"And five, six, seven, eight, ONE, two, THREE, four… Hermione keep that head up! Your feet will do as they are told, stop looking at them. Draco lower that hand! Yes, that's better, thank you."

Rebecca walked around the room with her eyes glued to them scrutinizing their every move. One hour had quickly turned into two, and then three, and now both Draco and Hermione had sweat rolling down their backs and their muscles were tired, but still strong. Rebecca knew this, she knew just how hard to push them. They had a little more left in them for the day, and she wanted every ounce of energy they had.

"If you push yourself to your limit everyday, it never gets easier, but you get stronger. You become better, faster, more articulate and you learn to i not b make u mistakes /b /u /i , Hermione that's too much weight on your heels." Hermione shifted the weight off of her heels and on to the balls of her feet where it was supposed to be. "I know you're tired, but we are not finished yet. I expect you to get better and better the harder and longer we practice. Do not start to slack off. I don't care how well you did or didn't sleep last night, or if you classes were stressful today. At the end of this hour you will probably hate me, but you two have missed every class since the beginning of winter. You were supposed to practice on your own, and I can tell you didn't. Not enough anyways."

"Rebecca we just didn't have the time-" Hermione began.

"I don't want you to talk, I want you to listen and dance." She said sternly. "I can make you the best dancer you can be, but I need you to work with me and listen to me." Rebecca circled them like a hungry shark. "On my count please." Draco and Hermione stopped the rock step they had been doing, and reset themselves. "Heads up. You are looking no where but straight ahead of you. Keep your faces away from each other. Put that power into your arms, we are not limp spaghetti, we have muscle. I don't want any slip ups this time. You are my most advanced dancers, you should know all of this by now." Hermione chose a spot on the wall and stared at it, as did Draco. Hermione and Draco hadn't spoken to each other at all during practice, but that was mostly because Rebecca was drilling them so hard.

"El Paseo! (the stroll) and ONE, two, THREE, four, ONE, two, THREE, four. La Caza! (the chase)…" Rebecca called out orders, or more like barked them, and the pair did the best they could do to keep up with her instructions until finally at seven o'clock when Hermione broke away from Draco and flopped down on the floor.

"No, I'm done. I'm sweating like a pig, I can feel my pulse in my toes, and if we hurry we can still catch the end of dinner. Rebecca, I'll see you tomorrow." Hermione said, exhausted from four hours of hard core practice from 'Drill Sergeant Rebecca'. Picking herself up off the floor, she made her way to the door, pulling off her shoes as she went. Just as she was about to leave, Rebecca called her back.

"Don't worry, I'm not making you stay any longer, I just wanted you to know, I think Cairo is a great idea. You should definitely take it." Rebecca said, smiling. i Sweet Merlin, how did everybody find out about that? /i Hermione wondered. She nodded to Rebecca and left the studio. It wasn't until she was almost all the way down the corridor when she realized there were footsteps behind her. She twisted her neck to see who it was, too tired to actually put effort into turning around all the way. It was Draco, catching up to her with his long strides. He caught up to her and they walked side by side down the wide corridor.

"So…" Draco started.

"So…" Hermione repeated.

"What is this Cairo thing everyone is talking about? Are you going there on holiday?" He asked.

"Umm," Hermione tried to think of a way to stall so she wouldn't have to tell him. At least not right now. "No, I'm not going there on holiday. You know what, why don't we talk about this later?" she suggested hopefully. Draco just shrugged nonchalantly and kept on walking.

One week passed, and then two. For Draco and Hermione, everything was a routine, run like a well oiled machine. Get up, eat breakfast, go to classes, have lunch, more classes, dance practice until seven, dinner, then quiet time in the common room until bed at ten. Even the time spent in the common room was routine. Draco would complain about being too stuffed to move from all the food he ate at dinner, and Hermione would pretend not to hear him while she finished whatever homework she had. Once she was done with homework, she would write up notes for the next prefect meeting, and then review the dance moves (on paper, of course). While she was doing all this, Draco would fall asleep on the couch for ten minutes, and then wake up with enough time to finish one more chapter in his book of Quidditch plays. Before going up to bed, Hermione would kiss Draco on the cheek and say good night, and then retire to her own bed alone.

