Title: Hidden Rendezvous
Rating: PG13
Genre: Romance.. coz of it's a bit sappy :P
Type: WIP
Pairing: Draco/Hermione
Summary: How Hermione will ends up as Draco's mistress.

A/N – There you go, an update! But, this chapter has not been betaed, so please ignore all mistakes and irregularities :) Thanks for the review, you all rocks!

Chapter 2

Hogswarts: Ten years ago

The silence hovering over the deserted common room of Gryffindor was broken by a loud thud and a strangled scream. Hermione rubbed her smarting forehead and moaned before flopping backwards.

'What have I done? What was I thinking?' she groaned. Swiping that smirk off his face, proving that he's wrong, the thought dashed through her mind and she resisted the urge to spill her skull open again. Damn that guy, she thought spitefully, unconsciously trying to tear open one of the throw pillows.

'But what I'm trying to tell you is a very interesting proposal. I'm sure you're gonna love it.'

'Let me just hear what you had in mind, and I'll be the judge of that,' she answered dryly.

Draco ignored the flat tone and continued, 'But I don't think you're going to do it though. I just don't see you doing it.'

He just grinned after he saw the fire that had started to flame in her dark eyes, 'But you know, you can prove that I'm wrong after all. I'm sure you would love that.'

'You're damn right about that. What do I have to do?' her jaw was tight with anger as she waited for his answer.

'Nothing much,' he smiled with obvious enjoyment, 'Just go out ob a date.. with me.'

'What?!' she shrieked with surprise and winced after the eagle eyed Madam Pince turned towards their table. 'You're kidding,' she whispered angrily.

'Why would I want to do that?' he asked with an innocent look, 'And what did I tell you, you're too scared to enjoy life.'

'I wouldn't put going out on a date with you as enjoying life,' she hissed, fury still throbbing from her voice.

'Seems like the same thing to me,' he grinned, 'You're just too frightened to try new stuff.'

'I am not. I just find it.. resistible, that's all,' she looked at him under lowered lids, looking unimpressed.

'What if I toss a little something to make this more exciting?' he asked, looking as if he was enjoying himself tremendously, 'If you didn't enjoy yourself on our little 'date', I'll leave you alone for the rest of your life, how does that sound?'

Without thinking, she put out her hand towards him and snapped, 'You're on.'

Why did I agree to that? Why? Why? Why?

Suddenly she straightened and the desperation that was in her eyes earlier was replaced by her more customary Hermione-in-sharp-focus sheen. 'Okay, let's think this through,' she nodded to herself, 'I just agree to go on a date, no biggie. Everyone does that, so what's the big deal, right?'

Except that she's going with the biggest jerk in the history of Hogswarts who suddenly takes his annoy-Hermione hobby to a whole new level. She refused the urge to cave in yet again and take a smothered breath.

Just get it over with, it's not like I'm going to have tones of fun anyway. She nodded, feeling reassured.. a bit. And then another thought slammed into her.

It's the Hogsmeade weekend so everyone will be there.

'Argh!' she screamed and fell back with a loud thud. 'Now what do I do? If Ron or Harry ever found out about this..' she shuddered, she'll never hear the end of it.

'I have to get them out of the way,' her eyes narrowed in concentration and a minute or so later she almost laughed out loud. One down, and a gazillion other things to take care off.

--

In contrast to the relatively silent Gryffindor common room, the dungeon of Slytherin was bursting with noise and people. In one corner of the chaos, one young man was stretched out comfortably in his chair. Irritably, he pushed away blond strands from his eyes before turning to one of the people sitting around him. 'Get me something to drink, will ya?'

The chatter rose around him, the different tones of voices were surprisingly somewhat comforting. He lifted his hand high in the air and cracked his stiff fingers with satisfaction.

By this time tomorrow, his weird and unexplainable fascination with the mudblood will be over and done with. He took the glass and sipped slowly, starting to think about tomorrow, and what it should bring. And he smiled.

