Hey hey! Thank you for all the reviews, and I'm glad this story is going down well. Thank you especially to Lyn for taking the time to give me all those notes. Most of it is typoes, because my brain works faster than my fingers! I hope that Emily is doing some revision whilst I've been typing this!

Chapter Eight

Hermione stalked down the hall, how dare he leave her to do this on her own! It was his fault she was in this mess, if he hadn't fooled around in the Three Broomsticks she would be living her normal life. But no, Geez, he was a real jerk. At least she had found the thing they were looking for. The book had just been lying there on the desk, and Hermione didn't think that Pansy would be doing some late night revision.

Someone grabbed her from behind and hissed in her ear. "Look what I have here." It was Alfie Flint, Marcus' little brother. He was in the sixth year. His fingers cut into her arm, the look on his face terrified her.

"Let me go." She demanded, her argument with Malfoy still fresh in her mind.

"Err… no." His laugh was like a saw through iron. "You're too pretty to let go." He turned her round and she got a puff of awful breath. "Come with me." He dragged her down the hall like an ape carrying a rag doll. She struggled against him, and for her troubles was knocked nearly unconscious with the back of his hand. Her anger was gone and cold fear took its place.

She was crying with pain and fear by the time he stopped. There was a sound like a key turning in a lock, and then she was dragged into a cold room. There wasn't a stick of furniture in the room. Before she could take in her surroundings she was slammed up against a wall.

"Pretty girl." He ran his fingers through her hair; she cringed into the wall.

"Let me go, please, just let me go."

"No." He grabbed her hand, which was going for her wand in her robes. "No wands, honey."

"Please let me go, if you love me, let me go." She reasoned with him, the wand in her robes pressing against her leg, so near and yet so far away.

"So you can run back to Malfoy and keep going steady with that little runt? Not until you give me a chance." He grinned evilly at her. His teeth were stained yellow.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, and try not to hurt you." He laughed and leaned into her face.

Hermione's heart was going faster than it ever had. Alfie's face was coming closer and closer to her own. She shut her eyes and screamed, "Draco! Help me!"

Malfoy ran down the halls, searching for the little Mudblood. Where the hell was she? Suddenly he heard a scream. "Draco! Help me!" It was coming from somewhere in the next corridor. She sounded like she was in pain and he swore. He was too late, someone had got to her, and he knew what his housemates could be like, especially under a spell.

The door was locked, and Malfoy swore again, trying to beat it with his fist. When this didn't work, he kicked the door in frustration, and felt his wand in his pocket. Rolling his eyes at his own stupidity he brought it out and blasted the door open.

He used the expellaramus spell to send Alfie flying across the room, and Hermione sank to the floor, crying.

"What's the matter Draco? Don't want to share the love around?" He got up laughing. He walked over to where Hermione was, and she crawled away from him. Malfoy crossed the floor and pushed him away.

"Get away from her you piece of scum." Malfoy spat.

"Come on, you can't really care for her that much, I mean, she's a Gryfindor Mudblood, you hate her man, you're always saying it."

"Things change."

"Not you. For four years you've wanted her dead. I just wanted some fun." He approached Hermione again.

Malfoy stepped in the way. "Leave her."

Alfie stared from Hermione to Malfoy, whose wand was pointing at his throat and shrugged. "Whatever dude." He turned to Hermione. "This is not over honey."

Malfoy grabbed her by the hand, but she refused to move. "Come on, Granger, we have to get going, the whole of Slytherin are just like him."

"Except you." She looked at him.

"Don't be so sure." She got up and followed him out the room.

They were at the end of the corridor when they heard Alfie's voice. "Look, you guys hold Malfoy, I'll go for the chick." There was muttered agreement.

Hermione was going to scream, but Malfoy pulled her behind a statue and pressed a finger to her lips. It was cramped behind the statue and Hermione found herself for the second time pressed up against a wall. Malfoy kept the finger pressed on her lips until the Slytherins had gone.

They didn't move for sometime. Hermione realised exactly how close she was to Malfoy. They were practically pressed together. His breath tickled her neck. His after-shave was sweet. Looking into his eyes she saw him staring at her intently. Ever so slightly, he was moving towards her. She let him.

