A/N: I apologize for such a short, uneventful chapter. This is really just intended to clean up some stuff from last chapter. I've been agonizing over it, so I figured I'd just get it done with.
Thanks to all my awesome reviewers! Keep the reviews coming, I love them, they make me feel so much better about my work and they make me want to write faster.
Chapter Twelve
Hermione woke with a start only moments after the sun had risen. She looked at Draco sleeping peacefully next to her, his arm still around her waist. It had been a comforting gesture last night, but this morning it felt heavy, like a chain. He did not wake when she shimmied free of his grasp, and she was grateful for this. She needed a few moments alone to reconsider what had happened.
It had been so easy the night before, in the rush of emotions, to forgive him for what he had done. But all the love in the world could not change the fact that he had still betrayed her, he had broken her trust, and now she would have to do the same to many of her friends. If she had thought explaining her relationship with Draco to Harry and Ron was difficult, imagine explaining that she was now one of Lord Voldemort's followers. Not just a supporter, but a full-blown Death Eater at that.
She heaved a shaky sigh and turned to look at Draco. He was still fast asleep, as though he had nothing to worry about. And she supposed he did not have anything to worry about, after all, he got what he had wanted: A perfect little Death Eater girlfriend. Hermione felt tears coming to her eyes. This was all happening way too fast.
She headed for the fireplace and began to run her hands along the heavy mahogany paneling. Somewhere under the mantle she found a circle of inlaid wood that she pressed. The fire extinguished itself and a faint crack of light outlining a door appeared. Hermione pushed on the wood and the door popped open. As she stepped through, the door sealed itself behind her and she hurried up the stairs. Listening for a moment to be sure her roommates were still asleep, she pushed the door open on the other side.
Draco would know right away where she had gone as soon as she woke up, so she decided to head down to the prefect's bathroom for a shower. At least then she could have some privacy while she thought things over. She gathered up her things and headed off.
In a few minutes she was standing under a stream of hot water, just enjoying the feeling of the water on her back. She wiped her face clear and opened her eyes. Staring up at her was the Dark Mark, an ugly pink scar on her upper arm. It was positioned just right so she could wear a short-sleeved shirt and the mark would not be visible. She sighed and ran her fingers over it. It felt just like a keloid scar normally did - rigid and slightly rough.
Hermione closed her eyes and leaned against the wall of the shower. She adored Draco, she really did. The very thought brought a smile to her face. But she still was not sure how she felt about being a Death Eater. Harry and Ron had never done anything to hurt her, and here she was, pledged to work for their sworn enemy. How many other seventeen year olds were suffering from this kind of drama?
Turning the water off, Hermione decided she needed more information. All she had ever heard about Voldemort was that he was a bad man with bad intentions. But that had not come from very objective sources, had it?
Draco woke up and found himself alone in his bed. He swore aloud, and leapt from his bed. Quickly, he reached for the button on the fireplace and burst directly into the girls' bedroom. Lavender and Parvati shrieked as he stepped out of the fireplace.
"Shut up," he said. "Where's Hermione?"
"We don't know, she was gone when we woke up," Lavender replied. He went over to Hermione's bed and verified that she was not in it. Looking around the room, Draco's eyes landed on the towel rack in the corner. Hermione's towel was missing.
"Maybe she went to take a shower?" he asked. Parvati looked at the towel rack.
"I guess," she agreed. Draco raced back through the fireplace and went straight to the prefect's bathroom. He stood outside, waiting impatiently. At last the portrait swung open.
"Ron!" Draco snapped, unhappily realizing that he had missed Hermione. Ron's eyes widened upon realizing that Draco had said his first name.
"Yes, Draco?" he asked tentatively. He winced at how horrible the name sounded coming out of his mouth.
"I, uh, thought Hermione might be in there. You caught me off guard," Draco shook his head.
"She's already gone to breakfast," Ron said, his brow furrowing. "She actually said she had to meet you there," he recalled.
