A/N: Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews! They mean the world to me :)

I'm sorry it took so long to update and I'm also sorry for the quality of this chapter. I'm really not happy for how it turned out! Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome.

To the GUEST reviewer who said they have an idea of why Hermione and Draco hid, I'd love to know what you think!

Chapter XVI

Snape bristled as couple moved closer together, their lips only seconds apart. He loudly cleared his throat as he shot a meaningful stare at Dumbledore who merely smile knowingly, that damned twinkle flashing in his eyes.

Draco and Hermione sprung apart at the noise, looking around the room at everyone but each other. Harry's eyes were almost popping out of his face, along with the majority of the other students. Ginny, Pansy and Blaise however were all widely grinning gleefully. This was brilliant.

"What a brilliant commencement to our Ball!" Dumbledore exclaimed gaily.

Hermione's cheeks flushed a deep rouge. Draco plastered a proud smirk at the crowd, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart.

"Boys and girls, please join your Head Boy and Girl on the dance floor!"

"That was hot!" Sabrina hissed, rushing forward to excitedly embrace Hermione. "You almost snogged him in the middle of the dance floor!"

Hermione blush deepened, if that were even possible. "Yeah – cos that would have been bloody fantastic, wouldn't it?" She whispered sarcastically.

The Deputy Head Girl smirked, flashing her a playful wink. "Well you're very welcome either way."

Behind them, Anthony clapped Draco on the back before wandering off to find his friends.

Ginny soon joined them with Harry, whose expression was alternating between eyeing Draco suspiciously and looking dumbfounded.

"Come on, let's dance." Ginny asked, noting her friend's discomfort and embarrassment. Hermione had always been a private person.

Draco let his smirk merge into a gentle smile as she glanced back at him.

"Whoa man!" Blaise grinned, playfully nudging him with his shoulder. "You and Granger?"

"There's no me and Granger." Draco growled, noticing Theodore Nott standing close to them.

"Could have fooled me, Malfoy." Nott snarled, his face twisted with disgust.

"Just because I don't despise her anymore doesn't mean I'm going to date her."

"Oh I'm sorry, Malfoy." He said sarcastically. "I didn't realise you were now a lover of Mudbloods."

"Oh shove it, Nott." Pansy sneered. "We're trying to enjoy our night here."

"Whatever, Parkinson. Apparently you've all lost your minds." He hissed threateningly before disappearing into the dancing crowd.

Draco glared after his retreating back.

"Draco, it's not worth it." Pansy soothed, placing a hand on his arm.

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Hermione giggled as Ginny shovelled food into her mouth. "Thish ish sho gooh!" She tried speaking despite her full mouth.

"Ugh Gin! When will you learn to eat with your mouth closed?!" She exclaimed, pulling the plate away from her.

"Hey!" She tried to pull the plate back.

"Don't 'hey' me! I'm just trying to stop you from choking yourself to death."

Harry laughed as a slow song started. "Come on Gin, let's dance." She giggled at Ginny's longing stare at her food as she was pulled away to the dance floor.

Letting out a little sigh, Hermione leaned back in her seat, watching her friends and fellow students dancing and laughing. "Care to join me?"

Her heart fluttered as she caught sight of that pale elegant hand extended towards her in her peripheral vision. Gosh, her husband was a gentleman.

"You know I'd love to. But I don't think it is such a great idea with so many people around."

Draco just smirked at her, leaning forward to capture her hand in his.

"You seem to underestimate my intelligence." He grinned as he pulled her along with him, skirting the edges of the room to lead her out of the room.

The halls were perfectly empty, not a person (or ancient spirit) in sight. He didn't say anything, wordlessly dragging her through the hallways.

"Draco?" She questioned as he led her down the staircases.

The tall blonde just shushed her, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her close. The small rational part of her was uncomfortable with the idea of not knowing what or where she was being taken, but the young woman in her was giddy with excitement.

He pushed the large doors open and led her through a nearby courtyard.

Hermione's eyes widened with surprise as a gasp escaped her lips. The thick green shrubs were adorned with strings of twinkling lights. The surrounding trees were glittered with glowing pearl-like orbs, the ground scattered with rose petals. An old charmed muggle jukebox sat on a nearby limestone bench.

