Another day, another alcove. Draco Malfoy knew to wait for Hermione outside the library - she left late, later than any from her house. It wasn't safe. Well, from him at least. Most prefects had better things to be doing than loitering around outside a library.

When he dragged her into the alcove by the wrist, she squeaked, and nearly had him by the jugular within three seconds. Then she saw who it was.

"Draco," She said, sagging against him, as he pulled his arms around her.

"Shh..." he said gently.

With any other girl that'd work, but this was Hermione Granger. Within moments, she had stiffened and was pounding his chest. "Do. Not. Do. That! I could have killed you!"

Draco found himself vaguely heartened by the fact that she seemed to trust him enough to not think that he'd have harmed her. In this oh, so private alcove. "I had to see you..." Draco breathed, bending down for a kiss.

Hermione returned it, up on her tiptoes, strong and bold and beautiful. He gathered her in his arms, and pressed her up against the wall. "Malfoy..." she said, breaking away from the kiss.

"Don't... that's my father." Draco Malfoy said, and froze, his arms still wrapped around Hermione, his eyes turning ice cold.

"My ... father..." Draco Malfoy said, and Hermione had seen that look enough in the mirror to know that Draco was putting something together.

Draco suddenly broke free of Hermione's grasp, as she sat awkwardly on the marble seat at the back of the alcove. Draco Malfoy paced, wildly.

"When I was six, my father asked me to learn of every single law he had passed - and I mean details." Draco Malfoy said, "It was odd. Most children that age are learning their family trees."

Hermione watched Draco, curious about what was going through his head.

"He kept me up to date on them too. I always thought he was just proud of his accomplishments." Draco Malfoy said, and his face had gone paler than Hermione had ever seen it before.

"My father... he knew." Draco Malfoy said, in a throat suddenly dry. His hands were shaking, he balled them into fists.

"He knew?" Hermione asked, eyes wide, still uncomprehending.

Draco hated to break that, intrude with his father's unctuous scheming. "About us. Our engagement, I mean."

"How do you know?" Hermione said.

"There's a pattern to the laws he's been working on," Draco Malfoy said, "I'm sure you're aware that he's considered the leader of the Conservative faction."

"The Purebloods, you mean." Hermione said, eyes flashing.

"That's an oversimplification, and I dislike those as much as you do." Draco Malfoy softly snarled, his eyes returning to warmth. "But as we haven't the time for an intricate discussion of Political Britain, it's close enough."

Hermione watched him, closely. "A pattern?" she prompted.

"Prior to when we were five, he was pursuing a rather blanket ideology - exactly what you would expect from the Head of the Conservatives." Draco Malfoy said, "That changed. He began to champion the restriction of Werewolf rights, in particular. Also, some reversion to the mean in terms of Traditional Weddings, and the restriction of Centaurs to the Forests of Yore."

Hermione blinked, "I don't see what that has to with, well, us." she said with a bit of a blush. Hermione blushed beautifully, Draco thought.

"By pushing ardently for particular causes, he was able to let other Conservative Causes fall by the wayside." Draco Malfoy said, eyes bright, "Like, for example, restrictions on Muggleborns' rights."

"How does that work?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore, the 'do-gooder' that he is, refuses to prioritize. He'll push for all the laws to change at once, and then there would be absolute chaos." Draco Malfoy said arrogantly. Hermione's eyes flashed at him. Draco Malfoy deflated somewhat, saying, "He asks for large changes, ones that the People will not stand for."

"You mean the Conservative faction," Hermione said shrewdly.

"No, were that the case, I'd have said that. No, reintegration of werewolves into society is something that frightens many villages - they well remember entire villages being wiped out by Greyback." Draco Malfoy said.

"But that's beside the point," Draco said, "By forcefully spearheading certain conservative causes, my father could retain his power, while actually allowing Muggleborn rights to progress."

"Your father - did this?" Hermione Granger asked.

"Yeah," Draco Malfoy said with a crisp nod. Then promptly kicked the wall. "OwW!" he cried, jumping up and down on the other foot.

"Draco..!" Hermione giggled. "What's wrong?"

"My father spent years listening to me going on about you - Years!" Draco Malfoy said, "And he didn't say a word. My mother didn't either, and if he knew, she knew as well."

Hermione could see that Draco was nearly incandescent with rage. "Draco," she said softly, "I don't think your parents knew it was me."

Draco Malfoy's eyes met hers like silvered steel, "And I don't think it matters," he spat. "They could have stopped me at any time."

[a/n: Draco's not taking it as them letting him insult his fiancee. At this point, it's "insulting someone like his fiancee" - which is bound to cause hard feelings, no? Leave a review! This chapter was a bit of a bitch to write, I wanted a love scene merging into a dialogue. Did it work?]