Disclaimer: You know the drill, none of its mine. Just the silly plot.

A/N: Thanks to those of you that are still reading... adding me to your alerts and favorites list, and a special thank you to the few of you who are reviewing. Really, I wish you could all see how happy it makes me to get those emails. It's a little pathetic now that I think about it... Also, I wanted to tell you all that if there is something in particular you would like to see happen in this story, let me know. I can't promise that I can make it work, but if I can fit it in- I will!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

When I woke up, at first I couldn't figure out why all my muscles felt so tight, why every tiny movement caused my body to tense. And then, a smooth, muscular arm tightened around my bare abdomen and I smiled, remembering.

I stretched my legs out and blushed slightly as I realized that I was still completely naked. I didn't even remember getting under the covers, and I certainly didn't remember cleaning myself up but… Draco must have. I smiled again and turned myself around in his arms so that I was facing him.

He was still asleep… his mouth opened slightly, hair falling in his eyes, his head tilted towards me. I could definitely get used to waking up to that.

I wasn't sure what time it was, but the sun was streaming in through the small window above the bed so I knew we needed to be getting up pretty soon. I looked at Draco for just a moment more then cupped my hand around his cheek and tapped his fingers lightly on his face. He flinched slightly, but otherwise didn't move. I leaned in towards him and blew in his ear.

"Draaa-co" I said, my mouth almost touching his skin. He squeezed his eyes tight and formed his mouth in a small pout. I giggled and tickled him softly.

"It's time to wake uuupppp." I sing songed. I kissed him lightly on the lips and then hopped out of bed quickly, scurrying over to grab up my clothes. I scooped them up in my arms and knelt down near the front of the bed, completely out of sight, to put them on.

I adjusted my bra and went to grab my knickers, but they weren't there. I shrugged and pulled my skirt on, not bothering to zip it and shoved my arms through my shirt.

"Hermione?" Draco said sleepily.

I stood up and turned to see him half-sitting on the bed, looking around. When I popped up, he frowned.

"What were you doing? Come back to bed." He said, lazily patting the spot beside him.

"Can't" I said smiling at him as I reached behind me to zip my skirt, "We have to go to class." I got down on my knees and looked under the bed.

"You're weird in the morning" He said, yawning, sounding slightly amused. "What are you doing now?"

"I don't understand.. Where could they have gone?" I muttered to myself as I stood up and glanced around me.

"Where what could have gone?" He asked, sitting up and swinging his legs off the bed. I turned in time to see him pulling his boxers on. I blushed slightly and diverted my gaze and he chuckled.

"What's the matter?" He asked teasingly, reaching his arm out and snaking it around my waist "You've seen me more naked than this." He smirked at me and pulled me down in his lap.

"We really have to go to class. I don't even know what time it is, but I'm sure we are running late." I whined, turning to kiss him once before standing up.

"Fine" He groaned, as he stood up and grabbed his jeans off the floor.

"I can't find my knickers." I said, sighing.

He laughed. Loudly.

"What is so funny about that?" I asked him, incredulously, placing my hands on my hips. That just caused him to laugh even more.

"You. Just look. So… serious." He managed to get out.

"I am serious." I insisted.

He took a step towards me and wound his arms around my waist. I tried to squirm away from him but he held me close and tried to slide his hand up my skirt.

"You mean you aren't wearing anything under here?" He mused, still laughing softly.

I slapped him playfully on the head and stepped away from him.

"Draco, we really have to go and I can't imagine that you want me to walk around all day with nothing under my skirt any more than I do." I reasoned, trying to work my face into a pout. He considered it for a minute and then narrowed his eyes at me before reaching around me. He pulled my knickers off of the bed post and twirled them around his finger.

I snatched them away and looked at him pointedly.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"I have to put them on." I said, motioning for him to turn around.

He looked at me like I had five heads and muttered "So modest all of a sudden." Before picking his shirt up off the floor and turning around to put it on.

Once I was completely dressed, I sat down in the floor and started pulling my shoes and socks on.

"What time do you think it is?" I asked, looking up at him

He picked his wand up, twirled it once, muttered a quick incantation, and a huge clock appeared in the air.

"About half past seven" He said, stepping into his shoes as the clock began to fade into thin air.

So I could change clothes or eat breakfast, but I wouldn't have time to do both.

Draco looked at me briefly before looking down at his jeans and t shirt and said "I'll have to go change."

