A/N: I have no idea why I find it so hard to make time to write this story but I am truly sorry for posting so sporadically and I hope you have the patience to bear with me, regardless of how slow the updates are, because I'm afraid the next chapters won't be finished any sooner than this one.

So… in case you forgot where we left off the story, back to Hermione's perspective we go, as she struggles with mixed feelings, just like Draco does. Her first 'meeting' with Draco is quite disturbing, so be on your guard, things will start to get physical, just so you know! The story is called "Fifty shades" for a reason, so expect some similar stuff going on, only darker.

I'll let you read now. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, and if so, don't forget to leave a review!

Chapter 5 – You will be the death of me

(Hermione p.o.v.)

Hermione had somehow expected something like that from Draco, given some of the heated messages he had sent her with his gifts, but part of her had still thought that had been simply another one of his cruel little pranks.

No such luck.

He bit into her lip – Hermione thought he must have drawn blood given the metallic taste in her mouth – and then latched onto her mouth, forcing his tongue deep inside. His arms were holding her against his body so that she couldn't move, but in any case she found she felt too weak to fight off the invasion.

Malfoy was out of his mind, no doubt about it, so how could she, a highly logical and rational person, deal with someone as irrational as him? Especially when all reason started to disappear in the face of the tidal waves of feelings assaulting her.

Head spinning, Hermione could only close her eyes and try her best not to get swept away. She couldn't understand how something so… so brutal and that was being forced upon her could heat her up from inside and set her nerve endings tingling. She wanted to think it was because of anger, but Hermione had never been in the habit of lying to herself, and that didn't ring true to her.

And that was all the more reason to stop him before things got any farther. She squirmed in his arms, ignoring the delicious sensations coming from all the places where her softer body brushed against his hard one.

It was minutes before he finally let her go, and then not because of her pitiful efforts, but because he chose to, which infuriated her to no end.

Instinct took over and Hermione slapped his face hard, with as much force as she could muster.

His reaction was immediate: he grabbed her wrists painfully and shook her violently and Hermione knew she was going to have bruises on her arms again.

"Don't do that ever again, do you understand me?" Malfoy asked furiously but Hermione didn't even flinch.

She was a Gryffindor and she wasn't going to let a Slytherin intimidate or scare her, no matter how violent he behaved.

"Oh so you can dish it out but you can't take it?" she teased, provoking him against her better sense. If she'd been sorted in Ravenclaw (the Sorting Hat had almost placed her there) she might have kept her mouth shut, but being a Gryffindor, other than being brave, sometimes she could also be rash.

"You're behaving more like a Death Eater by the minute. Which reminds me: what do you think would happen if I told the Headmaster that you're a Death Eater? Sure, I can't tell him about the choker, but anyone can see the Dark Mark on your arm if they just roll up your sleeve, and that would mean a one way ticked to Azkaban… and if you're going to tell me your spells on the choker will work from THERE…." She trailed off, certain she'd made her point.

He didn't seem fazed by her threat to reveal his Death Eater status to the headmaster.

"I'm glad you brought that up, as it was one of the many things I wanted to talk to you about. To be honest, I am surprised you haven't told anyone by now…"

Hermione blushed furiously, annoyed at herself for such a grave oversight. She'd been so consumed by her worries about when Malfoy would call her and what he'd do to her, that she had completely forgotten that she could just tell Professor Dumbledore about Malfoy's Dark Mark and the headmaster would find a way to put an end to his plans and get her rid of the choker.

"I haven't thought that far", he continued, "so I didn't actually take into account the fact that you could tell on me being a Death Eater, but it's nothing I can't remedy."

Hermione was wondering what he meant but she didn't have to wonder for long as he pointed his wand at her and cast the Imperius curse.

"There, Granger, now you'll do my bidding and never mention it to anyone that I'm a Death Eater."

"Why don't you just go ahead then and make me do whatever it is from me – would have been simpler to just do that from the beginning than go to these lengths to bind me with this choker", Hermione said bitterly, her spirit plummeting at the thought that now she was completely under Draco's control, due to the Unforgivable curse he used on her.

"But you forget, Granger, that the Imperius curse can be fought off, while this choker doesn't have a similar weakness", Draco said silkily, as he circled her, in a parody of the way she'd gone round him while he was under the effect of the full body bind curse.

Hermione didn't move, even when Draco reached out to touch her hair and play with a strand of her hair.

