A/N: Wow! My fastest update yet! Enjoy. :) and oh, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chapter 7: After Curfew

Hermione ran as fast as she could. Secretly, of course. Even if no one recognized her as a prefect, Hermione was not about to publicly break any rules.

Out of breath, Hermione stopped in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. A couple minutes later, when Hermione felt properly composed, she stepped through. The common room was mostly empty. Everyone was off eating dinner. Unfortunately, the twins were nowhere to be seen.

Pacing nervously, Hermione began to fret. She wasn't sure if she could do this anymore. It was strange seeing this other side of Malfoy. Him complementing her and giving her a ride and then catching her before she could fall…it was just odd.

And where the hell were Fred and George? They got her into this…and she was going to make sure that they saw her out. Glaring at the portrait hole, Hermione began to count.

1, 2, 3…

…56, 57, 58.

Hermione stopped counting as she saw Fred and George enter the common room.

"There you two are! We need to talk." Hermione pulled the twins into an empty corner of the common room.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Fred gave her a once over and grinned.

"Look beautiful, we may be twins, but you can only have one of us," said George, "and has anyone told you that I'm the better of the two?"

"The better of the two? And who says that?" Fred glared at his brother.

"Hey, it's me, Hermione!"

"Hermione!" George yelped. His face started to turn scarlet as he studied her and realized who she was.

"Slightly taller, tanner, blue-gray eyes, cute nose, and your hair…I think that's where we didn't recognize you. It's lighter, shorter, and looks…tamed. You did a good job changing yourself." Fred was leaning back, smiling.

"And that is the cutest chin," added George.

"Um, George, I didn't change my chin."

George turned an even brighter shade of scarlet and grabbed a nearby magazine and pretended to be absorbed in whatever it said on its cover.

"So, how did today go?" asked Fred.

"We talked a little, introduced ourselves, nothing much," said Hermione evasively.

"Did you get any 'vibes' from him?" persisted Fred.

"He was nice to me…as nice as a Malfoy can be I suppose," added Hermione hesitantly.

"Hmm, I guess that's a good start. He doesn't hate you. He didn't recognize you, did he?"

"I don't think so. I told him I was a Fifth year Ravenclaw."

George threw the magazine back on the side table and looked up. "Did anyone else notice you? Wouldn't it seem strange to them that there is a new student a month into school?"

"I put a spell on myself…a twist of a memory charm to help myself blend into the crowd. No one really knows who I am, but they all assume that I have always been here."

"Smart idea," nodded Fred approvingly, "that's why we picked you. Anyone else would have blown this by now."

"Here, I think you might need more of this," offered George, pulling out a vial of potion from his pocket.

Hermione grimly accepted it.

"No need to be so grim, mate," said Fred with a grin, "Why don't you smile for us? Smile."

Hermione's mouth automatically formed into a smile. Oh yes, this was why she hated them.

George grinned, "and how about a little kiss, right here," George tapped his cheek. Hermione glared. He hadn't directly commanded her to, so she wasn't obliged to kiss him.

"Just kidding, no need to get your knickers in a twist," said George hastily.

"We have more of the potion if you need it," added Fred, "this coming weekend will be the perfect opportunity to snare that fat canary."

"How much longer are you going to look like this," asked George.

Hermione thought for a moment. "Probably around two more hours. I'll hide in my room until then."

"Good idea," nodded Fred, "How about meeting us early tomorrow morning for breakfast. We have some ideas we want to run past you. Sound good?"

"Sounds good, I'll see you both then." With that Hermione got up and left the common room and headed up to her own room.

Settling down on her bed, she pulled out Hogwarts: A History and began to re-read it for what must have been the 82nd time.

Draco Malfoy was in love. Of course, he didn't know that. And if he slightly suspected it, he offhandedly dismissed it as infatuation. It wasn't his fault for confusing love for infatuation, he had never been in love.

Draco was much too distracted to do homework. Draco looked down at his textbook and, for the fifth time in the last half hour, tried to finish reading the page without thinking about Nia's gorgeous eyes. Stormy blue-gray with a smoky dark ring that you could get lost in…

'You're doing it again! Get over her. What was so special about her anyways? What do you know about her?' Draco mentally berated himself.

Scolding himself didn't help. Giving up, Draco slammed his textbook shut and left the common room. He would have time after patrols to do homework, and he had already finished his tedious transfiguration assignment. There really wasn't much else he had to do.

'I have an hour to kill,' thought Draco, 'maybe a bath will take me mind off of her."

Grabbing a clean robe, Draco headed out of his room towards the prefects' bathroom.