--

The next morning

The usual weight in his hand tugged him from his pleasant thoughts and his brow wrinkled in his effort to reshuffle his train of thoughts. Patting through his robe, his frown deepened, 'Didn't I just have it a few minutes ago?' His frantic fingers went through Fred's former robe before..

'Aha, there you are, my little beauty.'

Ron sighed before propping his broom against the nearby wall. He cleared his throat a few times, the first for necessity while the next few was merely for effect, and he read the spell softly. Before his excited eyes, he could almost swear that his broom twitched and he almost jumped in glee.

'That should do it.' Grinning, Ron grabbed a hold of his precious broom and decided to hasten his journey to the field. If he remembered correctly, Hermione had mentioned that the spell has an expiry date. Or something.

He could barely hear her when she was practically thrusting that piece of parchment into his hand last night but based from the way she was clutching his hand; but damn, does she have a good grip, he got the important part.

'Aww Hermione, you're hurting me.'

'I mean it Ron.'

He had never really realized that Hermione had such big eyes, and how she can pinned you down with them.

'This spell is only good for tomorrow, and I mean tomorrow only. If you can't get it down before the sun sets, all will be lost.'

'Yeah, I get it. But does it have to be tomorrow? Harry and I kinda have plans. You know it's the Hogsmeade weekend.'

'No!' He didn't know Hermione can screech either. 'That is totally out of the question.'

'All right.. all right. Calm down,' he took a couple of steps backwards though, 'I get the idea. But I don't know if Harry..'

'Make him go and practice with you. The spell is useless if you're alone,' she lied without hesitation. 'Do you want a supercharged broom or not?'

It was a good thing that Ron had missed the desperate mist peeping from Hermione's eyes or she will spend the day dancing out of his torrent of questions.

'Promise me something Ron,' she said in a serious tone. 'You will make sure that both of you will be on the field, practicing. You do want to win the cup on our last year here, do you?'

The last bait she devilishly placed in front of his hungry eyes shivered deliciously before it was taken.

'Of course I do.'

She didn't think it would be any other way. Not with Ron.

'Okay,' he nodded, eyeing the parchment owlishly. 'What about you? You're coming along, right Hermione? We may need you or something later on.'

'No.. no.. no,' she shook her head. 'I can't tomorrow. I have something.' Her eyes darted away.

'Where are you going? You're not going to Hogsmeade are you?'

'I.. there's something.. but it's gonna bore me to death,' she rushed through in one breath.

Ron just shrugged; his eyes were already on the parchment. Maybe she was going to spend the day studying at the library.. again. The stuffy library would be the death of him real soon, so that was something he understood. But he thought she liked going to the library? He frowned for a second before his eyes wandered back to the parchment.

'Remember Ron, you and Harry have to practice this tomorrow. Together.'

'Yeah, yeah. I got it.' By the time he lifted his head, she was already gone.

The present day Ron picked up his broom and made his way to the field. He knew he was not supposed to be here but this was the shortest way to the field. And today, there was nothing that can stop him from getting there as fast as he possibly can.

--

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly on a clear blue sky dotted sparsely with white clouds while the breeze was whispering lightly through fragile petals and sturdy trees, caressing softly against their skin. It was a perfect day for pretty much anything. Especially a date.

Too bad it didn't rain like hell today.

Hermione grumbled under her breath, kicking some pebbles out of the way in her frustration and almost growled. He was walking nonchalantly, whistling softly under his breath while the sun gliding his hair gold. And her resentment bubbled to the surface at his obvious pleasure that was an absolute contrast to her current mood.

'Will you stop that already? You're driving me nuts.'

'What? What do I do?'

'Don't be so.. happy,' she glared. 'Aren't you tired of putting this act?'

'Act? What act? Who says I'm acting?'

'Oh come on. I have no idea why you force me to tag along to this weird experiment you suddenly concocted,' or why I agree to it in the first place, she muttered to herself, 'but it's better if you stop this.. this façade right now.' She finished with a huff.

'Ooh, big words. Coming from the girl with big hair,' he smirked.

