Happy New Year! My first post of 2017! I just want to say, this isn't a very long chapter, but it does lead a nice pathway into the next chapter, and I'm planning for things to start picking up action-wise very shortly...

As always, hope you enjoy it and happy reading. Don't forget to review :)

Draco had been in Herbology, but for some reason Hermione had barely been able to look at him. Maybe it was her conversation with Ginny (and the unbelievable amount of guilt she felt) that was affecting her actions. Whatever the case, whenever he had caught her eye and tried to smile, she'd averted her gaze. The memory of what they had done last night in the Room of Requirement was becoming a more prominent focus in her mind. She was beginning to ask herself questions about it, and now it was causing some self-doubt to start festering inside of her. What had she been thinking, sleeping with Draco? Were they trying to get themselves caught?

Yes, it had felt right. Yes, it had probably been one of the most wonderful experiences of her life. But that didn't mean it was acceptable. Her emotions were already a mess. She didn't know what to think any more: about right or wrong, her morals, what she was doing, what she was risking, how it affected her life and the people she cared about... On top of everything, what she didn't need was to be in love with the person she was trying to help. Apparently this was called being 'emotionally compromised'. Now, any actions she took in the future could be potentially disastrous because of her feelings for Draco. They might cause her to act irrationally- she could get them caught, for crying out loud. It was bad enough that Lucius Malfoy had threatened to kill her when they were sneaking around beforehand, back when they hadn't developed any strong attractions. Now, they were sneaking around and doing other, more intimate things, and the chances of being found out were even higher.

Hermione thought about this as she wandered over to the library after class ended. She wondered if Draco might have wanted to meet with her, then she squashed the idea. No, meeting with him was very bad, because he was probably going to persuade her otherwise. She needed to be away from him, she needed space to mull things over. And what she didn't need was to be sucked right back into a relationship that couldn't happen.

Wrapped in her own mind, she failed to acknowledge the quick footsteps growing ever closer behind her. She didn't even have time to scream when two arms circled round her waist and pulled her backwards. All she could do was gasp as she was dragged into what looked like a store cupboard stacked full of shelves and shelves of potions. She was all but ready to whip her wand out and start firing spells when she felt a soft kiss placed on her neck.

'Draco?' she breathed in relief. For a moment she had been terrified. 'You scared me.'

'Sorry,' came the familiar voice, his breath tickling her ear and ruffling her hair. He didn't sound sorry at all.

Hermione managed to turn around within the confinements of his arms to face him. He was smiling that lopsided smile that made her heart want to melt. She had to do everything in her power not to kiss him right there and then. 'Draco,' she repeated, 'what are you doing?'

'I wanted to see you,' Draco replied happily. 'I couldn't wait any longer… What?' he added when he noticed Hermione's expression. 'What's wrong?'

She gulped. 'We can't do this,' she hissed under her breath, well aware that anyone could walk past the room and hear them. 'It's too risky.'

Draco cocked an eyebrow. 'Say's the girl who told me she was willing to take that risk.'

Hermione sighed in exasperation. 'I'm willing to help you, Draco. But we can't keep doing...' she waved her hand vaguely between the two of them, 'whatever this is.'

'Why not?' Draco asked. 'Don't you want to?'

'I do!' Hermione said adamantly. 'You know I do. But... I don't know- it's just too much right now. Things are getting too complicated and I can't think straight.'

Draco looked at her, his eyes silvery in the dim light. 'Then don't think.'

'Draco...' Hermione began, but he was already kissing her. At first she tried to resist, flattening her hands against Draco's shoulders and trying to shove him away. But if anything he was persistent, only kissing her more, his arms coming up to cup her head in his hands as he deepened the kiss. Hermione heard herself hum in response, moving her hands to his back, her fingers brushing against the soft hair at his neck. It was like she couldn't fight it. Draco was infecting her, and the infection was spreading all over. Her whole body responded to every move he made, her heart pounding wildly.

'This is a bad idea,' she whispered huskily against his mouth as they parted for breath.

'Hmmm,' Draco responded as he drew her back in again, keeping his eyes closed.

'Draco,' Hermione urged him. She couldn't stop it- she didn't have the strength to. She needed him to stop for her, to push her away, before it was too late... But it was already too late.

'Stop thinking,' he said, his mouth brushing against her upper lip. His voice was rough, his breathing harsh. He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek tenderly, looking at her through lowered lids. 'And start listening,' his other hand touched the spot where her heart was, '...to this.'

