Chapter 23:

Draco rushed to the Slytherin common room in a state of shock. He, Draco Malfoy, the Prince of everything Pureblood, actually kissed a Mudblood. Not only did he kiss a Mudblood, he happened to enjoy that kiss more than any other kiss he experienced in the past; which said a lot, considering the vast amount of kisses he had. "Okay! First things first, I need to find a bathroom immediately," he was talking to himself, yet again. Two minutes later he found himself in the Prefect's bathroom brushing his teeth like his life depended on it. He made sure to brush every surface, starting with his gums and ending at his tongue. After being somewhat satisfied with the cleanliness of his mouth he took a quick shower and made his way back to his dormitory.

"How am I suppose to fall asleep now?" he asked his stubborn mind, irritated. 'I fucking kissed her already!!! About time I stopped obsessing. I wanted to kiss her, no come to think of it I didn't know what I wanted. The point is I kissed her, and well, it was amazing, but that's not the point; the thing that matters most is that now that that's over with I have no other need or desire of her. I got a taste of her and it should be enough. She is a Mudblood and I do have other things to concentrate on, like serving the Dark Lord. It is curious that he didn't contact me yet. I know he wanted me to stay at school and act as normal as ever, but the anticipation would soon drive me to the brink of insanity. Actually it could be doing so right now, waiting around could be the cause for my sudden sexual attraction to Granger, and any normal Pureblooded Slytherin would go insane from being attracted to a Mudblood, it is a known fact. Okay, sleep, it would be nice to just close my eyes and fall asleep. I need to remember to brew a sleeping potion... I wonder if it would get Slughorn too curious. I need to stop thinking and go to sleep, as simple as that,' he decided, closing his eyes. The instant his eyes shut, his mind relived the kiss he shared with Granger less than an hour ago. Feeling a familiar tightening in his boxer briefs he jerked his eyes open. 'No, closing my eyes wouldn't do the trick. Seriously, this is pathetic; she's just a girl, and not just any girl but a Mudblood. I should never be thinking of her in that sense. What good could ever come out of it? Yeah she looks better than usual but there are girls much prettier than her all over Hogwarts. The fact that I slept with most of them doesn't matter. The point is they're there. Anyway... what now? I can't sleep or think peacefully. Maybe it's just an after-kiss effect. Yeah, that's probably it. I would wake up tomorrow and not obsess at all. I mean the kiss proved that I won the chase and I always get bored after winning. This is just a side effect, it will disappear as soon as I fall asleep. Tomorrow I will wake up a reformed man.' With those happy thoughts in mind, Draco fell asleep. Oblivious to the fact that Granger's face would once again haunt his dreams.

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"Hermione, you look flushed what's wrong?" asked Ginny, raising her head from her Potions essay.

"Why are you still awake?" questioned Hermione, gaining her self control back.

"I have a Potions essay due tomorrow, I was too distracted to think of it earlier."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to leave homework till the last minute?" scolded Hermione, playfully.

"Do not try to get off the subject Missy, why did you look so flushed?" Ginny inquired further.

"No particular reason," mumbled Hermione.

"I didn't catch that," Ginny gave Hermione a stern gaze.

"It's nothing," Hermione tried once again, only she was betrayed by her blushing cheeks.

"Nothing will not get you to blush the way you are right now," Ginny stood her ground.

"Well you know, I'm always angry and tired after detention."

"Don't go blaming this on just another detention. You've been in detention for over a month now, I've never seen you as flushed as you were just now."

"Well, something kind of happened in detention," added Hermione in a small voice.

"What?" demanded Ginny.

"Well, Malfoy was kind of flirting with me, or maybe he wasn't. I still don't understand how his mind works."

"The prince of Slytherin flirting with a Muggleborn... I never thought I'd live to see the day," smirked Ginny.

"Maybe it wasn't flirting. You know I'm not too bright when it comes to boys," admitted Hermione.

"Tell me exactly what he said!"

Hermione told Ginny exactly what happened up until McGonagalls departure.

"What happened then?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I was stupid enough to ask 'now what?' and he suggested checking to see if I was lying about my trousers or not, and I jumped up running away from him, and he ran after me. It didn't take him a long time before he had me cornered and he..."

Ginny's gasp cut Hermione mid sentence. "Don't tell me he kissed you!"

Hermione blushed further and looked down, suddenly interested in her fingernails.

"Merlin's Beard!"

"I know," said Hermione placing her head down on the table.

