A/n: I am loving the response, this story might not get hundreds of reviews but it'll still be my favorite story.

Chapter14

Hermione felt like screaming at Ron for being so arrogant but then she thought of something better; she moved towards a confused Draco, put an arm around his waist, snuggled and said," Oh Ron, he has already changed that; you see, I am in love with him."

Everyone gaped as Hermione stood on her toes and gave Draco a smothering kiss; Draco was confused as to what Hermione was doing but he was not going to miss the chance of doing what he had always dreamed of doing; kissing Hermione Granger.

When they pulled back to see Ron's face, he had gone pale and looked like he was going to puke or worse, faint. Hermione gave him a triumphed smile and said," Things have changed Ronald, so as I said, stay away from both of us."

She took Draco's hand and walked towards the lifts but then she smirked and turned to see a still stunned Ron and said," How's the blonde from your bedroom?"

There was a collective gasp and everyone started murmuring while Susan ran to catch up with Hermione and asked," What happened between the two of you and who is the blonde you are talking about?"

Hermione could clearly see Susan's confusion and concern and sighed," All in good time Susan, this evening remember. Is Daphne back from her trip to India? Get her to come if you can."

They both hurried to the lift and as soon as the doors closed Draco turned to Hermione and asked," What was that Granger? What the hell just happened? I was going to tell my friends that the article was a lie and that we were not dating, but the display you just gave, no one will believe us. What were you thinking?"

Hermione looked a bit panicked and said," He was standing there and telling me that I could never forget him and love another, I had to do something to put him in the right place. We can tell our close friend the truth other than that just pretend for a few weeks that you are in love with me maybe a few public dinners and if you don't mind, a few kisses. Please Draco this is the last thing I'll ever ask of you."

Hermione gave him the puppy dog eyes and Draco couldn't say no to that face, and the thought of a few more kisses with Hermione made him warm; damn she was a good kisser.

Draco sighed," ok but only for a few weeks, you are going to tamper my dating life."

Hermione looked a bit upset at that so Draco quickly added," Which is great because I hate the unwanted attention that I get from the female population. It is exhausting to be so charming, sexy and rich."

Hermione immediately brightened up and laughed," As I said before; how do you fit that huge ego in your head."

Draco smiled and said," We'll have to practice so that the kisses don't look staged. I am a good actor but I am not sure you can pull it off."

Hermione loved a good challenge; she kept one hand on Draco's chest and pushed him so that he was flat against the wall of the lift. She looked at him from under her eyelashes and said in a seductive voice," I wouldn't be so sure Mr. Malfoy."

She closed the distance between them and brought her lips near his ears while, Draco smelled her neck which looked oh so tempting, and whispered," Gotcha."

Draco looked stunned as Hermione moved away and laughed at his expression," I can be an excellent actor when I want to be. You are so easy to seduce Malfoy."

Draco chuckled," Well I have a weakness for intelligent, sexy Brunettes who are totally kissable."

They both laughed then became silent as they realized that they had been openly flirting. Hermione thought 'this arrangement might not be so bad after all; I get to kiss Draco Malfoy'. She mentally giggled at the thought of the kiss they had had, it had been spontaneous and Hermione wasn't going to pretend that it wasn't one of the best she'd had; he was a good kisser and his plump lips were totally kissable.

Draco's thoughts were less than reputable by this point, the way Hermione had shown her seductive side, he was stunned. She had always been beautiful but now she was HOT in his eyes. The way she had moved and talked had almost given him a hard on. This arrangement would be a lot of fun.

They exited the lift and entered the auror department where she asked the receptionist, Emma," Has harry contacted you about work or anything, I can't get a hold of him."

The kind middle aged woman replied," I am sorry dear, I haven't heard from him yet but he should be back in a day or two. I will let you know as soon as I hear something. Hermione nodded then walked back in the lift followed by Draco. When they entered the Department of Law Enforcement, everyone was still in the same position where they had left them. Hermione strode to her Boss's office, ignoring the whispers and stares. Mr. Ross gave her permission to work from home for some days and Hermione left the Address of her new home with him so that he could send the important documents.

