Ginny heaved a sigh, picking at the grass beneath them as she processed Hermione's words. The younger witch had been so caught up in Dean lately, the couple going through a few rough patches over the past few weeks or so. It seemed that Ginny hadn't been caught up on everything that was going on, and Hermione hadn't had the chance to tell her.

"I only encouraged you, Hermione, because I knew how much you liked Ron, and I thought…" she shrugged. "I thought that he was only entertaining her, you know? I had no idea…"

The younger girl trailed off with another sigh, a frown marring her face.

"If I had known the truth, I would've told you in a heartbeat," she reassured, glancing at the curly haired Gryffindor.

"I know," Hermione responded with a nod.

"Merlin," she scoffed. "…and to think, Harry knew the whole time and didn't say anything. Mates before dates, or something like that, huh?"

Hermione's heart clenched at that.

"…but I'm not… I'm a mate, Ginny, or…at least I thought I was. After all these years, and putting up with this time and time again, I never thought I'd find myself on the outside looking in for the umpteenth time."

Ginny grimaced.

"They'll see how badly they screwed up, and-."

"I don't care," Hermione found herself saying, surprising the both of them.

After testing it in the air for a moment, she found that it was true, and she continued.

"It hurts, and Merlin knows I want them to feel as badly as I do, but I don't care about them realizing how badly they screwed me over. They've made it perfectly clear that they will always choose each other first. What sense does it make for me to run back again and expect differently from here on out?"

"You can't mean that…," Ginny said, almost sadly.

"I do," Hermione said with conviction. "At some point, I have to put myself first. I have never done that when it comes to them, but they've always had a difficult time returning the favor."

Ginny reluctantly hummed in agreement, unable to argue with that.

"Malfoy says I should do what I want," Hermione suddenly said, resting her arms on her bent knees as she scrunched her face up.

She heard Ginny snort.

"I never thought I'd see the day where I agree with Malfoy, but he's right…"

Hermione turned to face her, and Ginny shrugged.

"Who knows what will happen between you three. Life has a funny way of working things out, but for the time being, it's no use moping around and wondering what you could've done differently. I say take Malfoy's advice. Do what you want, because Merlin knows that Ron certainly is."

Hermione thought that over, chewing on her lip.

"I gave him and Lavender a month's worth of detention," she sheepishly confessed.

Ginny barked a laugh.

"I heard! Oh, I wish you had seen his face, Hermione. I couldn't tell where it ended and his hair began. He was raving mad and going on and on about how cruel you were acting and how jealous-."

Ginny cut herself off with a wince, taking note of the words she was repeating.

"Sorry…"

Hermione heaved a sigh, not offended in the slightest.

"No, he's right. I was jealous. After all, I'd just caught the boy I've liked for years with his pants around his ankles with his new girlfriend. I'm still jealous," she confessed. "I wish that were me."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Okay, that is unacceptable. Even after all of this, you still want Ron?" she asked, a look of disgust on her face "Hermione, I have to ask… Have you forgotten what your roommate looks like that quickly?"

"I'm not sleeping with Malfoy," Hermione scoffed.

"Why not?"

"Why do you want me to?"

"….because I feel like you'd enjoy it," Ginny responded in an obvious manner, causing Hermione to chuckle. "…besides, you said you wanted to make Ron and Harry angry, right…?"

Hermione paused, glancing at the other girl.

"I can't think of anything that would get the job done like sleeping with Malfoy would," she proposed, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione opened her mouth, immediately slamming it shut as she turned away, face heated.

"You're genuinely thinking about it, aren't you? Merlin, Ron and Lavender have you really got you in a bind, huh? You're seriously considering sleeping with Malfoy just to get at Ron and Harry…"

"Well, what if I didn't have to?"

Hermione looked at her, and Ginny blinked, urging her to continue.

"What if…everyone just thinks we slept together?"

Ginny grimaced before eventually nodding.

"Okay, okay. I get it, same results and all of that jazz, but… Why do that when you could actually sleep with him?"

Hermione huffed.

"…because I don't want to. Yeah, we're getting along rather well these days, but...that's it. That's all it is."

Hermione conveniently left out the part where Malfoy had stated that he wouldn't be opposed to shagging her. Ginny sighed in disappointment, but shrugged nonetheless.

"So…how are you going to go about this?"

Hermione stood up from the couch just as he entered their dorm, Malfoy freezing at the sight of her.

"Granger…," he greeted, a bit unsurely as he eyed her.

"Malfoy," she simply responded.