When his face was centimetres away from her own, she said "Malfoy, shouldn't we be going now?"

He looked as if he had snapped out of a trance. "I guess we should." He used a thumb to wipe the tears from her face. "I'll walk you home, you know, to save me having to come and save you again later."

"Okay." They stayed silent for the trip, not knowing what to say. Malfoy could feel Hermione shaking beside him, and knew that the attack had messed her up. He grabbed her hand to make sure that she stayed with him, and also, he guessed, to comfort her. She said nothing.

When they reached her rooms, they entered and stopped. "Err…I better go, it's almost midnight."

"Yeah, you can take the tunnel, it's quicker."

"Okay." Neither moved.

"Um, if anyone found you here, we could get in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, I should really go." As one, they looked down to their hands, which were still entwined. Reluctantly, they dropped the embrace. "Okay." He put the cloak on the back of her sofa and looked around, as if he was struggling with something.

He stepped forwards and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Goodnight." He flushed red and left.

Draco entered his common room and kicked the sofa. He had never been more scared in all his life then when he found Hermione in the clutches of Alfie. She had looked so helpless; he'd wanted to kill Alfie. In that second he'd felt so powerfully possessive over her that he knew that he would have risked his life for her.

What was happening to him? Was he finally being affected by the spell? He didn't think so; he didn't feel any different then usual, just…thinking about Hermione a little more. He certainly wasn't going to run about after her with a pitchfork forcing her to go out with him.

What was going on with him? He had kissed her! Not as a joke! Okay, calm down, you're just being influenced by the fact that all these people are worshipping her.

One easy way to stop this crazy obsession. Avoid her, avoid her totally until she breaks the spell then get back with Pansy. Simple, she had what she needed to break the spell now, all he had to do was stay away from her.

Feeling a little better about himself, he went to bed.

Hermione shrank into a wall. Alfie was advancing fast; there was nowhere to go nowhere to hide. She could hear the rest of the school shouting for her to face them outside the door. Alfie laughed at her, and slammed her up against the wall. "Come one, Hermione. Let's have some fun."

"NO! Please, get off me I want you to let me go, please!" She reached out for her wand, which was lying about two metres away from her, on the floor.

"Get off her!" Malfoy came running into the room. He kicked Alfie in the head, and then proceeded to pummel him in the stomach, until he fell unconscious.

Hermione collapse into his arms, crying. "Oh my god, Hermione are you alright?" He lifted her chin so he could look into his eyes. "I've never been so scared in my life." He was crying too. Holding her close, he whispered "I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again." He kissed her hair. "I love you, Hermione."

Hermione stared at him, surprised. Joy spread through her heart as he leaned in to kiss her.

Just before their lips met a flash of white light erupted and they looked about the room, which was slowly fading. "No." Draco stared at her frantically. "The dream can't end yet."

"How do you know this is a dream?" Hermione looked at him. "Draco, is that really you?"

"Hermione?" He looked at her horrified.

Hermione woke up. That was a strange dream, Malfoy saving her life then proclaiming his love for her. Very strange indeed. What was stranger was that he knew it was a dream, had they been in the same dream? Or did dream people know what they were?

She sat up, and noticed that there was someone else in the room with her. Her heart beat fast, hadn't Draco kissed her last night? Was he becoming affected by the spell? Hadn't he said not to be so sure he wasn't like Alfie? Had he sneaked into her room to try and have his way with her? Why didn't she hate the idea? Who would save her now? These questions flashed in a second, and she realised that who ever it was in the chair had not moved, but was watching her. She took out her wand and lit the torches in the room to see who it was. It was Dean.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She said. He was sitting in the chair watching her. His eyes were red from crying. For a second, she wondered how he got into her rooms, but remembered that he had the password because all prefects had every password except those that allowed access to the rooms of other houses.

"You're not allowed in here." She told him coldly. "Get out. How dare you come here."

"Hermione…" Dean said. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"You dumped me, remember?" She answered coldly. "You dumped me so you could go and make out with that tramp Padma Patil."

"I'm sorry." He said, "it was all such a terrible mistake." She could see the tears brimming in his eyes as he said this. "I've been miserable without you, I want you back."

Hermione watched him through narrow eyes, and thought that she could not despise someone more.

