Fact 1: Harry Potter is written by JK Rowling

Fact 2: I am not her

Conclusion: It isn't mine

A/N: First of all, I haven't said so in the past couple of chapters I don't think- but thank you to all of you who are reading this, and especially to those of you who are reviewing. Before I started writing this I never believed when authors said how much the reviews meant to them, but really... they make me smile, so thank you :)

Also, I just wanted to give a heads up that this is the chapter that warranted the M rating. Its nothing too terrible, but I wanted to let you all know. I hope you like it!

A week passed before I got up the courage to ask Draco. I knew I had to ask him before our relationship could go any further- in any sense, but that didn't keep me from putting it off. I just spent as much time with him as I could, and tried to tell myself that if it didn't work out, I could be happy with that. I knew, though, deep down that I was lying to myself. Each day that I spent with him, I fell a little further down the rabbit hole. Our relationship was beginning to change, though. We felt more comfortable around one another, and as a result of that stopped being on our best behavior. He had no reservations about coming to meet me fresh from quiddich practice, absolutely covered in sweat and too often, I snapped at him because he interrupted me while I was doing home work.. His arrogance would clash with my sarcasm, and our sharp tongues would take over, sending us into an all-out yelling match. Still, we always got past it.

When it came right down to it… even when he made me furious, even when I was so angry that I couldn't even see straight… I was still happier with him than I was anywhere else, and that offered me a lot of comfort in the times that I sat at lunch all by myself, and went through entire school days without talking to anyone but my professors and Ginny. Some things in life are just worth it.

It was in the midst of our most recent fight that I realized something. Something I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of before.

"You know what my favorite part of all this is, Hermione?" Draco said through his teeth, his grey eyes narrowed at me. "My absolutely favorite part is that you are so quick to judge me and the people I hang out with… my housemates. You love to think that we are the ones that are so selfish, so absolutely self centered that we don't ever think about anyone else or how our actions effect others, and yet… which one of us is it that almost no one in their house will even speak to? Which of us has gone the past couple of weeks without so much as a word from our "best friends?" He spat the last words at me, and I felt as if I had been slapped.

"At least I had friends to begin with" I spat back at him "You said so yourself that you didn't… that you never have. I guess I can't really blame them for not wanting to be your friends. Your parents don't leave a whole lot to the imagination as to how you will turn out, do they? Loyalty means nothing when the only thing you are loyal to is the all-mighty dark lord." I knew I had crossed a line. I knew before I said it, but I didn't care. He had crossed a line, as well. He knew how hurt I was over the fact that Harry and Ron had still shown no interest in forgiving me. In their eyes, my friendship with Draco was the ultimate betrayal, completely unforgivable and they remained totally unwavering in that stance.

"Maybe you are right. Wait…. What am I saying? You are always bloody right. But what I wonder, little miss know-it-all, is if you are so disgusted by me and what you know I will become, why waste your time on me?"

As usual, I lost my resolve and didn't want to fight anymore. I couldn't even remember why we started in the first place. I lowered my eyes, and bit my lip as I stared at the floor.

And that's when it hit me. As I was running the words we had just said to one another through my mind, something hit me like a ton of bricks… the one thought that I kept pushing to the back of my mind, refusing to think about: his dad, Voldermort. Why weren't they telling us anything? Had we even heard from this this week?

"Draco," I said cautiously, looking up at him nervously.

"What?" He asked, his frustration still very evident in his tone.

"Can we stop fighting now? I need to ask you something."

He grinned at me lazily and then patted the spot on the floor next to him. I crossed the floor and sat back in the spot I had been in before all the bickering started. I crossed my legs underneath me and turned to face him.

"Draco," I began again, mentally trying to convince myself not to panic until I at least gave him a chance to explain. "What's been going on with… with your dad?" I asked, looking at him hopefully.

He hesitated, and looked at me a little sadly before answering, and I knew it wasn't going to be good. He was keeping something from me…. No doubt trying to protect me, even though I had told him numerous times that I only needed protecting from myself and my runaway mind.

Draco saw the worried look on my face and tried to smile. "Its not bad." He said, and then reconsidered "Well, its not terrible." He amended. "I actually haven't heard from him." He said, quietly, his eyes no longer meeting mine.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I had not been expecting that.

I opened my mouth to speak, but his words came out first.