"Draco!" She breathed, spinning in a circle to take in what was around her. "What is this about?"

With a simple flick of his wand, a slow rhythm drifted from the out-dated machine. He turned towards her with a wide smile on his face, reaching out a hand to her.

"I didn't realise I needed an excuse to dance with my wife."

His silky voice sent shivers through her spine, a light blush threatening to creep across her face. "Draco…"

He grasped her hand in his, inching closer to her. His arm smoothly wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

"Come on, sweetheart. For once, it's just you and me."

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Present Day

Ginny squealed excruciatingly loud as they came out of the Pensieve, slapping her husband on the back.

"Oh my gosh! How freaking adorable!" She screeched, much to Harry and Ron's chagrin. "Why the hell don't you do anything like that?" She turned a frustrated glare at the raven-haired man.

"Wh-"

"Seriously! When is the last time you ever did anything even remotely as sweet?!" She huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.

Harry rubbed at his eyes wearily. "For Merlin's sake, when is Malfoy going to stop giving me hell?"

Ron let out a chuckle as his sister teasingly smacked Harry on the back of the head. "The two of you better shut up. Now get your arses ready – we're supposed to be at Mione's in less than a half hour."

Over twenty minutes later, Ginny standing near the fireplace impatiently tapping her foot. "Hey princesses! Get your bums down here. Even the children are ready before you two!"

James and Lily were already fussing in their seats, their playful nudges and shoves slowly growing increasingly rough. The boy yelped when Lily's elbow landed sharply between his ribs. "Mum! Lily hurt me!"

Ginny sighed heavily. This was going to be a long day.

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October 1997; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"AGAIN!" Snape's voice bellowed, reverberating from the cold dungeon walls.

Hermione struggled for air, her chest heaving with each breath. She wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her hand, grasping her wand in the other.

They were in an old, unused classroom that had been reinforced to take whatever was thrown within its walls. She had been duelling with the Potions Master for nearly an hour and her body was almost ready to give up.

Her legs burned as if they were on fire and she had been struggling to catch her breath for a good twenty minutes. Every inch of her body ached with bruises just waiting to appear from when she had been thrown around the room. She was just lucky that the walls had been charmed cushion the blows. The furniture, however, was not so forgiving.

"I said, AGAIN!"

She winced at the ferocity of his voice, her body trembling with exhaustion as she righted herself. She only had a moment to gather her wits before a barrage of spells flew her way.

Flashes of coloured light flew at her as she tried to fight back. Weakly throwing up shield after shield, she danced around the room ducking in between different pieces of classroom furniture.

"Incarcerous!"

Her body shook as thick ropes wrapped around her body, tightening until she was struggling to inhale.

"Pathetic." Snape hissed, staring down at her ensnared body. "If I were on the other side, you would be dead before you could even blink."

She gasped for air, writhing against the binds around her. "Let her go, Snape!"

He sneered at Draco before turning his eyes back to her. "I think a little more time will help her try harder."

"Snape!" He yelled, grabbing him by the arm.

"You may be my godson but I strongly suggest you let go of me, Mr Malfoy." Draco quickly released him. Snape let out a slow sigh before flicking his wand, releasing the binds from around Hermione.

Hermione took in a long shuddering breath as she struggled to sit upright.

"May I remind you, Mrs Malfoy, that Death Eaters will not be so…considerate if you give them a chance to murder you. Do you understand?" She nodded wearily, staggering to her feet. "Go sit down. Draco, it's your turn."

Draco sneered at his godfather as Hermione collapsed behind a desk along the edge of the room.

"Now remember, Mr Malfoy, we are practicing for battle. You, and your wife, are going to be in the middle of this war fighting alongside Potter and the rest of them. You must be prepared, unlike your wife."

"Seve-"

He was cut off by a flash of deep blue flying towards him as Snape wordlessly flicked his wand. After a good hour of duelling with Hermione, he had barely broken a sweat. The man was ruthless.

