Anybody who read my first story ever, Tainted (the original draft) will probably be able to recognize some similarities within this chapter. After all, Devilish is what Tainted was originally supposed to be.

Also, I'm trying to decide if I want any Slash to happen in this fic. I'm still undecided at the moment. I saw some of you asking about that.

Also, you're going to hate me.

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

"Do you know what he is planning?"

Daphne shook her head, a negative, and Hermione sighed. It came as no surprise to Hermione that Daphne was left in the dark about a lot of things. However, it was still disappointing. Despite the fact that she had suspected such, she had still allowed herself to hope that Daphne would be able to tell them much more.

"…but Malfoy is one, correct? I mean, Hermione here says she saw the mark, but I kind of just want some more confirmation," Ginny threw in and Hermione threw her a look.

Ginny had been quite suspicious as of late regarding Hermione, and she wanted to remind the older girl just whose side Malfoy, and his sidekick, were on…in case she forgot.

"Yes. He was…the first to take the mark," Daphne said.

Hermione's eyebrows slightly rose in surprise at this piece of information.

"Do you know why that is? Does it have something to do with his family or…?"

"I think he's doing something for You-Know-Who. I can't be sure, but…after he took the mark, he was spending a lot of time with him."

Hermione's frown deepened and her heart skipped a beat as she processed this. She swallowed, recalling the feel of his lips on hers, wondering to herself if she would ever be able to put it behind her.

"Harry was right. Before school started, he saw Malfoy in Borgin and Burkes, claimed that it was some sort of initiation," Ginny said.

"It more than likely did have something to do with You-Know-Who, but…it wasn't an initiation," Daphne said, shaking her head.

"How do you know?"

Daphne took a deep breath, crossing her arms over her chest, shifting her feet.

"Before each of us take the mark, we have to go through an initiation of sorts. It's…a task that we have to complete. It has to be done in front of the Dark Lord himself, the rest of the Death Eaters…and the future prospects," Daphne mumbled.

Hermione could tell that Daphne was avoiding the topic of what the task was exactly, and she had a gut feeling that she wasn't going to like it at all. Hermione didn't want to push, Daphne was clearly uncomfortable, but she wanted, and needed, to know. Ginny beat her to it, however.

"What's the task?"

Daphne swallowed, blue eyes brighter than ever as she looked up with furrowed eyebrows.

"We…we're to kill a…a muggle," she quietly said, eyes resting on Hermione as if she were seeking forgiveness.

Hermione blinked, surprisingly not surprised. She heard Ginny's sharp intake of breath behind her.

"You can be quick about it, use the killing curse and get it over with," Daphne hurried to say, trying to make it sound less awful than it was.

That wasn't possible, by the way. It was horrible whatever way you put it.

"I sense an 'or'," Ginny said.

"…or you can…have fun with it. They encourage that," Daphne said, looking down.

"…and I assume you were quick about it," Hermione presumed.

Daphne nodded. Her eyes glossed over, recalling the even with something akin to a mix of revulsion and shame.

"I wanted to be sick. I think…I think that was when I realized just what I had gotten myself into," Daphne whispered.

"…and Malfoy? Was he quick about it?"

Hermione clenched her jaw, determined to hold her tongue, lest she let something slip as Ginny asked this question.

Daphne frowned.

"I don't think that you want to know the answer," she hesitantly said.

Hermione's heart sank, and she swallowed.

"Why did he take the mark," she suddenly asked.

"Because he's an evil son of a bitch, duh," Ginny threw in.

"I'd heard the primary reason was because You-Know-Who threatened his family. He's been on their case ever since Malfoy Sr.'s fuck up at the Department of Mysteries," Daphne said.

Hermione heard Ginny scoff beside her.

"Right," she said, unconvinced.

"Why are you doing this, Daphne? It has to be more than because you're scared," Hermione suddenly said.

Daphne straightened, eyes hard.

"I don't want Astoria to make the same mistakes I did. I want to protect her, because this," she rolled up her sleeve, showcasing the mark "…this is a death sentence. I want her to know that there is another way. I won't let her follow in my footsteps. I'll do whatever it takes to keep that from happening, even if it kills me…"

"Stop that," Ginny spat, slapping Hermione's hand away.

Hermione huffed, warily gazing at herself in the mirror, fingering the costume.

"I don't know about this," Hermione said, tilting her head to the side.

She didn't even want to go to this little shindig, let alone dress up for it. Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione's waist from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder.

"Hermione, you look hot, okay? Plus, with everything that you're dealing with, don't you think you deserve to have a little fun?"

