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Wednesday morning brought with it a return to normalcy, even if to Hermione it felt like everything had changed. She couldn't understand how others could look at her and Draco, holding hands, and not see how things were different between them now. But then again, she supposed, spending an entire evening shagging in various locations and positions was probably exactly what most people thought they had been doing for quite some time now.

Ginny was more perceptive, however. As soon as Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table, the younger girl gasped. "Something happened," she said, pointing an accusing finger at Hermione.

"Gin, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that look on your face!"

"What look on my face?"

"You're getting awfully red, 'Mione," Harry said. "You're sure there's nothing you're hiding from us?"

"I'm blushing because you guys are embarassing me! Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to read this Potions-chapter before class."

"What, you haven't read it already? Must have been a pretty busy weekend," Ginny said with a calculating look.

Hermione ignored her friend, fixating all of her concentration on her book. Damn Ginny and her perceptiveness!

Ginny dropped the subject, but only for now. She was determined to find out more. And if Hermione wasn't going to say anything, well, she'd just have to find another source.

"Hey, Blaise," she said when she spotted him in one of the corridors a couple of hours later. "I need to talk to you."

He looked surprised, but followed her when she ducked in an alcove behind a statue.

"Tsk, Miss Weasley, does your fiancé know you like to abduct unsuspecting Slytherins and lead them to dark, secret corners of the castle?"

"Cut the crap, Zabini. I wanted to ask you something."

Blaise moved his arm in a welcoming gesture, as much as he could in the cramped up space anyway. "Ask away."

"Did you notice something different about Malfoy?"

"Which one?"

She pinched him. "Why the fuck would I ask you about Hermione? The blond, snarky one, obviously!"

"Damn, Ginny, take it easy. It was a joke!" He rubbed his arm while thinking about her question. "Now that you mention it, he was surprisingly happy yesterday, and this morning at breakfast. Most unusual, really, I mean he's not exactly a morning person."

"I knew it!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Know what? Clue me in, here."

"Hermione had a weird look on her face at breakfast. When I asked her about it, she blushed and ignored me for the rest of the meal!"

"Okay," Blaise said, drawing the word out. "And this means?"

"Why, it's obvious, you dunderhead! It means that they're shagging!"

Blaise's jaw dropped open in shock. "Shit! I owe Pansy twenty galleons. Are you sure?"

"You made a bet about if Hermione and Malfoy would have sex?" Ginny asked.

"Not if, when. I thought it would take them two more weeks, at least."

Ginny chuckled. "I can't believe I didn't think of that."

"You know, Weasley, you're not at all like I thought you were."

"I'm not sure if that's an insult or a compliment."

Blaise grinned. "I'll leave that up to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to class."

Ginny trailed after Blaise at a far slower pace, lost in thoughts. So Luna had been right, after all. The Ravenclaw had said, from the beginning, that Draco and Hermione were very well suited and would realize that eventually. She had noticed them becoming closer, less hostile, but, still, she hadn't been sure that meant anything.

She still wasn't sure it meant anything. For all she knew, it was just about sex.

Argh, she wished Hermione would talk to her about it!

Hermione was walking away from Arithmancy when, suddenly, Malfoy grabbed her arm and dragged her in a little alcove behind a tapestry.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Some people saw!"

"So? I'm sure they're not surprised."

"What do you want, Draco?" she asked exasparatedly. "I have another class in a few minutes."

"Did you tell your friends that we had sex?"

"What? No I didn't! Why would you even ask that?"

"Because Blaise has been cross with me all day, and when I asked him about it he muttered something about how my inability to keep it in my pants for two more weeks lost him twenty galleons."

Hermione stared up at Draco in shock. "Are you telling me that your friends have been betting on whether or not we would have sex?" she asked him, a steely undertone in her voice.

"I believe the bet was about when, not if."

The look she sent him then was enough to make him check if she was holding her wand or not. "Draco, if you had anything to do with this, so help me Godric I will hex you so badly—"

"No, no, no," he interrupted her hastily. "This was the first I'd heard of it. I didn't say anything, to anyone, so I figured you must have told one of your friends, although why your friends and my friends discuss our sex life is something I'd rather not think about."

"Ginny," Hermione said. "Apparently she noticed something different about me this morning, wouldn't shut up about it. Oh my god, what if she's in on the bet too?"

"Something different, huh?"

"Wipe that smug look of your face, Malfoy."

