A/N: I feel so bad it took me this long to post this. Between my newborn nephew and classes, I haven't had the time to work on any stories. On the plus side, this is a much longer chapter. Hope you all enjoy. Happy reading. ^_^

Forget Me Not

Chapter 14: Suspicious Slytherins

We decided to meet in the Stone Bridge Tower the night before he was to leave for home. I arrived first and stayed near the only window of the desolate room. I knew spring was coming soon, but the chill in the air made me think differently. While I pondered the weather, I drifted into a memory of a cold winter's day when the two of us stood on a balcony watching the snow fall. Draco stirred me from my memory when he moved to stand behind me after he entered the cold, dark tower. His arms wrapped around my torso and held me securely against him. I rested my head back on his shoulder; a few seconds later, I felt is lips against the skin of my neck. Slowly, he trailed kisses from the junction of my neck and shoulder up to the space behind my ear. Then he licked the outer shell of my ear while his hands began unbuttoning my school blouse. Once the buttons were all undone he took a small step back and to pull off the shirt; his fingers lightly caressed my arms as he took it off. I remained still and enjoyed his gentle caress.

After he removed the top, he stayed a step away to unfasten my bra; I shrugged it off my shoulders and watched it fall off of me and onto the floor. I shivered from the freezing, nighttime air, but a moment later I felt a surge of heat course through me when one of his hands quickly entered my knickers before sliding his fingers torturously slow into me. His other hand began unfastening my skirt. He accomplished that task and then removed his opposite hand to slowly slide my skirt and panties off. His fingers were against my thighs and his thumbs secured the fabric of the clothing as he slowly lowered himself and my clothes, gently stroking my thighs as he did so.

My socks and shoes were the last to go, but he still took his time and sensually removed those as well before conjuring a bed of blankets. He tossed his wand aside afterward and I lowered myself so that we were both kneeling on the covers. I felt the sad expression written over my features, but I couldn't help how I felt. While my mind resumed thinking of the danger he'd be placing himself in, I reached forward and began undressing him. Regretfully, it wasn't as sensual as his actions, but just as slow.

I had to pause for a moment.

This pause was different than those in the past. I had a habit a taking a moment to admire him; I never grew tired of the urge. However, this time was different and I wanted to stay frozen in this moment. Then there'd be no war, no more deaths, no more pain… and no uncertainty.

Draco was normally patient with my break, but this time he must have noticed something unusual. He surprised me when he pinned me beneath him. I exhaled and relaxed into the soft covers beneath me as he lowered his lips to my neck and began a trail of kisses down the length of my body. I writhed beneath him as he continued blessing me with his gentle kisses. His right hand slipped between us and began stroking my center. My back arched as I moaned and tightened my legs around his hips.

I was so close to my release when he moved his hand to my hip and held me still while he shifted his weight to his other arm. Then he positioned himself at my entrance while he locked his gaze with mine. A breath later he thrust into me and began a slow, sensual rhythm.

His right hand clasped my left on the side of my head; I squeezed it tightly as I moved my hips in time with his. A chorus of moans sounded through the empty room as we continued; the volume increased when I hit a peak and became dizzy with the flood of pleasure coursing through me. My right hand clawed at the flesh of his back. He hissed and jerked his hips forward, ruining his steady rhythm, but spurring on an increase to his tempo.

I clung to his body as he continued grinding against me until he reached his limit. Draco threw himself back and leaned on the cold stone wall for support. I slowly moved over to him and pressed myself to him.

Our bodies may have been covered in sweat and other fluids, but I couldn't pull myself away from him. I knew he wasn't leaving me for good, yet I was too terrified to let him go. He rested his back against the rough surface while I rested my head against his shoulder and kept my arms tightly wound around him while I straddled him. "I don't want you to leave me…" I whispered against his neck. Who knows how many times I have said this over the past week. The one hand he had wrapped around my waist traveled upward and pressed me closer to him.

"I'm leaving in a few hours. That's not changing." There was no emotion in his voice; he was set on his decision and accepted that neither of us agreed with the other on the issue. I assumed his tone was blank because he didn't want to have another argument about it. I really didn't want to either; I simply wanted to remind him that he didn't need to leave.

Draco kissed my temple before gently removing me from his lap. I sighed sadly before crawling to retrieve my scattered clothes. I felt his gaze on me while I continued searching. "Keep enticing me like that and I won't be able to leave." I turned around while I was still on all fours and saw him smirking at me.

I gave him a small smile before replying, "If that's what it takes…" He returned the smile before shaking his head.

We spent the next hour in the tower, but the next morning he still left. I watched worriedly from a window in the library as he rode the Thestral drawn carriages off of the grounds. I sulked about the remainder of the day.