"That thing with Padma…" he went on. "I was being crazy, obviously weak because I had to end it with you; you know she's been after me."

"Well, she has you now." Hermione summoned her dressing gown over to her and carefully wrapped herself in it before getting out of bed. She didn't want him to see her in her nightdress.

"Hermione…please…" Dean said.

"Don't Hermione me!" She said. "You lost that privilege too. You and I both know that you dumped me for Padma because you thought Padma would put out? What's the matter? Didn't she?" Hermione knew that Dean was under the spell, but she didn't care, she wanted to hurt him as badly as he had hurt her.

"Maybe that was the reason." He admitted. "But in a way it was a good thing." Dean got up off of the chair and approached her. "It made me realise how much I love you." He took her hand. "Hermione, that term we went out was the best time of my life, please take me back."

Hermione ripped her hand away, wanting to hex and jinx him until he was just a smudge on the floor.

"If you didn't get the message." She said, trying to be as spiteful as she could. "I already have a boyfriend."

"What?" Dean said. Hermione sighed. Perhaps he had skipped that meal when the riot happened, although she was sure that the news would have spread around the school by now.

"Draco Malfoy and I are together." She snapped.

"That's not true." Dean snorted. "You're just making that up to hurt me."

"No, I'm not." Hermione insisted. "It's true. He found me crying when I saw you and Padma at Hogsmeade and it all started from there." Technically, it was true.

"I see." Dean said. There was a strange light in his eye, one Hermione had never seen before. "Don't think that's going to stop me, Hermione. I know that you feel the same way about me, I'm not going to stop trying to make it up to you."

"It won't work." She told him.

"Hermione, I'm not going to rest until you're mine again." He told her, and then left, leaving Hermione feeling a little shaken.

She got dressed and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Just before she got to the reception hall, a hand grabbed her and pulled her down a corridor. "The teachers have decided that it wouldn't be a good idea for you to be seen with the whole school, given their affection for you." Dumbledore's eye twinkled. "Any luck solving the spell yet?"

"You know about the spell?" Hermione said, shocked and delighted. "Can you help me?"

"I'm afraid, this is one of life's little tests, and you will just have to work it out for yourself." She nodded, and he let her to a little room, where a meal was waiting for her. "Enjoy your meal, Miss Granger." He smiled and winked at her, before leaving. Deflating visibly, she slumped onto her chair. She had sincerely hoped Dumbledore would be able to help her; but it seemed it would have to be up to her. Between the confusion of Draco's kiss and Dean's unexpected arrival in her bedroom this morning, she had not had time to study the book she stole from Pansy, and she was damned if she was going to miss classes because of that wretch. No, she would solider on until lunch, and then she would go back and try to make sense of it all.

She sat and chewed her toast thoughtfully. Dreams of Draco. Could anything be more disgustingly horrifying? The last four years all he had done was insult her and her friends, almost get them all expelled on regular occasions and humiliate her in front of the entire school. All that had stopped her killing him was her friends. Now, all that stopped her friends killing her was Malfoy. He had also saved her from one of his own cronies. She contemplated this thought over some pumpkin juice. It was refreshing, having somewhere quiet and private to order your thoughts.

The whole Dean thing had shaken her worst. He seemed crazed, like all the others, but in a different way. The quiet, dangerous sort of way that got things done. She was scared, hurt and confused by this, and it made her angry.

But Draco's kiss…what had that meant? Dean she could put down to the spell, but Draco wasn't affected…or was he? She sighed and drained her orange juice, trying to forget the softness of his lips. It was impractical to think about it. But what if it was real? What if he did feel for her? What would she do then? Did she feel the same way? Did she not? Would she feel differently when she got her old life back?

"Ah!" She said to herself quietly, clutching her head. She couldn't think about it now, just get through until lunch and then we can be done with it.

After breakfast, her thoughts of Draco were totally thrown from her mind, as she remembered what lesson she had next. Double potions.

She shivered as she made her way down to the dungeons. For one thing, Malfoy would be there, and she didn't want to see him yet, she was still so confused. For another, she hadn't been in close quarters with Snape since detention. She sighed, and kept her wand out, daring someone to come near her, she could really do with someone to hex, right about now.