A/N: I am SO sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I went back to school and I barely have any time to write…yeah, lame excuse, I know. But at any rate, here it is. I'm working hard on the next one, I promise. I have another story debuting on Wednesday, so it's going to be a mess. I was really trying to get this finished before that one came out, but I didn't get it done. So please, be patient. I love you all! Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter Thirteen

"I must commend you on handling that situation so well, Severus," the rotting voice came from the old man. His body was wracked with coughs, and Severus Snape looked away. It was difficult to watch the man suffering.

"Thank you, My Lord," Severus said, once the coughing had ceased. Lord Voldemort bowed his head slightly as if to say he was welcome. Then he turned to look at Lucius Malfoy.

"Lucius, my faithful one, tell me why it is you felt the need to interfere with your niece's plans," he said, intrigued to hear Lucius' explanation.

"Well, your grace, I simply could not tolerate our young servants being forced to live like muggle filth. I realize that they were living in the best possible conditions, but to live without the magic they are so accustomed to seemed like undue punishment to me," Lucius explained. "I felt they could better gather more followers in a magic environment than they could while they were distracted by all of that muggle nonsense."

"An excellent point, Lucius," Voldemort conceded. "Samantha, I trust you have learned a lesson from this," he turned to Samantha, who was seething quietly behind her uncle.

"Indeed I have, My Lord," she agreed demurely, pushing her anger at Lucius aside. Though she knew power struggles were fairly common among those competing for entrance to Voldemort's inner circle, she had not anticipated resistance from her own relatives.

"Now we must begin discussing the subject of what to do with all of our new followers. They are mostly young, impressionable adolescents. Some will require strong leadership, while others have already demonstrated that skill. The problem is location," the Dark Lord paused. "Thanks to Samantha's failed project, these children are scattered across the globe. It is time I revealed to you the other project that has been in the works," Voldemort paused again, to make sure everyone was listening.

"Ron, could you ask Hermione to pass me the toast?" Ginny asked her brother at breakfast one morning. It had been several weeks since the vomiting incident, but Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati were still not speaking to Hermione.

Hermione sighed and passed the toast to Ginny without waiting for Ron to ask her. This nonsense was driving her nuts. Not only was it ridiculously childish, but it also took more effort for the girls not to talk to her than it did for them to just talk to her. She put her fork down and finished her orange juice.

"You look nice today, Hermione," Neville whispered. She smiled at him, grateful he was still speaking to her.

"She looks nice everyday," Seamus put in, making Parvati glare harder at Hermione.

"Thanks guys," Hermione smiled. A sudden sharp pain in her arm made the color drain from her face. She smiled at the boys again and excused herself.

Blaise, Draco, and Pansy met her in the hall. A few moments later, Snape came sweeping from the Great Hall and led them all down to his office where a surprising number of other students had already congregated. Most of them were from Slytherin, of course, but Hermione also noted that there were a few Ravenclaws and even one or two Hufflepuffs. So far, she was the only one from Gryffindor.

"Good Morning," Snape addressed everyone, doing a quick head count. "I'll be brief," he said, passing around the pot of hot cocoa. Hermione eagerly accepted a steaming mug from Draco. "You all are to meet in the library this evening after curfew. Bring one friend you trust, pureblood or not, it doesn't matter. I'll give you further instructions tonight," Snape instructed. Everyone nodded as though they understood and Hermione stared down at the floor. Bring a friend? She had no friends anymore.

Draco's arm found its way around her waist and she looked up to see him looking back at her, concerned. Hermione smiled and sipped at her cocoa. Regardless of her anxiety surrounding that evening's meeting, she could not help but feel a little bit bubbly when he looked at her that way.

"Time to get to class," he informed her, and she nodded in agreement. They walked slowly out of Snape's office and headed for muggle studies. As much as Hermione usually enjoyed her classes, she found herself dreading them for the rest of the day. It was still hard facing Harry and Ron, but she was slowly getting used to the feeling that they would never be as close as they had before.

"I don't know who to bring tonight," she spoke up suddenly. Draco squeezed her hand.

"I'm sure you'll think of someone," he tried to reassure her. She was not convinced, but let it go. It was annoying sometimes how things were so black and white for him.

A few paces away from the door of the muggle studies classroom, Draco spun to face her. He leaned in and gave her an enormous kiss. Hermione found herself panting softly when the kiss ended. Draco smirked at her, seeing a familiar hungry look in her eyes.

