Here we go guys! As promised last time, this is it! Something happens. Granted, something by my standards has led to 23 chapters of character development more than anything, but still! I think it will satisfy a few of your romantic needs and hopefully keep you reading some more. This chapter is dedicated to all of you! LOVE YOU GUYS!

ENJOY!

Oh, the first "Draco's Point of View" was originally supposed to be a very short stand alone chapter but I decided it would be too cruel to just leave you guys with only that. So, sorry if the tone of the rest of the chapter seems out of place by comparison, but I wanted to include it anyway. For the sake of simplicity, I have labeled the first part Chapter 24 A and the rest Chapter 24 B.

Chapter 24 A:

Draco's Point of View:

He woke up that night, sweating, welcoming the darkness of his room over the painfully bright nightmares that plagued him. He frowned as he sat up, pushing back his damp locks away from his face in a furious gestures. Unlike every other night where scenes of his father and the death eaters haunted his mind with dark visions, tonight had been different. It had started much in the same way, his mind zooming in on yet another hiding ground of the dark lord, finding a group of hooded figures huddled around a single tortured soul. But the usually faceless victim of his nightmares had a painfully familiar expression: Hermione.

He had awoken shivering and sweating all at once, with a vile taste in his mouth that resembled the same feeling of rage he'd felt upon seeing Seamus with the head girl, but this time filled with an equally powerful sense of fear. He knew that by interfering, he had potentially placed her life in danger, making it all to obvious for anyone to care to notice that she meant something more than the average Gryffindor. A fact that the infuriating perceptive Ginny Weasley had no doubt noticed.

But she trusts you, his better side argued, a revelation which still shocked him cold. What had he done to deserve such kindness? And at what price could it be upheld? Worst, for bringing such news to him, he felt he owed something the youngest Weasley, a fact which he did not relish.

He let out a deep sigh, pulling himself out of the bed, resigned to yet another sleepless night. Instead, he pulled out a sheet of parchment and began to write.

My father once said he trusted me. Said I was to be his heir, rightful son of the Death Eaters and future right hand man of the Dark Lord. And yet I knew it was a false trust, given only out of convenience in hopes of luring me in, though I could still see him double checking every move I made. Such vacant promises. Such insufficient faith.

And now she gives me her trust. I can't help but fear that it too could be a lie, carefully concocted out of self interest. Worst, I fear what I see her in her eyes: that the trust is real, and that somehow it is within my hands to tarnish it, tear it down, let her down, and shatter the blind faith she has seen worth bestowing upon me.

Lord Voldemort said he was my friend. That as his rising right hand man, I would be by his side, watching out for him as he would for me. That too was a lie. He trusted me no more than the rest of his cronies and wanted less a friend a more a well trained slave.

And now she is my friend. I know it is true for she demands nothing in return. It is selfless, giving, caring. At the same time, it is so unnatural, so rare, so inherently implausible in my eyes that I cannot seem to grasp it, to make the most of it, but rather lash out to try to balance what I have known my entire life besides what I am now discovering.

All I have ever known has been nothing more than lies. And before such truths, I find myself almost begging for the darkness I'm familiar with. Rather a well known evil than a rather uncomfortably new potential good...

He took the piece of paper, not even gracing it with a second thought, and proceeded to crumple it and toss it into the nearest fireplace. No need to leave any evidence lying around where his father was concerned. Besides, it would only serve to remind him of thoughts he rather push away, though he knew that the words would linger in his mind long after they had disappeared among the silent ambers of the fireplace.

Chapter 24 B:

Draco's Point of View:

For the fifth time that day, he looked at his friend Blaise Zabini and struggled to hide a grin. Granted, he had been angry when the hot headed boy had approached him, unwavering and unyielding as he laid out his demands. For that matter, he still wondered what exactly gave him the right to demand anything from a Malfoy. Whatever the reasons, his friend had decided, and rather stubbornly so, that the dangers that had led to Malfoy's decision were, as of today, no longer valid. Of course, they both knew that Lucius was still on the loose and that their continued friendship put them both in danger. But time had led the flirty Slytherin to conclude that, whatever the risk, it was worth it. Malfoy welcomed his friend back, though after a substantial amount of grunting and refusal. He had laid out his best insults, hoping anything would make the other hate him and back off. But something, or someone, had pushed the boy past the point of no return. For better or for best, they were back as the dynamic duo of Slytherin.