"Also, allow me to point out a mistake in your previous statement: I'm not looking for the simplest way to obtain what I want from you… but rather, the most interesting way to obtain it, which is why I won't use the Imperius curse to its full force. More to the point, I'm only going to use it to make sure you don't tell anyone about my Dark Mark. Oh, and to make things simpler, since you consider it important, I'll also use it to prevent you from using spells against me – that way you can just keep your wand the next time we meet and it'll do you no good."

Hermione didn't want to admit defeat just yet…or ever, so she thought fast about what she could possibly say to shake his confidence.

"You realize that I will do my best to throw off this curse, and you won't know when I succeed, so I'll have plenty of time to inform the Headmaster and put an end to this travesty." She infused her words with as much conviction as she could under the circumstances.

"An empty threat if ever I heard one, Granger, and unworthy of you. If you'd really thought that's how things would play out, you wouldn't have told me of your plan. But fighting the Imperius curse is no easy thing, so excuse me if I don't hold my breath until you succeed."

Hermione didn't mind that he'd called her bluff. Her intention was, in any case, to keep him talking as much as possible, because while he was speaking he couldn't do anything awful to her… although he was doing some damage now that he'd stopped his circling and his fingers had moved from her hair to her Gryffindor tie.

"Why did you wear your uniform? We don't have classes during the weekends, you could have worn something nicer, that didn't scream 'Gryffindor' – something green, perhaps?"

"Well, excuse my uniform, but in case it has escaped your notice, Malfoy, I don't dress to please you. I wore the Gryffindor uniform to remind you that while you might think you got the better of me, I'm brave enough to face anything you throw my way and I am also going to find a way to get free of you and pay you back."

Hermione was glad to know Draco wasn't pleased with her wearing her uniform.

"I got distracted, so let me get back to the point I was trying to make earlier. I am sure that by the time you manage to get out from under the influence of the curse – if you ever manage to – you won't want to."

She could feel her jaw drop at such a bold statement.

"What on earth could change so radically that I wouldn't rat you out the first chance I get?" Hermione asked, extremely curious to find out the answer.

"I have my reasons to believe that, but let me tell you that even Dumbledore himself has given me permission for whatever I have in mind for you."

"Now, THAT, I won't believe", Hermione exclaimed, outraged. "The headmaster would never condone such a thing!"

"He would if he thought it was all for the greater good."

Hermione was shaking her head in denial. It just couldn't be that Professor Dumbledore knew about Draco's intentions and let him go about his business as if all was well.

"How could this" she said, gesturing to the choker, "be for the greater good?"

"Let's just say there's a prophecy involved – and you know how vague these things are… I suppose Dumbledore interpreted it however it best fit his purposes."

Hermione tried to ignore Draco's fingers, which were now untying her tie.

"A prophecy, really?" she said, trying to infuse her words with as much sarcasm as possible. "If it was Professor Trelawney who made it, then it's not worth much", she said, although she'd recently found out the Divination professor could make very real and very dire prophecies – case in point, the one about Harry and Voldemort.

"Well, the Headmaster believes it – apparently I'm supposed to have an important part to play in the final battle against Voldemort."

Hermione was surprised he'd called the Dark Lord by his name and not by his 'honorific' title most of his Death Eaters used out of respect and/or fear.

"And there's more", Draco continued, as he casually tossed her tie on the ground and examined her exposed neck, the choker much more visible now. "You're the one who's supposed to bring me over to the 'right' side, by withstanding whatever I have in store for you."

Hermione was stunned by these revelations. Could he be telling the truth? If not, it was a very interesting story he had come up with, and he didn't seem like the type prone to such flights of fancy.

"So you see, Granger, if you want everything to turn out well in the future, you have to put up with me and not tell anyone anything. Are you going to be a Gryffindor about it and do what's right, or are you going to be selfish and save yourself at the cost of everyone else, both in the wizarding world and in the world of muggles that, incidentally, your parents are a part of?"

Hermione still couldn't believe it.

"I will ask the Headmaster about it – I doubt the situation is as dire as you make it sound. You're just trying to guilt me into going along with whatever you have planned", she argued, trying to keep her voice steady although Draco's closeness was unnerving her.

"Be my guest, talk to Dumbledore. That's one thing I'm allowing you to talk to him about."

He suddenly pointed his wand at her.

"Enough talking for now, though. Incarcerous!" he chanted and Hermione found herself falling down with the power of the spell, the wind being knocked out of her. Once she could breathe properly again she found herself bound with thick ropes and she didn't try to break free as Hermione knew the potency of that particular spell, it would be a wasted effort.