"I've been waiting all morning to do that," he admitted. Hermione smiled and leaned up to kiss him again. "Let's not get carried away, hmm?" he said as he turned his head away from her. Her jaw dropped open in shock, but she recovered quickly and pushed her lower lip out slightly.

"Can't we just skip class?" she asked him. He let his eyes roll up as though he were considering it.

"Nope," he said. Hermione pushed her lip out further and he just laughed. "Put that away. We're going to be late," he said, taking her hand and leading her into the classroom.

"Hey, Lavender," Hermione said cheerily as she entered her dorm that evening. It was just before dinner and Parvati and Ginny had already headed down to the Great Hall. Hermione had overheard them telling the boys Lavender would be coming later and decided to jump on the opportunity.

Lavender looked up from the notes she was reviewing and gave Hermione a strange look. She put her school stuff aside and headed for the mirror as though she had not heard Hermione.

"You're not busy tonight, are you?" Hermione pressed on, ignoring the fact that Lavender was ignoring her. Lavender's eyes met with Hermione's in the mirror.

"I have to get to dinner," she said flatly, in the voice she used to address adults. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You can talk to me for five minutes," Hermione said, stepping in front of the door. Lavender's eyes widened and she looked Hermione right in the eyes. "It's rude not to answer a question when someone asks you one," Hermione went on. "You're not busy tonight, right?"

"N-no," Lavender admitted. Hermione grinned.

"Well, now you are. Meet me outside the library at curfew," Hermione responded, without hesitating for a second. The words coming out of her mouth felt foreign, but she enjoyed the ease with which they rolled off her tongue. There was almost a metallic taste in her mouth as she flashed Lavender a broad smile and stepped out of her way.

Lavender gave Hermione a very puzzled look as she walked out the door. Hermione collapsed on her bed, thrilled at what she had just accomplished. Tiny little butterflies danced in her stomach, almost like she had been nervous all along and not realized until the adrenaline had subsided. A feeling of elation surged through her veins as she stood back up to get ready for dinner.

"Night, Millicent," Pansy sang as she stacked her textbooks neatly on the edge of her desk.

"Don't wait up for us," Blaise added, sounding equally saccharine. Millicent narrowed her eyes at the two girls.

"One of these nights, you're going to get caught. Just you wait," she sneered. Blaise's false grin vanished.

"Well, we were going to ask you along, but obviously you're not interested," she snapped. Pansy looked in the mirror briefly and headed out the door. Blaise gave Millicent a final glare and followed her friend.

The two girls walked along the corridor and up the stairs to the Slytherin Common room. The room was still marginally occupied with younger students agonizing over homework assignments. They all stopped and stared when Blaise and Pansy entered the room.

"Count to ten," Blaise whispered to Pansy. Then she blew a kiss to a table of fifth year boys in a dark corner. Pansy poked her in the ribs and rolled her eyes.

"Three, two-" Pansy said aloud.

"Wait! Wait up, I want to come along," Millicent's voice could be heard bouncing off the stone walls. Pansy and Blaise exchanged self-satisfied smirks and turned to watch the girl amble up the stairs towards them.

"What makes you think our invitation still stands?" Blaise demanded. Millicent's mouth formed a big O until both girls burst out laughing at her. Then her eyes narrowed again.

"Come on, we're going to be late," Pansy stepped in before a fight could ensue. She strode confidently through the common room in an outfit she had bought in the States. All of their foreign clothes were, just because they were foreign, much cooler than anything the other students had. Many of the younger girls glared enviously at her and Blaise as they passed.

"We're going to the library?" Millicent sounded defeated when the girls arrived at their destination.

"Don't ask questions," Blaise snapped. "You're our guest, be respectful," she reprimanded. Millicent did not respond, but her dismay was obvious.

Outside the library, Lavender was waiting anxiously for Hermione to show up. To be perfectly honest, she was afraid of what would happen if she did not come like Hermione had told her to. So she had left ten minutes early, having told Parvati and Ginny that she was meeting a guy.

Hermione appeared soon after Blaise and Pansy had disappeared into the library. Draco was holding her hand, and Lavender sighed enviously. She tried to appear nonchalant as the couple drew closer.

"I'm glad you came," Hermione said, a smile on her face. Lavender shrugged her shoulders.