"So, is Granger as good in bed as she is in class?" asked Zabini teasingly and Draco tactfully chose to ignore him and not rise to the bait. After the first attempt of Blaise to get a rise out of his friend through this method, Malfoy had more than gotten used to pushing it all aside as nothing more his friend's usual teasing.

"About as good as I'm sure your redheaded Gryffindor is" replied Draco, though his retort barely cause more than a raised eyebrow from his friend.

"Now there's an idea..." contemplated the cheery Slytherin. "Even if her family is, well, common, the girl does have potential. I should add her to my list of future hook ups, don't you agree?" Draco snorted.

"Yea, and watch all of her thousand brothers beat you up after you're through"

"Ouch, point taken" replied Zabini, slumping down as his bubble was, quite definitively, burst. "Well, a man can dream! Besides, there are plenty other girls out there still waiting for me to charm my way into their... hearts. With so many to chose, I can't help but choosing them all! One at a time, of course,...well, maybe two to make up for the time I wasted this semester, but come graduation time, I will have successfully finished off my "to do" list."

"So long as you make sure you keep Pansy off my case while you're at it, I won't stop you" concluded the blond Slytherin, ignoring the gagging noses from his friend. It was good for things to be back to normal...well, as normal as they ever get, he reminded himself quickly. Almost as if reading his thoughts, Zabini added:

"Any news on you-know who?" The question had been thick in the air ever since they had returned to being friends and now that it was in the open it was impossible to keep ignoring it.

"No, not directly at least" replied Draco, looking around quickly to make sure no one was listening. "I mean, before father got locked up, I was supposed to get marked this year. They've both been pretty quiet since then, though I keep expecting them to pop out at any moment, especially since the war effort isn't getting any easier for either side."

"Are you gonna risk going back for Christmas?" pushed Zabini, ready to offer to stay behind at Hogwarts if it would ensure Draco's safety.

"I have to" he explained. "If they really want to find me, I'm sure they'll get in here. It's only a matter of time. And no matter how much Dumble-dork can do, I sure as hell will not become his lap dog any more than I will for Voldemort" He ignored his friend's shudder at the use of the Dark Lord's name. "Regardless, worst come to worst, I make a run for it. Leave until the war is over. I don't think they'll want me until I graduate though, since that's what we had always planned. I say, come graduation, I get the hell out of this area, leaving all I know on the Death Eaters in a nice little envelope behind for the Order to find. Make sure they know I'm on their side if they happen to win since I would much rather stay out of Azkaban, thank you very much". They were both silent, the weight of all they had tried to ignore almost physically oppressing them now. But as the bell rang and they hurried towards their next class, their thoughts were forced to wait until another moment and both friends continued in seemingly blissful ignorance of the many dangers that awaited them.

--

Ginny's Point of View:

--

Ginny Weasley was annoyed, to say the least. Though she had approached Blaise Zabini as nothing more than an act of good will, it seemed everything had snowballed downhill from there. He was charming, he was good looking, and he was also a whole lot more intelligent that he pretended to be. She also knew he was loyal, that much was clear from the way he had reacted to Malfoy's actions. But then, there he was, actively living out his philosophy of never being a "one lady's man". And though he graced her with the same flirts he exchanged with everyone else, there was always a slight distance, as though he appreciated her a little too much to just play like he did with the rest. Granted, she knew the bridge between his appreciation and being attracted to her could very easily be breached, but he insisted in avoiding her when their conversations became too serious, too personal, or too honest. Keep things light, he said, and no one gets hurt.