'Yeah, that's one way to make me enjoy this.' She glowered. 'I'm going to win this without breaking any sweat.'

'It's your fault. I'm not usually up at the crack of dawn. Who ask you to drag me out of bed before the sun is even up?' he retorted.

'Yeah, blame it all on me. I don't want to drag this any longer than necessary. The sooner we finish this, the better,' she lied.

There was no way in bloody hell she'll let anyone see her with Malfoy today. She'll never live it down. Her plan was to get him out of school as early as humanly possible and then steered him away from places the other kids hang out. Hermione walked quickly, as if she was on a one man race, leaving Draco a few feet behind.

'Granger,' he called out amusedly, 'If this were to be a date, I think leaving me alone while you ran off into the bushes is not exactly right.'

In the distance, she saw some sort of building and she narrowed her eyes to try and see what was it. After a while, she saw something that made her smile.

Dragonsteele. The Proprietor of Fine Quills.

Instantly she turned to him and pointed towards the signboard, forced cheerfulness laced heavily through her voice. 'I have to make a stop there. You just wait here, I'll be out in a jiffy.'

'What? What are you doing there?' he asked, startled.

'What else can I do in a quill shop? Brew a potion?,' she rolled her eyes at his denseness. 'I heard their eagle quill is the best there is. I have to get one for our NEWT.'

'But it's next year.'

'So? I like to prepare early.'

'You're kidding, right?' he blinked.

'I never joke about my stationery. Stay here.' Her grin was full of relief as she dashed into the shop.

Malfoy stare at her retreating back and sighed. This was the first for him. Ditched by his date for a bloody quill.

--

Inside the shop, Hermione forced herself to peruse each and every quill on display. She wished she could ditch him and ran back to school but they had a promise. And she never back out of her promises. For once, she wished she was not as scrupulous but she just sighed. After she couldn't avoid it anymore, she picked up the fanciest one (and boy, they do cost a dragon's arm and leg) and went to the counter.

After the payment, she trudged outside reluctantly but the scene in front of her made her frown in surprise. Malfoy was hanging from a branch, his hair and robe disheveled as he was reaching out to something buried within the thick leaves. At the bottom of the tree, a couple of young girls, not older than 5 was jumping up and down, yelling useless instruction.

'Move to the right a bit!' one yelled.

'No, if he do that, he'll fall,' screamed the one in dirty pink robe.

'No he won't. The broom is on his right.'

'Can't you see? He needs to climb higher and then he can get the broom.'

'It's your fault the broom is up there,' her yellow ribbon was hanging crazily from one shoulder.

'You're the one who asked me to go faster,' Pinkie shrieked.

'Shut up, you two,' he shouted from his precarious perch as his fingers found the end of the broom and tugged it towards him. 'Do you want the bloody broom or not?'

Hermione walked slowly, speechless at the scene in front of her. Malfoy helping little girls? If someone told her he's cursing them or something, she'd be inclined to believe it much easier than this. As she walked towards them, she could hear the girl's shrill cheer as he made his way clumsily down the tree.

After he got both feet on the ground, he tossed the toy broom to the girls. 'Here. Now go away.'

She followed the two excited girls with small eyes before she turned towards him. He was running his fingers through his tousled hair, muttering under his breath.

'So.' She said suddenly and grinned as he jumped guiltily. 'You do take a break from pain-inflicting and cursing people, huh?'

'What do you mean?'

'I saw how you were helping the two girls.'

'Helping? You have to be kidding. I do not help people.'

'Don't bluff your way out of this Malfoy,' she grinned. 'It seems you're not that bad deep.. deep and I mean waaay deep down.'

He rolled his eyes in response. 'The only reason I put aside my dignity to climb this bloody tree was because their whining and screaming was annoying as hell. I want to get their nerve-wrecking and dirty self as far away from me as possible. See, they're not here anymore.'

Hermione just laughed and started walking. 'Are you coming, my annoying pureblood?'

After smoothing down his robe, he followed her.