They both hated the uncomfortably predictable schedule that had somehow wormed its way into their lives, yet it was all they could seem to handle for the time being. Hermione still wore her ring, and Draco still wished Hermione would go to bed with him every night. They rarely spoke, unless it was to discuss the choreography of their dance or to say good night, and it seemed that both parties had accepted the fact that they were becoming boring, workaholics. However, that didn't mean they liked that fact.

i When the performance is over… /i Hermione told herself. i When it's over, it wont be like this. /i

i Sweet Merlin, how much longer does it have to be like this? /i Draco asked himself. i I cant take much more of this! I haven't gotten shagged in… /i He tried to count the days. i Well, too long! /i

It was Saturday evening; the big show would be exactly one week from today on the 19th of February. Rebecca had shown no mercy in practice today, and Hermione was soaking her sore muscles in the bathtub. She rested her head back on the rolled up towel she was using as a bath pillow, and closed her eyes letting her mind slip away. She thought of Draco's touch, trying to remember what if felt like to be touched by him in a non-dancing way. The way he used to before her letter came and she clammed up, before he got unbearably grouchy. She tried to picture his lips on hers, and every detail of the last time they had made love to each other.

She laid in the warm bath until all of her bubbles had popped and the water started to cool. Slowly standing up, she carefully stepped out and wrapped a large fluffy towel around her body. She reached for the door leading into her room, but she discovered a tiny problem. Her door was locked from the outside, and her wand was in her robes which were, unfortunately, in her room. Turning around, she looked at Draco's door and chewed her bottom lip. Wishing there was another way, but knowing that there wasn't, she advanced to his door and quietly turned the doorknob. Tentatively she stuck her head around the door and saw Draco asleep soundly in his bed. She slipped through the door and closed it gently behind her, not wanting to wake him. It would be a little difficult to explain why she was standing in front of his bed dripping wet wearing nothing but a towel. i I must be very… /i She tiptoed across his floor towards the door leading out to the hallway, but didn't see Draco's broom lying inconspicuously on the ground. She tripped on the now obtrusive object, and crashed to the floor. i Quiet. /i Jumping up as quickly as she could and clutching her bath towel to her body to keep it from slipping, she tried to leave, but as she reached for the handle, the lights flew on.

"Hermione?" Draco asked, very confused. i Maybe she's here for a shag… /i He thought hopefully. "What are you doing?"

"Uhhh… my door, it was locked, so I had to use yours but then I fell." She said a little louder than necessary.

"That's okay. Are you alright?" He asked.

"Oh I'm fine! I'll just be going now…"

"Hermione."

She turned back towards him. "Yes?" He stared at her intently for a moment.

"Stay."

"But I'm not dressed and I'm soaking w…" She protested.

"Just stay." He insisted. She looked at him for a minute, wishing she could read his mind. Without saying a word she walked over to his dresser and pulled out one of his shirts. She slipped it over her head, and dropped the towel letting it fall to the ground. Crawling under the covers that Draco was holding up for her, Hermione settled herself onto her side, away from Draco. He pulled her closer so that their contours fit together perfectly and they could both feel the electric heat between their bodies, despite Hermione's dampness. Hermione turned around to her other side so that she could look at him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. His hand reached out from under the blanket and cupped her chin, drawing her face closer. Draco pressed his lips against hers tenderly. All their love and compassion was poured into that kiss, every bit of their souls. Hermione knew then that there was no way she could leave this man, not for the world. It was their new beginning, a chance to do everything over again. The flood gates were open and the emotions had come rushing through, not that either one minded. As their clothes fell away, they gave all of themselves to the darkness that surrounded them, and to each other.