A/N: I almost forgot that it was posting day! The days all bleed together after weeks of lockdown... as I re-read this Chapter I realised it's kind of filler, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. The next two chapters after this will be very plot-driven so don't give up on it now.

Also, fair warning that its citrusy lemony times ahead from about Chapter 6, I think.

As always, I am thankful to Lun27 for the beta services and I am very much looking forward to the completion of your marriage law fic so I can devour it in one sitting!

Also, just a reminder that there are elements of non-con through the magic influencing them both.

Please let me know your thoughts with a review and if you have any questions or guesses about where this story is going, I would love to answer you!

Also, in case it isn't clear, the first scene is a Draco flash back. I quite enjoy writing from Draco's POV and I think I actually do it better than Hermione, what do you think?

Chapter 4

Draco fiddled with the cotton underwear he had found in the pile of clothing Granger inexplicably had left behind. Instead of taking her own clothes, she had run off with his bloody jersey and favourite boxers. He somewhat understood what may have been running through her head at the time. He was currently experiencing similar thoughts.

When he first woke up alone, he chalked up his memories to a vivid, yet disturbing dream. That theory was shot to hell once he established that he was not in his own room and there was a girl's school uniform strewn all over the floor. He wasn't exactly sure why he decided to take the clothing with him. Perhaps to hold them ransom for the return of his own items.

He was so engrossed in trying to make sense of the previous night's events that he didn't even hear someone else enter the dorm room.

All of a sudden, the knickers were unceremoniously yanked from his grasp.

"Oi!" Malfoy protested, trying and failing to regain possession of the underwear.

"What have we got here!" Nott held them at eye level with one finger, observing the undergarment with great interest.

"H.G.? Who's the lucky girl with the initial's H… and G," he pondered.

Oh Merlin, how had he not noticed the great swot had put her bloody initials on them?

Draco saw the cogs turning in Theo's mind and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Did you show Princess Mudblood what a Pureblood Prince is capable of?" He sniggered.

Draco's face paled, even more than his usual fair complexion.

He should have denied it. He should have snatched the panties from Nott's hand and given him a right thump for making such an accusation. But he didn't do any of those things. He just sat there silent and white.

Nott stopped his cajoling once he observed Draco's state. "Oh, Merlin. I was kidding! You bedded Hermione Granger?"

"Apparently," Draco groaned, head in hands.

"Well! I must say, I'm a little surprised. I knew you had mellowed a bit with the whole bloody purity thing after what happened last year, but you've done a complete one-eighty —"

"I didn't mean to do it," Draco cut in. "It wasn't in my control. Something forced us to a shag. Or least provoked a strong compulsion that we inevitably gave into," he yielded.

"Oh, come on, you don't have to blame it on some external factor, I'm not going to snitch you out to Daddy Malfoy —"

Malfoy interrupted him again, "No, I am telling you. There was magic involved. We were trying to fight it, but it bested us."

Theo observed Draco's frazzled state for a few moments.

"Who would want you and Granger doing the horizontal tango?" Nott mused aloud.

"I have no idea. But I am going to find out. When I find them, they're going to wish they'd never crossed a Malfoy," he promised, menace lacing his words.

XXX

They spent what was their third week of working on their potions assignment in tense silence occasionally punctuated by a terse demand for ingredients and tools. They were both disappointed in the other for failing to make any progress in their endeavor to figure out what was happening to them.

Hermione spied Ginny in the back flicking through the mp3 player she had gifted her for her birthday, she bobbed her head to whatever tune she was listening to and was intently focussed on learning how to operate the muggle technology.

"Malfoy."

"Granger," he deadpanned.

She braced herself before asking her question.

"What have you told Nott about what's been happening with us?" she rushed the words out before she lost her nerve.

He raised one eyebrow; the faint signs of amusement were evident in his expression.

"Just the basics, really. We shagged, and then we almost shagged a couple of times. Magical forces are making us randy as all hell. And so on."

Hermione balked at how ineloquently he had condensed the current situation they were in.

"What have you told the She-Weasel?" he continued, jerking his head in the direction of an oblivious Ginny in the corner.

"The same… I suppose," she assented.

Hermione wasn't satisfied though. After her encounter with Nott in the library, she wasn't completely convinced that Draco hadn't gone into specifics. She was only basing this on the way Nott had stared at her. Like he was imagining what was hidden under her robes.

"You… You didn't tell him everything though, right? Like... what we did."

His forehead crinkled in momentary confusion, until he realised what she meant.

