AN: Thanks again for the reviews! I hope you all like this chapter as much as you've liked the previous two!

Congrats to the winner of the second cameo contest! ObsessionsGoTooFar was the first to correctly guess touch as the next sense! : ) Nice job!

TOUCH—Third Year

Second year had had a semi-happy ending. All those who had been petrified were awakened, Voldemort was temporarily vanquished, and the trio plus Ginny remained, for the most part, physically unscathed. The fact that finals were canceled, however, sent Hermione into a state of annoyance. All that studying time and nothing to show for it!

Her summer began on that unhappy note with a dash of confusion. Before the Basilisk had petrified her, she remembered seeing Malfoy and having her heart skip a beat. Why was that? She hadn't ever truly been friends with him, so what was the explanation for that sensation? But, all thoughts of Draco Malfoy flew out of her mind when her parents announced that they were taking a summer trip to France. Hurriedly, she jotted a letter to Ron and without further ado, began packing. It wasn't until school started that her emotional turmoil over a certain Slytherin returned.

Despite his spiteful remarks toward her friends that burned her ears and hurtful actions (especially during that fateful Quidditch game) that were painful for her to see, Hermione still smiled at the sound of Malfoy's voice and felt her heart speed up at the sight of him. That year though, he never seemed to run into her alone; therefore, he was consistently the malevolent third year Gryffindor-hating Slytherin. She never felt bad about the mild insults they exchanged, for deep down, she knew that they were harmless—he didn't mean them, and neither did she. It wasn't until Buckbeak's execution that she truly lost her temper with him.

The whole event was an out-of-body experience. The smug, condescending remarks aimed at Hagrid and Buckbeak, the sudden surge of anger she felt at hearing them, and then the slap. Oh, the slap! Hermione had put all of her force and disappointment, and especially her confusion behind it. As a result, her hand stung as if a Basilisk had bitten her. She couldn't even imagine how badly his face was hurting…or his pride. Although, that much he deserved, she reasoned to herself.

As soon as her hand lowered she looked at his face; both of his cheeks were red. His left from her slap, his right from anger? Shock? Embarrassment? Instantly, Hermione felt horrible. She tried to convey as much with her eyes, but he turned and retreated with Crabbe and Goyle hot on his heels. Harry and Ron congratulated her on her brilliant hit, but Hermione could only fake a smile. She felt absolutely numb. The first time she had reached out to touch him and it was a slap. If he never spoke a kind word to her again, she wouldn't be surprised.

Leaving the boys behind with the excuse of studying for exams, Hermione trudged to the library. When she got to her usual corner, she found that the table was taken by none other than Draco Malfoy himself. He was sitting across from where she would have sat, with his feet propped up on the table.

"May I join you?" She questioned meekly. Wordlessly, he gestured to her normal seat and she took it.

"What brings you to my corner of the library?" He asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I came to apologize. I feel terrible about slapping you."

Draco saw that she was on the verge of tears and he grunted in response. "It's no big deal. I guess I deserved it anyway for being a huge prat."

Hermione was not convinced; he sensed this and continued, "Besides, it doesn't even hurt. See?" He touched his cheek, perhaps harder than necessary, and flinched. "No harm done." Draco's obvious show of pride made Hermione feel that much worse.

"Bollocks. Let me help," she said as she took a quill out of her bag. With skill far above a third year student, she then transfigured it into a bag of ice.

"I don't need ice," he protested, "I'm fine." Stubbornly, he batted her hands away when she tried to approach him with the ice. With a long suffering sigh, she set the ice down.

"At least let me see how 'fine' it is."

Grudgingly, he let her hand smooth over and cup his cheek. Her hand was soft and gentle. Unconsciously, Draco leaned into it and closed his eyes. If the fluttering that her heart did when she saw him could be measured, what she felt just by caressing his cheek would quite easily surpass it a thousand times over. They stayed like that for several seconds; maybe even several minutes. It could have even been hours for all either of them knew! At that moment, time was irrelevant. The only thing that Hermione was aware of was the smooth feel of his cheek and the butterflies in her stomach.

A small cough made them both jolt. They looked up, startled, and saw Alen Chandler, a fourth year Ravenclaw. She seemed slightly uncomfortable having interrupted what clearly was some kind of moment between the two. Her hazel eyes darted around behind her black-rimmed glasses—she was clearly looking for something else to focus on other than the surprising interlude. Alen pushed a strand of wispy black hair behind her ears and smiled tentatively.

"Hermione Granger?"

She nodded in acknowledgment.

"I've been asked to talk to you about starting a school paper. I'm looking for columnists and Professor McGonagall suggested you."

Hermione's eyes lit up at the prospect of writing in a school paper and she immediately began forming ideas in her mind. She glanced at Draco apologetically, but he simply looked amused.

"You should go; it seems like something you'd be good at. Go on, I'll catch you later."

Hermione grinned, gathered up her things and followed the Ravenclaw out of the library. Alen unhooked a pen from the neck of her shirt and took hold of the notebook charmed to constantly hover above her shoulder and began questioning Hermione, stopping only to write down her responses.

An hour later, when Hermione had parted ways with the eager Ravenclaw and gone down to dinner, she looked down at her still tingling hand. Throughout the interview with Alen, Draco was the only thing she could think about. Why did the simple act of touching him make her go haywire?

End notes: Haha, poor Alen. She has noooo idea what she walked in on. :P

As you know, the first three senses have been hearing, sight, and touch. What are your guesses for the next one? Again, the winner (i.e. the first one to guess correctly) will get a cameo in the next chapter. Send your answer in a review and I will inform you if you won!

Additionally: if you're a female, you're TOTALLY going to want to win this one! I am completely serious. It's probably the best cameo part that you'll get from this set of chapters. If I were eligible to be in this contest, I would so want this one. ; ) It's ahh-mayy-zing!

Ready…Set…GUESS!