Thanks for all the reviews, but sadly a full time job running a bar prevents me having the time to reply to them. It also explains why I'm on the internet at quarter to two in the morning updating this fic when I've got to be up at 8 tomorrow.

Well, here is the next chapter, completely revamped from what it was, because I've extended the story and changed the ending from the ending I wrote for this fic about a year ago. Yes, I admit it, I wrote this story a long time ago and sheer not having enough time and forgetfulness made it impossible for me to put it up on until now (you think I can update so fast from scratch?). Anyway, enjoy, and tell me what you think about the new, darker, twist in the plot (I'm open to suggestions of where to go next!).

Chapter Eleven

Draco almost ran down the secret passage to his own room. That was completely unexpected. Why did he kiss her AGAIN? As soon as he got to his side of the passage, he checked to see if Milicent was there, but the spell had obviously worn off, and Milicent had gone back to her common room. He checked the time, and saw that he would not have time to go to lunch today, which was fine by him; he couldn't think of anything less he'd like to be doing than eating. Hell, why not take the rest of the day off? He thought to himself. Save himself from seeing Hermione until she'd broken the spell. He sure as hell wasn't going to see her again unless it was from across a classroom. The whole thing was too complicated now.

What the hell had he been thinking? He jumped onto his sofa, in the blessed safety of his own world and squeezed his eyes shut. He'd now kissed Hermione twice. The first time he had credited with the whole Alfie thing, and the whole being-nice-to-Pansy thing. What was he doing kissing her again? What did she mean he was under the spell? She was the only one not trying to kill him now, apart from Pansy, and, hell, Pansy was annoying even when she wasn't moaning after some Gryffindor she cast a spell on. Where else was he supposed to go?

Was he under the spell? Did it become corrupted? It was more than likely, Pansy wasn't bright, and she'd already messed it up completely with the whole love/hate thing. It's the only thing that would have happened. He didn't know what this whole desired effect thing was all about. Perhaps it meant that Pansy did the spell right, but he hated Hermione already, so it bounced off him and became corrupted and affected everyone. Yeah, that's what happened.

But what happened when he was talking to Pansy? Why had he suddenly become all defensive to Hermione? Something had changed when he was talking to Pansy, some sort of shift in his feelings. He'd always thought of his feelings towards Pansy as akin to those of the Stockholm syndrome. If someone hangs around you, refusing to leave you alone for a second, you've got to start liking them a little, haven't you? Maybe that's what was happening with him and Hermione. They were spending all their time together, but hadn't he said he was going to avoid her? He had Milicent in his rooms, begging for it, and not looking as repulsive as she used to, in fact, perhaps looking quite good, and he'd run at the first opportunity to Hermione. What the hell was that all about?

His thoughts were going around in circles. The thought that was thinking about his thoughts going around in circles were going around in circles. He shook his head to dislodge the confusion on his brain and stood up, jumping up and down to dispel all the adrenaline and…other hormones that were still running high after that kiss.

"At least when she's worked out how the break the spell." He thought aloud. "Then this will be all over." He wandered into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. He was used to his new hair now, but the expression on his face was a new one. He inspected it, but it gave him no clues to what he was really feeling. "How can I be affected by the spell? I don't feel any different." He checked his emotions, and found that all his other feelings had stayed the same, it was just the one relating to Hermione that had ever-so-slightly changed.

"No, not changed." He thought a loud. Surprised at hearing this statement coming from his own mouth, he suddenly knew it was true. His feelings for Hermione hadn't changed, they were still the same as ever. He had always loved her…

He had no time to reflect on this thought, as he heard the door from her room open, and he wandered out to see what she was doing. She seemed to be moving his sofa across the tapestry behind which the door was hid, she didn't even look up when he came in.

"Help me, Draco, this sofa is heavy!"

"What are you doing here?" He grabbed the other end and they placed it front of the tapestry.

"It was terrible." She said, and he saw that she was almost entirely broken down. For the first time, he saw that her robe was ripped in two places, exposing her navel and shoulder. Her hair was messed up and she was crying.

"What happened?" This question was answered in part by the sound of many people trying to break down the door. Draco raised his wand, "Nieloco pas." He whispered, and then looked to Hermione.

"Dean has been following me around of late." Hermione said, making her way shakily to an armchair and almost falling into it. "You know I told you that we were dating, and then he dumped me for Padma Patil."

"Of course I remember." Draco said, pulling up another chair to hers and sitting in it.

"Well, he's been watching me sleep and saying that he wants me back and stuff." Draco knew she was stalling because she didn't want to say what had happened. Anger bubbled up inside him, and he almost wished that Dean could get in here, so that he could pound him into sludge.

