. She stopped in front of the doors to the Great Hall, leaning again a wall for a moment and sighing, closing her eyes.

"Hermione…" came a low voice. Her eyes snapped open to see Draco looking at her, his eyes almost black. She stared at him, slightly worried.

"Draco? Are you…oka-" He interrupted her by grabbing her around the waist, pulling her close quickly, and kissing her passionately. She stumbled slightly as he moved her back against the wall, still kissing her desperately and it was a moment before she finally managed to break away. "Draco! What is wrong with you?"

"Don't…go near Blaise again…" he growled at her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know he was going to do that…" she whispered, her hand coming up to gently touch his face. His eyes fluttered closed and he nuzzled her like a kitten.

"It was…terrible…" He muttered hoarsely.

"What was?"

"When Dean started dancing with you, there was this burning sensation and an incredible urge to just…kill him. Blaise just increased it when he started dancing with you too…Then…" He shook his head, leaning down to kiss her again. But she put her other hand up and stopped him.

"No, Draco. Tell me. What happened?" she demanded softly.

"When he tried…to…kiss you, something just…exploded. I don't know…then everyone was crowding around you and I was scared that something had hurt you. It was horrible…" He said wretchedly and Hermione murmured comfortingly, brushing a hand through his hair. "It was strange. But when you left with Blaise, all I felt was that I had to get to you and show you…" He trailed off, grabbing her hand and moving it out of his way, his lips meeting her's again. A surge of passion jolted through Hermione and she moved closer, kissing back ardently. His hands slid down to grasp her hips and pull her against him while her's slipped behind his head. After a couple moments, his hands starting wandering up her blouse, heading for the buttons on the front. Hermione made no move to stop him as he fumbled with the first couple buttons, exposing the tops of her breasts.

"Hermione?" said someone, with some amusement, "I'm pretty sure you can't do that in the hallway."

They moved apart guiltily to see Ginny Weasley looking at them with enjoyment.

"I volunteered to look for you, Hermione, as I figured something like this might be going on. Didn't think you'd want Harry or Ron to catch you like this. Don't you think stuff like that is more appropriate for you shared bedroom?" she asked wickedly. Hermione frowned.

"We weren't doing anything like that." She said firmly. Ginny shrugged easily.

"Not yet, true. But you were definitely heading there. And now, Hermione, you have to get back into the Ballroom. Otherwise, Harry and Ron will come out and see this."

Slowly, and regretfully, Hermione disentangled herself from Draco, giving him a tender kiss in the process. Before she disappeared with Ginny, he whispered in her ear while buttoning her shirt back up quickly.

"Don't dance with any other guys. The next one is mine. And any after that…" He said harshly, and Hermione nodded at him, her eyes wide.

Once they entered, Ginny immediately dragged Hermione onto the dance floor. This time a new face was in their midst.

"Tonks!" exclaimed Hermione in surprise, looking the teacher's costume up and down. "Wow…"

"What do you think?" she asked, smiling widely. The young adult was dressed as Emma Frost, aka The White Queen.

An incredibly snow white short miniskirt clung to Tonks' slim hips as a matching halter top stopped just above her belly button. A fluffy white fur coat topped off the ensemble. And Tonks had managed to shift her short hair white-blonde, apparently deciding to not make it the long waves Miss Frost normally had. Ginny shrieked, grinning,

"Great Merlin, Tonks, you look fabulous!"

"Thank you Ginny. So do you. Actually, all you girls look awesome. Bet you'll need my self-defense tips to keep the men at bay…unless, of course, that's what you want." She finished, smirking. Hermione blushed guiltily, along with a couple other girls. Ginny just laughed uproariously, and started dancing to the fast-paced music. Soon everyone else joined in, including the Self-Defense teacher.

"Good job, Mr. Malfoy. The theme is interesting as well!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, from a wheelchair. He had come to the dance as the famous Professor Xavier.

Malfoy blinked at the older man, who was wearing a normal suit. A couple other people were pointing and murmuring. Apparently no one had ever seen the Headmaster in muggle clothes before. Or in a wheelchair.

"Thank you, Headmaster. But the theme was Hermi-Granger's idea." Draco explained hurriedly. Dumbledore smiled knowingly.

"Ah, of course. Miss Granger. I should have known. How are you and her getting along?"