Hermione sighed in defeat, reluctant to agree.

"I suppose so…," she trailed off.

"You need to get a little smashed and find a nice looking young man to occupy your time," Ginny proposed.

Hermione didn't exactly agree with that part, but Ginny was partially right. She deserved to let loose and enjoy herself, even if only for an hour or two.

"I hear that McLaggen is out of the infirmary, fully recovered from his little freak accident with his wand. I also happen to know that he fancies you…"

Hermione grimaced, recalling the incident from last week with Blaise. The tall, dark, and handsome Slytherin had immediately slipped away, leaving her to wonder just what in the world his cryptic statement had meant. Surely, he had nothing to do with McLaggen…right?

Blaise could be jealous, she'd seen it for herself, but he would never go to such extremes. Furthermore, the two of them weren't even together anymore. Blaise was somewhat sensible, and even he had to know that he had no right to be envious. Especially since she didn't even care for McLaggen.

"I don't know about that Ginny-."

"Hermione, he's charming, handsome, and I hear he's great in bed."

"Ginny!"

Hermione turned around with a shriek, wide eyed at Ginny's implication.

Ginny laughed, shrugging her shoulders as she pulled away.

It wasn't long before they were entering Ravenclaw's common room, or at least, what she assumed was their common room. It was clear that someone had used an extension charm because the round room was huge. It looked about the size of the Great Hall, and Hermione looked around with unease.

Ron had told her a 'little get together'. There was absolutely nothing little about this. The majority of the people were congregated in the center of the room, while odd groups were spread out around the walls here and there. It looked as if every fifth year and up had been invited, and from every house too. Hermione grimaced as she caught a glimpse of Theodore Nott. If Nott was here, what were the chances that one of them were here as well?

Ginny waved with a grin as she spotted Dean, and she dragged Hermione along as she went to greet her boyfriend. Hermione looked away as they kissed, pulling away to talk about something that they both were apparently very happy about.

"Did I tell you that Dean replaced Katie on the team?"

Hermione shook her head, throwing in a 'congratulations'.

"It was Harry's idea," Dean said with a shrug, wrapping his arm around Ginny's waist.

Hermione's eyebrows rose in surprise, wondering why in the world Harry would ever do such a thing like that.

"Is McLaggen here," Ginny suddenly asked, forcing Hermione to glare at her.

Ginny simply winked before facing Dean again.

"Yeah, I saw Cormac in that area about fifteen minutes ago," Dean said, pointing to the far right corner of the room.

"Excellent. I'll be right back," Ginny said, dragging Hermione with her.

"Ginny, I'm not too fond of this idea," Hermione said.

Ginny turned around, a look of understanding on her features.

"You liked Zabini, I get it…"

"I liked him a lot, okay? I can admit it, now, and I'm trying, I really am, but…it isn't going to happen overnight, Ginny. Especially not with McLaggen. He's just…he creeps me out," Hermione said with a disgusted frown, shuddering.

"Are you sneaking around with him?"

Ginny's sudden question threw Hermione for a loop.

"No!"

Hermione frowned as Ginny frowned back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I feel like you're hiding something from me. Are you sneaking around with his BFF?"

"…no."

Ginny stared at Hermione before pursing her lips, eyes narrowed.

"You're lying," Ginny sighed, disappointed.

Hermione exhaled, rubbing her temple.

"We…kissed," she reluctantly admitted.

Ginny's eyes bulged to an almost comical size. Part of her had hoped that it was just her imagination, she didn't expect it to be true.

"What?"

"He kissed me, okay? It just happened," Hermione defended.

"Did you kiss him back?"

Hermione figured that it was best to just remain quiet. Ginny shook her head with a scoff.

"I can't believe this. How did I become the sensible one? When did that happen?"

"Ginny…"

Ginny placed her hand on her hip.

"Do they have some rare form of magic in their pants that I don't know about? No, really, because this is ridiculous. He has the mark, Hermione, or have you forgotten that?"

"Of course I haven't," Hermione hissed.

"You heard what Daphne said. He is one of them through and through," Ginny harshly whispered.

"It was just one kiss-."

"And when will that turn into 'I got caught up in the heat of the moment'? Pretty soon that's going to be 'That was the last time, I swear'. I don't want to see you get hurt or worse…"

Hermione remained silent. Ginny stepped closer, lowering her voice enough so that only Hermione would be able to hear.

"You are Harry Potter's best friend, one of the biggest threats against Voldemort himself. Now, tell me… What do you think the son of Lucius Malfoy would have to gain by seducing you?"

