How the hell did I fuck up so badly? Aren't I the one who watches as others screw up and laugh? Not the one doing the screwing up. Draco had been like a zombie after that eventful meeting with Hermione yesterday. From now on, he hated Tuesdays.

Draco watched as Hermione walked out of that hall. All he remembered after that, was going to the nearest shadow, and appearing back in his room.

He didn't eat.

He didn't sleep.

Hell, he didn't move.

He just sat on his bed, staring at the same point in the wall for hours on end.

He only got the strength to move, the next morning. Now out of shock as it were, he showered in ice cold water, dressed into clean black robes, and ate his breakfast. He didn't go down to the hall for that, he always ate in his room…but he used to go down the stairs to the great hall anyway, just to see Hermione…

Once dressed he looked in the mirror at himself. He covered his face and fastened his mask behind his neck, leather and black. The red lenses shone, with a light that no longer glowed in his own eyes. His Snape like robes had leather black gloves, and biker boots with the robes at the back being longer, to hide his tail. He had that wrapped with a glamour charmed sleeve, so no one who hadn't already seen it, could see it. And no one had seen it, other than the mediwitch and Dumbledore.

Or so he thought.

He picked up his back, waved his hand until it was filled with all he needed, and walked through the shadows by his bed. He arrived outside the DADA classroom, and saw the cue of other students to get inside.

And there she was.

Hermione.

Ron looked smug about something, and Harry was talking to her happily. Hermione however, did not look so pleased. She seemed to be lifeless, her face blank and her eyes empty. Did she feel the same as he did? Did she wish she could use a time turner, and take back all she said too? He knew he sure did.

He walked into the cue, and was stopped from making a bee line to Hermione, by the 'chick patrol' as he called them.

"Hay Draco." It was Lavender. She, Pansy, and Parvati all swarmed around him, and he growled under his breath. "So, we thought how you are still quite new here, and I thought maybe we got off on the wrong foot."

"We didn't get off at all. And we never will. Now move." He tried to get away, as he saw Hermione was watching him being haggled by the 'pretty grils', and didn't like the frown on her face.

"Well, we could be friends if you wanted." Pansy joined in. "I mean, we are all planning to go to Hogsmede this weekend, with Harry and Ron, and Seamus too. Come on, it will be fun."

"I said no." he pushed forward, but they stood in his way.

"But."

"I said NO!" he roared, and everyone, and I mean everyone backed away from him. Draco's eyes were locked with Hermione's, and she closed them, and turned away. It broke his heart seeing that. She looked so ashamed of him. Hermione…

There he was again, knocking at the same door.

The door he closed on Hermione, and he was mentally crying behind, and begging for it to open. She had the key, and had locked it with no remorse.

Why should she regret locking him out?

"Hermione I-"

"Good morning." Mad Eye Moody hobbled inside, and looked over them all. "Don't I have a treat for you then. We have two hours of fun ahead of us, now get inside so we can start." He waved his want, and the door swung open. "Right, inside now." they all walked in, and Draco wasn't going to mess this up. Hermione put her books and bag down, and Draco sat with her. But as soon as he did. "Oh, Ms Granger. Come to the front please." Draco growled. He was thinking of doing some grovelling, until Hermione was called away from him. She hadn't even acknowledged he had sat with her, as she got up and walked to the front. "Now, you scored the highest on the last test, and you did really well in the practical last week. So I want you to wear this." Hermione, Ron and Harry recognised it at once.

"An invisibility cloak?"

"Yes. I said I had a treat in stall for you all." He chuckled, and handed it to her from his drawer. "Put it on, but stay still. I chose you because I know you will do as you are instructed." He whispered the last part to her. Within a moment, Hermione had vanished. "Right, now, on your feet." He called to the class, and Draco growled, still in a fowl mood. The tables shot back against the walls, and they stood in the middle of the room. "Right, now as you can not see, Ms Granger is wearing an invisibility cloak. Your task for the first hour, is to catch Ms Granger. All wands have been fused to the table from the moment you stepped through the door, and no magic will be used in catching her. You will have to use your wit to catch her. Ms Granger, I want you to do your very best to elude everyone. Make no noise, and go." He waved his hand through where she was stood, and smiled when she had gone. "Well? Go!" he then turned his back, so his magical glass eye didn't give away where she was.

