First and foremost, thank you all so very much for your kind reviews. I found myself hitting the refresh button on the stats page well into the night to see all my hits, favorites, and alerts. Especially from people I don't pressure into reviewing…I begin a story for myself, I finish it for the readers. So I present to you, chapter two. And please tell me if it moves too fast…seriously.

Chapter Two

Highway to Hell

After our lovely Gryffindor princess took a nice relaxing shower, she changed into her nightclothes and climbed into the safe, warm comforts of her crimson and gold sheets. She tied her damp locks into a pony tail and pulls her comforter up around her body, settling in for deep sleep.

Draco sat in front of the dying fire as the embers glowed bright orange. A glass of firewhiskey rested in his hand. He took a small sip as lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the dimmed Common Room before letting it sink back to its orange glow. He continued to stare into the embers before downing the rest of his glass in a large gulp and setting the glass down on the table. He stood up from the couch and made his way to his bedroom. First, he stopped in front of Hermione's door and pressed his ear to the oak door. He heard the soft sounds of Hermione's rhythmic breathing and a feeling of calm washed over him. He shook his head and walked into his own room.

Hermione's dreams that night would be considered extremely pleasant to most, but for her, they were the things of nightmares.

Hermione sat on a couch in the Head's Dorm. The moon was coming in through the window casting a pale glow in the room. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace, adding light and warmth. The fireplace was not the only source of light, however. There were two candles lit on the table, along with a bottle of some champagne and a bowl of strawberries.

'How odd,' thought Hermione. She had not put those items out. She did not even where they came from. She noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head around and found the source of the movement.

Her honey eyes locked with a pair of steely gray ones. A tall, pale, blond man stood in the shadows. His all black attire made him look sophisticated and intimidating. Hermione was sure that she looked like a slob compared to the tall, pale, stranger, that is, until she looked down and noticed her dark crimson dress. Her eyes widened and she looked back to the tall man in the shadows. He was smiling, his perfect white teeth gleaming in the firelight. The fire threw dark shadows over his face making him look gaunt and haunted.

He stepped into the light and Hermione gasped. The blond man was beautiful. She recognized the face instantly. Draco Malfoy stood before her, holding a glass of champagne out to her. She didn't know why, but she trusted him. She took the glass and felt a strange emotion bubble up inside of her. It wasn't hate, it was entirely different.

She took a sip of the champagne and Draco sat down next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she allowed him to pull her closer. She rested her head down on his shoulder as he took a sip of his champagne as well. He pressed his lips to her temple and she sighed contently. She was not expecting that reaction, but Draco seemed to. He smiled and rested his cheek against her head.

"'Mione, are you enjoying yourself?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Hermione heard herself say. She lifted her head to look into Draco's eyes. He smiled at her and she smiled back. He reached over and plucked Hermione's champagne glass from her hand and set both of the glasses down on the table. He turned back to Hermione. She smiled and looked up at him through her eyelashes, giving a 'come hither' stare. Draco grinned and slowly brought his head towards her. She tilted her head up to meet his awaiting lips.

The kiss was slow and passionate. Hermione should have felt disgusted, but she didn't. She wrapped her hand around the back of his head, holding him. Her fingers tangled in his platinum locks and he gripped the back of her hair, anchoring her to his lips.

He removed his lips from her mouth, yet kept his hand in her chestnut locks. Hermione looked up into his eyes to see them alive with passion. She was sure that hers looked the same.

He smiled at her, his eyes lighting up with several different emotions. Love, passion, sadness, pain, and several other emotions she could not read. She liked it; she loved it, in fact. It stunned her, how kind, how real, how beautiful he looked when he smiled.

"I love you, Hermione," Draco whispered. Hermione felt the most unexpected reactions.