Hermione looked away.

"Don't be stupid," Ginny spat, brushing past her, leaving Hermione on the dance floor alone.

Hermione closed her eyes, a sinking feeling in her chest as she admitted to the truth in Ginny's words. However, there was also truth in Hermione's. It was just one kiss, one that she did not initiate herself, and one that she did not plan on repeating…with either of them.

She opted out of telling Ginny what Blaise had told her about the three of them being together like one fucked up happy family. She shook her head, suddenly not in the party mood.

"What's got you so down?"

She looked up to see a cup held out towards her, and she smiled at the face attached to the arm.

"I don't…I don't really want to talk about it. Besides, I could ask you the same thing," she said, accepting his offer.

Harry sighed as they walked towards the wall.

"I replaced Katie with Dean…"

"I know. Ginny told me, and all I could think was 'idiot'. You really are a masochist, huh?"

Harry rolled his eyes, sulking.

"I just…I wanted to be nice, you know? She seems to be rather fond of him…"

"Well, she is sleeping with him, so…," Hermione trailed off.

She cringed, immediately regretting her words with one look at Harry's face.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

He frowned.

"Ron and I caught them kissing after practice. I… She's really over me…isn't she?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in concern at the bitterness in his voice.

"Harry…"

"I've lost my chance, haven't I?"

Hermione pressed her lips together, leaning against the wall beside him, overlooking the partygoers.

"Feelings change all the time, Harry. There's no doubt in my mind that hers could change back some day…"

"She already told you, didn't she?"

"…She hasn't said a thing to me," Hermione lied.

Harry sighed.

"I know you're lying. It's okay… Maybe this is what I get for being too caught up in Cho, someone who only ever viewed me as a second choice, anyway."

Hermione was about to reply when a certain 7th year Gryffindor caught her eye. He smiled, showcasing his perfect pearly whites that would have made any other girl weak at the knees. Hermione simply frowned, mouth twisting.

Harry followed her gaze, and his eyebrows furrowed, recalling Lavender's insinuation of Hermione's secret lover.

"Are you and McLaggen…?"

"Merlin, no. Sorry, Harry, but I have to go. When he gets over here, just tell him I left," she said, pushing through the moving bodies of students.

She was halfway through the room, when her arm was caught in a rather flimsy grasp. She found herself spinning right into a toned chest, and her eyes landed on fair skin and a sharp jawbone. At first, Hermione worried that her luck had run out, and she had run into Malfoy.

However, the deep blue eyes that met her gaze told her differently. His jet black hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat as he looked down at her, his grin almost predatory.

"Granger," he purred "…dance with me."

He didn't leave room for argument as he began swaying her around the other students who paid them no mind.

"Nott, just what do you think you are doing?"

Hermione was more amused than annoyed. Despite the fact that Nott had been involved in Blaise's little plot to corner her, she always viewed the low-key Slytherin as rather harmless. He let out a rather dramatic sigh.

"I was growing quite bored of this little soiree, and then I spotted you and figured the night was still young," he said.

She shook her head, not really in a rush to part from him just yet. McLaggen was probably on the prowl…

She glanced up, noticing his stare and looked away with a small frown.

"You're staring," she mumbled.

He pulled her closer, his hand at the small of her back.

"I know," he whispered.

"Can you stop?"

He tilted his head to the side, piercing blue eyes drinking her in, making her skin crawl.

"Hmm…I see the appeal," he murmured.

Her frown deepened.

"What?"

"Blaise and Draco…I see the appeal," he repeated.

Her heart skipped a beat, an uneasy feeling growing in her stomach.

"They…they talk about me?"

His grin grew, eyes dancing with mirth.

"Oh, yes. All the time… In fact, they're watching us, right now," he said, nodding over her shoulder.

She quickly looked around, hair flying, and her eyes widened as they landed on them.

They were near the entrance, leaning against the wall with a group of Slytherins. Draco was chatting with some girl, but it was obvious that she barely had a fraction of his attention. His eyes drifted to her ever so often. Blaise, on the other hand, did nothing to hide the fact that he was blatantly staring.

She turned back around, dipping her head as Nott laughed.

"Who knew that Hermione Granger would be the girl to wrap two of the most 'eligible bachelors' around her finger…"

She looked away, and Nott smirked, a dark look passing through his eyes.

"…and she didn't even have to try," he finished, sounding impressed.

"I really don't want to talk about this with you of all people. I don't even know why they told you-. What are you doing?"

