So some say, repressed emotions are bad. Hermione had believed that to be true until three and a half weeks ago. Now she believed that repressed emotions were only bad depending on the situation. If you were dancing the Paso Doble, it was a very good thing. Ever since Hermione had overheard Draco and Maggie talking, she had never once let on that she had heard them. She kept her feelings about it on the inside (feeling used) and brought it out in the dance. The practice sessions began to decrease some as Ginny's wedding date came closer. Hermione was her maid of honor after all and had duties to perform. Though at first she thought that having less practice would ruin the dance, she found quite the opposite. Having a break from seeing Draco's face and then seeing it again only brought up fresh anger from which had lain dormant for the missing day she wasn't with him. The dance only became better and better and Maggie approved.

"You'll win indefinitely." Maggie smiled broadly. The competition was only four days away and she had come to see the finished product of her "prodigy" and his dancing partner. "With a dance like this no one will be able to touch you."

Hermione snorted as she gathered her things. No longer did she spend any extra time than needed once practice was over. She turned to Maggie and smiled. "I bet. And I'm sure that makes you extremely happy."

Maggie stared at her bemused and watched her leave without saying goodbye. She then turned to Draco who was wiping the sweat from his forehead and moving strands of hair from his eyes. "Your dance with her is impeccable."

Draco gave a short nod to her and grabbed a bottle of water from off the floor. "Thank you. We've-"

"I'm worried about it."

"Worried?" Draco sighed with frustration. "Worried about what? I thought that this was what you wanted. For us to be perfect –beyond perfect,"

"And you are." Maggie assured him. She took a deep breath and crossed her arms about her chest. "But I can't help but wonder what happened to get you there."

Draco clenched his jaw. "…I don't know. I didn't ask nor will I. It's too good for the dance."

"You don't want to know why she's upset with you?"

"I want to win, Maggie."

"From the stories you've told me about Miss Granger, she's quite the stubborn one. I'm sure she'll still be upset with you whether you know why or not." Maggie argued. "It doesn't hurt to ask. Or will it..? Draco. Will it?"

Draco had casted his gaze to the floor. He could feel Maggie's eyes piercing him and it was making him flinch. Eventually he looked up and spoke with hesitancy. "She irritates me. She's more than stubborn, if that's even possible. When she's mad at me I'm ready to wring her neck. I don't because I can control my anger. I thought Granger could control hers, but she can't. If I ask her what her problem is, you're right, it'll hardly do a thing. It'll do nothing but let me know what's wrong and then…I won't be mad anymore."

Maggie walked over to Draco and placed a hand on his shoulder. He avoided her stare and simply listened. "Not every dance requires real emotions, Draco. You know that better than anyone. You've done the jive, for Merlin's sake. I pressured you and Miss Granger to do exceptionally well because I thought that she'd be the problem –not being able to translate the needed aggression. Why can't you fake it?"

"You can guess why." Draco said solemnly and reached for his light jacket that had been lazily tossed to the floor at the start of practice. "At this point all I'm living off of is Granger's anger towards me. I need it."

Maggie watched her star pupil gather the rest of his things and head for the exit. She was cupping her hands tightly and even holding her breath at feeling him suffer. "She'll want nothing to do with you after, you know that." Maggie called after him, but Draco merely stopped for a second, winced, and then kept going until the front door of the studio could be heard opening and closing.

"Damn it; you're pushing too hard."

"You're attacking me. The attacked doesn't usually push the attacker away with gentle care."

Draco rolled his eyes. He was rubbing the center of his chest where Hermione had pushed him and felt it burn a little. "This is an act, Granger. You're supposed to fake with meaning. Don't forget what's real and what's not."

Hermione huffed. "Sorry, sometimes lines of reality can become so easily blurred."

Draco watched as she released her hair from her ponytail and ran her fingers through it. The competition was tomorrow, and these past three days in intense preparation had brought out the worst in her. Repression had been good in the beginning, but it was setting Draco so much on edge that when she had placed her hands on her hips and asked in a snippy tone what he was staring at, he had had enough.

"What is your problem?" Draco demanded. "You've been mad at me for weeks now..!"

"We're doing the Paso Doble, Malfoy. I'm supposed to be mad at you."

"Stop it. You know what I mean. Tell me what's wrong with you or we're not going to the competition tomorrow."

Hermione cocked a brow in the air. Draco had an air of pure seriousness about him as he said this, but even then she refused to believe it. "You don't mean that. It would be pure devastation for you and Maggie if we didn't go. And to answer your question, that's why I'm mad at you."

Draco stared at her in confusion as she took a moment to walk around the studio. She paced for a moment, stopped, crossed her arms about her chest, and then looked back at him.

"You're using me! Winning the competition, working so hard to do this –it's all so you can win the prize money that you so happened to neglect to tell me about! What, did you think that I'd want half? How much does it cost to buy the studio from Maggie anyway? The whole prize..? You could've told me. I wouldn't have asked for any of it. For the love of Merlin, did you really think leaving me in the dark was necessary?"