"Did she?" Draco asked. "Thanks," he added, before hurrying to the Great Hall. He half expected that she would not be there when he managed to get there, but to his surprise she was actually waiting outside.
"There you are!" she said impatiently, standing on her toes to give him a kiss. "It's waffles for breakfast this morning," she informed him. He released the breath he had been holding and followed her inside.
"You ran off," he said, expecting an explanation. She shrugged.
"I wanted to get the shower first," she said. Draco sighed and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I don't believe you, but that's alright," he decided. "See you after breakfast," he said. She nodded and sat down with Ginny. If he could not be completely honest with her, then he could not expect her to be completely honest with him.
Hermione made it to Potions early because Madam Meurteuil let them out early. She sat down in her seat and started reviewing the notes she had taken the class before.
"Come with me," Pansy said, taking Hermione by the arm and leading her out of the classroom. Hermione followed her, mostly just out of curiosity. Pansy let her into a nearby bathroom and quickly checked to make sure it was empty. "If you're going to be a Death Eater, there are certain rules you have to follow," she informed Hermione. Hermione opened her mouth to explain that she was not sure about being a Death Eater, but Pansy interrupted. "I don't need to hear it, just listen," she said firmly. "We don't go out without looking our best," she informed Hermione. "That means you have to get up and do your hair and makeup before class in the morning," she went on.
"I did," Hermione protested. Pansy looked her over and shook her head. She pulled a cosmetics bag out of her purse and handed it to Hermione.
"I'll help you," she sighed, unzipping the bag. Hermione watched as Pansy selected a few colors of eye makeup and blended them on Hermione's eyelid.
"You're not upset at me because of Draco, are you?" Hermione asked. Pansy looked at her and then went back to smearing eyeshadow.
"Don't be dumb," she said, saying the first really mean thing Hermione had ever heard her say to her specifically. "Draco and I were only together because our fathers wanted it," she admitted. "You're the one he really cares about, and he has for a while."
"What?" Hermione asked. Pansy shook her head.
"Don't talk," she replied, picking out a lip color. Hermione sighed and pushed her lips into the wad of toilet paper Pansy handed her. "Come to my room, after dinner," Pansy said, walking away. Hermione watched her go and then looked into the mirror. Pansy had done a good job.
She hurried back to class and made it just before Snape came sweeping in the doors. Across the room, Parvati mouthed something at her. Hermione shot her a confused look.
"You look cute," Pansy hissed at her, interpreting Parvati's lip spasms. Hermione nodded and smiled at Parvati.
"Thanks," she whispered back to Pansy. Snape tossed a book in her general direction and she quickly snapped to attention.
"Now that Hermione Granger's social hour is over," Professor Snape began. "We'll begin class with a practical exam. Take out your cauldrons," he said as the class groaned.
"Hey, where are you going?" Ginny asked when Hermione got up from the dinner table later that night. Hermione smiled.
"The library," she said. Everyone rolled their eyes.
"Typical," Ron remarked. Hermione shrugged and hurried off. Instead of going to the library, she went right up to her room and headed down into Draco's bedroom. He smiled at her when he saw her come through the fireplace.
"So you've figured out my secret passage," he commented. Hermione nodded.
"Where did that come from?" she asked. He grinned.
"Actually, it's for the house elves," he admitted. She laughed. "If you go up to the Slytherin common room and down the next set of stairs, Pansy's room is the third one down," he informed her. She paused.
"You're not going to be there?" she asked. He shook his head.
"I've been forbidden," he told her. "Girls only."
"Great," Hermione sighed, and headed up to the common room. Fortunately, there were no Slytherins lurking about in the common room to be upset by her presence there. She supposed this was intentional. Still, she hurried down to Pansy's room.