"I wasn't doing anything else tonight," she allowed. The three headed into the library which was brightly lit. Colorful shapes hung in the sky, changing color and form with the rhythm of the music that played in the background. Students from all different houses were laughing, dancing, and talking all over the room. At one end, Professor Snape stood behind a table covered in butterbeer. "Wow," Lavender remarked. "Is this like a party?"

"You might say that," Draco replied, squeezing Hermione's hand. "I'm going to go get some of that butterbeer, are you two ladies interested?"

"Please," Hermione nodded. Lavender smiled and agreed also. Then she turned to Hermione and squealed.

"Ohmygod, how did you get invited to this?" she demanded. Hermione just smiled. "This is probably the coolest party to ever happen on Hogwarts grounds," she went on. She and Hermione began walking further into the room. Draco returned with their drinks and Hermione gratefully accepted the distraction.

"So, Lavender, how are things?" Draco tried to strike up a conversation. Lavender started babbling on and on about a pair of shoes Parvati got from her cousin. Hermione yawned and looked around the room. It did seem like a pretty good party, though she was not sure why Professor Snape had decided to throw a party. Or why he would do it on a Thursday night.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," a boy Hermione vaguely recognized as being from Ravenclaw had appeared at her elbow. She smiled politely and turned to look at him. "I was just wondering if I could steal Lavender from you," he went on. Lavender smiled widely and handed Hermione her butterbeer.

"Absolutely," she said, taking the boy's outstretched hand. She gave Hermione an elated look and disappeared into the sea of people. Hermione watched her go until she felt Draco's hand on her lower back. He pulled her closer to him so that her body was pressed up against him.

"Have I told you yet that I think you look fabulous tonight?" he asked her. She smiled, and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Do you ever wish we could go back?" she asked him suddenly. He looked down at her, confused. "I mean, to the States. Do you ever wish we could go back?"

"All the time," he replied, sighing. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Then you and I could be alone," he joked.

"I love you, Draco," Hermione said suddenly, turning her face so that it was hidden in his shoulder. He was taken back by her sudden declaration, but squeezed her a little bit tighter in his arms.

"I love you too, Hermione," he replied. She took a deep breath and stepped back. "Are you alright?" Draco asked her. She nodded.

"There's just so much going on right now," she sighed. "I'm fine, just a little overwhelmed still," she forced a smile to her face. "Come on, we're at a party, let's have some fun."

The night came to an end far too soon for most of the party-goers. Professor Snape had ended the party by cutting off the music and making the shapes disappear. The library returned to its normal look and the students all turned unhappily to hear him speak.

"I trust you all had fun tonight," he began. This statement was verified by a loud cheer. He held up his hand for silence and then continued on. "We will be having this every Thursday night under one condition," he announced. Everyone in the room was focused on him. "No other professors may find out about it," he continued. "And for the time being, no other students either. Someday you will be allowed to bring your other friends, but until I say otherwise this is to be kept a secret."

"What a strange rule," Lavender whispered to Hermione, who nodded in agreement.

"Now get to bed before I have to give anyone a detention!" Snape yelled, making the room clear out.

"That was seriously the coolest party I've ever been to," Lavender informed Hermione as the girls walked back to Gryffindor Tower. "It's some kind of club, isn't it?" she asked. Hermione shook her head no. "Oh come on, you can trust me! Dale said something about a pledge and membership," Lavender informed her. "I know it's a club, that's why we can't talk about it."

"Alright, I guess you could say it's a club," Hermione conceded.

"I knew it!" Lavender shrieked. Then she clapped her hand over her mouth, and looked around nervously. "I knew it," she repeated more softly. "How do you join?"

"I can't really say," Hermione said quickly. "Don't worry about it, its nothing you'd be interested in."

"Nothing I'd be interested in?" Lavender repeated, sounding miffed. "Why wouldn't I be interested in a club that throws killer parties on school grounds after curfew with a teacher's permission?"

"It's not always like that," Hermione sighed. "Just trust me."

"No, trust me, I'm definitely interested," Lavender gushed. "Can we bring Parvati and Ginny next time? Oh please? I know we're not supposed to tell anyone, but since you're a member can't you bend the rules a little?"

"Definitely not," Hermione said firmly. She would not be responsible for bringing Ron's younger sister to the Dark side.

