CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE BIG GAME

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland

Friday, November 21, 1997 – Saturday morning/afternoon, November 22, 1997

Friday was a flurry of activity for Draco.

First, he met up with his lady love for breakfast. They sat with the Slytherins, and he was surprised to see Blaise and Pansy talking to Hermione rather cordially and openly about the upcoming Yule Ball details, specifically the musical entertainment and food (Blaise had apparently met some sort of financial goal and could now hire the band of their choice, and Pansy excitedly conveyed that she'd managed to convince some caterer into freely supplying hors d'oeuvres for the entire event, and to his utter amazement, he actually caught both of his friends blushing under his girlfriend's glowing praise and sincere smiles). Teddy joined them half way through the meal, and Draco noticed that he wasn't looking so hot that morning. Another restless night with interrupted sleep? He seemed to be having a lot of those lately. He made a mental note to talk to him about it when they could find a moment alone. He knew Teddy was an intensely private person and he didn't like discussing his problems in the middle of a public venue.

Interestingly enough, when Daphne Greengrass passed behind Draco and Hermione on her way out of the room, Draco caught Teddy's eyes tracking his ex-.

He and Granger and Teddy headed off to Advanced Potions Lecture next, where they spent most of the time passing goofy notes back and forth, since this was a review lecture for the test coming up next Monday in Lab, and all three of them felt already well prepared.

After, they had a free period of an hour, and Draco had to break the news to Hermione that, unfortunately, he wouldn't be in Transfiguration Lab this afternoon because of a final Quidditch practice, and that he couldn't spend tonight with her either, despite it being their normal appointment time. He wanted to get to sleep early, because tomorrow morning was the big game and he wanted to be up fresh and early for it. That meant he wouldn't see her again until after the match tomorrow. She nodded in understanding, but he could feel her disappointment. To make up for it, he excused them from Teddy, dragged her up to the Entrance Hall Tower into a darkened alcove and proceeded to snog her senseless against the wall. Their kissing, much to his unexpected surprise, turned into much more very quickly.

With a silencing charm cast over their location and a quick glance around to make sure no one was about, he ran his hands under her blouse and up over her bra, which he yanked down. He then proceeded to tweak her nipples, pinching and rolling them. She gasped her pleasure, even as her own hands moved to his pants. "Forget the belt. Just unzip me and take me out," he instructed against her lips as his right hand made for her skirt at the same time.

When she had him out and free, he grabbed her hand and spit in the palm, then pressed it around his cock. She knew exactly what to do then, so he gave her free reign as his fingers slipped her knickers to the side and trailed up and down her already wet lips. He leaned into her ear. "You have the softest pussy, Granger," he whispered, then tongued her ear. "I can't wait to taste it."

Her fingers tightened around his shaft and began pumping in earnest and his hips thrust forward on each down stroke, even as his finger carefully dipped inside her once more. He pressed the top of his palm against her clit and rubbed at the same time. "Oh, fuck, baby… We're coming back here after your first time and I'm going to have you right in this spot, against this wall."

She bit his neck above his collar and mewled against his skin, and he felt her right leg skim its way up to wrap around his thigh. The angle allowed him to penetrate her further with his finger if he wanted. "Go deeper," she begged, but he shook his head.

"I don't want to break you this way," he grit between clenched teeth as his own orgasm approached. "I want it to be my cock that takes your cherry." He rested his forehead against her temple as he moaned when she swiped her thumb across his tip. He could feel himself dripping onto her hand.

"When, Draco?" she gasped as he worked her over with his fingers. "I want you inside of me so much. Please let me give myself to you."

His heart skipped a beat and he bit his bottom lip to keep himself from blurting out that he loved her on the spot.

He thought about their predicament and realized he needed to stop playing and just commit to giving it to her soon; the desire to pound away inside her was getting to be too difficult for him to shove aside any longer, and her frustration was as evident as his in that respect. He still had so much he wanted them to experience together, to leave intact some small amount of her innocence they could share before she lost hers irrevocably, but, Merlin, he was so bloody ready.