"It's been two weeks since I had any correspondence with him." He said, calmly, taking a deep breath before continuing "I didn't say anything because I knew you would assume the worst. I knew you would ask eventually… I was just letting you enjoy your ignorance as long as you could." He said with a shrug.

"Its okay. I mean, its not okay. Its clearly not okay, I just mean… I'm not mad at you. I thought last week, you said…" I didn't really know what else to say. He hadn't heard from his dad at all. What could that possibly mean?

"I know I shouldn't have lied. I honestly thought there was just something wrong with the owl, and that I would get it the next day saying that everything was okay. But hey, no news is good news, right?" Draco asked, hopefully, trying to lighten the mood, and nudged my leg with his foot playfully.

"I don't know." I answered, my voice coming out completely flat. "I'm still trying to process it. What do you think it means? I mean… he's your dad, shouldn't you know what he's-" I cut off when the expression on his face changed. I didn't want him to think I was comparing him to his dad by assuming that he would understand something about him. I had found out more than once that when it came to discussing Draco and his father's relationship, it was best not to make any assumptions. His own insecurities about turning out just like his dad had caused him jump to some pretty far-fetched conclusions in the past.

"What I mean, is, you've lived with him your whole life. Do you have any idea as to why he stopped contacting you? Is it good… is it bad… it is normal… unusual?"

Draco smiled at me and rolled his eyes slightly, clearly realizing that I was being very careful about what I said on the subject.

"I wish I knew. It could be that he just doesn't have anything to say, although after all the letters he sent that basically said nothing, I doubt that's the case. It could be that something has happened and he is somehow not in the position to send me an owl. It could be that he is angry at me for some reason and wants to make me sweat. Or, it could be that something has happened and he doesn't want to admit to me that something with the plan went wrong." He took a deep breath and looked at something over my shoulder. "I've thought about it a million times, and I can't narrow it down any further than that. Maybe, if we are really lucky, they have figured out a way to do it without us and think its best to leave us out of it completely." He said, shrugging, and shifted his gaze back to my face.

"Or maybe they just gave it up all together." I said, forcing a fake smile on my face.

"I kind of doubt that's it, but we can definitely hope."

"I'll cross my fingers." I said quietly, repositioning myself so that I was leaning my back against the side of his body. I took his wrist in my hand and slung his arm around me.

He made a show of crossing his fingers and said "I'm crossing my toes, too."

I laughed and crossed my fingers as well. I tried to cross my toes, but it wasn't working. My shoes were in the way.

"My toes wont cross." I whined.

"You must be deformed, then."

I elbowed him in the ribs and he flinched.

"I am not deformed! My shoes are in the way." I said, defensively.

Draco laughed at me and shrugged me off of him. "That can be fixed." He said, easily, shifting himself so that he was sitting next to my legs. He turned me around by my ankles and pulled my feet into his lap. He yanked my shoes off and tossed them to the side.

He pulled both my socks off and ran his finger up the bottom of my foot. A shudder went through my entire body, and I forgot that I was supposed to be crossing my toes. I tried to pull my feet away from him, but he had a firm grip. He smirked at me and said "Don't think so"

He trailed his finger along the tops of my toes and then down the back of foot. He paused for a second and seemed to be considering something. Then, putting one foot on each side of him, he pulled me towards him a little so that he was sitting between my legs. I bit my lip as I watched him, completely transfixed and totally clueless as to what he was doing. He took one foot in his hand and placed it on his shoulder and he ran his hands down my leg, from my ankle to my thigh where my skirt had become much shorter due to the position of my leg.

I inhaled sharply and his eyes came up to meet mine. In what looked like one smooth movement, he let my foot slide off his shoulder, brought himself to his knees, and hovered over me, his body just inches above mine, his hands on either side of my head.

I licked my lips, expecting his mouth to come down over mine, but he didn't move. He just stopped there, right above me, looking at me. I allowed my eyes to look over him, and then focused my eyes on his. The look in his eye was different than I had ever seen. The usual pale silver orbs had turned deep, smoldering grey. They pierced through me, causing me to catch my breath. I leaned up to kiss him just as he leaned down to do the same thing. Our lips crashed, molding together with force and fury.

Our tongues swirled together, fighting for dominance. He bit my lip lightly and I groaned into his mouth. He pulled his mouth away from mine and I tilted my head back, giving him better access to my throat. He ran his tongue down the length of it and I felt my breath hitch. He trailed light kisses along my collar bone, just underneath the collar of my white button-down shirt.