"Oh, you mean things like the fact that you have rather nice breasts and my expert fingers had you gagging for it?"

Hermione shrieked in indignation and grabbed the nearest textbook to crack him over the head with. He was openly laughing and had caught the book in his hands before it could make contact.

We're standing too close again.

He stopped laughing and looked at her seriously. She lowered the book and cleared her throat to break the tension. They were in dangerous territory.

"No, I didn't give him the ins and outs of our encounters. Not that he didn't try… but despite your perception of me, I do have some morals."

Hermione allowed herself a weak scoff at the notion, but her heart wasn't in it. He had kind of complimented her.

Why do I care if he said I have nice breasts? His opinion of my breasts is irrelevant!

She was warring with herself about whether or not she was allowed to be relieved that he at least found her body attractive.

"What kind of detail have you and red one been gossiping about?" His voice broke her out of her inner existential crisis. When Hermione looked over at him, she saw he had that bloody smirk on his pretty Slytherin mouth again.

Not pretty. Foul. Foul mouth.

Malfoy seemed so confident that his performance in their encounters would be classed as nothing less than outstanding. Hermione considered messing with him and making something up about his lack of dexterity or a small appendage, but if she remembered her responses accurately, he would know it was an outright lie.

How infuriating.

"She tried to get all the sordid details out of me as well, but I am excellent at keeping my mouth firmly closed," Hermione assured him with a prim nod.

"I beg to differ," he quipped, chuckling to himself.

That comment earned him another crack with the textbook and this time she was successful.

"Ow! You sodding mad woman!"

Malfoy tried to wrestle her weaponised book away from her, but she was holding on for dear life. Hermione turned away from him to try and break his grip on the book, but he wrapped his arms around her from behind and continued trying to yank it away from her.

"Stop wriggling," Malfoy hissed, through clenched teeth.

That's when she felt it, he was getting turned on by their little skirmish.

"Malfoy!" she cried, releasing her claim on the book.

He stood there with the book strategically placed over the front of his pants muttering "Polyjuice" over and over again under his breath with his eyes closed, like it was the magic word to deflating the tent rapidly forming.

Towards the end of their scuffle, Ginny apparently remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. She looked up and sighed heavily when she noticed the chaotic scene unfolding in front of her.

She raised her wand lazily and propelled Hermione slightly away from Malfoy.

"What's the rule?" she asked the two flustered teenagers in front of her, vexed by their constant flouting of the boundaries.

"Six feet," they both mumbled, contritely. Their eyes were cast down to the lab floor.

"And what is happening there?" Ginny demanded, pointing her wand at the book in front of Draco's crotch.

Malfoy chanced a look behind the textbook and sighed in relief.

"Nothing anymore, thank Merlin. Your voice is quite the antidote, little Weasley." He chucked the book back onto the table, apparently unembarrassed that he had just gotten aroused in front of two Gryffindor girls.

For the rest of the session, Ginny made sure to keep her attention on the pair in front of her. They simply couldn't be trusted.

XXX

Draco was absent during Potions the next morning. This irritated her a little actually. Not that she missed him, but she didn't appreciate having to work on their assignment by herself. She told Ginny as much after in what was now their regular meeting time in the library, but she said that Hermione should just appreciate the fact that she didn't have to worry about him fondling her under the table.

Hermione plopped herself down next to Ron in the Great Hall at lunchtime. She was excited to spend some quality time with her two best friends, who she felt she had been neglecting since this whole fiasco began.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked, scanning the crowd for black hair and glasses.

Ron grimaced and gestured to a spot further down the table.

She spotted Ginny and Harry engaged in animated conversation. Every now and then Ginny would playfully shove Harry in the shoulder, and he would whisper something into her ear causing her to giggle.

Hermione thought they looked adorable and then felt a little bad that all of their conversations the past few weeks had exclusively been about her current predicament. She had no idea that Ginny and Harry had progressed to public lunch dates.

"Aw, they're cute!" Hermione smiled at Ron.

His grimace deepened and she slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Oh, come on, you can't be upset that your best friend and your sister are finally getting together."

"Yes, I can," he said matter-of-factly.

"Why?" Hermione contested. "I can't think of anyone better suited for her, and he's a complete gentleman. He's your best friend, you could be brothers one day, wouldn't that be wonderful?" she tried to assure him.

Ron had begun glowering at his plate and pushing its contents around. The fact that he wasn't shoveling food into his mouth was sign enough that he was struggling.

"Alright," he grumbled. "I'll try and get on board."