He approached the chair across from her, still giving her a strange look as she just stood there.

"A little eager to help me with my personal project, are we?" he drawled, that familiar smirk on his face.

"Actually…no," she answered, rubbing her palms along her skirt.

Malfoy's attention was drawn there, and his eyes lingered for a moment before resting on her own, causing her to shrink under his heavy gaze.

"Nervous, Granger?"

His voice was low, and it made her nerves spike even more.

"…something like that," she murmured.

"Well, do spit it out, because I'm getting tempted to curse you…," he said through clenched teeth.

"I have something important that I would like to discuss with you," she began.

Malfoy dropped his bag onto the chair behind him with a sigh, giving her his full attention. She took a deep breath, nodding her head.

"I would like…for you…to tell your friends and anyone else of your choosing that…we had sex."

If Malfoy was surprised, he didn't show it, staring at her with an unreadable expression as he blinked.

"…that was unexpected," he eventually said.

"I would imagine so," she mumbled.

He eyed her for a painful amount of time, and Hermione resisted the urge to fidget under his penetrating stare.

"Does this have anything to do with Weasley?" he asked, lip curling over his teeth in disgust.

"You told me to do what would make me happy, and making Ron angry would make me very happy. We both know that nothing would make him angrier than the thought of us…," she trailed off, needing to elaborate no further.

Malfoy smirked, shaking his head as a light chuckle escaped him.

"I'm impressed, Granger…but no."

Hermione hadn't been expecting that, and her eyes widened.

"…no?"

His expression was entirely serious.

"No," he repeated, clear as day.

"Oh," Hermione said, feeling foolishly disappointed for some reason. "Okay. Sorry to bother you then."

She turned towards her room before thinking better of it, and suddenly turning back around with a frown.

"I'm sorry, but… No offense, Malfoy," she began, and he raised an eyebrow. "…but you sleep with…everyone…"

"Not everyone. I do have standards," he threw in with a smirk.

Hermione was thrown by that, and she swallowed, eyes stinging.

"…but you said… What happened to you not being opposed to the idea of 'spending an evening with your face between my legs'?"

Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest, and he stepped forward, smirk growing. His eyes were vibrant, pulling her in as he looked down at her.

"That still stands," he answered, voice low.

Hermione's frown deepened.

"I'm…confused," she confessed.

Malfoy's smirk deepened, and he reached out to rest a finger underneath her chin, tilting her face up. She swallowed, feeling incredibly naked under his heated gaze.

"…because, Granger… If the whole school is going to be talking about the two of us shagging, it's going to be because it actually happened."

She blinked, heart skipping a beat in her chest as he moved closer, body heat mingling with hers, now. He ran his eyes over her, as if drinking her in, and the feeling it gave her settled hotly in the pit of her stomach.

"If I'm going to have everyone gossip about me like the bored vultures they are, it's going to be because I turned you completely inside out. They will gossip about how you couldn't walk for days, and they will ooh and ah at the marks I left on your willing body…"

Hermione took a stumbling step back, and Malfoy followed, not one ounce of humor found on his face.

"They will talk about how we couldn't get enough of each other, locking ourselves in our dorm for days just to get our fill. When their nosy little eyes follow us in the halls, they will have no choice but to whisper about it. If I'm going to willingly have everyone gossip about me, it will be because I wrecked you so good that no other man could ever compare."

He stopped, and so did she, the back of her legs brushing the couch as he glared down at her.

"It won't be because it's all a part of some elaborate scheme to make Weasley…," he scoffed his name. "…shit bricks. It will not be because you're too scared to really go through with it."

"That's not-."

"Isn't it, though? If you're going to make Weasley mad, it's going to be because the taste of you is still lingering on my tongue, and that's going to be because you wanted it to."

Hermione glanced away, pursing her lips.

"So…while I am somewhat impressed by your bold suggestion, I'm going to have to decline. However…"

Her gaze was pulled back to him, and she fought not to look away from his dark gaze.

"…if you change your mind regarding the…details, then you know where to find me."

Hermione watched as he turned from her and grabbed his bag, making his way to his room without a second glance over his shoulder.

The next day, Hermione found herself walking along the corridor. She was in between classes, reluctant to head to Potions, because she had it with Harry, Ron, and Lavender. She hadn't been in the presence of all three of them since she and Malfoy had caught Ron and Lavender in a classroom during patrols. She wasn't fearful or anything, but she just wasn't sure how to act around them as of late, and if there was one thing Hermione hated, it was being unsure. A part of her, a darker part, was certain that she wouldn't behave appropriately if she had to watch Lavender and Ron make googly eyes at one another.