Draco looked pleased with her heartfelt sigh of resignation.

"Time to get down to business – after all, I came here to unwind and all this talking isn't doing much to that purpose."

Hermione didn't want to feel apprehensive but it was hard not to with such ominous words coming out of Malfoy's mouth.

He proceeded to take off her Gryffindor sweater, and Hermione shivered – not necessarily because she was cold in her thin white shirt, but because Draco was finally going to start doing what he'd so far only threatened he'd do.

Her eyes widened when, once Draco discarded her tie, he began untying his own.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Why don't you venture a guess?" he retorted but soon there was no need for it as Draco used his tie to bind her hands together and then immobilize them high above her head so that she couldn't move them at all.

"Isn't this a bit redundant?" Hermione asked. "I'm already all tied up!"

Draco simply smirked.

"Relashio", he chanted and the Incarcerous ropes that had bound her were gone, the only thing that still restrained her being the Slytherin tie.

He bent down next to her and looked at his handiwork.

"I like this look on you better. You're so much more… accessible."

Although Hermione had already concluded something was seriously wrong with Malfoy, clouding his judgement, making him behave so irrationally, she still had to ask.

"Why are you doing this? Giving me this enchanted choker, putting spells on me, undressing me…" she trailed off unable to continue, afraid of not giving him ideas he didn't already have.

"I put a spell on you because you're mine" Draco replied, straight faced as if he was commenting on the weather.

"And you're delusional!" she snapped, wondering how far gone Malfoy's mind must be for him to consider her his.

"Oh come on, Granger, don't tell me you haven't felt this pull between us ever since the first time we met."

"I felt no such thing!"

He started playing with the top button of her shirt, not quite unfastening it.

"Deny it all you want, but I know better. In any case, since you did ask why I'm doing this, there is another reason so thank you for reminding me… I got side-tracked there for a while. What are these special lessons Dumbledore has with Potter?" he asked and Hermione felt herself freeze with shock.

"How do you know about that?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I have my sources", Draco replied smugly and then gave her an arched look, clearly awaiting an answer.

Hermione couldn't possibly tell him about how the headmaster was showing Harry pieces of Voldemort's past. Too much was at stake.

"I'm not going to tell you anything about those meetings so you might as well give up" she said defiantly.

"Really? Are you sure you won't reconsider?" he asked as he took something out of his pocket and showed it to her. It was a snake shaped letter opener – a very sharp one.

He traced a vein in her neck with it and arched a brow questioningly.

"Have it your way then… in fact, I prefer it this way as well", Draco said and before she knew what he was up to, he used the letter opener to slash through her shirt, which fell apart to the sides, revealing her simple white cotton bra.

She gasped as the sharp object had nicked her skin just below her left breast and she could feel the slickness of blood trickling down her abdomen.

"You will be the death of me. Is that what you want? Because if it is, there are quicker ways to go about it", Hermione said, her voice still barely audible as she felt reason desert her as a chant rose from her panicked mind "this is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening…"

"Stop dramatizing, Granger. I already told you I won't kill you. Where's the fun in that?"

She took courage from the ring of truth that was clear in Malfoy's words and with that, Hermione felt her spirit come back full force.

"Then do your worse but I still won't tell you a thing".

"I don't think you really mean that. Let's test that theory, shall we?"

Hermione watched with horror as he reached down to touch her – he put a finger on her wound, pressing lightly, but enough to make her wince with pain.

He looked at his blood soaked finger for a few moments and then did something she did not expect: he tasted her blood from his finger.

"It's as red as anyone's and it doesn't taste like mud", he commented casually and Hermione swallowed hard, thinking what she could possibly do to escape in one piece from his grasp when he was acting so crazy.

"Have a lot of experience with tasting mud, do you, Malfoy?" she said derisively, hoping that by provoking him to answer she might bring him back to his usual snarkiness that was a thousand times preferable than this madness.

He didn't dignify her question with a reply.

Instead he started closing the distance between them, lowering his body onto hers, trapping her beneath him and effectively crushing her under his weight. However, feeling his body thusly pressed into hers was wracking havoc on her senses and in a strange way but definitely not bad. She didn't get the time to analyze things any further because his lips reached for hers, and Hermione quickly turned her head to the side to avoid Malfoy's kiss.

His lips landed on her cheek, but then he trailed his tongue downwards, licking along her jugular, and then biting onto it, enough to leave a mark, but not to break the skin.

Hermione locked her lips tightly together so as not to let one sound escape, not wanting to let him know he'd hurt her.