Draco watched as Harry and Ron started from where she was, and walked away. Ron to the left, Harry the right. Everyone else was just reaching out like the undead hoping to feel something.

Draco however, was a natural hunter.

"Piece of cake." He sniffed at the air, and waited…waited…waited…a ha! There it was. Fresh spices and delicious fruits. He walked forward, and followed her natural musk he had tuned into oh so well.

Hermione was actually enjoying herself. Which was quite a feat considering that only hours before, she had been weeping in her room.

Everything had gone so wrong, so very, very wrong. She should be angry with Draco for what he did. What he said to her was unforgivable.

But all the time she tried to tell herself this, she only heard her inner voice saying things like, but he doesn't know better. He grew up with Dragons for Merlin's sake! Or but he did think you had betrayed him with Malfoy. What was he supposed to think. But then again, he should have listened to her and trusted that there was a reason for what happened. Or at least stick around long enough to find out what actually did happen.

But she didn't think of that now.

Now, she was smiling as she stood on Moody's desk, watching everyone bustle around for her. So far, not one of them had thought she could be on something.

Until she saw him.

Draco was slowly walking through the crowd of people, and he was headed right for her. But that would mean…he knew where she was! Steady down Hermione. Don't draw conclusions just yet. But he kept coming, until he stood right before the desk, looking through her. "There you are." He smirked, and reached for her ankle. Hermione jumped off the table, and landed on the floor by his side. But he heard her, and snapped his body to face her.

But Hermione was off.

She ran through the class, pushing people out of her way, until Moody had to intervene.

"Everyone stop, and stand at the sides. I think we should see what Mr Draconian is up to…"

What! No! Let's not! Hermione screamed at him, almost wishing he knew how to use Legitimacy. She clung to the cloak like an old spinster, and stepped back. When it was only Draco and Hermione in the centre of the room (or just Draco to the others), it began. Draco stalked forward, his body language casual, and he sniffed at the air again. He started walking right at her, sniffing at the air every now and then, and Hermione panicked. She then tried to tip toe out of the way, but her shoes scuffled against the floor. He snapped his head to look right at her, and sprang of his feet. His arms outstretched, and he pounced towards her. Hermione however, ducked and rolled out of the way. Her shoes flashed to everyone once before she vanished again. So everyone knew Draco was close, very close to catching her.

"Hold still!"

"NO!" she shouted, and made sure to move away, so he didn't know where she was. As he then jumped right where she was. He listened hard, and could hear her rapid heartbeat.

Now she was seeing his beast attributes, as his constant sniffing at the air hadn't gone unnoticed. This is hardly fair. He can smell me and hear me like a Dragon…wait…like a Dragon! If I think of him like a Dragon, I should be able to beat him. That was her mission. She was not going to let him catch her. She opened the side of the cloak, letting Harry and Ron see her, but not Draco. She let enough of her scent escape through it, before closing the cloak again. Draco snarled and pounced upon that area, but Hermione wasn't there. She used the diversion to step behind him, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she made a plan.

Again she let her scent escape, and moved out of the way for him to pounce on an empty floor.

"That isn't fair." He chuckled. He was a hunter, the better the chase, the more the challenge. And he loved a challenge. "I am supposed to trick you, not vice versa."

"I think you have done enough playing around with me as of late, don't you?" Draco stood tall now, and looked away from her. Hermione released some more of her smell into the air, but he didn't move.

"I forfeit." He said simply, and walked over to Moody. As he did however, he stopped, put a hand on her shoulder, and then walked off.

So he did know where she was. And he could have caught her. But he didn't.

"Don't stop now boy!" Moody asked. As much as he didn't like it, Draco was proving to be the best at this area. "You were close, I saw it."

"I said." He spoke sternly, and he was angry again. "I forfeit."

"Coward." Draco snapped his head to the empty room. Hermione had just…taunted him?

"Don't challenge me." He turned away.

"Loser." He stopped again. His Dragon pride was swelling and his fists clenched. "Pathetic."

"Stop it."

"Why? You didn't stop when I asked you to." He felt a pang of guilt in his chest.

"My my, it seems they have to 'work things out'." Moody spoke, and then ushered the class towards him. "I give you all one hour to go into the grounds, and return at the end of first period with a contained Doxy. Go." They all did, Ron Harry and Malfoy the most reluctant. When they left, Moody smirked knowingly at Draco. "I need to get a tank to put the Doxys in, I will be back…in a while…so complete the class task and catch Ms Granger." And he left to.