"Come on! There were only two Gryffindors there. We are severely underrepresented. I think we need to rectify that situation," Lavender pleaded. Hermione sighed.

"I'll think about it," she decided. "But until then, keep your mouth shut," she warned. Lavender nodded in agreement.

"So, Dale is really hot, isn't he?" Lavender changed the subject. Hermione took a deep breath and pretended to listen as Lavender babbled on about her night.

The next morning, Hermione dragged herself out of bed and headed for the shower. She felt almost like she had been hit by a truck. Every muscle in her body ached, and she could barely do anything except yawn.

The warm shower water did nothing to wake her up; instead she felt sleepier than she had been before. Hermione headed back to her room where Parvati was desperately trying to wake Lavender up. She yawned again and began to work on her hair.

Twenty minutes later when she took her seat at the breakfast table, it was no surprise to her that many of the other students in the Great Hall looked just as tired as she did. She took a sip of her orange juice and looked sadly at her plate of French toast. Somehow she was not hungry, even for French toast. Hermione set her fork down and sighed, deciding to head off to the library before class.

She realized it had been a mistake when she sank into the plush armchair. Her eyelids felt heavy and she found herself focusing harder on keeping awake than on her reading. Maybe it had been a great party the night before, but was it worth the fight to stay awake?

By the time potions came around, it was all Hermione could do to keep from snoring aloud. Looking around the room, she could see that half of the students in the room were having the same problem she was. It was the Slytherin half, of course, as they had made up most of the party the night before. Even Snape seemed to be exhausted.

"Alright, please tell me what is going on," Harry demanded, approaching Hermione as they walked to lunch. Ron appeared at her other elbow and Hermione yawned enormously before swearing she had no idea what they were talking about.

"Oh please, half of this school can barely keep their eyes open. Was there an all-night study session or something we missed?" Ron joked.

"I really," Hermione yawned, interrupting her own sentence, "have no idea what's going on."

"Mhmm," Harry said sarcastically.

"You can trust us, Hermione," Ron put in. "We're your best friends."

"I know," she agreed. But can you trust me? she thought.

"So, were you really up late studying?" Harry asked. "Or were you and Malfoy off shagging in a dark corner?" he joked.

"Gross," Ron muttered under his breath. Hermione gave Harry a look.

"For your information, I went to a party last night," she said matter-of-factly. Harry and Ron exchanged looks.

"You went to a party?" Ron asked. "On a school night?"

"Yes, I went to a party on a school night, on school grounds, after curfew," she informed them, a bit defensive.

"I'm impressed," Harry remarked.

"And jealous," Ron added. "Why weren't we invited?"

"It was kind of a low-key thing," she lied. They walked past a group of Slytherins trudging along slowly.

"Looks like it was a pretty big party, since half of the school can barely walk straight," Ron observed. "Who hosted this shindig anyway? Some Seventh year who wants to show off that he can buy alcohol now?"

"Oh there was no alcohol there," Hermione corrected quickly.

"Whaat?" Seamus interrupted, and Hermione realized that he, Neville, and Dean were all walking very close behind her and listening to every word she said.

"Even I know you can't throw a good party without alcohol," Neville piped up.

"Actually, it was a great party and we didn't need any alcohol to have fun. It must be one of those Gryffindor faults, having to get smashed to enjoy yourself," Draco's voice cut through the hallway. He pushed past Ron to stand next to Hermione, taking her books and looping her arm through his in one fell swoop.

"That was slick," Seamus complimented before he could catch himself. Draco flashed him a grin.

"So, I guess this was like an invitation-only type of thing," Harry said, turning everyone's attention back to the previous conversation.

"You might say that," Draco agreed. "Don't worry, there will be more."

"Count me out," Ron hissed to Seamus, glaring at the back of Draco's head. "Who wants to hang out with some Slytherins if you can't get trashed to forget about them?"

"Don't worry, Weasley, I never said you would be invited," Draco replied, picking up his pace. Hermione had to take two steps for each one of Draco's and found herself almost out of breath after they turned the corner.

"Hey, slow down," she pleaded. Draco slowed his pace and looked at her sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," he apologized.

"Ron's just jealous," she informed him.

"I'm aware," Draco agreed. "I think it's hilarious," he added.

"Which is why we had to sprint down the hall," Hermione teased. She kissed him on the cheek. "Can we skip Arithmancy and take a nap instead?" she asked. Draco shook his head.