Hermione went on to criticize him, saying that he really hadn't changed at all and was still just as selfish as ever. Draco on the other hand couldn't believe that that was what she had been mad about this whole entire time. She had overheard his and Maggie's conversation, and now that Draco knew it, all at once he could feel himself draining. He could find reason in all the ways she had been acting these past few weeks and in the accusations she was spewing at him now. How could he be upset with her? And now, most importantly, how could he dance with her? The only thing he'd be able to feel is pity and regret.

Draco was in trouble. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to explain. He didn't want her to be angry with him. He had been deprived of her laugh, funny stories, and sensitive nature for weeks now and he wanted it back. But at the expense of losing..? Draco bit his tongue and then proceeded to bite his lips. With red impressions of nail marks in the palm of his hands, Draco rushed his next set of words so that there'd be no way to take them back or to explain.

"You're right. I used you. Anger management helped control my emotions, but unfortunately I'm still deceitful."

Hermione was appalled. Draco was suffering. Her eyes were fierce and piercing as he held back his flinches at feeling so helpless. His helplessness dropped into torment when she suddenly spoke.

"I'm backing out of the competition."

"You can't."

"Watch me."

Hermione picked up her things from the floor and hastily headed towards the door. But before she could place her hands on the doorknob, she stopped herself and turned around. "How much is it going to take to buy the studio from Maggie?"

"…Forty-five thousand,"

"And the prize money..?"

"Fifty,"

Hermione stood silently for a moment until she managed to gather her words. "I want the excess."

"What?" Draco was taken aback, but the woman in front of him showed no hesitation and she nodded.

"You heard me. I'm not a vindictive woman, but face it, you owe me Draco Malfoy. I'm not someone to be used."

With that Hermione left. Draco felt himself trembling and suddenly thought of tomorrow. He was defeated, and so was she. With as much anger she filled the practice room with, her last statement had said it all. She wasn't angry. She was hurt. Pain wasn't good for the Paso Doble. And not only had the prize money slipped through Draco's fingers, but any chance at reconciling things with Hermione had too.

Draco was pacing all the while rubbing his hands together and blowing on them. Dancehalls were usually kept cool so the dancers didn't overheat. But until the dancing actually began, Draco was positively freezing. He could only imagine how Hermione must've been feeling and then he frowned. The previous night she had written to him and said that she would meet him at the competition instead of meeting him at the studio so they could apparate together. He had been at the dancehall for the past hour and a half now and still he was without his partner. Seeing all the other contestants with their own partners was making him antsy –as if he wasn't nervous enough.

"Draco,"

Draco turned around on the spot to the voice that called to him, but instead of feeling relieved he was surprised, but then scowled. "I didn't know you had entered."

Ava shrugged her shoulders. Her hair had been gracefully piled on the top of her head and her dress suited that of a demure princess. Immediately Draco knew what dance she was performing, having already seen a preview of her Viennese Waltz with another professional dancer.

"It was a last minute thing." She told him. "I had difficulty finding a partner, but when I did I managed to squeeze my way through despite the deadline."

"I see. Well, good luck then." Draco said briskly and turned to leave her, but only making it so far when she spoke again.

"So where's your partner?"

"Where's yours?"

"Around here somewhere." Ava gestured to the bustling crowd behind her. "He's a grown man; I'm not his keeper."

Draco kept silent. He took in everything about her. The way she was dressed, the way she carried herself, and the way that her face happened to shine ever so radiantly. He despised it. It reminded him of what he had tried to have, but was refused. Chuckling, Draco thought of her favorite dance: Salsa. It was full of activity, vivacious, and a seemingly never-ending montage of movements and high-end emotions. But of course as with other dances, the Salsa always ends and it always ends abruptly.

"You know," Ava said with a soft smile. "If this was a professional competition and we danced together that we'd win. We're a power couple, you and I."

"I guess it's a good thing this isn't a professional competition then." Came Hermione's voice. Both Draco and Ava turned to her as she approached them. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled. "How are you, Ava?"

"Couldn't be better," She replied frigidly and forced herself to keep her smile. "I'd best be off. The competition will be starting soon. See you two on the dance floor."

Hermione gave her a gentle wave goodbye. Draco didn't so much as acknowledge her leaving. Instead he turned to his dancing partner whom he couldn't help but associate flames with. Her dress was form-fitting, loose from the waist and on in order to give her proper mobility and flare, and completely red. It was what they had agreed to –her to be dressed in all red and him in all black. Two colors associated with aggression and passion. It was perfect.

"…You look nice." Draco mustered up the courage to say. Hermione didn't thank him nor did she return a compliment. She merely rubbed her shoulders and sighed.

"The competition should start soon. We've got a pretty low number so let's get into position."

Author's note: Hello! I just wanted to take the time out to say thank you to everyone who's been reading/following/favorite this story. It really means a lot!

-WP