He kissed her hungrily, shoving his hips against her hand hard at the same time as tickling her g-spot inside her canal with the tip of his finger. "A few more lessons, baby. Not long."

She gasped into his mouth then kissed him back passionately. "You promise?" she begged breathlessly, her naughty hand stroking him harder as she bit his bottom lip.

"Definitely." He ground out in between a moan, biting her back.

She nodded and rewarded his agreement by stroking her tongue against his in time to her hand motions. His balls felt like they were on fire. He felt every fiber of his being tense up, ready to spill over. "Hurry up and come, Hermione," he growled against her lips. "I can't hold back much longer."

As if his words freed her, she came for him a second or two later, muffling her cries against his shoulder, her leg around him tensing up and pulling his pelvis flush against her abdomen. He gripped her stilling hand on his cock and shoved it over himself several more times, and then he crashed headlong into bliss, murmuring her name over and over against her neck like a prayer. His hips jerked several more times as the come continued to spurt out of him onto the front of her shirt and down her skirt. He held her to him as tightly as he could, needing to be close to her.

They were quiet in the afterglow, letting their heart rates decelerate slowly and their breathing catch up to normal pace once more. In the safety of his mind, he thought the things to her that he couldn't say aloud.

Hermione pulled back from him. Her face said loud and clear that she was totally sated; he'd done his job well. She reached up and touched his cheek gently with her free hand. "I've got a surprise for you tomorrow," she told him sincerely, her leg dropping off his hip back to the floor. "I think you're going to like it."

He grinned playfully. "Care to give it to me today instead?"

She shook her head slowly. "No, you have to wait until tomorrow. It'll be worth it, though."

Whatever it was, she wanted him to have it. And it was important to her, he could tell. "The not-knowing is going to drive me spare, though. You'll be making me suffer between now and then, you evil witch."

His girlfriend kissed him quickly, a grin on her pretty, flushed face. "You'll live," she reassured him.

They stared at each other then, their teasing grins suddenly fading into warmhearted smiles, and this moment reminded Draco so much of their first night in Hermione's room together, when they'd gazed across the width of mere centimeters into each other's eyes in wonder at what they were doing. This time, however, he had no doubts about being with her. He finally had accepted fully that he loved Hermione Granger – talk about a complete 180 degree turn of his affections since this last summer! He still found himself amazed and confounded - and he wanted her more than anything he'd ever wanted in his entire life.

He reached up with his free hand and feathered her cheek, then he smirked devilishly and moving the fingers still buried between her legs, he gave a final stroke over her clit in a quick zipping motion. Just as she gasped and her hips moved forward for more, he removed his hand, readjusting her knickers. She pouted and let his now flaccid member go. He kissed the tip of her nose with a wicked chuckle, stepped back and adjusted his clothes. She did the same, and he Scourgify'd the mess he'd made all over them both and the floor with his wand. Then, he smoothed her hair back to where it belonged, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, while she brushed his bangs back, and with a final glance around, they took their satchels over their shoulders, and walked hand-in-hand down to the Entrance Hall first level where they parted with a sweet, tender pull of lips.

Draco whistled tiredly, but happily as he went off into the dining hall to meet up with Teddy, while his girlfriend went off to the library to meet up with the Prefects for their weekly meeting.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

On Friday afternoon, Teddy was having trouble concentrating during Transfiguration Lab. Daphne was sitting near him again and occasionally, he would look up to find her staring at him out of the corner of her eye. He was starting to become annoyed with her rather obvious ploys to get his attention, and wondered again what in the hell she was up to and what exactly she wanted from him. He tried to ignore her as he worked on conjuring a bouquet of flowers non-verbally, but because of the distraction Daphne presented, he was having problems getting the magic to work right. So far, all he'd managed to conjure were some weeds.

"Orchideous," he growled in annoyance and the weeds became flowers at once.