Draco left for his office as he had to deliver the last formality to the Board and Hermione decided to visit Luna in her restaurant and maybe grab some lunch. She apparated outside the club and the manager smiled and told her that Luna would join her in a few minutes.

Five minutes later both Hermione and Luna sat across each other eating their salads. Hermione filled Luna in about the happenings of the day and Luna gaped at her best friend," You did that! Draco must have been shocked and I would have loved to see the look on Ronald's face thou. So whats the deal between You and Draco."

Hermione blushed," well I have convinced him to keep up the charade for a few weeks and maybe we could give each other a few kisses in the public. It's just for a few weeks then we will just tell everyone that it didn't work out."

Luna chuckled," So how was it, kissing Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione blushed but confessed," It was one of the best kiss I have ever had. He is a brilliant kisser and his lips are so plump and kissable."

Luna teased," Somebody has a crush."

Hermione laughed," Well he is charming, funny, handsome and extremely sexy; being a good kisser is just the cherry on top. He's a great friend and easy to talk to, so yeah I guess I like him."

Luna scrutinized Hermione carefully then said," Who said anything about liking; I was talking about a simple crush."

Hermione defended," There is no difference between a crush and liking; they are almost synonymous."

Luna replied," Oh yes there is; there are various stages in feelings like attraction, crush, infatuation, liking and last love. I was talking about the second stage and you jumped right to the fourth one. You have actually started liking him, this changes things."

Hermione mused," Even if there is any sense in your logic behind these stages, how does that changes things between me and Draco."

Luna replied calmly," Now this whole act of being a couple will be real to you; every time he kisses you, you will want more."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders," I don't see the problem here. You are thinking way too much about this; it's no big deal."

Luna gave her a disbelieving look but kept her mouth shut,' I'll have to talk to Blaise about it'. They finished lunch and Hermione ordered some drinks and snacks to be delivered at her home, she reminded Luna that she had to come to their apartment at five in the evening where all her girlfriends were going to get an update on what had transpired.

It was 3:30 pm when she left the club and apparated to her apartment. She found Draco sitting on the couch, reading a mystery novel by Sydney Sheldon. As he saw Hermione approach, he bookmarked the page and closed his book and asked," Where did you go? I was expecting you to be home by the time I returned."

Hermione replied," I went off to Luna's and had lunch with her. I have some girl friends coming this evening so I better get started."

Draco looked a little uneasy but said," About that; I was wondering if I could call some of my friends too; you see, they need an explanation too. I'll can call them at six so that you can give your friends the details and then we can both explain it to my friends."

Hermione thought about it for a minute then replied," I guess that's the best way to deal with it. Who all are coming?"

Draco said," Theodore Nott, Adrian Pucey, Marcus Flint and Blaise."

Hermione mused," I have called Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, Tracey Davis, Padma Patil and Luna so that makes us a total of eleven; I better order some more food." She ran to her room and quickly wrote a note to Luna about the additional food and sent it with Prestel.

They cleaned the living room and brought out wine glasses that Draco's mother had stalked with five bottles of Old red wine. At exact five pm there was a knock on the door and in came Susan Bones, Tracey Davis and Padma Patil. The three girls were totally different in the looks department; where Susan was petite with short Brown hair and green eyes, Padma was curvaceous and tall with Dark Brown eyes and long hair and Tracey was slim with medium length Blonde hair and blue eyes.

Draco greeted them with a," Welcome Ladies" and invited them to the living room where Hermione poured them some wine and they all settled down.

Draco could feel the tension in the room so he excused himself and apparated to Blaise's flat. As soon as Draco left Hermione was showered with questions

"Why didn't you tell us?"

What happened between you and Ron; I thought you loved him."

"You are dating Draco Malfoy?"

"When did you change your apartment?"