"Just fine." answered the Slytherin uncomfortably. Dumbledore looked at him silently for a moment, then nodded, wheeling away towards a group of teachers. Hagrid, who had attempted to turn himself blue (with only a little more success than Ron) as Beast, greeted the Headmaster eagerly, and Snape looked down grimly at Dumbledore. The Potions Master was dressed in maroon and silver, with a helmet on, as Magneto.

Everyone suspected that Dumbledore had made him.

"Look at the stupid mudblood." hissed Pansy, bringing Malfoy back to reality. He glanced over at Hermione quickly, but only saw her dancing with a group of girls. That appeared to…include Tonks.

"Huh. A teacher dancing with students. That's a first…" said Draco, not bothering to snap at Pansy for the 'mudblood' comment. She would just bitch-bitch-bitch anyway.

He deemed this a stupid decision, as Pansy grabbed his arm tightly, and batted her eyelashes at him. She was dressed as Lorna Dane, aka Polaris, and had successfully dyed her hair green, though it didn't improve her looks. Wearing the bright purple costume that the metal-wielding mutant wore, she looked rather gaudy, and Malfoy tried to shrug her off.

"Dance with me, Draco…pleeeeease."

"I don't think so Pansy. Dance with Crabbe or Goyle." The two least intelligent members of Hogwarts were dressed as the Blob, and a rather overweight Toad, appropriately.

"Oh, but they can't dance at all…" she whined.

"Neither can you." clipped Draco, with severe annoyance. She took a step back, giving Draco an offended look.

"That stupid mudblood has made you into a nasty bastard!" she exclaimed. Malfoy frowned, turning to give her a dark look.

"Pansy. First of all, if you call her a mudblood again, you will most likely end up in St. Mungo's…and secondly, I've always been nasty to you, you just seem to have noticed it for the first time. Which is interesting…" He murmured, his eyes searching hers. She glared at him.

"Don't try to turn this around on me Draco Malfoy! I will tell your mother that-"

"Don't you dare speak to my mother. Ever." hissed Draco, before he turned sharply and walked towards the dance floor. He didn't see the significant look Pansy gave Crabbe and Goyle, and they nodded, disappearing.

"Um…" said Ginny, grabbing Hermione and spinning slightly so the brunette had a view of the currently raven haired Malfoy walking purposefully towards them. "What are you going to do? You can't dance with him!" she whispered insistently. "As much as I think you two are cute, I know that Harry and Ron will kill him before you have any chance to explain!"

Hermione shook her head, and smiled faintly.

"Harry and Ron are going to have to learn to not be such gits at some point. Plus, I'm tired of hiding this…" she started to pull away from Ginny, to go over to Draco when a student in a cerulean blue suit with swept back silver hair appeared in front of 'Kitty'.

"Hello there lovely Head Girl. May I dance with you?" asked Seamus, dressed as Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver. Hermione was about to brush him off when Ginny interrupted.

"Hermione would love to dance with you." She said, pushing Hermione into Seamus' arms, and disappearing. Hermione frowned and was about to apologize and move away, when Seamus slipped his arms around her waist and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Hermione. I know you don't really want to dance. But uh…I just need to dance with one girl before I get the courage up to ask…uh…someone." He didn't specify further and Hermione sighed, resting her hands gently on his shoulders and starting to rotate slowly.

She cut her eyes over to Draco, to try and tell him that this was only a quick "girl-help" dance, but saw that "Mr. Wisdom" was dancing with none other than Tonks. Ginny was nearby, looking pleased with herself, before she went to convince Harry to dance with her again.

"So, Mr. Malfoy, why didn't you join my class?" asked Tonks with some amusement. The student dancing with her was uncomfortable, but too polite to turn her down or even dance badly.

"What class is that?" he asked, with some boredom.

"Self-defense. I'm certain you know of it. Your roommate, Miss Granger, is in it."

"Oh, yeah, I think she made some reference to it at some point." He muttered, his eyes fixed on some point past Tonks' shoulder. As they turned a bit, she looked over to see that his gaze was on the girl of their conversation. The white clad teacher grinned wickedly.

"Well, you seem to be very interested in either Mr. Finnigan or…Miss Granger." She watched his expression turn sour as he sneaked a glance at Tonks.