The next morning, I silently began my day. My roommates left for the break and their absence made me feel more alone. True, I still had Harry and Ron, but we haven't been on the best of terms lately; blame it on conflicting interests. Ginny was out of the loop on this, so she tried to cheer me up while we were down at breakfast. "What's the matter, Hermione?" she asked with a worried look.

I shook my head and replied, "I'm fine." I knew from her face that she didn't believe it. I gave her a smile to assure her; still she didn't believe me. "Really, Ginny, I'm just tired. I had a long night."

"You're always there when I need you, Hermione. Tell me anything. I'll be there for you, too." I gave her a warm smile this time and thanked her for her concern. She nodded before giving me another worried look.

Internally, I apologized for my secrecy, but I didn't want too many people to know about my relationship. That thought reminded me of my current problem; I glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw Pansy sitting between Blaise and Theodore. She must have felt my gaze because a moment later she turned and glared directly at me. A second later, she shifted her gaze and I turned to follow it. Pansy had turned to exchange looks with Lisa at the Ravenclaw table. It wasn't long before she was also glaring at me. I shook my head before thinking, She probably realized she's no match for me and needed help. I felt a smirk creep onto my face and watched her expression change to show her shock. The smirk morphed into smug smile as I turned back to my meal.

Fortunately, I had no problems from either of them. I told myself to ignore their presence and try to focus on more important concerns. Later that evening when I returned to my empty dorm room, I received an owl. It had no name or return address, but I was certain it was from Draco. I gave the owl a treat before he flew off. Then I sat down on my bed and gingerly opened the tan envelope. I read the neatly written letter. It said:

"I haven't seen the Dark Lord yet, but my aunt is here. Apparently the Dark Lord has ordered her to stay here to watch over my father. I don't know why though. He looks terrible and isn't himself. That maybe good news for you, but I've never seen him like this before. I don't know if I told you, but Aunt Bella was the one to free him from Azkaban not too long after school started. He wasn't there that long, but he's still in really bad shape. I know the Dark Lord had him freed to use as leverage over me, and I'm glad that he decided that. My father would be in worse shape than he is now had he remained locked away in that hell.

I know you don't want to hear any of this and you wish I'd stayed behind. I'm glad you care so much about me, but I felt my family needed me here and I missed them. We might come from two very different backgrounds, but I know you feel the same way about your parents and you'd make the same choice as me. I don't regret my choice to come. Even though I miss you terribly already. I'm laughing as I write this because I never thought I'd see the day when I missed Hermione Granger. And you're probably thinking the same.

And I want you to know that I'm glad it was you who found me that night. I know I've never said this to you and don't think I'm saying this because I fear I'm going to die soon. I just feel you should know. I'd probably have gone mad had things been differently. So thank you.

I love you, Hermione."

Once I finished reading the message, I folded it back up and placed it back into the envelope. I sighed and leaned back onto the headboard. I looked down at the letter. I had plenty to think over and more than enough to worry about. I remained lost in my thoughts until I fell asleep.

The next morning, the sun shined through my window and brought me back to the waking world. I rolled out of bed and removed my clothes from the previous day before heading to the bathroom to shower. Sometime later I reemerged from the bathroom and went to dress for another day. I decided to spend my day with my two best friends; at least time with them would distract my mind from worry.

I headed down to the common room and looked around for the two. Dean told me they'd already gone down to breakfast. I was a bit shocked, but at the same time, I realized that we hadn't eaten together in a few days. Why would they wait for me?

To my surprise, they weren't in the Great Hall either. I wondered where they could have gone without telling me. I'm sure they weren't still sleep because Ron's appetite wouldn't allow him to miss a meal.

"Morning, Ginny," I said to the youngest Weasley. She smiled up at me and returned the greeting. "Do you know where Harry and Ron have gone off to?"

"They didn't tell you? That's odd." She showed her confusion and must have been thinking about a reason they would exclude me; I was doing the same. "Well, Ron told me they went off with Dumbledore somewhere. I'd tell you where, but they didn't mention it."

"Oh, well thanks, Ginny." She nodded and smiled before continuing her meal.

She was going to wait for me to finish, but I insisted that she go on with her day. Reluctantly, she left me and said she was going to the Quidditch pitch with a few of the players from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. I promised to come if I had time, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I left Quidditch to her, Harry, and Ron; my only interest was when I wanted to go to the games to support my friends.

I said goodbye to Ginny and finished eating alone. About fifteen minutes passed before I left the Great Hall and headed upstairs with no exact destination in mind. I let my mind wander as I did the same. I tried to distract myself by avoiding thoughts of Draco and focusing on thoughts of where Harry and Ron could have possibly gone and what I was going to do about Pansy and Lisa.

