The next few days Hermione mostly spent in solitude. Harry and Ron seemed to be avoiding her more than ever, even turning and walking away when they saw her in the corridors. Ever since the last D.A meeting things had been sour and the three hadn't spoken since the news about Draco and Hermione had gotten out.

It was almost a relief, Hermione had expected Ron to march up to her and demand an explanation which he wouldn't accept. The silence was refreshing and she spent minimal time with Scarlett and Amber-Rose as well. It wasn't because she didn't want to see them; it was just that it was easier. If Hermione even mentioned the rumours and stories going around Amber-Rose would get all snappy and tell her to grow up and Scarlett would just look down and silently agree.

"I am going to place you into groups of four" Professor Flitwick announced one day in Charms. "I want you to practice Cheering Charms again in preparation for upcoming O.. If you do not understand or cannot perform one of these charms I would be quite worried seeing as we started work on them in your third year" he nodded and began separating the class.

"Amber-Rose Height, Gregory Goyle, Marcus Rayne and Katniss Christel" he pointed at each in turn and they all moved to one corner of the room. "Alexandra Lyons, Scarlett Maddox, Vincent Crabbe and Blaise Zabini." They moved also. Flitwick moved around the room splitting the students up and then he came down to the last eight students.

"Carlie Rosien, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson" he announced and sent them on their way.

"But, Professor…" Pansy stood up, screwing up her face and 'subtly' looking at Hermione. "That's not…"

"Miss Parkinson" Flitwick replied, making his way back to the front of the room. "I split you up completely randomly, if you are going to tell me that it's not fair I don't want to hear it"

Pansy sank back into her chair, sulking. Hermione walked over to the group, seething just as much as Pansy was. Malfoy seemed to harbour the same feelings. Carlie on the other hand simply looked confused at the hostility, was she dim?

"Work!" sparks few from Flitwick's wand and the class immediately broke into conversation and laughter.

Hermione's group simply sat in awkward silence, nobody looking at each other. All four of them had their wands out and knew perfectly how to execute a Cheering Charm however it didn't seem like very much fun right now. It might have helped a lot though, they need a little cheer.

"Did you two really get it on in Professor Singlia's office?" Carlie asked after awhile, looking at Hermione and Malfoy. Her eyes were wide and it was clear that this was another conversation that had been going around.

Her words seemed to bring everybody in the group to life. Malfoy looked completely disgusted; Hermione began opening and closing her mouth as she tried to find words and Pansy stood up once again, knocking Carlie's wand to the floor and balling her fists.

"Of course they didn't!" she screeched. Everybody looked around and the room fell instantly silent.

"You can't tell me you idiots are still interested in this!" came Amber-Rose's voice from the other side of the room. "Honestly, no wonder half of you are failing, your priorities suck"

"Pansy, keep it down" Scarlett advised from her corner. "Some of us are trying to work." Flitwick smiled at the two girls and nodded at Pansy.

"If they 'got it on'…" Pansy continued in a lower voice as the class noise picked up again. "Then they wouldn't be avoiding each other now, would they?" She seemed very satisfied with her answer.

"Well…they could be embarrassed" Carlie suggested, shrugging. "But I'm just repeating what I heard. And besides, can't they speak for themselves?"

Pansy fell silent, staring at the open page in her Charms book. Hermione and Malfoy looked up, Hermione hoping she wasn't blushing.

"We can't stand each other" she explained quietly. "It was one kiss for non-romantic reasons and…somehow it got around." That was Hermione's vague version of what happened. It still seemed ridiculous that Singlia had actually spread this rumour, how could Dumbledore employ such a person?

"What reasons?" Carlie insisted, pushing on with the subject.

For this answer Hermione looked at Malfoy who was looking uncomfortable. Pansy had looked up from her book and was looking between them. Carlie blinked, simply waiting. "You'll have to ask Malfoy" Hermione announced and everybody's eyes shifted to him.

"It…was…Weasley…idiot…I…" he tried to explain, still not looking at anybody. Hermione rolled her eyes as she remembered the conversation. Malfoy must really hate Ron if he had to prove that Hermione would rather have him instead. "She compared me and Weasley!" he looked up, angrily. "What was I supposed to do?"

"I said that I would take Ron over you any day" Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure you would take Pansy over me any day…which really shows how much you hate me because she certainly isn't a prize." Carlie giggled.

"Weasley isn't either!" Malfoy snapped back, turning to face her. Pansy's face had turned sulky once more and she had sunk down in her chair. Carlie on the other hand was listening intently with the evil intentions of spreading some rumours of her own in the lunch hour.

"At least Ron doesn't look like he's half dog!" she said, her voice dripping with venom. "Not to mention he actually has half a brain and people like him! I can tell that the majority of Slytherins hate Pansy…including you!"

"Hey!" exclaimed Pansy, indignant but everybody ignored her.

