My darlings!

So I've been really stressed, and I ended up writing this chapter yesterday to take a breather, and to relax I guess you could say. I decided to post it today though, because today is the 'twins' birthday. So Happy Fake Birthday Hermione and Draco!

Thank you for all the love, you lot are fantastic! *hearts*

Please leave a review and let me know what you think ;)

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.

Previously…

Moony stopped right in front of her, and she could feel his hot breath as he inhaled and exhaled, his snout brushed against her ear and the side of her head.

It was safe to say that things weren't going according to plan.

Foxy doesn't move an inch, her breaths shallow, and her eyes lowered. A soft whine came from a few feet away-Paws.

Moony nuzzled the side of her neck, and then his amber and gold eyes turned on the others. Paws moved first, stepping out of the tunnel, and bowing deeply to Moony. Padfoot followed suit, and Prongs hesitated a moment longer, his black nose twitching frantically as he stepped out-hooves clicking across the floorboards.

Prongs bowed deeply, his antlers brushing against the floorboards, and Wormtail squeaked, hopping off, and scurrying around to Prongs's flank.

Foxy let out a soft exhale, and straightened up slightly, giving Moony a wide berth as she crossed over to Paws's. Moony stared at them all with his bright eyes before letting out one sharp bark, and then bowing his head a fraction, but he kept his eyes on them the entire time.

A good portion of that first night was tense, none of them made any sudden movements, and Moony was content to lie down and watch them for the most part-seemingly pleased by the fact that he had company for the first time ever.

Foxy however had a different agenda, and Paws nudged her with his nose when she got up; Foxy could see the question in his eyes, so she let out a tiny yip before padding slowly over to Moony-the floorboards creaking slightly under her weight. Whose eyes followed her until she stopped beside him, and he lifted his head off the ground and angled it to look at her.

Foxy made a light sound before curling into Moony's side, her rusty-reddish brown, fluffy tail curling around her as she did so. Moony made a noise at the back of his throat and rested his head back across his front paws, letting out a soft huff and his eyes finally fluttered shut.

All of the tension flooded out of the room, and then others bundled together for warmth, soon slumbering away.

Foxy woke up to the sound of footsteps trickling in from the tunnel, she blinked blearily at the mouth of the tunnel, standing up, shaking out her coat and sniffing the air. Human. She bounded over to Paws, jumping up and biting down on his ear-her sharp little teeth pulling at it to garner his attention. He woke up with a jolt, teeth bared, and his jaws a fraction of space away from her throat. Foxy calmly licked his nose, and he recoiled sharply, shaking his head at the sudden contact, studying her for a long moment before licking her shoulder.

Foxy turned around and saw that Moony had transformed, and a naked Remus lay before them, she tilted her head at the sight, her instincts taking over as she tried to connect the dots. Foxy closed her eyes, and a tingly feeling spread across her fur as she shed it and shifted back into her other self-shaking out her left arm for a moment since it felt strange and partially numb.

Hermione's boys soon followed suit, and Sirius was the first to talk, "morning...is there a reason why we're all up, the sun can't be up yet."

"The moon has gone down though," Draco said with a yawn, a hand covering his mouth. "Which means that Pomfrey will be here soon, sooner rather than later I think...I heard footsteps."

"What are we going to do then?" Peter asked, rubbing a hand through his mussed hair, "we're not exactly supposed to be here after all."
"Use the Cloak?" James suggested, reaching into his trouser pocket and pulling out the neatly folded Cloak-he shook it out, and Hermione looked at it skeptically. It could probably only fit three of them under it-everyone had gotten taller than they used to be, which made using the Cloak for anything more than trios a pain in the arse.

"How about the three of you use it, and Draco and I going and hide in that small curve in the tunnel a few feet in? We could use a Notice-Me-Not charm," Hermione mused.

"Sounds good, we best go, quickly, she'll be here any minute now," Draco nodded, glancing over his shoulder at Remus who was curled up in a ball on his side, still knocked out. "See you later, mate," Draco whispered.

Draco grabbed Hermione's wrist and starting pulling her towards the tunnel, and she threw her head to the side and watched Remus as they left, see you in a bit, love.

Hermione swallowed thickly as they entered the darkness-though it wasn't as dark as it once would have been, as their heightened senses extended to their vision.

Hermione fixed her bra strap with her free hand-as it had twisted at some point-and her eyes were trained on Draco's larger hand wrapped around her slender wrist. Hermione listened as best she could, and heard footsteps ahead of theirs, and it could have been her eyes playing tricks on her, but she swore she saw a dim light melting into the darkness.

Draco halted suddenly, and he looked to their right, and saw that a small crevice was in the wall, big enough for the two of them to fit. He glanced at Hermione momentarily, before angling his face back in its direction and jerking his chin at it. Hermione nodded, and kicked a few small pebbles as she stepped into it, her shoe scuffing across the dirt.