"What?" he asked, a little harshly, "I think you're mistaken…"

"I'm rarely mistaken, but whatever you want to think." said Tonks graciously, "And Miss Weasely is quite the gossip, so I doubt you can hide it for much longer. Threats won't work on her." She continued seriously. Draco looked back at Hermione, then at Tonks.

"I don't want to put anyone in danger."

"You were all ready to reveal it at the dance, weren't you? I believe you were on your way to dance with her when I snagged you."

"I know, I was….I want to…but, I don't want to put Hermione in any danger. With her friends, my family, any Slytherins or Gryffindors. Voldemort…" He whispered. He wasn't sure why the sudden change, but a tiny part of his brain said it could be the emotional link with Hermione, and that she was a bit fearful of him revealing everything. It had been...transfered to him or something.

"Well, her friends are not going to cause her any harm, your family should know better, and I've seen how you control the Slytherins. And the Gryffindors would never hurt one of their own. As for Voldemort…she's already in danger with him. She is one of the three closest people to Harry Potter. I would say you should worry more for your own safety. But I would think you would be strong enough to defend yourself."

"Of course I am!"

"Then I don't see what the problem is. Looks like Mr. Finnigan is about done. Why don't you get your butt over there and dance with the Head Girl." said Tonks firmly, stepping back and making a shooing motion. "Plus, I have to dance with my actual date at some point." She said, grinning at someone over Draco's shoulder. Turning, he saw none other than Reamus Lupin, dressed as…well, only the most famous member of X-men.

Wolverine.

"Well, well, Tonks, do I finally get to dance with you, eh?" he asked slyly, with a badly immitated Canadian accent. He gave Malfoy a wink.

"Hmmm…I dunno. I've having a wonderful time with Mr. Malfoy here." She said coyly, and Malfoy wrinkled his nose, stepping away from the flirting couple silently, as they laughed and started dancing.

He wondered how the former DADA teacher had been allowed in the school with all the fears of…his kind. Actually, both him and Tonks being at Hogwarts was rather strange. Even if one was a teacher. It had been a long time since Dumbledore had allowed an entirely new class to be formed.

Something strange was definitely going on.

Hermione was now standing over by the refreshment table with Ron, which severely displeased Draco. He would bet the Weasel was trying to get her to dance, and she was refusing. After a minute, he caught her eye and motioned to her and she smiled, saying something to Ron and walking over to him.

"Are you sure…" she started, questioningly. Draco smiled at her affectionately.

"Definitely." He whispered, grabbing her around the waist gently. Her arms moved around his neck and she smiled at him unsurely

"Okay. I trust you." She murmured softly, her head falling on his chest.

As if on cue, an extremely slow started and Draco glanced over at the stage, where Dumbledore had just whispered into one of the Weird Sisters' ear. He caught Draco's eye and winked, before wheeling back to the group of teachers.

A great many couples came onto the dance floor, and Draco and Hermione were lost among the countless faces, dancing together unnoticed.

Hermione's fingers swept through the ends of Draco's hair, as she looked up at him and smiled.

"You know, black really looks pretty good on you…" she mumbled, and he smirked at her.

"Yeah, the charm is going to wear off in an hour or two. Although…I think you would look pretty good on me too…"

"Draco!" she exclaimed, smacking him lightly. He grinned.

"Well, that was less of a reaction than last time. I'm slowly getting closer to shagging the unshaggable Hermione Granger."

"Oh, so I'm a conquest?" she asked sweetly, a low dangerous edge to her tone. He leaned down, nuzzling her lightly.

"And so much more." He muttered, before kissing her. They stopped turning and Hermione tightened her grip around his neck, moving her hands up slightly so they got tangled in his dyed hair. His arms closed around her waist, pulling her to him roughly.

They thoroughly explored each other's mouths during this until there was a cough from their left. Draco rolled his eyes, wondering who the hell it was, and when the pair broke apart, they saw that it was none other than Harry Potter with Ginny trying to steer him away.

"Hermione, may I ask as to what the bloody hell is going on?" he demanded, and Ginny sighed heavily. Draco frowned, but it was Hermione who answered, her voice hard.

