A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, and I would like to thank hpwwefan for giving me an idea that will hopefully make my story longer. Here's the next chapter:
After that night with Malfoy, Hermione rarely spent time out of the Head's common room. She loved spending time with him, and getting to know more about him.
One night, they were laying on the couch in the common room, Hermione's head on his chest. They had been talking about their potion's class. Snape had been in a very foul mood lately; somebody was stealing ingredients for Polyjuice Potion. Hermione told Draco about her little encounter with the potion in her second year, (although she didn't tell him she was making it to spy on him), and she went on to tell him why she had been absent for several weeks, due to almost being turned into cat.
After a while, he asked her a question she hadn't thought of.
"Hermione, have you told anybody about – well, us?" She lifted her head from his chest and looked at him.
"Actually, now that you mention it, no. Should I?"
He seemed to ponder over what she had said for a moment.
"Well, I really do like you Hermione, and I don't want what we have so far to be ruined. On the other hand, I'm getting weary of keeping this a secret. I wish I could out on the castle grounds with you, and spend time together outside of this room."
"I don't think we should tell anybody." She said. "Especially Ron and Harry. They would go ballistic if they found out." An image of Ron and Harry kicking Malfoy popped into her head. She inwardly shuddered.
"Why should they overreact? I mean, it isn't as if we have done anything serious yet..." He realised what he had just said, and his pale face turned slightly pink. Hermione giggled, and put her head back onto his chest.
"I don't want anything to ruin this." She said as she shut her eyes.
Hermione was sitting with Ginny in the Great hall eating dinner. She could clearly see Draco's face from the Slytherin table, and they kept sneaking glances at each other. She barely paid attention to what Ginny was telling her, something about Ron, and another girl. Hermione looked at Draco, and he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. She sputtered, her face red, and ducked under the table. She didn't emerge until she had composed herself.
"For Merlin's sake Hermione! Have you heard anything I have said to you in the last ten minutes?" Ginny snapped looking at Hermione in a very annoyed way. "What is more interesting than what I have to say?"
She noticed Hermione glance briefly in front of her, and Ginny looked up to see Malfoy talking with Zabini. Comprehension suddenly dawned on her face.
"Oh no... you guys did not-" She was cut off by Hermione pulling her arm and dragging her out of the Great Hall.
"Shh! Ginny! Please don't tell anyone!" She said with a slight tone of panic in her voice after they were safely outside in the corridor. Ginny studied Hermione as though she were looking at her for the first time.
"You have been a bit more cheery lately, and you always seem to be day dreaming. I should've known." She shook her head. "When did it start?"
Hermione blushed and looked at the floor.
"Well, we kissed on the night after the Quidditch match, and-"
"Oh! You two have been at it for a while then? Have you, you know...?"
Hermione gasped.
"No! Of course not Ginny!" She replied, blushing more.
Ginny's face was blank.
"Does anybody else know about you two?"
"Actually, I think you're the only one who knows." Hermione's comment seemed to make Ginny very happy.
"Well then! Good for you Hermione!" She said as she hugged her friend. "So, tell me, is he a good kisser?" She linked her arm with Hermione's. Hermione laughed, and they walked to the Gryffindor common room together.
Hermione was happy that Ginny had found out about her and Malfoy. It was nice to talk about her feelings and thoughts to someone other than herself. She really enjoyed talking to Ginny about Malfoy, and Ginny was just as happy to listen.
It also turned out that Ron had a new girlfriend: a sixth year from Hufflepuff. Hermione was incredibly grateful that Ron had a human form of distraction, although it meant a lot more time with Harry. Harry had been hanging out with Hermione a lot more since Ron was with his new girlfriend all the time. It was exactly as it had been when Ron was going out with Lavender Brown in their sixth year. Although Hermione really didn't mind Harry's presence, it cut off a lot of time that she could be spending with Draco.
One Friday evening, Hermione and Harry were walking to the Gryffindor common room. (Ron was nowhere to be found). She glanced at Harry's watch.
"Harry, I'm really tired, I think I'm going to go sleep early tonight."
"Oh, I thought maybe we could play some chess." He said a bit sadly.
Hermione gave him a sad smile.
"You know, why don't you ask Ginny? She may want to play."
"Well, alright then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," She said as she turned around and walked to her dorm.