"What did he do to you?" Draco asked firmly. "Hermione, just tell me."

Before she could answer, a pounding noise caused Hermione to slide off her chair and onto the floor. She held her hands to her ears as the sound of heavy fists pounded the door.

"We know you're in there." Said the gruff voice of Alfie Flint.

Hermione whimpered and crawled away from the door, sinking into a corner. Draco followed her and knelt in front of her, pushing her hair from her eyes and wiping her tears from her cheeks.

"They followed me here; I tried to get away, but…" She trailed off as the door took another beating.

"It's okay, I cast a solid door charm on the door, they can hit it till kingdom come and it won't break." Hermione nodded and another voice behind the door became coherent.

"Maybe she went over to Draco's, seeing as they're going steady," said a voice full of spite, Dean's, and many voices raised with agreement.

"What happened?" Draco asked, taking advantage of the short reprieve of attack. He pointed his wand at the main door to his rooms and cast the solid door charm again, so that they were safe, he then hit them with a silencing spell for her nerves.

"After you left, I was just reading the book, trying to find a reversal spell." Hermione told him calmly. She was still shrunk into the corner, and the sight of her so scared and small made him feel sick. Only hours ago she was in complete control of her strength. He would never have believed that she could transform so utterly so quickly. "Dean arrived…I thought he was you, so I didn't move and he came right into the bedroom." She sounded so disgusted with herself, and Draco found himself welling with rage and angst at the thought of what he could have done to her. She seemed not to be able to speak, so he gently led her back to the armchair, where he knelt in front of her and took her hand encouragingly.

"Go on." He said.

"Well," she said, taking a shaky breath in, "He was insane." She said fearfully. "He kept jabbering on about following me and seeing me with you and love potions. I was scared, but when I reached for my wand he called it to him threw it by the wall. I tried to run, but he caught me and threw me on the bed. He told me not to cry out, because he had friends that would come and hurt me. I bit him and he screamed and then I kicked him and whilst he was in shock I ran downstairs, I made for the passage, to go to you, but I ran into Dean's 'friends'.

"That would be where Alfie fits in." Draco nodded, he'd been wondering how Alfie fit into all of this.

"Yeah." Hermione said. "Crabbe and Goyle were there too." Draco swore loudly. "So where some other Slytherins. It seems that Dean had promised that he would share me." Hermione trailed off in disgust at this point.

"I see." Draco said. "And they attacked you."

"Yeah." Hermione said. "I was lucky; they didn't know about the secret passage, and were concentrating on keeping me away from the main door, so when I got the chance I ran, and they weren't far behind me…"

Draco could think of nothing to say. He stroked her hair to try and comfort her, and he saw that she was trying to keep herself from hysterics. He spoke soft words of comfort to her, wanting desperately for her to be alright, but knowing that she wasn't. He looked into her eyes and his heart melted at the utter panic in them still. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she pitched forward, crying into his chest, sliding off the chair until they were both kneeling on the floor, Hermione crying desperately into his robes and Draco with his arms around her.

"What am I going to do, Draco?" She said, after the racking sobs lifted. She sat back on her heels and looked at him. "I can never go back to classes."

"You can." He said, holding her face in his hands. "You can. It's all just a spell." He reminded her. "We just need to get the locket and then reverse the effects and then it's all gone."

"Draco, you're the only one I can trust." She said, touching his hands on her cheeks. "You saved my life." He saw her eyes drift to his lips, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her and take her away from the pain, but it was taking advantage of her. He didn't know how she felt about him, and he damn sure wasn't going to mess with her anymore than she'd already been messed with. He took his hands from her cheeks and leaned back. Hermione deflated visibly at this movement, but he knew that she was in a bad place, and she didn't know what she wanted.

"Look, you're going to stay here tonight." Draco said. "It's safe here. No one is going to get in unless I want them too." Hermione sighed and nodded. "I'll get some you some food, it's approaching dinner time now, I guess, so I'll just get some sent up, then we will both get some sleep and decide what to do in the morning."

"Okay." Hermione said in a small voice.

"I think we should get you into some better clothes." Draco said, looking once more at the ripped areas of her robes. "Perhaps you'd like a bath?" He asked, and she nodded.

"The bathroom is upstairs." He told her. "In the same place yours is." She nodded and climbed the stairs to go and bathe.

Draco laid out a T shirt and a dressing gown out on the bed for when she got out of the bathroom. He didn't have anything else of his that would fit her. He figured she'd need sleep and she could sleep in his shirt. Then he saw to some food being sent up and got it ready on the table downstairs.

He tended to these small things calmly and methodically, and all the while the blood boiled in his veins with the knowledge that very soon he'd be having words with a certain Dean Thomas.