ATTENTION!!! Ok, so I've been getting a lot of reviews for people begging for Ron and Harry and the rest of them to find out. Here's what I'm doing: in the next chapter, someone's gonna find out. Not telling you who, but someone is. And those of you talking about Snape, don't think he doesn't know. Didn't you notice his attitude during the first Potions class. He definitely knows. Don't worry, you'll hear more from him later on about the whole marriage deal.

Keep on Reviewing!! I love all of you steady reviewers, you make my day!! And, I am definitely taking your advice into consideration!!! Keep on reading and hope it pleases!! I'll try to get a couple more chappies in today so that you won't be too whiney over the weekdays, when I'm barely updating at all. Hope none of you go away!!

Read and Enjoy!!

Recap:

"You're in the infirmary," she told him. "You...you won't stop bleeding, Draco." He stared at her and she bit her lip, keeping down her tears. He flinched and closed his eyes in pain.

"Am I dying?" he whispered and she let out a sob, burrying her face in his hand.

"Stop it," she begged. "Please, just stop..." Why was she acting like this? Why did she care if he died off or not? His other hand touched her cheek and she looked up at him. "Please don't die..." He moaned and motioned her forward. She leaned over and he caught her lips with his, making her cry harder. Sitting up on the bed, she deepened the kiss. This wasn't a kiss like before, filled with lust and passion. It was filled with fear, saddness, anger, rage, and something else that they refused to acknowledge but knew was there. "Please..." she murmured as they pulled apart. They gazed into each others eyes and he managed a smirk.

"Mudblood, I can't die. If I did, then what would happen to you? You'd probably run off with Weasley and then what?" She laughed despite herself and rested her head on his chest, silently crying. He stroked her hair, eyes closed in unbelievable pain. "I'll try, Hermione. I'll try. For you...and to keep Weasley's hands off of you...but mostly you..." His voice trailed off and she spent the rest of the night listening to his painful gasps for air. All night, she prayed for him. And all night, she waited.

"Hermione's been acting kind of funny lately."

"It's like we never noticed, Ronald."

"Well it's true!! She's always distracted, late for some of her classes, more stressed out than normal, if that's possible."

"She does seem to be out of it. Day dreaming during classes. It's kind of wierd."

"I wonder what happened over the summer that caused her to act that way."

"Hey! I have an idea! Write a letter to Fred and George!"

"Why?"

"They have contacts all over England, especially in London. If we're lucky, someone saw Hermione over the summer and that might give us a clue to what she was doing."

"I don't know, Gin. I don't want to get into anything Hermione doesn't want us to know."

"Oh come on, Harry! What could Hermione possibly have done over the summer that would be so horrible that she wouldn't want us to know?"

"I guess you're right. Alright, you right the twins. Maybe they'll have something on where she was over the break."

"When do you think she'll tell us?"

"When she's ready, Ron. She's got a lot to deal with right now."

Hermione wandered into the Great Hall after Madam Pomfrey had released her that morning. Draco had been unconscious when she woke up.

"Hey! Hermione!!" Looking up, she smiled wanly and headed over to where her friends were sitting. "Your arm better?"

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey fixed it up." Ginny blanched.

"What she do, cut you open?" Hermione frowned and looked down. Blood had soaked into her robes and shirt. Biting her lip, she shook her head.

"I haven't changed since the game," she told them. "This must be Draco's..." Ron scowled.

"Is he still up there?" he asked and Hermione nodded.

"He won't stop bleeding," she explained. Harry wrinkled his nose and changed the subject to the attack yesterday.

"They're cancelling Hogsmeade trips this month and next as saftey precautions," he told them. "Apparently, the Death Eaters got passed one of the charms on the school and the Ministry was furious about it." Ginny glanced up and smiled.

"Owls," she said excitedly. Owls descended upon the tables with packages and letters. Hedwig landed near Ginny and held her leg out. Hermione watched her.

"Who's it from, Gin?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just sent a letter to the twins about something is all," Ginny told her. She opened the letter and began reading. Halfway through reading the letter, she gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide. The trio looked at her.

"What's up, Gin?" Ron asked curiously. Gin glanced at him and then continued reading her letter. Folding it and putting it in her pocket, she leaned over and muttered something into Harry's ear. She then stood and left the Hall. Hermione frowned after her.

"That was odd," she muttered, turning to Harry. "What was that about?" Harry shrugged, staring after Ginny.

The trio left soon afterwards and went back to the Gryffindor commons. Hermione excused herself and went up the girls' staircase to take a shower. The boys lounged on the couch when Ginny appeared, glancing up the stairs.

"She in the shower?" she asked and the boys nodded, leaning forward eagerly.

"What did you find out?" Harry asked.

"You'll never guess what the twins found out. They said that one of their clients live near the Malfoys. Well, this client was out on a walk with his wife and glanced into the Malfoy grounds to see two young men and a young lady standing near a lake. He said that on second glance, the woman looked very familiar and only after Fred had mentioned it to him that he recognized it as Hermione!! Hermione was at the Malfoy house!!" The boys looked at her, only shock evident on her face.