Except me, she concluded, slumping down on her favorite chair in the Gryffindor common room. She wanted him to notice her, outside the context of simply being a friend. And she knew the interest was there: enough years observing people with Hermione had made her good at picking up on details. But he refused to act on it and she was damn sure nothing would come up until she took some drastic action. And as she looked up and saw the Slytherin Dynamic Duo walking by, the answer hit her all too clearly. Rushing to the owlery, she began forming plans as she drafted her first ever letter to Draco Malfoy.

--

Hermione's Point of View:

--

Hermione felt dishonest. She could have turned the other way and not read the note. For that matter, maybe picking his books up as a whole had been wrong. But nothing had prepared her for the complete and total shock that came with the small note she had found within Draco's Defense Against the Dark Arts handbook. There, thrown across the floor from where she had dropped it as she attempted to place his books back on the shelf where they belonged, was the tiniest of notes written in the bright red ink quill and oddly slanted penmanship she recognized as Ginny's:

DM

Meet me by astronomy tower on Monday at 11. Let's just say I have quite the surprise in store.

GW

There. Simple. Hermione tried to reassure herself that, had she known on Monday she wouldn't have gone snooping. Unfortunately, almost every fiber of her being told her the opposite and she could very well imagine herself begging Harry for the first time in her life for his father's invisibility cloak. For that matter, she had even considered, upon finding the letter, requesting the old time turner back from McGonagall in hopes of catching a glimpse of the past curfew meeting in the most popular make-out corner on campus. But no matter where these thoughts could have led, the matter remained that the day had long gone, by more than any time turner could fix, and now she found herself, a week late, with an overwhelming sense of guilt and curiosity.

"It was nothing" she tried convincing herself out loud as she paced her room. "Nothing more than a class meeting, I'm sure".

"Yea, right" she managed, blinking away tears she couldn't explain. She threw herself on her bed, wishing she had never picked up the stupid book in the first place. Worst, she felt so guilty she knew she would at least have to ask Ginny about it, which could only reveal more of what she currently was dreading. No, not a potential dalliance between Ginny and Draco. But worst, that the possibility of it revealed everything she had tried so hard to deny: that despite her better attempts to reason her way out of her infatuation as nothing more than a strong curiosity or an intellectual attraction, she was rather quickly falling for Draco Malfoy.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid" she mumbled as she punched into her pillows for emphasis with each pronouncement. And just as she thought matters couldn't possibly get any worst, they did.

"Not going to disagree with you there, Granger" intoned the very boy in question as he entered her room, unannounced. "Head boy meeting at..." he voice dragged on as he spotted the disarray of her bed and the tears in her eyes. "What happened?" he asked, all teasing tones gone.

"I... not now Draco." she managed, barely. He looked into her eyes, his face impassive as he analyzed the situation. "Please" she begged and his facade crumbled just enough to make him need to turn and leave. It took but a few seconds after the door closed before Hermione let herself cry.

--

Draco's Point of View:

--

'She's crying' he concluded rather stupidly, the noise from the other side of the door more than obvious. But somehow the revelations struck him more than logic would allow. There was something about seeing her usually strong willed self so vulnerable that resonated in him and he longed to make it stop. He considered turning around, forcing her to tell him what was wrong, shaking it out of her if necessary, making himself be there for her like she had stubbornly been for him. But he couldn't. Not after the way she had looked at him.

Malfoy's pride themselves in composure, he repeated, even though he knew that it was rather quickly slipping away.

--

Hermione's Point of View:

--

It took much longer than she would have hoped before she was able to regain her composure. She looked herself in the mirror, muttering the simplest of spells to hide the red spots the tears had caused. Taking in a deep breath, she pulled out her notebook and sat by her desk to write.

I have often wondered on the masks we wear. Time after time I have struggled to see beyond those in others, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person that lays inside. It is a painstaking process filled with moments of tears, of smiles, of pain, of laughter. And through it all, I was looking in all the wrong places. For as I sought in others a vision of themselves, I was only truly seeking a reflection of myself. Because all fancy words aside, not once had I dared to contemplate the feelings I had denied. And in all the masks I had seen others wear, I had forgotten that I too held my own.

