As the days progressed, the seventh years felt the burden of NEWTs more than ever. Every teacher had their noses pressed firmly to the grindstone. Even free periods were utilized for studying and doing alarming mounds of homework.

The quidditch season had started, and Harry had once again put up, what he thought, a good team. Katie Bell had graduated last year, but Dean admirably filled her place. Ginny was once again the life and soul of the team, and Harry had to stop himself from rushing to her at every opportunity. They had had a few secret meetings, and Ginny once again looked happy and radiant, and Harry was now less preoccupied with Voldemort, not that he had much time on his hands what with the enormous amount of schoolwork that he had. And Hermione was no longer always available for helping him out, as she had Head duties, not to mention, a separate dorm.

Hermione, meanwhile, was learning to appreciate that Malfoy had a different side to him. One that did not taunt at all times, or was full of full-fledged hatred and animosity. He still laughed at her, oh yes, but now his laughter excited her as nothing else had ever done. The sound of his laughter, even when it was directed at her, now sent tingles up and down her spine, and made her shiver. There was something very sensual about everything he did, even little things like sucking the end of his quill as he did his homework, flicking away imaginary specks of dirt from his robes, running his hands through his perfectly groomed hair, keeping a straight face while he said something hugely ridiculous, or trying to look innocent as he said outrageous things that made her blush, and eventually made him laugh. He was still the most conceited brat she had ever seen, but he let her see things about himself that seemed to make him much more human, even endearing. She wasn't sure whether it was him, or it was her heightened awareness of him, but there definitely was something. Yes, living with Malfoy was fun, something she would never have believed possible. He mostly kept to himself and she saw him only fleetingly, but interactions with him, whenever they took place, were turning out to be the highlight of her days. More so, since Ron had still not made any move towards asking her out, and they were nearing their first Hogsmeade visit. Hermione was thirsting for male attention that bordered on the sexual, but the guy she wanted it from seemed to be taking forever. Malfoy was rapidly filling this blank in Hermione's life unknowingly.

Ron meanwhile was so taken up with tackling his homework and quidditch, that filling Hermione's emotional needs had no place in his head. It wouldn't even have occurred to him, anyways, as he himself couldn't handle emotions. And the possibility that Hermione could ever find solace in Malfoy never occurred to him; now that he was satisfied that Hermione was not going to jump into his bed. It never occurred to Malfoy either, that his merely being non-hostile and nice towards his arch enemy's best friend could mean something deeper to her. And it didn't occur to Hermione either, that she was getting attracted to Malfoy. Harry was blissfully unaware of the undercurrents involved as he was now content with Ginny.

Sia was slowly adjusting herself to life in Hogwarts. She still dressed in the same way, and her attire drew much ridicule, and not just from the Slytherins. She had turned into a role model of sorts for the girls of Hogwarts, as in what not to do if you wanted to avoid a fashion faux pas. She was still very much a loner, and the attempts of Parvati and Lavender to draw her out had not succeeded. But their gossiping tongues had given Sia a perfect picture of everyone in Hogwarts. She, however, had made an exception in Neville, to whom she had been seen talking on more than one occasion. She had surprised herself by behaving very well, although she would be the first one to admit that she didn't have much choice. All the taunts and barbs directed at her were met by silence, or at the most a scowl. She had been found to be a natural at Transfiguration, and was good at Charms and Potions too. Herbology bored her, even if the plants they were learning now were exotic and highly dangerous. But everyone was surprised that she was really bad at Defence Against the Dark Arts. This pleased Ron no end, and he used to make it a point to try and get paired with her in every practical DADA class. Sia would get back to him in Charms or Transfiguration, all without a word, of course.