Malfoy didn't seem to mind her lack of response though. He licked the spot he'd bit, as if to relieve the pain, and he went upwards next, his mouth closing in on her ear, where he inserted his tongue, this time making her shiver with the unexpectedness of it all – but the sensation itself wasn't unpleasant… quite the opposite.

He also bit into her earlobe, but very delicately, which she wouldn't have thought him capable of. Hermione was confused about his sudden change of mood and her heartbeat was more erratic than ever. The sensations he was causing in her were actually pleasant and she couldn't believe it… it should have been impossible for her to feel that way and yet there was no denying it.

An involuntary gasp did escape her when Malfoy suddenly grasped her jaw with one hand and turned her head towards his and then kissed her full on the mouth.

She tried her best to not grant him access, but Malfoy pressed her jaw until she could either open her mouth or let him shatter her jawbone.

The first touch of his tongue had the impact of a sledgehammer to her system, and she felt overwhelmed by how deeply he explored her mouth, his sinuous movements causing heat to spread throughout her entire body.

He released her mouth at some point, but Hermione couldn't tell if it had only been a minute since he'd been kissing her or an hour – time had lost meaning.

"You taste quite delicious actually, although I'm surprised about it… I really was expecting mud flavor but your skin tastes clean and fruity somehow and as for your mouth… not sure I can describe it, but it's minty and hot… I've just got to have more."

He kissed her again, his tongue provoking an answer out of her and Hermione finally threw caution to the wind and kissed him back, her tongue fighting his for domination. She wasn't going to just sit there and not fight back somehow… she even tried biting his tongue, but he was nimble enough to avoid it.

"Easy there, Granger, or I might thing you're enjoying this, which would defeat the purpose", he said with a smug laugh.

"When Hell freezes over!" she spat.

He laughed some more at that, and he finally got off of her… Malfoy didn't go far, however, as he crouched next to her and his hands reached for her breasts.

She tried to fidget out of his reach but to no avail – her attempt to kick at him with her legs was also met with failure, and it only managed to hike her skirt dangerously high, revealing most of her leggings clad thighs.

"Tsk tsk, Granger, that's just not going to cut it. Just bear with it if you're so determined you're not going to give me the information I want", Malfoy said, and when she simply tightened her mouth into a thin line, he reached for her again.

Hermione bit into her lip so as not to let any traitorous sound escape her lips - and almost gasped in pain because she'd forgotten Malfoy had already hurt her lip when he'd initially kissed her. She couldn't believe it, but there was no denying the response of her body… her nipples puckered at the very first touch of his fingers over her bra covered breasts. And he wasn't stingy with his touch, he molded them and massaged them which made it almost impossible for Hermione to sit still and not arch into his touch – he was an expert at such things, she felt she was just about ready to explode form the intensity of the pleasure he was giving her.

But almost like he knew what she was thinking, Malfoy increased the pressure he was applying on her malleable flesh so that pleasure turned to pain as he squeezed her breasts, before focusing on her nipples, pinching them hard .

Hermione drew blood, she was biting that hard into her lip, oblivious to the sorry state her lip was already in. She didn't know how he could be so cruel, to inflict such pain after giving her such pleasure.

Malfoy seemed drawn to the blood that had trailed to the corner of her mouth and downwards toward her chin and he licked it off. Then he picked up his wand and before Hermione had time to dread what awful spell he was going to cast on her, he chanted "Episkey", efficiently healing her lip.

"You'd probably think I'm a sadist, Granger, but I think I have a bit of a masochist in me too because I think I'll stop here for now. I'd like to leave some things to the imagination… well, until our next meeting, at least, because I doubt I will be able to resist longer. However, you might avoid that if you just tell me about Potter's meeting with Dumbledore."

"No!" Hermione said firmly, defiance blazing in her eyes. She'd withstood so much already, she wasn't going to let it be in vain by revealing Harry's secrets.

"I'll give you time to reconsider. The paper lion will tell you when and where our next meeting will take place. I hope you'll be more talkative by then and by talkative I don't mean you talking sassily back at me, but giving me the information I asked for."

He untied her hands, gave her back her wand and stepped back from her.

Hermione used her wand to cast a quick 'Reparo' on her mangled shirt and then she quickly rose to her feet, praying to God her wobbly legs wouldn't make her fall. She picked up her Gryffindor tie from the ground and then took off without looking back.