They traded spells back and forth, Draco wincing as a harmless but painful sting flashed through his arm. Snape was always at least a few steps ahead of him.

"I can see you thinking, Draco!"

He tried to shut his mind off, focussing only on what was at hand. He glanced at Hermione. Concern flooded through him as he took in just how exhausted she looked.

"Aculeata!"

Draco grunted in pain as the deep purple jet of light slammed into his wand arm. His arm rapidly engorged around the angry red mark produced by the curse. He watched in horror as his flesh distorted.

"Weak!" The greasy-haired man smirked at him. "You must focus regardless of what is going on around you."

"B-"

"No buts, Draco! If you let yourself get distracted even once, you'll get yourself killed!"

"He's right." Hermione whispered from the side. "You know that if one of us gets killed, the other one does too."

Draco ran a hand through his hair.

"It'll do you well to listen to Hermione. The world needs the two of you alive. No matter what happens to Hermione during battle, you need to keep fighting – you cannot afford to let your guard down for even a second. "

The blonde let out a long sigh. "Yeah, no pressure."

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Draco dropped onto the couch in their common room with a huff. "I swear I can't feel my damn feet. Can't believe Snape was such an arse."

Hermione snorted as she settled beside him. "Can't believe it? You've got to be kidding me. He's been an arse since day one!"

"What?!" He asked, a big grin spreading across his face.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "He's been a right arsehole to me, and everyone who isn't his godson, since we started here."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He teased, sneaking an arm around her waist.

"Of course you bloody don't."

Draco pulled her closer to him, leaning over her to press her back into the couch. "I love it when you curse."

She almost looked affronted. "I didn't curse!"

"Mhmm sure." He mumbled before covering her lips with his.

She giggled against his lips before succumbing to his gentle ministrations. He let his weight rest on top of hers, caressing her cheek with his hand. Her arms slipped around his neck, her fingers entwining in his damp locks.

He pulled back for a moment, his lips still resting against hers. "I love you."

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Her body screamed as she collapsed into the seat across from Ginny. Every single muscle felt as though it was made of lead, each step harder than the previous. It had taken both Draco and Hermione a good fifteen minutes to properly conceal the bruises that littered their skin.

"Well, don't you look like hell."

Hermione scowled at her friend as she reached for the closest platter of croissants. Harry's eyes soared up his forehead as she piled an obscene amount of food onto the plate in front of her.

"You okay, Mione?" He asked, sparing a glance at Ron who was a few seats down. The youngest Weasley boy had been back from his suspension two weeks before. Despite his actions at the end of September, Hermione was adamant that they remained civil. After all, she had reasoned, there was an impending war, of which she was of the utmost importance – the last thing she needed was any additional conflict.

She barely glanced up as she grunted in response, shovelling food into her mouth at an impressive speed. She had understandably woken up incredibly ravenous. Across the hall, Draco was doing much the same.

"Feeling a little hungry?" Ginny asked with a grin.

Taking a moment to take a gulp of her juice, she nodded. "Oh shut up, Gin. I'm starved."

"I can tell." She flashed a smile at her before her face fell serious. "But really, Mione, are you okay? I know that having Ron h-"

"It has nothing to do with Ron."

"Hermione…"

"Seriously, Gin. Just…a lot of extra work that comes with being Head Girl."

Harry and Ginny both looked unconvinced but let her be, turning back to their own meals as she continued guzzling her breakfast.

She had barely emptied plate when the bell tolled, signalling the start of class. Slowly levering herself from her seat, she slid her bookbag onto her shoulder.

"Come on, Harry. We've got double Potions.

Hermione winced as Harry slung an arm around her shoulder. "Ugh, another two hours of Snape – just what we needed, hey?" He grinned at her.

If only he knew.

A/N: I am full of apologies today. I'm sorry about this chapter – I'm really not happy with it! I feel like I'm sort of getting stuck on this story.

As we know, the incantation for the Stinging Hex from the series is unknown. 'Aculeata' is my made-up incantation for the curse, adapted from the Latin word for stinging.

As always, your reviews will be much appreciated, as well as any suggestions you may have!