The brunette stared at her best friend for a second as they were maneuvering their way toward the Prefect department. She grew impatient and gently smacked his shoulder.

"Doesn't that bother you, Ron?" Hermione desperately awaited his response. He looked distraught as he puzzled over her concerns regarding the other third of their trio.

Hermione urged Ron to leave 10 minutes before the initial meeting would begin, leaving Harry behind with Ginny and Neville. It would also give her time to talk to Ron about Harry and his well-being. And while Ron looked as if he was attempting to keep up, she was not satisfied by his nods responding here and there.

After a minute or so, Ron scratched his head and turned to Hermione. "Well?" She impatiently asked.

"Don't be angry with me but," She was already groaning and rolling her eyes at the clause of his reasoning. "I think you're exaggerating just a bit."

Hermione was going to retaliate back to Ron's response but they were greeted by the Head Boy and Head Girl. They were already at the Prefects Department, faster than Hermione had anticipated.

Eleanor Chasity's giggle rang through the private walls. The source, Ron Weasley, and his flirtatious gestures. The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor held on to each other's hands just a tad too long for Hermione's liking.

"Eleanor Chasity." The brunette smiled at the blonde seventh year. It's always the blondes, Hermione thought to herself, that have always managed to get under her skin. At least this year.

"Hermione Granger." The other girl giggled, again, and removed her hand from Ron's to offer it to Hermione. Before she took Eleanor's hand, Hermione inspected the older girl. Her vest was tousled and her blouse unbuttoned, attracting any attention down to her breasts. Her hand was soft and accompanied by a fresh manicure. Well if she made Ron's eyes pop out of his sockets, maybe Hermione could learn a thing or two.

Forcefully, the Gryffindor witch lifted the corners of her mouth. She swallowed the dryness from her throat and straightened out her posture.

"Well, you two are the first of the Prefects to arrive." The Head Boy remarked. Brandt Erindale was a Hufflepuff that Hermione found attractive in her second year after he sent her a bouquet of flowers when she was in the Hospital Wing. Of course, while she remained cordial with Brandt, her feelings wandered elsewhere.

It was only a start to the first prefectoral meeting of this school year. When the rest of the Prefects had arrived, Hermione found herself sitting in the corner, lost in her thoughts and ignoring everything that had to do with nightly patrols.

Her thoughts drifted to Harry. Never in her wildest of dreams would she ever question the battle that had been bubbling and brewing in Harry's heart ever since he was an infant. But this only initiated those forbidden thoughts and persuaded her to believe otherwise. And otherwise, was a darker place.

She had been there for Harry, during the first month of the summer season, offering her shoulder for him to cry on. Despite his numerous outbreaks and resistance, Hermione felt it was her responsibility to make sure Harry was nothing but okay.

"You coming Mione?" She snapped her head to the empty seats beside her. The meeting ended and she looked at Ron who stood at the wood doors.

"Yes." She smiled. Hermione stood up and unbuttoned her robe, feeling rather hot now.

"Just meet us by our compartment?" The redhead flashed an innocent smile before leaving Hermione alone. That impatient git.

She scoffed, never mind him. Her hands found their way to her face and she brushed the stray hairs sticking to her skin to join the rest of her tamed curls that she spent hours earlier. Her uniform was wrinkled after the time she had spent sitting. She muttered a quick spell that fixed any wrinkles. It was refreshing to have her uniform wrinkle-free.

Her bag lay lazily on the floor next to her feet. She shoved her robe into the black bag before setting the strap on her shoulder. Yet, she felt the need to fix herself more to look presentable. The view outside was exceptionally magnificent. The Scottish countryside was something she looked forward to seeing every September. She focused on herself though fighting the urge to look out the window while she used it as a mirror of some sort.

Adjusting the hem of her skirt, Hermione looked down at the stray strand flying needlessly above the line where her knee socks ended.

Her hand was on the thread. She was ready to pull when a voice startled her and made her jump.

Her head darted up, and she saw blonde in the window's reflection. Not honey blonde like Lavender Brown or dirty blonde like Eleanor Chasity. It was platinum.

"Granger."

His voice was quiet and silky. But chillingly low.

She turned around quickly and eyed him up and down, he was already in his uniform upon prefectoral requirements. And though he sat in the same meeting as her just moments before, this was the first time she was able to get a real inspection of Draco Malfoy.

"Need help with that?" he asked.

He pointed down at her skirt. The thread was longer much to her dismay. She looked back up in time to see the Slytherin wave his hand. His grey eyes glued onto hers. If it weren't for the thread wisping at her thigh Hermione would've held her eye contact with Malfoy. But she couldn't help but look at her skirt and see the thread stitched itself back onto the end. Her hands fondled the cloth. It was as good as new.

