As soon as Draco Malfoy picked up Hermione's diary, he wished he hadn't. His head felt like it was splitting in two and pain coursed through his whole body. He dropped the diary, but the pain didn't stop.

Meanwhile, Hermione was experiencing a similar sensation. She had never been under the cruciatus curse, but she imagined this must be what it felt like.

Draco started to head towards the bathroom to retrieve his wand, but stopped after two steps because the pain got worse.

Hermione's pain also increased as Draco moved away. She moved to the other side of her bed to get her wand from her nightstand, but moving away from Draco once again doubled the pain. Realizing what was happening Draco jumped on the bed, grabbed Hermione, and pulled her quickly into an embrace. They both sighed as the pain subsided. Thinking they had conquered whatever curse had been cast, Hermione let go of Draco and tried once again to grab her wand. The pain was back, searing all over hr body. Her head throbbed.

Draco's pain also returned as soon as Hermione released him. He drew her into a tight hug and the pain vanished. Sitting on Hermione's bed, arms wrapped around each other, the head boy and girl tried to figure out exactly what was happening to them.

"Draco, do you have any clue what's going on?" asked Hermione.

"No," replied Draco, "Isn't this the curse you put on your stupid little diary?"

"No, of course not," answered Hermione, "Why would I force myself to endure extreme pain and then be stuck to whoever was rude enough to read my diary!"

"I didn't even get to read your diary!" complained Draco.

"Well," Hermione stuttered for a second, "You tried to!"

"You…" Draco tried to think of something to say, "You looked at me!"

Hermione blushed, "Did not!"

"Did too!'

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Ahhh!" Hermione and Draco separated and folded their arms in front of them, but quickly came together again.

"Okay, obviously we're under a spell that neither of us cast, so… what do we do?" Hermione tried to think logically, but ended up slightly panicked.

"We need to report this to a professor," suggested Draco, "Maybe they will know what to do,"

After spending 20 minutes getting on their robes and stumbling out of the bedroom while still connected, they realized there was no way they were going to be able to get near a classroom.

"The dumbwaiter!" exclaimed Hermione.

"What?" asked Draco. Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and dragged him into the kitchen.

"Dobby!" she yelled as loud as she could.

After two minutes, there was a knock on the door. Hermione called out and the small house elf Dobby walked in. When he saw Draco and Hermione with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, he looked down at his mismatched socks.

"Dobby is sorry to interrupt. Dobby will be leaving now"

"No Dobby wait. This isn't what it looks like; Draco and I are…" Hermione tried to explain.

Draco cut in, "Go get a teacher! Now!"

Draco and Hermione were able to make their way to the couch by the time Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall arrived. Hermione was sitting sideways on Draco lap; her legs stretched out on the couch. Draco had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Separate immediately!" ordered professor Snape.

"No you don't understand!" "No let us explain!" Hermione and Draco clung to each other.

McGonagall lifted Hermione into the air with a swish of her arm and the two students started screaming. McGonagall released Hermione and she started sobbing on Draco's shoulder while he rubbed her back.

"Perhaps you could explain?" suggested Dumbledore.

Hermione and Draco told the professors exactly what happened.

"That is not a spell any student would know about," commented Snape.

"We will look into this. Meanwhile, Hermione, Draco, you must deal with this anyway you can. You are taking the same classes, so we will set up your schedules so you will be together at all times. Right now you will go to the hospital wing and make sure the pain is not caused by actual injuries. I think that covers it. Good evening," Dumbledore rose to leave accompanied by the two professors.

"Wait!" cried Hermione, "What do we tell our friends? How long are we gonna be like this? How am I supposed to take a shower!"

"Good evening Miss Granger." Draco could swear he saw a mischievous smile in the old coot's eyes and he didn't like it.

Madame Pomfrey appeared a few seconds later and after a few tests, she concluded the pain was from the spell and was not causing any damage. "I don't know who would cast this kind of spell, but I hope Headmaster Dumbledore sorts it out soon. Until then I wouldn't get more than ten feet apart at any time or you will loose consciousness. Good evening" and with that Hermione and Draco were left alone.

"So…"

"Yeah…"

"Bedroom," suggested Hermione.

"Sure" replied Draco.

After a minute of awkward shuffling, Draco picked Hermione up, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her to their bedroom.

"You wanna go to bed?" asked Draco.

"I don't think I could sleep," answered Hermione, "What are we gonna do? What do we tell our friends?"

"I think we can deal with this. We are mature people, and good friends, if anyone can deal with this we can. Just tell your friends the truth," said Draco calmly. "Don't worry, we'll figure out how to deal with this in the morning,"

Hermione asked for her journal and they walked over, picked it up, and Hermione put it back in her bedside table.

They stood back to back in order to remove their robes, and then they got in Hermione's bed. They lay with their sides pressed together and their legs entwined.

They turned out the lights and soon Draco was asleep. Very carefully, so she was still touching Draco, she got a flashlight and her diary from her nightstand.

Dear Diary,

You'll never believe what happened. Draco and I are under some sort of enchantment that makes us experience a great deal of pain when we're separated. I can't figure out who would do this. Being so close to him is driving me nuts. I can't help it; I like him. He is smart and funny and nice. He wears only boxers to bed and let me tell you, he is hot. The only guys I've ever seen topless are Harry and Ron and they are nothing compared to Draco. When I was with Victor we never touched, just a few short kisses. Touching Draco is kind of nice. It makes me feel guilty though, feeling this way even though I'm just his friend. But maybe Ginny was right, maybe he likes me. Either way, I hope I can keep my composure around him.

Hermione Granger

Hermione put her diary away, snuggled in close to Draco, and fell into a peaceful sleep.