"How was it?" Ginny couldn't help and ask.

"Weird." Hermione answered, unsure how to explain herself.

"Weird?" asked Ginny skeptical.

"Well the kiss was amazing, beyond anything I ever experienced," explained Hermione, "but the fact that it was Malfoy made it all weird. Okay, I've got to admit that while he was kissing me my mind was elsewhere and I never dreamed of ending it; but the nagging feeling in the back of my head kept on flashing in alarm."

"Wow." said Ginny, entranced.

"Yeah, that pretty much summarizes it."

"What is it with the Slytherins being amazing kissers?" asked Ginny, remembering the sensation of Zabini's lips on her own.

"I really don't know."

"So what do you think will happen now?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know. I doubt anything will happen. I mean okay, I will admit it, he is gorgeous! But he is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. The most arrogant git I have ever met. Plus he is beyond prejudiced. So even if I would have allowed for anything to happen, he wouldn't. I am a 'mudblood' remember?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," agreed Ginny.

"You know this is really ridiculous. It was just a kiss. One stupid little unmeaning kiss. Plus I hate him and no matter what happens that fact will never change. I'll just go to bed," said Hermione, angry with herself for getting carried away.

"You do that," said Ginny, smiling after her.

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Draco was a reformed man. He could feel it from the minute he woke up. The fact that he dreamed of Granger didn't really matter to him; he knew it was just a post kiss dream. He walked the Hogwarts corridors with his head held high. He was Draco Malfoy and he defeated whatever he was up against. He no longer thought of the Mudblood. He won.

His new deluded fantasy lasted until he hit the Great Hall; he saw Hermione sitting in her usual spot at the Gryffindor table. Her robes were open and underneath them she wore her button down school shirt, which seemed to cling to her body more than usual. Her jeans were cut low and fit skinny, hugging her hips and thighs.

Across from her sat the Weasel girl and the big Longbottom buffoon. He seemed to be gazing at Granger in a more than friendly way. Come to think of it, every male at the Gryffindor table looked at the Mudblood with hungry eyes. A strange sensation that started at the pit of his stomach quickly spread its way through his body. 'What are those Gryffindorks ogling at?' He didn't know why he felt so angry all of a sudden; the mere thought of going there and cursing their eyes out seemed appealing to him. 'Who do they think themselves to be?' he thought bitterly. "Low lives," he muttered underneath his breath.

"I didn't catch that," Blaise addressed Draco smirking. He noticed some weird change in his best friend's behavior lately. For the past three days he seemed to be very preoccupied and if he didn't know better, he would have went as far as saying that Draco was feeling conflicted.

"Nothing," Draco continued glaring at the Gryffindor table.

Blaise followed his gaze, looking hard at what could have possibly angered him; but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary at the Gryffindor table. Unless you consider Granger's change in attire. 'That's it!' he thought smugly. Granger did seem to look different since the Hogsmeade trip and that was around the time Draco started his abnormal behavior.

"Are you interested in the Mudblood?" Blaise asked in a whisper.

Draco glared at his best friend, with the most furious look he could muster. "Don't you ever dare dream it, let alone talk it out loud! How could I ever be interested in a Mudblood?" he asked in reply, shooting daggers in Blaise's direction.

Draco's reaction could have fooled anyone, but Blaise knew him too well to believe it. Another thing he knew well enough was not to pursue the matter further. "If you say so," he shrugged.

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"You know, you shouldn't really dress like that," Draco said, scrubbing the now much cleaner but not perfectly clean yet, trophy.

"Dress like what?" Hermione eyed him skeptically.

"Like the way you're dressed right now," said Draco, as if it was the most obvious thing.

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" asked Hermione, not really sure where this conversation was heading.

"Can't you see it?"

"No, not really. Would you care to enlighten me?" she asked sarcastically.

"Well, your jeans fit way too tightly and school shirts should not cling to the body as much as yours does," he stated matter of factly.

Hermione gaped in reply, opening and closing her mouth; not really sure of how to respond. "The way I dress is none of your business," she finally stated.

"Well, it seemed to be the business of every Gryffindor male this morning."

"Your point is?" asked Hermione, not really sure how she felt about that revelation.

"That you shouldn't dress the way you do."

"Since when do males looking at me bother you?" she asked, raising her eyes from the trophy.

"It doesn't bother me, it just makes me sick. They all look like some love sick puppies; quite pathetic," he smirked.