Now it was just Hermione and Draco. She was invisible, and he didn't move.

"Well?" she said impatiently. Yes, she wished things could have been different. Yes, she wished she could just go back to Herbology yesterday after locking Snape in his office. But that didn't excuse his behaviour afterwards, or what he said to her. So yes, she wished she could be happy with him like they used to be.

But she had yet to heal from his attack against her yesterday.

So yes, she was hurting, she was angry. And she showed it without having to be seen. "Are you just going to stand there? Or catch me huh?"

"I checked on Malfoy." He folded his arms.

"Didn't believe me then." She growled.

"No I did." He said quickly… he then smirked and she heard him chuckle softly. "Just wanted to see how badly you damaged his 'family jewels', as you put it."

"Why am I not surprised?" she rolled her eyes. "You and violence."

"I have been told I can be a little intense at times…"

"At times?"

"Most of the time."

"You are intense. The perfect definition." She had to force herself not to laugh at that.

"Well, not all the time." He stepped closer to her. "I, well, I wasn't intense when…never mind." He turned his back to her, and hung his head forward. He wasn't prepared to talk personally with her yet. It was just too hard. Impersonal at first, that would help. "You dance well."

"My mother taught me."

"Your mother is a gardener, and a teacher?" he chuckled. When she didn't respond, he felt uncomfortable again. "She taught you well."

"She did. Considering she raised a scumbag magnet." He growled, clenching his fists.

"Can we not do this?"

"Why not Draco?" she threw the cloak off, becoming visible right in front of him, dropping the cloak on the floor. "Why the hell not?"

"Just, stop." He tried to look away, but she grabbed his arm.

"No. No I will not 'just stop'. You didn't stop when I asked you to, why should I?" he turned his face away from her. "Tell me Draco. Tell me why I should stop?"

"Because it HURTS!" He snarled, glared and her and pushed her forcedly off him until she landed on her bum on the floor. "It hurts to see you angry with me, to see you ashamed and upset and hurting and crying. It hurt me to watch you walk away from me, crying and hurt. But it hurt more to know that I am the reason you are in pain!" he towered over her, and held his fists at his sides. "I can't stand to see you in pain."

"Then why did you hurt me?" she countered, her face as stern as Snape's at this point. She wanted answers, she deserved at least that from him.

"Because…because…" he couldn't form the words. So he snarled and turned away from her, walking off.

"No. Don't you dare!" Hermione scrambled to her feet and ran after him. She jumped up and grabbed onto his shoulder, pulling him backwards with her. He about turned and glared at the challenging look in her eyes. "Don't you dare walk away from me."

"You did me!"

"You deserved it! Do I deserve you walking away from me Draco? Huh? Do I?"

"No."

"Then why do it?" again, no reply.

"I saw you."

"When? That is a little vague."

"Dancing with Malfoy."

"Yes, you told me that."

"No, not really." Was perfectly still for a moment, before he turned his back to her, unable to see the pain and anger in her hazel eyes.

"Then tell me." She said as harshly as before, and sat on one of the desks against the wall. Draco leaned with his hip against the one next to it, and faced forward, not at Hermione. He took a few moments to think through his words, before saying them.

"I saw you dancing with Malfoy. So…provocatively. I…couldn't stand it. And I saw you both…kissing."

"He kissed me. I didn't kiss him back. All I did to him was knee him in the groin."

"But I didn't see that." He looked to her now, and she couldn't have sworn she heard his voice waver beneath his mask. "I saw you kissing, and couldn't bare to watch anymore. I looked away…I didn't see you fight back…" this was one of the few times in his life, he was grateful for his mask. She could see the torment he was dealing with. Or his crumbling restraint. "I didn't see…so right after you walked away from me…I…I came to…apologise." He sighed. He had finally said it. "I didn't mean to brush you off. But I was caught off guard with Snape walking in on us…I didn't know what to do other than put my defences up. And then you got upset with me about it and walked off. I felt betrayed. I had touched you and made you moan in pleasure…" he hung his head forward. "And you walked away from me. All because I was a bastard. But I am a bastard. I have been a bastard all my life."

"Not all the time." Hermione had passed her anger now. He was talking about it to her, and she could allow herself to be sympathetic with him now that he wasn't being off with her. But she still wanted answers.