Nott had begun to pull her closer, his arm tightening around her waist, the other coming up to grip her chin.

"They're going to murder me, but…I just want to see what all the fuss is about…"

Hermione had barely opened her mouth to protest when he fiercely pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened as his mouth moved against her own. She noted that he was a good kisser, but that didn't change the fact that this was wrong.

She shoved him away, lips trembling, looking at him as if he'd lost his mind. Nott licked his lips, his heated gaze focused on her.

"Not bad," he praised, a dark glint in his eyes as he looked over her shoulder.

Hermione backed up.

"I thought they were your friends," she said.

He tilted his head to the side, reaching up to brush his thumb over her bottom lip.

"Slytherins don't have friends. Besides…we can just consider this revenge. Revenge in which I am nowhere near finished with," he replied, glaring over her shoulder and backing into the crowd.

Hermione brushed her hair behind her ear and turned around. They were gone, and Hermione was grateful. She sulked, deciding to call it a night after everything that had happened. She had gotten into a fight with Gin, all but ran from McLaggen, and had been kissed by Nott of all people. If Hermione was a drinker, this would be one of those 'I need a drink' moments.

She walked down the corridor, away from the Ravenclaw common room with a heavy heart. She knew that Ginny would come around. The younger witch was just frustrated, and Hermione couldn't blame her. Hermione wanted to slap herself for allowing that kiss to happen. Even worse, for kissing him back. She really didn't want to dwell on just how good it had felt.

She shook her head, disappointed in herself for even entertaining Blaise's stupid idea. She and Draco never got along, he knew that, and right now, simply looking at Blaise made her blood boil. How could he ever think that she would be head over heels about such a thing? The thought of the three of them together just screamed disaster. Or fun. She shook her head, scolding herself for such a thought.

Draco was a Death Eater who apparently enjoyed torturing muggles while Blaise was… Well, Hermione suspected that Blaise was no better than his friend. Her heart sank with this thought, wondering how she could be so wrong about someone.

She paused, looking up as a dark figure down the hall caught her attention. She slowed her pace, approaching with cautious steps, frowning when she recognized Blaise.

He was leaning against the wall, head bent forward, and Hermione got the impression that he was crying…or close to it. She pursed her lips, determined to not let her resolve crack as she approached. Despite the fact that she hated him at the moment, she wasn't going to bask in his pain. That wasn't who she was…

"Blaise?"

He looked up, eyes troubled as they landed on her. He pushed away from the wall, eyebrows furrowed.

"Was Theo a good kisser?"

Hermione bit her tongue, glaring at him.

"Is that what this is about? He kissed me, you saw that. Besides…where do you get off, anyway?"

He didn't respond, and Hermione scoffed.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. You looked… Anyway, if that is what all of this is about then you can forget I asked."

She spun around only to stop as she noticed Draco nonchalantly leaning against the wall, twirling his wand between his fingers and staring at her with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Hermione straightened up, eyes widening as her mind went into overdrive. It was a trap. Her mouth parted in surprise.

She backed up, only to come in contact with Blaise's chest. One of his arms suddenly came to wrap around her waist and the other reached inside of her shirt. By the time she realized what he was doing it was already too late. She yanked herself out of his grasp just in time to see her wand bounce several feet behind him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Her question was directed at Blaise, but he didn't answer. He simply walked towards her.

"Answer me!"

"You miss me…"

"No, I don't," Hermione lied with a shake of her head.

"Yes, you do. I'm sorry, Hermione. Merlin, you have no idea how sorry I am. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to have you back, because…"

He trailed off, eyes darkening as he approached her.

"I can't live without you, I won't," he said.

Hermione jumped as Draco gently grabbed her arm, running his lips along her skin, sending chills down her frame. Her heart beat frantically within her chest as Blaise rested his hand on the wall beside her head.

"Just say yes, Hermione…"

She swallowed, eyes traveling back to Draco who was slowly working his way up her arm. Her attention was brought back to Blaise as his other hand came up to tangle itself into her hair, his lips brushing her cheek.

"Say yes, and we'll grovel, beg, be at your beck and call. We'll do whatever it takes to make this right," a voice purred.

These words did not come from Blaise. Instead, they came from Draco whose lips were nearing her shoulder now. Her eyes widened, and she watched with mixed emotions as Blaise sank to his knees, lifting one of her legs up to rest on his shoulder.

He looked up at her from beneath his lashes, eyes pleading as he gazed at her with such adoration.

"I'm asking you now. What is it going to be?"

Still undecided if I want her to resist. Let me know what you think!