"We don't skip classes," he informed her, suddenly very serious.

"I was kidding," Hermione replied flatly. She was getting sick of these rules already. So many dos and do nots.

Fortunately, the rest of the day went by quickly and Hermione soon found herself crawling into Draco's bed to take a nap. There was a comforting aroma that seemed to permeate his sheets, and as she drifted off to sleep, Hermione realized that it smelled like Draco.

"Alright, alright. When you combine feverfew and lungwort, you get?" Draco asked. Hermione heaved a sigh.

"Feverfew and lungwort, when brewed with a tiny bit of butterbeer, create a potion that is used to alleviate cold symptoms," she replied. Draco rolled his eyes.

"And you felt like we needed to study this, why?" he asked. Hermione gave him an exasperated look.

"You always need to study," Hermione replied. She yawned. After their nap, she and Draco had decided to spend some time studying potions. Draco had insisted they stay in his room to do it, so Hermione was having a hard time concentrating. She was used to sitting at a desk to study, not laying on a bed in one of Draco's t-shirts.

"Did I tell you that you look ridiculously adorable in my shirt?" he asked her, setting his potions book on the nightstand. Hermione smiled.

"Only three hundred times now," she informed him. He grinned and leaned in to kiss her.

"Maybe we should take a study break," he suggested, pulling the curtains around his bed closed. Hermione smiled a little wider and leaned back on his pillow.

"That's the best idea I've heard all day," she agreed, craning her neck to kiss him again. A chill ran down her spine, and she shivered as he gently parted her lips with his tongue. She adored that feeling. She ran the tip of her tongue gently along the roof of his mouth, just behind his teeth, making him shiver in return.

One of Draco's hands was drawing slow lazy circles around her nipple as he began kissing her neck. She felt every muscle in her body relax, and she closed her eyes, concentrating on the feeling of their bodies pressed together. She lifted her shoulders to help Draco remove her shirt, and both of her nipples went harder than they had already been, in response to the cold air of the room.

Hermione was now laying underneath Draco in nothing but a pair of pale blue panties. She began to suck softly on his earlobe, something that required a great deal of talent to do properly. Meanwhile he was still playing with her nipples, although absently as she was distracting him with her tongue.

He pulled his head away and took one of her nipples in his mouth. Gently and deliberately he ran his tongue over the tip of it, slowly at first. Then he began to suck at it softly, causing Hermione to let out a soft moan.

She stretched out her arms, struggling to unfasten his belt and pull his pants off. His shirt came off next, and then he pressed his chest up against hers and sighed at the feeling of her skin on his.

"Oh God, Hermione," he breathed, not needing to say anything else. She could feel it too, the electricity in their skin, the intense energy coursing through her veins. Before she was aware of what she was doing, she had slipped out of her panties and was tugging at his boxers.

Draco lifted his hips and helped her get them off. He pulled her up close to him, and stared into her eyes. Hermione could feel how hard he was, and she knew he wanted it as badly as she did. She covered his mouth with her own, devouring him hungrily. His fingertips ran along her side and down between her legs, as though they were searching for something. Hermione knew he was checking to see how wet she was, and she knew he would not be disappointed. Her legs spread of their own accord, and suddenly he was resting right at her entrance. She maneuvered her hips slightly, pressing against him, trying to tell him that she was ready.

"Whoa, slow down," he whispered, stroking her cheek. "We're not going to do this right now," he told her. Hermione's eyebrows raised more in dismay than in question.

"What do you mean?" she breathed, surprised to hear that she was out of breath. He kissed her softly.

"There's no reason to hurry," he explained. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you, we don't have to rush," he went on. Hermione's jaw fell open.

"You, what?" she asked, scooting backwards a bit.

"Don't look so surprised," he said sadly. "I love you, Hermione," he reminded her.

"I know, and I love you too," she responded. "I just, you surprised me is all."

"I didn't mean to, I thought you understood," he sighed, and then kissed her stomach. "Look, I know you think you want to do this, but you don't. Not right now. We can fool around all you want, but we're not going to have sex. Not anytime soon," he said gently, but firmly.

"Why not?" Hermione asked, still confused. "If we're spending the rest of our lives together, then what does it matter?"

"Trust me, Hermione, it's worth the wait," Draco said. "Just trust me."