She looked back at Malfoy who shoved his hands into his trousers. His much taller frame was now leaning against the door and blocking the exit. Very awkwardly, Hermione readjusted her stance and cleared her throat.

"You're blocking the way, Malfoy." Hermione sneered.

The boy did not move, not even his eyes. Instead, he tilted his chin. His gaze grew more intense by the second. Hermione shifted uncomfortably, she was taken off guard and kidnapped from her more important thoughts she would rather prioritize than face Malfoy.

She folded her arms against her chest and stood her ground. "Maybe it's the grease from your hair that's preventing your head from functioning," it was too late by the time Hermione realized her insult was false. Malfoy's hair was shorter from previous years and styled in a way that made him seem more attractive and appropriate considering his age. Of course, she wouldn't admit to it but that still did not prevent her from committing to her insult. "But I told you to move." She cleared her throat and held her chin high to him.

Draco inched his face closer to hers. "I didn't hear a thank you." His words attacked her immediately after her demand. The blonde boy tilted his head, again, and the corners of his mouth uplifted the beginning of his infamous smirk.

Hermione scoffed. The nerve of this boy. Still customed to his immature old ways Hermione grew impatient and infuriated.

"As if you deserve one. Move." This time she was determined and if she had to push her way against him, Hermione would do it.

When he didn't budge, Hermione shook her head and scoffed before pushing past him. She collided her body with his. But the surface of his body was like hitting a stone wall. A very hard one.

Her brown eyes flickered up to Malfoy who stared at her beneath his eyelashes. He wasn't smirking anymore and immediately Hermione was alarmed by his expression. It was cold and harsh. She felt his eyes lasering at her own. He tilted his head again without breaking eye contact and she couldn't help but feel small. Intimidated.

Unable to continue his eye contact Hermione looked away. She let out a short breath and unknowingly let the wall close in.

Malfoy was stepping towards her, literally moving her body with his own. All she could do was react with him and step backward. Bewilderment was an understatement to describe the way she was feeling. Why was Draco Malfoy, the boy of only taunts and harmless insults prowling towards her like an animal nearing its prey? And most importantly, why did his dangerous aura, intimidate the mighty witch?

To her misfortune, she hit the back of her legs against the stem of the compartment's seats. "Malfoy-"

"Listen, Granger." his dark voice ran chills through her veins. "you're a smart girl," Draco's eyes raked her porcelain face. "so I'm only going to ask you once."

He lynched his face closer to hers at a quick speed, causing Hermione to fall back into the seat behind her. Her bag fell on the floor next to her feet. She didn't even have time to release the gasp that got caught in the back of her throat. All she could do was avoid Malfoy's silver eyes sharpening their daggers at her.

"Can you guess what I've been doing all summer?"

There was amusement in his voice. Teasing and taunting her, nothing like his playground hair-pulling tactics. Hermione was silent. Because she had a few ideas. None that she would ever say in the light of day.

She slowly picked up her brown eyes to look at the boy. He smirked as he waited for her response.

"Come on. You can say it out loud." He purred into her ear.

She snapped her head further away from his face. If only Harry and Ron could see the position she was in. It would eat away at her pride and diminish her glory in the trio.

The brunette inhaled. She stood up, fast on her feet. But was disappointed when she realized her actions had not affected the boy before her, at all. Yes, he reacted, but he stood still in the same spot. Her stance only pushed both of them closer together.

She scoffed, growing more irritated by the second.

"If this is your way of scaring me-"

"Are you scared?"

He stepped even closer. Their bodies were touching by the ends of their stitches. The words that formed in Hermione's mouth had gone down her throat. She watched him carefully, he was smooth was his movements, almost seductive.

It was interrupting her thoughts. And if there was one thing Hermione Granger couldn't handle, it was the corruption of her thoughts.

She took a deep breath.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she asked after a minute of silence. It sounded too shy for her liking, however, she couldn't get past the dryness surfacing her throat.

The brunette avoided eye contact too. And attempted to flicker her eyes to meet his but, she was far too intimidated by the darkness lingering in his silver eyes.

"There's something different. About you," he whispered. "Hermione."

The hairs on her skin spiked up after hearing her first name roll off his tongue.

"You look different."

She was taken back. Look different? What did that mean? Why did it matter? And why was that an observation, for him?

"Even acting differently too."

Hermione pressed her lips into a thin line and averted her stare back to Draco. Her eyebrows crinkled at his expression once she caught him eyeing her up and down. It was making her insecure. She was breathing hard now.

