This chapter is a darker side of Hermione. But hopefully you will read and enjoy anyway!

Christmas break rolled around before Hermione knew it. She had two weeks to spend at home with Derek and she couldn't be more excited. All the students boarded the trains and headed back home for the holidays. When Hermione arrived at her parents house, she spent an hour catching up with them. After that she couldn't wait any longer and headed out for Derek's house.

She knocked on the front door and greeted Derek's mother when she answered.

"Oh Hermione dear! Derek's just up in his room with Cierra. They're working on some school project or another. Head on up there and surprise them!"

Hermione was thrilled with this. She hadn't seen Cierra since the summer party where she met Derek. She thanked Derek's mother and quietly walked up the stairs. She had planned on opening his bedroom door and suprising them both with her presence and they could all have a big happy reunion. That isn't quite what happened.

Although she did surprise them, it wasn't the happy reunion she had hoped for. She opened the door to find Derek and Cierra under the blankets on Derek's bed. Her bestfriend was sleeping with her boyfriend!

"How could you do this to me!? How long as this been going on? What is wrong with you!" Hermione turned to leave.

"Hermione wait! Please just let me explain," Derek looked close to tears. Hermione being the ever curious witch, was intrigued.

"YOU!" Hermione pointed at Cierra but didn't dare look at her. "I want you out of here. I need to talk to him. And don't ever try contacting me again."

Cierra sheepishly gathered her clothes and walked out of the room with silent tears streaming down her face and her back still to Hermione.

"Well. Explain." Hermione kept a straight face and tried not to let the tears fall. She had to know why he did this.

"The night we met.. at that party. I didn't know then how much you would mean to me now. I never wanted to hurt you and you have to know that."

"Never wanted to hurt me?! Then why are you fucking that whore I used to call my bestfriend!" Derek's mouth hung open. Hermione never used foul language. He somehow regained his composure and went on explaining.

"The night at that party. I met you and I liked you but you left early. And I was drinking, and Cierra was still there. And well.. one thing led to another and we had sex. And after we started dating I was never going to do it again! But then September came around. And Cierra said she needed to talk to me. And I thought it was going to be about you. So I agreed to meet with her. And she told me she was pregnant. She's pregnant with my baby Hermione. I love you. But I need to be there for her and our child. I'm so sorry Hermione."

Hermione didn't know what to say. The tears finally fell and she left the room. She left the house. And she never looked back. And neither Derek nor Cierra tried to contact her after that.

The rest of Christmas break was rough for Hermione. She didn't know what to do with herself. She needed a change. On her last day at home, the day before she was due to leave for Hogwarts, she took her Christmas money and went into the city.

After arriving back at Hogwarts, Hermione unpacked her new wardrobe and walked into the shared bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and admired herself. She had changed over break, that much was certain. She had changed inside and out. She had spent her Christmas money on tighter clothes, cuter shoes and a new tongue piercing. That was her favourite part. She had always wanted one but never had the guts to do it. It made her feel dangerous. Like she wasn't just the goody goody that everybody thought her to be.

She was determined to feel good about herself no matter what. She was going to get what she wanted. And what she wanted, was Draco Malfoy.

When Draco entered the Head's common room, he was surprised to find that a certain bushy mane was missing from its usual spot peeking over the back of the arm chair by the fire. And in it's place was a head of sleek straight brunette hair. He walked around the chair to find Hermione curled up reading her favourite book. That part was normal. What wasn't normal was the tight pink sweater and blue jeans she wore. Or the piece of jewellery visible on her tongue when she licked her finger to turn the page.

"Can I help you with something Malfoy?" She said as she finally looked up from her book.

"Have a good break did you?" Malfoy was secretly impressed with the new look. She looked sexier. Dangerous even. The kind of girl you wouldn't want to take home to your mother.

"No actually. But thank you for asking."

"What's with the new look?" He had to ask. There was no ignoring it.

"I broke it off with Derek. Needed a change." Hermione was enjoying this. He hadn't moved from his spot in front of the fire since he walked in. He was just staring at her. She pretended to seem indifferent but inside she was loving the attention.

"I see." Malfoy went into his room and dropped off his things. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. Hermione Granger, muggle, prude, bookworm extraordinaire, was sexy. He had always thought she was cute. He had wondered what she hid underneath her robes. But he had never imagined her dressing this way. Or getting piercings! He felt drawn to her. So under the pretence of reading his own book, he made his way back into the common room and sat in the chair across from her.

The room was silent. Both Draco and Hermione were pretending to read their respective pieces of literature. But in reality, Draco was sneaking peeks at Hermione when she wasn't looking. Everytime she turned a page he would catch a glimpse of the metal in her mouth and feel the crotch of his pants get tighter. And for her part, Hermione was trying to gauge his reaction to her new look. It went on like this for a while until they both looked up at the same time and accidentally caught each others eyes.

"So. That thing in your mouth. Isn't that what muggle girls get to make their blowjobs better? Never pegged you for the type Granger."

"Wouldn't you like to know Malfoy."

"Maybe I would."

Hermione looked up again. Draco was giving her his ever famous smirk. She took this as a sign that he was teasing her.

"Very funny. Now seeing as I just got dumped, being made fun of isn't exactly what I had in mind for my evening tonight. So if you dont mind, I'll just be heading to my room." Hermione got up and crossed the room. Before she could reach her door Draco grabbed her wrist and stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait Hermione. I'm sorry. I know I can be a prat, but I think it's safe to say we've become somewhat friends over the past few months. Tentative friends at best, but still. Did you want to talk about it?"

Hermione was taken aback. She never expected this from him.

"There's not much to talk about really. He got my bestfriend pregnant and that's that." Hermione tried not to cry. She really did. But a single tear made its way down her cheek.

Malfoy wasn't sure what to do. So he took her into his arms and let her cry into his shoulder. He moved them over to the couch and they sat like that for a while with her in his arms. Eventually Hermione brought her head up and looked at him.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't fair."

"No worries Granger. That's what tentative friends at best are for." Hermione chuckled lightly at his joke and decided to go clean herself up.

"Thanks Draco," she said as she entered her room. Malfoy couldn't help but notice how nice his name sounded on her lips.

Okay, so this chapter I think went a lot better! Still more to come soon :) Please review!