"Good, you're on time," Pansy smiled as Hermione peeked into the room. "Come on in," she said, pulling the door open. The room looked like an exact copy of Hermione's except in Slytherin colors. Pansy shared the room with Blaise and Millicent Bulstrode.
"Millicent is off to the library," Blaise announced, coming in behind Hermione. "Hermione! I feel like it's been ages since we've gotten to hang out," she cooed. Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"Forgive her," Pansy said. "Come sit down," she offered, sitting down on her bed. Hermione took a seat.
"Okay, so I know you're dying to know what you're doing here," Blaise said, sitting down on her own bed across from Pansy's. Hermione nodded. "Well, first of all, we're on the same team now, so I think we should agree to reconcile our differences," she decided.
"Alright," Hermione agreed, tentatively.
"But mostly, it's our job to get you oriented as a Death Eater. I know you have a ton of questions," Pansy interjected. Hermione nodded. "Alright, well, where should we start?" she asked, looking at Blaise.
"Okay, well, first things first, the deal is sealed," Blaise said. "You've pledged your allegiance to Our Lord, and so now the only way to back out is to die," she said. "I know it sounds extreme, but from now on you're going to have access to a lot of top secret information and so if you change your mind about your loyalty, we have to kill you so that information doesn't get into the wrong hands."
"Also, Lord Voldemort can hear your thoughts. He won't punish you for thinking about things, but if you do something against him, then you're in trouble. He knows everything," Pansy added. "That's partly why he contacted us. He knows you're conflicted, and so we're here to make things a little bit easier for you."
"Wow," Hermione said, letting all of this information sink in. So she was backed into a corner. It was accept her duties as a Death Eater or die. "What do I have to do?" she asked, realizing she did not really know what she had to do as a Death Eater.
"Well, this is the part where things get a little hazy," Pansy said hesitantly, looking at Blaise.
"You probably won't like this part much," Blaise admitted. Hermione waited for someone to continue.
"Lord Voldemort doesn't really feel like women are emotionally capable of doing anything too…tasking," Pansy searched for the right word. Hermione raised her eyebrows, getting an idea of what she meant by this. "I know you've heard of female Death Eaters who've done important things but they have to go through a lot to prove that they can handle a position in the inner circle. Mostly, we just show up when we're told to."
"Sometimes we do little projects, like recruiting and orienting," Blaise spoke up. "It's not all parties and getting presents," she defended.
"Presents?" Hermione asked. The girls nodded emphatically.
"He likes to give presents," Pansy informed her.
"So, all I really have to do is be loyal," Hermione assessed the information she had been given. The other two girls exchanged glances. "And look good doing it."
"Well, sort of," Blaise looked a little bit uneasy.
"Someday, we'll have to have children," Pansy said. Hermione's mouth formed an o.
"And then we have to raise them to be loyal to Our Lord?" Hermione asked. The girls nodded. "I get it," she said, a sense of relief washing over her. She could handle this. If they were telling the truth, it seemed to her she could be a Death Eater and not really do anything to hurt Harry or Ron. Though she was a little bit disappointed that Lord Voldemort had turned out to be such a chauvinist, she also felt better about the whole mess.
"So, are you mad at Draco?" Blaise asked. Hermione nodded emphatically.
"I could kill him," Hermione said, realizing she was still furious at him. "Harry and Ron were my best friends, and now they have to be my enemies," she realized. Maybe this was not going to be as easy as she had thought it would be a few minutes ago.
"You have to forgive him," Pansy sighed. "I know it seems impossible, and he did a really shitty thing, but you two are on the same team now," she informed Hermione. Hermione sighed.
"He thinks I already have," she told the girls. "And I thought I had last night, but this morning it seemed like everything was wrong. How can I forgive him when he lied to me and betrayed me, and now I'm forced to lie to and betray my friends as a result?" she asked. Blaise and Pansy exchanged glances.