Hermione looked back at him for a moment, her eyes never leaving his as her hands moved up to twist themselves into his hair. Then she did as she was told, shaking off every last piece of doubt and allowing her mouth to latch onto his. Finally, she was flying, her senses soaring, her body on fire as she grinded against Draco's equally responsive form. She forced him backwards so he was up against the shelves surrounding them, that rattled alarmingly as the two fell against them with little awareness.

Draco flipped, so that it was now Hermione who was against the wall, the flat edges of wood digging into her back. Draco gripped the shelf either side of her, holding it still and bracing against it as Hermione slid cold hands beneath his clothes, causing him to gasp. He threw his head back...

'Who's in there?'

Draco froze, and Hermione withdrew her hands quickly. They both looked at each other in terror. Someone rattled the door in an attempt to open it.

'I said who's in there?' the voice came again. Draco began to back away, a hand over his mouth to quieten his breaths.

'Snape,' Hermione mouthed.

Draco nodded. 'It's his storeroom,' he mouthed back, after lifting his hand away.

'Open this door now,' Snape demanded from outside, his voice growing impatient.

'Follow my lead,' Hermione hissed, a plan forming in her head. Draco just stared at her as she said aloud, 'for god's sake Malfoy, hand me the bloody potion. I can't reach it- I'm not tall enough- so you'll have to do it.'

Draco blinked once, then his face lit up in realisation. 'Well then, Granger, stop talking nonsense and tell me which one it is,' he practically shouted.

'Open this door!' Snape roared.

Hermione raised her voice too. 'I already have, you idiot,' she yelled, just as Snape appeared to have had enough, blowing the door open to reveal the two students inside.

Hermione had already gathered a random stash of potions and was balancing them in both arms. Snape stood in the doorway, a look of surprise crossing his face before his expression hardened. 'What is going on here?' he asked coldly.

'It's for Professor Slughorn, sir,' Hermione said. 'He wants us to get the ingredients for Amortentia.' She looked at Draco as if he was as thick as thieves, 'you know, the love potion.'

'I know what Amortentia is, Granger,' Draco fired in response, mustering up his best glare to aim at her.

'Enough,' Snape ordered, his eyes like black beetles as he looked disapprovingly upon the two students. He moved to the side and gestured to the corridor. 'Get out, now.'

Hermione open her mouth to argue. 'But sir-'

'Now,' Snape said again through gritted teeth.

This time, Hermione didn't try to talk back, bowing her head and shuffling out of the storeroom, still clutching her armful of potions. She knew if she persisted it would only end in a detention- it was Snape, after all. As soon as she was in the corridor he turned to her, flicking his wand and causing all she was carrying to shoot back onto their respective shelves. Hermione glanced down at her now empty arms, perplexed.

Draco, who had been standing by, made his way to leave the room as well, but Snape flung his hand out to prevent him. 'A word, Mr Malfoy,' he said in a voice that sounded almost bored. But there was something else too, an underlying tone to his voice both Hermione and Draco couldn't grasp.

Hermione stepped forward again. 'Sir... Professor Slughorn would really-'

Again, Snape cut her off, whirling back around. 'Miss Granger,' he said, 'kindly inform Professor Slughorn that if he wishes to raid my supplies next time he should come to me first. And tell him it's probably best not to send students to do his dirty work, especially not insufferable know-it-alls.' He turned away again. 'Now, please be on your way. And Mr Malfoy, follow me to my office.'

Hermione could only gape as Snape swept past her, Draco trailing behind him. She cast him a worried glance as he walked away, earning an encouraging smile back. She smiled anxiously, her eyes never leaving his until he turned the corner and was gone from sight.

Snape's office was a gloomy and dimly-lit room located in the school dungeons, not far from the entrance to the Slytherin common room, so Draco was familiar with the route there. What he wasn't familiar with was the growing sense of unease he felt walking through the corridors he had made his way down so many times before. It was eerily quiet as Snape continued to march in front of him, whispers of sound coming from the swish of his billowing black cloak and the distant echoes of far off voices. Despite the air being thick and humid, Draco caught himself shivering as he hurried along. Something definitely felt off, and he was sure it had something to do with why Snape wished to see him.

He had been to Snape's office before- many times, in fact- but when he entered the room and looked around the place seemed alien to him. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars filled with slimy, revolting things such as bits of animals and plants suspended in liquids of varying colours. The dust that coated every jar acted as a murky film, making it difficult to determine the grotesque shapes lying behind the years of neglect. The office had a fireplace, but it looked ancient and crumbling and most certainly unused. In the corner there was a cupboard boarded up with more locks than Draco could count, cobwebs ensnaring every rusted chain. There was a simple chair and a desk by the back wall, a single piece of parchment, an ink pot and a quill the only objects adorning the surface. And the single light hanging from the centre of the ceiling hung like a limp body, casting only the faintest green glow that didn't even reach the very corners of the room.