He leant forward and started dropping hot open-mouthed kisses on her neck, and while the rational part of her brain was screaming that this was a terrible idea, it was the other part that took over. Her head dropped back, giving Draco better access, and the most wanton of sighs came out of her mouth unbidden.

He heard it, though, if the way his hips rocked forwards suddenly was any indication.

"Fuck, Granger. I've been thinking about this all day."

"Yes, well, you're going to have to keep on thinking," she said, pushing him away (as far as he could go in the rather small space). "We have Ancient Runes now, and there's no way I'm going to be late."

He groaned. "Who cares about class? You've saved the Wizarding World, you'll find work regardless of your NEWT-scores."

"Maybe so, but that certainly isn't the case for you with that ugly tattoo on your arm."

He huffed a laugh. "An ugly tattoo, huh? If only the Dark Lord could hear you. It doesn't matter, anyway. I'll just be a stay-at-home husband, spending all your hard-earned money on fancy clothes and drinking far too much wine."

Hermione laughed at that image. "You'd get bored after two weeks. Are you even aware of how much attention you need?"

He looked affronted. "I don't need all that much attention!"

She shot him an unimpressed look. "Theo told me about how you would spend many an evening poking him while he tried to do his homework because there was no one else around and you wanted someone to listen to you."

"And you would believe Theo over your own husband? Hermione, I am hurt."

"Oh stop it. Now would you please get out of here, so we can go to class."

"Fine," he whined, in such a petulant manner that Hermione started laughing again. They exited the closet and started the long trek up the stairs of Hogwarts Castle.

"You would make an excellent stay-at-home husband. Maybe we should get you a dog, that way you'll never lack attention and affection."

"Affection from a bag of fleas? Thanks but no thanks. Isn't that your job, anyway?"

She elbowed him in the ribs. "My job? I'll be working crazy hours to be able to afford your expensive taste. Your job would be to make sure dinner is always ready when I get back home. And to give me backrubs. Lots and lots of backrubs."

He waved his hand in the air, as if waving away her demands. "We'll have house-elves to do all of that for us, of course."

"WHAT? No, no, no! No house-elves! What is wrong with you? Do you know nothing about me?" Their banter suddenly took a far less funny turn.

"Granger, you can't possibly tell me you still haven't gotten over that whole spew thing?"

"It's S.P.E.W.! You can't possibly tell me you still believe there's nothing wrong with the enslavement of an entire species!" she yelled. The subject was still a sore one.

"They don't mind!" Draco shouted back. "They enjoy serving Wizards. I agree that they ought to be treated well, but you want to free them? They'd hate that! Are you really so arrogant that you would believe you know what the house-elves want better than they do?"

"I... You... That is not the point, Draco! I don't believe I know better, I simply think they should have the choice!" She breathed in deeply, calmed down a bit. "I acknowledge that my way of going about things in fourth year was not exactly ideal. If house-elves truly want to serve, then they should. But they do need to get paid for their work, they need to be protected by the law, just like all other sentient beings, and there is no way in hell I would ever have one myself."

"Yeah, well, there is no way I'm going anywhere without Torry, so you'll just have to deal with it."

"Torry?"

"He's my elf, and he would be devastated should he believe I wished to part with him."

"But Dobby—"

"Was my father's elf, and a rather unique one at that. I can assure you that Torry has a most comfortable life, as have all the other elves now remaining at the Manor."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "If, however, this matter is so important to you, I have no objection to pay Torry whichever salary you and he agree on. But be warned, Granger, that won't be an easy conversation."

Hermione was surprised at his easy acquiescence. But then again, he was so rich that it probably didn't matter.

"Very well," said she. "I will discuss it with him if the situation ever presents itself."

"If? I'd say the situation will present itself as soon as we're out of school. We'll have to live together, otherwise they'd see right through our pretense," Draco said, without thinking too much of it, expressing what he had thought about several times before.

Something about those words bothered Hermione, but she couldn't say what or why, so she merely shrugged, unwilling to start a discussion at this time.

Mere hours later, her so-called friend, Ginny, had tricked her into spending the evening with her in Gryffindor tower. It was only when she arrived in the girls' dorms that she discovered it was in fact an ambush, designed to make her confess all of her secrets.

All right, so she was exagerating a bit. All Ginny wanted was to have a 'girl-talk', which, apparently, consisted of telling each other about everything that had to do with sex and husbands and the like.

"Come on, Hermione," Ginny needled. "Don't you trust me? Just tell me what's been going on with you lately."