Hermione put her hand on Ron's arm and squeezed lightly, he perked up a bit and started eating.

"How about the four of us go for a butterbeer next Hogsmeade weekend? That might help you get used to the idea."

A ghost of a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "I miss you."

There was that stab again cutting through her like a shard of glass. It was only three words, but it meant so much more. It meant; I miss seeing you. I miss talking to you. Where are you? Why aren't you with us?

Hermione dropped her head down to rest on his shoulder.

"I'm right here. I promise."

"Don't you find it weird?" Ron sat back in his chair. He had finally given up on his food. "Coming back to school after everything that happened? It seems… unimportant. Compared to what we were doing before. It feels strange not spending every waking minute with you and Harry. Half the time when I wake up, I still reach for the zipper of the tent..." he trailed off, staring at something in front of him that wasn't there.

Ron liked to hide behind humorous quips and self-deprecating remarks, but she knew they were just window dressing. When he thought the attention was off him, she saw the mask drop and his mind's eye drifted off to memories of the war that had left scars on him.

He once told her that he vomited after hearing her screams from the dungeon as she writhed in agony on the drawing-room floor. She was also sure that his time separated from them in the forest after the necklace had affected him more than he let on. Growing up with so many siblings, he probably had never been really alone before. He wouldn't have coped well with it.

The truth was that Hermione hadn't adjusted back to normal life at Hogwarts either because a whole new obstacle had swiftly taken the place of the war for her.

She felt even less ready now to let him know what was going on with her and Malfoy. Hermione certainly had her own selfish reasons, but she could see that he wasn't prepared for a new complication to enter his life before he had recovered from the old ones.

"I think I'm coping with it differently to you, but I assure you that I am still struggling. I bury myself in books and classes. It helps me to stop thinking about it."

Ron reached out to wrap an arm around her. She felt her neck and shoulders release a little of the tension they had been holding for who knows how long. Weeks. Months. He rested his head on top of hers and sighed. Maybe they had just healed each other a little.

XXX

Hermione and Ginny had been waiting almost fifteen minutes in the lab on Friday evening and Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. Ginny was about to go and get the map to ascertain his whereabouts when Theo moseyed on in.

"Good evening, lionesses!" he proclaimed.

Hermione looked up at him, her forehead pinched in confusion. "Nott? What are you doing here? Where's Malfoy?" she questioned him.

"I'll be playing the role of Malfoy this evening." He gave them an exaggerated bow.

"Though I shan't be engaging in all the activities you're used to doing with him, Granger. Just the scathing retorts and potion-making bits," Nott clarified unnecessarily, inspecting the potions paraphernalia set up on the table.

Ginny met Hermione's mortified gaze and shrugged.

First, he missed Potions and now he's missed their lab time. It was painfully obvious now that he was avoiding her.

"Why isn't Malfoy here?" she pressed, against her better judgement.

The beginnings of a suggestive grin started taking over Theo's face. "Why, do you miss him?"

"O-Of course not!" Hermione sputtered irately. "Snape said we weren't allowed to switch partners and I will not fail this assignment just because Malfoy can't be bothered to show up."

Theo waved his hand, dismissing her concerns. "Don't worry your pretty little head about that. Who's going to tell him? I certainly won't, and I don't think she'll be dobbing you in either," he said, gesturing to Ginny.

"Maybe this is a good thing, Hermione? You're on the home stretch anyway, the most difficult parts are done and perhaps Malfoy has the right idea to put some distance between you," Ginny proposed.

They both had very logical reasoning. She couldn't dispute it.

Then why do I feel disappointed?

Ginny clapped her hands together. "I for one am quite relieved actually. I thought the two of you were going to go at it on the floor in front of me last time."

The red witch expertly dodged the bag of herbs that came hurtling at her from Hermione's direction.

XXX

Hermione had decided that Theo was a perfectly acceptable replacement potions partner. After they had all established that Nott would be filling in for Malfoy for the remaining week that was left of the assignment, Ginny had asked if she would be needed anymore. Hermione arched a brow at Nott, silently asking him to confirm that she was safe with him and he put up his hands in a sign of surrender, assuring them both that he would behave himself.

"Imagine the magic would make you want to shag all Slytherins," Ginny goaded, which was enough for Hermione to finally banish her from the room.

Theo had tried to coax intimate details out of her a few times, baiting her with indelicate remarks. But after his attempts were shot down repeatedly, he resigned himself to the tasks at hand. All in all, she was quite relaxed compared to her sessions with Malfoy.