He was too close for her liking. Had been for a while. She cursed at herself for barely acknowledging the situation. Finally, to save herself, Hermione walked to the other side of Draco so that her back was to his back.

This way, she felt more comfortable without his stalking gaze on her like a predator that was about feast on his prey.

"You can throw taunting insults at me, I, however, will not care. But my mother?" his voice was the deepest she's ever heard it to be. "I will not tolerate it."

She froze. So this is what this whole thing is about. Narcissa must have told him what happened outside of the perfume shop. His feet shuffled behind her, signaling that his front was now to her back.

"Glad to know Malfoy." she quickly muttered and turned around. "Are we done here?"

"I think you're misunderstanding me." his voice grew loud. And the blonde boy stalked towards her in one large leap. Which was nothing for his tall legs.

She gasped for what felt like the tenth time today. Draco was only inches away from her face.

"My mother is a woman who will not take disrespect from anyone." he sneered.

Looking into his eyes was suffocating. It was like Draco was choking her with just his eyes. Those damn eyes were killing her softly this entire time.

"Especially a mudblood."

The comment stang more than usual. She grew accustomed to hearing that comment, especially from Draco. But usually, when he spat at her with his nasty smirk it was not at all threatening. This time, she could sense the seriousness from his pale lips.

And unlike her fiasco with Narcissa, this time she decided to stay quiet.

"I don't want to ever catch you speaking to or about my mother."

He was only moving closer and closer to her face. It was forcing Hermione to move her neck so she faced the door of the compartment. The warmth from Draco's breath crept along her cheek and down to her chest.

His voice became quieter. "Do you understand?"

When she didn't move or respond, Hermione heard the smack of Draco's hand hitting the compartment window. She could've sworn it cracked right then and there.

"Yes." She responded quickly.

"Terrific."

Hermione slowly moved her eyes back to the Slytherin boy who bent down and fetched her belongings from the seat behind him and held it in front of her to grab.

She hesitated, her eyes fighting between his silver daggering eyes and the black bag in his fair hands. Finally, her hands found a way to carefully remove and retrieve her bag from Draco's hands.

Unfortunately for her, Draco wasn't going to make it that easy. He swerved the bag back to his chest once Hermione laid her hands on it.

He tilted his head and squinted at her.

"Notice how I didn't drop it off at your feet like some beggar?"

She cursed under her breath. The way he was making her feel small was as if it was her fault. It was manipulative to say the very least.

Hermione finally snatched her bag away from him and adjusted it at her shoulder quickly. When she looked up he disappeared.

"I hope you enjoyed your summer, Hermione."

The brunette snapped her head outside of the compartment's door, where Draco wandered for a second before vanishing.

It was a lot to unravel, everything that had just happened in the last, she looked down at her watch.

Eight minutes?

It felt like an entire hour.

And that's how long it took Hermione to process everything, as she sat alone once again, in the Prefects compartment. In that little corner where Draco Malfoy had just pinned her in.

"And you swear on Merlin that this actually happened?"

"Are you calling me a liar Gin?"

"No, it's just strange to think about," Ginny commented.

Hermione ran her hand through her hair as she and Ginny squeezed through the train's compartments, keeping a close eye on the first years.

Just five minutes ago, Hermione had finally decided to pick herself up from the Prefects compartment and find Ginny. Regardless of Harry and Ron's questions as to her whereabouts for the past hour. She knew the boys would flip as soon as she told them, and she wasn't ready to receive their pestering questions or heartless judgment. But she needed to tell someone.

And Ginny already knew about the confrontation she had with Narcissa yesterday.

She stopped at the end of the hall, leaning on one of the windows. Ginny noticed and stopped along the door frame, looking at her best friend who sighed at her.

"Okay look. I know you're bothered about this whole year. I mean everyone is." Ginny sighed, "Mum didn't even want me and Ron returning to Hogwarts."

She could tell through Ginny's forced giggle that the red-head was attempting to seek out some sort of comfort in Hermione.

"But this is Malfoy we're talking about, Hermione."

She protested. "Gin, he's not the same."

"Yeah, his daddy is locked up in Azkaban." Ginny folded her arms and her face grew with amusement.

"And who's responsible for that."

"Uhm Lucius?" She stated as if it were an obvious statement. "It's not our fault that daddy dearest decided to have a play date in the Ministry with the rest of his death eater cronies."

As Ginny's voice grew louder, they started to earn some stares from surrounding first years. Hermione awkwardly smiled at them.