Hermione sighed deeply, not at all fooled by Ginny's innocent expression. But still, it would be nice to talk about it with someone who wouldn't judge her too much.

"You're blushing," Ginny noted. "You had sex with Malfoy, didn't you?"

Hermione couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud, so she simply hid her face in her hands, trusting that reaction would be sufficient explanation. It was.

"Merlin, I knew it!" Ginny squealed. "How was it? How was he? What does that mean for the two of you? Oh, Hermione, you must tell me everything!"

"Calm down, will you? And to answer your question: it was great, it really was! I felt a bit confused the day after, but we actually talked it out, so I'm glad!"

Ginny let out a happy sigh. "I am so relieved you didn't end up regretting it, and that you cleared the air afterwards! I was worried you'd start thinking he was only into you because of that fidelity-clause and, well, he is a guy, but obviously you guys are getting along great! Did you know that both Blaise and Pansy predicted this?"

For the second time that day, an unexplicable disagreeable feeling overtook Hermione. She shook her head, as if that could get rid of it.

"Yes, Draco mentioned something about a bet. Please tell me you weren't in on it?"

"Of course not!" Ginny exclaimed. "Why would I make bets with Slytherins?"

"I don't know, you seem to get along with Blaise well."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, Blaise is funny. I think he would've gotten along great with the twins if they had been in the same class."

Hermione could see her friend's face contort in sadness, as it always did when she spoke of Fred, and once again felt totally inadequate when it came to consoling others. Oh, if only Harry were here.

"I'm sorry, Gin," she said softly. "I miss him too."

"Yeah, well, he sure as hell wouldn't have wanted me to be sad about him all the time. Let's go down and play some exploding snaps, or something."

And they did, Ginny creating a ruckus that would certainly have made Fred proud.

"So, Draco, I suppose I ought to thank you for those twenty galleons," Pansy said, sitting down on the couch next to the blond in question. "I might even buy you a drink, someday. A cheap one, though."

Draco glared at her. "I can't believe you betted on whether Granger and I would have sex."

"No, no, we betted on when, not if. When you would have sex again, might I add."

"Fuck off."

"Tssk, Draco," Pansy said condescendingly. "What would your wife say?"

"The same, I'd wager," Theo responded. "In fact, Pansy, you seem to ellicit that response rather often."

"Not from Granger, actually," said she, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "She didn't seem to mind talking to me at all."

This caught Draco's attention. "Yes, what did you two talk about? Hermione won't say anything about it!" he complained.

"If she doesn't think it's a good idea to tell you, then who am I to disagree?" Pansy said, obviously rather smug about the whole affair.

"Yes, well, if we're done talking about Granger, once again," Blaise drawled. "I would like to share a far more interesting piece of gossip."

"Do tell," Theodore said, while Pansy looked a tad put out at losing the attention of the group.

"I heard Terry Boot tell Cho Chang that he heard from a third year ravenclaw that Hannah Abbot and Ernie McMillan, wanting to take a shortcut to the great hall, accidentally stumbled upon none other than Luna Lovegood and our own Daphne Greengrass making out!"

"Daph? No! She would have told me!" Pansy protested.

"Daphne with Loony? That's preposterous!" Theo said.

"Let's keep in mind that the source of information are two Hufflepuffs," Draco added contempously. "Are we really going to take their word for it?"

"Most certainly not!" Pansy said. "If it were the case, I would know. I'm sure of it. Blaise, you're a fool."

"Excuse me?" Blaise exclaimed, looking offended. "If you're so sure I'm wrong, then surely you wouldn't mind betting another twenty galleons on it, now would you?"

Pansy hesitated for a second, throwing a suspicious look at her friend, before her pride won out. "Sure, Blaise, if you want to give me your money so badly I won't object. Twenty galleons it is!"

"On that note, I'm heading out. You people are exhausting," Draco said, leaving the Slytherin Common Room.

"Have fun, Drakey!" Pansy shouted. "But remember to do it safe, wouldn't want a brat running around next year, now would you?"

"Fuck off, Pansy," Draco repeated his earlier words.

Blaise, meanwhile, had a hard time containing his victorious snicker. The story he'd just told his friends hadn't been entirely true, after all, for it was he that had walked in on Luna and Daphne snogging. After recovering from the shock of his discovery, he had quickly devised a way to earn back the twenty galleons Pansy had taken from him, and it had worked out perfectly.

It was a good thing his friends were so predictable.

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