She paused, taking in another deep breath. She needed to write these thoughts down, needed to let go of these bustling worries that burdened her. As it was, every word that flowed made it just a little bit easier to breath. Encouraged, she continued:

It was a fragile friendship from the start. After all, what more had tied us together besides our circumstances and my own stubbornness? There had been times he'd wished to break away and so had I. But it has been worth it. I have found someone from a world so completely unlike my own who still manages to encompass the very sense of nobility I seek. He has so much of what I hope to be that I long for his company, to see myself reflected in his eyes and discover more through them than through a thousand books. And now, when all is going so well, I place it all on the edge by feeling more than I should, hoping for more than I deserve. And though I know there is nothing for me to gain by feeling this way, in doing so, I risk everything.

She stared at her fear, the product of hours of tears narrowed down to a few words. She needed to know more. Determined, she took up her head girl badge and headed out of the room, curfew be damned, and hurried towards Ginny's room.

--

Ginny's Point of View:

--

"Ginny, are you there?" asked a voice from behind the door she quickly recognized as Hermione. Hurrying to let her in, she welcomed her friend with a warm hug.

"Where else would I be?" she asked. "Not all of us get the privilege of a head girl badge to let us sneak around visiting friends". Motioning for her to sit, Ginny led Hermione to take a seat on the bed, jumping next to her with unrestraint enthusiasm.

"You will never guess what happened!" began Ginny and through her excitement she was unable to spot the visible signs of dread in her friend.

"Aside from the 15 points I heard you loss Gryffindor today in potions, I have no idea" replied Hermione, trying her best to keep her normal tone of voice.

"Well, to make things easier, let me explain" said Ginny, her eyes glowing with enthusiasm. "It occurred to me shortly after the whole Seamus ... incident, that I owed Malfoy. I know, I shouldn't feel this way, but seeing the fact that he did help you at my request, well... I couldn't help it. So I've been pushing things in the right direction to get him and Blaise back to being the Dynamic Duo, but the problem that developed was that...well... you know me Hermione! I can't help but fall for a cute guy like that! Enough interaction with his cheerful side really can charm any girl"

"Draco's cheerful side!" chocked out Hermione in disbelief only to be hit by a pillow by Ginny.

"Don't be silly!" replied her friend. "I meant Blaise! I would never go for that twit Malfoy, no matter how hot he is, for a Slytherin". The redhead paused for a second, barely able to contain herself as she continued: "But then, it hit me, and here is where the sheer brilliance of it all begins. Malfoy had actually felt that he owed me something after the whole Seamus event, given that I had thought of him to help. Weird guy that one. Regardless, added to my helping with Blaise, I sorta got him in a double debt, or so he figures. So I have concocted a master plan to get Blaise Zabini's attention once and for all: show up to the Yule ball with the sexiest dress the Malfoy money can afford by the hand of none other than Malfoy himself and just watch the sparks fly. Nothing pops out someone's feelings like a tinge of jealousy, right? And the best part is Malfoy actually agreed which means..." It was then that everything stopped as she took in the completely devastated look on her friend's face and, for the first time, realized what a complete fool she'd been.

"It's okay Ginny" managed Hermione with a the smallest of smiles, trying hard not to worry her friend but knowing fully well her friend knew better. "You had no way of knowing. But that's alright. I mean, if I hadn't asked him so far, perhaps this is all for the best. He'll have a great time pulling off this stunt with you, which is all I ever wanted for him, since you can tell he has a horrid time trying to tolerate those Slytherin girls. And if he's gonna cross house lines for this dance, it might as well be for something worth while... like snapping some sense into Blaise".

"You really like him, don't you?" asked Ginny, afraid to voice the words. However, having done so, Hermione couldn't very well lie. And so, instead, she chose not to testify against herself and simply stood up, smiled, and gave her best friend a kind yet saddened pat on the shoulder before heading off to sleep.