"I…" Draco attempted to argue but fell silent when he realized Hermione had got him. When asked directly, nobody could deny their distaste for Pansy. "I'm smarter than Ron…I mean…Weasley!"

"Class dismissed" came Flitwick's small, piping voice from the front of the class and the group turned to see all the other students walking towards the door.

"Pathetic" Amber-Rose mouthed as she passed them and Scarlett giggled.

"I'll see you, guys" Carlie said and ran out of the room with Pansy following behind her looking shocked and even possibly hurt. The class was almost empty, with only Flitwick, Hermione and Malfoy left.

"Miss. Granger, Mr. Malfoy…you may go" Flitwick prompted, waving them towards the door. "As much as I love being a teacher I am entitled to my lunch break"

The two of them scurried towards the door, still heated from their argument. Hermione was used to arguing with Malfoy but not like this. For some reason this seemed different, more like they were just trying to get one up on each other instead of actually disliking one another.

But she did dislike him, she loathed him. Malfoy was arrogant, spoiled, idiotic and had offensive views on the world. He had been the first person to call her a Mudblood and though it didn't hurt so much anymore, it was still an offensive term. Not to mention he tormented her friends, Ron and Harry. And he thought he was a better person than Ron.

The minute they were out of the room Malfoy slouched against the wall, taking a deep breath and resuming a much more casual persona. A smirk played on his lips once again and Hermione stared at him, outraged.

"So Amber-Rose was right then" he said, in an annoyingly superior tone.

Hermione stared at him, eyes wide. She was surprised that Amber-Rose had been speaking to him. She thought he was just as immature as Hermione. Then again it wasn't Amber's fault that she wasn't speaking to Hermione; it was Hermione who had been avoiding her.

"What was she right about?" Hermione snapped, also leaning against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest, glaring daggers.

"You do like me!" he snorted, with a triumphant smile on his face. "You, Miss. Hermione Granger have completely crossed to the dark side now" then a dark look crossed his features. "But don't get any ideas Granger; I'm just glad I made my point. You don't really like Weasley; you're just lying to yourself"

Immediately her cheeks turned red, burning hotter than they had in a very long time. Who did Malfoy think he was? He had no right to make judgements about her feelings. In fact, Amber-Rose had no right either.

"How dare you! You haven't proved anything! I could never have feelings for you. You're arrogant and only ever think of yourself and you treat everybody else like dirt. How dare you!"

"You wouldn't be fighting it so hard if you didn't like me" he said simply. "Amber-Rose and Scarlett see it too. They…" then he fell silent, looking at his hands for a moment.

"They know that if they place that judgment on me then they have to place it on you too!" Hermione exclaimed, a smirk developing on her face too. "They didn't just say this about me, they said it about you! You like me, and you can't deny it because I can throw your own words back at you!"

With one last glare in Hermione's direction, Malfoy turned on his heels and made his exit shaking his head over and over again.

All Hermione wanted after this long day was some time of peace. However, with a castle brimming with excitable students it was hard to find a space during the day. So that night Hermione snuck out of her dormitory feeling much more daring than usual. Moving quietly she made her way outside to the Black Lake where she figured she was less likely to get caught.

Of course she knew that being daring while Umbridge was running the show wasn't the smartest idea she had ever had but she also knew that she needed to do something to get rid of the anger. Malfoy's accusation had been running through her head all day and even the satisfaction of proving her own point wasn't comforting anymore. Now she realized that proving her point had come with a price. She now knew that Malfoy was into her and that thought was not one she wanted to have.

Reaching the Black Lake she sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest and staring out into the darkness. It was peaceful here, a good place to think but now that she was here she wondered why she had wanted to think. Thinking was dangerous.

"Who's there?"

Suddenly a light broke through the darkness. It made everything glow and Hermione jumped up, peering around frantically. It only took a minute for her to spot the source. It was the tip of a wand illuminated and it lit up the face of Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy didn't look like his usual sneering self. In fact he almost looked like a human being. He looked like someone would if they were holed up in their bedroom listening to their parents fighting or someone just struck down by a bad breakup. He too looked like he just wanted peace.

"Malfoy…" she said, making her presence known and he jumped, spotting her at last. The expression on his face was one of exasperation just as if she was the last person he had wanted to see here.

"Oh, it's you" he muttered, letting his wand fall to the ground and sitting back down himself. Hermione did the same, feeling that this was going to be a very strange night. "What are you doing out here? I wouldn't have figured you to be rebellious"

"I wouldn't have figured you to want to get on Umbridge's bad side, aren't you one of her favourites?"

"Not by choice" Malfoy heaved a huge sigh and leaned his head back so it hit the tree trunk he was leaning against. "My father thinks it's the best idea to listen to what the Ministry is saying right now…they can't suspect…it's best that they don't believe Potter"

Hermione looked over at him, surprised by his honesty. This was practically Draco Malfoy admitting that You Know Who was back and he was admitting it to her. "So You Know Who is trying to hide then?" she asked, looking back out to sea.