Draco looked to his left, and just as the light grew brighter, he hurriedly ducked into the crevice with Hermione, pulling his wand out of his pocket and whispering under his breath in one swift, seamless movement.

Hermione held her breath as the light got brighter and more brilliant, and she peered at the tunnel out of the corner of her eye-not wanting to turn her head to look properly-and she saw the slightly weathered face of Madame Pomfrey as she passed by.

Hermione exhaled deeply as the footfalls got farther and farther away, and she let her head fall against the rocky wall. Hermione eyes moved upwards, and she caught Draco's grey ones, and her brow drew together as she noticed that he was already looking at her.

"What?" Hermione murmured.

"You're so reckless, you know that?" Draco shook his head, breaking eye contact, his head fully turning to the side as he stared blankly out at the wall opposite their crevice.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, and kissed her teeth together. She suddenly felt terribly warm, and she suspected it had something to do with their close proximity-their fronts were practically touching, and her right knee was brushing the side of his trousers. Any closer and their limbs would be entangled.

"Because I stopped Moony from giving into instinct and killing James?" Hermione asked bitterly.

"I'm not getting into it, Hermione," Draco sighed, sticking his head and peering down the tunnel. "We should leave, and get out before she comes back."

"We should wait on the others," Hermione argued.

Draco peeked at her out of his peripherals, and sighed again, a loud exhale from his nostrils. "Okay."

"What is up with you?" Hermione pressed, moving closer, and they were touching, and Draco refused to look at her.

"Hermione."

"Draco."
"Drop it."
"No, tell me what's wrong?" Hermione asked in a harsh whisper, a decibel above the level they had been conversing at previously.

"Nothing is wrong, Hermione," Draco responded in heated hiss, his face flying back around, and now mere inches from hers. Hermione forgot how to breath for a moment. "You know what? I'm going to go ahead, I'll see you later," Draco stepped back, ducking out of the tunnel, and before she could stop him, he disappeared into the darkness.

Leaving her alone with a pounding heart, and one question on her mind, what the fuck just happened?

Witch just can't let things go, Draco grumbled mentally, storming back into the castle with a whirlwind of irritation swirling around him as he moved. He had gone down to the Black Lake for a bit to try and calm down, but something about how Hermione looked at him, had gotten under his skin, and he was just furious. It made no sense, and he had crossed the grounds as the sun began to rise in the sky, and the chilly air clung to him as he walked.

Draco was so preoccupied by his thoughts, that he strode past a honey blonde-in the Entrance Hall-that had called his name out in surprise.

"Draco!" The witch calls out again, lightly jogging to catch up to him, taking the stairs to the grand staircase two at a time.

Draco froze, and twisted around in place in confusion. She shouldn't be up yet, and if she is, why? Draco asked as his eyes fell on his girlfriend.

"Draco? Love? What's wrong?" Marlene asked as she stopped on the step beside him.

"Marly? What are you doing up so early on a Sunday?" Draco murmured, a hand instinctively moving to her waist to pull her closer.

"I was going to go for a run," she raised an eyebrow, and his eyes darted down to see that she was wearing a tight, navy blue long-sleeved shirt and a pair of thick black tights, and a pair of running shoes, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail. "Why are you up?"

"I went for a walk, couldn't sleep properly, and I felt restless," Draco responded, keeping it as vague as possible, pulling her flush against him, and her fingers gripped onto the front of his shirt, but he saw the look in her eyes.

"Now, why are you upset?" Marlene asked, her hands sliding upwards and she linked them behind his neck.

With regards to Marlene he always felt burdened, since he wanted to be honest with her, but there was so much he couldn't tell her. He detested lying to her, but in some cases it was necessary. This time he would be as honest as he could without giving anything away.

"Hermione and I had a small row, but it's not really that big a deal...she overreacted about something," Draco said slowly and carefully.

His feelings towards Hermione were as potent and strong as ever, but Marlene was firmly planting herself in his heart, a seed of affection so to speak-and roots were spreading from it, travelling and encompassing his heart. It was bloody terrifying.

"You'll both be fine, trust me. You always are-" Marlene smiled softly, "-trying to calmly think about it, without all that Gryffindor bravado, and see who was at fault. If it was you, apologise. If it wasn't you, still, apologise."

Draco could slowly feel the anger ebbing out of him, and he reached up to stroke Marlene's cheek tenderly. "You're too good for me you know."

"Of course I am-" Marlene snorted, shaking her head, but then she looked up at him under a row of thick, full, dark eyelashes, "-but, I'm yours either way."

It was something in her voice, something shifted inside of him, as if his entire world flipped onto its side and then righted itself, but he wasn't where he had been. Draco blinked rapidly for a moment, and then looked at Marlene, really looked at her, and it was if he was seeing her for the first time. Marlene McKinnon loved him.

Draco's eyes widen as he he realises something else, and everything slows, the curves and lines of her face permanently etching themselves into his memory.

Then the words slip from his mouth before he can even think to stop them, tumbling and free falling out into the open without his permission nor blessing. "I love you."