Hermione ran out onto Hogwarts grounds and didn't stop until she was far away from the Shrieking Shack and Malfoy. And she only stopped once, to put her tie back on, and rearrange her clothing so as not to look as if she'd just been assaulted – even though that was exactly what happened.

Once she exited from under the Whomping Willow, as she ran towards the safety of Hogwarts, she noticed that it was getting dark outside, which meant her encounter with Malfoy had lasted quite some time… it had been hard for her to tell how much time had passed from the ground floor of the shack, where little light entered regardless of the time of day.

Remembering everything Malfoy had done to her, she felt a dire need to shed tears, to let all the pent up emotions out somehow. But she wasn't going to cry, she decided there and then. No matter what Malfoy did, she wouldn't show any weakness. Instead, she had to go confront the Headmaster – Hermione still couldn't believe he had given Malfoy free reign.

She ran all the way to the castle, then through the entrance hall, up the grand staircase, and on the second floor she took the Gargoyle Corridor… but then stopped still when she realized that she didn't have the password for the gargoyle.

Her resolve not to break down and cry was sorely tested and she actually felt her eyes moisten with unshed tears when the Gargoyle suddenly began moving.

The stairs weren't moving upwards though, but downwards and soon they revealed the Deputy Headmistress descending.

"Miss Granger, what are you doing here?" Professor McGonagall asked and gave her an inquisitive look. "And are you quite all right? You look rather…distraught…"

Hermione was one kind word away from bearing her soul to the professor, but by an effort of will she held her tongue.

"I am fine, Professor, I just need to speak to the Headmaster. It's a matter of urgency!"

The Professor looked unconvinced about Hermione being 'fine'.

"Can I help you in any way?"

"Thank you, Professor, but no, I really need to speak to Professor Dumbledore", Hermione insisted, trying to sound as polite as possible and not impatient, as she was currently feeling.

"I must say, Miss Granger, this is highly irregular but it does seem to be an emergency and since you're sure as Head of Gryffindor House I can't help you…" The Deputy Headmistress trailed off, as if seeking confirmation.

"I'm really sorry, Professor, but this pertains to a situation that only the Headmaster is aware of."

"Proceed then, I am sure Professor Dumbledore will see you."

"Thank you, Professor!"

Hermione knocked on the door of the Headmaster's office and stepped in once he asked her to come in.

"Professor Dumbledore, I am sorry to come in unannounced, but I need to talk to you!"

"It's quite all right, Miss Granger. What is it that you wish to tell me?"

"It's about Malfoy", she began but was interrupted almost immediately by the Headmaster.

"I thought I might be hearing from you about that."

Hermione was shocked that he actually knew about the situation.

"So you knew? Malfoy said you did, but that you'd let it happen as long as it is for the greater good."

"Ah, the greater good, Miss Granger, a dangerous concept because it is more or less the same thing as saying the ends justify the means and that is not correct… at least not always."

"Are you implying it is correct in this case?"

"You are certainly very bright Miss Granger, so yes, that is what I am implying. However!" he exclaimed before she could protest. "If you don't want to go through this ordeal, I will put a stop to it. I realize that I am asking too much of you to put up with whatever Draco has in mind, but I would like to ask this of you nonetheless. Please believe me when I say that I wouldn't ask if it weren't extremely important. In case Draco hasn't already told you, there is a prophecy which I'm inclined to believe that suggests you are the only one who can lead him to the right side, which will be crucial in the battle against Voldemort."

Hermione didn't really know what to say when faced with such a terrible choice. But she knew what she had to do even if she didn't want to admit it, therefore she spoke before she could change her mind.

"In that case, I'll go through with it. After all, 'it is our choices that show what we truly are'…"

"Precisely, Miss Granger, I am pleased my words have made such an impression on Harry that he mentioned them to you… and I'm even more pleased that you remembered them years after and are now saying them back to me."

"They are powerful words, Professor, and I believe in them with all my heart, which is why I really can't choose selfishly. Besides…"

She hesitated, not sure whether to speak her mind about such matters.

"Yes?" Professor Dumbledore prompted encouragingly.

"I don't think Malfoy is going to do anything really awful… I mean, nothing that I can't handle when push comes to shove. I don't know what's going on with him, what he's going through, but Voldemort is out there and his father is in Azkaban so I wouldn't be surprised if his home situation was rather gloomy so to an extent I understand him. I know there's good in him and I really wish that he'd join us in the fight against Voldemort."

The Headmaster's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses.