Fact was, she knew she had but a week left before the dance and had been hoping beyond hope that he'd dare ask, regardless of who they were and where they stood. After all, they were at least friends, right? But life doesn't always allow for these things to occur, so she resigned herself and the dress she had managed to buy on a Head girl business trip to Hogsmead to have a lovely lonely night together.

---

And in the darkness of her bedchamber, she whispered lumos to her wand, allowing the spell's faint glow to give her just enough light to allow her to conclude her journal entry with some final words.

I risk everything. A glance, a movement of a hand, anything can give me away.

I can't risk it.

So even if it pains me more than I will ever be able to put in words, I know that there are some things that are not meant to be, secrets that are better left unsaid.

Closing the notebook, she brushed the last of her tears aside and settled to sleep. "No more Hermione" she told herself. And determined to believe it, she allowed herself to be surrounded by blissful darkness and a dreamless sleep.

Author's Note: That was something! Sorry if it wasn't quite as much as you would have wanted!

--

--

JUST KIDDING! I PROMISE ROMANCE AND DAMN RIGHT YOU ARE GETTING IT! READ ON!

--

--

Chapter 24 C:

The fated day finally came and not a moment too soon. Ginny offered to retract her plans a million times and a million times over was Hermione forced to smile and ask her to continue, ignoring every instinct that urged her to do otherwise. Her loyalty to her friend kept her true, especially in light of the fact that Ginny's plan made sense and was, as far as the Blaise hunt was concern, the best plan they had been able to come up with in snaring the elusive Slytherin. Besides, Ginny was nearly bubbling with happiness at the opportunity to get the boy to notice her, and Hermione would rather damn herself to never love again before snatching that glee from her friend. Even Malfoy seemed pleased with the plan, though he never once brought up the topic to her. His mood had turned dramatically better as he continued to improve his ties with Zabini in hopes of patching up the gap his father had created. And so, except for the lonely head girl, everyone else seemed to be happy.

It took her relatively no time to get ready since she had no one to dress up for. She put on her emerald green robes, the soft fabric giving her as much comfort as she was likely to get. It wasn't as though she hadn't had her fair share of offers, though Seamus had wisely chosen to avoid the topic altogether. But she had declined all of them in favor of that smallest of hopes which was now clearly gone.

He wouldn't have asked, she repeated to herself, needed to believe that there was no interest. More than that, that there was no way for their ever to be anything more than a friendship, that much in itself being risk enough. Though his father had wisely stayed out of public eye, it seemed more like the calm before a storm than the peace they longed for. And while Draco's thoughts continued on the looming danger, there was little place for anything else.

You're being silly, Hermione, she thought, slightly embarrassed to be thinking such petty thoughts of romance in the light of all the darker issues Draco faced. We are at war. It was a fact she constantly needed to remind herself within the Hogwarts' safe haven where all was kept neatly distanced as nothing more than another story on the morning Prophet. It all seemed so far and yet it was a reality that hit too close to home for some. For Draco. For Harry. Maybe, soon, even for her. To forget that in trivial thoughts of teenage whims was simply foolish.

She pushed her now soft curls back, allowing herself the smallest of smiles at her reflection in the mirror. Deciding this was as good as it was likely to get, she began to make her way towards the Yule ball.

Fact had it that most of the girls had yet to make it to the ball for, unlike her, they had dates to dress up for and took hours on end to get the perfect results. After checking up some last minute head girl details, she allowed herself to roam around the room, enjoying the beautiful snowy sky above and the glass snowflakes that hung at different lengths from the silver and white decorations. The effect was absolutely magical. She gave herself a mental pat on the back of a job well done, no matter how much she wished the her fellow head boy would be there to appreciate it.

The night progressed slowly at first. Luna and Ron made it shortly after, and though they allowed her a few minutes of conversation, they were quick to hook up on the dance floor to the point that it was indiscernible where one began and the other ended. Harry came in about half an hour later, parading his date, Lavender who was rather unsurprisingly wearing a silky lavender gown.