I nodded at him. So that settled it. I was prepared to brave the gossiping throngs of the Dining Hall, but I wasn't prepared to do it without him.

"Let's go." I said, smiling, reaching my hand out to him. He took it in his and smiled back at me.

By the time I stepped through the door into the Gryffindor common room, everyone was at breakfast and it was completely empty. I hurried up the stairs to my room, threw my closet door open and looked in the mirror.

Wow. I looked…well, I wasn't exactly sure. My first instinct was the think that I looked terrible. My hair was in total disarray, I could only be thankful that I hadn't passed anyone on my way up. There was mascara smudged under my eyes, faint red lines crossing my right cheek, and my clothes were completely wrinkled.

Still, I thought I looked kind of pretty- just not in the typical way. Sure, I could have been mistaken for a homeless person, but I would have been a very happy homeless person. My cheeks were tinted a light pink, my eyes were bright, and I couldn't stop smiling. Despite my hair, makeup, and clothes… I was glowing.

I rolled my eyes for even thinking the word "glowing" and went to work. I stripped out of my clothes, flicked my wrist and muttered "perluo". I really didn't like cleaning myself by magic, I preferred to shower the "normal" way, but there just wasn't time.

Once I had put on my knickers and a bra, I stepped back into my closet and grabbed the first skirt my hands fell on, yanked it on quickly, and pulled a white button down shirt off a hanger.

I was almost out the door when I forgot about my tie. I glanced around my room, finally saw it hanging on my chair, and pulled it on quickly before throwing my bag over my shoulder and running out the door.

I had really hoped I would have a chance to talk to Ginny before I saw anyone else, but realistically, that just wasn't possible.

Fortunately, or unfortunately- I hadn't decided yet, my first class was with Draco.

Not only did I not know how everyone was going to react, I didn't even know for sure if everyone knew. Maybe Ginny hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Harry and Ron about it, or maybe they hadn't even cared.

Either way, I had to know what I was up against, so I took a deep breath and stepped out of the door from Gryffindor tower, turned the corner, and made my way down to the main floor of the castle.. As soon as I got down the stairs, my question was answered.

My feet hit the floor just as most of the students starting filing out of the Great Hall. They came out in pairs and groups, and they were all talking excitedly. Still, it was as if every single one of them sensed my presence. They all stopped talking and turned to look at me. I paused mid-step, completely unsure of what to do. I stared ahead and my gaze was met with dozens of shocked faces. My classmates gawked at me with the mouths open and their eyes wide. Several people nudged or poked someone around them, and after the longest few seconds of my life, everyone seemed to start whispering all at once and walked very quickly past me.

I had known this was coming, so why did I suddenly want to run back to my room and hide under the covers? I turned sharply and was about to do just that when someone caught my arm. I looked up, expecting to see Harry or Ron glaring down at me, or maybe one of Draco's doting fans preparing to deck me.

I was wrong. My eyes fell on his face and I smiled gratefully.

"I thought you might want to walk to class together." Draco said, smiling at me.

I stepped up to the next step so that I was standing right beside him, and allowed my weight to slump against him.

I tried to tell him what I had been about to do, but my voice was muffled against the fabric of his shirt.

"You were what?" He asked, chuckling softly as he ran his hand up and down my back.

I leaned away from him and tilted my face up to look at him.

"I was about to go hide under the covers." I said meekly, lowering my eyes.

"Already embarrassed of me?" He asked teasingly, bumping his hip into mine as he took my hand and began leading me the rest of the way down the stairs and down the corridor.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know that's not it." I shook my head, remembering the looks on everyone's faces. "You should have seen the way they looked at me, like… I don't even know what."

He laughed softly and squeezed my hand. "It's because they know you're shagging me and they're all just jealous." He said, grinning down at me.

I stopped and turned to look at him.

"How would they know that?" I demanded, looking at him harshly. "How could they know, it just happened last night. Are you already telling people?" I could feel my face getting hot as I glared up at him expectantly.

Draco looked back at me with a curious expression on his face.

"What?" He asked, a trace of laughter in his voice.

I stared back at him, so he thought this was a joke?

The humor his face and his expression softened as he looked at me, clearly able to see that I wasn't kidding. "It was a joke." He said simply "I was trying to lighten the mood, but I can see now that you aren't in the mood. I'm sorry." He held his hands up in the air as if he were surrendering and looked at me carefully, trying to gage my reaction.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes. He was right. It wasn't his fault I was already in a bad mood.