It turned out that that particular voice in her head was right.

It was only about fifteen minutes later when she found herself shooting scathing looks at the pair over her cauldron. Harry was next to them, seemingly focusing on the task at hand, but every once in a while he'd smile in response to something Ron said on the off chance that he diverted his attention from the blonde girl at his side. Hermione tried to force her own eyes on her potion, but it was easier said than done. Why wasn't Slughorn saying anything about their inappropriate behavior? Surely they weren't allowed to be all over each other like that?

The climax of the period was when Hermione had given up on focusing altogether, opting instead for glaring at Ron as Lavender nuzzled her face into his neck. Her hands curled in on themselves, and once again, she ignored the stinging she felt as her nails pressed into her skin. Before she realized what had happened, Lavender's cauldron exploded, sending the half-finished potion everywhere. High pitched screams and expletives filled the air, and Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what she had done.

She stumbled back away from her table, and amongst the commotion, she sprinted out of the classroom, heart racing in her chest. She took a few deep shaky breaths, screaming at herself to get it together. What was wrong with her? It was never okay to lash out like that, no matter the circumstance, and especially not over something as insignificant as Ron and Lavender. She brushed her hair away from her face, leaning against the corridor wall.

Slight pain brought her attention to her hands, and she uncurled them to see fresh crescent moons embedded into her palms. She didn't know how long she stood there like that, staring at her hands, but she knew that it wouldn't be long before Professor Slughorn noticed her absence. Movement out of the corner of her eye captured her attention, and she looked up to see Malfoy standing there, a blank expression on his face as he gazed at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice defeated.

"I saw what you did," he said, leaning his shoulder against the wall.

She looked away, eyebrows pinched together.

"I'm the brightest witch of this age…and one boy and one irrelevant girl are throwing me for a spiral," she said, disappointment coting her words.

She heard Malfoy eventually heave a sigh after a brief silence, reaching out and pulling her towards him. She eyed his hand like it offended her before resting her eyes on him.

"What are you doing?"

"You're the only competition I have in this bloody school, Granger," he began, leading her back to the classroom. "I'd be quite bored if you allowed someone like Weasley to be your downfall. Not to mention, immensely disappointed."

He stopped talking as soon as they returned to the classroom, their presence very noticeable in the now quiet room. Professor Slughorn's eyes seemed to widen in relief as they landed on the pair of them, and he clasped his hands together.

"Ah, there you are! I was just, uh, saying to the class I wondered where the two of you ran off to…"

"Granger got a bit of the potion on her face when it exploded," Malfoy explained as they stood before the eccentric professor.

"Yes, yes. Splendid. We wouldn't want another unexpected accident, now would we?" the older man commented, shooing them to their seats.

Hermione stiffened as she felt Malfoy's hand grazing her back as he led her to her seat, her ingredients just as she left them, and she could practically feel the curious gazes of her classmates on them. She was finally about to relax when she felt his lips at her ear, jasmine invading her senses.

"Meet me on the seventh floor, tonight…"

Hermione jerked her head towards him in question, but he was already stepping away, making his way back to his seat. He didn't look at her, ridding her of the chance to ask him to elaborate, and with a purse of her lips, she faced her cauldron again. She briefly glanced up to lock eyes with Harry, the anger on his face evident, and unable to say anything, Hermione simply continued the assignment.

Hermione looked up at the door in front of her, a feeling of nostalgia passing through her frame as she did. It was rather late in the night, and even though she and Malfoy were something like Heads, they'd still be in trouble if they were caught. Malfoy stood beside her, silent and watching as she eyed the door.

"The Room of Requirement," she mumbled.

"We can't keep lashing out, Granger. You're giving Weasley and Brown too much power over you, and it's only a matter of time before it starts affecting your schoolwork, and we don't want that."

"No," Hermione breathed in agreement. "We don't."

With that, she followed him into the room. It looked like the perfect place for…a duel! She looked around in wonder with a frown on her face, having flashbacks to fifth year. A sudden wave of sadness washed through her, but it was quickly forgotten as she watched Malfoy discard himself of his robes.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think? You and I are going to let off some steam, Granger," he answered as if it were obvious.

She glanced around again, tempted to protest before deciding better of it. She could have really hurt someone during class. That behavior was so unlike her, and it was all because of Ron and Harry…and her. She was angry, and she had every right to be, but she was handling her anger in the worst way possible. With a nod, she gripped her wand, facing Malfoy as he faced her. He began without warning, and Hermione's eyes widened as she blocked the spell.