Harry and Ron had shown up their typical ten to fifteen minutes early and were baffled by the presence of Theo. Hermione gave the excuse that it was mutually agreed she and Malfoy had finally had enough of each other, so Nott would be standing in for him.

"'Bout time," Ron muttered, still not pleased that she was paired with yet another Slytherin.

The next night in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione asked Harry if she could borrow the Marauder's map.

"Sure, who are you looking for?" he asked innocently enough.

Luckily, she was prepared for such a question.

"I need to find McGonagall to see if she'll write me a pass for the restricted section. I have an essay due for Ancient Ruins and I think the text I need is in there."

Harry nodded, dug around in his bag for the map, and handed it to her. She didn't miss the slightly crestfallen look at her mission not being of the exciting nature. The familiar pang of guilt cut through Hermione. She was really over keeping secrets from Harry and Ron.

The bushy-haired witch took a seat by the fire and tapped it with her wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Hermione had opened and closed the various sections of the map two or three times each and still couldn't find the name of the person she was looking for.

He can't have left Hogwarts, surely.

And then it dawned on her. She knew exactly where he was.

Hermione handed the map back to Harry, thanking him, and made her way to the seventh-floor left corridor.

She paced in front of the Barnabas tapestry thrice once she had decided what it was she should be thinking of.

Hermione grinned in triumph when the door appeared. She looked around to check she was alone before opening the door and walking in.

She tried to stop the waterfall of memories and emotions flooding her mind as she realised the room was the same as before.

Malfoy was sitting relaxed on the bed reading a Quidditch magazine under wand light. His tie was loosened, and the first few buttons of his shirt undone. His hair had lost some of its stiffness at this point in the day.

He looked up and stiffened as he saw Hermione come into view.

"You shouldn't be here," he said gravely.

"I know, I won't be long."

He nodded curtly. "What do you want then?"

Hermione tried not to squirm at his obvious discomfort of her being there. She didn't really know how he would react to her showing up in what looked like his own private sanctuary, but she had somewhat kidded herself into thinking there would be a slightly warmer reception.

"I came to let you know that I think we need to explore Ginny's idea of there being a prophecy we might be tangled up in. I researched extensively into the spells involving virgins and they just don't account for everything we've experienced."

Draco sighed in resignation. "That's like finding a needle in a haystack, Granger. Half the time the bloody Trelawney's of the world don't even know that they've spouted a prophecy."

Hermione sat on the edge of the bed and let out a sigh of her own. She didn't miss the way Malfoy moved his legs into a sitting position to expand the distance between them.

"I was thinking we could visit the Department of Mysteries during the Christmas break, but so many prophecies and artefacts were lost in the battle."

Hermione chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully and Malfoy fixed his gaze on her mouth.

"Polyjuice, Granger," he muttered.

She released her lip and said, "Oh, sorry… I've been thinking that we might need to tell someone like Dumbledore or McGonagall. I think we're in way over our heads here and we don't know how bad this could get."

Malfoy closed his eyes and rested his head on the headboard. She tried not to notice the way his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

"You're probably right."

Oh, well that was surprisingly easy.

"But not just yet. They're going to get our families involved, so I have to think about how I'm going to… deal with that."

Merlin, I hadn't thought about that.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy becoming aware of her deflowering their only pureblood son sent a shiver down her spine. Not to mention how was she going to explain possible prophecies and sex with a former Death Eater to her own muggle parents.

"True. I'd rather like time to prepare for that myself," she agreed.

Hermione thought she had better wrap this encounter up before the magic completely reared its ugly head.

"In the meantime, you had the right idea about keeping our distance. It's too risky, and Nott is a perfectly good potions partner. If we need to discuss anything prophecy-related, we should have him and Ginny present."

Hermione made to stand up from the bed, but Malfoy shot his hand out to grip her by the wrist, not painfully, but hard enough to tell her he was protesting her exit.

She looked down at his hand around her wrist, his thumb was massaging her pulse point, provoking a rush of warmth to delicious places.

Hermione looked up to meet his eyes and could see he was seconds from pulling her onto his lap to gain the release they both needed so badly. The rush of heat in her underwear intensified.

She gently removed herself from his grip with a strength she didn't know she had and saw a brief flash of disappointment on his face.

"I'm going to go now," she declared, trying to sound a lot more in control than she was feeling.

Malfoy nodded in pained agreement and she left swiftly, not trusting either of them to be able to sit on that bed for much longer without putting it to good use.

XXX

"You went to see him alone?" Ginny asked, predictably shocked that she would have taken such a risk.