I looked up at him and offered him a feeble attempt at a smile. I took his hand back in mine and continued our way down the hall. As we got closer to the classrooms on the main floor, we started passing people in the hallway- people staring, people whispering, people coming to a complete stop as we passed.

I gritted my teeth and held Draco's hand tighter, reminding myself that I had known this would happen and that it would all be over soon. Still, I couldn't help but think it would only get worse before it got better. After all, we still hadn't gone to class yet, and I hadn't even seen the people I dreaded most.

I began slowing my pace as we neared the classroom, so that by the time we reached the door I was at a complete standstill. Draco looked down at me, a smirk crossing his face.

"Ready?"

I shook my head and tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Hermione" He said, drawling my name out slowly, "We have to go in."

"Nope." I said, stubbornly, shaking my head "We could skip class." I smiled up at him hopefully.

"Hermione Granger wanting to skip class? What has this world come to?" He asked, mockingly, grinning down at me.

"Come on" I said, coyly, "I'm sure we can find something better to do." I smiled at him in a way that I hoped was flirtatious, and tried to pull him away from the door. He didn't budge.

"Nice try" He said, pulling me back towards him. He leaned down so that his mouth was right at me ear, and somewhere in the back of my mind I registered the fact that no one in the hallway was talking, or moving… maybe not even breathing anymore. They all just stared. "There is nothing I would love more than spending all day with you…" He paused and ran his hand slowly down my back "preferably in bed." He finished, blowing lightly in my ear. My stomach flip-flopped and my knees felt like they were made of jelly. I inhaled sharply and tried to pull away from him, but he held me in place. "But we really, really have to go to class. If we hide, it will never get better." He looked at me for a moment and then shifted his gaze and looked around us at the semi-circle of our classmates that had formed around us.

He raised one of his eyebrows and formed his mouth into a scowl. People immediately turned around, looked at the ceiling, and generally made bad attempts at looking casual.

Draco dragged me through the door into the empty classroom. How odd that no one was in here yet… but then, I guess they were all in the hall staring at us. I rolled my eyes and continued to let Draco pull me towards the back of the classroom. He came to a stop at the table in the back corner and pulled my chair out for me. I lowered myself into it and laid my head on the desk.

I sat like there for a few moments, listening to the sounds of my classmates getting settled in their seats and of their whispers- no doubt about me. I looked up at Draco and frowned.

"It will get better you know." He said, smiling at me. "Once Professor Flitwick comes in, he wont allow them to turn and stare at us… or whisper during class. It won't be so bad."

I nodded slowly "I guess you're right." My voice sounded unconvincing, even to me.

I looked up at the door just in time to see Harry and Ron walk in. They both looked fit to be tide. I rested my hand on Draco's knee and squeezed. He glanced at me briefly and followed my stare to where Harry and Ron had come to a complete stop just inside the classroom and were glaring at us.

Without shifting his gaze or changing his expression, Draco spoke through his teeth "You don't think they'll pull anything in class, do you?"

"I don't think so." I muttered back. But, I couldn't be sure. I bit down on my lip hard as I realized that I couldn't be positive what they would do. I felt like I didn't even know them anymore. Draco obviously saw them as capable of causing a problem for us and I couldn't even argue with him. A sad feeling rushed through my stomach and I lowered my eyes to look at the table as they started making their way to a desk on the opposite side of the room.

Class finally got underway and people were forced to stop staring and whispering. I took my notes silently, glancing up at Draco a few times when I felt his gaze on me. He offered me a weak smile, but I could tell there was something on his mind- just as he could probably tell about me. I wondered if maybe he was regretting the whole thing. Maybe now that he saw how it was really going to be, he had decided it wasn't worth it.

Or was that really what I was thinking?

I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and refocused on taking notes.

Somewhere along the way, though, I lost concentration again because before I knew it, Draco was brushing his fingers lightly across my face and saying my name softly. I shivered and looked up at him, confused.

"Daydreaming?" He asked. His voice was casual, but the concerned look on his face gave him away.

I smiled up at him and, noticing that the class was completely empty except for us, stood up and grabbed my books.

"This is harder than you thought." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

I nodded but didn't say anything.

"It will get better." He said, and then smirked at me before adding "It can't get worse."

"Don't say that." I groaned, leaning against him as we walked up the stairs, more slowly that we should have been considering we were late.

"What class do you have next, anyway?" I asked.

"Divination." He said, rolling his eyes.

I chuckled softly, thinking once again how glad I was that I had dropped that class. We reached the top of the stairs and he stopped.