It was now nearly a month into their term, and Hogsmeade visit was just a couple of days away. Hermione was looking forward to go into the village with Ron, but he had so far not asked. She was particularly interested in going to a new place that had opened up in place of Zonko's, which Fred and George were no longer interested in buying. Instead of a joke shop, however, this was a kind of muggle discotheque, and Hermione was intrigued who would be willing to invest so hugely in a disco in such insecure times. She had pictured an idyllic weekend in her mind, dancing away and having loads of fun with Harry, Ron and Ginny, and gathering some information regarding the owners as well. However, she had just found out from Ginny that she and Harry would be spending the time, ahem, in castle itself. Hermione had laughed at that, knowing full well that they had a really long snogging session planned out. Now that left Ron and herself.

Hermione was thinking along these lines as she was returning to her dorms from the library when she suddenly tripped herself and fell rather heavily to the floor, sprawled out on her stomach. Behind her, she heard sniggering and unpleasant voices. Before she could react, her heavy bag of books split itself and she found herself sprinkled with loads of ink. When she tried to get up, however, she found that she couldnot move. She knew very well that her attackers were Slytherin girls, for she could hear Pansy's voice, but couldn't see anyone from her undignified position. They had put the body bind on her, and she was helpless; she, the Head Girl and the smartest witch in their year. Just wait till I get out of this mess, she thought viciously, and then I will individually hand out detentions to all of you. But till then, she was in a fix, and the evil gang just out of her line of vision was laughing at her predicament. She hoped somebody would see her soon, and help her out of this mess, but this corridor seemed deserted as of now.

Just as Hermione felt more ink splashing down on her head, a pair of footsteps came towards her, and stopped right next to her. She could see it was a girl from her shoes, but little else. Whoever it was, the Slytherin girls went away on seeing her, muttering and snickering under their breaths. Almost immediately, Hermione felt the body bind lift, and a hand extended to her. Hermione took it, and as soon as she got up, to her horror, discovered that it was Sia. She waited for the inevitable barb because of her condition, but none came, and Hermione was surprised on seeing anger on Sia's face instead of her usual scowl or smirk. Hermione fumbled in her robes for her wand to clean herself, but was again surprised when she felt Sia siphon away the ink from her head and clothes.

"Umm…thanks…", Hermione began in a confused and embarrassed tone. She didn't know quite what to say, or what to make of Sia's gesture.

Sia continued to give her a furious glare, as though everything had been her fault, thought Hermione. But when she spoke, her tone was soft.

"Its not right to be always nice and forgiving, HG. Sometimes, you have to give something back." Then she repaired Hermione's bag with a flick of her wand, and started to walk away.

"Hey…wait!" Hermione called after her, and picking up her bag, hurried after her. She caught up with Sia just before she turned round the corner. She caught Sia's arm and turned the girl slightly towards herself. "What was that supposed to mean? Do you think I asked for it, or do you think I am going to let them get away with it?" Hermione glared.

Sia considered her gravely, and replied, "Both. You asked for it, because you let them walk over you all the time, let them get away with insulting you and say mean and degrading things to you. And you will let them get away with it, because you didn't see their faces, so you don't have any proof to punish them."

"But…you saw their faces. You can tell me, and then I will…" Hermione trailed off as Sia shook her head.

"No, HG. That's not my style. I don't tattle tales. They will pay, that's for sure, because they have really pissed me off this past month. But you have to stand up not just for junior years, but for yourself too. They shouldn't even dream of insulting the Head Girl, let alone play such childish pranks. And don't think that ignoring them and acting with dignity around them will make the slightest bit of difference. You have to take the battle to them, they don't understand any other language."

"And what have you been doing these past days? They have been targeting you too." Hermione was stung.

"I have been…", Sia blinked painfully as she considered, "…having some personal problems. But the moment they are resolved, I will get them, and everyone who has been making my life hell. You, HG, don't have to wait. Never for one moment think that your being a muggle-born gives them the right to say whatever they feel like. My father is a muggle, and he could eat all of them alive for breakfast without noticing. Give them what they deserve." With that, Sia turned sharply to leave, and as she turned the corner, collided with a lot of red hair. "Watch it, Gin Gin!" was all she said and was gone.

Hermione grabbed Ginny's hand as she started to wave her wand at Sia's retreating back.

"What?" Ginny asked, still glaring after Sia. "Why did you stop me from hexing Lady Malfoy?"