Draco folded his arms to his chest, suppressing another shiver. The air outside was stuffy, but in here it was freezing. He heard a small click behind him, indicating that Snape had locked the door. Gulping, he tried not to take it as a bad sign.

'Could you be any more stupid, Malfoy?' Snape asked in a levelled voice, as he came to stand before Draco. His expression was as unyielding as ever, and at first Draco didn't have the faintest idea what he meant.

'Professor, I'm not sure what you mean.'

'Oh, don't play the fool with me, boy,' Snape said callously. 'I could hear you and Miss Granger from halfway down the corridor.' Seeing Draco's horrified expression, he added: 'oh, and I think it was worse for me than you. Trust me; I really didn't want to hear it.'

Draco stood frozen for a moment, trying to gather the pieces of his shattered mind. 'Professor...' he said faintly, not really knowing what he was going to say.

Snape held up a hand for silence. 'I assume you didn't take heed of your father's warning?'

Draco's vision swam. 'What?'

Snape pursed his lips and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. Slowly, he peeled back the sleeve of his cloak to reveal something that caused Draco to feel a sudden nausea. Snape possessed the Dark Mark- it was there for him to see in plain sight, the inky black symbol embedded on the left forearm, as vivid and menacing as his own.

'I'm told,' Snape said, rolling his sleeve back down, 'I'm supposed to report my findings back to Lucius. I've been watching you closely all year.'

'You've been following me?' Draco said angrily.

'Those was my orders, yes.'

'How much do you know?' he persisted, furious that his privacy had been violated. He was pretty sure Snape must know a fair amount if he had been watching him from day one. He probably knew about the tower, and every meeting he'd had with Hermione. But if he had, why hadn't he reported it sooner?

'I know enough,' Snape answered, drawing his face up to Draco's. 'You have to get rid of her.'

Draco, in his rage, shoved the professor backwards. 'No,' he cried. 'I won't.'

Snape pushed back the greasy black strands of hair that had fallen in his eyes, advancing on Draco. 'You stupid boy,' he said, grabbing Draco's collar with both hands and shoving him against the wall. 'You are putting her in danger.'

Draco's eyes widened. 'Since when did you care about Hermione?' he asked in surprise. He had been expecting a threat, yes, but not a warning.

Snape took a step backwards, releasing his grip on Draco. 'Miss Granger is not my enemy.'

Draco moved slowly away from the wall, adjusting his collar. 'What are you saying?'

'I'm saying you have to make a choice. There are only two ways this can end. Get rid of the girl, and do what you are supposed to do, or suffer the consequences,' Snape said darkly, his beaded eyes boring right into Draco's, making him squirm under the unnerving gaze.

He looked quickly away, sounding almost pained as he spoke. 'I can't do that,' he said, his voice cracking. 'And I won't.' He looked up again, lifting his chin defiantly. 'She wouldn't let me anyway.'

Snape sighed. 'Then watch her die,' he said. 'Or, suffer a fate much worse than death. It's your decision.'

'That's not the only option,' Draco replied, his voice shaking. 'I won't let that happen to her, I'll protect her.'

'You think you can protect her from the Dark Lord?' Snape laughed coldly. 'I pity you, boy. Love has made you foolish and irrational. There is no way she can survive this.'

Draco shook his head. 'Yes there is,' he said firmly. 'If no one finds out-'

'Oh, but they will,' Snape said. 'As soon as I tell your father. And if he doesn't do anything about it... well... then I'll go straight to the Dark Lord myself.'

Draco gasped. 'But you wouldn't do that,' he spluttered. 'You- you said she wasn't your enemy. You said-'

'Enough,' Snape cut in, holding his hand up again. 'The deal is this: either you stop seeing Miss Granger, or I go to your father. Your choice.'

'I can't,' Draco said desperately. He could feel tears pricking his eyes.

'She deserves a good life, don't you think? There is no good life for you, Draco, not with her. You will ruin her.'

'I can't,' Draco said again, a single tear spilling over his cheek. He felt his knees go weak, almost giving way as his whole body shook. 'I can't,' he repeated, trying to make Snape understand what he couldn't say with words.

Snape nodded slowly, looking displeased. 'Then I have no choice.'

Next chapter coming soon...