When Ginny noticed she scolded, "Oh go along your way and mind your business! Bloody first years."

They returned to their conversation, Hermione now folding her arms against her chest and pressing her lips into a thin line.

"Don't you think he'd want revenge?" she questioned.

"Oh, I'm sure of it. Of course, it'd be harmless." Ginny brushed it off.

Hermione snapped. "Harmless? Ginny, were you even paying attention to things I told you. About what happened in the compartment?"

Ginny looked at Hermione as if she were crazy, which wasn't helping her case. The brunette witch felt defeated, and crazy. If Ginny wasn't willing to hear her out, who would? She was her most reasonable friend.

Hermione felt Ginny fix the curls from her face, which was a kind gesture she often did. Ginny fixed her curls the night of the Yule ball after she argued with Ron. She fixed the brunette locks last year when Snape ridiculed her essay in front of the class. Ginny was there to pamper her face after her hair had been sticking to it due to the countless hours she spent crying with Harry over Sirius' death.

Ginny was reliable. And Hermione was hoping that she could understand her fear and frustration.

"You said he was teasing you about his plans over the summer?" the other girl started again.

Hermione sighed, this time feeling more hopeful. "Yes."

Ginny straightened up and placed one hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Do you know what I heard? From Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ginny.

"They spent their summer, shagging Malfoy." Ginny revolted in disgust.

Hermione's face crinkled and she questioned the two Hufflepuff girls. Was she going to rely on the words of Abbott and Bones, known for their crushes on Malfoy equal to Pansy Parkinson's?

And it was as if Ginny read Hermione's mind. "Even the Patils."

"He had both sisters?" Hermione exclaimed in disbelief.

Ginny chuckled. "As unbelievable as it sounds, yes."

Hermione was feeling reassured about Draco's empty threats. And though the thought of him shagging around was revolting to say the very least, it was much more relieving than him pledging his allegiance to the Dark Lord.

"Look! Right there." Ginny had turned to face the hallway glass frame and signaled for Hermione to inch closer.

She squeezed next to Ginny and saw the platinum blonde hair, coercing with a black bob that belonged to Pansy Parkinson. They were snogging. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were eating each other's faces. And the whole Slytherin gang that surrounded the seats next to them shifted in awkwardness.

Both girls couldn't help but chuckle in disgust.

"See Mione? Does that seem threatening to you?"

And even though the comfort and the mixture of Ginny's laugh and disgust rang through Hermione's ears, it started to dissipate. Everything surrounding her was fading like background music.

She wasn't even paying attention to the two Slytherins snogging. Her eyes were glued to Draco's left arm.

Hermione wondered. If his sleeve was just raised a bit higher, would it reveal the symbol of the dark mark? Plastered on a harmless boy?

It was after dinner now and Hermione had just finished escorting the first years into the Gryffindor common room.

She put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath in before exhaling twice as long.

"Y'know, I'm starting to regret becoming a Prefect." Ron huffed before collapsing on the common room couch next to Harry.

Hermione looked at the two boys, Ron was sprawled out, his limbs hanging everywhere on the small couch. Harry sat in his little corner reading a book.

"Maybe I'll use the Prefect bathroom tonight."

She scoffed. "You have patrols tonight Ron."

The ginger groaned and cursed under his breath. Harry giggled and closed his book while Hermione took this second to unbutton her robe and place it on the arm of the couch. She crossed her legs to sit and join the two boys by the fire. Seeing as there was little to no space on the couch, she decided to sit in between them on the floor.

"Mione."

"Hmm?"

"You alright?" Harry asked.

Hermione reached for her neck and started massaging at the knot that had formed on the back of it. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

She heard shuffling behind her and turned to look at the two boys. Ron was nearly asleep and Harry sat sitting forward as he looked into the fire.

"You seemed a little quiet at dinner."

"And you barely touched your food," Ron added.

Her other best friend opened his eyes slowly from his sleepy state. Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

After having that talk with Ginny, her mind was at ease for a while but at dinner when she spotted Malfoy at the Slytherin table staring off at nothing with his darkest eyes, those thoughts started to flood in again.

She looked at both of them and they had their brows raised, waiting for an answer. It was something about eye contact that Hermione couldn't handle. At least today.

She turned back around to face the fire and shifted her position.

"The train ride made me a little nauseous." she shook it off and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead to make her story a little more believable.

She took their silence as their belief to her excuse. And for a while, the only sound among the three was the quiet chatter in the background of the common room and the crackling of the fire in front of them. "Speaking of the train, where'd you go after the Presentation fect meeting?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, we know you spent the last hour with Gin."