Hermione huffed loudly and returned to her work. The trophy looked a lot cleaner than when they had first started on it. It didn't shine flawlessly as of yet, but there was an obvious progress. 'A few more weeks and this madness will be over with,' she thought optimistically. At first she was nervous upon entering the detention room; but was relieved as soon as she realized that Malfoy would act as if nothing happened the previous night. That was one thing she wasn't ready to face that day: last night's kiss.

"Could you erase that smirk of your face? It's annoying," said Hermione, five minutes later.

In response to her request Draco smirked wider, his eyes piercing into hers. For a minute, last night's sensations swept over her. His eyes bore into hers, not really revealing the feelings behind them. All they seemed to be doing was gazing.

Hermione scrubbed the trophy absentmindedly, looking up into Malfoy's eyes. She didn't know why she couldn't tear her gaze away from his. All of a sudden, she felt a warm feeling spread through her hand. Malfoy's hand accidentally brushed against hers, leaving her feeling a little astounded. 'Why does his touch affect me so much?' she asked herself angrily. She looked up into his eyes once again, causing his smirk to grow even wider. She rolled her eyes in response and stretched her hands over her head.

"What's wrong Granger?" Draco asked, surprisingly aroused by the way her back arched.

"Nothing's wrong. Just tired that's all."

"Sure," answered Draco, not really sure how to respond. His mixed feelings were really getting the best of him.

"I wish this detention was over already."

"I wish it would never have started," muttered Draco darkly. To his surprise Hermione giggled. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You just sounded like a whiny toddler," teased Hermione.

"I did not."

"Did too."

"You just sounded like a whiny toddler as well," Draco smiled smugly.

Hermione was about to shoot back a remark when McGonagall dismissing them distracted her. "Finally," she got up from her chair happily. Draco watched her stand up and walk towards the door.

'Why does she have to dress this bloody way?' he asked himself angrily. 'Right when I was getting over my obsession, her body pulls me back in!' Without thinking twice Draco got up and ran after her. He caught her on the first floor corridor, by the staircase. He didn't think of what he was going to do next, he figured he'll allow himself to act on impulse.

"What is it Malfoy?" Hermione asked in a bored voice.

Draco's only response was that of his lips crushing against hers. He held on to her forearms and pushed her against the staircase, pressing his body to hers. At that moment he didn't care that she was Granger, damn he wasn't even sure that he cared about her blood. All he knew was that his every waking moment today was spent fantasizing about her lips; about capturing them and indulging in their sweet, innocent taste.

Hermione melted into the kiss, doing everything she could to hold back the moan that was threatening to escape. She could feel him growing hard against her, and she had to admit there was something about that unfamiliar pricking that excited her. She knew that what she was doing at that moment wasn't proper. She shouldn't be kissing him, evenmore so enjoying it; but she couldn't find enough willpower to stop. She felt Draco's tongue explore her mouth in more ways than before, and her tongue followed suit happily. Tonight's kiss seemed more demanding, more heated. As if the taste from last night only had them both craving for more.

Draco broke the kiss slowly, and looked down into her piercing brown eyes. For a minute, neither of them said a word, all they could do was look into each other's eyes and pant heavily. He didn't dare to move, he liked the feeling of her body against his too much to just let it go. And Hermione stayed still as a statue, gazing into his mysterious grey eyes and wondering whether he would run away as he did just last night.

"Fuck, Granger, why do you have to taste so damn good?" Draco whispered into her ear, nibbling on her earlobe. Hermione's blush didn't pass past Draco and it seemed to turn him on even more. "Are you really as innocent as you portray yourself?" he asked, capturing her neck with his lips, causing that stubborn moan to finally escape from deep within her throat.

Hermione just nodded in reply, too entranced by his kisses. She didn't know how, or why, neither did she care. His touch awoke every sense in her body. It made her every cell burn with anticipation. She closed her eyes, and indulged in the feeling of his hot lips against her velvety skin.

Luckily, the clicking of heels against wood distracted Draco's lips from exploring too low down her body. They both looked in the direction of the noise and realized it was McGonagall walking out of the Transfiguration classroom. Draco tried to pull Hermione into an empty classroom, but she refused, weakly mumbling something about how late it was and sprinted up the stairs.

Author's note:

Here is a very nice and long coughs update :)

now if you all will be kind enough to update i will be kind enough to send the next 2 chapters i have written up to my beta asap :D

hehe just joking.. but you know the drill.. tell me what you loved? hated? and overall your opinion