--

Pansy Parkinson walked down the deserted hallway, biting her lower lips and she looked around her with suspicious eyes. Oh, bloody hell. She straightened up and rolled her perfectly made up eyes. Bummer. What was she thinking, skulking around like a guilty cat? It's not like she walked out of her room wiped clear of her makeup, did she?

She stopped by the nearest armour and peered into it, looking at her reflection. 'Perfect,' she preened, patting her curls in satisfaction. Her eyes narrowed as she spied a shadow of someone darting into one of the classroom. No one was suppose to be here, she thought gleefully and followed, completely forgetting that she was not suppose to be there either.

If I can just find out who it is, that'll be fun.

She tiptoed to the closed classroom and opened the door, making the boy inside jumped. 'It's you, Weasley. What are you doing?' She saw his fingers darted into his robe, stuffing something out from view.

'Nothing.' He shrugged, his ears were as red as his hair now. The way he was shuffling on his feet peaked her interest and she walked closer.

'Come on. Show me what you have there,' she smiled and tried to pull that thing from his robe.

He grabbed her hands, 'What do you think you're doing?'

'I just want to see.'

Suddenly they heard something from the hallway. Peeves was shrieking his head off and they could hear someone shouting in response.

Snape.

Both of them stiffened, knowing full well they were not supposed to be there.

'Shut up Peeves,' Snape growled and pushed the door open.

Without thinking, Pansy grabbed Ron's robe and pulled him towards her, crushing her lips to his. Ron's eyes were huge in his pale face as behind them Snape cleared his throat.

'You disappoint me, Miss Parkinson. I thought you had better taste than this.'

Pansy turned and smiled. 'It's the pleasure of the unexpected, Professor. You want to do something different. And I feel like a lil taste of Weasley today.'

'But it's Weasley.'

'What's wrong with me?' Ron asked heatedly.

Snape just ran his dark eyes over him, one brow raised in question. 'If it's someone else, I'll let you off, Miss Parkinson. But since it's Weasley, you're both in detention. Come with me.'

'What? No, no, no. Not now.' Ron blinked. 'I have to be on the field, now!'

'I'm not giving you an option, Weasley. Let's go.'

--

Snape's office was as dark and gloomy as ever. He pushed the reluctant Ron in with a shove and stared at the duo with his unblinking dark eyes.

'When I get back, I expect to see each and every one of my specimen bottles sparkling.'

'You want us to touch those things?' Ron asked, his eyes wide in horror.

Snape's mouth curled into a hint of a smile. 'That brings us to rule no 2. No magic. Take as long as you need.'

Ron stared at the closed door long after Snape had gone. After a while, he paced the crowded room in agitation. 'This is not happening. We're losing time and that's my only chance to be captain next year!'

'Stop making me dizzy,' Pansy snapped. 'Are you sure Granger never told you any quick removal spell during your boring conversations together all these years?'

However, Ron was not listening as he suddenly stopped in his track. 'I think I remember Harry told me something like this earlier,' he acclaimed.

Pansy rolled her eyes, 'Yeah, we all know how Potter is Snape's favourite detention candidate.'

'No, no. Something he sees in the..,' he blinked, 'tellicopter.. no.. tellisee? Argh! One of those muggle things.' He almost pulled out his red hair in frustration. 'This guy wants to break out from prison, and he got his entire body tattooed with the detail of the plan. That's how he got out.' He turned to her frantically, 'I don't have any tattoo. Oh bloody hell.' He was speaking too fast now. 'How are we going to get out if I don't have any tattoo on me? We're trapped in here.. forever!'

She stood, walked towards him and slapped him, hard across the face. 'Snap out of it!'

Ron stared at her, open-mouth as blind fear started to dissipate from his eyes.

'We don't need to tattoo you from head to toe to get out of this place. Get real, Weasley.'

'Right,' Ron nodded. 'Are you absolutely sure you don't know how to tattoo people?'

'I know how to make purple spots and green stripes appear all over your body,' she twirled her wand. 'It'll go great with your hair. Want me to try it for you?'

He swallowed nervously, 'Maybe we should wait for Snape.'