"Don't think of it like that," Blaise suggested. "Look at it from another angle. You just got two awesome new best friends, and your boyfriend makes you the envy of every girl in school. And you don't have to really stop being friends with Ron and Harry, at least not consciously. Lord Voldemort will want you to keep up the appearance for a little while."
"I guess so," Hermione was not really convinced, though Blaise had made some good points. She could not just change her ideals and everything she believed in overnight. It would be a big adjustment.
"I think you'll find it's easier than you think it will be," Pansy said, almost as though she could read Hermione's thoughts.
"I wish you could be in Slytherin," Blaise said suddenly, surprising everyone in the room. "Then you could be our roommate and we wouldn't have to deal with stinky old Millicent," she explained. "She'll be in soon, it's almost curfew."
"Ugh," Pansy sighed. "I guess you'd better go, Hermione," she said. Hermione nodded and got to her feet. "We'll see you tomorrow in class."
"Goodnight," Hermione said, heading out the door. She went back to Draco's room, once again finding the Slytherin common room empty.
"How'd it go?" Draco asked, looking up from his potions textbook when Hermione came in the room. She heaved a sigh.
"Basically they told me I couldn't hate you for much longer because I have to make babies for the Dark Lord," she replied. Draco's face went very pale.
"What?" he asked, his voice sounding very small. Hermione broke into a grin. "That's not funny," he scolded, getting out of bed.
"You couldn't see your reaction," Hermione replied, giggling. She gave Draco a hug. "I don't hate you, but I am angry."
"I know," he sighed. "I can't do anything about that."
"Just be patient," she suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "Goodnight, Draco," she said, heading for the fireplace.
"Hey! Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" he protested. Hermione shook her head sadly.
"Not tonight. I'm sulking," she responded, stepping into the passageway. Draco sat down on the edge of his bed, feeling deflated. Had she always been such a roller coaster of emotions or was it just him bringing it out in her he wondered. He decided it was probably his fault and got back into his bed, wondering what would happen when the rest of the story came out.
"Ouch!" Hermione wailed as Parvati's wand slipped and hit her in the ear. Parvati was helping Hermione curl her hair using a spell and Hermione was beginning to wonder if maybe she had been better off doing it herself.
"Sorry," Parvati apologized. She bit her lip and concentrated on holding her wand steady. "So, you never really told us why you're getting all dolled up," Parvati pressed. Hermione shrugged her shoulders.
"I just felt like doing something different," she said nonchalantly. "I get bored with the same thing every day."
"Uhuh," Parvati was not convinced but Hermione did not care. After a few more mishaps with the wand, she stepped back to admire her work. "There, you're beautiful," Parvati announced. Hermione ran to look in the mirror.
"Thank you," she said, pleasantly surprised by what Parvati had accomplished. "Now for my makeup," she said, flinging open a nearby trunk and pulling out an enormous cosmetics bag. Parvati's eyes widened.
"Holy Shit, Hermione," she whispered. "That stuff is so expensive," she came to peer into the bag.
"I would let you borrow it, but I'm afraid I'll run out," she said, looking unapologetic. Parvati sat up.
"I understand," she said, giving Hermione a strange look. Hermione shrugged it off. Maybe she had been a little rude about it, but it was the truth. If they were as expensive as Parvati said they were it was unlikely she would be getting replacements anytime soon. She finished her makeup quickly and headed down to the Great Hall.
"Hey, you look nice today," Ron commented as Hermione took a seat. She smiled at him.
"Thanks, Ron," she was surprised he had even noticed, and now felt doubly guilty for keeping the secret from them. This was not going to get any easier as time went on. It was not like someday she would be able to tell them she was a Death Eater. No, they would have to find that out the hard way.
Hermione set her fork down, suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore.
"Good Morning, Beautiful," Draco said, giving Hermione a kiss on the cheek and taking her books from her. She forced a smile to her lips, lest someone suspect that things were not going well. There was no good way to explain it, and after her tirade on Monday about how he was her boyfriend and they could not change that, she did not have the energy to deal with the I-told-you-sos.