It took her a minute to get her bearings, but it wasn't long before she was able to keep up with the fast pace that he had set. It was almost like they were dancing, tossing practically harmless spells and jinxes at one another. Neither of them had hit the other yet, but that was okay, because that wasn't either of their intentions. Hermione couldn't be sure how long they swished their wands at one another, but they only stopped when Malfoy winced, face pinching as he glanced down at his sleeve.

With a start, Hermione realized that she had grazed his arm, a shallow injury already showing.

"Merlin, Malfoy, I'm sorry," she said, approaching him.

Malfoy only chuckled in response, reaching up to heal the wound, waving her off.

"It's fine, Granger. Nothing a little bit of magic can't fix," he reassured.

Hermione nodded, chest slightly heaving as she fought to catch her breath.

"Well, I certainly do feel better, Malfoy, so…thank you, but it's not like I can do this every night until I'm over it."

Malfoy curiously looked up at her, hair hanging into his face.

"Why not?"

She spluttered.

"Well…because! I'm sure you have better things to do than spend your nights helping me get past being screwed over by my friends," she said.

Malfoy smirked, pushing his now damp hair away from his face, the action drawing her attention.

"I don't mind, Granger," he seemed to purr, stepping towards her. "This isn't just good for you, you know."

"Still, I…," she trailed off at the look in his eyes, accepting that it was no use arguing about.

Instead, she simply settled for thanking him again with a nod. His smirk suddenly fell, a thoughtful expression crossing his features.

"I want to try something, but I know you'll protest…" he hesitantly proposed.

"Okay," she said, raising her eyebrows in question.

"I want you to use the Cruciatus Curse on me," he simply said as if he were talking about the weather.

Hermione blanched, eyes widening and stumbling back in shock.

"…what? Have you lost your mind?" she screamed, horrified.

Malfoy reached out towards her, fingers wrapping around her wrists as he leaned in, shushing her.

"It's just one time," he reassured, voice steady. "I think…that it will get whatever you're feeling towards Weasley and Brown right out of your system."

"You're mental," she hissed, attempting to pull away.

His face was so close, eyes so bright as he stared at her.

"I'm giving you permission to use it on me. Just this one time… If I didn't genuinely believe that it would help you, I would have never brought it up."

"It's an unforgiveable, Malfoy! Do you know what that means?"

"Granger, I just think it'd help, is all. I'm giving you permission to use it on me. Besides, we both know that there are people outside of these walls who wouldn't hesitate to use it on you…"

Hermione swallowed, recognizing the truth in his words. She knew that things wouldn't always be as calm as they seemed to be for the time being. She knew that a day might come where she'd have to use the worst unforgiveable of all, but that was a hypothetical self-defense scenario. This…this was different.

"We could get in trouble," she whispered, running out of arguments.

His nose was brushing hers now, voice just as quiet.

"I won't tell if you won't…"

She released a shaky breath, watching as he backed up.

"Go on," he urged.

Hermione fingered her wand, biting her lip as she gazed at him before turning away with a shake of her head.

"I can't… I can't do this."

Hermione couldn't imagine hurting anyone like that. Even when she despised Malfoy with a passion, she never would have wished harm like that on him, by her own hand or otherwise. She sharply inhaled as she felt him press his chest to her back, the dampness of his shirt seeping into her own. One of his hands reached down to dance along her arm, fingers cocooning her own as he forced her to lift her wand.

"It has to come from within," he said, bringing his other hand up to brush along her stomach, emphasizing his point. "You have to really want to do harm."

His breath wafted over her, blowing random tendrils of hair around her face.

"You let it consume you until it is all you feel, and like water, you let it flow throughout your body and into your wand," he whispered.

Hermione forced herself to take a breath, the feeling of Malfoy's lithe form pressed against her own sparking something inside of her. The rise and fall of his chest was in sync with that of her back, and she felt so small in his arms.

"You sound like you speak from experience," she wondered.

"…maybe I do," was his only reply.

She made to turn, Malfoy letting go of her hand, but his other arm still lingered on her, fingers grazing her side. She looked up at him with a shake of her head, eyes apologetic.

"I don't have that in me, Malfoy…to really want to hurt someone like that."

Her voice was soft, slightly disbelieving at the thought of such a thing. An amused smirk crawled onto his lips, eyes drinking her in.

"No…it appears that you don't," he murmured in wonder. "…but who knows what the future holds."

~ Let me know what you think ~