"Mr. Nott, I don't think I need to remind you that this lesson is a silent one," Professor McGonagall pointed out sharply, and with a wave of her wand in his direction, his bouquet disappeared entirely. She turned back to monitoring the rest of the class with a disapproving look on her old, craggy face.

Teddy sighed and put his wand down, laying his eyes against the palms of his hands on the table. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept much last night, or the night before that. He'd been having night terrors about how he'd killed his father and his own impending death, and the lack of rest was starting to affect him. If only he could sleep… He was just so bloody tired…

Professor McGonagall's hand on his shoulder jerked him awake. He looked around guiltily, noticing that many in the class were peeking at him in surprise. How long had he been asleep? "Mr. Nott, may I speak to you outside, please?"

Wearily, he nodded and followed his Transfiguration Professor into the hallway. She drew him in close and spoke quietly. "Mr. Nott, I am concerned. You have always been an exemplary student, but of late, I have noticed a drop in the level of your participation and performance, not to mention the quality of your assigned homework. And you have never been known to sleep in the middle of classes, either. Now, something is obviously bothering you…"

He shook his head, wanting to cut her off before she put the question of why to him bluntly and forced him to lie bald-faced to her, something he didn't want to do. "I'm sorry, Professor. I'm just a little down right now, is all. I promise I'll do better."

Minerva McGonagall looked at him seriously behind her square-shaped spectacles, her pointy hat cocking crazily to one side as she stared up at his much greater height. In her gaze, he thought he saw sympathy. "Yes, well, Mr. Nott, in future, should you decide you wish to nap on one of the school desks, perhaps you would be so good as to make sure they are located in someone else's classroom." She gave him a rare smile then.

He returned it. "Yes, m'am."

After that, he followed her back into the classroom and worked on his conjuration, but try as he might, he still continued to have a difficult time of it. It was hard to concentrate, after all, when Daphne's' pretty, emerald-colored eyes were burning holes in the back of his head.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

Saturday morning, Hermione dressed in the special outfit for Draco that she'd planned to surprise him with today. She donned it, looked at herself in her mirror and decided that her boyfriend would most certainly like it. Then, she threw on her long, woolen winter coat, a scarf and her gloves (she left the hat off intentionally, as she had tied green, silver and black ribbons in her puppy tails and wanted Draco to see her support for him), and tucking her wand into an inside pocket of the coat, she made her way out towards the Quidditch pitch.

She waited outside the locker rooms alone, having intentionally arrived extra early just so she could catch Draco. He was talking with Adam Urquhart, his game face on, as he approached. Making sure her legs were safely hidden behind the coat (which she'd put a warming charm on as well, given how little she was wearing), she waited for him to notice her.

"Hey, baby," he greeted her with a big smile, leaving Adam with the 'see ya' party nod and approaching her. "Come to give your man a kiss for good luck, then?"

She looked around his big body to make sure no one else was coming up on them, and then she opened her coat slowly with a seductively impish grin.

Draco dropped his broom and stared, open mouthed.

This had been the exact reaction she'd been hoping for. Looking into Draco's lust filled gaze, for the first time in her life, Hermione Granger felt like a true sex kitten. The most sought-after boy in school wanted her, absolutely and unequivocally. That knowledge empowered her, thrilled her to her very core, and made her blood pound through her veins. Good, so maybe now he'd bed her and stop pussyfooting around, she thought wryly. She could learn anything else he had to teach her after their first time together. And besides, being able to play and to have sex afterwards… that would just make it all the better.

Quickly, while he was still in a state of dazed enchantment, she alluringly walked towards him and crushed her barely-clothed body against his, wrapping her arms about his neck. On tiptoe, she pressed her mouth towards his ear and breathed into it hotly. His long platinum bangs tickled her lips. "I want to make you another deal today, Draco: If you win this match, I'll let you have anything you want tonight. I'll let you do anything you want to me. And I promise not to regret a single moment."

She could feel his heart pounding as she pressed her lips to his pulse, and then worked her way to his lips with sultry, nipping kisses. When she pulled back, he looked down at her with such dark hunger that it made her shiver.