Hermione stifled a smile. Since that night when she had compared Sia to Malfoy, Ginny had started using this nickname to refer to Sia.

"She isn't really Lady Malfoy." Hermione replied, thinking inwardly that Malfoy was not really the Malfoy they knew, either. "She's alright, I think, in her own way."

Ginny looked slightly confused.

It was Saturday evening, and most of the students third year and up were at Hogsmeade. Draco Malfoy made his way quickly down the street towards the new hotspot in the village, "The Hag's Tales". Everybody was raving about it, though none had been there yet. Draco had been looking forward to the weekend wanting to check this place out, but by himself. He knew that the place was barred for anyone below sixth year, and he was looking forward to the opportunity of meeting up with some new girl. Maybe even someone outside Hogwarts, for he was pretty sure that he knew all about the "good catches" of Hogwarts. But still, he had to keep his eyes open.

It had taken nearly all the wiliness he possessed to get rid of Pansy today. He didn't want her hanging on his arm while he checked out the crowd; it would have defeated the entire purpose. He had nearly despaired, because Pansy was also very sly at some things. But then, he wasn't the Slytherin Prince for nothing. He reflected on the excuses he had used today, making a note not to use them again. With Pansy, at least.

The Hag's Tales was over-crowded, loud, semi-dark and full of a hazy smoke that smelt of mead and firewhisky and perfumes and sweat. Draco, used to open spaces and people keeping their respectful distance from him, loved it. He made his way towards the bar counter and ordered a goblet of firewhisky for himself. As he settled down, he started scanning the crowds, his eyes moving towards the dance floor, full of dancing lights falling over heaving, sweaty bodies. Cool, he thought.

It was then that he saw her. She was gyrating to the music totally oblivious of her surroundings, all by herself, from the looks of it. And for quite sometime too, judging by the way her dark hair clung to her, wet with sweat. She was wearing a tight-fitting, short, light pink top, contrasting sharply with her tanned skin tone. It seemed to be torn artistically, revealing sweaty, toned skin, Below it, her slim waist swayed to the music sensually, glowing with sweat, the ornament on her pierced belly button dancing enticingly. Her jeans started below it, clinging to her hips and long legs that seemed to go on, the rhinestones on her belt winking at him in the flashing lights.

Draco felt hot, and his clothes suddenly felt too tight. He had never seen a girl dance with such abandon, and so sensually. He himself was a good dancer and saw that the girl was good too. Her tall, lithe and invitingly curvaceous body moved very gracefully with the music, and so suggestively Draco was amazed boys hadn't mobbed her already. There seemed to be many of them around her, but were keeping their distance.

And then the girl stopped dancing and made her way directly towards him. Draco's heart stopped momentarily, and then started beating with double the speed. Cool it, Draco, you are the best, and girls just cant resist you, he told himself. He took several deep, calming breaths, and focused on the girl. He had never seen her before, but whoever she was, she had more than made up for all the nonsense he had been subjected to by Pansy today.

As he watched, the girl approached the counter and snapped her fingers to catch the attention of the barman. Draco was right beside her, inhaling a scent that reminded him of a moonlight cruise on a gondola in Venice. Heady. Just then, the girl spoke up to the barman.

"Water. One bottle."

The barman looked her over suggestively, and asked sneeringly, "Are you joking?"

The girl stiffened and raised her eyebrows at the man, and putting her hands on her hips, asked in an impassive tone, "Do I look like I am?"

The barman leered at her, and said, "Well, sometimes you never know." The next moment, a wand was pushed against the base of his throat as his eyes started bulging. "Water. One bottle." The girl repeated. "Or should I find it myself?"

The barman backed away from her, massaging his neck with one hand, and handed out one bottle of water to her. His leeriness was gone, Draco noticed as he witnessed the entire incident.

The girl opened the bottle and started drinking from it thirstily, managing to finish half of it in one go. Then she downed the rest of the water on her head, and it ran down her face, down her neck, wetting her sweaty top further, making it cling to her even more suggestively.