"OH MY GOD!" screeched Lavender, barging into their room and pouncing on an unsuspecting Hermione, "you have to tell us EVERYTHING!"

Parvati soon followed, a grin on her face. "Looked like your first encounter with your beloved Slytherin went pretty well, huh? Want to fill us in on the gaps?"

Hermione laughed at the two eager girls' expressions of anticipation as they sat waiting on her bed.

"What is there to tell? You both were behind the tree, you saw it all!"

"We saw up until he swooped you off on his broom," reminded Parvati.

"It was so romantic," said Lavender, a dreamy expression on her face. "He offered to escort you back to the castle on his broom. He put his arms around you to keep you safe…" Lavender trailed off, a half smile on her face as she pictured the perfect scene in her mind.

"And then?" Parvati asked insistently.

"Well," said Hermione, grinning at the two silly girls, "after that he took me to the castle, and that was that."

"Oh," Lavender looked disappointed, "was that all?"

Hermione decided to give in. "Actually, as I was getting off the broom, I stumbled a bit and I fell…and then he caught me."

The two girls squealed.

"I knew it!" cried out Lavender.

"Were there sparks?" asked Parvati unnecessarily. Unnecessarily because the blush creeping up on Hermione's cheeks was evidence enough to show that something had happened.

"I don't know," said Hermione, avoiding eye contact with either of the girls.

Lavender and Parvati looked at each other and grinned.

"Sounds like this meeting went well," said Parvati.

"Now we can plan your next encounter!" exclaimed Lavender eagerly, jumping up and grabbing her notebook.

"Great idea, simply marvelous," fibbed Hermione, getting up and edging towards the door, "but let's do that later tonight. I have somewhere I have to be."

Hermione decided that she had had enough of Malfoy for a night. The two could plan this all out on their own for now; Hermione wasn't ready to plot anything yet.

"Ok, sure," said Parvati offhandedly.

"See you then," mumbled Lavender.

Lavender and Parvati promptly began to scheme and concoct Draco and Hermione's next 'accidental' meeting.

Hermione heaved a sigh of relief and left the room. She quickly walked out of the common room, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. She did happen to pass by Harry and Ron who were talking animatedly with each other.

"…me neither, not since school let out. Wasn't at dinner and haven't seen her in the common room," said Harry.

"I'll bet it's the twins' doing. It's the whole contract thing that's going on!" Ron looked murderous.

"Be reasonable Ron. You shouldn't…"

Harry voice was lost in the chatter of the crowd as Hermione moved further away from them. She felt a twinge of guilt for ignoring her friends for so long. Well, it would only last a week. She promised herself that she would find time to spend with them this weekend.

Stepping out of the portrait hole, Hermione felt her stomach rumble. She had missed dinner and was feeling famished! 'Well then,' she thought, 'it's off to the kitchens.'

Walking quickly through the halls, Hermione finally reached a large portrait of a bowl of fruit. Tickling the pear, she stepped through.

Draco Malfoy stood with a smirk on his face, staring down at the two first years that he had just caught in the closet.

'Its instances like these that make patrols worth while. The feeling of being in control and feared…priceless.' Draco looked down at the terrified first years, whose eyes were darting frantically to and fro, as if looking for a means of escape.

"What do we have here," Draco drawled, leaning in and staring at the two. It was then that he noticed that one was a girl and one was a boy (it can be hard to tell when they're so young). Huh, so what would that entail?

"Let me see how you two should be punished today. Now, what jinx should I use?" Draco suppressed a laugh at the look of fear on their faces.

Suddenly, the little boy grabbed his leg and gave it a rough push. Caught off guard, Draco stumbled and grabbed the closest thing he could reach…a suit of armor. It came tumbling to the ground with a loud crash (though Draco, to his relief, was about to regain his balance) and the two first years ran as fast as their short legs could carry them.

With a wave of his wand, Draco stopped them in their tracks. Walking up to them, he glared at the boy who had made him stumble.

"Twenty points from each of your houses and both of your names will be added to Filch's hit list…erm, I mean misbehavior list, for attacking a prefect" Students weren't supposed to know that Filch had a hit list. Of course, teachers weren't meant to know either.

"And no more after curfew adventures, now go straight to your rooms." Unfreezing them with a quick spell, Draco watched as they ran (if possible, even faster then before) down the hall and out of sight.

With a wave of his wand, the armor righted itself and, with a second wave, he shut the closet door.

Draco was just about to go finish his rounds when he heard a sound, a very light sound. With a quick spell, he sharpened his hearing and realized that someone was hiding behind the next corner.

Draco grinned. 'Another victim!'

Hopefully this one wouldn't try to maim him.