Thankfully, it occurred to her almost at the last minute to warn Luna of their little project so she could discreetly lead Ron out of the room at the appropriate time. They distinctly did not need a raging overprotective brother in their plans. Regardless, noticing that the couple was starting to make themselves scarce by heading out into the balcony, Hermione glanced at the large clock at the end of the ballroom and noticed it was almost show time.

First came Ginny, wearing what seemed to be the single most beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was courtesy of Malfoy and his prideful demands of having a date dressed suitably to his standards, besides providing them the perfect way of making sure Blaise would notice the girl. Zabini, who had so far been busy flirting with his two dates, stopped mid sentence and stared at the redhead beauty before him. However, as breathless as Ginny looked, it was nothing compared to what was to follow.

Malfoy had always looked the heartthrob. Granted, he lacked the charm to pull it off, but he had that bad boy edge on his classic features that made him look nothing short of a Greek god. Nevertheless, his normally attractive appearance did little to appease her shock when he stepped through the entrance. From his sharp shiny black shoes to his debonair black suit, he looked like a picture of perfection. And as the entire female population struggled not to stare at him, Hermione guiltily enjoyed watching him from afar as he gracefully entered the room. As expected, they each dallied in their respective crowds, making sure they were quite seen and, if possible, quite adored. Zabini simply walked away from his girls, trying to catch a moment of redhead's time despite the fact that Ginny was too busy being a social bug to bother.

The plan came into effect almost as quickly as it was doomed to end. Ginny sat surrounded by her friends when Malfoy excused himself from his Slytherin pals, including an already raging jealous Zabini, to go find his mysterious date. Edging closer to the Gryffindor crowd, he stood a few feet from Ginny and spoke.

"Ladies, if I may" he began, in what seemed to be a perfect picture of politeness. "I would like to take my date out to dance, if you don't mind". No one had ever seen this side of Draco Malfoy, and his cool collected and suave persona shocked them. However, it paled in comparison to the blow out that was to follow as Ginny smiled, took his extended hand, and followed him onto the dance floor for a slow dance.

A significant portion of the dancing area cleared the moment the hot couple stepped up. There was some tangible chemistry between the two, a shared grin as if they held some secret the world could never know. There was so much excitement between them and, dare some say, passion, that it was as if it would have been rude not to leave room for them. It was then that Zabini, distracted as he was getting punch from the food area, noticed them and his jaw (and cup) dropped to the floor. A million thoughts crossed his eyes: anger, betrayal, jealousy, love, hate... and his face grew red to match. The once charmingly graceful boy was furious, at himself for nothing noticed his feeling before, at Ginny for choosing Malfoy, and at Malfoy for touching what was, quite obviously, his. It didn't occur to him that he had never so much as show any special interest in the redhead, treating her only as a fun friend but nothing more. Those thoughts would have been too logical for the state he was in, which chose instead to lead him right across the dance floor and, quite forcefully, separate the two.

"Malfoy" he sneered as soon as the pair parted, pulling Ginny quite briskly behind him. "Whomever put you up to this, it isn't funny. Let the kid be". Ouch, twitched Hermione from her corner. Exactly not the right words. As if on cue, Enter the Weasley temper.

"I happen to be quite old enough to take care of myself, thank you very much" stated Ginny, prying his fingers off her arm. "What claim have you to make such a decision for me!" The notorious Weasley temper was as volatile as Blaise's, which did not bode well. Only Malfoy seemed calm, watching the scene with amused and satisfied grin.

"I am your friend" he declared after more than a moment's thought. "Trust me, you'll get hurt with him."

"Is that so?" she snapped, which caused a few people to notice the developing feud. "Cause though I know I am your friend, you seem to have little trouble dancing around quite a few lady 'friends'. Seems like a distinction that is infinitely more likely to get me hurt than anything Draco has tried".

"Ginny..." he said, a slight degree of understanding reaching his thick headed brain which was slowly switching off the primordial 'male-defend-territory' mode of cavemen and entering a more rational state. "I always thought you knew I held you apart from all the rest... you are special... a great friend"

"You're gonna have to work this one out for me, Blaise" interrupted Malfoy, too amused to not add his own thoughts. "You've never told her so. For that matter, you've barely spared her a thought these last few years, and all of a sudden you're her friend conveniently at the same time it would take her from me, Zabini? Given our recent disagreements, this seems a little too convenient, if you ask me".