"Anything I want… with no regrets?" he asked in that deceptively mild, low voice that said he was all kinds of wicked business.

Hermione nodded. "But you have to catch the Snitch first."

His right hand smoothed its way up over her arm and shoulder, and then he fisted her hair and pulled her neck back slowly, dropping his head so that his mouth hovered right over hers. His steel grey eyes were locked onto her with an intensity she hadn't seen in them since that morning he'd come up behind her in the mirror in her room. "Granger," he buzzed her lips. "If you give me this chance, I'm going to make you do things for my pleasure tonight. Really. Naughty. Things."

"Like…?" she curiously prompted him, seriously turned-on by the thought of him dominating her. Her fingers softly rubbed the hair on the back of his neck, just above his collar as she ground her hips against his.

He narrowed his eyes. "Like… I'm going to start by having you strip this cute little outfit off for me while I watch. I want to see you completely naked, Hermione. I'm tired of fantasizing. I want to see." He grabbed the fingers on her right hand from around his neck with his left and brought it to the front of that tiny skirt she was wearing. "Then I'm going to eat your pussy out while I finger fuck you. I want to feel you coming against my hand while I lap up your sweet juices with my tongue." He grabbed her wrist a little tighter, and drew it onto his erection, which was hard under the fabric of his Quidditch uniform. "And after, you're getting on your knees and sucking this cock, Granger. I want your lips wrapped around me as I teach you to pleasure me with your mouth and as I come down your throat." He smirked diabolically and moved her arm so that it was behind her back, under the coat, resting against the tiny slip of fabric she wore over her bum. "And I'll spank you here if you don't do exactly as I wish." He assessed her face carefully. "Would you really let me do all of that to you tonight, baby?"

"Yes," she whispered with no hesitation, feeling her heart fluttering wildly like a trapped butterfly behind her chest. Her thighs were damp and slippery with her juices from just his words alone, and she suddenly couldn't wait for them to actually act this descriptive foreplay out for real. She twisted her wrist in his grip and turned the tables on him, grabbing his hand and guiding him under her skirt this time and towards her wet lower lips. She pressed their combined fingers under her skimpy French knickers. "Absolutely, yes."

Draco stared at her evenly for a solid minute, gauging her sincerity, and finally he nodded, and the accord was made between them. He sealed it with a sweet kiss, which belied the hunger she read in his gaze. "Be ready for me tonight," he growled, rubbing over her clit with a few passes of his fingertips, and then he released her gently, Accio'd his broom to his hand non-verbally and walked past her into the locker room.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

That evening, in an extra special edition of the internal school newsletter, The Hogwarts Special Express (not to be confused with the train of the same name), the following article appeared on the front two-page spread:

SLYTHERIN BRINGS HOME THE GOLD (SNITCH, THAT IS)

By: Colin Creevey

November 22, 1997 – Volume 1, Issue #7

The highly anticipated Slytherin versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match this rainy November morning began at eleven o'clock on the dot. Twenty-three minutes later, with plenty of time left over for catching weekend brunch if you missed the excellent pancakes served at breakfast, Slytherin's Silver Serpent's Seeker (try saying that one three times fast!) had guaranteed the victory for his House in a move that would forever be known as The Reversible Crazy Malfoy™ (term coined by Miss Luna Lovegood, the game's co-anchor, and readily seconded by Adrian Pucey, the game announcer).

This reporter was lucky to conduct an impromptu, exclusive interview with the player of the day following the win, Seeker-Captain Draco Malfoy, and as a result, we can now accurately describe the intricacies involved in successfully pulling off a brilliant, if not somewhat suicidal winning play for our loyal readers.

Basically, The Reversible Crazy Malfoy™ consists of four daring moves:

First, the Seeker spies the Snitch somewhere below him and flies past it nonchalantly so as not alert the opposing team's Seeker – or the Snitch itself (because, as we all know, this teensy, round ball of endless frustration and amusement is magically charmed to sense magical auras homing in on it and to whizz away as fast as its little, buggering wings can carry it) - as to its discovered location.