He stealthily walked up to the corner and, with lightning quick speed, he grabbed his victim's shoulder. He whirled her around and was face to face with none other then Nia.

Hermione left the kitchens an hour later, not because she was eating for an hour (though she certainly felt full enough to have been eating for an hour) but because she was having a riveting conversation with Dobby about ways to rally the house elves together and start a union. Of course, the rest of the house elves ignored them.

It was past curfew, and she should have been in her room. 'It's not that far,' she thought, 'hopefully I'll be able to make it back safely.'

She walked quietly through the corridors, when suddenly she heard a loud crash come from behind the corner. She plastered herself up against the wall and mustered up the courage to look at who was there.

'Malfoy! Damn it. Why, why me?'

She stood still and listened as the commotion took place and Malfoy punished the two first years. Hermione had to admit that the punishment he gave them seemed fair…they had attacked him! First years had to be taught to respect prefects.

As she stood still, Hermione felt something crawling up her arm. Looking down, she gave a little squeak and flicked it off. She thought no one had heard her but, a few moments later, she felt a hand grab her shoulder and whirl her around. She was face to face with Malfoy.

Honey colored waves, cute button nose, adorable chin, and smoky exotic blue-gray eyes…

It was happening again.

'Snap out of it Draco!'

Hermione froze. Malfoy looked…strange. He wasn't smiling, he wasn't smirking, he wasn't glaring…he just seemed to be dazed.

Hermione's mind was running at a mile a minute. She had to think herself out of this. What distracts a guy?

Besides outright nudity of course.

Hermione tried to think but nothing was coming to her. She had never read about this, so how was she to know?

'I'll just have to make it up as I go along…'

Draco looked down at the girl who stood before him. Well, if he couldn't get her out of his mind, maybe he could get to know her a little. But right now, he was going to have a little fun.

"And what is Ms. Turner doing out past curfew?" he asked with a smirk.

She lowered her eyes and shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking abashed.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was so late."

"What made you lose track of time? A boy?" Draco felt a streak of jealousy. 'She had better not have been with a boy!'

Nia giggled. "No, of course not!"

Draco broke out into a grin. "Good, because that boy would have to answer to me."

Nia looked surprised, but was utterly blown away by what he said next.

"So, since I did catch you after curfew, I'll have to think of a suitable punishment," Draco teased. "I know! You'll just have to spend a little more time with me."

"Whaaa…"

He didn't give Nia a chance to argue as he grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs and out the castle doors onto the moonlit castle grounds.

"But why?" Nia looked bewildered.

"Why? Can't someone spend a little time with you and get to know you?"

Hermione Granger was walking along the Hogwarts castle grounds as Draco Malfoy held her hand and led her around the moonlit paths. Who would have guessed?

She forced herself to remain calm and composed. Surprisingly, she wasn't as repulsed by him as she thought she would be. Perhaps it was because he treated Nia differently then he treated Hermione.

But Hermione, no matter under what guise, will be Hermione.

"Why would you want to spend time with me?" she blurt out.

Draco looked taken aback. "The real question is, why wouldn't anyone want to? You're an attractive girl, at least I think so."

Hermione involuntarily blushed. "No one has ever told me that before," she said honestly.

"Well," Draco said softly, "I certainly do think so."

Hermione froze. He was leaning in to kiss her and she didn't know what to do.

Then she felt it…a familiar odd tingling sensation. Oh no, the potion!

"Draco, I…I really must go," Hermione stammered, backing away from him. She turned and ran. She had to get away, what if he saw her change?

"When can I see you again?" Draco called out.

"Tomorrow!" Hermione yelled back. She ran inside and, as fast as she could, she headed back towards Gryffindor tower.

Draco stood there for a moment, contemplating what had just happened. Did she run away because he was about to kiss her? This…had never happened to him before.

She just ran…like Cinderella. Except it wasn't midnight and she didn't leave behind her shoe.

Draco sighed. 'Oh well, I'll get that kiss soon enough'

Hermione stood in her room, gasping for breath. It was a miracle that she hadn't been caught out in the halls.

When she reached her room, she was relieved to see that Lavender and Parvati weren't there.

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. She was back to normal, and she was thankful for that.

Draco had teased her and held her hand and almost kissed her. She felt tingly all over thinking about it. What was this feeling? She had never had it before.

She would have to research about it tomorrow. But for now, she had a little more homework to get done before she fell asleep.

That night it took Hermione Granger twice as long to do her homework then it normally did, and don't think that her roommates Lavender and Parvati didn't notice.

They noticed, and they knew why.

A/N: Whew! Now review! Let me know if you like how the story is going so far, and how you want it to go.