"I... you stay out of this Malfoy!" sneered Zabini, not at all pleased with the amused cockiness of his so called best friend. "Because it seems a little too convenient that you'd be interested in Ginny at about the same time I fall for her, don't you think!" That slip up cost him more than a few shocked glances from the dancing observants who had been pretending to ignore the conversation while eavesdropping. "I mean..."

"Have you?" asked Ginny, her voice allowing herself the smallest bit of a hope. "Fallen for me, that is?"

"I think so..." he managed, which cause his two dates run off fuming from the dance at what was clearly the loss of the most notorious bachelor flirt at Hogwarts.

"I believe my debt to you, Miss Weasley, has been paid". Draco declared, breaking the loving glance of the new couple with his words. "Mission accomplished, you little weasel". She giggled in reply and patted him on the back as he moved away from them.

"And I don't want to hear it Blaise" he added to his friend. "I owed her one and the opportunity to tease you was priceless. So can it. Merlin knows I'll be stuck with more than enough of your love struck rambles the rest of the year". With that, he made his forever memorable exit out of the dance floor and into heartthrob history at Hogwarts. By the time Ron and Luna had returned from their little excursion, a new couple dancing the night away under the snowy skies of the Yule Ball.

And as the music played on, no one had noticed Hermione slip away as soon as the entire fiasco had started, off to find a quiet spot outside where she could observe the stars.

---

It didn't take long for Draco to try to find Hermione. He snuck up next to her as she sat besides the lake outside of Hogwarts, having spotted her through a nearby window once he'd made his exit.

"Ginny and Blaise?" she asked as soon as he approached her, barely bothering to look up as she recognized his familiar walk.

"They're fine. Probably snogging in some corner of the campus, if the Weasley snog trait is genetic. I keep hoping him and that crazy psych... him and Luna would just get a room or something". She laughed, glad to be back to their old friendly routine, even when he still struggled not to completely insult her friends in her presence.

"If that's the case, the evening didn't turn out all that bad" she decided, smiling in an attempt to keep her teeth from clattering. However much she'd been grateful for the night wind for forcing her dark thoughts away, it was now becoming painfully obvious that they should both return inside. Helping her up, they both began a very slow walk side by side back to the castle. She continued: "I had figured the ball would be pretty terrible considering I wouldn't have a date, but watching everyone tonight... it was a beautiful evening".

"You went alone?" he demanded, looking completely shocked. "I figured someone had invited you. I mean, I knew of a few people who were considering you. And, well, I didn't... well... I'm sorry".

"Whatever for?" she asked, trying to keep from crying as she forced herself to keep her voice steady. Composure, Granger. Don't let it drop. "I mean, you had a good time, or so it seems. And it was entirely my own fault, really. I kept denying offers thinking, well, I don't know what I was thinking. Let's just said all the head girl business made me less than eager to start bothering with guys." To this, despite the circumstances, he burst out laughing.

"Oh, keeping the guys at bay takes too much effort, Granger?" he teased and she pushed him jokingly. But then he turned all too serious, a look very similar to that she vaguely remembered on the day of the Hogsmead incident. "Can I ask you something?" he managed, which was odd considering Draco Malfoy had never hesitated before asking anything. "Before the Finnigan... incident... had you ever been kissed before?"

"Yes" she replied, not the least bit happy to admit as much, especially when his eyes demanded details. "My very first kiss was stolen by...shall we say... a less than sane Ron". When Malfoy's eyes shot with bloody lust and rage, she forced herself to breach the distance, painful as it might be for her, and pat him in the shoulder to calm him down. "Not his brightest moment and, rest assured, I let him know. That was followed rather closely by, well, the Hogsmead fiasco, though at least at the time it didn't seem so bad. I mean, my subconscious, while we were ...ehem... at it... wouldn't let me think it was him. Thought afterwards... I don't think I've ever felt so utterly ... used... I rather not remember it." She gave him a small, somewhat sad smile. "Not the best of memories for my first kisses. How about you?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and she hated herself for having asked. Curious as she was, she would much rather remain in blissful ignorance.