"What the hell would she be doing at the Malfoy house?" Ron almost yelled. Ginny shushed him, glancing up the stairs.

"Not so loud Ron!" Harry shook his head.

"Are you sure that's what they said, Gin?" Ginny handed him the letter and they both read it. Even Fred sounded shocked through his words. "What do we do?" Ron stood.

"We ask her about it!"

"No!" Ginny told him, pulling him back to his seat. "We say nothing. We ask Hermoine about her being with Malfoy at his house and she wonders how we even know this in the first place. She'll know we've been prying. We'll just have to wait until she tells us." Ron's eyes buldged in anger.

"Wait until she tells us? Why the hell do you think she would tell us she was over at Malfoy's?!!"

"Settle down, mate," Harry snapped. "Look, we don't know what Hermione was doing at Malfoy's house, only that she was there. For all we know, she was forced there. Maybe she was sworn to secrecy about something, who knows. We can't jump to conclusions about anything, ok? Let's just wait her out and if she doesn't tell us sometime after the Christmas holidays, then we talk to her about it. Maybe something happened to her there that's too traumatic to talk about yet. Give her the benefit of the doubt and play dumb, ok?" Ginny nodded in agreement. Ron, who still looked extremely unhappy about the fact that the girl he had a major crush on was at the house of his mortal enemy, nodded grudgingly also.

Blaise headed into the infirmary and sat down next to Draco's bed.

"Oi! Get up!" he snapped. The man in the bed groaned and opened his eyes slowly.

"Hermione?" Blaise nearly fell out of his chair at that.

"No, mate it's me," he corrected and Draco closed his eyes.

"Why don't you leave me alone so I can die in peace?" he snarled.

"You'd probably want Hermione here with you though," Blaise said and Draco's eyes opened and he turned his head to look at him.

"What the hell are you implying, Zambini?" he demanded. Blaise leaned back in his chair, studying his friend closely.

"You're falling for her." Draco's eyes widened in instant horror.

"You're mad!"

"Don't bullshit me, Draco. I know you better than you do. I saw it in your eyes after about a month." Draco was glaring now.

"Shut up, Blaise."

"Why the hell do you think you're so addicted to her?"

"Shut up, Blaise."

"The way you both sneak off...it wasn't normal."

"SHUT UP!!" Blaise's mouth snapped shut. Draco's eyes were closed as he fought to control his emotions. Blaise leaned over.

"Tell me, are you honestly falling for the muggle?" he whispered. Draco kept his eyes closed.

"She was here last night," he told the Slytherin. "She cried herself to sleep. Wouldn't stop..." Blaise smiled.

"You know what I think? I think you two are in a posistion to fall just as hard for each other as your parents did for each other." Draco groaned.

"This is my life story. To follow in my father's footsteps." Suddenly, the smile on Blaise's face fell off as he remembered why he was here. Draco opened his eyes and stared at his black friend. Blaise stood, handing Draco a vial.

"You're about to be too right, Draco."

Hermione noticed a change in her friends attitude towards her. Yes, they were still talking and laughing with her, but there was a different air about them. It was as if they were watching her carefully and it was unnerving.

Draco had rejoined the Slytherins in a miraculous healing that Hermione knew had to be another Slytherin's doing.

"Hermione?" She snapped her head back to the Gryffindor table, which was staring at her with a look of concern.

"What?" This seemed to panic them a bit more but they let the question drop. Hermoine sighed and looked down at her untouched food. Ever since the attack on the Quidditch field, Hermione had become more and more distant from all of them, day dreaming a lot more and secluding herself in the library for long periods of time. Even her teachers were noticing something.

"Ms. Granger, could you stay behind for a moment, I'd like to talk to you," Professor McGonagall said. Hermione jumped and turned around. It had been awhile since she had heard that name and it was wierd. After all the students filed out, Hermione sat down in front of the Professor's desk. McGonagall studied her student carefully. The young woman was slouching slightly in her chair, exhaustion evident in the circles under her eyes. "Ms. Granger, is something bothering you lately? You seem to be a bit lax in class lately." Hermione's eyes widened in horror.

"Professor, I'm doing all I can!! I'm doing my homework and I'm stu-"

"Ms. Granger, I am not referring to your class and homework. They are fine. I am talking about your ability to focus in class. Yes, you answer every question correctly, but it takes you awhile to even realize that you've even been asked a question. The other teachers tell me the same thing. You've been late on more than one occasion to more than just my class. Professor Snape says your are late practically every class, even though your marks in the class have never been higher. Could you possibly tell me what has caused this enormous shift?" Hermione was staring at her shoes now, unable to look her professor in the eye.

"No," she replied. "I can't. I'll promise I'll try and work on it, it's just that, this summer and this year have been a little...hectic." McGonagall eyed her.

"Mrs. Weasley tells me that you did not go to the Burrow like you had planned, even though your parents were there. Where were you?" Hermione shrugged, not trusting herself to speak. Sighing, her teacher stood. "You may go then, Ms. Granger. And do think about what we discussed." Nodding, she gathered her things and hurried out. Exhaling, she rushed down the hall and right into Draco, who had come looking for her. He frowned.