Hermione furrowed her brows and tilted her head. "Since when do you guys care about where I go when I'm not with you?" She deflected nervously.

"Relax, we're just trying to make conversation." Ron chuckled.

Hermione's breathing paced faster thinking back to Malfoy in the compartment. It made her so nervous and she hated it. She still hadn't come up with a reason or even an excuse as to why she responded the way she did, to Malfoy.

Out of frustration, Hermione got up quickly and snatched her robe from the arm of the couch Ron was occupying, startling him.

"I thought you were feeling nauseous," Harry asked while watching the brunette fold the robe into her arms.

"I am." She looked at the two boys watching her with puzzling expressions. "I think a nice bath in the Prefects bathroom will help." She threw a smug look at Ron who frowned at her. "Don't forget about your rounds, Ron."

"Goodnight. I'll see you both in the morning." She turned on her heel and made her way to her dormitory.

Ron and Harry sat there looking at each other and back to the brunette curls that disappeared at the end of the stairs.

"She's acting weird." the ginger pointed out.

Harry's eyes wandered the stairs where he had seen the last of Hermione's curls. "It's Hermione, she always has something on her mind." The dark-haired boy looked back at Ron. "I hope it's nothing serious."

Ron scoffed. "Probably worrying about next week's homework. Mental that one."

The two boys nodded in agreement.

The splashing of warm water annoyed Draco. Could she not flail her arms every single time he thrust into her?

"Mmm, Draco." Pansy moaned. She attempted to kiss him but he dodged her colorless lips and they landed on his neck. He had enough snogging from her.

He grunted in her ear causing Pansy to squeal in pleasure, earning Draco a smirk. Though he spent his summer tasting all the flavorless girls from Hogwarts and exploring the perfect legs that would fit best around his waist as he shagged their brains out, Pansy Parkinson was the winning candidate.

She knew what he liked and was happy to oblige every single request he demanded. It worked in his favor whenever Draco needed to blow off steam from his actual doing during his time off from Hogwarts.

He found it best to drown out the screams of pain with screams of pleasure. He grew so accustomed to hearing both that he couldn't distinguish the difference between the two. Which he didn't mind. Slowly over the summer, he found himself enjoying both.

Draco readjusted himself under the water and continued slamming himself into Pansy, her moans growing louder and louder and filling up the room. You could confuse her with Moaning Myrtle herself.

"You make me feel so good, Draco," Pansy murmured against the skin of his neck.

The blonde boy kept his eyes shut. Sometimes he would rather fuck his way to the darkness than look into the eyes of whoever was under him. And while Pansy was on the side of the better-looking Slytherin girls, the sounds that came out of her often resembled that of a pig.

Draco tightened his grip on Pansy's legs and pressed her further against himself and the tub's wall. He could feel the wave of pleasure at its climax. It was only seconds before it crashed against him and Pansy.

The girl suffocating with moans was just fingertips away from screaming his name.

He could feel her. "Oh- Granger?"

The bobbed hair girl gasped, causing Draco to open his eyes. Granger?

Abruptly, Draco dropped Pansy from his arms and snapped his head to the other side of the Prefect's bathroom.

And while Pansy scrambled to recover herself from drowning due to Draco's lack of grip, he took his time to rake his eyes over the intruder.

There stood Hermione Granger. A black robe hugged her body. Draco could see her bare legs and her wild hair pinned up in a messy bun. The stray curls flew graciously around her face. The cloth against her body flattered her curves in the most pleasing way possible. He knew he should've been ashamed having caught his eyes lingering on the mudblood for far too long. But even more ashamed for the nasty thoughts flooding into his head as he practically salivated at her almost bare body.

If she looked like that with only a robe on, he could only imagine what was underneath.

Her mouth was open and her red towel was on the floor next to her feet.

"I-" The brunette witch was far too embarrassed to finish her sentence. Instead, she hurried to retrieve her towel and practically ran out the door.

He looked at the swinging door before blinking out of his trance.

"I thought you locked the door, Draco!" Pansy squealed. She was getting out of the tub and moving toward her clothes and towel.

Draco could only float in the same spot he had occupied with Pansy, blocking out her complaints and distress.

That was twice in one day. Where he had encountered Hermione Granger. It was like the universe was purposely trying to push the prude onto him as a punishment. He was almost certain that Granger was going to open her mouth to Professor McGonagall about what she saw.

Is it really a crime to shag in the Prefects bathroom? He scoffed and pushed himself out of the tub before snatching his towel and wrapping it around his waist.

This was another thing for him to deal with.

Another confrontation with Hermione Granger.