Second, at an appropriate moment, the Seeker turns his broom upside down while flying horizontally backwards at extremely high velocity so that he can position himself back on top of the location where the Snitch is temporarily hovering. This serves the dual purpose of setting the Seeker up to snatch the Snitch quickly, while at the same time completely confusing the opposing team, who becomes bewildered into inactivity by so astounding a ploy (after all, who wants to hit a Bludger at an upside down, backwards flying man who's hanging like a monkey from his broom? You'd be a social pariah for the rest of your life if you actually hit him, known forever as the prat who abuses the mentally disturbed). As a result of this bold, yet disconcerting move, the Seeker can now freely get ready to capture the Snitch.

Third, when the timing is perfectly right (that is, there are no Bludgers nearby and the Snitch is oblivious to being stalked), the Seeker then promptly and unexpectedly changes course, rolling his broom into a vertical fast dive instead, and grabs the unsuspecting Snitch out of the air before anyone in the stadium can utter a "Sim, Sim!" in surprise.

Finally, before crashing into the earth, the Seeker then pulls his broom back into a horizontal position, this time right-side up, and eventually he glides to a stop in the middle of the field, triumphant and not half the nutter everyone assumed him to be once they behold what is in his hand.

The entire play is designed to take less than five seconds when performed competently (and when not, it is assumed by this reporter that there would be long-term hospital care in the Seeker's future, with lots of boxes of Muggle crayons and coloring books in permanent demand).

After the win was obviously secured in today's game, this reporter observed (along with everyone else in the stadium) that Captain Malfoy lazily rode his broom into the center of the field, his golden prize firmly grasped in his left hand and stretched into the air for all to see. He then looked up into the stands, focusing on the Gryffindor section in particular, and flashed a challenging, confident smirk (a move that we have all come to jokingly refer to here at Hogwarts over the years as 'he's giving you the patented Malfoy Charm™ again, dearies'), and the crowd roared its approval of his daring, lunatic game-winning style.

In a show of good sportsmanship, Ravenclaw's Captain-Beater, Duncan Inglebee, hovered down to Captain Malfoy's position when the game results were officially called and extended a hand, with a "Good game - wicked move, mate!" comment. The two Captains shook with much friendly banter, and then the Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams together shared a hearty toast to each other with bottles of Butterbeer (donated so graciously in advance by Madam Rosmerta of The Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade Village), before heading into their respective locker rooms for post-game debriefing.

Next weekend's game features Gryffindor's Golden Lions, led by Captain-Seeker Harry Potter, versus Hufflepuff's Black Badgers, led by Captain-Keeper Herbert Fleet. Whichever team wins that match-up will go on to play against the Slytherin Silver Serpents in next May's Quidditch House Cup final. The other team will face off against Ravenclaw's Screaming Eagles in next April's semi-final to determine third and fourth place awards respectively.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

The Slytherin Common Room was in full swing party mode that afternoon as the Serpents celebrated their Quidditch victory. Next weekend's match between the other two houses seemed a shoo-in as to whom would win, and that meant Draco would be facing off with Potter for their final time.

It was five-thirty in the evening before Draco could escape the festivities and make his way towards the kitchens for a quiet bite to eat. He didn't feel like going up to the dining hall, as he was sure he'd be accosted by people congratulating him and asking him questions which he'd spent all afternoon already answering for others. So, instead, he asked a house elf to throw him together a plate and he sat on a stool off to the side as the kitchen staff moved their tiny, long-eared selves about, to and fro, working on dessert.

When he finished eating and making arrangements with Binky (Hermione's favorite little friend down here) for some "late night sweets" to be apparated up to her room in three hours, it was close to six o'clock. He sent his Patronus ahead to Hermione to let her know he wanted to see her at eight o'clock (he didn't say why, but they both knew the reason, and he didn't say where, because it was obvious), and headed back towards his dorms to take a shower and get changed into more suitable attire for his date.

