Draco couldn't think about anything else all week. She was on his mind ninety percent of the time. The other ten was spent on work. He knew he must be acting distant, too, since everyone around him seemed to be noticing it. Even at nights when Pansy would try to make a move on him, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Usually sex was his way out of anything that was on his mind too much. Especially tonight. Just the thought of sleeping with Pansy seemed to make him want to regurgitate.

After about ten failed attempts to sleep with her husband, Pansy gave up. "Who is she?" She asked defeatedly.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked distractedly.

"Who are you seeing?" Pansy asked. "Who did you fall for?"

The last question caught his attention. "I didn't fall for anyone, Pansy." He replied.

"Right..." Pansy said sadly and got out of bed. Just as she was about to walk away she turned around and said. "I know you don't think much of me, but you could at least have the decency to tell me when you fall in love with another woman."

This angered Draco and he got up, walking towards her. "I told you Pansy, I'm not in love with any woman. Get it straight." He said with a threatening tone in his voice.

"Then, what?" Pansy said. "Draco Malfoy never turns down sex, even if it is from his slutty wife." She replied, her voice rising.

Draco was speechless for a second. "Mind your own business you worthless piece of trash." He scorned her.

Pansy could feel tears sting her eyes. "I am not a worthless piece of trash, Malfoy. At least I don't cheat on the person I once respected."

"You never had my respect." Draco scorned. "And don't pretend like you haven't slept with Blaise a million times. I'm not stupid, Pansy. And definitely not blind. I would bet my whole fortune that you have slept with every bachlor and non bachlor in the wizarding world."

Pansy laughed harshly. "Like you haven't slept with every woman alive." She replied. "Heck, I remember you even slept with the little Mudblood!" While Pansy was heartily laughing, Draco's blood boiled. He grabbed her by the arms and shoved her against their bedroom wall so hard that she squeeled in pain.

"Do-not-call-her-that." He growled, shaking her with every word, hatered dripping off every word. There was fear evident in Pansy's eyes. She was obviously threatened by his behavior, but Draco also saw something else. Shock.

"The Mudblood?" She asked weakly. "You're shagging the Mudblood?" Draco's grip loosened on her and his eyes started to widen. Pansy shook her head and put her hand over her mouth lightly. "No...you're in love with the mudblood..." She corrected herself. Draco stepped away from her and shook his head.

"You - you don't know what you're talking about..." He replied mildly.

"Yes, I do." Pansy replied, her voice now stronger. "You've fallen for her." She stepped closer to him as he stepped away from her. "My husband, the Draco Malfoy, the lady's man, the Slytherin Sex God, has fallen for a little dumb Mudblood." She said. And then she laughed. Laughed loud and clear. Laughed so much that the anger Draco had felt came back to him. He stepped forward and grabbed her again.

"First, let's get some things straight Pansy." He said, his voice dangerous again. "You will never laugh at me again. You will never assume that I'm in love with some Mudblood bitch. And you will never get into my business ever again." Pansy was staring at him in disbelief. The poor man hadn't even realized he was in love with the pathetic little witch wanna-be. She smirked. She could use this as an advantage for herself.

"Then prove it." She whispered at him. He looked at her in confusion. "Prove that you don't love her. Fuck me." She said. Draco stared at her. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't be able to sleep with her. Not without thinking about Hermione constantly. "I knew it..." Pansy said as she was about to walk away, but Draco grabbed her and kissed her deeply, as if to prove a point. She smiled against his lips, knowing she had won the battle. And as Draco threw her on the bed and ripped her clothes off, she knew that at least for while, she would get her husbands attention. Finally.

Hermione sat on her couch, curled up in a little ball, trying to read a book. Trying was the keyword. She couldn't concentrate on the dumb thing to save her life. Her mind was somewhere else. Someone else, actually. The same person who had been plaguing her mind constantly since a month and a half now. Hermione bit her lip as she remembered the way his eyes had looked down at her lips, as if wanting to kiss them. She sighed as she thought back to the way his body looked in one of his shirts and how she would love to take the shirt off his body. Woah...Why do I keep doing that? It's like I want him, or something... Hermione thought to herself. A little pop interrupted her thoughts.

She looked over to the fireplace to see Brent's face in the fireplace, looking up at her. "Hey!" She said, kind of relieved to have some distraction. She didn't know where her thoughts would lead to, but she knew it wasn't anywhere good.

"Hi, Hermione." Brent said. There was something odd about his voice that Hermione didn't like.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a worried tone.

"Uh.. nothing. I just have to talk to you about something. Mind if I come in?" He asked.

"Of course not. Come." She said. With another little pop Brent's full body appeared and he stepped out of the fireplace. Walking over to where she was sitting on the couch and sat next to her. "So what's going on?" She asked, still worried.

"Well, I've been meaning to talk to you about some thoughts that were on my mind lately." He explained slowly. She nodded at him and he chose his next words carefully. "Well, it's just that you seem pretty distracted lately and I feel like you've been pushing me away." He looked at his fingers and inhaled deeply before continuing. "I was wondering whether you've been seeing someone else." He looked up at her, clearly afraid of her answer.

Hermione was shocked by this and looked at Brent with a confused expression. Had she been seeing someone else? Was what she'd been doing with Malfoy seeing someone? She opened her mouth to talk, only to shut it again when the words failed her. She took a deep breath and looked at Brent intently. "I don't know why you would think such a thing." She said.

"Then why did you hesitate to answer?" He asked, looking at her with fear. "Look, Hermione. I want you to be completely honest with me. Is there anyone else? Have you fallen in love with someone other than me?" He asked.

"No, Brent. I haven't. I love you and I'm completely shocked that you would even suspect me of doing such a thing!" Hermione exclaimed, now getting a little defensive.

"Then how else do you explain your distancing from me? And don't tell me it's work, because you and I both know that that's not true." He urged on.

Hermione took another deep breath. "Brent..." She started. "It's just...Lately...There's been a lot on my mind." She said. When he looked at her unsure, she continued. "I assure you it has nothing do to with you..." She continued patting him on his arm. "You are an amazing guy and I should be lucky to have you. And I would never ever want to hurt you. I love you." She said.

Brent seemed a little relieved by this but still wasn't completely convinced. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes." She said, leaning forward and kissing him.

"Good." He sighed and smiled at her. He kissed her once more and then stood up. "All right, well I got to go. I have a meeting. But I'll see you soon, okay?" He asked. Hermione smiled at him and nodded and with a third pop he was gone. Stepping into his office, Brent smiled. He felt really relieved. He had needed this talk, just to make sure that she still felt the same about him as he felt about her. Otherwise his proposal would never work.

Draco lay in bed and watched Pansy drift into a happy, peaceful sleep. At that moment, what he felt was confusion. And repulsion. He knew that Pansy had tricked him into sleeping with her, knowing fully well that otherwise she would have to rely on her finger for the night. But he hadn't slept with her to prove her anything. If anything he had slept with her to prove himself something. To prove to himself that Granger wasn't getting to him. That he wasn't falling for her.

But the whole time during sex he hadn't been able to stop thinking of her face and how it would feel having her eyes staring back at him. He closed his eyes and lay back on his back, closing his eyes. He needed to get away from her. It would be a disaster for him to actually fall for her. It would be a catastrophe for him to fall in love at all, let alone with her. In his world, things just didn't work that way. He groaned and put his hands on his face, trying to rub her image from his head. Good luck with that, buddy.