"He seems to treat you well," Harry remarked. Hermione nodded, and pretended to drop her napkin so no one could see the tears forming in her eyes. Harry was going out of his way to find some redeeming quality in Draco, and Hermione was spitting in his face. And deliberately misleading him by not telling him the truth about how Draco treated her. Oh God, she was going to be sick.
Jumping out of her seat, Hermione headed right out of the Great Hall, ignoring the concerned questions coming at her from her friends. She dashed into the bathroom and managed to make it to the toilet just in time.
When she emerged from the stall with teary eyes and a runny nose, she was surprised to see not just Ginny, but Lavender, Parvati, Blaise, and Pansy all looking at her with concerned expressions. Pansy passed her a tissue for her nose and they all just stared.
"I feel better?" Hermione asked, wondering what they were expecting. They just kept staring until Ginny worked up the nerve to speak.
"There's not a chance you could be pregnant, is there?" she asked, sounding a lot like her mother. Hermione just glared at her and headed for the sink to rinse her mouth out.
"I think we can handle things from here," Blaise said, in her sickeningly sweet I'm-trying-to-be-nice-though-you're-beneath-me voice.
"Excuse me?" Parvati demanded.
"Why are you even in here?" Lavender asked, backing Parvati up. Blaise gave them a tight-lipped smile.
"I think Pansy and I are closer to Hermione than you three are. We can take care of her," she replied.
"What?" Ginny roared. Hermione could feel her head start pounding. "I don't think so," she began, and went off on a tirade about being Hermione's best friend and how no stupid project could change that.
"Alright, well, I tried to be nice," Blaise sighed. "Now shut up, and get the fuck out of here," she spat at the Gryffindor girls.
"Fuck off and die, you turbo slut," Parvati replied, aiming her wand at Blaise.
"Alright, cut it out!" Hermione snapped. Parvati lowered her wand and they all turned to look at Hermione again. "Ginny, Parvati, Lavender, I appreciate your concern. I'm just fine now, go finish breakfast and tell the boys I'm okay," she instructed. The three girls looked insulted, and Ginny's jaw dropped open.
"You can't be serious," Parvati crowed. Hermione could feel her head throbbing.
"I said get out!" she yelled. The Gryffindor girls headed out of the bathroom, clearly upset by her decision to stay with Blaise and Pansy. Once they were gone, Hermione sunk to the ground and burst into tears.
"Cut it out," Blaise demanded.
"Blaise, it's okay, we're alone," Pansy contradicted. She knelt down next to Hermione. "It's alright to be scared," she said to Hermione.
"I'm not scared, I just hate hurting my friends," she sobbed. "They're trying so hard to be nice to me and to find good things about Draco, and all I'm doing is stabbing them in the back."
"Look," Pansy sighed. "Really, you're doing them a favor. They're going to be so much better off in the end," she informed Hermione. "Someday they'll understand why you did it."
"But I didn't even do it!" Hermione cried. "Draco did, he drugged me, and apparently I pledged my allegiance to the Dark Lord and I didn't get a choice."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Blaise interrupted. "You weren't drugged, honey," she said, coming to sit on the ground with them. She looked as though she was kneeling in the middle of a slum, but she joined the other two girls.
"That was not a veritaserum," Hermione protested. She was not dumb.
"She's thinking of Wednesday night," Pansy informed Blaise. A look of comprehension came over her face.
"Oh! That wasn't Draco," Blaise laughed. "That was me, and you're right, it wasn't a veritaserum. It was just to help you with the pain, but apparently you didn't eat much dinner that night so it was a little too much for you."
"What?" Hermione was incredulous. "If I was passed out, how did I pledge my allegiance?"
"Oh good grief," Blaise sighed. "You didn't swear your oath that night, Hermione. You did that before you got the Dark Mark, before we even came back here."