His step quickened as he considered what they were going to be doing tonight. And he knew exactly how he wanted to go about it all, too. He just needed to collect some things from his trunk before leaving… This was going to be a night Hermione would never forget!

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

After the match, Hermione had returned to her room to change into more appropriate clothing – a pair of Muggle dark jeans and a dark blue knit sweater (a gift from Ron's mother two years previously). She spent the afternoon finishing up reading a book on Legilimency techniques that she'd checked out of the library to help her from accidentally projecting her thoughts, feeling and memories into the air during moments of stress. She was still have problems with the concepts, which, like her failure to be expert at flying on a broom, bothered her to no end. Hermione just wasn't comfortable drilling around in other people's heads, knowing their private, most intimate secrets and feelings. She agreed heartily with that old Muggle proverb about doing unto others, as you'd have them do unto you, and since the idea of someone picking through her head bothered her so much… well, it made perfect, logical, rational sense as to why this particular magical art was difficult for her to master.

That said she knew she needed to be better at Legilimency. Her thoughts around Draco were too flustered, and he really had a way of making her lose herself entirely just by the simplest of touches. If she didn't want to accidentally let him in on her little secret affections, she needed to discipline her mind better.

As she finished up the last chapter, and the castle bell run out the five o'clock hour, she knew that she'd need to practice her Legilimency on someone she trusted implicitly not to judge her or to spill any secrets that were accidentally revealed. She wished it could be Draco, but since he was the one she was mostly hiding her true feelings from at the moment, only one other name popped immediately to mind: Harry.

Grabbing her wand and locking up her room to head down to dinner, she decided to ask him then, when there was an opportune moment for them to speak quietly alone.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

It was five-thirty five, she absently noted by checking the large Sandkeeper on the wall above the giant entry doors to the room. She leaned over towards Harry's ear to her left. "Can I speak with you in private after?" she requested under her breath.

Harry looked at her out of the corner of his eye and nodded, then went back to finishing his dessert. "Five minutes?"

She nodded and waited patiently, feeling her stomach flip-flopping around. When it was time, Harry kissed Ginny goodbye, promised to catch Ron later for their game of Wizard's Chess back in Gryffindor Tower, and he and Hermione made their way out into the hall. She wasn't sure where she was leading them, exactly, until they got to the library and took seats at her favorite table.

"What's all this about, then?" he asked with a puzzled frown.

Hermione looked down at her hands, twirling her wand nervously. Now that it had come to it, she was feeling slightly trepidacious. She bit her lip in anxiety. Harry's warm hand over hers stopped her fiddling. "You're not fighting with Malfoy again are you?" he asked, concerned. "I didn't see you with him today after the match or at dinner, so that's why I ask."

She shook her head. "Harry, I need a favor. A big one." She looked up and Harry simply nodded automatically. His loyalty was such that she knew he would grant her request no matter what it was, so long as it didn't injure her person or others. "I need your help to practice Legilimency."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Is that all? Sure. But that hardly seems a big favor."

She gave him a twisted, sad smirk. "It is to me. I can't seem to get the hang of it, and I want to be able to protect myself from being so open."

Harry looked at her carefully. "That's Occlumency, 'Mione. Not Legilimency."

She shook her head again. "Not the way my brain works. I seem to be combining them, but I don't know how. For some reason… when I try to read others, I leave my own thoughts completely open to them at the same time. I can't seem to shut it down until I concentrate internally on something. But then, I'm unable to read the other person if I do that."

Adjusting his glasses on his nose, Harry considered her problem. "I think it's because you don't compartmentalize your feelings, 'Mione. You take full responsibility for your decisions and you feel the ramifications deeply. I think that's why the Alihotsy-Sneezewort combo was so terrible for you– because it made you doubt your own heart. Legilimency requires you to put the choice aside to invade another person's mind, to disregard their feelings on it and to invade them anyway. It's not in you to do that to another person."

Hermione considered her friend's evaluation. It was true, all of it, just as she'd earlier debated in her own head. "So… what can I do? I have to master Legilimency for the N.E.W.T.s, and I need to be able to do it without giving everything about myself away.