"Yes, I've kissed. And been kissed, I guess" he replied, his eyes thinking back on more numbers than she cared to know. "Helps the reputation, I guess" he joked bleakly though it only made her feel more nauseous. "Do you forgive them? Weasley and Finnigan?"

"Ron, all things aside, was easy to forgive" she replied as they entered their common room. "After all, I can't very well blame him for his feelings, misplaced as they might have been. He was just a little too... impulsive, but that's one of his best qualities too so I can't hold that against him either. Seamus was,... well... somewhat harder to forgive. But as flawed as his reasoning might have been to lead him to such actions, I couldn't very well hold a grudge for something led by what he believed to be love. Granted, he very clearly lost all my trust and that will not be easily fixed. But hate him? No. I would hate myself every day if that's how I lived my life."

"You are an infinitely more forgiven person than I am" he replied, and she giggled thinking at the broken state he had left Finnigan after their... encounter. Seamus still did shuffle away from Malfoy if they happen to meet in hallways. "I'm glad you are that way though. Makes things easier, I guess" She smiled at his words only to have the living daylights shocked out of her. Out of the blue, Draco Malfoy had grabbed her by the arms, pulled her to him, and kissed her quite thoroughly on the lips. A thousand and one thoughts crossed her mind during that single exhilarating moment, the last but not least of these being: 'wow...'. She barely managed to cling to his shirt as he continued his ministrations and after a few moments he pulled away, both breathless.

"Forgive me" he added quickly, before planting another one on her and then quickly heading away towards his room. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, her fingertips brushing against her lips, her mind completely blank as she wondered just exactly what had happened.

Author's Note:

OMG! Longest chapter yet (12 pages!) Granted, a lot of it is description, but still! That counts, right? Besides, the romance has begun! Sorry to say not all will stay happy quite so happy in Draco+Hermione / Ginny+Blaise land, at least note while there are still death eaters roaming about. In very crude terms, the shit hits the fan in the next chapter so stay tuned!

Other Author's Notes: (Just in case you have a few moments to indulge my rambles, read on)

-Firstly, I realize that I have misspelled Lucius Malfoy for Lucious Malfoy in a few chapters. My spell-checker can be quite the b-... witch... when it chooses to be. As soon as I get some more chapters up I might go back and polish out the entire thing so I'll make sure to correct those. Thanks for pointing it out though, waddlethepinguin!

-Secondly, this chapter was much harder to write than any other. It called for a lot of action to occur in little time and, let's face it, I've been so caught up in making the characters believable that I haven't been exactly moving the story along as quickly as most of you would want it to. However, I am a true believer that it would be disrespectful to the work of any author to disregard his/her characterization and completely make ever single well crafted character completely O.O.C. This chapter is really to please you guys, though I hope to mend these less than Malfoy actions with his perspective in the next chapter. Trust me, everything isn't as it seems.

-Thirdly, the Zabini Ginny paring hit me completely by surprise and I realize I hadn't truly developed it until this point. I will hope to mend this by adding interesting pieces on them in which you guys will hopefully see that they play very similar roles in respect to their friends (Draco and Hermione respectively) and are more compatible than most would expect. Also, let's not forget that the Weasley brothers, though probably relieved that the youngest was non, in earnest, paired with Malfoy for the Yule ball, will still be less than thrilled with this new couple.

-Lastly, as far as "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is concerned, though I do not think it implausible to write an in character Draco-Hermione fanfic even with the events that took place in the 6th book, the idea for this particular story had already been conceptualized before the book came out. Hopefully, by the time I'm done with this one (if I ever am) and if enough people want me to, I would consider writing a Draco -someone pairing (what can I say? I'm fascinated by him!) taking into consideration the latest book.

Okay. Shutting up now. Sorry to ramble so much! P