"Now you're really lying," Hermione was livid. "I passed out then too," she reminded the girls. Pansy and Blaise exchanged glances.
"There's only one way to fix this," Pansy sighed. "Come on," she said, grabbing hold of Hermione's hands and hoisting her to her feet. Blaise and Pansy helped Hermione re-assemble herself and then they led her from the bathroom.
"Professor!" Blaise called out, jogging slowly down the hall after Professor Snape. He spun on his heel to see who was addressing him and when he saw that it was Blaise and Pansy, his expression softened.
"What is it, Miss Zabini?" he asked, looking the most approachable Hermione had ever seen him.
"Do you think we could come to your office and talk?" she asked him. His eyes moved briefly to Hermione and then he nodded.
"Just so long as you're not going to be late for class," he agreed. The girls followed his billowing black robes down to the potions classroom and then into his office. He conjured up three comfortable-looking chairs and then lifted a silver teapot off a burner behind his desk. "Cocoa?" he offered. Blaise and Pansy nodded eagerly, so Hermione also accepted a steaming hot mug. She had never seen this side of Professor Snape, but she supposed it had to do with the fact that he was not only the head of Slytherin House but also a Death Eater.
"Hermione is having trouble with her memory," Blaise explained. "She doesn't remember getting the Dark Mark." For a moment, Snape looked amused, but then he looked Hermione over very carefully.
"You were having memory problems while you were overseas, were you not?" he asked. Hermione nodded.
"I was told that I forgot about being a witch and everything I knew about the Wizarding world," she informed him. "But I don't remember forgetting those things."
"Hmm, why am I not surprised?" He said. Hermione wondered if he was mocking her, until he spoke again. "Miss Granger, you received the Dark Mark before your memory was reset, or whatever they called it at St. Mungo's," he informed her. "I was there, I definitely remember you agreeing to become a Death Eater," he added. "However, I would assume that your memory of this event was erased because it seems that all of your memories during the time when you could not remember the Wizarding World were erased as well," he decided.
"So I swore an oath to Lord Voldemort while I didn't even know what the Wizarding World was?" Hermione asked. Snape looked at Blaise and Pansy before responding.
"Yes, it would seem as such," he said cautiously. Hermione took a shaky sip of her cocoa. This new information made the situation completely different.
"So Draco took advantage of-" Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by Professor Snape slamming a thick textbook on his desk.
"Stop blaming Draco for this!" he shouted, returning to the Snape that Hermione was familiar with. She jumped, taken aback, and then realized he must have read her mind. "Yes, Miss Granger, I can hear your thoughts right now," he confirmed. "Clever, isn't it?"
"Actually, it's rather uncomfortable," she replied.
"Uncomfortable is good," he responded. "Because it's a form of fear, and fear is easily changed into other forms of emotion – like anger. And anger is incredibly useful, Miss Granger," he explained. "Now listen to me. You made a choice. Somewhere in your mind you were able to form a rational argument for becoming a Death Eater. Now you're rethinking it," he paused.
"It's not like I have a choice," she said.
"You have a choice," he contradicted. Hermione shook her head.
"It's be a Death Eater or die," she reminded him.
"How do you know it would be different if you had chosen not to become a Death Eater?" Snape asked. Hermione was not sure what he was asking. "How do you know that you would survive this war if you had not become a Death Eater? How do you know you wouldn't have died trying to fight against Voldemort?"
"I don't," she said firmly.
"And there's the rub," Professor Snape stated. "Now you will live," he assured her. "Unless you decide you would rather die than follow Voldemort. Because you could do that too, you could turn your back on your friends, your boyfriend, your family, and the Dark Lord, and say you would rather die. Sure, your name would go in the history books and your funeral would be in the papers, but would you really do that to your friends?"
"Haven't I caused them enough pain by becoming a Death Eater?" she snapped.