Daphne and Luna walked in to the commotion and the noise ceased. Daphne was wearing an Indian outfit and had her hair braided in Indian style. She was about the same height as Hermione and had long blonde hair with pale blue eyes. The questions started again but this time they were directed towards Daphne

"What are you wearing?"

"how was your trip to India?"

"I have a suit just like that."

"there is something on your forehead"

Daphne cleared the throat and everyone became quiet, she said," Namaste, dear friends. My trip was amazing and I am wearing an Indian suit, this thing on my forehead is a called a bindi, Padma I want to see all the Indian outfits you have but for now it's Hermione's time to give us some answers."

Everyone turned to look at Hermione who looked a bit nervous, Luna sat next to her and said," they are your friends; they deserve to know the truth."

In the next half an hour, Hermione told her friends how she had come home early from America to find Ron having sex with a girl in their apartment. She choked with unshed tears when she told them that she had tried to commit suicide, how Draco had saved her and brought her to his apartment, how they had decided to live like roommates till Hermione found a new apartment and the rest of the story. there were abuses directed towards Ron Weasley, scoldings and sympathy towards Hermione and plain admiration towards Draco.

By the end of her story, her friends were in tears and hugged her and scolded her for even thinking about suicide. Soon everyone calmed down and they started asking questions about Draco.

Susan asked," What was the kiss with Draco all about if you guys aren't dating?"

Hermione chuckled," I wanted to give Ron a taste of his own medicine; he stood there telling me that I could never fall in love again and that I would always love him; I had to do something to shut him up."

Padma asked," So there is nothing going on between you and Draco?"

Hermione blushed," We have made a deal that we'll pretend to date for a few weeks just to annoy Ron and I confess that I have a crush on him."

Luna snorted," More like our girl here has started liking him."

Hermione stuttered," Nooo… Umm I don't."

Daphne giggled," You just proved it with your stutter; you stutter only when you are lying."

Tracey smiled," I have heard that he has changed, and I kind of saw it today; No snide remarks, no sneer and no offensive words."

Hermione sighed," So yeah maybe I have started liking him but that doesn't change anything; to him I am just a good friend and nothing more."

Padma mused," Maybe he also likes you; he has helped you so much, maybe he sees you more than a friend."

Luna chuckled," He definitely sees you more than a friend, if you could only see the way he stares at you when you are not looking."

Hermione piped up," You think so?"

The girls chatted some more about Draco then they switched to Daphne's latest trip and soon it was time for the boys to join them. At exact six Draco and Blaise popped in which was followed by a knock on the door. In came Theodore Nott, Marcus Flint and Adrian Pucey; like the girls, they all looked different. Theo was tall and lean with brown hair and chocolate colored eyes; he looked the brooding kind and owned his own business of antique pieces. Marcus was a professional quidditch player so he was tall and muscular with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes; he looked friendly with a constant smile on his face. Adrian was neither muscular nor lean, he looked the most serious of the gang and had an air of mystery about him which might have been because he worked at the Department of Mysteries.

Everyone was introduced to each other and even thou most knew each other none actually knew the other. Hermione decided that she liked Marcus the best as he was light hearted and friendly, he also didn't have any history with Hermione as he had been two years senior to him so he was easy to talk to; Adrian seemed happy to chat with Padma while Theo kept glancing at Tracey again and again.

The boys were told about Ron's infidelity excluding the part about Hermione's attempt to commit suicide and the rest of the story. Draco told them that there was nothing between him and Hermione and that they were just friends, at which Hermione looked downtrodden.

Draco's friends blended with Hermione's well and soon everyone was having a good time as they ate, drank and chatted. There was a knock on the door and Hermione and Draco both got up to get it, they opened the door to see an angry looking Harry potter clutching the Daily Prophet and an upset Ginny Weasley Potter. This was not how they had planned this evening to end.

A/n: Love everyone who has read and reviewed. The more the reviews, the happier I'll be and the faster I'll upload.

Love

Ash