He moved his mouth back up to meet mine and kissed me passionately, his lips pressing hard against mine as his hand slowly undid the buttons on my shirt from the bottom up. This was usually where I stopped him, but I couldn't find the energy… or the motivation. His hands felt so good on my skin. This was the happiest place in the word for me, and it was getting more and more difficult to leave it.

My shirt fell open and he once again, moved his mouth down my neck. He kissed my chest, right between my breasts, and ran his finger just underneath the bottom of my bra. He raised up slightly, and looked at me, probably looking for hesitation. There was none to be found. He saw my front teeth biting into my bottom lip. He saw my eyes yearning for him. He saw my breath coming in ragged pants, but he didn't see hesitation.

His eyes moved across my face, down my neck, finally settling on my chest. After one sharp intake of breath, he lowered himself back down and nuzzled his face into my neck. He started kissing the curve of my neck slowly, sucking lightly. His arm tightened around my back and he lifted me up slightly. He pressed me up against his body and I tightened my arms around my neck, holding myself there. Still propping himself up with one of his forearms, he used his other hand to unhook my bra strap and lowered me back down to the floor.

My bra, only on by the straps, hung loosely on my body. Slowly, he lowered the straps down my arms and tossed the bra to the side. He eyes raked across my now-bare chest and he inhaled sharply, and closed his eyes. I took the opportunity to slide my hands further up his shirt, and lift it above his head. I ran my hand down the length of his chest and abdomen, and hooked my fingers in the waist band of his jeans.

Draco opened his eyes, and placed one hand on my right breast, just cupping it at first and then kneading it slightly. I closed my eyes and felt my breath start coming more quickly. His hand stopped moving on my breast for a second, and I waited, too content to open my eyes to see what he was doing. And then, I felt his mouth come down on my left breast, planting small kisses all along it. He closed his mouth down over my taught nipple and he sucked on it, swirling his tongue around the tip. At the same time, he lightly pinched the nipple on my other breast. Both sensations simultaneously caused me to groan loudly. I shivered all over, and wiggled underneath him.

I opened my eyes just in time to see Draco close his. He groaned in frustration, and raised up, lifting himself off of me. He leaned back against one of the pillars that ran across the room.

He muttered "Fuck, Hermione" and covered his eyes with his hand. I was suddenly very embarrassed. Not only because I wasn't wearing anything above my skirt, but also because I didn't know what I had done wrong.

I reached over beside me to get my shirt, and pulled it on, buttoning a couple of the buttons as I sat myself up and tried to slow my breathing. I had planned on just waiting him out… giving him some time and letting him tell me what was wrong when he was ready, but my impatience won out and I couldn't take it anymore.

"Draco, what-" He looked up at me and the expression on his face stopped me. He had the same look in his eye I had noticed earlier, just more intense. He looked like he was about to pounce on me. I shiver ran down my back.

Draco ran his hand across his brow, and spoke before I got the chance to figure out what to say.

"I'm sorry" He said, his voice strained "I shouldn't have let it go that far; I got carried away."

I sighed in relief that he wasn't mad at me and crawled over to sit next to him.

"Don't be sorry." I said softly, threading my fingers through his. "Its my job to stop you, remember?" I said, smirking at him.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him, pretty sure I knew what he was about to say.

"I know you aren't pressuring me. I don't feel pressured. I want you, Draco, I just want to wait until" I didn't know how to continue. I knew it was my fault that I wasn't ready. I wanted to be sure about how he felt about me. I wanted us to be a real couple, not having to hide to be together. And I wasn't even giving him the opportunity to reassure me.

"I think we need to talk." I said, quietly, looking at the floor.

When he didn't say anything, I glanced up at him. He looked worried and slightly sad. I smiled at him weakly, trying to reassure him that it wasn't anything bad.

"For any relationship to work there has to big two key things, trust and communication." I said, and immediately wondered where it had came from.

He nodded at me slowly and furrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused.

"There's been something I've been worried about lately, and I haven't wanted to ask you about it. I was afraid that when I asked you, you would get upset with me or I wouldn't like your answer. And I've been too happy lately… I just couldn't bring myself to ruin it." I said sadly, tightening my grip on his hand.

"Whatever it is, whatever I've done… you can ask me about it." Why did he always assume he had done something wrong? Was that his go-to solution to everything- it was his fault?