"Your thought process is completely wrong," Snape shook his head. "Look at it this way, your friends in Gryffindor love you unconditionally as friends should. You snubbed them while you were overseas and they forgave you, and they will forgive you for becoming a Death Eater. And now you are getting new friends who are also Death Eaters. Why would you want to give that up?" he asked.
Before Hermione could respond he continued, "You also have Draco, who loves you more deeply than I have seen anyone love another person in many years. I know you are angry with him, because you think he betrayed you, but you are wrong. He did nothing. The Dark Lord transported all of you to him before you returned to the Wizarding world. He told you about being a Death Eater, what you would have to do, and what it meant. You agreed before you spoke to anyone else about it. Draco had nothing to do with any of it."
Hermione leaned back in her chair, thinking about what she had just been told. Snape was presenting a very logical argument and Hermione was struggling to find fault with it. She highly doubted that Harry would forgive her for becoming Death Eater, even though they had been friends for a long time. But there was a small voice in her head that told her there was only one way to find out.
Draco burst through the doors of Snape's office, startling everyone inside, and looked around. He went straight to Hermione's side.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, looking truly concerned. Hermione nodded. Snape just looked amused.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked. Draco sighed.
"Yes, Professor," he admitted.
"Then I suppose I'll have to write all of you a pass for class?" Professor Snape decided, pulling out a piece of parchment.
"Actually, Potions should be starting now," Blaise spoke up. Snape glanced at the clock and got to his feet.
"Excellent. Then I trust none of you will be late," he said, before heading into the classroom. Hermione took a deep breath and stood up. She felt less conflicted than she had before her talk with Snape, but still uncertain. What had he meant when he said Draco loved her more deeply than he had seen anyone love another person for many years? Could he read Draco's thoughts too? And could he read her thoughts all the time? Because that would definitely be uncomfortable.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Draco asked, taking her hand cautiously. She nodded and gave him a small smile.
"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind," she said honestly. The group headed out to the potions classroom, only to find that Snape had gone ahead and started class.
"Get here on time, please," was all Snape said, as he noticed them taking their seats. Ron and Harry shot Hermione surprised looks, wondering why Snape had not taken points from her. She shrugged and ignored the death glares she was getting from Parvati and Lavender. Taking out her quill, she furiously copied down the notes Snape had written on the blackboard.
"Prefects, please wait a moment," Professor McGonagall said as she dismissed Transfiguration class later that afternoon. Hermione sighed and remained in her seat next to Ron. Harry gave them a sad smile and whispered that he would see them in the common room.
"What are these?" Draco asked, as their professor placed sheets of parchment on their desks in front of them.
"These, Mr. Malfoy, are your applications for the position of Head Boy and Girl," Professor McGonagall replied. "You all are to fill them out right now and return them to me as soon as you are finished," she said. The prefects worked diligently at their applications which consisted of a few questions concerning why they felt they would make a good Head Boy or Girl.
Hermione turned hers in right away and left the room, deciding she would wait for Ron. Only a few moments later, Draco emerged from the classroom. He came straight over to her and gave her a big kiss.
"I've been waiting all day to do that," he informed her. She smiled at him, unable to keep from being angry at him.
"I owe you an apology," she said. "Snape told me you had nothing to do with any of this mess," she told him. He shrugged his shoulders and looked away until Hermione pulled him into a big hug. "Do you forgive me?" she asked, in a pouty voice.
"Of course," he laughed, hugging her back. "Just promise you'll never go to bed without kissing me goodnight ever again."
"I promise," she agreed, leaning against the wall as he kissed her again. She could feel her knees getting weak and she held onto him for dear life, glad their classes were over for the weekend and she could stay here kissing him for as long as she wanted.
"Ahem," a voice interrupted their kiss and Hermione looked around Draco to see a very red faced Ron, waiting uncomfortably for them to stop. Hermione gave Draco one last quick kiss and promised to meet him after dinner before she headed off to Gryffindor Tower with Ron.