Finally! If I hurry, I may get to talk with Draco for a bit. Poor Harry. I really need to make it clear to him that I'm not Ron. Oh well...
She suddenly hear some yells ahead. It sounded as though someone was getting hurt. She took out her wand, and hurried to the noise.
There was a little third year Gryffindor boy on the floor, being beaten up by some fifth year Ravenclaws. He was crying and yelling out, but the Ravenclaws were muffling his yells.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Hermione screamed as she waved her wand wildly. The two Ravenclaws were thrown away from the boy, and they hit the wall with a dull thud. Hermione hurried over the to the boy and bent over his small figure.
She groaned as she saw his face. His eyes were bruised, and he had a bloody lip. She gingerly grabbed his arm, and tried to help him up.
"C'mon," She said gently, "You need the Hospital Wing."
The boy refused to get up, and he began to cough. He looked up above Hermione's head, and she felt him tense up. She looked up, and saw a hooded figure. She was about to ask the figure for help, when he pointed his wand at her and yelled "Stupefy!"
Hermione woke up feeling groggy and confused. She looked around. She was in room she had never seen before: It was as large as a cathedral and it was full of old, broken objects. Her head hurt like heck, and she reached her arms up to hold it. However, her hands were tied together with Spellotape. She strained her memory to remember how she got there, but all she remembered was seeing a flash of red light and hearing the words 'stupefy'.
After resting her head for a while, she felt steady enough to walk around the large room. There was a lot of old, broken things lying around. She stumbled over a broken chair, and saw a bunch of illegal items and toys (such as fanged frisbees) littered around the floor.
After walking over some more furniture and junk, she came across the biggest bookcase she had ever seen in her life. Despite her position, and having no idea where she was, she couldn't help but smiling when she saw the bookcase. Though her hands were taped together, they were in front of her. She reached out and grabbed the newest looking book she could find. She looked around, and spotted a battered looking mattress. She sat down, and looked at the book. It was a copy of Advanced Potion-Making she had last year. She frowned and opened it half-heartedly. Despite it's brand new cover, the book was written on, and it had little notes scribbled here and there.
Hermione's heart leapt. This was Harry's copy of Advanced Potion-Making! She turned to the first page, and it said that the book belonged to the Half-Blood Prince. She practically cried with joy; she was in the Room of Requirement.
Knowing that she was still in the castle made the situation a lot less serious, but she was worried. Will anybody notice that she disappeared? What about Draco? How long was she going to be there?
Hermione fell into an uneasy sleep. Images of the little boy getting beat up and the flash of red light kept whirling in her head. She woke up, and saw a faint light streaming in from the high windows. She guessed it was dawn. She felt her robes for her wand, but it turned out whoever had captured her had taken it.
She fell back down on the grubby mattress, and tried to remember the hooded figure. She definitely thought it was Colin, but something in the back of her mind was refusing to believe it.
I know Colin is a bit mental, stealing my things and all, but this? I mean, I don't think he's smart enough... And the hooded figure was shorter than him. Who would do something like this?? Oh, I wish Draco were here...
After what seemed like a few hours, Hermione got up to explore again. She went back to the bookcase, and grabbed another book. The book was a lot more interesting than the last, and she sat down on the spot to read it.
After several minutes of reading, her stomach began to grumble.
Oh Merlin, how am I going to get food?? Are they going to let me starve?
At that moment she hear a clatter, and footsteps shuffling. She jumped up and ran to the noise. She saw the door shut as soon as she reached her mattress. She looked down, and saw a plate of food. She sat down and began to eat. After eating, she noticed that they had left her a fork and knife.
Great. Now my hands are dirty. Wait! Haha! I can use the knife to cut off the Spellotape! What an oaf, he left a knife! This person may be Colin after all...
She awkwardly picked up the knife and held it in her feet. Carefully, she began to cut the Spellotape. After a few minutes, her hands were free. She gingerly peeled the remaining tape off her hands and sighed. Now that her hands were free, she needed a plan to get her wand. She couldn't just leave without it. What if the person caught her outside the room, and locked her away again? It really didn't help if you were a witch and had no wand.
A/N: OK, I know this chapter is short, but I can't give out anymore than this! I'll probably update tomorrow, since today is Cinco de Mayo, and I'm going to celebrate. (Plus, I need to start working on my homework.)