"I love you, too, Draco," Hermione replied. Draco smiled and removed his hand from her head. He wrapped one hand under her leg and one around her shoulders, and lifted her up. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He carried her towards his bedroom…

Hermione sat up in bed, panting. Her hair was matted to her forehead in a cold sweat. She felt an odd sensation throughout her body. She should feel disgusted and appalled over such a lustrous dream about Malfoy. Yet, strangely, she liked the idea. She liked what had happened in the dream, including the companion.

She sat up in her luxurious mahogany bed, thoughts swirling through her head. Malfoy's proposition kept playing over and over again in her head. Sex, no strings, with the Slytherin god.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe it was exactly what she was looking for.

Hermione rolled over in her bed and pulled the sheets over her head. She closed her eyes but all she could see was his face staring at her, smiling. Her dream Draco had a beautiful smile. Hermione wondered if he really had that good of a smile in the daylight. The smile was more than just an expression of happiness or contentment. It made him look…human. He looked nice, attractive, and…vulnerable. Hermione wanted to see if his smile really did show that much about him in real time. She wanted to find out before she made any decisions on whether or not she wanted to engage in a sexual relationship with him. If his smile was like the dream, maybe things could work.

She smiled to herself and drifted back to sleep, curious as to how the day would progress.

The next day, the sun did not shine. Clouds continued to cover the sky, making the day less cheerful. Hermione did not know how to find Draco in a situation where he would smile genuinely. It seemed that his face was permanently contorted into a sneer, rarely ever a smile. In the rare instance that a smile did cross his face, it never reached his eyes.

Hermione studied him throughout the day, hoping he would smile. He didn't. He smiled slightly when he got his Potions grade back, but that soon turned into a sneer of gloat. He had done better than the other Slytherins in the class and was gloating about it in his smile. It was not a genuine one, not like the dream.

The dream Draco's smile stayed in her mind all day.

The dream Draco's smile stayed in her mind all week.

The dream Draco's smile stayed in her mind for two weeks.

Quidditch was in full swing. Practices were every other night. Draco was always on the Pitch practicing. Hermione rarely saw him around the Dorm. Normally she wouldn't mind, but she was desperate to see that smile once more. She didn't care if it was only once. She had not had any more dreams about Draco since that night. She was almost sad about that. Yet, when she consciously realized she was sad, she berated herself for at least an hour about it.

The glorious day finally came when Hermione was out for an afternoon stroll to clear her head of dream Draco's damnable smile. The brisk November air chilled her lungs yet she continued on her stroll, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck. She was walking past the Quidditch Pitch while the Slytherin Quidditch team was finishing up their practice. Draco flew down outside of the Pitch. He landed near Hermione and she nearly fell over.

On his face, was the thing she had been waiting for.

A smile.

The smile from the dream. Perfect, delightful, and human. She felt her breath catch in her chest as he walked past her. He turned and his eyes met hers for a brief moment. The smile did not leave his face and his eyes were alive with emotion. Hermione caught herself staring before Draco turned his head back around. She noticed every strand of his beautiful blond locks as they swung through the air to lay back against his alabaster forehead. Snowflakes clung to a few strands of his hair and Hermione continued to stare in his direction long after he was out of sight.

When the sun went down and she was left in almost total darkness, she began her walk back up to the castle. When she arrived in the Common Room, Draco was sitting on a couch in front of the fire, working on a Transfiguration essay. He looked up when Hermione walked in and nodded politely, acknowledging her arrival, before turning back to his essay.

"Good evening, Malfoy," Hermione said kindly. Draco looked up at her curiously for a moment.

"Good evening to you, too, Granger," he replied politely. Hermione sat down on the couch next to him and he adjusted his body to face her.

"I've been thinking, about the proposition you made a few weeks ago." She began. Draco raised his eyebrows and set his quill down.

"Do tell," he said simply.

"I'm in."

Well, that would be chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it. And as I said before, please tell me if Hermione is moving too fast. I know she is a bit OOC…but that's the only way I can make this work. But yes, please review. I enjoy them greatly.