Harry looked at her for a good minute in silence. "This is about Malfoy, isn't it? How you feel about him, I mean."

Fire jumped up her face and Hermione looked at her best friend with eyes wide open. "How… I feel about him?"

Harry tilted his head to the side and stared at her with his piercing green eyes, his mouth turned up at the corners in amusement. "Are you still going to deny it?" He huffed and shook his head. "You're too stubborn for your own good sometimes, you know that? At least now I know why you came to me for help instead of to your own boyfriend."

Hoo-boy, here came the hard part. "Harry… Draco's not really… I mean, we've never formalized anything… out loud. At least, he hasn't let me know he wants any commitment from me."

Harry's eyebrows shot down violently. "What do you mean?"

She struggled over the right way to say this, feeling her face explode in crimson. "We… it started out as… a request… from me. I wanted Draco to… teach me… how to be an adult. You know. Sex stuff." She shook her head and put her hand up to her temple, trying to explain so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. "I didn't even know how to kiss, Harry. I'm eighteen years old and Neville knows more than I do at this point about boy-girl things!" She sighed in disgust with her lack of refinement. "I picked Draco because… well, I was really attracted to him. And he admitted he wanted me that way, too. It seemed a logical, good decision at the time. He's very experienced and… he's treated me so well, with respect and consideration. I think he even likes me." She bit her lip and felt tears unexpectedly bloom in her eyes. "But it's become complicated since we started. And I… I've done the unthinkable." She looked up at her best friend, her heart torn up by the truth again. "I fell for him, Harry. I fell in love with Malfoy! But… I don't think he feels the same way for me. And… we agreed in the beginning that… that we would end it by Christmas." She stared shaking now, all her worries coming back to the forefront. "In a little over thirty days, it's going to end, and… I'll be an adult finally, but… oh, Merlin, Harry, he's going to break my heart when he walks away!" She closed her eyes, ashamed to look at the judgment that was sure to be plastered on her friend's face, and clasped a closed fist to her mouth to try to stifle her sobs. She was so stupid, wasn't she?

"No, you're not," Harry commented, and she looked up shocked. He gave her a small smirk. "You spoke in my head just then. I didn't read you on purpose, I swear."

Hermione was horrified. "You see? This is why I need your help. If he finds out how I feel about him… he'll break it off with me. And I don't want him to. I… I like what we're doing. Even if it's… unconventional. Even if you think I'm immoral for doing this, I don't care. I only want to be with him for however long I can."

Harry breathed a very heavy sigh and adjusted his glasses again. "'Mione, you know I would never presume to tell you what to do. That's Ron's job." He snuffed in amusement and she couldn't help but agree. "But in this case, you should just tell Malfoy and see what happens. I think you'll be surprised to find out that your feelings aren't one-sided."

Everything in the world suddenly narrowed down acutely to the sound of her own heart pumping strongly in her chest.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

What a strange noise that is, she idly thought. Steady, powerful, honest, lulling… Just like love. How odd.

"'Mione?"

Sanity returned in a rush and she blinked her way back to the here and now. "What… what makes you say that?"

Harry just looked at her, but in her head, she heard his voice. "Just as I know you're not stupid, I know this." He stood and looked down at her, the light of the candles in the chandelier overhead reflecting off his lenses. "If you still need my help with Legilimency or Occlumency, I'll do what I can for you. Just let me know." With that, he walked off, leaving Hermione to the privacy of her thoughts.

Was it possible? Had Harry actually picked the thought out of Draco's mind that he was in love with her? If it was true, when and where along the line had that happened? Perhaps when she'd been in the hospital, and Draco had stayed with her? She couldn't be sure.

One thing, though, was sure: she was tired of being afraid of her feelings. Harry was right – she should be the brave Gryffindor lioness she was meant to be. Tonight, she was going to tell Draco Malfoy she loved him! And if he didn't return her feelings… she'd simply have to find a way to get him to. She refused to be so miserable anymore!