"And so, this is where I leave you." He said, dramatically, forming his mouth into a firm line and staring at me with his piercing grey eyes.

I bit my lip and looked at the ground, embarrassed at being upset that I couldn't go with him. I hated divination, but still…. Going to Ancient Runes alone and subjecting myself to the stares and whispers of my classmates without him suddenly seemed worse than the pointless babbling of Professor Trelawny.

"Hey now" He said, pulling my into a hug and squeezing me tightly. "I'm not going off to war. I'll see you at lunch."

I laughed into his chest and rolled my eyes at myself. He was right. I was being ridiculous.

"I know." I said, pulling myself away from him and trying to smile. "I'm being silly. I'll be okay, this morning has just been … weird."

I squeezed his hand tightly once and then turned away from him and went to class.

Ancient Runes wasn't as bad as charms had been. For one thing, there weren't as many students in there. For another, I think part of the shock had warn off and at least a few people were sick of talking about me, and as much as I hated to admit it… it seemed to make it better than Draco and I weren't together.

The rest of the day passed much the same way. I felt like I was on a mental and emotional roller coaster. I dreaded going to class because Draco wouldn't be there; I dreaded going to lunch because he would. By the time my last class got out for the day, all I could think about was taking a long, hot bath and trying to catch a quick nap. I caught up with Draco before I went to the Prefect's bathroom and told him I would see him at supper. He looked me over carefully, as if he was trying to read my thoughts, and I tried my best to put on a happy face for him.

I took my time in the bath tub, allowing the hot water to work the tightness out of my muscles, and hopefully my mind. I stretched my legs out fully and winced at the pain that shot through my thighs. I smiled to myself, remembering what had caused it. Could it be possible that it was just last night? It suddenly seemed like days ago.

When I made it back to the Gryffindor common room, I had to absolutely force myself to go through the door. I knew people would be in there, doing homework, talking, wasting time before supper. I was afraid they would say something to me, and I was afraid that they wouldn't.

I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and muttered the password through gritted teeth. As I stepped through the entry way into the common room, several heads turned towards me and eyes widened, but no one said a word. I glanced around the room and saw Harry and Ron playing chess in the corner. Ron was glaring at me fiercely, and Harry seemed to be murmering something to him. Probably trying to keep him from killing me, I thought.

I turned and walked purposefully towards the staircase. I was almost there when someone called my name. I turned around quickly, surprised. I hadn't realized it, but I wasn't used to anyone but Draco, Ginny, and the professors saying my name. Not lately.

When I saw who was culprit was, a range of emotions coursed through me. I felt relieved, and hopeful, and nervous, and… as much as I hated it, I felt scared.

I tried twice to swallow the lump in my throat before giving up and resorting to talking around it.

"Harry." I finally managed to choke out.

"Hi, Hermione." He was staring at the floor and shifting his weight from side to side, something I recognized from being around him many times when he was nervous.

I waited for him to say something else. Afterall, he was the one who came up to me, but he just stood there, awkwardly. Whatever he had to say couldn't be worse than just standing here staring at the floor and ceiling while everyone else stared at us.

"So…" I said, finally.

Harry took a deep breath and looked at me, square in the eye. I wanted to look away but I forced myself to hold his gaze.

"Hermione," He said, looking incredibly uncomfortable. For the first time, I realized how hard this must have been for him. As much as I didn't understand it, he had seen my friendship with Draco as a personal betrayal, and he had just found out it was much worse than he had imagined. At least he was trying to talk to me. The least I could do was make it a little bit easier for him.

I offered him a weak smile and inclined my head towards him slightly, hoping to encourage him to go on.

"Look," He said, with a sound of determination in his voice, "I only came over hear to tell you that Ron is threatening to kill Malfoy. Not that I would necessarily care, but I thought you at least had a right to know. I don't think he will actually do anything, but at this point… " He trailed off and I looked at him with confusion written all over my face. He couldn't be serious?

"I just don't know." He continued "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I wouldn't be surprised if he started firing hexes at him down the hall."

I nodded at him slowly, unsure of what to say. He looked up at me for a moment, and then glanced back over his shoulder. I followed his gaze and saw Ron staring angrily out the window. Harry looked back at me and shook his head.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Harry. This doesn't have to be about choosing. I didn't choose him over you." I said, knowing all along they were probably wasted words.

"You did choose, Hermione. And what makes it even worse…. is that you did it without realizing the choice you were making."