I shook my head and continued. "You haven't done anything. There's not even anything wrong, not really. It's just that, all of this kind of happened so fast and it came completely out of nowhere, you know? I didn't really give myself a chance to process it. After all of this started happening, I wouldn't let myself think about it, I didn't want to. I just wanted to just float through it, being happy and giddy. I wanted to enjoy myself for as long as I could. I guess I didn't really think it would last. I thought it was just a fleeting attraction, and that soon, I would come off of this high and we would go back to the real world." I paused and shrugged at him, hoping I was making more sense than I thought I was. He looked back at me, a look of concentration crossing his perfect features. He was trying really hard to understand.

"And now…" I took a deep breath and willed myself to say what I was afraid to.. What I knew I had to. "I know this isn't just some random fling, at least not for me. I've let myself think about it, and its more than just something fun to do to fill time. At least, for me it is." I said the last part quietly, and dropped my eyes to look at the carpet. This was it- the moment of truth.

"I'm afraid I don't see the problem, Hermione. Are you upset because you've started to care for me?" He asked, and I could hear the hesitation in his voice. He didn't like asking that question any more than I wanted to ask mine.

I looked up at him and smiled.

"Upset is the last thing it makes me feel. I'm perfectly happy, really I am." I paused when I saw the skeptical look on his face and my smile widened. "I know I don't sound happy right now, but it's just because I'm nervous. I told you, I've been putting this off for a while."

"Putting what off exactly?" He asked carefully, almost like he was afraid of the answer.

"I just need to know that you feel the same way. That you aren't just being with me because it's something different… a way to fight off boredom." I said quietly, and the look on his face made me regret it instantly. He looked almost horrified.

He pulled away from me slightly and looked at me carefully.

"You think I'm just doing this because I'm bored?" He asked, his voice rising. "Because, I assure you Hermione, I've been bored thousands of time throughout my life and I've never gotten involved in a relationship that could cut my ties with my family to ward it off."

I bit my lip to try to keep from crying, but a tear still managed to escape. I shouldn't have asked. His face softened when he saw that I was upset and he pulled me closer, cradling my head against his chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I guess I just assumed that since I knew how I felt about you, you should know to. Please don't cry."

I nodded into his chest and murmured "I'm sorry, too."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I don't know… just am." I said, shrugging.

He chuckled softly and said "You're silly."

We sat there for a little while, neither of us saying anything. I felt like all the weight I had been carrying on my shoulders had suddenly been lifted. I didn't feel scared of nervous any more. I wasn't sure how I was going to tell everyone about our relationship, but that didn't seem to matter so much now. Then I remembered something I had thought about before. What if I didn't tell them? What if I let someone else do it for me? I smiled to myself as I thought about it, and sat up, leaning against Draco's side rather than his chest. He looked at me expectantly.

"I have an idea." I said, grinning at him. He raised an eyebrow, and smirked at me.

"I have a few ideas myself." He said slyly, his eyes running down my body.

I elbowed him in the ribs and rolled my eyes.

"Not that kind of idea." He chuckled and smiled at me.

"You know how you told me to be thinking about when and how I wanted to tell everyone about us?" I asked. He nodded. "So, I told Ginny, kind of testing the waters," I continued. He nodded again. I had already told him about my conversation with Ginny- leaving out the part where I asked her for advice about him. I wasn't so sure he would appreciate that part.

"Well, I got to thinking that maybe we could kind of let her tell everyone for us." He raised an eyebrow at me but didn't say anything so I continued. "Think about it, she could tell some of her friends, they would tell other people, and so on and so on. In a couple of days the whole castle would know and we wouldn't even have to say a word."

He seemed to contemplate it for a minute and then looked at my skeptically "But then it will seem like we were still trying to hide it, won't it?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Does it really matter? Besides, we don't have to wait until everyone knows to start acting like we are together. Just whatever day she starts telling people, we can let people start seeing us holding hands or something. I just don't think it has to be a big deal- like this big announcement or something."

He laughed lightly and shook his head. "There may not be an announcement, but trust me… it will be a big deal. There's no way around that."

I smiled. He was right. To some people, it would be a very big deal.

"So, when do we start?" He asked, with no sign of hesitation or anxiety in his voice. Wow. We were really going to do this.

I thought for a minute. Probably the sooner the better, like ripping off a band aid or getting in a cold swimming pool- the quicker I did it, the less scared I would get.

"Give me a couple of days" I said "I still need to talk to Ginny. I don't want to rush her, but I'm ready to get the hiding-in-closets part of our relationship over with."