Draco's eyes followed the little rivulets of water, and he suddenly felt thirsty, wanting to lick them with his tongue, and her skin with it. His eyes traveled lower, and he could make out the outline of her lacy bra through her wet top, and felt a shudder go through him. Lower still, and her flat abdomen and curvy waist, slick with sweat, seemed to invite him to put his hands round her and pull her to him. And now that she was so close, he could see the ornament that she wore on her belly button; a small ring, on which dangled a small chain that ended in a bolt of lightning. Draco suddenly wanted to know how it would taste in his mouth. Stop it, man, he raged at himself suddenly. Stop behaving like an idiot who has never seen a girl before. But he had never seen a girl before who was so confident with her sexuality.

Draco closed his mouth consciously, and turned to look at the barman instead. The barman had not been able to discipline himself like Draco, however, and was standing there with his mouth hanging open, staring at the girl as though struck with lightning. The girl noticed this, and flicked the empty bottle at him, which spun around a couple of times in the air before lodging itself neck-first in the man's gormless mouth, making him gag.

Draco burst out laughing at the man. This was a girl with attitude, he decided. A girl worthy of being known by a Malfoy. He fell into step with her as she turned to go back to the dance floor.

"That was cool. The wretched man was asking for it, anyway. By the way, I am Dr…" But he was cut off by the girl who spoke without looking at him.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Head Boy of Hogwarts, Slytherin Prince and Devil Incarnate." Her voice remained impassive.

Draco was pleased that the girl knew him. At least knew about him. Maybe she went to Hogwarts. But he was surprised how he could have missed her. Maybe she was a sibling or cousin to someone who went to Hogwarts. She didn't seem too friendly, but he was not unduly bothered. After all, he was not Hogwarts Sex God for nothing.

He tried again. "I didn't catch your name..."

"Could be because I didn't throw it." The girl's voice was dry.

Draco felt slightly rattled at the girl's unresponsiveness. Okay, one last time.

"I've never seen you around. Are you…" But again, the girl cut him off. This time she stopped and looked him squarely in the eye, and Draco felt she looked vaguely familiar.

"Well, since you are never able to see the snitch either in time, I am not really surprised. Have a good day, or whatever's left of it." With that, the girl disappeared among the dancers.

Draco was furious at being insulted. He took his wounded ego back to the bar counter and downed his firewhisky in one go. The bitch, he thought viciously. What does she think of herself, anyway! And who is she, thinking she can talk like that to THE Draco Malfoy! And that bit about his never seeing the snitch on time hurt. Heck, he had always got the snitch, except of course whenever they were playing against Gryffindor. He suddenly wanted to crack Potter's skull open with his bare hands. Yes, he thought savagely, that would feel good.

Inspite of blood pumping in his head because of her, Draco couldn't help his eyes wandering in her direction again. He spotted her at once. This time she was dancing with her back to him, moving sinuously with the music. Draco admired the way her butt moved with the music, and saw an over-eager boy push towards her. Draco recognized him…a sixth year Ravenclaw. The boy was dancing deliberately close to her, making sure he bumped into her a couple of times. The third time, he put a hand oh-so-casually on her butt, and the next instant, the girl turned around and kneed him.

Ooof! Draco winced as he saw, that must've hurt. Hope the boy remains a boy after that! He was still down on the floor, doubled up in pain and clutching his crotch. The girl had gone back to dancing, and the rest of the boys around her had pushed away even more than before. Wonder who else had got the same treatment before I got here, Draco sniggered. His mood had improved considerably since the incident, as he reflected with some satisfaction that his humiliation had been totally private and thankfully, not so physical. He looked at the girl regretfully. He would've loved to make a move on her, but then, he reasoned with himself, he had to think about the future generations of Malfoys. They were all depending on him, he smirked.

A/N: A dramatic chapter, wouldn't you say? Anyways, to all those who have reviewed, thank you so much, please keep doing it. To all those who haven't, well, whats stopping you? Just drop a line and win my eternal gratitude. :-)