"For now" he told her, placing his head in his hands. "He's mostly letting them…the Death Eaters…like my Dad do all the work. He's biding his time, it won't be like this forever"

"Oh…" Hermione murmured, picking up a leaf and beginning to rip it to shreds.

The two were silent for a few moments, both lost in their own thoughts. The only sounds were their tiny movements as they shifted into more comfortable positions or accidently cracked sticks with their shoes.

"I'm expected to join them, you know?" Malfoy said quietly, breaking the silence again.

Hermione looked up immediately, head snapping in his direction. You Know Who didn't take people of their age, he wouldn't. Who expected Malfoy to join the Death Eaters?

"What?" she exclaimed, unable to help herself.

"Not now…but later. My father thinks it's…the best thing" he explained and Hermione noticed his shoulders shaking a little. This was astounding. Was Draco scared? Did he not want to join the Death Eaters? Hermione had always thought he would be thrilled.

"Mother thinks they'll kill us if we step out of line, she thinks its best that I join them too" he continued, his voice breaking. "And I don't want to die"

"You don't want to join them?" she asked, her voice barely audible despite the complete silence.

"I don't know" he turned towards her, a little irritated. "It's an unpredictable war. Everybody on our side expects him to win, everyone on Dumbledore's side…they're…you're just fighting by faith. We're not that strong. Don't you get that?"

"Self-preservation" Hermione said, shredding a new leaf. "It's not exactly honourable"

"Hermione," he snapped not seeming to realize that he had used her first name. "I'm not trying to be honourable. I'm not Harry Potter!"

Hermione's eyes fell away and she wrapped her arms around her torso. It was so strange to see into the eyes of someone on the other side, into the eyes of a Slytherin. Hermione knew that self-preservation was a big part of the Slytherin traits and it was amazing how much it changed a person.

"It's not just you not being honourable though" she argued, finding her words again. "It's as if you don't trust Dumbledore. Don't you realize that he could protect you and your whole family? Why can't you see that? It would be easy for him. Dumbledore is the only person that You Know Who is afraid of"

Malfoy muttered something that Hermione didn't quite catch and looked away, frustration in his eyes.

"I'm not evil…" he said, talking to Hermione again. "I just don't believe in dying for a bunch of people who wouldn't die for me."

"If it helps…" she began, taking a deep breath. "I'm scared too. We're all scared. I just…I want to help people. But I don't think I could do what Harry's done"

"Do we have to talk about him?" Malfoy asked, rolling his eyes. Hermione almost laughed.

"I just mean that I don't think I could die for everybody either…I just like to believe I could" she explained. "I'm not trying to convince you to join our side. Well, I would but I know I can't. That's a choice you have to make yourself"

"You sound like Dumbledore" Malfoy said, smiling a half smile. "except more…female." Then Hermione laughed.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" she asked, feeling like she had just entered a badly written muggle movie.

"Because you are probably the only person who will listen" he admitted, sighing. "Think about it. Who else could I tell?"

"Amber-Rose?" Hermione suggested.

"Unfortunately there are two issues with that" he laughed, though his laugh didn't indicate humour. "Firstly I think she might be going through the exact same thing, it's sometimes better to complain to someone who can give an outsiders perspective and secondly…I'm pathetic right now, remember?"

"Oh, right…I forgot" Hermione smiled. "But you have to admit, she's actually right"

Now it was Malfoy's turn to stare at Hermione. "What do you mean she's right?" he asked, and his tone reminded her of normal Malfoy and she backtracked quickly.

"I mean…we are acting pathetic, arguing about stupid rumours or…a story about something that we know isn't true. It would probably be better if we just didn't care and stopped talking about it and then everybody else will stop talking about it. We know we don't like each other and it's none of anybody else's business "

"Right" Malfoy nodded, looking away again.

"Yes" Hermione added, standing up to end the conversation. "Okay…well…I'll see you later" she told him, nodding and picking up her wand. Then without waiting for him to say goodbye she began to walk away.

"Fuck…Hermione, wait!" Malfoy called, clambering to his feet and running to grab her wrist. Hermione's eyes widened but he didn't see. One beat later he had turned her around and they were kissing again, except this time it wasn't in front of a teacher and it wasn't to prove anything.

It was over a minute before Hermione pulled away, her face frozen in astonishment.

"What in Merlin's name are we doing?" she asked, staring at him.

"If I really have to explain that to you then I have truly underestimated your intelligence" he said, smirking. Though flustered and confused Hermione let him kiss her again, knowing in her heart that Amber-Rose had been right all along.

And the kissing continued and developed into more. It didn't matter that it was still Winter and outside by the Black Lake it was extraordinarily cold and nor did it matter that it was the middle of the night. Let's just say it's a good thing Umbridge didn't catch them.