"I feel the same way about Draco, Miss Granger, that he has great potential for good, which is why I dared allow him to go on with whatever he has in mind. You see, it's not only Draco that I believe in – I also believe in you, and a great deal too, so much so that I am sure that you can get Draco to join the right side."

"Thank you for the confidence you've placed in me, Headmaster. I will try not to let you down!" Hermione said, every word heartfelt. Malfoy's salvation was something she considered a worthy cause, and he would surely have a great contribution in a fight against Voldemort and his allies – his talent was exceptional, which was clear from all the variations of spells he came up with.

"I'm sure you won't, Miss Granger. Now off you go to the Great Hall, dinner will be served momentarily."

Hermione left, but she didn't head towards the Great Hall – she had no appetite. Instead, she headed towards the Gryffindor Dormitory, glad to know it would be empty given that everyone would be downstairs for dinner.

She took a shower, changed into her pajama and then got into bed, drawing the curtains all around her so that none of the girls would approach her when they returned from the Great Hall. She was in no mood to talk to anyone – in fact, it was taking all of her strength not to burst into tears.

She closed her eyes and tried to make her mind go blank so that she wouldn't be haunted by thoughts about Malfoy.

Eventually she fell asleep.

Hermione awoke after a restless night feeling more tired than when she'd gone to bed, if that was even possible. She'd had nightmares about Malfoy for what seemed like the entire night. She sighed, not feeling ready to get out of bed.

"Are you all right, Hermione? You weren't at dinner yesterday evening and I think you were already asleep when we returned to the dormitory", Parvati Patil said.

"I wasn't hungry and felt tired so I went to sleep early", Hermione said but the Indian girl was clearly worried for some reason.

"It's just that… you were whimpering in your sleep… are you sure it's nothing more than exhaustion?"

Hermione offered a tired smile, thinking her friend deserved at least that much for worrying about her.

"I've been having nightmares", she said, glad she could offer the truth for a change. She had been tormented by those dreams about Malfoy, but what Parvati didn't need to know was that what happened in her dreams was a reflection of what was actually going on.

When she went down to have breakfast – despite everything, she felt hungry not having eaten anything since the previous morning – where she was greeted by other worried friends, Harry and Ron.

"Hermione, what happened last night? You weren't in the Great Hall for dinner and then there was that night when you went straight up to the dormitory and you looked really pale! We didn't get to talk to you about it, is something going on?" Harry asked.

Harry knew her better than Parvati, which meant Hermione would have a harder time brushing things off with him – nightmares would probably not be a good enough reason to explain her behavior and disappearance.

"Yeah, you know you can talk to us", Ron added.

Hermione wanted to tell them everything, and it was the perfect opportunity to test Malfoy's words according to whom she wouldn't be able to. She hadn't done it sooner because she was 99.99% Malfoy hadn't bluffed about it, but in her dire situation Hermione couldn't afford to let even such a slim chance of finding a way out slip by.

"I saw Malfoy in the library the other night. He approached me and said…"

Suddenly Hermione found herself incapable of continuing her sentence – she'd meant to tell them that he'd admitted to being the one to give her the choker and all the other gifts and also that the choker was a tool to control her through those pesky spells that either chocked or burned.

She discovered that she simply couldn't form the words, there was something holding her back. And that something was the spelled choker itself.

"Yes?"

"Oh, nothing special, he was just being his spiteful self", she said quickly so as not to raise any suspicions. "But after that I just couldn't focus on reading anymore and I was upset over it and didn't feel like talking. And yesterday I just had a lot of studying to do – I was in a more secluded spot in the library as I didn't want to be interrupted. Got so caught up in it, I missed dinner, not that I was very hungry in the first place. I did get tired and wanted to sleep, but it turns out sleep kind of evaded me – Parvati was saying I was quite restless last night."

"That foul git!" Ron exclaimed, outraged, clearly still hung up on the little she'd said about Malfoy. "What exactly did Malfoy say? He didn't call you a mu… the 'm' word again, did he?"

"It doesn't matter, let's just go get breakfast."

"You look like you could use some", Harry said. "If you're not resting properly, you should at least eat well."

But Hermione didn't think she could actually eat, not with Malfoy being there in the Great Hall.

She kept her head down, trying to look like she was focusing on her food when she could barely eat a bite or two, not even knowing or tasting what it was that she ate. It could have been cardboard for all she tasted.

She'd been brave when talking to the Headmaster, but now when she thought about how many more 'meetings' it would take to try and get Malfoy to join the fight against Voldemort, and what he might do to her during those meetings…she wasn't so sure she could make it. The future was certainly gloomy.