"No, there have been moments where I feel human." He panicked. "A normal person, not a bastard." But Hermione knew just what he really meant. "You make me feel like a man, a normal man." such a deep confession. It would have taken a lot of courage on Draco's part to admit what he was feeling. So Hermione couldn't help but show him the respect he deserved, and listened. This was much better than the curt silent, walking off treatment. "So after I thought you had run to Malfoy, who touched you like I did, I got angry. Not so much with you, and then, a lot with you. All at the same time. I felt betrayed. I have never…ever…been tender or intimate with anyone in my entire life. I thought girls were useless wastes of time. Then I met you." He slowly looked to her, and was reassured when she was smiling. "I have never met anyone, male or female, quite like you. I scared you senseless, and yet you managed in the end to see past that. You offered me something that no one else ever has. Friendship. Kindness. Care." Hermione shifted on the table, and sat next to him. Draco sighed, and looked to his feet again. "And in my rage I repaid that with bitter comments and cruelty. I knew you didn't deserve what I did to you, what I said. But I did it anyway. I was so angry. But…after you told me the truth…I was broken. The beast within me cowered and cried in a corner like a young child. I didn't know what to do next. I wanted to run after you. But my feet wouldn't move. I wanted to call and scream for you to come back. But I couldn't find my voice. I didn't eat, I didn't speak, I haven't even slept since then."

"Oh Draco."

"Let me finish." He didn't snap at her, but he was very serious. "I never meant to hurt you. I was angry, I was selfish and I don't deserve your friendship any longer."

"Oh Draco, don't be stupid." Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist, and was relieved when he threw his arms around her shoulders, holding her to him. "I am your friend and always will be. No matter what you do. Or how much you mess up. I will be right there, to help you pick up the pieces. Even if those pieces belong to myself."

"I would ask you to forgive me, but I don't deserve you." He rested the side of his cheek on the side of his head, and held her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

Little did she know she was. "I fucked up."

"I forgive you Draco. Just talk to me about it first, and you may not 'Fuck up', as you so colourfully put it." She chuckled, sniffling away her tears. She then thought on what he had said. "You said you were angry and selfish. Why selfish Draco?" Oh great. He was hoping she had missed that. But this is Hermione. She misses nothing. "Draco?"

"I don't…like sharing you." He said reluctantly. "I have problems letting you go near Potter and the weasel as it is. Especially the weasel. Bastard." He paused. "And when I saw you with Draco…"

"It's ok." He was jealous… "And I do forgive you Draco. Can we be friends again? No more fights?"

"No more fights." He sniffed her hair, and pulled her up into his arms, hugging her completely. "I couldn't bare to fight with you again."

"I missed you Draco."

"But I hope you realise something, now that I know the truth."

"Oh?" she looked up at him, in his arms bridal style. Her misty hazel eyes were clearing up, and her smile was the brightest it had been in days.

"Malfoy is a dead man." Hermione laughed and threw her arms around his neck. Just enjoying his proximity. "Hermione…"

"Yes?"

"We have the most of it cleared up now…but…" he took a deep breath. "One more thing has been bugging me." Hermione waited, and he seemed to be having difficulty 'spitting it out'. "You really wanted to go to the ball with me?" Hermione blushed and looked to his chest.

"Yes…and I still do…but I know that-"

"I'll go." Her head snapped up, and her eyes were wide. "I'll go, with you."

"But your mask…"

"Don't you worry about that." He cooed. "Hermione Granger, will you go to the Hisui Doragon Ball with me?"

"Yes Draco Draig Damnatio Draconian." She said in one breath. "I will go to the ball with you."

"Good. Not going to let Malfoy get his slimy little hands on you…" he growled protectively, and Hermione chuckled. "No fucking way."

"Thank you." Hermione kissed his leather cheek, and he looked to her instantly. "We'll have fun."

"We will." He promised her, entrapped by her eyes again. And her scent was all around him now. Her spicy, fruity scent…

Draco started growling again, and Hermione felt him hold her closer to him.

"Draco?"

"Remember when I said I thought all girls were a useless waste of time?" his voice had dropped again, into a low, rumbling purr. "I changed my mind." He lowered her to the desk until she sat on it again, and leaned into her neck.

"Boy!" They both snapped their heads towards the door. It was Moody, with a see through tank in tow. "Now I know I said I would be a while, but not that long."