"Harry, I didn't realize I had to report to you like the very Minister of Magic. I apologize Harry." She said, her tone dripping with sarcasm, "This is Draco Malfoy. Draco, this is Harry Potter. Draco and I have been having…a sort of relationship…" she finished. Ginny gaped at her, while Harry raised an eyebrow. Draco smirked. She was acting a little bit Slytherin-ish. What a turn on.

"Hermione, you don't have to report to me, but I would think you would tell me if you were…snogging Malfoy." Harry said unhappily.

"Oh. Well, Harry, I am snogging Draco. There. I told you." She said, smiling brightly, "Are you going to stop being such an insufferable git?"

Oh yes, most definitely a bit of Slytherin edge there, thought Draco. He wondered if the bond was doing this. Or Hermione could just be tired of her overprotective friends. Either way, he was finding it quite hard to keep his hands, and mouth, off her.

"Hermione, I-" began the famous Gryffindor.

"Harry, I think you should just let it go. Hermione can take care of herself. And have you seen the way they look at each other?" asked Ginny, her voice soft. Harry glanced at her, about to say something but she raised her hand. "I have. I've seen how much they are head over heels for each other." She said, smiling at the pair. "I wouldn't want someone to try and prevent our happiness, so why should we prevent theirs?" She asked, looking at Harry questioningly. He blinked, swallowing, as he recognized Ginny's "I'm right, dammit, so acknowledge it!" look. Then he glanced back at Draco and his expression darkening severely. He took a menacing step forward.

"Ginny may say she's seen the way you look at Hermione now, but I saw how you used to look at her. And I heard what you called her." He said, and Malfoy's hand started drifting towards his wand nervously. "So, let me tell you something. If you ever do anything wrong, I will not hesitate to use an Unforgivable on you. And remember how you complain about me getting special treatment? Well, this time you'll be right. Because no one will question the great Harry Potter torturing a future Death Eater." growled Harry, before he took a step back and relaxed slightly. Hermione gasped, frowning at him.

"Harry! Don't say such things!"

"I mean every word, Hermione." He said shortly, "Him suddenly searching for important things down your throat is rather suspicious after all the years of calling you nasty names and giving you nasty looks. And after his Death Eater father dies? It seems like a political ploy to me. But I'll let you make your own mistakes, Hermione. Just know that if he hurts you, he'll get it back ten-fold. Oh, and Hermione, you better be talking to Ron pretty soon." finished the boy-who-lived before gently leading Ginny away to the refreshment table. Hermione took a shuddering breath, and Draco looked at her worriedly.

"Do you need to sit down?" He asked, "If Potter really upset you that much-"

"No, no, actually, he was nicer than I thought he would be. But…he's right, I do need to talk to Ron…" she said distractedly, glancing around for the burnt-black hair.

"Hermione, seriously, please come sit down for a minute." interjected Draco, looking at her trembling form anxiously. She nodded and let him lead her to a table, and seat her. Then she sighed heavily and looked at him with a half-smile.

"Well, there. We got past Harry. Now we just have to deal with Ron…"

And as if on cue:

"There you are, you arrogant bastard!" cried Ron angrily at Malfoy, wand out and pointed at him. "You get away from her right now!"

"Ron, shh, just lower the wand…" murmured Hermione, standing and walking forward. Draco was immediately on his feet, and grabbed Hermione around the waist, pulling her back.

"Don't go near him. Remember the last time you tried to stop him, he almost hexed you!" Draco said, his eyes trained on Ron, eyebrows furrowed.

"You let go of her right now, Malfoy! Don't you grab her like you should be protecting her!"

"Ron…please, just listen to me…I think we need to talk. Come on, we'll go outside…" she whispered, struggling out of Draco's arms and reaching out for Ron. He let her force his wand down and take his arm, leading him out of the room. Malfoy clenched his fists tightly to prevent himself from dashing after the two.

He knew Hermione needed to explain everything to Weasely by herself. And he also knew she wasn't in any danger with the stupid git. He would just have to exercise something he was never good at.

Patience.

Voila! Only two chapters left! And the last two are the most exciting. Anyone have a prediction on what's going to happen? I've hinted at it, very slightly. I don't want it to be too obvious.

I'm sure most of the girls reading this understand "girl dancing", right? If you don't, you should definitely try it! And any guys reading this (though I'm sure there are few), remember to just let those girls have their alone time occasionally during dances! Don't worry, the slow ones are for you!