Maybe I was focusing too hard on the last train of thought. While I was too busy thinking about what I was going to do and when, one of the two showed up and cast a hex while my back was turned. Thankfully, Pansy wasn't skilled in nonverbal magic or else I would have been hit. I narrowly dodged her sloppy attack and quickly turned to counter with an Impediment charm. I had to stop myself from laughing when she flew out of her shoes.

I waited until she collided with the floor before disarming her; I caught her wand and walked over to stand in front of her. "You know, they say you turn to violence when you're intellectually frustrated," I said with a smirk; yup, he was rubbing off on me. I watched her glare up at me.

"You bitch," she said angrily and attempted to push up off the floor.

"Parkinson, we've always had our differences, but I've never done anything to warrant an attack. So if you wouldn't mind telling me what I did."

Her gaze stayed fixed on me and the scowl never disappeared. "You bewitched him and took him from me," she answered after a long pause.

My brow furrowed and I felt completely confused. I could have sworn Lisa was with him. Was he two-timing the two of them? Or maybe there was some polyjuice involved here? I disregarded the last thought. Lisa may have been smart enough to pull it off, but I already know that the two are working together. I just don't know to what end.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was sure Turpin was the one with him before." Actually, he could have been with Pansy, or at least two-timing. If I knew why Lisa hexed him in the first place, then I'd have some idea what was going on between the three of them.

"She's just delusional."

"Aren't you helping her?"

She scoffed, "Please. She only thinks I'm siding with her. Turpin's next on my list after I take care of you." I had to shake my head and hold back a chuckle; Pansy was mental and still hadn't provided a clear answer.

"Well, do what you want with her, but you'll never best me. Try and they'll be finding a room for you in St. Mungo's when I'm through." Her glare was replaced with mild fright as she scooted further away from me. I'm glad she was smart enough not to cross me.

I continued looking down at her and wondered what to do with her. It would be easy to remove her memory, but my emotions weren't in control at the moment and I may overdo it. I realized I wouldn't get another chance like this though; it was doubtful that she's thick enough to repeat an attack like this one. I sighed and decided not wipe her memory. Instead, I hexed her with the body bind curse and then through her wand out the closest window.

Sure, I let her off easy, but at least the time she'd spend searching for her wand in the shrubbery below would give me time to cool off. She's lucky we weren't in a part of the castle that set along the cliff overlooking the Black Lake.

I left the raven-haired girl frozen on the ground and headed to my dorm. I was certain I'd definitely harm Lisa with no remorse had she tried to confront me as well. It was better to be left alone to cool down before acting rashly. I remember all the times Ron was infuriated and attempted to cast spells which only ended up going awry in some way; I didn't want something like that to happen to me.

When I got back to my room, I noticed an envelope setting on my comforter. I picked it up and tore it open. I looked over the note while I sat down on the bed; it wasn't as neat as the other letter, but I knew he'd sent it. I wondered what he wanted to tell me.

"I'm writing this just a little pass midnight. I'll send it later today when I feel it's safe. I don't know how long the Dark Lord will be here. Hopefully not much longer, but that's wishful thinking on my part. He summoned me here so I know he'll be talking to me soon. Earlier he was speaking with my father. I wasn't present for the conversation, but I heard some of what went on and it upset me. That bastard treats his followers like that and expects loyalty in return. I wonder if he was always this cruel or is just worse now.

I know my father didn't get that damn prophecy, but it's not like it was his fault. I only know what he told me about that night, and I can't see how it was his fault. Sorry to be ranting about this, but I'm really angry, especially since he's using me to get back at my father. I wish he'd just kill us all instead of toying with us like this. I know you don't want to hear that, but it would be better than making us suffer miserably before he finally does kill us.

I should stop thinking about this. I'm only upsetting myself further, and I'm sure it's worrying you to hear about this. I hope you're not too worried about me. I'm still all right, and writing to you makes this easier for me. I know you'd be writing to me if you could (Floo would be even better). I can't wait to leave this place. Another thing I'd thought impossible- I don't want to stay in my own home. All of this is ridiculous.

Although, I can't help but wonder what he'd do if I actually succeed with this impossible task. Don't worry, I'm not going to kill Dumbledore. I just can't help being curious.

I'll stop wasting your time now. I've taken up enough of it already. I love you."

My heart was still racing even after I read the letter. Voldemort was in his home and still hadn't talked to him. I hoped he'd leave after that, but was that a realistic outcome? Of course not. We'd be lucky if he lets him return to Hogwarts. Here he is safe, but his parents won't be. They definitely won't be safe if he does something reckless. I shouldn't worry about that though; he is a Slytherin after all. Unfortunately, so is Voldemort and he may also think like Draco. I hope that isn't the case.