"What were you doing in there?" he asked. She moved past him and continued down the hall. He caught up with her, catching her arm and stopping her. "Hello? What's going on?" She looked up at him, fingering her wand angrilly.

"You need to stop trying to find me in the hallways. Professor McGonagall just talked to me about being late to my classes and never paying attention and it's all your fault." He leaned in and kissed her softly. She was about to pull away when she stopped. What was this? she thought as his hands rubbed her arms. His lips were gentle against her, not demanding and impatient like she was used to. She reached up, cupping his chin and deepening the kiss. But it wasn't a normal kiss. It wasn't fiery and wanting, hard and unwilling. It was soft and pleading, asking not for anything more than this. It was perfect. Pulling away, he moved down the hallway. She watched his retreating back, shock on her face. Touching her lips, could still feel the tingle of peppermint and giggled. Smiling, she practically skippped to her next class.

Harry and Ron looked up to see Hermione come into the DADA classroom, the hugest smile on her face. Blaise, who was on the other side of the room, frowned and turned to Draco. The blonde cocked an eyebrow, daring his friend to say something.

"You ok, Hermione?" Ron asked as Hermione flounced into a seat between him and Harry.

"Yeah, Ron," she sighed, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "Why?" Harry shrugged.

"Well, you just look...happy. I don't think I've seen you smile that much since you've gotten to Hogwarts." She blushed.

"Well, I can't stay unhappy the whole time, can I?"

"RON!!! RON, STOP!!" But it was no use. The redhead's temper had gotten to him and he and Draco were now in swirling mass of fists, feet and wands. Everyone was against the wall, eyes wide in shock. Even Tonks didn't look like she knew what to do.

This is what happened:

"Can any of you guys tell me what sex is to you?" Everyone laughed. "Boys first." Blaise poked Draco and, rolling his eyes, he raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco smirked.

"Sex is art, it's either really good or really bad. There is no middle ground in it." Tonks rose an eyebrow.

"What do you use sex as, Mr. Malfoy?"

"You can use sex for anything. To have a good laugh, to relieve stress, to create stress, anything. Me, I use sex to..." He turned his eyes on Hermione, grinning maliciously. "To get my way. I like listening to women scream my name." Her face flushed as he leaned down towards her. "Of course, there's always the chance that it's really good sex, which doesn't happen often, mind you. If it's really good sex, you better make sure the person's a virgin. Now that," he said, face close to Hermione's, "Brilliant sex."

And that's basically what happened.

"RON!!!" Hermione was hovering on the edge of the fight, glaring at them both. "RONALD WEASLEY!!" She turned to Tonks for help. Eyeing the fight warily, she flicked out her wand.

"Impedimenta!!" she cried and the boys were blown back into the wall. Draco lept to his feat, blood pouring from a cut on the side of his face.

"COME ON, WEASLEY!!" he roared, wand out. Ron lunged at him and Draco side stepped, lashing out. A gash appeared in Ron's chest and he yelped in pain. Harry, Seamus and Dean grabbed Ron before he could come around for another charge. Draco straightened up, glaring. "Keep your animal on a leash, Potter. He could get seriously hurt next time." With that, he stormed out of the room. Tonks sighed.

"Class, dismissed," she sighed. Once outside, Hermione turned on Ron, who was nursing a bruised arm.

"Ronald Weasley, WHAT WAS THAT?!?!" she screamed at him. Ron looked shocked.

"Did you hear what he said to-"

"Of course I heard, Ron!! I was right there! That doesn't give you any right to try and beat him up for it!! He didn't do anything he normally doesn't do so I don't know why you got so worked up!! So he taunts me about sex, so what?!! It's not like I'm an innocent little girl and you have to protect me all the time, Ron. Stop assuming I'm an innocent!!" Her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

"But you are, Hermione." Hermione turned around to see Ginny standing behind her. Flushing, she glared.

"What are you talking about, Ginny?" The redhead rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Hermione. We're all mature enough to talk about this. Everyone in school know's you're a virgin. Stop trying to lie to Ron." Hermione wanted to scream. What was going on here!! She poked Ginny irritatedly in the chest.

"Look, Ginny," she snapped. "You don't know what I've been through. You don't know how many times I have to...ugh!!" With that, she turned on her heel and stormed away.

"Got her mad, didn't you Weasel?" The three Gryffindors turned around. Blaise was watching them, Draco behind him. Draco eyed Ginny.

"You know, you really don't have the right to point fingers, Weaslette," he drawled. "You're not exactly experienced, either." Ginny was red and the boys pulled out their wands.

"Get out of here before we have a repeat of inside, Malfoy," Harry growled. Blaise laughed and stepped forward so that he was face to face with Harry.

"Why don't you make me, Scarhead?" he hissed. Draco nodded and motioned for Blaise to follow him. He then paused, glancing back over his shoulder.

"By the way, you're little Hermione? She's not as innocent as you think she is. Keep that in mind the next time you try and protect her. That's not your job anymore." Blaise smirked, leaning over.

"That's right, it's yours," he whispered. Draco glanced at him.

"Only mine."