"I know, I know. But it was fine," Hermione assured her. "I actually think whatever magic has been used on us might be dissipating, it wasn't until later I realised that if there was ever time that it was guaranteed to happen, that would have been it."

Ginny arched an auburn brow in the direction of her naïve friend. "Let's not test that theory, shall we?"

Hermione told Ginny about how they had mutually decided help of the adult variety was in order, after they had prepared for the fallout as best they could. She was just finishing up the part of the agreement about her and Nott being present at all times if they had to discuss special prophecy business when Ginny's eyes widened slightly behind her and she shook her head slightly, prompting Hermione to shut up.

"Good afternoon my two favourite girls," came the unusually perky voice of Harry.

He situated himself on the armrest of the chair Ginny was occupying.

"What are we chatting about then?" He looked from Hermione to Ginny with his beaming smile.

Ginny effortlessly directed the conversation to a safe, yet suitably boring topic.

"Hermione was just asking if I knew any styling charms to save her time with her hair in the morning." Ginny smiled at him sweetly.

She was good. Too good.

"Right then," he clapped his hands onto his knees, signalling his imminent departure. "I shall leave you ladies to it."

Harry leaned down to place a chaste kiss on Ginny and as he stood up to leave, he winked cheekily to Hermione.

Ginny let out a long-contented breath as she watched him depart.

"I'm really happy for you both. I don't think I've seen him that happy since… ever," Hermione realised. She often worried that she would never see the light in Harry's eyes again after all he had been through and she was happy that Ginny was a big part of why it had reappeared.

Ginny smiled softly with an almost imperceptible pink tinge to her cheeks.

"Thanks, Hermione, I didn't want to brag too much about my excellent love life when you're having unwelcome intervention into yours."

The brunette witch winced a little at her friend's summation, true as it was.

"Well, don't worry about me. I want to hear all about it, all the time. In fact — does this mean I get to prod you about you and Harry's carnal activities?" Hermione joked, a playful smirk dancing on her mouth.

Ginny's eyes widened in glee. "Actually, we haven't sealed the deal all the way – but he does this thing with his to—"

Hermione proceeded to block her ears while desperately begging Ginny not to finish that sentence.

XXX

The last two lab sessions went by without a hitch. An easy thing to manage considering the catalyst for chaos had been sidelined for the time being. Although, it turned out that Nott's presence was more decorative than anything else as he spent the majority of the time napping or reading muggle magazines (that last hobby came as quite a surprise to her).

Occasionally she would shake him awake to assist her with the tasks that worked better with two people and occasionally he would spout random facts or questions without any context she could discern, but all followed a certain theme.

"Did you know Draco is looking for objects infused with defensive magic to sneak into various bits of your clothing for when his parents find out what's going on?"

"Draco and his father barely speak anymore after everything that's happened."

"Were you aware that Draco owls his mother at least twice a week?"

"I personally don't think Draco gives a toss about blood purity anymore; I think his issue with you is more to do with certain personality traits."

Was that supposed to make her feel better? He doesn't hate all muggle-borns anymore, just me.

She had clocked on early that he was apparently trying to convince Hermione that Malfoy wasn't the bigoted, selfish git that she thought him to be. What she couldn't figure out was why.

She was pondering on that question when Snape started talking about how they were going to be assessed on their potions and she tuned back into what he was saying.

"Luckily for all of you, using Veritaserum on students is strictly forbidden. So, there will not be any question time while I am inspecting your potions."

He narrowed his gaze and looked pointedly at the Slytherin side of the room who rolled their eyes and huffed that he had spoiled their fun.

Hermione and Draco chanced brief looks of mutual relief when Snape announced this. They knew on some level that Snape wasn't sadistic enough to make them spill their secrets in front of all their classmates, but the confirmation put them more at ease.

"You will each drink your potion and then I will cast a simple diagnostic charm to see if you are indeed under the effects of Veritaserum. If your throat turns purple, you have succeeded. If it turns any other colour or none at all then you have thoroughly wasted the last four weeks of my life and yours."

Snape directed his last statement to several of the students that hadn't displayed an affinity for potion making, like Ron and Seamus.

"We will have the antidote at the ready so that you can immediately avail yourself of its effects. No harm done. But let me be crystal clear. If anyone attempts to take advantage of another student under the effects of Veritaserum they will be subject to harsh consequences. Is. That. Understood?" He punctuated each syllable with the sharp tap of his wand on the end of his desk.

Every student, suitably terrified, nodded in agreement.