I force myself to push those thoughts aside; they only depressed me further. It's only Wednesday, and I still had to make it through the rest of the week. It wouldn't do to stress myself out and fill my mind with terrible, pessimistic thoughts. To rid myself of the thoughts, I grabbed a book and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Thursday, I decided to definitively overcome the annoying complication. Divination was never my strong suit, and frankly, I thought that line of magic was ridiculous. However, there was one practice I found useful and was rather good at. That one thing was scrying. I learned about it after I researched ways to locate individuals and objects. All one needs is a map and a quartz crystal tied to a string. It wasn't as easy as using the Marauder's map, but it was all I had to work with since Harry didn't often allow me to use it.

I scried for the two and was glad when I found them both in the same area (most likely plotting against me… bitches). I used a Disillusionment charm and Muffliato on my shoes before creeping through the deserted halls to the classroom where the other two loitered. I carefully entered the room. The door shut behind me instantly after I passed over the threshold. I wondered how I was detected so soon, but as I scanned the dimly lit room for the first time I realized it was Snape who did it.

Wait. Why was Snape here? And what the hell was he doing? I slowly moved to get a better view. "Finite Incantatem," I heard him say before I figured out his wand was fixed on me. Snape glanced back and wasn't surprised to see me, or maybe he was just really good at hiding his emotions. Whatever the case, my shock was now apparent to him. I just didn't know what shocked me more. It could have been because I was found out or because he was casting a spell on the two females I'd come to hex.

"What are you doing?" I unintentionally whispered into the open. He turned back to me and glared.

"You were careless, Ms. Granger," he drawled as he continued his task; it looked like he was extracting and altering their memories. I continued observing his actions while I felt my confusion bombard my mind with questions to ask him. He spoke before I had the chance to get any of them out. "You were supposed to watch over him. Not endanger him," his voice was in its usual tone, but there were also subtle hints of his anger and annoyance.

"I assumed he was no longer under my care after you restored his memory," I countered with a bit of an attitude.

"I had hoped that to be the case, but you two insisted upon continuing your affair." It bothered me that he knew about us. I dropped the subject and decided to inquire about the current situation.

"What are you doing to them?" I asked again.

"Since you made the mistake of getting caught, I have to clean up your mess and alter their memories while removing what they know." Exactly what I thought and all he had to say. The beginning was unnecessary. My parents raised me to respect my elders so I resisted the urge to tell him off. "You should be leaving now," he said while placing their extracted memories into glass phials. I watched him and then looked up at his scowling face. I nodded before exiting the room.

The entire journey back to my dorm, I wondered why Snape would involve himself with our problem. Was he also somehow involved in Draco's mission? If so that meant he was working for Voldemort. We'd thought this so many times before and each time he proved not to be connected to that demented wizard. Perhaps he's simply concerned about his student. I thought back to the day Mrs. Malfoy came to visit. She did mention that Snape had stopped replying to her messages around the same time as Draco.

What would Snape be writing to Draco's mother? It's not like he's a terrible student and needs letters sent home to inform his parents about his poor performance. Suddenly, to me, Snape became a person of interest. I found it too coincidental that Voldemort summons Draco home and Snape decides to modify a couple of student's memories.

I think Mrs. Malfoy elicited his help to protect her son while he was performing the tasks he was commanded to complete. But that would mean that he's known that Draco is supposed to kill Dumbledore. Why didn't he say anything about this before?

Yes, Snape is definitely a suspicious player in this game. What's his agenda though? Is he the one to kill Draco if he fails? Not if I can help it.

When I get back to my room, I pull out a quill, ink, and parchment. I moved over to my messy desk and began writing:

"I miss you so much, and I have so much to tell you. But I'm glad you're well. I can't wait to have you back here with me.

Anyway, I want you to know that the one problem we had is resolved. I had some help with it, and was surprised when he decided to aid me. We'll talk about this more when you get back. I just wanted to let you know that we don't have to worry about that dilemma anymore.

Stay safe, my love, and sorry about the short letter. Can't wait to see you again.

Love always."

Not the most articulate message on my part, but I planned to charm it so it appeared to come from Pansy. Hopefully, no one would become suspicious and decided to examine it closely. More importantly, I hope Draco understands what I'm trying to say. I'm confident he'll realize it's really from me; I just can't speak plainly to tell him every detail. It's too dangerous when Voldemort is likely to still be in his vicinity.

Once the letter is charmed in Pansy's script, I sealed it away in an envelope and placed it inside my nightstand drawer. I'll have to send it the next time he sends me a message; hopefully it'll be a safe time to receive the message.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this. I enjoyed writing it, especially Draco's letters. Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to give some feedback.

By the way, next week's my birthday so I may not be posting a chapter since I plan to be out of town. If I'm able, I'll get chapter 15 up. I'm not sure though.